Bierno and Aenin ran down the stairs and towards the far end of the room where Filen and Davick’s sniw were still fighting. When they got close, they smelled smoke. Just as Jekka had said, there were small fires scattered throughout the room, and they were growing rapidly.
They moved a little bit closer and saw a huge set of wings flapping and sending dust out in breathtaking spirals. The wings and the dust were silhouetted by the flames behind them. Aenin strung his bow as they inched closer, waiting for a clear shot.
Both Filen and Davick’s sniw were already badly wounded. Filen had a deep mark in his arm where the sniw had clamped down on it with its beak, and there were also scratch marks from the sniw’s talons all over Filen’s body. The sniw was missing one of its front feet and had several gashes from Filen’s sword. Exhausted, they both backed away from each other to catch their breath.
Aenin saw his opportunity and sent his arrow flying through the air and into the sniw’s side. It cried out in pain, and Filen finished it off with one swipe of his sword. Then he turned to Bierno and Aenin.
“You!” he shouted angrily. “You’ve destroyed everything!”
He came at them and swung his sword down on Bierno.
Bierno blocked the attack skillfully. “It’s for the best,” he told Filen. “It was destroying you.”
“It was my life’s work!” Filen shouted. He aimed a series of angry blows at Bierno who blocked every one. Aenin stood nearby with his daggers drawn, ready to jump in if it was needed.
**********
Meanwhile, Jekka reached the hallway where the animals were kept and shifted back into human form. She grabbed a whip off of a peg on the wall and then opened up the door to the first room. A lion leapt out and looked her over. She cracked the whip in the air, and it shied away and ran up the hallway. Whether from instinct or its keen senses, it knew which direction to run and made a dash for the open doors. She moved on to the next room which housed the bull and then onto the next which held another lion. After a few more species of large cats, another bull, and a black bear, she had only one room left to go: the room the dragon was in. She was just about to open the door when she heard a loud cracking noise behind her and looked back.
**********
Filen was hysterical. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get past Bierno’s expert parries, and neither Bierno nor Aenin were fighting back.
“Come with us, and you can sort everything out when we’ve made it to safety,” Bierno told Filen. “This building is going to fall down on our heads if we stay here much longer.”
“This is where I belong!” Filen shouted back. “I’ve won; it’s mine! If it’s going up in flames then I’m going with it!”
“There are other things you can do,” Bierno said. “Why throw your life away for an empty building?”
“There is nothing else!” exclaimed Filen with a bitter look in his eyes. In a sudden rage, he advanced at Bierno with a new surge of energy.
**********
Miles and miles to the south, three dark figures lay on the soft grass behind a little house west of the City of Eilin. When the boys had trouble falling asleep that night, Sonya had suggested some late night star gazing. They were now lying on their backs in the grass and watching the stars mill about until the shining specks were stilled in slumber. The boys were just starting to get tired and Sonya was thinking of taking them inside when Ricky broke the long silence.
“I miss daddy,” he said.
Sonya felt as if she’d been stabbed in the heart. “I miss him, too,” she said.
The boys knew better than to ask when he was coming back because the answer was always ‘whenever he’s finished beating up all of the bad guys.’
“Would you like to sing the song Aenin taught us?” Sonya asked.
In answer, both of the boys started singing. Sonya joined in.
“If the road takes you far from the place you call home
Wherever you wander, wherever you roam
May your King be your armor and wisdom your guide
And in victory come and return to our side”
**********
Bierno began to falter as Filen continued his relentless attack. Aenin leapt forward as he saw Filen prepare to strike at Bierno’s unprotected side and blocked the blow with crossed daggers.
**********
“If trouble befalls you and death seems at hand
Whoever your foe and whatever his plan
May your King light the way ‘til a refuge you find
And in victory come and return to our side”
**********
There was a huge cracking noise: the same cracking noise Jekka heard on her way to free the dragon.
“We have to go now!” shouted Aenin. The pillar at the center of the room had caught on fire a few minutes earlier and had weakened. The cracking noise was it giving way at the bottom and falling a few feet to the side where it now was propped precariously at the top against a cross beam. Bierno and Aenin ran. Each looked back once to see Filen walking resolutely in the direction of the podium where he and the chief sniw had sat.
As Bierno and Aenin ran, beams began tumbling down behind them. As the noise grew louder and the floor shook harder, it began to look like they would never reach the door before the roof had caved in on top of them.
“Save yourself!” Bierno shouted to Aenin. He knew Aenin had the ability to shoot like a comet back up to the rest of his star in the sky at any moment.
“We are in this together,” replied Aenin. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
The image of the dust, beams, and smoke faded away as Bierno’s mind filled with another scene. It was Sonya standing on the porch and waving with her long, beautiful golden hair blowing in the wind. Trent and Ricky came running through the door past her and raced towards him.
**********
“When the journey is long and the darkness prevails
When your strength is subsiding, when fortitude fails
May your King give you spirit and friends to provide
And in victory come and return to our side”
**********
Bierno and Aenin were halfway to the door when they heard Jekka shouting behind them. They turned and saw her flying towards them on the back of the dragon. She had looped one end of the whip around the base of its wing and the rest of it dangled down nearly twenty feet. Bierno jumped and grabbed it as the dragon flew over, and Aenin grabbed Bierno’s free hand. The ceiling crashed down around them, and the dragon blew a long blast of fire at anything still standing as if it meant to ensure the destruction of the place that had held it captive. Somehow they made it through the door just as the wall caved in. Bierno let go of the rope as soon as they were through, and he and Aenin landed and rolled to a stop on the lawn. Jekka leapt down after them and they all lay in the grass for a moment, coughing from smoke and exertion.
**********
“Now it’s bedtime for both of you,” Sonya told the boys at the completion of their song. She followed them into the house, humming.
**********
Jekka, Bierno, and Aenin watched the dragon circle around to the northwest and make for the mountains. The whip, which Jekka had only looped around its wing once for leverage, fell to the ground before the dragon was out of sight.
“We did it,” said Jekka as her gaze fell on the blazing mansion before them.
“Our work, regrettably, isn’t done,” said Bierno. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to be done with the mission and back home, but he knew there was much more to do. “We have a few very busy days ahead of us.”
“We are done for tonight though,” said Aenin. “The captives are home safe, thanks to you, and now we all need rest.”
“Of course,” said Bierno. “Let’s go find Gillio and Rheen.”
They hurried through the courtyard and found Gillio and Rheen waiting anxiously for them just outside of the gate.
“We were almost ready
to come in and look for you,” said Gillio. “We saw the building collapse a few moments ago and feared the worst.”
“Thanks to Jekka’s quick thinking, we made it out just in time,” said Bierno. “How are things out here?”
“Peaceful,” said Gillio. “We walked up and down the surrounding streets for a little while but didn’t see any sign of trouble. All of the sniws seemed to be flying far off to the northeast, so all of our friends likely made it home to safety.”
“That’s the direction of Rundyl’s island,” said Aenin.
“He will likely hear the news before the night is over,” said Bierno. “There isn’t much he can do now though. He relies on secrecy for his plans, and the news of what happened here tonight will spread quickly through the city. He will need to lay low for a while now.”
“So, what happens now?” asked Rheen. She wanted to know what the next step in the mission was, but she was also fishing for some indication of what would happen to her now that the mission seemed to be coming to an end.
“We will spend some time with each of the freed captives and their families over the next few days,” said Bierno. “We’ll offer them the chance to come south with us to get a fresh start after everything they’ve been through.”
“Can I travel back with you as well?” asked Rheen.
All four of the warriors answered some variation of ‘yes’ or ‘of course’ at once. Rheen smiled.
Aenin let out a low whistle, and soon they heard several sets of hooves coming around a corner. The horses came into view led by Qisk who had managed to dump Davick somewhere miles away and then return.
No one said very much on the way back to the inn, and they were all relieved when they reached their beds and slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter 16
Rheen woke up very late the next morning. She felt sore and bruised all over from her fake fight in the arena the night before. Jekka was still sleeping in the top bunk on the other side of the room, so Rheen slipped out of the room quietly after changing into a fresh set of clothes (she had been too tired to change before falling asleep).
She found Gillio sitting at a table alone downstairs. He was eating a late breakfast, so she got a plate of her own and sat next to him.
“Good morning,” he said between bites.
“Good morning,” she said.
“How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Really well. You?”
“Like a rock.”
“Rocks don’t sleep.”
He thought for a moment. “Like a cat.”
“Jekka’s still sleeping,” said Rheen.
“Then somewhere between a rock and a cat,” said Gillio.
“That works,” laughed Rheen. “Are Bierno and Aenin up yet?”
“They got up and left to start meeting with people a while ago,” said Gillio. “Aenin doesn’t need as much sleep as we do, and Bierno’s willing to forget about sleep for a while if it means finishing up here and getting back to his family sooner I think. I’m personally in no rush. I just have a bunch of animals to get back to.”
“You have family in the city, don’t you? I thought I remembered someone mentioning your parents.”
“Yes,” said Gillio. “I suppose I have them, too, but we don’t see each other very often. They aren’t very interested in what I’m doing these days.”
“That’s too bad,” said Rheen. “They’re really missing out.”
“Thank you for saying that,” said Gillio. “Now, what about you? Do you have any family in Vree?”
Rheen took a deep breath. Trusting Jekka two nights ago had worked out well; why not take another chance? “If I do have family somewhere, I don’t know it.”
“Oh, really?” asked Gillio. “Were you raised by jackalopes?”
Rheen laughed. “I was not.”
“It would explain how you’re so good at leaping around all of the time.”
“I don’t leap around all of the time.”
“And your fondness of lettuce.”
“That’s true.”
“And the horns growing out of your head.”
“What?!”
They both laughed. Rheen felt relieved. She had imagined Gillio overreacting and pitying her if he learned more about her, but he seemed to be handling it well.
“Considering that there aren’t horns growing out of your head,” continued Gillio, “where did you grow up? How did you end up here?”
Rheen finally dropped her guard and jumped into her whole story. She told him why she didn’t know about her parents, what it was like growing up in the orphanage, and how she started to worry about what she would do when she was kicked out. She told him about meeting Rove, becoming part of his group, and the troubles that led to her wanting to travel south. Jekka joined them halfway through the story and asked questions until she was filled in on everything she had missed.
“What did you think of the south when you got there?” asked Gillio.
“The first thing I remember thinking is that it seemed richer and more alive,” Rheen answered. “I managed to get a ride in a merchant’s cart for the last bit of the journey, and when we travelled through the door to the southern kingdom, I felt like I had never seen color as bright as the green in the leaves and as brown as the bark and the dirt. The city seemed not much different from Vree though. It was full of a mixture of kind people and unpleasant people. I was disappointed to see that the culture and ambitions were very much the same as here. I had trouble finding people I felt like I could trust.”
“That’s not how things are supposed to be,” said Gillio. “As long as there is darkness, there is shadow. Ever since the King opened the door we’re able to go live under his reign in the south, but the shadow is able to reach into the south as well. Even if it’s not as bad as the north, much of the south is tainted by Rundyl’s influence.”
“What are we supposed to do, then?” asked Rheen.
“Fight back the shadows,” said Gillio, “in ourselves and in our surroundings.”
“Aenin would disagree,” said Jekka. “He would say that it’s not just about fighting shadow; we also need to be light. He could even expound on what that means in a practical sense.”
“Jekka never tells us her own opinions,” Gillio said to Rheen. “She just tells us what other people think.”
“Maybe that’s because I don’t have an opinion,” said Jekka. “Either of you could be right.”
They talked a little bit longer and then spent the rest of the day cleaning laundry and resting. Jekka went out for a little while in the afternoon to make arrangements for the animals at the Norville Estate to be transported to the wild.
That night, when they were in their room and getting ready to go to sleep, Jekka suddenly stopped organizing the clothes in her bag and turned to Rheen.
“So,” she began.
Rheen looked over at her quizzically.
“You are now privy to a somewhat sensitive piece of information,” Jekka continued.
“Oh, yes,” said Rheen, understanding now where the conversation was going. She’d had questions about Jekka since the fight in the arena but hadn’t known how to bring it up.
“I’m not sure how much you know about my kind,” Jekka said.
“I knew you existed,” said Rheen. “I’ve never met a…”
“Were-creature,” filled in Jekka. “We have no qualms about being called creatures, don’t worry.”
Rheen laughed. “I wasn’t sure if you called yourselves that. Anyway, I’ve never met a were-creature in person that I know of. I didn’t know about you until last night though, so it’s possible I’ve met others without knowing it.”
Jekka nodded. “Most choose to keep it a secret. I have a harder time of it than a lot of other species because of my markings.”
“Why keep it a secret?” asked Rheen.
“Humans and were-creatures haven’t always been on the best terms. Disagreements and battles have led to
wariness on both sides. There are plenty of people who still feel like were-creatures can’t be trusted: that we’re bloodthirsty, primitive, and cruel. I try to only tell people that I know believe otherwise.”
“So what are you going to do about everyone who saw you transform last night?” asked Rheen.
“I’ve been thinking about it,” said Jekka, “and I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. More than half of them were intoxicated, and the rest probably won’t want to admit to being a part of what happened at the Norville Estate when word gets out. The captives are the only people who don’t have anything to be ashamed of, and they were all out in the hallways and never saw me.”
Rheen nodded.
“Rundyl and his sniws have known for a long time,” added Jekka. “They’ll spread the rumor around whenever it benefits them. We’ve run into trouble on other missions because they tell people and it breaks some of the trust we’ve built. Bierno’s let me stay anyway though. I think I make up for it when we’re fighting. I’ve killed countless sniws in the few years I’ve been on the team.”
“He doesn’t seem the sort of person to make someone leave because they’re making things difficult, anyway,” said Rheen.
“Right,” said Jekka, studying Rheen’s downcast eyes. “Anyway, all of that was just to say: don’t tell anyone about me.”
“Of course,” said Rheen, looking back up. “And don’t worry about being misunderstood by me. I don’t believe any strange ideas about were-creatures being savage, even though I am currently covered in bruises from getting in a fight with one.”
“Yes, well, sorry for being so heavy,” Jekka said with a sniff. She turned away to continue organizing her bags, but not before Rheen saw her smile.
Rheen flopped back on her bed and closed her eyes. The day had been wonderful. She had a sense of security she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
**********
Two mornings later, Rheen was pleased to wake up to the sound of birds singing outside of the window. Bierno and Aenin had been out all day again the day before, and Rheen had gone with Gillio and Jekka to gather supplies for the journey back to the south. They were supposed to be leaving today. When Rheen looked around the room, she noticed Jekka was gone along with all of her luggage, so she dressed quickly and took her own bags downstairs.
Eilinland- Through the Wall Page 18