by T. A. White
"And yet whenever I start to treat you as a beast, you're quick to remind me you’re more," she returned.
"The Flock is a contrary race," Ajari shrugged. "Our answers change based on our whims."
“I thought you were called the Tenrin.”
Ajari’s lips curled. “That is a term outsider’s have chosen to call us through the ages. To our kind, we are simply the Flock.”
Eva's eyes narrowed as she prepared to ask another question. Sebastian shifted under her, nearly dumping her to the ground. Ajari took advantage of her distraction and hopped down, following slowly in the throwaways’ footsteps.
"That's going to be a problem later," Eva said softly.
"Yes, but it won't be your problem," Caden agreed, drawing her attention.
Eva was mildly surprised he hadn't already moved off. That seemed to be his preferred method of doing things. Appear, issue a decree, then disappear before anyone could argue.
"Steer clear of the Lowlanders," Caden ordered. "They're resentful of their lot in life."
"Because the Trateri took them from their homes and now treat them like second-class citizens," Eva pointed out.
Caden made a small motion of agreement. "They have reason for their resentment, but it makes it powerful, nonetheless. You're an easy target."
"You could let them go home," Eva said.
It'd likely be easier on everyone.
Caden nodded. "We could, but that would create its own problems. We let them go home and the fighting might never stop. Or it will lead to more bloodshed than even we care to be responsible for. They're essentially hostages for their people's good behavior."
"Except there is no way to enforce that behavior because you don't know which throwaway came from which village.” Eva paused as her forehead wrinkled. "Do you?"
"I thought because you have spent so much time with us you would know better by now. We're not the barbarians the Lowlanders have cast us as. Every throwaway can be traced back to their village of origin. If necessary, we will enact the vengeance we promised if they stray too far over the line."
Caden's rebuke stung. She knew they weren't barbarians. Their society was too complex to make that claim. Nomads they might be, but they had their own record-keeping methods. Their own technology. How else would they have conquered such a large swath of the Broken Lands? Something never successfully achieved before now. Not since the cataclysm that had rent their world apart.
"We have never had a reason to act on that threat," Caden said. "Not yet anyway."
Her gaze sharpened. "You expect trouble?"
"There is always trouble—eventually. People become complacent. They convince themselves we can’t possibly mean what we say and that the consequences will pass them by." Caden’s gaze was distant. "That's when it will happen. Someone will step too far out of line. Test a boundary they shouldn't have. We'll be ready, even if those we rule think we aren't."
"So that's to be their lot in life? Forever under the Trateri's boot?" It seemed like a grim fate to Eva, and would almost definitely lead to the exact scenario Caden outlined.
"They're given the same opportunities to prove themselves as all Trateri are." Caden cast a glance up at Eva. "Or do you think you're mistreated, herd mistress?"
Eva stared back at him, turning over his words. She couldn't argue with him. It was true. While there were only a few, there were several former throwaways who'd managed to achieve positions of power within the Trateri ranks. It was enough to prove the concept.
Seeing he'd made his point, Caden pushed off the side of the wagon, hitting it with his closed fist. "Stay close to the Kyren tonight."
"Why?"
He arched an eyebrow, his expression slightly cruel. "Because I said so. That should be enough."
"You know someone is going to have a witty response for that someday," Eva called after him.
"Glad to see you've finally gotten over your fear of me," he returned.
She glared at his back, shouting, "I wasn't afraid." Seeing others in the company look over at her, Eva muttered to herself, "I was cautious. There's a difference."
There was the faintest echo of laughter in her mind as Sebastian moved out from under her, toppling Eva ungracefully to the floor.
She popped up, her braid sliding forward over her shoulder. "Rude."
Sebastian's tale flicked, hitting her in the face. She sputtered, pushing it away as that same laughter echoed in her mind. She froze, staring at him.
Was that laughter his?
Forgetting the prank he'd just played on her, Eva pushed herself to her feet as she pondered the impossibility of what she was considering. Or maybe it wasn't so impossible.
After all, Ajari seemed to be able to communicate with Sebastian. Perhaps it was through his thoughts. How else had he known Sebastian had chosen her as the intermediary?
She might have dismissed the thought except for all the other strange things that seemed to happen in this land.
When the impossible became your daily reality, nothing seemed out of reach.
"Can you do that again?" Eva asked Sebastian. Excitement buzzed in her veins. To be able to hear him, to speak with him and others like him, she could think of no other piece of magic she'd rather have.
One ear turned toward her as he looked over his shoulder at her. His expression was innocent. Or as innocent as a creature with teeth meant to rip and rend could be.
No laughter was forthcoming. There was no voice to be heard. Just the silence of her own mind.
"Never mind," she said, feeling the slightest sting of disappointment. "My head was in the clouds."
He flicked his ear at her again and then stomped a foot and lifted his lips to expose his teeth. It was their signal for hunger.
"You ate two hours ago. How can you be hungry again?" she asked, leaving the question of the laughter in her head for another time.
She got another face full of tail for that comment.
"Fine, you win," she told him. "I should refuse you since you're getting a bit of a belly, but I don't feel like riding with a hungry, grumpy Kyren all afternoon."
A hungry Kyren made for an unpredictable companion. Eva could already hear the laughter of everyone if she ended up as the meal for the very creature she was supposed to protect.
*
Eva unlatched Sebastian and stepped back as he stretched his wings, first one and then the other.
When he was done, she stepped close and ran her hands along them, testing for any tender spots or wounds she might have missed the last dozen times she'd done this.
Sebastian patiently waited, keeping her in view as she moved along the wings. He knew the routine by now. The first couple times they'd done this Eva had received a few bruises when he fought or jerked out of the way when she touched something sensitive.
With one last pat she left the wings to feel along his legs.
She hadn’t finished before he got impatient and launched into the sky, circling high overhead. Eva stepped out of the wagon, not paying attention as she watched Sebastian’s antics and nearly bumping into Jason as a result. She stopped right before she ran him over.
Like her, he was preoccupied with staring at the Kyren above them, the same wonder that she’d felt written all over his features. The sight made her like him just a little bit.
Noticing her, his expression closed down.
And there he was. The pain in her ass.
"You speak to him like he's one of us," Jason said abruptly.
Eva moved past him.
Jason paced beside her, not so easily thwarted. "Why is that?"
He rounded her and stopped in front of her, leaving Eva no choice but to stop too. It was that or run him over.
"Do you really want to know or are you going to stay locked up in your own narrow view?" Eva finally asked.
The apprentice hadn't gone out of his way to be kind to her. Around the other Trateri he ignored her or gave one-word answers to her questions.
"Yes, then. I talk to him like he's a person. Because he is. Treating him as anything else would be a disservice to him and me." What she didn't say, was she did the same for all of her charges. Mythological and equine alike.
He licked his lips, his attention going back to the Kyren.
Eva pushed past him, restraining her huff as he hurried after her. "Can you speak to him for me? I've tried to feed him and take care of him. He won't let me near."
"Then perhaps you should listen to what he’s saying," Eva said softly, not trying to be mean. "How would you like it if someone constantly pestered you?"
Jason needed to think before he acted, not rely so much on blind emotion. He had the makings of a good herd master, until he inevitably did something stupid and wiped away all the goodwill he’d earned.
"If I do that, he'll let me close?" Jason asked eagerly.
Probably not.
"Ask yourself—why do you feel this pressing need to be near him? Perhaps the answer will tell you why he refuses to let you," Eva said. "Improve yourself. Be a better person. Maybe then the Kyren will see something in you worth being around."
Ajari hadn't indicated as much but Eva had a theory. The Kyren seemed to be attracted to a certain type of person. Shea, the warriors who accompanied her, Eva. All had one thing in common. A noble spirit. Shea, at least, had a soul that shone with a light that had changed a nation.
Eva wasn't sure if she was correct, but it felt right. That would have to be enough.
Jason looked like she had struck him across the face. It was an uncomfortable feeling being the one doing the hurting, even if everything she had said was true.
This time when Eva stepped past him, he let her go and didn't follow.
Alone with her thoughts, she had time to take in their surroundings. Their day's journey hadn't managed to find a way around the lake. As a result, they had been forced to make camp for the night on its bank. Tomorrow they would follow its length again in the hopes they could find a way past.
The water's tide had gone out, leaving part of the banks exposed. Branches and the bones of large beasts stuck out of the muck and the mud like skeletal fingers.
To their right was a large cliff, small traces of shrubs and grass clinging to its side. Eva caught a flicker of white, realizing after a moment of staring it wasn't the only one. A herd of mountain goats stood on impossibly thin ledges so high above that Eva was afraid for them.
They, like the rest of those in this land, lacked the sense not to go places that might kill them.
"Dinner," Fiona said as she stared up at the goats with Eva.
"Only if you can catch them."
Fiona shrugged. "That part's easy. Shoot one through the heart and it'll fall off the cliff."
"Shattering every bone in its body when it makes contact with the ground," Eva pointed out. "Not sure about you, but I prefer my meat without splinters of bone."
Fiona frowned. "So picky. Do they teach all Lowlanders that?"
"Yes, we imbibe the trait with our mother's milk," Eva said, unruffled by the insult. Ollie and Hardwick sent worse jabs her way on a daily basis and got a kick when she responded in kind. It was part of the lifestyle. You gave as good as you got.
Fiona threw her head back on a laugh.
"Commander, we're ready for the hunt," Roscoe said from their side. As usual, Eva found Ghost a few feet away from his friend, impatiently waiting.
Fiona lifted a hand. "I'll be right there."
He snapped a sharp nod before he ambled toward Ghost.
Fiona tilted her head at them. "Can I convince you to come with us?"
Eva shook her head. "No, I have things to do here."
Not to mention she wasn't the best hunter, equally inept with both sword and spear. She could skin a rabbit with the best of them, but she preferred foraging over hunting.
"You sure?" Fiona asked, her expression skeptical.
A shadow passed over them from above, drawing both women's eyes.
"I'm sure," Eva said.
Fiona shook her head as she walked off, waving over her shoulder. "Suit yourself."
Alone, Eva moved through camp, pausing to check on the string of horses. Caia pulled loose with a whicker of greeting. Jason had learned quickly not to keep the gray tied too tightly, or risk upsetting the entire herd.
Eva moved through the string, greeting a few of her favorites, including Caden’s piebald stallion. Unlike his serious master, Nell could always make Eva laugh with his goofy antics. Watching him and Caia jockey for position went a long way to soothing some of Eva’s tension from the day.
She had to admit—Jason was doing a good job, picking up the slack Eva couldn't help but drop due to her preoccupation with Sebastian.
The Kyren landed at the base of the cliff, content to keep to himself. Eva caught a glimpse of Ajari perched on a ledge high above, his feet swinging over the edge as he watched the water.
Eva hesitated, knowing she should check in but wasn’t able to bring herself to walk in their direction. She’d had enough mythologicals for one night. She needed sleep and time before she could deal with them again.
Instead, she headed to the fire and found a small rock to claim as a seat, unsurprised when moments later Ollie settled beside her and handed her a bowl filled with seared meat flavored by whatever herbs or plants they'd encountered during their journey that day. Tubers cooked in the same fashion were the only nod to vegetables for the night.
Eva was grateful all the same.
Ollie relaxed with a sigh, shaking out his arm.
"Rough day?" Eva asked sympathetically.
He grunted, sounding surprisingly out of sorts for her normally chipper friend. "A bay stepped on my foot and then another of the brats bit me."
She raised an eyebrow. It seemed the warriors’ horses were in no better mood than their riders.
"How about you?" he asked, nodding toward her two pains in the ass.
"One of them dumped me on my ass and the other decided threats were the way to get me to do what he wanted," Eva said.
Ollie whistled. "Guess he doesn't know you too well."
"I wouldn't be too sure. I ended up doing exactly what he wanted," Eva said sourly.
"I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you turn the situation to your advantage." Ollie filled his mouth with another forkful of the meat. He chewed then swallowed. "That's my favorite trait of yours. You always find a way to make things work for you."
He had more confidence in her than she did.
Fiona flopped down across the fire from them, Ghost and Roscoe joining her.
"How was the hunt?" Eva asked.
"Successful," Fiona said, waving a hand at where a couple of the warriors were finishing up preparing the meat. It would feed the second wave. What was leftover would be tomorrow's meal.
"You should have come," Fiona teased.
Ollie snickered. "Eva's not really much of a hunter. Remember that time when you shot Landon in the ass with a slingshot?"
Fiona looked at Eva with interest, sensing a good story. Eva narrowed her eyes at her traitorous friend, saying through gritted teeth, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Tell us," Fiona urged, her eyes alight with excitement.
Ollie chuckled. "It was the first month after she joined us. Hardwick sent us and the rest of his apprentices at the time to scare off some predators who were harassing the herd."
"That was a long time ago," Eva protested.
"Not that long," he pointed out, before scooting forward on his rock. If there was anything the Trateri loved more than fighting, it was telling a good story around the campfire as night deepened around them. "You should have seen her. I don't think I've ever seen anyone worse with a slingshot."
Eva hung her head, knowing no amount of interference on her part would prevent the com
ing tale. She took up a stick, stabbing it morosely at the fire.
"She thought she finally had the hang of it but instead managed to nail Landon in the ass. Remembering the look on her face and the way he screamed before taking off across the pasture still makes Hardwick laugh. Landon thought a rat had bit him. It took all of us to catch him."
"It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't startled the horses," Eva grumbled.
"Which made them stampede through camp. The commander of the watch thought we were being attacked and tried to launch a counterattack." Ollie could barely breathe as he related the end.
Eva stabbed harder at the fire, not finding it nearly as funny as he did. She’d found colored rocks in her bags for months. Still, to this day, that commander got a worried look in his eye anytime he saw her with a sling shot.
"That was you?" Ghost asked with an interested look. "We heard all about that even over in Sawgrass company. Everyone had a story to tell about that incident."
Eva dropped her head and groaned. That wasn't exactly how she wanted other people to remember her.
"I'm going to get you for this," she warned Ollie.
He shrugged. "I'm sure you can add it to your list of my indiscretions."
"What's your story?" Laurell said, appearing beside Fiona and handing her a bowl of food before taking a seat with her own bowl.
Eva saw Caden appear out of the shadows like a ghost, finding his own seat around the campfire.
"No story," Eva said. "At least none worth telling."
Ollie snorted into his bowl.
"What?" she asked.
"That's a load of crap," Fiona said before he could.
"She's got you there," Ollie murmured in a voice meant only for Eva's ears.
"Might as well share." Laurell gave her a sympathetic look. "She won't quit nagging otherwise."
"I'm not sure why you're so set on hearing about my past. I'm sure all of yours are much more fascinating," Eva tried.
"We know all of our stories." Fiona pointed at herself. "Daughter to a long line of warriors." She jerked her thumb at Laurell. "Refused to become a weaver and joined the warriors instead." She pointed at Hanna who had taken a seat a few spots away from Fiona. "Joined a clan after her friends warned her not to and is now clanless, yet still found a place for herself next to the silver-tongued general." Fiona jerked her head at Caden. "Rose from his humble beginnings to become the Warlord's Sword. See, we’re all known entities. The only exception is you."