Talon (The Astor Chronicles Book 1) (22 page)

We drank and ate together for an hour, swapping stories from our past and commenting on how we would do things differently if we had been the adults in those scenarios. We agreed that the world of adulthood was filled with responsibilities that children could never imagine, but that nothing was more important than being there for family members in their formative years. What we had both lacked in our childhood was a part of us now, but it was something that we could look back on with objectivity and learn from.

It was in this mood of enlightenment and friendship that Sarlice and I told stories to the gathered people at the Pottage Inn that night. Never before had anyone recited the tales of Dilron the serf with so much empathy. As the fireplace burned low the last of the tavern’s patrons drank their wine Sarlice drew her tale to a close, giving me a wink when she delivered the final line.

Two days later we made our way to the trail that would soon follow the River Jarvi to Telby City. It started with a road across the desert. A herd of camels was grazing in the distance. I recalled Rekala’s promise to catch one for me in return for the fish.

‘I’ve heard of man-eating leopards on these plains,’ Sarlice commented, ‘but have never seen any’.

‘Wild animals are the least of my concerns,’ I muttered to myself.

I didn’t want to burden Sarlice with my nagging fear about the Zeikas.

Besides
, I told myself,
they don’t know where I am. What reason would they have to bother about me?

‘The same reason they “bothered about you” on the plains near Tez,’
Tiaro piped up.
‘The same reason that Zeika came to Jaria to talk with Arone and killed him.’

‘Because the Zeikas want me alive for some reason?’

‘It is certain,’
Tiaro replied.
‘And let’s hope your moving away from Jaria is in everyone’s favour, not their disadvantage.’

I shuddered. The last thing I wanted was for Jaria to fall under attack now that I was gone. Yet it seemed absurd that my presence would make such a difference. Anzaii I might be, but I was as green as a newborn foal.

As we were walking I adjusted the length of one of my stirrups and sat back in the saddle. My new black horse seemed pleased to be on the road, stepping out with enthusiasm and with his ears pricked up. Sarlice rode ahead, scanning the terrain.

We stopped at the river early in the evening and let the horses paw at the water’s edge, splashing themselves. Capril and Naeva were visible in the teal coloured sky; one moon to the east and one to the west. I gathered kindling and logs for a small fire and lit a fire with my steel and flint. Sarlice and I set up the canvas shelter we were to share. I had found some abandoned fence rails while gathering firewood and made use of them for propping up the shelter.

Sarlice washed clothes in the river while I put together the evening meal.

‘It’s tasty,’ Sarlice said. ‘Your cooking is a real treat compared to my usual travel fare.’

My heart warmed at her compliment. There had been special nuts and herbs from my supplies, but I hadn’t been sure she would appreciate the flavours.

The tigers had brought down a warthog together and shared their kill, promising to leave us a small portion of meat for our breakfast.

Partially sated, Rekala curled up behind me, proffering her side as a giant pillow. I leaned against her feeling more relaxed than I had in weeks. My muscles ached slightly from all the recent use but it felt good to stretch my bare feet out in the heat of the flames.

I smiled faintly at my current situation and mused on how things were changing. The fellowship of an impressive Radan woman, a talking earring and two fine tigers was a far cry from the many years spent roaming the forest alone. What, indeed, was the Lightmaker up to?

‘Do you think we’ll be welcome in Tanza?’ Sarlice asked.

‘I hope so. In my father’s time Jaria served the king of Telby, which involved them in the exile of both Reltland and Tanza. But in peaceful times, following the Realm Wars, Jaria’s Rada-kin have occasionally communicated with some of Tanza’s Rada-kin.’

‘The leaders of Jaria must be confident in their relationship with Tanza or they wouldn’t send all new Anzaii there.’

‘True,’ I replied. ‘I believe that had something to do with the skyearl emperor, Ciera. Have you heard of him?’

‘Yes,’ my guide responded. ‘He’s said to be hundreds of years old because he has no kin. Skyearls don’t age past their prime until their Sleffion-kin has bonded with them.’

‘I heard he is bigger than a house,’ I said. ‘I can’t imagine an animal that big, let alone a flying one.’

‘Nor I, but do tell me what Ciera had to do with the practice of sending new Anzaii to Tanza. We do that in Lyth as well, but I don’t recall all of the history behind it.’

‘Ten or twelve years ago, an aging Anzaii Rada left Jaria and made the pilgrimage to Tanza. Once there, she discovered a skyearl who was meant for her and so her rank became Anzaii, Sleffion, Rada. Years of potential had been lost and the Jarian died of old age a year later, taking her new skyearl Sleffion-kin with her.

‘After that the Emperor Ciera sent word to every Kriite nation inviting all to journey to Tanza and discover if they were destined by the Lightmaker to become Sleffions. He emphasised the importance of Anzaii making the journey for the benefit of all Kriites. We all know an Anzaii is only as powerful as his or her experience with different waves and kin.

‘Even the Kriites living in big cities like Telby and Jesath heard from him—he sent word on the waves and by scroll to every place of worship and every gathering place for Kriites.’

‘I remember being told about that now,’ Sarlice mused. ‘I was thirteen and my own problems had seemed so overwhelming at the time that I didn’t pay much attention. Some of the adults claimed Tanza was overstepping its bounds and trying to become some kind of Kriite overlords. It was feared many wouldn’t return to a mundane existence in Lyth or Telby City after witnessing the magical kingdom of Tanza.’

‘The thinking in Jaria was much the same,’ I replied. ‘That’s why it only became common for Anzaii to be sent on the pilgrimage. Others were neither encouraged nor discouraged from doing so, but the distance, danger and expense associated with the journey was enough to deter most.’

‘Jaria risks much by sending you away,’ Sarlice said, ‘but I think the leaders realise there’s a serious Zeika threat now, not only to them, but to all Kriites.’

I glanced at her.

‘They can no longer sit back,’ she added. ‘Peace time is over. War is coming.’

Chapter Twelve—The Darkening of the Sky

A
thunderous roar echoed across the plains.

‘Wake up, Talon!’ Sarlice shouted.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. ‘What?’

Sarlice pointed to the horizon. It was still dark, but the first rays of light from the day-star sprayed through a rising cloud of dust. I placed one hand on the sandy ground and felt the frenzied tremors of a stampede. I shook myself awake and carried my saddle and bridle to the gelding, leaving everything else behind in the tent. The buckles of the tack were cold and stiff and the horses fidgeted as we tried to saddle them—heads flung up, ears erect and nostrils flaring. Sarlice was mounted up first.

The stampede was gaining and I spotted the two tigers trying to herd them away from us. I swung aboard my gelding, and he lurched into motion, just as eager to escape the stampede as I was. Scrabbling with loose reins, I managed to pull him up beside the river. I turned back and, to my surprise, there was a pale, frightened girl running towards me.

The camels raced for a gap in the trees beside the river, straight towards the girl. Sarlice cursed loudly and readied her Tolite-kin, the large black warbow named Henter. The camels closed, tall and lanky, but with bodies as round and hard as barrels. In the dusty blackness behind them I thought I glimpsed something even blacker bearing up through the sky, but the girl’s plight drew my attention away from it. Her eyes pierced me with such intense need that I felt my body respond with readiness.

I slackened the reins and shouted to urge the gelding on. He launched into a canter from a standstill and bolted right into the path of the camels.

For a moment we were amid the mass of stampeding creatures. They jostled and shoved us so hard I nearly lost my balance, but I grabbed a chunk of the gelding’s mane to steady myself.

As we passed the girl I held out my arm and tried to pull her up behind me. She ended up in front of me on the gelding’s withers, clinging to me in terror. The gelding darted to and fro through the grunting beasts, bucking once to dislodge us, but I clung to him with leg muscles that were strong from mountaineering.

A particularly large camel charged after us, baring its tusks and growling loudly. The waif watched it over my shoulder and shouted something in my ear. Blinding dust rose and the camel rumbled angrily. The thudding of its steps became louder then suddenly it stopped.

Turning back, I saw a long arrow shaft sticking out of the back of its head. Another camel nearby jumped out of the way of the falling beast and knocked us off the gelding. We landed in a jumble of limbs, bruising our hands, elbows and knees. The gelding threw his back feet into the air and galloped off like Zei himself was on his tail.

I huddled over the girl, expecting to be crushed at any moment. More camels rushed past us, the wind of their passage blowing dust into our eyes. The girl was staring at me through the dust, somehow disconnected from the danger assaulting us. The perfection of her features and form captivated me. As the last of the thundering faded away, I was drawn into the girl’s large, mystical eyes, which swirled with watery greens and greys. Her skin was pale and pure as goat’s milk.

The thundering faded and the dust gradually settled—everything seemed quiet and still after the pandemonium had passed and the girl shivered against me.

‘We’re safe now,’ I said breathlessly.

‘Are you unscathed, Talon? Are you hale?’
Rekala was shouting in my mind. I realised she’d been calling me for some time, but I’d been too distracted to receive her wave.

Rekala rushed over, nudged and patted me like I was her cub.

‘What happened?’ I demanded. ‘We could have been killed.’

‘It wasn’t us that started the stampede,’
Rekala told me defensively.

I recalled the black shape I thought I had seen in the dusty sky. With Zeikas in the area perhaps it had been one of their ghastly, conjured dragons. I decided not to voice my concern for fear of alarming the girl.

Sarlice cantered over to us, slid off her horse and helped us to our feet. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘Nay,’ I replied.

‘My thanks to you,’ the girl said, never taking her eyes off me.

‘Where did you come from?’ Sarlice asked gently.

The girl seemed bewildered at the question, then gradually sense came into her eyes.

‘I was with my family when the wolf pack came,’ she said. ‘They slew and devoured everyone and they would have slain me too if it weren’t for my horse. I’ve been wandering the desert for days. Then those camels came in the night and frightened my horse away.’

‘What’s your name?’ I asked.

‘Lira,’ she replied, breathless.

‘We could turn back,’ Sarlice suggested. ‘Take you back to Tasset where we just came from.’

‘We were bound for Jesath,’ Lira said in a daze. ‘My uncle lives there.’

Still embracing her slight form, I felt a surge of protectiveness. With one glance at Sarlice, I knew she was thinking the same thing I was—Lira could travel with us. Although it would put a strain on our supplies, we were resourceful enough to get by. Kestric’s thoughts confirmed that Sarlice was agreeable.

‘We are going in that direction, too,’ I said. ‘Would you like to go with us?’

She looked frightened for a moment, peering from Sarlice’s face to mine. She couldn’t be more than seventeen years old.

‘Who are you?’ she wondered. ‘Appearing like spirits out of nowhere.’

‘We are Kriites,’ Sarlice replied. ‘My name is Sarlice and I’m an Ambassador for Lyth and also a Tolite, Rada.’

‘And I’m Ambassador Talon,’ I said, enjoying the use of my new title. ‘Anzaii, Rada.’

She blinked and nodded slowly.

‘How much will your services cost me?’ she asked incredulously.

I spread my hands apart. ‘Nothing. Unless there’s a hidden bag of gold in that dress of yours.’

A small smile lit up her face.

‘Nay, but I will find some way to repay your kindness,’ she said.

Lira’s horse was gone but, we located her packs a league away. It would burden our horses a lot more to be carrying Lira and her packs, but Sarlice and I agreed we could sacrifice some speed in order to help out the poor girl.

We spent the rest of the day skinning the camel that Sarlice had slain, smoking meat over the fire inside a makeshift tent with a wooden hanging frame I knocked together, and packing it in salt. Sarlice gave one of the tusks to me, kept the other for herself, and relinquished the carcass to the Rada-kin.

I slept outside the tent with the tigers so Sarlice and Lira could have more space. I could hear their somewhat awkward conversation as I drifted off to sleep. A warrior woman from Lyth and a noble girl from the city had little in common, I supposed.

Instead of taking animal form, I rode with Lira for our first day of travel. Each time we stopped I could see the fear in her eyes as she dismounted. I tried to reassure her that our Rada-kin would keep us safe, but she remained sensitive to any noise. The tracks in the dust beneath her eyes told me she still grieved for her family, so I did what I could to make her more comfortable.

Before the daylight faded, we stopped to set up camp in a copse of trees not far from the river. The sandy ground was covered with grassvines and small, grey rocks, some of which the tigers upturned to catch the lizards hiding beneath them. The day-star was setting to the east, casting a mauve glow over the desert hills and lighting the underside of the few clouds that draped the sky.