by Melina Grace
Still annoyed with him, she looked the other way and noticed Janen walking past her, plate piled high with food, to rejoin Jispri and Corin. Disappointed, she looked down at her plate and continued to eat her meal slowly. Garner broke the silence, “I’m sorry about before. I never intended to offend you,” he said softly.
“Of course I know you can get off a horse by yourself. You are a great horsewoman. Not many people can cope with the hard riding we did when you first joined the band, even with Kalen’s magic salve. I love to watch you ride. You and Indira move like you are one creature. And your seat is sensational.” Caris, hearing a different inflection in his voice during his last comment, looked up. His eyes were twinkling and he was smiling. She had been ready to forgive him but he was only mocking her. She got up and started collecting people’s plates to wash them.
They had been riding for a while the next morning when Garner joined her. She had been enjoying her solitude but was relieved to see he held no hard feelings after her rudeness the previous evening. After a few idle comments, they rode in silence. The trees around them had grown thicker and Caris could no longer see the bare land through them. The morning was hot and the air thick with humidity, sapping the desire for conversation from them.
Caris was riding farther forward in the group than she usually did and found herself behind Kalen. Not for the first time she wondered about this quiet self-contained woman who seemed so content even though she had not seen her love in years and couldn’t even know he still lived. She wished she could attain some of the assurance that allowed Kalen to demand her own space, without losing the friendship or esteem of those around her.
Around mid morning, they slowed from a canter to a brisk walk. Caris was listening with half an ear to Garner’s tales of life in the city when she began to feel cold. She looked for some sign as to why the temperature had dropped but could find none. Her limbs felt increasingly chilled and she began to fear she was getting sick. As she looked around at the surrounding trees, the colour seemed to drain out of the world.
In front of her, Kalen let out a loud gasp. Caris watched her take a moment to steady herself, then quickly kick her horse forward to join Crispin. She spoke urgently with shaky gestures. Crispin wheeled his horse around to face them and called out, “There’s trouble ahead! Pair up!”
Caris looked at Garner expecting to pair with him but, without even glancing at her, he kneed his horse and cantered over to join Holmen, a tall broad shouldered, barrel-chested young man who she had seldom seen him talk to. She looked around wondering whom she could pair with. She noticed Bridee and Frystal take off ahead at a gallop, Bonny dropped back to care for the spare horses, and then Syngar was by her side.
“Get your bow ready Caris, and whatever happens you stick with me!” he ordered as he kneed his horse into a gallop with the rest of the band.
They rode hard, Kalen by Crispin’s side at their head. They had not gone far when Kalen gestured to Crispin and led them off the road and into the bush. Forced by the brush to slow their horses, they searched for ways through the undergrowth. People broke off in pairs to find easier passage but still stayed close to the group. Bridee and Frystal rejoined them speaking urgently to Crispin.
Crispin held his arm straight in the air and as everyone watched, he held up five fingers. Immediately, everyone began to reshuffle. Garner and Holmen, who had been riding off to the side, urged their mounts in directly behind Crispin, followed closely by the rest of the group, apart from Bridee and Frystal who peeled off to the west. To Caris’ surprise, she noticed Syngar gesturing to her to follow him as he veered off into the bush to the east.
She followed Syngar as he weaved through the brush away from the main group. She could hear the others charging forward as fast as they were able through the bush. They hadn’t gone far when she heard the sounds of battle joined. Syngar quickly led her amongst the trees until they had circled around to the east edge of the fighting. He dismounted and Caris followed quickly.
She went to tether Indira who was nervous and jumpy but Syngar, seeing what she was doing, motioned and said, “If you value her, don’t tether her.” Worried that Indira would flee this place of terror but obedient to Syngar’s instruction, she left her and followed him quietly as he moved stealthily through the trees to a point where they could overlook the fight.
Finding a thick-limbed tree, he nimbly scrambled up and perched on the lowest branch, then reached down to pull Caris up behind him. Though hidden by the tree’s thick foliage they could see clearly down to where the others fought. What Caris saw, struck terror into her heart.
CHAPTER SIX
Janen had ridden out early with Tilda and Bek, relieved to get away from the main group. He was finding it increasingly difficult to watch Garner’s attentions to Caris. He knew he should be glad for her that someone with a good trade who could provide so well was interested in her, but he always knew Caris would make a good match. It had surprised him that no one had sought her hand as soon as she turned sixteen. He had heard the jokes about her straight black hair and green eyes, but had thought them just a cover to hide true feelings.
Janen had always thought Caris the most remarkable and beautiful girl in the village. He had sought her out despite his brother’s warnings of a broken heart. His dad had often chided him to turn his affections to someone from a poorer family. It was highly unlikely they would ever have a good enough harvest to raise even a small bride price, but they would definitely never raise enough for someone from Caris’ family. Everyone knew what her three older sisters had won. Janen, however, had no interest in anyone else, and once he started bringing home so much well needed meat, the objections quieted.
He tried to focus on the bush around him; nothing moved. An inner unrest tried to alert him that something wasn’t right, but all he could think of was Caris. Whenever he was away from her, he missed her and couldn’t wait to get back to her. He loved their conversations, he had never met anyone who saw things the way she did. She had a unique way of seeing and interpreting the world that fascinated him and challenged him to stretch his perspective and imagination.
Whenever he headed back to meet her these days, however, it was with mixed feelings. He was always afraid of finding her with Garner; he hated to be jealous, he wanted what was best for her. It just hurts so much, he thought.
Janen’s uneasiness grew stronger; he looked through the trees to where Tilda was riding. She looked tense and extra alert. She motioned for him to come to her, and he quietly steered Prince toward her. He was proud of how quickly Prince had learnt to move noiselessly through the bush. Bek was remarkable with his horse skills. He had shown Janen how to train Prince and his horse had picked it up quickly.
“Something smells wrong, I think there may be lost ones nearby,” Tilda said when Janen reached her.
“Lost ones?” he asked quietly.
“Grey ones, grey people.”
Janen shook his head, never having heard of them. Tilda looked around for Bek who was coming from the other direction. He stopped to look at something, and then continued toward them.
“This feels wrong,” he said.
“What are lost ones?” Janen asked. Bek gasped and became even more alert, if that were possible.
“The stolen, the Dark One’s servants.”
Janen continued to look at her in confusion.
Tilda sighed impatiently. “They are people who the Dark Lord has enspelled. They are instantly recognisable by their unnatural grey pallor. But even without their grey skin you would easily know them by their rank body odour, unkempt filthy condition, and vacant eyes. Come! We get confirmation, find their location and numbers, and get word back to Crispin. They can’t be too close or we would hear them. Stealth is one of the many skills they do not possess.”
They spread out again and moved forward more quickly, Janen’s thoughts, now completely on the task at hand. As he rode, he became increasingly convinced they were heading in the wrong direc
tion. He couldn’t pin point where the conviction came from. The trees ahead were as quiet as those behind, but his back felt somehow dirty. Eventually he rode up to Tilda and told her his thoughts. She looked at him speculatively and then called Bek in. She shared Janen’s suspicions with Bek, and they all discussed their options.
“There’s something not right, we should have found them by now,” Tilda said. “We will turn back, if they’re not behind us, we will alert Crispin before heading out to gain more information. If they are behind us, then we need to get warning to the Horse as fast as possible.” She looked back the way they had come, her brow creased. “Hopefully we’re not too late.”
They fanned out and started heading back the way they had come, every sense alert for any disturbance ahead. Janen’s apprehension mounted the farther they rode. He felt sure the danger lay in the direction they were heading, but the longer it took them to discover the lost ones, the closer the peril lay to the Horse and Caris.
Finally, he became aware of noise ahead. He motioned to Tilda and she relayed the message to Bek who was riding through the bush on her other side. They slowed, seeking to creep up on the imposters to this previously harmonious bush. When Janen had gotten as close as he could without risking discovery, he reined Prince in. He looked over to Tilda who was dismounting; following suit, he began to tether Prince but Tilda motioned for him to tie Prince’s reins up to the saddle instead. Confused, Janen obeyed before creeping through the trees to gain a closer look.
He lost sight of Tilda as she too crept through the trees. There was too much noise ahead, it was not loud but it was spread over a wide area. He headed for a thick clump of bushes and silently worked his way through them until he could peer out unseen. At least a score of strange looking people were spread through the trees. They sat and stood around as if waiting for something. They didn’t talk but fidgeted and scratched themselves constantly, occasionally loudly shushing someone who trod on a stick or moved too noisily. He looked farther afield, he couldn’t see far but grey ones were spread through the trees as far as the bushes permitted his inspection.
Quietly, Janen made his way back to Prince. He waited for Tilda and Bek to return, stroking his uneasy horse in long calming movements. Before long, Tilda and Bek joined him. Even though it was unlikely the lost ones would hear them over their own shuffling noise, Tilda, Bek, and Janen communicated in the quiet hand language they had been teaching him. He couldn’t communicate as extensively as the other two, but numbers and directions were easy enough to convey and understand.
“At least two score toward the east,” signalled Bek.
“Two score to the west,” added Janen.
“No way through the middle,” signalled Tilda.
Janen looked at Tilda, awaiting directions. She frowned, deep in thought. She signalled that she was trying to decide whether to circle them to the east or to head back to The King’s road. Janen considered. If they rode to the east, they could gather more information about how many lost ones were present, leaving the road in the hands of the road scouts. However, if the road scouts hadn’t noticed anything, then they wouldn’t take warning back to Crispin. Janen wanted to get warning to the Horse as quickly as possible. He watched Tilda, waiting for her decision.
“We head for the road, after we’ve gotten word to Crispin we can seek more information,” she signalled.
Janen nodded and mounted Prince. They headed back the way they had come, putting some distance between themselves and the lost ones; then fanning out once more, they moved as quickly as they dared toward the road.
They hadn’t gone far when Janen became aware of noises ahead; he turned to signal Tilda. She nodded that she had heard and signalled for Bek to follow her to Janen, but before she had reached him, Janen became aware of more sound to his left. The woods are full of them! How did so many arrive so fast without us becoming aware of them sooner? He wondered with growing alarm. He started heading toward Tilda. She gestured again and the three of them started heading east. She kicked her horse into a brisk walk and Janen realised they were in very real danger of becoming surrounded.
They rode unhindered for some time, before Tilda started leading them back north. Soon, they became aware of people ahead and with a worried look, Tilda started heading due east again. As they neared a clearing they began to circle around it, but realised there were grey ones coming from the other direction as well. Tilda gestured for Janen and Bek to come to her.
Suddenly grey ones were pouring out of the bushes all around Bek! Janen and Tilda kicked their horses and raced to his defence. Bek lay about him with his sword. His horse reared and kicked more than one grey one to the ground.
There were too many, however, and they pulled him from his saddle before Janen and Tilda could reach him.
Tilda reined in beside Bek just ahead of Janen. She leapt from her horse’s back and slapping it hard on its rump fought the grey ones back from where Bek lay on the ground. Janen cut into grey ones from his terrified horse’s back until he became aware of Tilda shouting at him.
“Let Prince loose!”
“What?” Janen yelled back over the screeching of the lost ones. He still couldn’t understand why she had dismounted herself, when she could have fought much more effectively and safely from her horse.
“Let Prince loose,” she repeated.
Janen didn’t understand, but he’d grown accustomed to obeying Tilda’s orders. He leapt from Prince’s back, using his downward motion to cut into a lost one’s shoulder. He turned, cutting another grey one down, while slapping Prince hard on his rump and sending him running off through the trees.
Janen and Tilda fought hard. Bek lay on the ground, blood oozing from his stomach. The grey ones weren’t good fighters but the trees were full of them, and the sound of the commotion was drawing more of them all the time.
Janen turned to meet a fresh wave that burst out of the bushes. He had killed two when he heard Tilda yelling.
“Janen! They’ve got Bek!”
Still fighting, Janen managed to catch a glimpse of a group of grey ones running off with Bek on their shoulders. He moved backwards away from his assailants, cutting down two more, until he was able to turn and run after Tilda. They caught up with Bek in a clearing.
Rage filled Janen as he saw their mistreatment of his friend. Blindly he ploughed into them. He saw his victims through a haze of red, as he spun and slashed with lightening speed. He had severed the heads from all six of Bek’s assailants before Tilda had lifted her sword.
Fury leant strength to his movements. With a roar, he pursued and killed every lost one in the clearing. He looked around for another enemy, but they were all either dead or hiding in the trees.
“Janen, I need your help.”
It was hard for him to hear Tilda’s voice through the pounding in his ears.
“Janen, please, Bek needs your help!”
He tried to focus on her words.
“Janen, we need you.”
Janen stared at Tilda, trying to make sense of what she was saying. He looked around for someone to fight but the lost ones were still hiding.
“Janen, please help us.”
He looked back at Tilda. She was on the ground next to Bek trying to staunch the blood pouring from his wounds. He tried to step toward them but it was hard to move.
“Janen!”
His hands were shaking, but he forced himself over to Tilda’s side. She tore part of his shirt off and wadded it into the gash on Bek’s stomach. Taking Janen’s hands she pushed them down firmly onto Bek’s side, holding them down with her own.
“Take deep breaths Janen. Right now, you need to focus on your surroundings. Have you ever gone into a battle-frenzy before?” she asked.
Janen stared at his blood soaked hands, barely aware that Tilda had asked him a question.
“Janen, take deep breaths. You went into a battle-frenzy. I can’t have you running off into the trees fighting, however. We need you here, defe
nding us. The problem is, I’ve stopped you. Your body will stop functioning until you’ve had proper rest, but you can’t rest. The lost ones will regroup and will attack us again. You need to come back to yourself and you need to move through your fatigue and you need to fight again, otherwise we are all lost. Take deep breaths Janen, and concentrate on your surroundings.”
Tilda continued speaking and gradually Janen began to hear what she was saying. He had never felt so fatigued; every limb was aching. He looked around, taking in his surroundings; lost ones lay dead all around the clearing. How did that happen? He looked for The King’s Horse that must have come to their aid but there was no one else there.
“Why did you send the horses away?”
“Welcome back, Janen.”
He looked at her, what a strange thing to say.
“If the grey ones scratched or bit the horses, then the horses would’ve turned into grey ones. They would’ve forgotten their nature and turned against us. They are more susceptible to the curse than humans are. It takes much more and much longer for humans to submit, depending on the character and the strength of the human.” She said, looking at Bek with concern.
Janen watched her until she finished speaking. His thoughts felt sluggish. He desperately wanted to sleep.
“I wish we had some ale,” Tilda said.
“What?”
“Sometimes ale helps people to recover from a battle frenzy quicker. I have no idea why.”
Janen stared at her. She didn’t seem to be making any sense. He wondered if she had been hit on the head.