“We’re just going to go make sure everything’s alright,” added Aenin.
“Wait for me a second,” Jekka said.
She went back into her room and came out a minute later with her bow slung around her shoulder. She spent the entire walk out to the stable smoothing her hair back and tying it up. She hadn’t taken the time to cover her markings yet though, and said she would just keep her hood up and keep her distance from other people as much as she could until she’d had the chance to apply the cream. She had a small tub of it in her pouch.
When they were in the stable, Jekka secretly gave Breakfast a kiss on the nose while Gillio brought his huge bay, Cavalcade, out of his stall. Aenin took a few extra minutes to outfit his horse in full armor. It was more for the purpose of covering up Qisk’s shining white coat than for protection. When the streets were empty and it was after dark, sniws were bolder, and Aenin knew his white horse would attract more attention than they wanted.
The three riders exited the barn and then wove their way through the streets, Aenin leading the way. They clopped along for a while until Jekka saw two dark shapes up in the sky.
“Heads up,” she said, but to their surprise the sniws didn’t seem to notice them and kept flying to the east.
“I’ll follow them,” said Jekka. “They might lead to something. You two go get Rheen.”
They started to protest, but Jekka quickly pointed out that getting Rheen was their idea, so it wouldn’t be fair for them to send her to do it alone. Sending Gillio on any errand by himself was a bad idea, and she wasn’t going to be the one stuck with him no matter what they were doing. Not waiting for them to finish catching up with her logic, she thundered off down the street after the sniws.
“She gets so incredibly reckless whenever Bierno’s not around,” said Gillio.
Aenin just laughed. “Come on.”
**********
Jekka galloped through the streets, twisting through a maze of roads and alleyways, trying to keep track of the sniws. Sometimes she thought she’d lost sight of them because buildings would get in the way, but then she’d catch a glimpse of them and urge Breakfast to catch up. She followed them farther and farther east into a part of the city that looked more and more deserted. With her eyes glued to the sky, she lost track of where she was, and all of the streets, broken down houses with boarded windows, and dark alleys began to look the same. When the sniws finally looked like they were making a descent, she pulled to a stop at the edge of an exceptionally wide street. On the other side of the street was a stone wall that was about ten feet high. It stretched about a quarter of a mile in either direction. The sniws had definitely landed on the other side. She tethered Breakfast to a pole on a nearby front porch. A large, dead tree hung over the porch, so the horse would be hidden from any sniws flying by. Since it seemed like the streets were abandoned, she wasn’t too concerned about her getting stolen, either.
“Take care of yourself; I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she told the horse as she left.
With a glance up at the sky, she darted across the open street to the wall, shifting forms just a few strides before she reached it to make scaling it easier. When she was at the top of the wall, the white fur melted away into a black cloak, concealing her once more in the shadows. Night insects buzzed and chirped, and the sound of voices could barely be made out some distance ahead to the north. It was in this direction that she crept, still on top of the wall for no other reason than her preference for being in high places when given the choice. There was a path right beneath her, but she couldn’t see much beyond that due to the trees that grew up past her line of vision on the other side of it. She was halfway to the north end when she saw another sniw fly into view and start its descent towards the point ahead where she thought she could hear voices. With one swish of a cloak and barely a sound otherwise, she was down on the other side of the wall and standing on a path that ran north and south with the wall on one side and heavy underbrush on the other.
Her keen night senses helped her navigate through the jungle of plants that hung over the paths. Once she was struck with the sweet aroma of roses and realized that many of the plants were actually overgrown ornamental plants and that she was walking through what used to be a garden.
“It’s been at least fifty years since they’ve seen a gardener’s shears,” she said to herself.
The path soon veered to the right and cut away from the wall deeper into the garden. It then started splitting at almost every turn into a network of paths that twisted and turned and crossed each other. When she came to a bench beside the path in an area where the brush wasn’t so high, she stood on it and was finally able to see that the wall went all the way around the garden, forming a huge enclosed courtyard. The roof of a building could be seen at the north end not much farther ahead.
She made her way in that direction and was soon standing at the edge of the wilderness of a flower garden with an overgrown lawn spread out in front of her. The sight made her draw in her breath.
“The Norville Mansion,” she whispered in awe.
When she and Gillio were in training, one of the classes he’d slept through was a history class about some of the great victories of warriors past. Based on the drawings she’d seen, this was unmistakably the Norville Mansion, built by Able Norville and later turned into a commune by the sniw that used Able Norville as his puppet. She ran through the whole story in her head to make sure she remembered all of the facts.
Halfway between where she stood and the building, there was a fountain. As she crouched, still hidden in the bushes, she watched as a young woman sat on the edge of the fountain, staring up at the stone sea monster whose mouth had spouted water when the fountain had been in operation. Now it was covered in moss. The pool around it was green-tinted around the edges, but in the middle it reflected the stars above and torches that burned on either side of the huge wooden doors of the building. The woman sat with her back to Jekka and was soon joined by a sniw with a twisted, deformed beak who flew over from one of the mansion’s basement windows. It had something in its talons which it handed to her.
“Aren’t you going to come inside?” it rasped.
When the woman turned to face the sniw, Jekka raised an eyebrow in surprise. It was Charlemaine, the woman who had been bothering Gillio at the inn. She’d obviously already had a lot to drink and looked terrible.
“I’m not sure I want to,” she slurred.
“Have a drink,” the sniw hissed. “Then decide.”
She did. “I still don’t know.”
“We’ll be waiting for you,” it said, and then flew back into the basement window. Jekka could tell by the noise that there was quite a crowd inside. The noise seemed to echo through a very large room. Sniws could sense the presence of a southerner, but she figured as long as she stayed far enough away, whatever terrors were going on inside would distract them from sensing her if she came just a little bit closer.
When Jekka neared the fountain, Charlemaine looked up and stared at her, shocked at seeing her there at all, let alone with black stripes all over her skin.
“What do you want?” she stammered. “What are you doing here?”
“Nothing,” said Jekka. “And I’d appreciate it if you forget that you even saw me. Given the state you’re in, that shouldn’t be too difficult. I just saw you with that sniw and wanted to talk to you.”
“I don’t need any help,” Charlemaine said defensively, but she wouldn’t look Jekka in the eye. “It’s my own affaire; I can handle it.”
“I can see that,” said Jekka sarcastically. She reached down and unfastened one of the belts around her waist. It held the smallest of her daggers which had a silver and black embossed hilt. It was her favorite, but its size made it easy to conceal which would be important.
“I think you might need this,” she said, handing it over to Charlemaine. Without any more explanation, she turned and began to walk back into the tangles of rosebushes and lil
acs.
“What is it for?” Charlemaine called out.
“You’ll figure it out,” Jekka replied just as she ducked under the nearest bush and out of sight. She shifted shapes and ran as quickly as she could through the maze of paths, not taking any particular route but turning south and west whenever given the chance until she reached the wall. Her white paws scampered up the inside, and her black boots landed lightly on the outside street. Breakfast nickered at the sound and started prancing as Jekka approached, bored from standing still so long. The horse was eager to go tearing back through to streets. The two raced excitedly in a generally southwestern direction until Jekka started to recognize her surroundings. As they neared the inn, she let go of the reins and took a moment to cover the markings on her face and hands in case Rheen had come back. Jekka wasn’t sure she could trust Rheen with her secret just yet.
**********
Meanwhile, Aenin and Gillio had been moving at a fair pace after Jekka left, but suddenly Aenin broke out into a gallop.
“We have trouble!” he said over his shoulder to Gillio who was close behind.
Chapter 12
Rheen was still sitting with her back against the wall. Her eyes were closed, and she was drifting between thinking and dreaming. She jolted awake when two shapes dropped down out of the sky in front of her. There was a wild look in their hideous eyes which was very different from the sly, cunning look of the sniws she’d encountered so far on this journey. They lashed out their tongues, tasting her fear as an appetizer of what was to come. Rheen knew she was finally being attacked, and she had nothing to protect herself with. Her sword was somewhere in the clutter of the basement across the street.
“Wait!” she commanded. “Let’s talk this through.”
“Come now,” said the sniw on the right. “We all know you’re completely defenseless. Let’s not draw this out.”
“On the other hand,” hissed its partner, “why not draw it out? I love the way they taste when they’ve had fear coursing through their veins for a while.”
Rheen took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. If she was going to end up getting eaten, she wanted to be as tasteless as possible.
She was backed against the wall and they were spaced out in front of her, watching her every move. She looked up and thought she might be able to reach the top of the wall if she jumped, but she wasn’t sure that would do her much good because they could just fly up and catch her. That was when she realized that most of her escape tactics involved getting up high which was not very helpful in this situation.
“Why are you attacking me now?” she asked, stalling for time. “You’ve had plenty of opportunities before.”
She looked across the street at the house Rove, Kenn, and Jess were in. They were probably sleeping by now, and even if she could get them to come outside somehow, she wasn’t sure what they would be able to do. She would likely just be putting them in danger as well.
“We’re just following orders,” said the sniw on the left. “Our chief left out all of the details.”
“He told us to go hunting,” said the other. “We’re not going to argue with that.”
She looked up and down the street. There was an access panel to the drainage system below the streets about thirty feet away, but she realized there was no way she could reach it and lift the heavy grate off to get inside before they tore her apart.
“This is it then,” she said out loud. She had mostly given up hope but was also still stalling them in case there was somehow a chance of escape. “I’ve finally been outmatched. I wasn’t sure it would ever happen. If you get the chance, tell the southerners I’m sorry I left. Tell Kenn and Jess they were great friends. Tell Rove it wasn’t his fault that I got eaten after he kicked me out; there’s no way he could have known.”
“Touching,” said the sniw on the right. “Are you finished?”
She heard hoofbeats coming from the north. The sniws were too focused on her to notice.
“I’m not finished,” she said. She just needed to stall them for a little bit longer. Maybe it was someone who would help her. “Tell the woman with the fruit stand I’m sorry I took her apple and the maid with the jackalope I’m sorry I caused her so much trouble. Tell the jackalope I hope it had a great, exciting day.”
By now the rider was close enough for the sniws to notice. They looked over but didn’t react right away.
“Davick,” hissed a sniw. Rheen wasn’t sure which one. “What are you doing here?”
Davick didn’t say a word but raced forward and lopped off the head of the first sniw he could reach. The other sniw watched in horror and then launched into the sky and flew east.
Davick dismounted and hurried up to Rheen. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Rheen could feel herself start to shake all over as she stared at the decapitated sniw, but she wasn’t going to admit it. “I’m fine,” she said.
She folded her arms, gripped them tightly, and tried to steady her breathing. Davick put an arm around her shoulders, and she relaxed a little.
**********
“I think she’s okay,” said Aenin, but he didn’t slow his horse at all. “The sniws were fought off.”
“By what?” asked Gillio.
“A man came up on his horse,” said Aenin. “I’m not sure where from, I was watching Rheen and the sniws and then he was there. He killed one, and the other flew off.”
**********
“I’ve been looking for you,” said Davick.
“I figured you all would be,” said Rheen. She took a shaky breath. “I’m sorry I left.”
“I don’t blame you for leaving,” said Davick. “I would have, too. I heard more of the story, and it sounds like you were basically a prisoner. But I think you misunderstood. When I said I’d been looking for you, I was only speaking for myself. The southerners gave up looking for you after the first night.”
“Did they?” asked Rheen. She was glad that she hadn’t wasted a bunch of their time but was also a little hurt.
“Yes,” said Davick. “I was worried you might still be in trouble, so I kept looking. If you want, I don’t need to tell them I found you. I know of a place you can stay for a while if you need it.”
Rheen looked back at him with interest, but she wasn’t going to write off the southerners so easily again. She felt like she owed it to them. “Are you sure they didn’t just stop looking because of the storm or something?”
“I hate to say this,” said Davick, “but I’m sure that wasn’t it. The storm stopped today and there wasn’t any mention of trying to find you.”
Rheen felt a pang of disappointment in her chest and was just about to ask Davick to tell her more about the place he’d mentioned when they both became aware of two more sets of hoof beats coming up from the south. A moment later, Aenin and Gillio rounded the corner and rode up to join them.
“You’re okay,” said Gillio, breathing a sigh of relief. “We were running like crazy to make it here in time.”
At the sight of them, every trace of doubt cleared from Rheen’s mind. She wondered how she could have forgotten the kindness and honesty she could see in their faces.
“You’re here!” was all she could think to say.
“I’m so glad you were here to help her out,” Aenin told Davick. “How did you know she was in trouble?”
“I could ask you the same question,” he replied.
They both eyed each other suspiciously for a moment until Davick broke the silence.
“The important thing is that she’s safe now.”
“Indeed,” said Aenin, but his gaze told Davick that the matter wasn’t going to be so easily forgotten.
“Where have you been?” Gillio asked Rheen. “Where were you headed?”
Rheen glanced back at Davick and then over at the house Rove and the others were in. Then her eyes met with Gillio’s. “I joined up with some old friends and things didn’t work out. If it’s still alright, I think…”
“You’re more than welcome to come back with us if that’s what you’re trying to say,” said Gillio eagerly.
She smiled. “Yes, thank you.”
Gillio offered her a hand and then pulled her up so she was sitting behind his saddle. Davick mounted his own horse and turned to them with forced composure.
“We will be seeing you in the morning, I assume?” Aenin asked him.
“I believe so,” said Davick, and without another word he turned and rode back up the street.
Aenin and Gillio turned and cantered back towards the inn. Gillio’s horse sprang forward so quickly that Rheen had to grab around Gillio’s waist to stay on. She gripped him tighter than necessary and took a long, shaky breath.
“Gillio,” she said after a moment.
“Yes?” he asked.
“I’m sorry for leaving.”
“Don’t even worry about it,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re back.”
**********
The sniw flapped its way back to the Norville Mansion. It was so distressed that it didn’t notice Jekka jump down from the wall as it flew over. It passed where Charlemaine sat on the edge of the old fountain and slipped into one of the basement windows. It hurried its way through the rowdy crowd of sniws fluttering around the huge room to the far end where the platform was. The chief sniw was rested in the middle of it, and Filen was seated at its side.
“Well?” the chief sniw asked. “What happened? You return alone.”
“We were attacked!” said the sniw. “The one who was with me was killed.”
“Was it the southerners?” asked the chief.
“No,” answered the sniw. “It was Davick.”
“And the girl?”
“Escaped.”
“Have you told anyone about this?” asked the chief.
“No,” said the sniw. “I came straight to you.”
“Well done,” said the chief sniw. It lashed out and snapped its beak closed around the lesser sniw’s neck which then fell to the ground, dead.
They received a few glances from the sniws and people nearby, but no one really gave it much thought.
Eilinland- Through the Wall Page 13