Vulture (15 page)

16 - Hostile Welcome

Kaliel huddled on the seat in the middle of the boat. She shivered, clutching her traveling cloak to her shoulders. They were covered in a sea of mists, the boat tossing tumultuously in the black water. It wasn’t long before they glided towards a land mass, stopping on the rocks. Krishani stepped out, water splashing onto his boots as he held a hand out for her. She took it idly and skipped limberly over the rocks. She climbed the sloping shores and stopped, pressing her forehead into the grass. Her whole body ached with grief. Home, she couldn’t go home to the apple orchards, the waterfall, the lake, Evennses. A hollow feeling swept through her. There was a time when she wanted to show Krishani the forests of her youth, and now she wouldn’t ever get that chance. Footsteps crunched beside her and Krishani crouched. She glanced at him, a reproachful look on her face.

“It’s going to rain soon,” Krishani said; his eyes were on the clouds before she could speak.

Kaliel pushed herself to her feet, using Krishani to brace herself. Her legs felt like rubber and nothing was stopping her from crumbling into a pile of dust. She didn’t want to mention it, but Terra was colder and more dead than she originally imagined. She gazed at the endless ocean, thousands of tufts of white topping the water. Wind churned the ocean into a maelstrom. It wasn’t even a storm and it was the most malevolent form of weather she had seen. The passenger-free boat drifted into the mists and Kaliel watched it find the line of the horizon, disappearing. Big droplets of rain splashed onto her shoulder as she turned to Krishani.

“Do you remember the way?” He didn’t say anything, looking as somber as she did. He took her hand and began trekking across the land. They passed skinny trees and tall, folded grass and big slabs of rock. They wound around clusters of trees that seemed to be hugging the rich soil. Kaliel found it odd how all the trees were small, short, and losing their leaves. When they left, the leaves were light green, now they were yellowing.

Krishani stopped at a big rock. Kaliel rounded it, noticing traces of a fire on the other side. She pushed the tall grasses to the side and sat while Krishani climbed it. The heavy feeling in her heart didn’t lift but she tried to focus on Pux. Of all the people and things she had to say goodbye to, he wasn’t one of them.

Krishani jumped down and gave her a stern look, the place seeming familiar to him. “About halfway there now.” He extended a hand to her.

She got up, following him into the heavy cover of trees. They found Gott’s River and crossed it. Kaliel’s ivory dress wasn’t long enough to hit the water. She brushed herself off and stopped, holding onto Krishani’s hand tightly. She heard animals poking in and out of their holes and it saddened her that they weren’t curious enough to speak to her. They acted like she was some sort of parasite to their land. The trees were the same way, their voices buried deep in their heartwood, voices damaged by the harsh winds and tough winters.

Krishani trudged up the sloping land. He froze at the crest of the hill and Kaliel crashed into his outstretched arm as he tried to keep her back. Below them in a shallow valley was a deer drinking from a puddle of rain water. The doe had bright white spots on its hind and a bushy fluff of tail. Her brown eyes were trained on Krishani, frozen in a trance.

Kaliel stared at the deer and without thinking she held out her hand and clucked at it the same way she would have in Avristar. She pushed Krishani’s arm out of the way and approached the deer, her feet crunching leaves below her. She barely took three steps when the deer’s head shot up, its lean muscles tensing at the threat of danger. Kaliel nickered and kept her eyes low as she took another step. The deer didn’t wait. As Kaliel raised her hand to pet its mane the deer bolted through the trees, sending a trickle of water into Kaliel’s face.

She shrieked and instinctively threw her hands up to protect herself. She wiped excess water off her cheeks and ran her hands down her ivory dress. Krishani put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, startled. He pulled her close.

“I feel like I’ve lost everything,” she whispered. It wasn’t just Avristar; it was her body, elders, friends, animals, trees, merfolk. Everything she loved about life was gone, changed or forbidden.

Krishani kissed the top of her head. “You haven’t lost me. I’ll always be here.”

Kaliel sighed, trying to believe it was okay, but even though she had the one thing she always wanted, for once she wasn’t sure it was enough.

• • •

Krishani smelled the smoke before he saw the scorched fields. Thick, black patches dodged rocks and trekked towards the walls of the Tavesin compound. Kaliel gasped, her knees wobbling, her hand flashing out to grab his arm before she fell over. She rocked into him as he quickened his pace along the dirt road, passing the charred cart in the center of the field. It was hacked up and lying in pieces. He tried not to look. There was still blood, body parts, and armor they hadn’t recovered from the field. Kaliel ran alongside him to keep up, panting and glancing at the ground. Krishani looked at the guard towers, thick gray smoke coming from the other side of the walls.

The village had been attacked.

His stomach lurched as he pounded on the gates with the side of his fist. Kaliel surveyed the fields, her hood slipping off her head. It brushed his cheek as the guards opened the gates. Krishani stormed into the village. It wasn’t enough that the only place he called home didn’t want him. The place that was supposed to be home burned while he was gone. And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to regret spending a few last moments in Avristar with Kaliel. He marched into the village and Kaliel let go, her feet firmly planted in the mud.

Commotion was all around them, parts of the towers blown away, and what was still there was black and crispy. In the distance faint outlines of smoke rose from the cabins. He tried to piece together what happened, but his thoughts were incoherent. Everyone whispered around him, and villagers carrying baskets gave him dirty looks. The guards didn’t bother to welcome him; one of them nudging him forward.

“Get to the hall,” the guard said, acid tingeing his tone.

“Something bad happened, didn’t it?” Kaliel whispered in his ear. He didn’t want to talk to her right now. He didn’t even want to look at her. He glanced at his right hand and stifled the disgust he felt. The inky black mark in the center of his palm grew, stretching towards his thumb and fingers. He pulled the sleeve of his cloak down as they ambled along the trail, digesting the damage.

Pux careened out of the barn as they reached the fences. He flew at Kaliel, almost tackling her to the ground. Krishani’s hand flew out of hers as Pux crushed her to him.

“Where were you?” Pux asked fervently.

Krishani turned away. He had completely forgotten about Pux. He had no right to steal her from her best friend without telling him where they were going. He hadn’t even thought of the feorn once he had the seashells. He almost forgot about the witches. He didn’t revel the thought of facing them.

“Avristar,” Kaliel huffed. Pux eased her onto the ground, and she smoothed out the wrinkles on her ivory dress. The feorn looked stricken and sad, and Kaliel had that same uncertain look on her face.

Krishani went to speak but a fist slammed into his face, forcing him to the ground. His cheek scraped along the rock studded dirt. Sharp points dug into his skin as a heavy object pounded against the back of his head. He went to stand, but a weight crushed his spine and he couldn’t move save to turn his head slightly to the left. His hands went up to block himself from the next blow but it was useless. A hand forced his face into the mud and he choked on the awful smell of metal and burning wood. There were other smells, like the faint scent of dung, but he tried to ignore it. His attacker pulled his hands off him long enough for Krishani to raise his head and pivot, the left side of his face showered in a sea of red and brown. Another fist pummeled his face before he could see who it was. Krishani was spent. He lay there, not fighting. He wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve this. The attacker shouted obscenities at him, all of which were muffled by the blows to his head. He waited for a long moment, the land tilting upside down.

“Do you hear me boy!? You’re a betrayer and a liar!” The hiss was unmistakable. Elwen Tavesin. That explained why nobody bothered to stop him. This was his land, and he could do whatever he wanted. Beating Krishani to bloody pulp was fine with him.

Krishani groaned and let his arms splay above his head, his long fingers reaching for grass. He didn’t want to give Elwen a clear shot at his face again. He already felt the bruise forming along his cheekbone.

“The Horsemen have returned,” Elwen sneered.

All the life drained out of Krishani at those words. Fear boiled in his veins. It was one thing to leave a hostile welcoming party only to be greeted by another, but it was something else altogether to see their enemies striking back so soon. The last battle only ended days ago. Why couldn’t he escape what he was for a moment? He gritted his teeth and tried to draw his legs to his chest. Elwen weighed down on him, his knee pressing into his back. Krishani popped his back and Elwen let up. Krishani tried to open his eyes. The world was blurry, his left eye burning with tears and the dirt caked into it. He tried to wipe away the grit and silt, but Elwen put his foot on his stomach. He scowled at Elwen with the one eye he could see out of. The village hazed in and out of blurriness.

“The time for fairy tales is over,” Elwen barked. He stole a glance at Kaliel that made Krishani clench his fist, resentment seeping into his bones.

“You touch her and I swear I’ll kill you.” He managed, even though his mouth was full of rocks. He spit them out and his head swayed backwards, longing to lie in the mud again.

“I need to feed the horses,” Pux said, inching away. Krishani snapped to attention but disorientation got the better of him as Pux nudged Kaliel away. She wasn’t looking at him. Their footsteps shuffled against the stone-studded path and then stopped.

“You said we’d be back before they noticed we were gone.” Kaliel was talking in his direction but he couldn’t see her face. Her words were muffled because she was mumbling. He tried to lift his head and prop himself up on his elbows but his muscles were tense.

Elwen shot her a venomous look and the urge to kill him snaked through Krishani’s limbs.

“You were gone for three months. Didn’t you notice the chill in the air?” Elwen spat.

Kaliel rubbed her arms and shied away from him. Pux bent down to her ear and said something Krishani couldn’t hear. She stood her ground, eyes blazing. His left eye watered and a tear spilled onto his cheek and chin. He clumsily wiped his face and gave her an apologetic look. “I miscalculated.”

“And because of it the Horsemen attacked,” Elwen roared.

Kaliel looked scared and Krishani let the guilt sting him. He didn’t want to talk about this with her. He didn’t want her to know anything about the things on Terra. He cleared his throat.

“I’ll kill them,” he said. His wary eyes trailed over Elwen’s cloak but instead of acceptance Elwen kicked up the mud at his feet and sent a clump of it into Krishani’s face. He fell back and before he had a chance to react Elwen kicked in him in the ribs. His body contorted in reaction to the shooting pain. Kaliel let out a yelp, but he hoped she would just go with Pux to feed the horses.
Leave me alone,
he thought with as much strength as he could muster with his jumbled thoughts.

“I don’t care about the Horsemen! You weren’t here to protect the people, you filthy, selfish boy,” Elwen shouted. He kicked the ground again and Krishani was fast enough to shield his face from dirt. He didn’t want to hear it. “I had to watch the villagers die,” Elwen seethed.

Krishani could imagine his face, tense and lethal, bearing down on him. He tried to roll onto his side but rethought it and stayed where he was. He lowered his hands and glanced at Kaliel who seemed confused. He carefully brought his gaze to Elwen who bent over, grabbed him by the collar of his cloak, and hauled him to his feet. His head swirled as he swayed on his heels but Elwen kept his clothing firmly in his grasp.

“Not everyone escaped their flaming arrows,” Elwen said, his voice low and deadly. His brown eyes came into focus as he let go and Krishani stumbled backwards. Elwen turned in a slow circle, his hands behind his head. “The Vultures took them.”

Krishani felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach even though Elwen was done beating him. He held his fists at his side and clenched his teeth. He didn’t have anything to say about the Vultures. He looked at Kaliel and nodded at her to go with Pux. He hoped she knew he would see her later, when this was over, but he wasn’t entirely sure of that anymore. She gave him one last warning look, bowed her head, and followed Pux along the side of the road.

When she was out of earshot, Krishani turned to Elwen. “You saw the Vultures?”

Elwen scoffed. “Of course I can see them. But unlike you, I can’t do a damned thing to stop them. That’s supposed to be your job.” He didn’t bother hiding the disdain in his voice. His brow creased and Krishani noticed a long gash across his cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Krishani said, hanging his head. He held his hands out in front of him and stifled his disgust as he turned over his right hand and looked into his palm.

“I told you once,” Elwen said through clenched teeth. “The only thing that stops you from becoming one of them is being the Ferryman.”

“And if I hunt down the Horsemen and end them?” Krishani asked.

Elwen sighed and turned away. He stalked to the hall. “You’ll never be free. Whether they bring death or others bring it, you will always be the one to follow it.”

Krishani shuffled along and stopped at the foot of the steps as the doors slammed shut. He sighed and kicked a rock out of the way with the toe of his boot. He rubbed his swelling face and took a deep breath. Ending the Horsemen would be a start.

* * *