'Tomorrow you and the girl must leave. Head eastwards.'
Abner gasped, "But I'm not through tending to my people."
'Nevertheless, you must go tomorrow. This town will not be safe for you for long.'
Abner dearly wanted to resist, but he knew better. He bowed his head even farther, "As you command, my Lord Osturlius."
Chapter 12
Wandering alone in the forest, Trestus was bored, plain and simple. They had been here for several weeks now and still they waited for this Master of the Forest to show up. At first he had been rather nervous about meeting this man, but the longer they were forced to wait, the more he just wanted to get this over and done with.
After the first three or four days of sitting around, Derek had put them to exercising. Every morning they would start noups been caug the day with a five mile run. After the run, he had them alternate amongst a variety of exercises. In the beginning, Trestus had thought the exercising was a waste of time, but he quickly realized that it was good for him. He had been surprised, and a little embarrassed, at having difficulty finishing the first run. His stamina had returned quickly enough, though, and he now looked forward to the group runs. It had taken several more days, but finally Keenan had even joined in.
None of the Wildlings went with them but a strange variety of animals always seemed to be following and watching them. The idea of fleeing the village had been discussed several times but they had decided against it. They weren't sure if they could get out of the forest before they were captured and they cautiously believed Gilbert that they would be safe.
The afternoons were their own, except when they were required to do various chores. Trestus had taken to wandering the forest near the village. It was actually enjoyable. The forest was cool and completely wild just several hundred yards from the edge of the village.
Having been raised in the city of Telur, Trestus had not spent much time playing in the forests and woods as a kid. While in the Guardians, he had spent some time training in the forests around Telur. Training was not the same as freely wandering and enjoying the forest though.
He paused in the shadow of two pine trees that were growing close together. It was early afternoon and the sun was quite warm but not too hot.
Glancing back the way he had come, he saw a squirrel, just before it dove into the bushes. Squirrels were common in these woods but this one appeared to be following him.
"Damn it Reega. I'm not going anywhere." It was still rather unnerving that the boy could talk to the animals. Well, no one seemed to know if he actually communicated with them but the animals certainly did what the boy wanted them to. He grinned suddenly as a thought occurred to him. Wonder what Reega would do if I caught that squirrel and ate it? The grin slipped a little. Reega was hard to deal with. He was rude and haughty. Probably had his reasons. The boy couldn't be more than fifteen or so and he had lived in the forest for several years now. No one seemed to know what had happened to him before he came to the forest, but it probably wasn't too hard to figure out. Most likely his parents had kicked him out when he started acting unusual. Had to be hard on a kid, but it still didn't excuse him being an ass.
Putting the thoughts of Reega aside, Trestus started walking again. His little wanderings were giving him a decent knowledge of the area surrounding the village. There was a small creek not too far from here and he turned his steps towards it.
He reached the creek quickly and walked along the bank. The creek was not wide and in most places could be waded across. There were several small lakes or large pools that the creek emptied into on one side and then flowed away from on another side. Several times he had tried his luck at fishing in these small lakes but he hadn't caught the first fish. He didn't mind though, fishing was relaxing.
The ground sloped downwards to the creek and most of the shore was dirt and rock. No trees or bushed grew up near the edge of the creek, although several taller trees leaned out over the water.
There was a gasp from the creek and Trestus turned, tensing up. He caught a quick glimpse of a woman's naked backside diving back into the water and then she was gone from sight for a moment. It seeme vheigck d that he had interrupted someone's swimming and he hadn't even noticed them, as he had been lost in his own thoughts. He cursed himself silently. That backside had looked rather nice and he would have preferred a much longer look.
A woman's head emerged from the water and she glared at him. The water, and her hands, hid most of her body from view. "What are you doing?" she demanded. It was Karina. Her hair, which was normally wild and unruly, was wet and plastered to her head. He thought it was a good look for her, or maybe it was just that she was naked.
Trestus held his hands up, in what he hoped was a placating manner, "My apologies. I was just out for a walk. I didn't know you were here." He fought hard and managed to keep his eyes on her eyes.
Karina didn't answer, instead she just kept staring at him. The woman was hard to figure out. She had helped save them from the soldiers but that had to be because she had been ordered to. She seemed angry all the time, and she barely spoke to anyone, including the other Wildlings.
"How's the water?" Trestus asked.
"Great," Karina answered coolly. "Why don't you come in and see?"
"Really?" Trestus asked surprised.
"No, not really." Karina retorted in her normal angry manner. "Go away!"
Trestus didn't move, he just stood there. "Why are you so angry with me? Have I done something to offend you?"
Karina looked startled, which was nice. Usually she always wore a grumpy expression, at least surprise was something different. "What? Don't flatter yourself. My moods have nothing to do with you."
"Really," Trestus said, "so you're just naturally this disagreeable?"
"Leave her alone," a new voice said from behind Trestus.
He turned to see Reega walking down from the edge of the trees. The boy was the last person that Trestus wanted to see right now. "Why?" he asked as Reega stopped several feet away. He looked from Karina back to Reega, a sudden idea occurring to him. "Are you two," he trailed off trying to come up with the right words, "more than friends?"
"That's of no concern to you," Reega said through clinched teeth.
Sensing that he had hit a sore spot, Trestus grinned. "Perhaps that's why you're always in a bad mood," he said in Karina's general direction. She scowled at him from her hiding place in the water and Reega blushed mightily.
A deep and low growl came from the edge of the trees and Trestus looked to see a cougar slowly approaching. "Oh, is that the way it's going to be?" he asked, still watching the cat approach. "I thought this master of yours wanted to see me." He grinned, "I assumed that meant unharmed."
Reega smiled back, but it was an unpleasant smile. "Maybe he'll be happy with just your friends. Probably wouldn't even miss you." The rustling in the bushes and along the tree line let Trestus know that other animals were approaching.
The grin on Reega face turned even more nasty. "Not so tough now. Are you?"
Trestus whipped his belt kn vh="4." ife from its sheath and dove at Reega. The boy was caught completely off guard and his eyes widened in a comical look of surprise right before Trestus hit him hard in the chest. Both men went down hard to the ground, but Trestus came out on top. He straddled the boy and held the knife to his throat.
Trestus' wild charge had even caught the animals by surprise and they had been slow to react. He could feel their hurried approach. He looked over his shoulder at the cougar, "Call it off Reega. If I'm going to die, I'll cut your throat until I hit bone."
Reega swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing perilously close to the knife blade.
"Call them off Reega," Trestus repeated and this time he applied some pressure with his knife. A thin line of blood appeared on Reega's neck.
"Okay! Okay!" Reega said, breathing hard. Sure enough the cougar turned and walked back to the trees, although it did watch Trestus the whole time.
>
Trestus waited until all the animals had disappeared back into the woods and then he turned back to Reega. "I don't know what your sad story is and I don't care. Either treat me with some respect or leave me alone. I don't care which but I've had enough of you."
Reega was breathing hard and staring hate up at Trestus.
"Let him up," Karina called from just behind him.
He spared a glance over his shoulder to see that Karina had emerged from the creek and put her shirt on. It was animal hide and looked rather coarse, but it did come down just below her hips. It made her look even more attractive.
"Why should I do that?" Trestus asked. "Won't he just call those animals of his back?"
"Reega, if he lets you up, are you willing to forget about this?"
The boy looked anything but willing to forget but he was wise enough to nod his head.
"Fair enough then," Trestus said and he slowly removed the knife from Reega's neck. He stood up quickly and backed away several steps.
Reega sat up rubbing his neck. He still wore that look of anger mixed with hatred. He climbed to his feet and slowly backed away.
The rustling started up again and Trestus looked around to see a large number of animals slowly stalking back down the creek bank. He dropped his hand to his belt knife.
"Reega, no!" Karina called out but it was too late.
The cougar was the closest animal to Trestus and she sprang. She jumped straight at the Guardian, her front paws outstretched to hit the man in the chest and knock him back to the ground. Once Trestus was down, even the smaller animals would be able to help by biting and scratching.
The cougar was still in mid-jump when a tree limb, from one of the trees that leaned out over the water, knocked it away. The cat let out a cry of pain, landed hard, and rolled away. A little disorientated, the poor animal climbed to its feet and began to limp away. Its front right leg appeared to be hurt and it wasn't putting any weight on it.
The other animals froze and Reega turned his angry glare to Karina. "You side with him over me?" His tone was angry and hurt at the same time.
"You broke your word," Karina answered coldly. "You lied and you know that I don't like that. Not to mention that you would have disobeyed the Master by killing this one."
Without another word, Reega turned and ran into the forest.
"Thank you," Trestus began but he didn't get to finish.
Karina slapped him hard across the face. "Was that necessary? He's just a boy and you nearly killed him."
"Killed him? Maybe you weren't watching very closely but that ass wanted to kill me. The boy needs a good beating or two and maybe he would behave a little better!" Trestus hollered. The slap had made him angry and he had already been frustrated from all the waiting.
"Behave better? Do you have any idea what that boy has been through?"
"I can only imagine," Trestus replied a bit more coolly, he managed to speak in more of a normal tone rather than a shout. "Whatever his past, it doesn't give him the right to behave in such a manner. And if no one does anything about it then that boy's going to be a total monster one day."
"That boy's neighbors butchered his parents when they wouldn't turn him over to them. His parents died to protect him, so I guess that he has the right to be a little difficult."
Trestus sighed, "I guess he does but I didn't have anything to do with that. I'm not one of the bad guys." He paused for a moment and Karina moved up near the tree line. He had never noticed how firm and tan her legs were before. He continued to stare until she moved around a large bush and began putting on the rest of her clothes. "Is that why he hates us so much? Because of what happened to his parents?"
"Yes," Karina called. She was still bent over adjusting her clothes and he couldn't see much of her.
"So why do you hate us as much as you do?"
Karina emerged from the far side of the bushes. She wore a serene expression, not an angry one. "You're normal. I'm not. The normal people of my town beat me half to death. The normal people killed my parents and brothers. The normal people drug me out into the forest and tied me to a tree for the animals." Her eyes held his, her anger was nearly overwhelming. "I have no desire to know normal people." She turned and began walking off.
"That wasn't me, Karina," he called softly after her.
"Might as well have been."
He stood there for some time, well after she had disappeared from view. He felt only disgust at the boy, but for her he felt pity. He sighed deeply and turned back towards the village.
Sitting in the shade of two large trees, Derek wondered at their situation. Here they sat, while they probably should be on their way back to Telur. As late as they were, he could only imagine that Flare and the others had gone on after the sword.
It was hard to get upset about his team's failure to reach Helum. After their days in the torture room, he was simply elated that none of them had suffered the horrors that had been meant for them. He couldn't imagine having to watch his friends being tortured, and but for Keenan, that's exactly what would have happe v lou8">ned.
Thinking of Keenan began to irritate him, so he quickly moved on to other topics. He and Keenan had not exactly been in agreement on what path they should follow and both men were unused to being questioned.
He leaned his head back against the tree bark and closed his eyes. Regardless of what he told himself, this still felt like a prison. As far as prisons went, this wasn't too bad, but it was still a prison. Waiting for this Wildling Master was causing all of them to be irritable with one another.
As if his thoughts of irritability were calling her, Kara pushed through the bushes and pulled up short at the sight of Derek.
"Oh," she said, looking surprised to see him. "I didn't know you were here. I didn't mean to intrude."
"It's not an intrusion," Derek replied. "I was just thinking of what to do once we're finally free of this forest." Kara didn't reply and he wasn't surprised. Kara had taken on a defeated attitude recently and it was not something that he was used to seeing. He knew what was causing it. The idiotic Church had ordered her to wear a bracelet so they could track the Guardians on this foolish mission. Kara had agreed for a while but then she had given the bracelet to a woman that bore a striking resemblance to Kara. Now Kara was sick with dread at what the Church would do to her.
The silence drug on for several moments and Kara made to move on past, farther into the woods.
"What do you think we should do?" Derek asked her, before she had gone too far. He was hoping to see the old Kara again.
Kara stopped and turned back to face him, "I think it's too late to go to Helum. Surely the others would have gone on already, and I think the only thing we can do is return to Telur and report what we saw at Dahl-Rucka." She shivered at the very mention of the fort.
Derek nodded. Her thoughts echoed his, but he felt there was more to her desire to return to Telur. "What will you do when you get back to Telur?" Kara blinked in surprise and Derek knew he had guessed right about what she must be thinking.
Kara took a deep breath, "I will surrender myself to the Church and accept my proper punishment."
Anger burst through him and Derek bounded to his feet, grabbing Kara by the arm. "Punishment? Even if they decide to execute you?" he demanded, shouting in his anger.
Caught completely by surprise, Kara shrunk back away from him, her eyes wide.
Scared by both his anger and the way that Kara had responded to it, Derek pulled back from her. "Is that what you're going there for?" he asked in a more subdued tone.
"If that is what is decided," Kara answered in such a quiet voice that Derek almost missed hearing it. Her eyes dropped to the ground.
He shook his head. "No," he said simply and his tone forced Kara to look at him. There was a strength, a fiery determination in his words. "They'll execute you only after I'm dead and I don't intend for that to happen for a long, long time."
Kara's eyes widened in surprise and t
hen she burst into tears.
His strength and determination evaporated in the presence of the sobbing woman and hesitantly reac voups't intenhed out to touch her. "Quiet now," he said softly. "It's not as bad as you think. I'll make sure that everything happens for the best."
She started to turn away but Derek stopped her. No matter how hard she tried, his grip was stronger. After a moment Kara quit resisting and he pulled her to him, hugging her to his chest.
After being so strong for so long, and then so dejected, Kara gave in and wept in his arms.
Chapter 13
Flare took a deep breath and mopped the sweat off of his brow. The weather was actually fairly cool but his pack weighed him down and the ground all sloped upwards, making walking tiring.
It was getting late in the day on the third day of travel after leaving the small town. He had reached the mountains just before mid-day on the first day, after walking all night long. After finding an area enclosed by evergreen trees, he had laid down to take a short nap. When he awoke, the sun was already down, so that prevented any more walking that day. He didn't mind walking to the mountains in the dark but he wasn't about to climb up and down these treacherous hills at night.
For the last day and a half, nearly two full days, he had been walking along the base of the mountains. His legs burned from the uneven ground but he struggled on. He knew he had to be getting close and that was exciting and a little scary at the same time. He wasn't sure of what to expect. He didn't know of any stories that ever mentioned this valley, but Abner had been earnest in his belief that this was related to the Dragon Order. And why did one have to be in the Order to get into the valley?
He paused and looked back the way he had come. He stretched out with his spirit and felt for any followers. Nothing. A sense of being followed was gnawing at him and he kept checking at least once every hour. If the townspeople knew what he was they might come after him, but they also just might be happy that he was gone. He also suspected that those trappers might follow him. He suspected that if they could get revenge, then they would ambush him in a heartbeat. He didn't intend to give them the chance.
Valley of the Ancients: Book Three of the Restoration Series Page 16