Kingdom of the Damned: Provocation (KIngdom Journals)

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Kingdom of the Damned: Provocation (KIngdom Journals) Page 8

by Tricia Copeland


  Midpoint to sundown the wind shifts, and I freeze.

  “You recognize the coming of the boundary,” Will’s voice wafts to my ears.

  Twisting my head in all directions, I can’t see him, much less determine his location based on scent. My nose crinkles with the increasing potency of fish smell. “I thought the next tribe would smell similar to yours.”

  “Why would you think that?” comes Will’s reply.

  I find his form some fifty feet away jumping a rock. “I haven’t seen you all day. It’s impressive.”

  “I’m well trained.” Will stops and stands upright. “Erik’s Norwegian tribes and the Artic Tribe are enemies.”

  “What? The medallion is useless? Why did Erik give it to me? Norwegian tribes? I thought the three tribes were enemies.”

  “I don’t have an answer for the medallion, but yes and no. The Norwegian tribes were one, but they grew too large.”

  Anger rises in my chest, and I take a deep breath. “Why would Erik order one of his own murdered?”

  “It’s much like a parent raising a child. You wouldn’t send them out into the world without teaching the rules. And if they didn’t obey, you would punish them to make sure they remembered.”

  “By killing a man for a deed performed as a boy.”

  “No one from the tribes will hunt on enemy territory again.”

  I sneer at him. “Why wouldn’t Erik tell me the neighboring tribes were an enemy? He seemed to indicate otherwise.”

  Will starts towards me. “Perhaps he wanted you to form your own opinion. You did say you wanted to know your people.”

  “Where is the boundary?” I demand.

  “At the top of the peak.”

  “Let’s hunt now and wait on the boundary as the sun sets.”

  “Agreed.” Will rotates as if scouting for an animal.

  After the blood from the reindeer, I don’t feel hungry but worry about the ability to hunt in the days ahead. I climb a tree and wait for signs of life. Pulling my hair from over my ears, I study the sounds of the forest. I hear the flutter of a heartbeat and, branch by branch, lower myself to the ground. Darting towards the animals, I catch the first hare and then the second just as they start to race off.

  “You can’t take them with you.” Will’s voice startles me.

  Rage builds in my chest. “If you can’t leave me be, I’ll send you back.” I search the trees. Finding him some forty feet away atop a fir, I scowl in his direction.

  His lips rise on one side, which is the first time I’ve seen him smile. “I’m just trying to help. I didn’t think you would want to be wasteful.”

  “Have it yourself then.” With all my might, I fling one of the hares at him.

  He doesn’t move to catch it, and it smacks him on the forehead. Still, he doesn’t flinch. I race up the mountain, looking for a private spot. I find a small cave halfway up and climb inside. It’s wet and cold, but at least I’m away from him and his stench. I let the smell of the dirt and the rancid smell of rotting vegetation infuse my senses. Heart rate calming, I focus on my meal, hating to admit that Will is of some use. It’s good to know who the enemies are, even if they are not my own. As for me, the only foe I have is my raging grief. Until last night, I’d been in shock. Now, all I can feel is anger.

  When I exit the cave, he’s standing outside. “You’re too close to the boundary, and the sun is setting.”

  “That’s the point.” I hike my bag to my back and start for the top of the peak. He follows, not a rod behind me. The fifteen-or-so-foot distance feels uncomfortable to me, but I reason that it may be for my own good. We reach the summit, and I turn west, watching the orange ball sink into the ocean. Even with the fetor of the tribal boundary swelling around me, it seems peaceful for a second. With the setting sun, I tug the leather cover from my bag and put it on. Climbing over boulders to the highest peak, I lower myself to the rock surface and cross one leg under the other. I sit facing the neighboring tribe’s land.

  “This is your plan?” Will’s voice sounds as if he’s just beside me. I find him at the bottom of the outcropping.

  “I’m showing them that I mean no harm.”

  “There could be hundreds of them. There are only two of us, and you’re a youngling.”

  I shrug and refocus on the fading light in front of me. There will be no darkness, but my body craves it. If only I could sink into oblivion and rest forever. “So, let them take us. What is the worst they can do?”

  “Kill us.”

  “We have broken no laws.”

  “That we know of.” Will scrambles to the top of a rock not ten feet from me.

  Not letting myself think of Alec, I remember my days as a small girl in the school house. The boys would watch out for me in the yard, protect me when we went to the market, and slide extra meat to me from their plates. I steal a glance at Will, wondering if I’ll ever be able to see him as anything other than Alec’s killer.

  A new odor rouses me, and I jump to my feet. On the next rock over, I see that Will stands erect, muscles tensed, the long wooden spear from his back in one hand and huge metal dagger from his belt in the other.

  Halfway down the summit, beings exit the tree line. I count ten of them.

  “Ten.” Will’s word is barely a whisper on the wind.

  My plan had been to display the medallion as a symbol of another’s trust. With Will’s disclosure of the relationship between the tribes, I disregard the idea. Instead I jut my palms straight out from my torso, holding them open. “I am Anne Scott of Isis and Ammon from the south. I mean no harm and want no discord. We are travelers. May we speak with your leader?”

  One of the beings, a large male, steps forward. “I have heard of a girl traveling north in search of her mate’s killer. Now you travel with the same. We will not allow passage of a warrior of my brother’s tribe.”

  Brother? My eyes find Will’s and I wonder if he also withheld information. He catches my stare for a second and refocuses on the vampire striding towards us.

  I follow suit, lifting my chin and projecting my voice. “I only look for information, histories, knowledge of the tribes. I lost my family when I was young. I belong nowhere.”

  The vampire stops his advance. “I have no need for passing a night with a youngling unless to bed her, and I would catch the devil from my wife.” Snickers break out behind him. “Our summer wanes, and we must prepare for the winter. You may pass south, skirting our borders until you cross onto another’s land. You will not step foot or hunt within my boundaries.”

  “I understand,” I call down to him. “We’ll resume our trek south.”

  I’m in need of rest and know Will hasn’t rested for over a day, but I won’t risk being vulnerable during their hunting time. Watching the men retreat, I hold my breath. I hadn’t considered I would not be welcome. It’s a foreign concept for one not to show kindness, hospitality. Realizing just how naive I am, I rebuke my expectation of a positive outcome. The next tribe will be different, I tell myself. It must be. This ill-defined quest is all I have.

  “Come, child, we should make haste,” Will calls to me.

  Animosity pulsing through my veins, I crouch on the rock and launch myself towards the boulder he occupies. Standing upright, I raise my chin to look into his eyes. “Do not ever call me child. I have suffered the loss of a lifetime.”

  “Forgive me.” His eyes drop to his chest.

  “Let us go.” I hike my bag up my back.

  We reach the pinnacle of the peninsula and begin to run south. Pumping all my energy into my legs, I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t had the stake. Would Erik even have spoken with me? “Why didn’t you tell me their leader was Erik’s brother?”

  “I was following Erik’s lead, letting you seek information without bias.” As we scurry over rocks and around trees, Will tells me the story of Erik’s love for a girl, a girl his parents arranged to marry his older brother. How Erik begged his brother to refus
e, but his brother would not give her up.

  “How long ago was this? Did Erik ever take a mate?”

  “Some seven hundred years ago and, to my knowledge, no. He lives in that hut with his old witch. I think the two are friends even though they seem to hate each other.”

  I ask how the witch came to be captured, but Will hadn’t heard that story. It isn’t far before the ground levels out and we wade through wet bogs.

  “We should cut inland,” I suggest, hearing Will sigh for the thousandth time.

  “Now I know what being human feels like,” he complains. “But we’re stuck. We won’t be clear of the Artic tribe’s borders till we hit the sea.”

  “Who is the tribe to the south? Tell me of the neighboring peoples.”

  Will describes the tribe to the south, the Finns who live off water species. Theirs is thought to be a strong tribe, with the groups to the east being lesser in numbers. I start to see a pattern of more powerful groups abutting each other’s land and weaker groups neighboring each other. I wonder if the smaller groups will be more amenable to talking to me.

  But I crave the knowledge I can gain from the elders of power. My ancestors seem to be pulling at my soul, harkening me to be one with our story. Maybe it’s just Alec’s soul I wish to be united with and am scared to admit it. I figure that path of thought will have me spiraling into the abyss of my grief as sure as the mud seems to be sucking me into its grasp. Of course, if Erik’s story is true, we are soulless creatures, damned to hell forever, never finding peace or reuniting with our loved ones. My heart yearns for the comfort of Elizabeth’s embrace, and bloody tears form in my eyes.

  “Female younglings.” Behind me, Will releases a long breath. “So emotional.”

  My rage boils under my skin, and my fangs release without me being able to check my reaction. But I will not give him the pleasure of seeing that he affects me. I exhale and my fangs retract into my gums. “You may walk ahead of me if you wish. Far ahead will be acceptable to me.”

  “The enemies are closer to our back for the moment.”

  Pushing my legs to their full function, I plod ahead of him, getting as much distance as possible. It’s daybreak before we dare take even a mouse for sustenance. Finding a hare, I scale a tree to eat and rest. Will and I take shifts to rest during the day. One day flows into the next as we plod south at barely one and a half times a human’s pace. We make more progress by resting for only one four-hour shift each day.

  In eight days we reach the sea and the buffer between the Artic and Finn tribes. I run onto the sand. The silt is soft beneath my feet, and I press my toes into the cool dirt. The blue water stretches out before me as if it will never end. I shed my bag and my clothes and plunge into the waves. Will jumps in behind me but keeps his distance. I dive under the water and surface again and again, swimming away and back to the spot where I’d dropped my things. When my muscles tire to exhaustion, I kick to the shore.

  Having dried and dressed, Will holds a blanket out to me. “One would think you’d never swum before.”

  I take the fabric and wrap it around my middle. “I haven’t. This is the first time I’ve ever been in the ocean. The closest I came is wading in a brook.” The thought of the small stream that ran through the woods behind the schoolhouse reminds me of Alec. I push out his memory as soon as it enters my head.

  “So, she does speak.” The side of his mouth turns up.

  “I talk to you.” I sit on the beach, staring out onto the sparkling waves as they reflect the sun’s light.

  “You haven’t uttered a word in nine days.”

  A smile forms on my face. “Are you lonely, Will?”

  “I’m used to the companionship of my fellow warriors.”

  “Tell me of that. Do you not have families, ever?”

  “In Erik’s tribe we swear to remain without mates.”

  “And why would you do that?”

  His eyes cut to the sand. “I lost my family at a young age. The warriors replaced them. I could not bear another blow such as that.”

  I shake my head and smile despite my hatred for him. “So, you have made fun of me, laughed at my grief, and you can’t bear another heartache of your own?” Then my thoughts harden. “Knowing your own grief, how could you cause the same in others?”

  He hangs his head but doesn’t answer. We sit there in silence as the sun dips into the sea. Will points to the sky. “If it were winter, we could see the northern lights.”

  “I’ve read of those.” My eyes scan the horizon. “The swallows have returned.”

  “They always return to their homes.”

  “Do you like the sea, Will?”

  “I do, my lady. But I also like the snow and the mountains and the lights in winter.”

  “I believe I shall see them before my trek is over.” Flakes of grit from the sea water fall from my skin as I stand. “I’m sticky from the surf.”

  “The fresh water from the tributary will help that.” Will notes the river flowing into the ocean.

  I shed my blanket and balance on the round stones until I get to a deep channel. I bathe in the clear cool water, running my fingers through my hair to relieve the tangles. Afterwards, I dry myself and sit on the bank, braiding my hair.

  “Do we wait for the Finn tribe tonight?” Will approaches.

  “Yes, and tomorrow we rest if they do not come.”

  Catching sight of a hare, I chase after it. Will and I share the blood, tear the meat from his bones, then build a fire. It’s the first time we have taken a meal together, and I wonder if I have accepted Alec’s death, if my grieving is over.

  “What would your English friends think of you now?” Will asks as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

  My animosity for him blazes anew. “You do not ever speak of my prior life to me again.” I kick dirt over the fire, grab my bag, and start off in the direction of the Finn’s border.

  Will keeps his distance, scouting for any signs of the Finn vampires. It isn’t an hour before the wind brings a new scent to my nose.

  “They are here.” Will’s words reach my ears seconds before he appears beside me. “I think you should use the medallion. Enemies of enemies make friends.”

  I pull the necklace over my head and hold it out in front of me.

  “Three.” Will whispers to me. He yanks his dagger from its sheath. “I can’t believe you don’t have a weapon. After this visit, I’ll teach you to fight.”

  “I thought that’s why you were here.” My mouth forms a smile before I can stop it.

  There is a rush of wind, and three beings appear twenty feet from us.

  “We mean no harm.” I hold the medallion up over my head.

  “You come from Erik of Norway via the Artic lands? Are you the woman Anne whose mate was killed for hunting across tribal lines?”

  I sigh, wondering if I’ll ever be anyone else. How could messengers make it to these tribes before we did? The questions mount in my head. I curse myself for not using Will to get more information.

  “We’re under orders to bring you to our leader.” The vampires begin to walk east.

  Side by side, Will and I follow them. It’s an hour before I catch the scent of a populated area. The village is teeming with life. Small younglings run between the houses, chasing each other. Women sit washing linens in large wooden buckets, while others tend fires. As we walk, I study them. Eyes dart to me and then back to their work.

  Our escorts weave through log structures caked with mud to the center of a village and then to a dwelling much like Erik’s. Two of the warriors take positions on each side of the doorway, and the third pushes the door open and enters, motioning for us to follow.

  Inside, the heat from the fire engulfs me, and I almost lose my breath. I scan the structure, finding a small window just big enough for an exit if needed. Opposite the middle fire, three vampires, wrinkles creasing their skin, two females, one young and one old, and an old male, sit cross-legged, st
aring at me.

  I approach the fire. “I am Anne Scott.” I dip my head and lower myself to the ground, sitting as they do before the fire. “I hear my story precedes me.”

  The man clears his throat. “Your warrior may sit also. Please shed your traveling clothes.”

  Removing my bag and leather vest as well as the warm outer coat, I fold them in my lap. Will sheds his tunic and resumes his guard position beside me, standing with hands at his side inches from the weapons on his belt.

  “I see Erik welcomed you. You carry his medallion as a symbol of friendship,” the male vampire continues. “My name is Bjarke. This is Ida, my mate, and my daughter Deidra.” He motions to the women vampires beside them. Like Will and his tribe, they are fair-skinned, with light hair and eyes.

  “Thank you for welcoming me.”

  “I do so only out of courtesy to Erik. You may spend the eve with us and no more. I hear you have many questions. Please, begin.”

  It’s uncomfortable with the flames darting up between us, but I lift my chin and start with my wonderings as to the leadership, organization, and origin of their tribe.

  “Unlike humans and witches,” Bjarke’s left brow creeps up, “we have no need for written histories. Because we remember all, we pass our stories down through the generations. I hear humans have a bible and other books with history of their kind.”

  “This is so,” I confirm to him.

  “I hear witches alike have penned their chronicles.” His eyes pierce into mine.

  He relates how many of the tribes moved north as the numbers of humans and witches grew. “Witches,” he chuckles, “are much like humans. They prefer temperate regions.”

  “What of your people? How long have you ruled? How were you chosen leader? Is the eldest always the head of the tribe? Are leaders always male?”

  “Younglings.” His voice is light, but his stare is hard. “I, like my predecessor, fought in a test of wit, tactics, skill, and strength to win this title. Out of respect, we maintain leadership till our deaths, unless, and it is very rare, another may challenge. In the south, I hear of female rulers, but that has not been the custom in the north. I was nineteen when I bested the other contender. I am quite old now.” He raises his arm and twists it over, exposing lined sagging skin. “Eight hundred seventy-nine. I have four offspring.” Motioning to Deidra, a smile forms on his face. “What else, dear child?”

 

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