Season of Hytalia

by Jennifer Arntson

  My muscles twitched, but with no clear path to run, I stayed put in a whirl of confusion and fear. I considered attacking him, like the guard in the laundry, but surely whatever I did to him would not go unnoticed. The fate of my family depended on my next move. No matter how much wolf blood raced through my veins, I’d never risk their lives for my own.

  Blue cussed and threatened me, screaming at me to obey him and get on his horse. He kicked the gravel in the road, balled his fist, and pulled back to strike me again, but I didn’t do anything except shield my face. Nothing calmed him. I tried to talk him down, only to be shut up by more of his random threats. He attempted to lift me by my arm, but I was able to kick him away. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I couldn’t let him take me.

  And then I saw them. At the far end of the road, my father and brothers had returned home from the valley. I’m sure it was not difficult to conclude what was happening. Even if the men didn’t hear Blue’s accusations, they could make an accurate assumption by what could be seen.

  Blue berated me with such intensity, he didn’t notice anyone but me kneeling before him. His own venomous words filled his ears, distracting him from the rickety sound of the wagon’s wheels, closing the distance on the road behind him. Perhaps he’d leave if he were outnumbered. If fists came to blows, the men of my family would have no trouble subduing him, not that I wished it to come to that.

  He picked up a handful of dirt and gravel and threw it at my head. When that failed to satisfy his rage, he searched for something bigger to use. When he saw my father, he cursed. My father ordered Rebel to go faster, and the horse ran from the whip stinging his hindquarters.

  Realizing his time of opportunity was short, Blue yanked me up from the dirt by my hair and turned me toward his horse. “Get on the damn animal! I’m not playing games with you anymore.”

  Trying to defend myself, I slammed my heel into the toe of his shoe, and he retaliated by smacking my face into the horse’s saddle.

  “Blue! What are you doing?” I heard my mother cry.

  “Stay back, Redena!” he ordered.

  She grabbed his arms and tugged him back. He pushed her off, and she fell onto the ground.

  In a desperate attempt to take control of the situation, Blue pulled me in front of him. Holding me securely with a fistful of my hair, he produced a blade from his side and held it firmly against my throat.

  Mother gasped. “Oh, gods, Blue, you’re making a terrible mistake!”

  He dragged me to the other side of his mare, keeping everyone and everything in his view.

  Calish, my father, and Marsh launched themselves from the racing wagon, a few yards ahead of us. Rebel continued to run, losing control of the empty cart behind him. The front wheel snapped, forcing the horse off balance. He went one way, and his load went the other, wedging one of the back wheels in the bank of the gulch. He landed on his side, flopping like a fish fresh out of the river, trying to get back up but lacking the freedom to do so.

  The blade pressed deep enough to indent my skin without piercing it. “Tawl,” he ordered, “get your family inside. I’m taking her home with me, where she belongs.”

  “Blue—” Father panted “—put it down.”

  “This is not a discussion! She’s mine.” He tugged at my hair, and I screamed.

  “Please, listen to him,” I begged, feeling the blade’s edge bite my flesh. I tried to control my movements, but as I wept, my neck opened layer by layer against his unforgiving steel. He came to collect me, and I came to him freely. How stupid could I be?

  Calish stepped forward with his hands out, fingers sprawled so everyone could see he didn’t have a weapon of his own. “This isn’t you. Look what you’re doing. I thought you loved her.”

  “He’s taken an elixir,” Mother warned.

  “How would you know that?” Blue sneered.

  Calish stole his attention with a soothing voice. “Listen to me, put the blade down.”

  “Give me one reason.”

  He chewed the inside of his lower lip nervously and glanced down at our mother. He couldn’t let Blue take me. If he did, I might not ever see them again. I knew what he would say, and the words I expected were the only thing I feared more than the blade at my throat. Calish lowered his hands, hoping the farmer would do the same. When Blue didn’t, he confessed, “She’s pregnant.”

  My father’s fearful expression disappeared, replaced with confusion. I slammed my eyes shut, praying this had been a dream—a vision I could circumvent somehow.

  The pressure of the blade against my jugular relaxed. “What did you say?”

  This time, he said it slowly and more purposefully. “She’s pregnant, Blue. Una’s with child.”

  The cold steel against my throat disappeared, and my hair fell naturally behind me. My captor dropped his arm to his side, the weapon slipping out of his grip and landing at his feet.

  I ran to my mother, who stood eager to grab me. She hurried me over the bridge, and as soon as we were out of reach, Marsh sprinted past Calish and tackled the farmer. They fell to the ground where my brother landed his fist in Blue’s face before pulling back for another strike.

  “No!” Mother cried.

  “You son of a bitch! You hit a woman! You fucking coward!” Marsh continued swinging as Calish pulled him off him.

  Rolling to his side, Blue coughed. “Who?” he demanded, wiping the blood from his face. “Tell me his name!”

  I couldn’t confess the truth, not here, not now in front of everyone.

  As I stalled, my father came to his own conclusion. He’d heard the stories about my time in prison, and the suspicions of an overprotective parent became reality, fueled by Reinick’s account. He knew about the guard in the laundry, at least he thought he did, and from that, he assumed the answer to the question. In an instant, he transformed from a loving father to a vengeful one.

  Blue had just made it back up onto his own feet when my father punched him squarely in the face. The farmer’s head turned helplessly with the follow-through of the assault, and it nearly knocked him out. If he hadn’t grabbed the horse’s saddle to keep himself upright, he may not have been able to manage to stand at all. He drooled blood into the dirt as he tried to get his wits about him.

  Father stretched his hand, clenching it to the point his knuckles turned white. “You sorry excuse for a man,” he growled. He waited for him to turn around as if he wanted to see the kid’s face before landing another punch.

  “She’s the whore,” Blue slurred, pointing at me. “I didn’t get her pregnant. Hit her.”

  “You may not be the man who did it, but it’s your fault.” Father spun him around, pinning him up against the side of his horse.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I gave you permission to have my daughter, my only daughter! You said you’d protect her! And what did you do?”

  “I didn’t fuck her, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  My father slugged him in the face again. Blue fell to his knees. He held his jaw for a moment before pulling himself back up again. “You sent her to prison where she was—” he choked back his hatred “—her innocence was taken by a guard. I would have killed him myself if someone didn’t get to him first!” His arm started to shake, and whatever stamina it would take to hit the Citizen was tangled in despair over what he thought had happened to me.

  Calish gently pulled my father back. He didn’t want the conversation to continue. “Let’s go.”

  Father let his son lead him away, still swarmed by grief. “She’s pregnant, and it’s entirely your fault! You’ve darkened your father’s name in the book of the gods. He’d disown you if he were still alive and cast your soul into the demon’s mouth himself.”

  Blue cleaned the blood off his face with a handkerchief from his pocket. “Good thing I don’t have a father, then. I’d hate to disappoint him. You know, it’s funny that you mention his death, considering I don’t only own your
precious daughter, but your land, your animals, and your house, too.” He wadded up the bloody cloth, threw it at my father, and laughed. “When you die, I’m going to burn this shithole to the ground. Consider yourselves warned. I hope you live a long, healthy life, Tawl. It’d be a shame if your children were suddenly orphaned like me, don’t you think?”

  By threatening my father’s life, Blue threatened the whole family. He owned all of us. As a Citizen, he could have killed any of us without facing any charges from the Authority. With the Petition being accepted, he not only had rights following his death, he controlled our lives as long as he lived. His ultimate influence was intangible and equally as dangerous.

  Blue didn’t come here to check on me or to apologize; I doubt he cared to discuss our relationship. As he said, he came to collect his property, making it clear that he ruled the fate of my entire family. He didn’t purchase one slave—he bought five. One slave would welcome death, whereas we would do anything to preserve the lives of each other.

  Blue found the weakness the Authority had missed. Taking our birthright was an inconvenience, but our commitment to our family proved to be our only vulnerability. Although young, he was not stupid. He recognized our folly long before I did, revealing his hand when the time was right. He told me once that he didn’t care about my family, other than they mattered to me. This is what he meant. It wasn’t a statement of compassion as much as it was a strategy of control.

  My parents, as well-intentioned as they were, walked blissfully into a well-set trap. Pantis was most likely an innocent accessory to the plan; however, Blue and his grandmother proved themselves far more conniving and patient. My mother may have saved Marquette’s grandson, but Redena would pay every day of her life for the loss of the old woman’s beloved son.

  I watched Calish as the weight of Blue’s intention landed in his gut. It was as if a strong wind had blown him back, yet failed to knock him down. With clarity and determination, he squared his shoulders. His head bobbed as the prospect of our new reality became as transparent to him as it had to the rest of us. He stood on the bridge to our land as if guarding it himself. “You’re wrong, farmer. You don’t own any of it,” he seethed. “I own all of it, including Una. Now, get on your horse and get the fuck out of here before I kill you myself.”

  Blue chuckled and winked at me. “She still wears my coin, Brother.”

  Calish wasted little effort snapping the charm from around my neck. He walked confidently back to him, slamming the medallion into its owner’s chest. “No. She doesn’t.”

  A toothy, evil smile pulled across his oozing lips. “You’re treading on some serious ground here, Scab. The penalty for what you’ve done is death.”

  “For Scavengers, yes,” Calish agreed. He took a deep breath and whispered in his ear, “Lucky for me, I’m not a Scavenger.”

  Confusion washed over Blue’s face. “Then what are you?”

  Pulling his blade from his hip, he held the point under the farmer’s chin. “I’m the Junior Lord of the Authority. Now as I said, leave, while you still have your head.”

  Defiance filled Blue’s eyes, yet he knew he would not survive a fight no matter the truth of the information given. He moved his jaw and stepped back. His fists flinched with anticipation.

  Does he know what my father’s birthright was before he lost it? Does he know who my grandfather was?

  Of course he did. My parents weren’t always Scavengers; a story I’m sure his grandmother loved to tell. The woman lived on gossip the way most required breath.

  Blue freed the horse from the post, barely mounting him on his first attempt. “This isn’t over,” he yelled, turning his steed around. He kicked his heels into the beast’s ribs and rode away on the road he came in on.

  A stifling silence took hold. Not even the air moved. My mother wrapped her arms around herself. The charges against our family were too numerous to count, and we were all as good as dead. The awareness of our fate anchored us where we stood. Everyone but Calish. He sheathed his blade and shoved back the curl that had fallen onto his forehead. Father tried to say something, but Calish shut him up with a curt word. He stormed over the bridge, heading straight for the hay barn.

  Finally, my locked knees gave the muscles in my legs the ability to move. I ran to his side. “Please, don’t do this,” I begged, grabbing his arm to stop him.

  He turned with fury burning across his face. “I would kill a hundred innocent men before I’d ever let that man touch you again,” he growled.

  His words were paralyzing. I didn’t chase after him; instead, I stood in the middle of the yard, unable to breathe.

  He threw open the door to the hay barn, and a moment later, the great illustrious golden-brown hawk emerged in the gap. He hopped into the damp moss and surveyed his surroundings. Slowly, as if after a night’s slumber, he opened himself up, stretching his wings in an elegant display of beauty. He lifted his shoulders up and let them fall so that his wingtips brushed the ground. His beak pointed down, his eyes focused somewhere across the field, and his back arched to raise the greatness of his species. A short run and a few thrusts of his wings gave him freedom from gravity into the winds of inevitability. He inched up until his range was no longer obstructed by the land below, and a full effort of his talent was permitted.

  Calish stepped out of the barn as the hawk flew over our heads, out of the reach of mortal men. Time stood still as the messenger soared over the trees and out of sight. He headed straight for the Authority Building, where its master no doubt was anxiously awaiting his arrival. The only question was, who would come for Calish first? Reinick or Blue?

  Chapter 8

  I didn’t fall asleep that night; in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone lay awake. There was no snoring, no shifting around in the beds. Nothing. The only movement that existed under our roof was Rain, who remained on the lower floor pacing back and forth in front of the door. His claws tapped with every step. I counted them in each direction as I had with the guards at the prison. If his noises annoyed me, I doubt the sounds soothed anyone else either. There was plenty to keep us awake. To have it reinforced by an anxious pet feeding off a house full of worry and regret made sleeping more difficult. I climbed down the ladder to calm him, but my efforts to quiet him failed. He wants to hunt.

  I didn’t open the door fast enough. Rain pushed himself through it so quickly; he forced the knob out of my hand. There was no use shouting at him; I understood his desperation to get outside. At least it wasn’t raining. Seeing stars over the trees, I followed him out, making sure to close the door firmly behind me.

  Rain dashed across the yard one way and then the other with exhilaration that came with sudden freedom. I made my way over to the rabbit’s hutch and grabbed one as it was sleeping. I carried it into the neighboring field, and it fought against me the entire time. As much as the animal hated my handling it, it would hate me letting it go more.

  Predators needed a natural environment to hunt, not an enclosed parcel inhabited by my family. Unsure if the pup would be fast enough without a proper teacher, I considered breaking the rabbit’s leg to slow him down. Gazing into the innocent face of the hare, I apologized for the exercise I intended to orchestrate at its expense. After further consideration, I opted not to injure it. If it got away, it would be a more valuable lesson to Rain than one that gave him a false sense of success. Besides, if I crippled the rabbit and he still failed to kill it, then the poor thing would suffer for no reason and die a useless death.

  Rain ran to my side, eager to find out what I held captive in my arms.

  “Sit,” I ordered, and he obeyed. “This animal gives its life to you. Take it from him quickly.”

  I grabbed a handful of Rain’s neck as I set the rabbit down in the grass. Without hesitation, the hare bolted from us. The pup’s muscles twitched wildly under my grip. He held his breath, letting it out in only short bursts, watching the prey bound across the open field.

  “
Wait.” One. Two. Three. “Go!” I released my hold, and he dashed through the darkness so gracefully, I thought he might be flying. The wolf had no trouble scooping the rabbit up in his crushing jaws. He ran a victory arc with his prize hanging limp in his jaws and circled back to me. Lying down at my feet, he presented me with the animal barely alive in his teeth.

  “Eat it. Don’t waste any of it.”

  Tearing the rabbit into more manageable pieces, he ate the entire thing, including the bone and fur. As sad as I felt for the bait, my wolf made me proud. Next time, I’d let the target take a longer lead.

  I didn’t feel ready to return to the house. Cool air and room to breathe, or cry, might push the troubles of the day temporarily from my thoughts. This field seemed to bring me comfort in times of great stress. It was far enough from the house that I felt alone, but close enough that I still felt safe.

  Headed to my favorite spot under the trees, I stumbled over a bunch of haphazardly laid pipes. Next to them sat more metal pieces and a round blade. Reinick’s gifts. I had forgotten all about them. With all that had transpired during Blue’s unexpected visit today, the delivery was the last thing on my mind. Sitting up against a tree, I banged my head against its broad trunk, wishing on the stars that the heavens beyond them were real.

  If I were one to talk to the Great One, this would be the time to start a conversation. I thought about where to begin, although nothing seemed appropriate. What would I say? What would I ask for? The uncertainty of my family’s future was too complicated to formulate an introductory sentence strong enough to solicit a god’s attention. I’m sure he was much too busy to concern himself with the problems of a pregnant Scavenger anyway. Feeling scared and alone, I pulled my knees up to my chest and cried. Rain approached me timidly and nuzzled me under my arm until I moved it out of his way. Lovingly, he licked the tears from my face as I buried my fingers deep into his fur collar.