by M. D. Grimm
When none of the soldiers he brought signaled a secret unit of enemy soldiers waiting, Kodie knew this was all the Dathians had to win the pass. Kodie and his soldiers could overpower them easily. He brought the horn around his neck to his lips and gave two short blasts. Screaming like berserkers, soldiers flooded into the battle below, blue and gold tunics standing out starkly against the Dathians’ green and black.
He stood on the cliff, satisfied as his troops drove the enemy to their knees, slaughtering all but a few. They needed information, after all. Where were their mountain camps? He knew their base camp was at the foot of the mountains, and they likely had smaller posts stationed along the pass down the east side, closest to their country. He just had to learn where.
An instinct to danger had Kodie spinning around. But too late. The arrow struck his bicep, finding the only bit of flesh without armor. He hissed and gripped the shaft, cursing the green feathers. Looking over, he saw the masked, crouched archer, wearing all black, a green feather in his helmet. How they could shoot arrows with accuracy in such conditions was one of their enviable skills. They had to know dark sorcery of some sort.
Kodie knew better than to yank out the arrow. The barbed tip made extraction painful and damaging to flesh and muscle. He snapped the shaft in half and gripped his axe even as another arrow shot through the air. He turned his back and the arrow glanced off his breastplate.
The arrow wasn’t poisoned. That told him the fendra wanted to capture him alive. Kodie bellowed out a war cry and charged. The fendra dropped his bow and unsheathed his wickedly curved sword. Blades clashed and whistled through the air as they committed to a deadly dance across the snow. Neither gave an inch, and the fendra never hesitated to give killing blows, each one Kodie blocked. Perhaps he’d been wrong. Perhaps the fendra had orders to kill him. Then why not use a poisoned arrow?
His soldiers suddenly gave cries of triumph, indicating their victory.
“Where are your friends?” Kodie asked.
The fendra said nothing, only continued to charge and block. Fendras never hunted alone. Yet his soldiers indicated no hidden enemy before the charge. But fendras knew how to use the environment to their advantage.
Kodie managed to shove the soldier off balance long enough to blow his horn, one long, then two short bursts of noise. The cheering below the cliff stopped as the warning penetrated their battle-drenched minds. The fight wasn’t over.
The fendra drove Kodie to the edge of the cliff. Kodie managed to turn in such a way that when the fendra charged and struck the axe out of Kodie’s hand, he overbalanced and fell off the cliff. What Kodie didn’t plan on was the fendra’s quick reflexes. A black-gloved hand lashed out and grabbed the edge of his breastplate. Kodie’s breath hitched as he pitched over the cliff with the fendra. The fall jarred them both but the fendra recovered first, and as Senician soldiers dashed toward their fallen commander, the fendra pulled out a dagger and stabbed Kodie’s side, the thin blade finding an opening. Kodie screamed as the blade dug between his ribs.
Soldiers pulled the fendra off and beheaded him. Kodie gripped his side.
Oh gods!
The dagger was poisoned. He felt the burn of it rush through his veins. He was dead. He knew it, and wished he hadn’t allowed ego to push him from Jeth’s side. From his bed. Kodie would die not knowing what it would be like to love his friend completely.
“Commander!” Nadya dropped next to him and pulled his hand away from his side. “Hold still!”
She unlaced his breastplate and pressed a cloth to the wound. With the other hand, she dug through her healer’s bag.
“Don’t waste your energy,” he whispered.
“Shut up!”
Kodie gripped her hand painfully even as his strength rapidly faded. She met his eyes.
“I order you to leave me.”
“No.”
The soldiers gathered around heard his words and immediately protested. Kodie looked at their faces and loved them all.
“There could be more fendras,” he said through gritted teeth. He began to tremble as the poison pumped through his heart. “Take care of your other wounded and get to safety. We must hold this pass from a safe vantage point. Get to the caves, and we can lay traps and keep an eye out for more attacks. Leave me here and get to work. That is an order!”
He put enough force behind his words to have them following his orders. Nadya stayed by his side. Her loyalty wouldn’t be enough. It was unknown what type of poison the fendras used on their blades and arrowheads. There wasn’t an antidote.
He closed his eyes. I’m sorry, Jeth. I love you so much.
Time passed. The pain overwhelmed him enough that he fainted multiple times. Fire burned inside him, in his bones and muscles, in his heart and veins. In his head, behind his eyes. He couldn’t speak or see. He could barely hear. He clenched his hands into fists and knew this was one of the most agonizing ways to die. The damned fendras did that intentionally.
He heard snippets of conversations and arguments, a few hurried scuffles, battle cries, and could do nothing. He could barely string two coherent thoughts together. He thought was lifted, though couldn’t sure. He thought he still heard battle shouts, yet wondered if his delirious mind conjured such sounds.
Then he was alone. Kodie managed to crack open his eyes and smelled the damp cold of a cave, heard the near-silence of the mountain. Only the murmuring wind met his ears. Good. They finally followed his orders. He would die alone. He was soaked in cold sweat and the paralysis prevented him from finding any comfort. His body still burned, and with each breath he moaned. Could he just die already? Why must this draw out?
Shuffling and grunting nearby had Kodie squeezing his eyes shut. Was he to be eaten by some beast of the mountains? A bear or saberwolf? Was this punishment for some past transgression?
Hot breath fanned over his face and curiosity as to the beast that would devour him had Kodie opening his eyes again. All he saw were eyes of deepest onyx, dark and sharp like the rock they resembled.
Somehow, he pushed one single word past his dry throat and cracked lips, “Jeth?”
The dark eyes widened. A deep, hoarse voice said, “You know my son?”
Kodie’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as the pain reached a new level of agony.
Chapter Four
Twenty years earlier
Kodie took a shortcut to the market. He trotted down several alleyways between houses and a few businesses. He kicked several big rocks because he could and wiped his runny nose with his sleeve. He muttered the list of items his mother had given him, determined not to forget a single thing. The sound of kids shouting disrupted his recitation. Duties fled from his mind at the thought of a game of ball. He raced down the narrow alley and turned to his right.
He froze in his tracks.
Five boys, all around his own age, threw rocks at a larger child, taunting and crude words filling the enclosed area. The victim of the mob had black hair covering a broad face, and his clothes were worn, yet clean. Kodie couldn’t see much else since his arms protected his face.
Kodie clenched his hands into fists and looked around to find rocks of his own.
“Stop it!” the larger boy said. He snatched up the rocks piled at his feet.
“Get the freak!” one of the taunting boys said before he chucked a massive rock at the large boy’s head.
The black-haired boy ducked and chucked one of his own. It hit one of the other boys in the stomach, and he fell to his knees retching.
“Is that what you want?” The large boy chucked other rocks at those surrounding him. Kodie grabbed two rocks and threw them at the bullies. That was when they turned and noticed him.
“Not so fun when you’re the one getting hit, is it?” The next rock Kodie threw hit a child right in the forehead.
It would seem that with the large boy fighting back, and Kodie backing him up, both with skill enough to hit their targets, the other boys decided to scatte
r. Kodie panted, forgetting them the second they were out of sight. He turned to the large boy to find him panting as well and staring at Kodie like he had two heads.
Kodie knew this boy. Or, at least, knew him by reputation. He lived alone with his mother on the outskirts of town. She was a tall, broad lady, and it seemed her son took after her. Yet Kodie knew the rumors about her, about him....
Giant lover and giant spawn.
Instead of being afraid, he was fascinated.
The boy looked around fourteen or fifteen winters. But Kodie once heard his parents talking one night... the supposed giant spawn was only eleven like himself.
Kodie cautiously approached the boy with his hands visible, indicating he wasn’t going to throw anything at him. The boy watched him like a cornered fox against hounds.
“My name’s Kodie.” He held out his hand. The boy stared at it as if it was a snake about to bite him. A moment of silence passed before the boy took his hand. The grip was light, the fingers barely squeezing. It would seem he knew his own strength. Kodie smile, and the boy seemed staggered by it.
“Jeth.”
He really did have black eyes. They glimmered from behind the long, black hair covering most of his face. His hands were rough and callused, indicating he worked with them. Kodie liked people who worked with their hands. His father always told him those who worked with their hands knew discipline and patience, and appreciated a good hard day’s work.
“I’m sorry they threw rocks at you,” Kodie said as they let go.
Jeth shrugged and hunched his shoulders. “Not you’re doing. They’re stupid and ignorant and hateful. At least, that’s what my mama says.”
Kodie nodded. “You’re mother’s right. I know what you are.”
Jeth’s gaze darkened, and his hands clenched into fists. He took a step back.
“Wait!” Kodie held out a hand, panicking. “I didn’t mean it like that. I, um, I think it’s amazing what you are. I don’t, um, I don’t hate you. And I don’t think I’m ignorant or stupid.”
Jeth’s eyes widened. “What?”
Kodie grinned and, despite his trembling gut—Jeth was quite big and bulky—he reached out and gently touched Jeth’s arm. Jeth looked down and frowned at the contact. He appeared more puzzled than anything.
“I want to be your friend,” Kodie said, tugging slightly. “Will you be my friend?”
Jeth looked up, met Kodie’s eyes. He blinked once. Then twice. Then opened his mouth but no sound came out.
“Come on,” Kodie said, deciding for both of them. “You can help me shop. My mother gave me a list of things to buy.”
“How?” There was interest in Jeth’s voice.
“You’re so big, you can make a path through the people so I don’t drop anything. I always get jostled, I’m so small. You wanna?”
Jeth grinned. It transformed his entire demeanor.
***
Two years later
The butcher screamed as they dashed out of sight. They laughed as they ran, big pieces of meat underneath their arms and down their tunics. They turned a corner and stopped to catch their breaths as they look over their stolen goods.
Kodie laughed. “That was so bad.” He pulled out the meat from his tunic. Jeth grinned and, not for the first time, thought it was a miracle Kodie had found him. The boy was one-of-a-kind, and he came from a wonderful family. They didn’t care that Jeth had giant blood in him. They welcomed him and his mother into their family, and Jeth finally felt like he belonged. He knew his mother always wanted a family. He’d blamed himself his entire life for being the cause of her loneliness.
But she never blamed him.
“Hey, what’d you get?” Kodie asked.
Jeth pulled out large drumsticks and a big piece of steak that made Kodie goggle.
“The gods be praised! We’ll eat good tonight.”
Jeth laughed and ruffled Kodie’s blond hair. They only stole from the butcher because he denied both of their families his business. He didn’t want to sell to people who associated with giants or their ilk. Or their whores. Jeth wanted to do worse than theft to the man who dared call his mother a whore.
Kodie took off his cloak and laid it out on the ground so they could bundle up the meat, then he tied it closed. Before he could attempt to lift it, Jeth waved him away and lifted it himself without any trouble. He slung it over his shoulder, and Kodie smiled while shaking his head.
“You’re useful sometimes, you know that?” Kodie said. Jeth snorted and jerked his head for his friend to lead the way.
“I mean, really. You can lift a wagon to fix it... one my father can’t even lift, and he’s a big man. And you’re an apprentice blacksmith to my uncle, and you reign in wild horses.”
“And I steal meat.”
Kodie snorted. “And you steal meat. You’re a rare find, my friend. A rare find.”
Jeth’s stomach warmed with the praise, and he nudged Kodie with his shoulder. Kodie had grown taller as he grew older. Not as tall as Jeth, of course. At thirteen winters, he looked about nineteen. Kodie appeared sixteen, and that was without giant’s blood in his veins.
“You think your mother will be mad?” Kodie asked with a sideways glance.
Jeth shrugged, not wanting to think about it. “Probably, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s either eat the meat or let it go to waste. The butcher won’t want it back after I’ve touched it.”
Even he heard the bitterness in his voice. He looked at the surrounding fields as they walked down the lane, the houses set farther and farther apart as they left the town center. The sky was a cheery blue with puffy white clouds. The spring wind was refreshing, and calves followed close to their mothers as they grazed, unconcerned with the world. He felt Kodie’s eyes on him.
“What he thinks doesn’t matter.” Kodie laid a hand on his arm. “Don’t let his ignorance hurt you. He’s not important.”
Jeth nodded, not trusting himself to speak. As a child he didn’t understand the fear and the hatred his very presence bred. As he grew older he began to hate the people who hated him. He began to meet their viciousness with his own. Why try to understand them if they didn’t try to understand him? He knew his mother wanted him to try and get along with people but he refused. He wasn’t going to pander to their ignorance and grovel for their understanding. Kodie was right. They weren’t important.
The very thought of begging for acceptance left a vile taste in his mouth. He wouldn’t have his mother pander either. She was a goddess. The people of this town should beg for her attention and her love.
“Hey,” Kodie said, jerking him out of his thoughts. He looked at his friend.
“What?”
“Stop it.”
He scowled. “Stop what?”
Kodie raised an eyebrow. “You have that look on your face. Stop thinking about dark stuff. It makes you look... well... like a giant.”
Jeth rolled his eyes. “Huh, I wonder why,” he said dryly. Then he raised an eyebrow. “Ever seen a giant?”
“Once. My brother and I were hiking through woods north of here by the mountain. We hid and watched as this huge creature came striding in front of us. He was huge with a dark look about him. He attacked a sheep herd later that day.”
“The farmer should be thankful the giant didn’t attack him.”
Kodie shrugged. “Just saying. You get that look and you remind me of that giant.”
Jeth frowned. He could see the fear in Kodie’s eyes as he spoke about the encounter. He didn’t want his friend to fear him. Yet he was giant’s ilk.
“I’ll try not to.”
“Thanks.”
They walked up a long gravel lane with fields of sheep and cows on either side. Two cottages came into view before long. Kodie’s family built a small cottage for Jeth and his mother right across the lane from their own. Jeth’s mother worked as a cook for them, but he knew it was more of a friendly arrangement than a true master-servant one. He wouldn’t
allow his mother to be anyone’s servant, not even Kodie’s family.
Jeth didn’t know why they were so different, and he thanked the gods for it. Yet because of their association with him and his mother, the entire town began to shun Kodie’s family as well. As a result, Kodie’s family could only sell their wool and milk to the town next to theirs. Despite the inconvenient distance, Kodie’s family seemed to value familial loyalty above profits.
They were gifts from the gods on their most generous days.
The boys stopped on the road between the two cottages.
“So, now we have to admit to our crime,” Kodie said. Jeth nodded. “Your mother’s probably with my family. Maybe we should tell all of them at the same time.”
“Good idea. It will be harder to scold two of us.”
“Right. And you’re like three boys, anyway.”
Jeth smiled. Kodie always jested about his height and width, and Jeth knew they were filled with appreciation, not insult. Kodie liked the fact he was so big. It was nice to be liked for who and what he was, after all the derision from other people.
The boys walked into Kodie’s home and were immediately buried in bodies. Kodie’s parents, his brother, his sisters and their families, and his uncle and his family, all of them somehow fit into the modest cottage comfortably despite the young children running around like maniacs, and the dogs that would chase them and steal food from the tables.
Jeth set down his load on the table and the sound cut off, like a scythe through a grain stock. Everyone looked at the large bundle then at the boys standing side-by-side.
Jeth knew Kodie would never steal for himself. It was for his family, for everyone staring at them incredulously that he’d helped Jeth. They weren’t starving, but they were close to it. The small children were the most vulnerable. And one of Kodie’s small cousins, Patrica, was ill. She was only three winters old and needed to be under constant observation. Only the healer in the next town would check on her since even the healer in their town shunned them all.