Jekka’s feet pounded the pavement faster and faster, and then she pulled her right shoulder back slightly and let her gait shift into an uneven rhythm. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she pulled her shoulder blades together and reached for the ground with her hands. Some bones lengthened, some shrank, and her hands hit the ground as the paws of a huge, white tiger.
She heard shouts behind her as the three thugs who had been chasing her scattered. The thug in front of her had no idea what was behind him and was only focused on catching the secretary who was almost within arms’ reach. With four powerful legs underneath her, Jekka surged forward with a new speed that got her to the two running figures ahead just in time. She pounced on the pursuer and then rolled off to the side, rising in her human form again. She rushed the secretary around the corner of the block and stopped just before stepping into the crowds on a main street. The secretary turned to Jekka.
“How did you…”
“Explaining things isn’t my department,” said Jekka. “Do you have far to go now?”
“No, I don’t live far off of this street,” she said, eying the dark spots on Jekka’s cheeks where her cream had been rubbed off. Jekka hoped the markings were still faint enough to just look like smudged dirt or bruises and not the markings of a were-creature.
“Alright, get home right away,” answered Jekka quickly. “Take the busy roads to work from now on. I hope you can find another job that pays better. I would recommend one where you don’t have to work with people.”
“Wait! Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
“I was sent by the King of the South,” said Jekka over her shoulder as she walked off. “If you want, you can take it up with him.”
With that, she pulled her hood up to partially block her face from people passing by and made for the inn.
**********
Rheen was standing behind the inn next to a huge pile of wet saddle bags and things she had carried from the bedrooms. She had woken up nearly an hour ago around noon, and Bierno had filled her in on where everyone was and what she would be doing to help out. She didn’t mind the work, especially because her muscles were so stiff after sleeping so long, and it felt good to stretch them out and use them a little. She was taking her time, knowing that she wouldn’t know what to do with herself when she was done if she finished before the others got back. Now that all of the gear was outside, she began working on hanging up anything wet that could be hung and spreading out everything else on the grass.
The inn was right on the edge of town, so beyond the small yard which housed a chicken coop, garden, and clothesline, was the edge of the surrounding woods. Right inside of the woods ran a creek. The forest had the same dull, colorless hue that was typical of landscape in the north, but it was a much denser here than what they had ridden through to get there. Rheen could barely see beyond the first trees which made her uneasy. She considered going back to get her sword but reminded herself she didn’t know how to use it anyway. After working for a while, she began to relax. She had almost finished emptying the last pack when a shape hobbled out of the woods towards her.
Rheen didn’t know what to do. She was scared but also curious. “What are you doing here?” she whispered. “If they see you, they’ll kill you.”
“Will they?” it wheezed. “Well, I’m not concerned about them right now. I’m more concerned about you. You’ve changed. We are all beginning to question your allegiance.” It hacked a few times as if it was trying to laugh. “Do you even realize what you’re doing? You don’t know how to play the part of a warrior, but you do know how to play the part of a thief: of a rebel.”
She had been slowly backing away as it walked towards her, but now she bumped into the back wall of the inn.
“My allegiance? What do you mean?” she asked. As she talked, her gaze jumped between the clothesline, the nearest window, and the gutter above her head. “I definitely grew up with a less dismal picture of what you are and what you are capable of, but I’ve never owed my allegiance to anyone but myself.”
“Not knowingly, but all of the fun you had in Vree was thanks to us and Rundyl,” said the sniw. “Rundyl was the first to question the boundaries of things ‘belonging’ to other people, and he told a sniw to go tell a certain man to take something that ‘belonged’ to someone else. Through this one action, the man’s eyes were opened to how unjust it is that there are people with plenty and people in want, and he realized that it was his duty to disperse the wealth amongst all people. You are gifted with the same honorable calling. Some play the role of doctors, some play the role of carpenters, but you have the honored title of Thief! And you are one of the best. I see you scanning your surroundings. Even now you could use your incredible skills to get away despite being cornered as you are. You are wasting your talent if you do anything else.”
Something about its wording reminded her of a conversation she’d had with Gillio. He’d said something about people having certain talents for different things and how it was important to use those talents in the right way.
“Life is a game, Rheen. We all have our separate parts to play. No matter how hard you try, you can’t get away from who you are. You will not feel complete unless you are living the life you were meant to live.”
**********
“Well, anyway, I didn’t think that was fair,” Gillio was saying.
He and Aenin were walking back from their last stop, and Gillio was in the middle of a story. Aenin listened politely just like he’d been doing for the past couple of hours.
“So I just went and told her directly,” Gillio continued. “I mean, if you’re going to comment on somebody’s work, even if you don’t like it, at least be polite about it.”
“Right,” said Aenin.
“And a piglet?” said Gillio. “I don’t know. I mean, I can kind of see the resemblance. And not just in the painting, in real life, too, but I’m not going to say that.”
“Of course not,” said Aenin. “So what did she say?”
“She just said that because it’s an art contest, people should be prepared to hear negative feedback, and it’s her job as the judge to be honest about what she sees. But again, she could have said it looked bad without insulting the contestant, you know?”
“Definitely,” said Aenin. He closed his eyes for a moment to check on the status of everyone in their group now that they were nearing the inn. Jekka was on her way back and was close; she would probably get back shortly before they did. Bierno had been travelling around to different houses and businesses and seemed like it would still be a while before he came back. Then Aenin checked behind the inn to see how Rheen was doing and noticed the sniw. He opened his eyes and looked over at Gillio.
“There’s another sniw with Rheen,” he said quickly. “They’re behind the inn.”
Gillio’s eyes grew wide, and they both ran, bags and bundles in tow, towards the inn.
**********
“I see they have had more influence on you than I thought,” continued the sniw. “You are starting to wonder if what they think is right: if taking things that don’t belong to you is wrong, if the south is better than the north, but look back on your own experiences. You have watched them kill a dozen of us on this one little trip of yours, but we have obviously not even harmed any of them and have spared your life twice. In the north you had friends and the excitement that I know you long for. In the south, no doubt, you spent your days alone. Everything was peaceful and orderly and boring.
“I see you are having trouble deciding, but you are over thinking the matter. I can tell you now that these ‘warriors’ that have taken you hostage will travel next to Vree, though they do not know it yet, and at this point you have two options.
“The first is to fly with me now to Vree and meet up with the others when they get there – or don’t meet up with them. You can make that decision later. I might add that flying is much faster and more comfortable than riding, so it makes
sense practically as well.
“The other option is a little bit more…uncomfortable to explain. Your actions concern Rundyl. You are showing an increasing amount of loyalty to these southerners. They’ve been clumsy about keeping track of you, but you haven’t even tried to escape. If you choose not to come with me, you prove that you have completely committed yourself to them and their work and I will treat you as such. We have not killed you yet, Rheen, because we’ve believed you might snap out of this silly game you’re playing and come back to the place you belong. We will no longer have that hope if you choose to stay with them now. I have presented my case in full; now it is up to you to decide.”
**********
Gillio and Aenin raced up the last sidewalk and reached the front of the inn at the same time as Jekka.
“There’s a sniw. It’s with Rheen in the backyard,” said Aenin quickly, and they all dashed around the corner.
**********
The sniw turned sideways and looked at Rheen from over its back. “Are you coming? You’ve been a prisoner for long enough.”
They stared each other in the eye for a few seconds. Suddenly, the sniw’s gaze pulled sharply to something over to the right. It turned to leap into the air as two arrows, one silver-fletched and the other fletched in black and white, lodged themselves into its side and it collapsed to the ground, dead.
Aenin walked over to retrieve the arrows and handed Jekka’s back to her. “Well, we’ve made a mess of the backyard. Want to give me a hand dragging it into the woods?”
When he, Gillio, and Jekka had accomplished this, they came back over to Rheen who was standing uncomfortably with her back still against the wall of the inn.
“What was that all about?” asked Gillio. “What was it doing here?”
“It was…talking,” answered Rheen. They all gave her an inquisitive stare. Her mind searched frantically for a way out. “It wasn’t here for long—I don’t really know what it wanted.”
“Rheen,” said Aenin, “I could see it from the sky.”
“Oh.” She looked at the ground.
“You don’t have to lie to us,” said Gillio. “You can tell us what it said. It’s okay.”
“It was just trying to get me to go somewhere,” she said with a wave of her hand. “It said some stuff about Rundyl and all of you, but I’m not some gullible child who is just going to believe everything I hear. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“It might be more serious than you realize,” said Aenin. “After this encounter and the one in the woods a few nights ago, it would seem as if you’ve been targeted. You can expect to be approached repeatedly until you’ve made it clear you are either with them or against them.”
Rheen studied Aenin’s face closely, still wondering if he had heard any of the conversation with the sniw in the woods several nights ago. She didn’t see any sign of it in his expression, but he had been quiet and difficult to read ever since she met him. She felt irritated.
“You guessed right,” she said. “It was trying to pressure me to pick a side. Are you aiming to do the same?”
“No,” said Aenin, looking a little surprised. “I’m sorry if it sounded that way.”
“Although we would really like it if you picked ours at some point,” said Gillio.
“Gillio,” said Jekka sharply, “that is the opposite of what she needs right now.” She turned to Rheen. “We are just as clueless as you are about why you were sent on this journey with us, but you’re part of our team now, and here, we watch out for each other. Aenin just wanted you to know what to expect because we’ve seen this scenario happen countless times. When Rundyl identifies a threat, he doesn’t let up until it has been neutralized which means in the next couple of weeks you will most likely be on his side or our side or dead.”
Gillio watched Jekka with a horrified look on his face. Aenin just stared at the ground, listening, and nodding in agreement.
“I’m guessing you’ve spent most of your life enjoying living outside of Rundyl’s detection,” continued Jekka, “but those days are over.”
Rheen’s mind raced as she tried to process it all. Added to the confusion was the sight of the dark smudges on Jekka’s cheeks. She couldn’t help glancing at them wondering how she’d gotten her face dirty and why she hadn’t wiped it off. From what Rheen had observed so far, Jekka didn’t seem to tolerate dirt very well.
Jekka looked at Gillio and Aenin. “We should check inside to see if Bierno’s back. Rheen, you should come join us when you’re finished with the saddlebags.”
When Jekka, Gillio, and Aenin were around the side of the building and out of earshot, Aenin looked over at Jekka with a raised eyebrow.
“Where did all of that come from, Jekka?” he asked. “You’ve hardly said that much to her this whole trip put together.”
“I ran into some trouble on the way back from getting the maps,” she answered. “It put me in a hospitable mood.”
“You got to turn into a cat, didn’t you?” asked Gillio with a knowing smile.
“Sush!” said Jekka, looking around. “Anyway, I’m starting to see that she has fears that are keeping her from trusting us. I don’t know what they are or what she’s been through, but there’s a painful lack of honesty in this world when it comes to intentions. I thought she would benefit from hearing ours directly. Now – I’m going to go take care of my face. I can’t stand being gawked at.”
Chapter 6
Rheen joined Jekka, Gillio, and Aenin at a table in the downstairs of the inn a little while later. After the others had gone inside, she’d finished her work very slowly and had then spent some time just sitting on a bench, thinking and waiting for the tears and redness to fade from her eyes and nose before going to join them. She had arrived at no conclusions, but she could see the truth in what Jekka had said and realized that she would need to make some drastic decisions soon.
When they saw her, they quickly invited her to join in a game they were playing. It was called Dragonlord and involved a large peg board, cards, and dice. She had seen it being played before but had never had the chance to play herself.
“Someone will need to explain the rules,” she said. She glanced over at Jekka and noticed her face was back to its usual tone.
“It’s really easy,” said Gillio as Aenin and Jekka got to work resetting the game board to accommodate a fourth player. “You have your own set of pegs, and the goal is to form a continuous line of ten of them, which represents a full grown dragon, before anyone else does.”
With occasional interruptions from Aenin and Jekka, he went on to explain how the colors on the cards corresponded with the colors on the board, the numbers on the cards corresponded with the dice, and how to plan ahead strategically to either work on building a ten-peg long ‘dragon’ or block others from building theirs. There were also a few other rules about not placing pegs within so many spaces of the middle of someone else’s line of pegs (to account for that dragon’s wingspan). Also, if a player wanted to build off of their own dragon, they couldn’t build in a direction that would move the ‘wingspan’ to somewhere already occupied by others’ pegs.
It was a lot of information at once, and Rheen didn’t feel like she really understood what was going on until a few rounds in. It ended up being a lot of fun though, and it was exactly what she needed to get her mind off of everything that had happened that day.
Bierno came in around the end of their second game and told them he had met up with all of their usual contacts and hadn’t learned anything new about where they should go next.
“Maybe news will come with the crowd tonight,” he said, looking around the room that was already getting a little busier. “There are some musicians coming in I hear, and that usually brings in a lot of people.”
“I assume you will be able to handle talking to them all without me if I escape to my room early?” asked Jekka.
“Of course,” said Bierno.
“What happened to your hosp
itable mood, Jekka?” teased Gillio.
“It ran out,” she said blandly.
Rheen looked from Gillio to Jekka and wondered if Gillio’s jest about a ‘hospitable mood’ had anything to do with Jekka talking to her earlier.
Soon, the whole lower level of the inn was full of people. Five of them had instruments and filled the air with energetic music that inspired dancing, stomping, and clapping. Some people really enjoyed the music and some were just glad for the excuse to get together with friends. There were a few games of Dragonlord going on around the room, and people clustered around them to cheer on their favorite player. Bierno was part of a game that was very close and drew the biggest crowd.
Gillio and Rheen were as close to the table as they could get, each shouting out encouragements to Bierno and jabs at the other players as they thought of them. Rheen had relaxed quite a bit over the past few hours and was feeling more like herself. Aenin stood by the wall watching and saw when a certain man came through the front door and went straight over to talk to Lassa. Aenin watched as the man paid her some money and then carried his bags up the stairs. He came back down a few minutes later and walked over to watch the game although he didn’t seem very interested in it. He kept looking around the room at the people as though he meant to meet someone there.
Gillio happened to look over in Aenin’s direction. Aenin gestured to the newcomer, and Gillio nodded.
“It doesn’t look like the man over there knows anyone here,” Gillio said to Rheen. “I’m going to go talk to him; do you want to join me?”
Rheen looked over in the man’s direction. He had a strong build, dusty blonde hair, and a friendly set of blue eyes, even if they did currently look troubled.
Eilinland- Through the Wall Page 6