by Jim Butcher
Tavi had reached the ropes and Kitai was only a few paces behind when something dropped down from one of the crouch shrouded trees above them, something tall and slender and horribly fast Whatever it was, it wasn't a Keeper, because it reached out with one long limb and wrapped hard-looking, chitmous fingers around Kitai's ankle, hauling her to the ground The girl let out a scream of sudden terror and twisted in that grip
Tavi only saw what happened in bits and pieces He remembered turning to see something that he thought was like some kind of hideous wasp, semitransparent wings fluttering in the glowing light of the crouch, It bent over Kitai, weirdly humped shoulders flexing as its head whipped down, as mandibles sunk into her thigh Kitai let out a horrible scream and struck down at the thing's head with her fists, once, twice Then her eyes rolled back in her head and her body started jerking and twisting in helpless spasm, limbs flailing She kept trying to scream, but the sound came out broken, irregular
The wasp-thing, covered in the glowing slime of the croach, lifted its head and let out a signal-whistle that echoed around the chasm like the tones of some vast bell It shook blood from its mandibles, and Tavi caught a flash of multifaceted eyes, of some kind of yellowish fluid at the edges of Kitai's wounds
"Valleyboy!" shouted a distant voice Tavi looked up to see Doroga, one hand on the rope, leaning far out over the cliff, and even from so far below, Tavi could see that his face was anguished "Aleran! You cannot save her! Come up!"
Tavi looked back and forth between Doroga and the Marat girl on the ground, the horrible thing crouched over her twitching body Terror rose through him, a horrible taste in his mouth, and he couldn't see, couldn't seem to focus his eyes One hand tightened on the rope in helpless frustration
Kitai had saved his life
She had trusted his plan to get them both out of the chasm alive
He was the only one who could help her
Tavi let go of the rope
He turned and ran, not toward the thing crouched over Kitai, but past it, around several glowing trees and to the one they had set on fire Keepers crowded in all around him He could hear them coming through the forest toward him, shrieks and whistles resounding
Tavi leapt up to the lowest branches of the tree, hauling himself into them and started scrambling toward the top, toward the fire Halfway there, he hauled himself up and found himself face-to-face with a Keeper, which reared back from him in surprise, its mandibles clacking against its shell
Tavi didn't have time to think His hand flashed to where he'd put Fade's wickedly curved knife at his belt He slashed it at the creature's eyes It scuttled back from him Tavi followed it, wriggling forward, thrusting the knife at the thing's face
The Keeper let out a shriek and fell backward, out of the tree, its limbs flailing It hit the ground twenty feet below with a crunch and a wet-sounding splat, and Tavi looked down to see it writhing on its back, legs flailing, its broken body trailing glowing fluids out onto the forest floor
Tavi heard more Keepers coming He hauled himself up higher into the tree, until he reached a branch bare of the crouch, slender and unable to support his weight Farther out along the branch hung the burning blanket Fire spread along it, toward the trunk of the tree
Tavi hacked at the branch with the knife, the steel biting into the soft wood Then he gripped the knife in his teeth and hauled at the branch with both hands
It swayed and then broke, peeling away from the tree Tavi scrambled down, trailing the long branch with its flaming leaves, the oil-soaked blanket, and when he had reached the forest floor, he ran toward Kitai
The thing crouched over her saw him coming and turned toward him with a hiss, its mandibles spreading wide, along with its chitmous arms Though its eyes glittered and reflected the light of the fire from a thousand facets, it had a horribly slime-covered, unfinished look to it, as though it hadn't finished becoming whatever it was to be Half-born, half-alive, the huge wasp-thing rattled its wings in a furious buzzing sound and whistled to the Keepers around them
Tavi screamed and swung the branch in a broad, clumsy arc, fire trailing
The thing hissed and drew back from the flames, jerking its wings back sharply
Tavi seized on the advantage, shoving forward with the branch and driving the hissing monstrosity back from Kitai's still form The girl lay, pale and silent, her eyes open but unmoving, her chest heaving in labored breaths Tavi slipped an arm beneath her and, in a rush of terror, hauled her up onto his shoulder He staggered beneath her weight, but grasped the branch and spun about, wildly swinging the blazing wood and leaves and blanket about him
The creature leapt lightly away from him, landing on the wall several yards down from the ropes, horrible eyes focused intently on him
Oh crows, Tavi thought It knows It knows I'm going for the ropes
If he didn't move, he was finished Even if the creature didn't leap on him, he would shortly be drowning in Keepers Even his terrified strength was be ginning to fade, his body to burn under all the effort He had to get Kitai to the ropes, at least He could tie her foot and Doroga could haul her up
Doroga Tavi looked up to the top of the cliff and saw Doroga's pale form there, staring down at them Then the Gargant headman shouted, "Courage, valleyboy'" and vanished back over the lip of the cliff
There was still a chance Shoving the branch in front of him along the ground, he rushed toward the creature, which scuttled nimbly up the wall, a crab-like sideways motion Tavi looked above it, to an outcropping of rock No good He had to get it to move toward him, toward the ropes
Tavi ground his teeth in frustration on the blade of the knife "Oh furies, Kitai I hope this works " Gracelessly, he dumped the girl onto the ground, then leapt toward and grabbed the nearest rope and started climbing
The creature let out a whistle and scuttled toward him He knew that he did not have a chance of escaping it, or of fighting it, there on the ropes, but he took the knife from his teeth and swiped it at the thing
It paused, hesitating just out of his reach Its horrible head tilted, as though assessing this new threat
"Doroga'" Tavi screamed "There it is, there it is'"
From above came a slow and tortured scream, bellowing in Doroga's basso, filled with anger and defiance
Tavi would never have believed that a man could lift a boulder that large But Doroga appeared at the top of the cliff again, bearing a stone the
size of a coffin over his head, arms and shoulders and thighs bulging with effort He flexed the whole of his body, a ponderous motion, and the huge stone hurtled down toward the creature
Its head abruptly whirled on its neck, whipping around to face directly behind it The creature moved, its wings buzzing, but it was not fast enough to wholly escape the plummeting stone It flashed by Tavi, missing him by the breadth of a few fingers The creature leapt away from the wall, but the stone crushed against it, sending it spinning out of the air to land on the ground many yards away The stone itself hit the ground and shattered, chips of rock flying, glowing slime from within the croach hurled into the air as from a fountain
Hot pain flashed along Tavi's leg, and he looked down to see his trousers cut by a flying piece of stone, blood on his leg From above came Doroga's defiant howl of triumph, a bellowing roar that shook the walls of the chasm
The creature let out another whistle, this one higher, filled with fury and, Tavi thought, with sudden fear It staggered but could not rise and instead began dragging itself back into the trees, as the glowing eyes of dozens of Keepers began to appear behind it
Tavi dropped the knife, slid down the rope, and ran to Kitai He seized her and began dragging her back toward the ropes, grunting with effort but moving quickly, jerking her over the ground
"Aleran," she whispered, opening her eyes Her expression was pained, weary "Aleran Too late Venom My father Tell him I was sorry "
Tavi stared down at her "No," he whispered ' Kitai, no We're almost out "
"It was a good pla
n," she said
Her head lolled to one side, eyes rolling back
"No," Tavi hissed, suddenly furious "No, crows take you! You can't!" He reached into his pouch, fumbling through it as tears started to blur his vision There must be something She couldn't just die She couldn't They were so close
Something stuck sharply into his finger, and pain flashed through him again The crows-eaten mushroom had jabbed him with its spines The Blessing of Night
Fever Poison Injury Pain Even age It has power over them all To our people, there is nothing of greater value
Weeping, Tavi seized the mushroom and started tearing off the spines
with his fingers, heedless of the pain. Shrieks rose all around him, came closer, though the still-blazing branch seemed to have confused some of the Keepers, to have temporarily slowed their advance.
Tavi reached down and slipped an arm beneath Kitai's head, half-hauling her up. He reached down to the wound over her thigh and crushed the mushroom in his hand.
Musty-scented, clear fluid leaked out from between his fingers and dribbled over the wound, mixing with blood and yellowish venom. Kitai's leg twitched as the fluid touched it, and the girl drew in a sudden breath.
Tavi lifted the rest of the mushroom to her lips and pressed it into her mouth. "Eat it," he urged her. "Eat it, you have to eat it."
Kitai's mouth twitched once, and then began to chew, automatically. She swallowed the mushroom and blinked her eyes slowly open, focusing them on Tavi.
Time stopped.
Tavi found himself staring down at the girl, suddenly aware of her, entirely aware of her in a way he never had been aware of anyone before. He could feel the texture of her skin beneath his hand and felt the abrupt compulsion to lay his fingers over her chest, to feel the beat of her heart beneath it, slowly gaining in strength. He could feel the surge of blood in her veins, the fear and regret and confusion that filled her thoughts. Those cleared as her eyes focused on him, widened, and Tavi realized that she had felt his own presence in the same way.
Not moving her eyes from his, Kitai reached out a hand and touched his chest in response, fingers pressed close to feel the beating of his heart.
It took Tavi a frozen, endless moment to separate the beating of his own heart, the rush of blood in his own ears, from hers. They beat together, perfectly in time. Even as he realized it, his own heartbeat began to speed, and so did hers, bringing a flush of heat to his face, one answered in her own expression. He stared at the wonder in her eyes and saw that it could only be a reflection of that in his own.
The scent of her, fresh and wild, curled up around him, through him like something alive. The shape of her eyes, her cheeks, her mouth. In that single moment, he saw in her the promise of the beauty that would come in time, the strength that had still to grow, the courage and reckless resourcefulness that matched his own and flamed wild and true in her.
The intensity of it made his eyes blur, and he blinked them, tried to clear the tears from them, only to realize that Kitai was blinking as well, her eyes filling with tears, going liquid and blurry.
When Tavi had blinked the tears away, his eyes returned to hers-only to find not opalescent swirls of subtle, shifting color, but wide pools of deep, emerald green.
Eyes as green as his own.
"Oh no" Kitai whispered, her voice stunned, weak. "Oh no" She opened her mouth, started to sit up-then shuddered once and slumped in his arms, abruptly overwhelmed with exhaustion.
The frozen moment ended.
Tavi lifted his dazed head to see the first of the Keepers edging past the blazing blanket and branch. Tavi hauled himself to his feet, lifting Kitai, and stumbled toward the ropes. He stepped into the loop at the base of one, then reached over to the other, and wrapped it around his waist, around her legs, tying her to him. Even before he was finished, Doroga had started hauling the rope up the face of the cliff. The other rope came in as well, where Hashat must have been pulling it along to keep it tight.
Tavi held on to the rope, and to Kitai, not really sure which one he held tighter. He closed his eyes, overwhelmed, and did not open them again until he and Kitai sat at the top of the cliff, in the cold, fresh, clean snow. When he opened his eyes again, he sat with his back against a stone and idly noted the fresh earth beside him, where Doroga had uprooted the boulder and hurled it down.
A moment later, he realized that Kitai lay against his side, beneath one of his arms, warm and limp, half-conscious. He tightened his arm on her, gently, confused-but certain that he wanted her to sleep, to rest, and to be right where she was.
Tavi looked up and found Hashat staring down at them, wide-eyed, her expression bewildered and then, by slow degrees, becoming indignant. She turned to Doroga and demanded, "What are you going to do about this?"
The headman, veins still standing out on his arms and thighs, tipped his head back and poured out a rich and rolling laugh. "You know as well as I, Hashat. It's done."
The Horse headman scowled and folded her arms over her chest. "I've never heard of such a thing," she said. "This is unacceptable."
"This is," Doroga rumbled. "Other matters are before us now."
Hashat flipped her mane out of her eyes with a toss of her head. "I don't like it," she said, her tone resigned. "This was a trick. You tricked me."
Doroga's eyes glittered, and a smile lurked at his lips, but he said in a stern tone, "Keep your mind on why we are here, Hashat."
"The trial," the Marat woman said and turned back to Tavi. "Well, Aleran? Did you recover the Blessing?"
Tavi shivered and felt abruptly stupid. He had forgotten. In all the excitement and confusion, he had forgotten the trial. He had forgotten that he had used the mushroom he'd needed to win on Kitai. And though he may have saved the girl's life, he had lost the trial. His own life was forfeit. And the Marat, united, would ride against the people of his home.
"I…" Tavi said. He reached toward his pouch-and felt warm fingers inside.
Tavi looked down and saw Kitai drawing her hand back out of his pouch. Her eyes blinked open once, toward his, and he felt more than saw the silent gratitude in them, the respect for his courage.
"But it was so stupid," she whispered. Then she closed her eyes again.
Wordlessly, Tavi reached inside his pouch and found the second Blessing of Night where Kitai had left it. He drew it out on fingers already pricked and bleeding and offered it to Doroga.
Doroga knelt down on both knees in front of Tavi and accepted the Blessing, his expression grave. He looked down at the mushroom, then at Kitai's thigh, the yellowish venom drying there. His eyes widened with sudden realization, then went back to Tavi. Doroga's head tilted to one side, staring at him, and the boy felt certain that Gargant headman knew exactly what had happened in the alien valley below.
Doroga reached out and laid one huge hand on Kitai's pale hair for a moment, eyes gentle. Then he looked back at Tavi and said, "I loved her mother very much. Kitai is all I have left of her. You have courage, Aleran. You risked your life to save hers. And in doing so, you have saved not one, but two whom I love. Who are my family."
The Marat rose to his full height and reached down his hand to Tavi. "You have protected my family, my home. The One demands that I repay you for that debt, Aleran."
Tavi drew in a sharp breath and looked from Doroga to Hashat. The Horse warrior's eyes gleamed with a sudden excitement, and she drew in a breath, laying one of her hands on the hilt of her saber.
"Come, young man," Doroga said quietly. "My daughter needs to rest. And if I am to repay you, I have work to do. Will you come with me?"
Tavi took a breath, and when he spoke, his voice sounded, to him, to be deeper, more steady than he'd heard it before. For once, it didn't waver or crack. "I will come with you."
He took Doroga's hand. The huge Marat headman showed his teeth in a sudden, fierce smile and hauled Tavi to his feet.
Chapter 35
Amara took off her belt in pure frustratio
n and used the buckle to rap hard against the bars in the tiny window of the cell she'd been thrown into. "Guard!" she shouted, trying to force authority into her tone. "Guard, come down here at once!"
"Won't do any good," Bernard said, stretched out on the pallet against the far wall of the room. "They can't hear anything down here."
"It's been hours," Amara said, pacing back and forth in front of the door. "What could that idiot Pluvus be waiting for?"
Bernard rubbed at his beard with one hand. "Depends how gutless he is."
She stopped to look at him. "What do you mean?"
Bernard shrugged. "If he's ambitious, he's going to send out his own people to find out what's going on. He'll try to exploit the situation to his advantage."
"You don't think he is?"
"Not like that, no. Odds are, he's got Gram put in a bed somewhere, and he's dispatched a courier to carry word to Riva, informing them of the situation and asking for instructions."
Amara spat out an oath. "There isn't time for that. He'll have thought of it. He's got Knights Aeris around the perimeter of the Valley to intercept any airborne couriers."
"He? The man at the ford. The one who shot at Tavi." Though his tone didn't change much, Bernard's words held a note of bleak determination.
Amara folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the door, exhausted, frustrated. If it would have helped, she'd have started crying. "Yes. Fidelias." The bitter venom in her own voice surprised even her, and she repeated the name more quietly. "Fidelias."
Bernard turned his head to look at her for a long, quiet moment. "You know him."
She nodded once.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Amara swallowed. "He is… he was my teacher. My -patriserus."
Bernard sat up, frowning. "He's a Cursor?"
"Was," Amara said. "He's thrown in with someone. A rebel." She flushed, her face heating. "I probably shouldn't say any more, Steadholder."