27
The Hidden Passengers
It was still raining on the Utwan Sea. Allisia lay next to the mast huddling underneath a heavy, wet blanket. The waters were becoming treacherous. Waves crashed over the side rails spilling water onto the deck. Many of the Belarnians fell, slipping on the treacherous floor, cursing. Allisia heard voices whispering to her; she looked up at the rigging supporting the main sail.
“Look up, Favored One,” a soft voice encouraged. “Look up, Allisia.”
One rope came into focus, sharper in detail than the rest. Stretched tauter than the others, it snapped. At the same time, the ship careened and the boom went flying. It caught one Belarnian unawares and knocked him into the sea. The howling wind consumed his cry for help in an instant.
Telosep shouted above the den of the storm. “Forget him. Take us out farther.” One of the men shouted something back in fear.
“Fool, the whole ship will go down if we don’t get clear of the shore. We’ve got to get further out, where we can navigate the swells better.”
“I would not be so sure of that,” the whispering voice told Allisia. She smiled.
Kristian and his men arrived at the end of the rail line just as the sun’s lower edge touched the horizon. He looked at the plains that stretched north and could just make out the silhouette of the Merciless Mountains.
“With luck we could be at the village before dawn. We can use the darkness to aid us in stealing the boats,” Mikhal said.
Kristian grimaced. “I just hope there are boats to steal. The last time we did this route it took us two or three days to come south. Now we’re going to try and make it in one day?”
Mikhal laughed, “We were exhausted, had an old workhorse, and had no idea where we were going.”
Cairn came up to them then. “You were also forty leagues further west of here. Following the river kept you from getting lost, but it took you longer to get to the forest then it would if you had just cut straight south from Belarn. And these are the fastest horses the Atlunam have. It should be dark enough to start in less than an hour. Perhaps we should eat a hot meal while we still can?”
“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Maurin exclaimed. “I’m starving.”
“You should be, healer,” Balhir said as he came over. “You lost all of your food in the first ten minutes of the rail ride.” They all laughed.
Suddenly, one of Balhir’s men shouted in warning. The small camp quickly bristled with swords, everyone facing the second wagon car. Kristian rushed over to see.
Three Atlunam stood on the wagon. Two hunters with bows pointed their arrows at the closest Cougar Holt warriors. The third Atlunam held a short, curved sword and looked anxiously around her.
She wore tan breeches and a gray tunic, but she could not hide her golden hair. It was Gun-Surow’s daughter.
“Stop,” Kristian ordered. “Lower your weapons.” He stepped between the two groups putting away his own sword. “How did you get here?”
“She was hiding under the tarp with the supplies,” one of the Holtsmen argued. “This one was about to scratch me with her thorn.” The Holtsmen pointed at the princess.
“I would have done more harm than a thorn,” Vi-tonia shot back. She and her two hunters had not lowered their weapons. Vi-tonia diverted her attention as Cairn came to stand next to Kristian.
Cairn said in her language, “you bring danger upon all of us by doing this. Why are you here?”
“I came to help,” Vi-tonia said in defiance. “We are coming with you.”
“Thank you, but this is not your fight. I’m sure your father doesn’t know of this. When he finds out, there will be Hell to pay.”
“Do not speak to me of Hell,” Vi-tonia responded in anger. Then her voice lowered, “I have been living in it for some time.”
Cairn tilted his head and asked, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but how can things be any better by coming with us?”
“Even death would be better than what is awaiting me back there.” Her eyes softened then and she looked at Cairn, pleading. “I have much skill in the defensive arts. All of Gun-Surow’s children are trained to protect themselves. I may not be Tarish’sa Shaif like you, or a Kah Master like my brother, but I can certainly do better than a half-witted Holtsman with a clumsy axe. We will not hinder you, I promise.”
“I don’t doubt you’re capable, but think of the harm you’re causing the Erandians by running away from your family and joining us. Your father will blame Kristian for your disappearance,” Cairn argued.
Vi-tonia shook her head. “No. He does not know why I left, but I cannot go back. I can never go back.”
She put away her sword and stepped off the wagon. The princess walked cautiously past the Holtsmen that still pointed weapons at her. She got close enough to Cairn that no one else, including her guards, could hear.
“Please, I beg you. There are some things that my father never told Kristian that the Erandian needs to know.” Vi-tonia grasped Cairn’s arm and asked again, “Please?”
Cairn smelled the sweet scent of Plumeria flowers in her hair. Abruptly, he stepped back. Cairn paused a moment, staring at the Atlunam princess, and then he turned to Kristian.
Whispering, Cairn said, “She says Gun-Surow hid the truth from you. She says she knows things that her father would never tell you.” Cairn took a deep breath and said, “I believe her. The Atlunam King only gives favor to others when there is something to be gained for himself or his people. What she has to say is likely very important to your quest. Will you let them come?”
This was too much for Kristian to take in. Mikhal stepped forward. “I’m not sure what she would tell us, but I know it’s not worth gaining a new enemy over. She can’t come.”
Kristian was silent for a long time.
“If you truly want to help me, tell me what you know now,” Kristian said. Vi-tonia shook her head in defiance.
“Take me with you and once we are far enough away from my father’s lands I will tell you,” Vi-tonia promised.
Cairn whispered in Kristian’s ear. “I think she’s in some trouble. She didn’t say as much … I think she is trying to run away.”
Kristian replied, “We don’t need her tagging along, especially since there will be Atlunam hunters chasing after her.” Cairn nodded. He understood Kristian’s position.
“I have known the Atlunam King for a long time. He has never been an entirely honest man and may be playing both sides. Vi-tonia may have valuable information that will help you. Besides, we don’t know if they know of her disappearance, yet. We don’t know if the Atlunam will chase after her.”
“Of all the things I don’t have the answers for, that is not one of them. You know, as well as I, that Gun-Surow will send someone after her. And what are we supposed to do with her when we reach Belarn? We may all die before we reach Ferral.” Cairn could not argue with Kristian, he knew the Erandian king was right.
Still, Cairn could not help himself. “Kristian, will you let her stay?”
Kristian looked at his friend in dismay. He finally threw up his hands in defeat. Kristian addressed the princess, “Your Highness is welcome to do as she sees fit.”
“My name is Vi-tonia.”
“Well, Vi-tonia, I hope you know what you’re doing because I can see nothing good coming of this.” Kristian turned back to Cairn. “Will you look after her?”
Vi-tonia interrupted, “I need no one to look after me.” She gave an order to her guards. They lowered their bows and put the arrows back in their quivers. “These are my two best friends. They are my protectors and refused to be left behind. They are Iohn and Pak. There are no better Atlunam hunters, anywhere.” Kristian nodded at them.
“How long before they are able to catch up to us?” Kristian asked Vi-tonia.
“They will have to wait for the carts to get sent back or pull another set off of another home station. Either way it will be at
least a day before they can get here,” Vi-tonia answered confidently.
“We have wasted a lot of time,” Kristian told everyone gathered near him. “This may be the last chance you get to enjoy a good, hot meal in peace. Take some time to rest. We will be riding as soon as it gets dark.”
They had enough horses for all of them, including Vi-tonia and her two hunters. They also had five horses loaded with supplies and five more horses to use once some got tired. Kristian stayed true to his word. As soon as dusk came, he signaled for them to mount up.
The Atlunam hunters tilted their heads sideways surprised by Vi-tonia’s presence amongst the foreigners, but they knew better than to question someone of royal blood. They stood back as the party prepared to leave the safety of the woods.
“It feels good to have a horse underneath me again,” Mikhal commented. “Even if it’s not as fast as that wagon, there is definitely more joy in riding a well-trained horse.”
“I doubt that,” Maurin argued. “I still remember the last time we were riding on these plains.”
Mikhal laughed as he remembered. “Any more poems for us?” Mikhal asked hopefully.
“I haven’t had time to think of any,” Maurin replied.
“Well, you’ve got all night. I’m challenging you to come up with something before dawn,” Mikhal said, grinning.
Kristian noted that Mikhal’s demeanor had improved notably since their confrontation in the Cougar Holt. Whatever was haunting the cavalier, whether it was the demon, the battle or something else, had less affect upon him. Is it because the demon is further away? Kristian wondered.
They left the safety of the trees at a trot. Cairn led the way for Kristian, claiming to know the fastest route to the village on the Utwan Sea. Hin’cabo, Mikhal, and Maurin followed closely behind them. Balhir and his men followed in a large group, and the Atlunam princess and her companions trailed with the supply horses. Maurin fell back with them hoping to strike up a conversation with the Atlunam. True to their nature, the Atlunam did not say much making the ride miserable for the healer.
The small band picked up their pace once the moon was high enough to give them some light. Their path took them toward the smallest peak in the mountain range on the western shore of the Utwan Sea. Kristian kept his eyes on that mountain all night, but the silhouette never seemed to get much closer. As the night progressed, the landscape around them changed. Snow sat in patches on the ground; the air had a chill to it.
By midnight, the horses had slowed back down to a trot, the snow up to their forelegs. They panted with the exertion of plowing through the white powder. Finally, Mikhal suggested they stop and change some of the mounts. It would do no good to kill a horse before they even got to the village.
Kristian agreed. The lead horses were changed out since they did most of the work clearing the path for the rest of the group. They removed the saddles and patted the horses, thanking them. A few Holtsmen brought up fresh mounts and took the tired horses to the rear. It had only taken a few minutes to change out the mounts but it seemed like an eternity to Kristian.
“We are not going to make it by sunrise,” Kristian said.
“We might,” Mikhal replied with hope. Though even the experienced cavalier knew it looked impossible with the snow slowing them.
They plodded on all night. The snow got worse the closer to the mountains they got. At last, as the sky became a lighter shade of gray in the east, Cairn shifted course and led them away from the mountains. He had found the road that served as a trade route between Belarn and the people of the mountains. It was fairly clear; all of the snow melted and the ground trampled into a muddy mess by the soles of thousands of boots.
“This must be the way the creatures came when they marched against my people,” Balhir claimed.
“How far is this village from the road, Cairn?” Mikhal asked.
Cairn was about to reply when the same concern that bothered Kristian hit him. Without responding, he urged his horse into a run and headed east.
Kristian shouted loud enough for all of them to hear, “Keep in a tight group. There may be danger soon. Look out for the dead, and whatever you do, don’t let them pull you down.” With that one, brief warning trailing behind them, Kristian and Cairn soon outdistanced their companions. The rest of the party charged after Kristian, fearing the dead might be lurking near the road.
Less than an hour later, Cairn, Kristian, Mikhal, Balhir, and Hin’cabo knelt behind a hill looking over the crest. The village sat on the north side of the hill, next to the sea. The town was a collection of wooden, one-story homes and shops even smaller than Maurin’s village. Vague shapes moved around in the grey dawn, but it was still too dark to see who they were or what they did.
When the figures started toward Kristian’s hiding place without warning, they realized what they faced.
There was no need to crouch any longer so they stood to get a better look. Then a creature appeared on their left. More followed behind the first; five had gotten up the hill from an angle that none of them expected.
One of the creatures, a woman, wore the shredded remains of a dress, which hung loosely around her waist. The pale blue color of her naked chest caused them to look away in embarrassment, but only for a moment.
The creature raised its hands toward them as it reached the top of the hill. Balhir had no compunction about taking it down. He swung hard with his broadsword, and his blade cut halfway through the creature’s torso.
The creature fell to the ground, staring at the snow for a moment before it put its hands down and pushed itself back up again. Balhir sighed and came over to hack the thing apart.
Cairn pulled out his blade and went to work. The Erandians pulled out their swords and raced to assist him. Hin’cabo notched an arrow to his bow and was about to let it loose when Cairn shouted back at him. “You’ll waste that arrow. These creatures don’t feel pain.”
The swordsman stopped talking to demonstrate. With a practiced swing Cairn cut the leg out from underneath one of the creatures. The damaged leg crumpled and the thing fell to the ground. It tried to get up several times, falling back into the snow every time. Finally, it gave up and began to crawl toward him.
The men were busy with their swords against the other four creatures trying to cut them to pieces. One of the dead got around Mikhal and it reached out for Cairn. A soft thudding sound alerted him to the danger. An arrowhead protruded through skull of the thing, the force of the blow temporarily distracting it from attacking him.
That was all the time Cairn needed. He took the thing’s head off and nodded thanks to Hin’cabo for the help. The Atlunam hunter seemed pleased that he had shown Cairn the usefulness of his bow. Then Hin’cabo shouldered it and pulled out a curved blade, similar to Vi-tonia’s, and helped against the remaining dead.
Once they had dismembered all five they surveyed the area to better understand their situation. The Holtsmen had heard the fighting and charged up to their position. Their help would soon be needed. The rest of the dead villagers slowly made their way toward the hill. As Balhir’s men dismounted and approached, the sun’s first rays reached the village, and the creatures dropped to the ground lifeless once again.
Kristian bent over gasping for air, exhausted from all of the hacking. Mikhal put a hand on his back, “We need to check for serviceable boats.”
Kristian nodded, standing back up. He wiped sweat from his face replying, “Let’s go.”
They found four fishing boats in good enough shape to make it out to sea. Each one looked big enough to hold ten people. There would be enough room for everyone, including Vi-tonia and her two guards.
Vi-tonia picked her way through all of the bodies that littered the village. Iohn and Pak were very close to her side, their hands on the hilts of their short swords. She pretended the scene did not affect her, but in truth, the ghastly image of corpses littering the ground horrified her. How could this happen? She might h
ave been living in a sort of hell back home, constantly tormented by Te-lin, but the princess had always been protected from such evil as this.
Then she started to wonder whether that was entirely true. It helped her to think of her brother as just another manifestation of the same kind of evil.
Te’lin manipulates people to satisfy his own greedy ambitions, Vi-tonia realized. He is a merciless killer that justifies his actions as necessary to protect our people.
Once she thought of it in that way, the princess actually took pity on the creatures. They were lifeless puppets controlled by another evil man. Her brother exceeded their perversity by magnitudes.
Kristian saw her staring at one of the still forms and said, “I hope that I didn’t bring these creatures into your land.”
Vi-tonia shook her head. “They would come anyway. My people will refuse to see how dangerous the situation truly is. They will feel safe within their woods and walls, but it will not be enough to protect them.”
“But still,” Kristian continued, “it might have been much longer before it happened had I not showed up.”
“Perhaps,” Vi-tonia replied. “My people are slow to change. This is an ordeal they are much less capable of dealing with than even the Erandians. We have brought this upon ourselves.”
Kristian looked at her closely, the need to ask her what she meant obvious on his face. “It is not too late for you to go back, Vi-tonia,” Kristian tried.
She smiled a little. “No. My place is here.” Vi-tonia looked around the village to see if everyone was there. She strained her neck to see beyond Kristian, looking for Cairn.