FIERCE: Sixteen Authors of Fantasy

by Mercedes Lackey

  While he was distracted, I searched for his belongings. I slinked to the right, keeping my eyes on the battle. I found boot prints that led over the side of a nearby cliff, but no supplies. I took cover behind dense bushes and waited for the fight to finish. When finally the hawgrald went limp, Skelkra dragged the bird into the open and slashed until flesh and feathers were a mangled mess. With its entrails, he made a ring around the corpse. He’s setting a trap.

  Skelkra searched the surrounding forest and then moved away. I followed, skirting around to the side to make sure he wouldn’t see me. I clutched my hunting knife, noting briefly that Abel, Skelkra’s Watcher, was nowhere to be seen. We soon arrived at his new camp. Judging by how well-established it was, I knew it had been there for some time. When I saw my bow, I trembled with rage, and I almost lost control at seeing the bear head.

  After several calming breaths, I scanned the trees to see if Thixal observed. She did, and I marvelled at how adept she was at keeping to the shadows.

  Skelkra struck at his own chest, legs, and face. He slapped and punched and growled at the trees; he jumped and flung his arms around. The Wolves often maddened themselves in preparation for battle. A wolf howled in the distance, and Skelkra’s gaze snapped to the woods. At the second howl, he flexed his shoulders and biceps.

  Knife still in hand, I crept to the bushes behind him. My heart thumped in my chest; the sounds of the forest crisped. I focused on my blade, the snow underfoot, the smell of the leaves, anything to ignore the pain in my body. I crouched and felt pressure on my thigh wound. It didn’t matter that I was injured; I had to win. I took one step forward, carefully placing my foot and silencing my breath. I took another. The wolf howled again, closer.

  Yes, I thought to the animal. Distract him.

  Skelkra moved to my stolen items, and the bear, my tribal animal, reminded me of my strength. If I could defeat a bear, then I could defeat Skelkra. I lowered myself and then sprang from the ground, raised my hand, and smacked the knife handle on the back of his skull with a crack. He slumped to the ground.

  Yes!

  A sob escaped my lips, and I dropped to my knees with relief. I heard the snarls of a wolf pack as they ripped apart the hawgrald flesh. Taking my ex-lover’s wrists, I dragged him to a tree and removed his pants so I could wear them, I tied him to a tree using my loincloth. Let’s hope the wolves don’t find you.

  I strung my bow across my body and took his four arrows. ‘Thank you,’ I said to the unconscious Wolf. He had a diverse range of tools, including an axe, flint, another set of boots that were roughly my size, and a tunic. How did he get all these supplies? I put on the tunic and shoes. When I couldn’t feel the leather of the boots around my toes, I worried about losing my toes. The bear head fit easily into a bag, and I lifted it. The strain forced blood from the wound on my leg. I needed Gevilka, the medicine woman.

  After gathering the items, I climbed down the mountainside, keeping to the tree line that ended several paces before the river. As I continued north, I heard Lild splashing about. When he got out, he crept along the fragile ice. There were dark circles around his eyes, and his lips were blue. After diving into the river again, he came up empty-handed.

  I narrowed my eyes as he ventured to the most dangerous parts of the ice. There was an almighty crack, and Lild disappeared beneath the hardened crust. I gasped and scanned the stretch of river. His hands appeared in a small gap downstream. He struggled against the current, spluttering and coughing. I dropped my bag and half ran, half limped towards him. I searched for his Watcher and saw that Sankat, the Wolf elder, observed him from the north. He was on the same side of the river as Lild.

  I waved him down. ‘Save your challenger!’

  The Wolf elder regarded me, but made no move to help.

  I yelled to Lild, ‘Pull yourself up!’ I searched for a place to cross, but the ice was weak, and I feared falling in as well.

  ‘Help!’ Lild cried. Panicked blue eyes fixed on me. His nails scraped against ice as he struggled to maintain his grip.

  ‘Sankat, save him!’ I screamed again, but the elder refused to interfere. The Wolves had always been merciless. They accepted death in whatever way the Mother of Nature chose to deliver it.

  ‘Move across!’ I shouted at Lild, gesturing wildly.

  If he could move more to the right, he could avoid the most forceful rushing waters. He managed to shuffle closer to the bank, but his grip failed and again he disappeared under the surface. Two beige hands pressed against inch-thick ice from underneath. I searched farther downstream, but there were no more breaks in the ice.

  I covered my mouth with my hand and looked to Sankat for help. The old man lowered his head and moved away. Lild’s belongings were across the river upstream. I picked up my bags and hobbled to them. Thixal appeared, making her way across to Sankat who’d just reached the treeline. I glared at them both as I crossed the river carefully. Halfway across, I saw one of the lightning-fast azure snakes Lild had been trying to capture.

  A tear slid down my face. If not for me, Lild wouldn’t have even been in this competition. I tried to pick up the snake boy’s bag, but as I hoisted it over my shoulder, pain shot through my body. I dropped it and discarded what I didn’t need. Eventually, all that remained were clothes, flint, and of course, Lild’s instructions. The image showed a snake being captured by bare hands. Why hadn’t they set him an easier task? The snakes were poisonous, the water deathly cold. Lild was a skilled snake-catcher. The Bestial Passage shouldn’t bring death.

  Lild’s clothes were smaller and made of lined leather. After changing my pants and pulling on the leather vest, I shrugged on a wool-lined coat and almost cried at the feeling of warmth and comfort. I hugged myself, feeling my extremities—except for my toes—finally heating up. I rolled up the extra knapsack, stored it away, and made my way back upstream with the intention of confronting Lild’s Watcher. Thixal and Sankat were in a heated discussion as I approached.

  I drew my dagger, pointing the tip at Sankat. ‘Why didn’t you intervene?’

  The scarred elder watched me, his expression indifferent.

  I nicked the first layer of flesh on his neck, the point just above his artery, and then screamed, ‘Why?’ The desire to murder him increased with heart beat. Heartless Wolf.

  ‘Do you want to forfeit your chance to win?’ The man kept his tone even as he spoke. ‘Jeykal scales the cliffs, and Ketnal has found a lion’s lair. You must get back if you wish to win.’

  I spat in his face, trembling harder. Thixal placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, glared at her, and stalked away. The rules of the Bestial Passage disgusted me. The confrontation had brought me only one pleasure.

  Jeykal was still alive.

  The Death Valley winds swept the falling snow in an almost horizontal direction. Gusts snapped twigs from trees. My red hair tangled and caught on my cracked lips. I stopped to drink from my water skin; only a half portion remained. The walk back proved difficult while my wound rotted, and felt the temperature of my face to check for fever.

  After several hours of walking, I emerged from the valley to see snowy plains stretching out to the woodlands on the horizon. The sun lingered in the sky, but darkness drew near. My stomach growled, so I set out for the trees and promised myself food and fire once I was within their safety. That night, I would rest and then rise early in the morning to travel by the stars.

  By the time I reached the trees, my exhaustion prevented me from lifting the bear head sack, so I dragged it behind me. Eventually I collapsed to the ground and closed my eyes. The snowfall increased, making me shiver. With jerky movements, I scraped my blade against the flint from my bag. A fire. That’s all I needed to survive the night.

  Sparks flew from the rock, and I unwound thread from one of the knapsacks and rolled it into a ball. With the last of my energy, I chopped down a dead tree with the axe and collected twigs and branches off the ground. The right leg of my pants was stained crims
on. My wound was bleeding again. Slowly, I pushed the material aside, tearing the skin that clung to it. The cold air stung the raw flesh.

  ‘That’s festered,’ someone said.

  I flicked my head to see Jeykal emerge from the woods carrying a small knapsack, and I was overcome with a mixture of relief and joy. His slim body was bare except for a small loincloth.

  ‘Did you…?’ I asked him, staring at his bag.

  All happiness faded from his expression.

  I clucked my tongue sympathetically and hugged him. He stiffened in my arms, and when I pulled away, his cheeks were red. ‘Sorry,’ I said, remembering that his feelings for me than mine were for him.

  ‘I’ll live.’ He grinned, but then his eyebrows dipped as he looked at my wound. ‘Besides, I can hunt again tomorrow.’

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I was at the top of a mountain and saw you stumbling across the snow plains.’

  ‘I’m glad you’re here.’ I stared at my failed attempt to start a fire and straightened my injured leg, cringing as I lost my balance.

  Jeykal caught my arm, but still I landed on my behind. My friend’s expression darkened as he kneeled down to take a closer look at my wound. ‘It needs maggots now.’

  ‘I know.’

  He indicated to the bear head. ‘That looks heavy.’

  I shrugged.

  ‘I’ll help you get home.’

  If he arrived empty-handed, he would shame his people, and they would not respect him as a leader. He needed to prove his worth.

  ‘No, you won’t. I’ll wait for you to be done,’ I countered.

  He picked up the axe and split a large log. ‘You deserve to rule. This whole thing is unfair on you.’ His eyes narrowed, and his upper lip twitched.

  ‘Look how weak I am. I can hardly walk.’ I didn’t want to tell Jeykal how I’d stupidly fallen for Skelkra’s act, how Skelkra and Thixal had helped me to survive, and how I’d been too slow to save Lild. ‘Do I really deserve to become the next chieftain?’

  ‘Of course you do.’ He snorted with astonishment. ‘You’ve the heart of a bear. And you succeeded in your task so far despite your leg. How did you survive?’

  I frowned. ‘I met Skelkra.’

  ‘The Wolf heir? He helped you? But that’s a disqualification. How could—?’

  ‘I killed the bear without him. He stopped the bleeding.’

  Jeykal hesitated. ‘I’m glad he was there. And now? Where is he?’

  ‘Tied up.’ I closed my eyes for a moment. ‘Lild drowned.’

  Jeykal’s eyes widened. ‘How can a Snake drown? They’re practically raised in water. What happened?’

  ‘Fell beneath the ice. I tried to save him, but as you can see…’ I looked down at my leg.

  ‘Wait, you said Skelkra is tied up. Did you tie him up?’

  I knew what he was hinting at. He wanted to know if I’d betrayed Skelkra because I had my prize.

  ‘Yes. But this morning, I awoke to find he’d taken all my possessions. He tricked me. I hunted him down and knocked him unconscious.’

  Jeykal beamed at me. ‘Then he got what he deserved. I never liked him.’

  I had never felt more naive or ashamed. Skelkra was the first man I’d ever allowed to touch me. I’d trusted him and given him my body, only to have him betray me. I decided then that I never wanted to bond to another. If I had been fooled once, I could be fooled again.

  ‘You liked him, didn’t you?’ Jeykal dragged half the log beside me, and we both moved up to sit.

  ‘Not anymore.’ I scraped my skinning knife against the flint, trying to make a spark. A small fire caught alight, and I loaded on kindling. We piled on more sticks, leaves, and branches, and I burned the bandage on my leg. I checked the bear’s head for hatched maggots, and finding none, I allowed flies to swarm on my spoiled flesh.

  I removed my boots, and massaged my toes until they burned with feeling. The fire grew, our stomachs rumbled, and we made plans to hunt.

  We jumped as an arrow thwacked against a nearby tree.

  ‘Good evening,’ said Ketnal, the Lion boy.

  Chapter V

  SWIFTLY NOCKING ANOTHER ARROW, KETNAL aimed at Jeykal, who’d already begun equipping his own bow. I eyed my knife lying a few feet away on the snow and cursed myself for putting it down in the first place.

  ‘What do you want?’ I asked the Lion boy.

  Jeykal didn’t move except to ask, ‘Have you…?’

  ‘Nah.’ Ketnal said, ‘Give me all your possessions. Now!’

  Jeykal swallowed fearfully, and then Ketnal’s shoulders began jiggling. He lowered his bow and laughed so hard he could hardly stand.

  I snatched my knife and pretended to throw it.

  Ketnal ducked and then laughed some more. ‘You won’t kill me. I know you, Klawdia.’ He snorted.

  My heart thrummed. ‘That wasn’t funny.’

  ‘Maybe not to you.’ He sat down and warmed his hands near the flames, stealing a glance at my bear’s head. ‘Well done. Although I see it came with a price.’ He nodded towards my leg.

  ‘So, you two travelling back together, then?’

  Jeykal and I exchanged glances. Without his prize, Ketnal couldn’t kill us, but he could devise other methods to sabotage our efforts. I noticed the four Watchers convening in the distance. Thixal, Sankat, Tasz of the Birds, and Emarkasa of the Bears.

  I smiled at Emarkasa, and she waved while beaming at me. Some time ago, Emarkasa had instructed me and Father in herbalism. Thixal scowled at Sankat from a distance. She definitely didn’t like him. I glared at him until his eyes met mine.

  ‘Did Skelkra or Lild die?’ Ketnal asked, nodding towards the group of Watchers, noticing the number imbalance between Watchers and competitors.

  ‘Lild fell into the river. He’s dead,’ I admitted.

  ‘And I suppose you pushed him,’ Ketnal said. ‘Now that you have the bear head, you could kill me, too. And Jeykal.’

  ‘She wouldn’t,’ Jeykal said passionately. ‘Why don’t have your prize yet?’

  The Lion boy grimaced. ‘I’m to kill it with an axe, but someone stole mine. In fact, that axe there looks familiar.’

  I’d taken the axe from Skelkra, but I was too embarrassed to admit to his deceiving me. ‘This was given to me.’

  Ketnal narrowed his eyes. ‘Yet it has the mark of a Lion metal worker.’

  I eyed the markings at the base of the axe’s handle and hid my surprise. Instead, I acknowledged Tasz, Ketnal’s watcher. The other elders exchanged pensive, silent glances which I tried to decipher.

  Ketnal tapped the edge of his bow against my right knee. ‘When did it happen?’

  ‘When I captured my prize.’

  ‘Surprised you survived that one. Have you seen Skelkra?’

  I changed the subject. ‘When did you lose your supplies?’

  ‘This morning. Early, too. Seems I may as well give up. I’ve no chance of winning.’

  Skelkra must have taken his things when I was asleep.

  ‘You will disgrace your parents if you do not bring back your lion…’ I realised I didn’t know what part of the lion Ketnal was supposed to bring back.

  ‘Tail,’ he finished for me. ‘This is all your fault by the way. If you were a boy I wouldn’t have to be here.’

  ‘But now you have a chance to be chieftain,’ I said.

  ‘Why would I want that?’

  I raised my eyebrows at him. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’

  Ketnal snorted. ‘You Bears. So power hungry.’

  I stared into the flames, trying to push away the guilt. He was right; my birth had initiated the Bestial Passage. ‘You will find another place to camp tonight,’ I stated.

  ‘I have nothing but my bow. Not a knife to create arrows with. Nothing to eat. I won’t be trouble.’

  ‘I can’t trust you.’

  ‘You can’t trust me. Really? A bear can’t trust a lion. Makes sense. Your own father doesn
’t even trust you.’

  I wanted to cut him as deeply as his words had cut me. ‘While I sleep, you might steal my prize.’

  ‘A good plan! I wish I’d thought of it,’ he teased.

  ‘Go,’ I shouted, and stood. My injury complained, but I hid the pain from my face.

  Ketnal froze and regarded me for a moment, his smile turning to a smirk. ‘Fine.’ He turned and slipped into the darkness. Tasz sighed and followed.

  My mood continued a downward spiral into anger and I plonked myself back down. ‘Filthy savage, now we can’t sleep tonight.’ I stabbed my blade into the ground.

  Jeykal nodded. ‘The Lions are crafty.’

  ‘I took some arrows from Skelkra,’ I whispered. ‘I’ll go hunt.’

  As I rose, Jeykal pushed down on my shoulder. ‘I’ll do it.’

  While I was willing to hunt, we both knew my fatigue and pain would ruin any attempted stealth. Jeykal took the bow and moved away, and Emarkasa followed him. I heard a snap as Jeykal stepped on a twig in the forest. I angled my head to see if I heard anything else. Many heartbeats later, I smiled at Jeykal’s stealth.

  While my friend hunted, I offered the Watchers Ketnal’s axe, and asked them to construct their camp away from ours. I didn’t want Sankat nearby.

  Soon after, feet squeaked in the snow, and Jeykal appeared, lugging a deer. Emarkasa settled back beside Thixal and Sankat. I skinned the beast, carved off the steaks for the fire, and placed them on the coals. The meat bubbled, and a delicious aroma filled the air. My mouth watered as I watched the food cook.

  ‘I’m wearing two shirts,’ I said. ‘Let me give you one.’

  Jeykal nodded and eagerly took the clothing.

  I glanced at his feet and noticed that his left black toe. ‘Is it…?’ I pointed.

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘Here.’ I unrolled one of my sacks and cut it up into two strips. ‘Use these for your feet.’ I regretted not having taken the other pair of boots from Skelkra.

  ‘Please. Let me share in your meal,’ Ketnal cried from the surrounding trees.

  I snatched up my dagger, searching the woods. Jeykal’s bow groaned as he nocked an arrow.