Chariots of Heaven

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  Snap! A twig broke in the nearby grove of trees.

  Kira shot up and looked around. Without thinking about it, she grabbed her spear and flew to her feet, ready to attack. With her open hand she wiped the sleep from her eyes. How long had she been out? She looked up at the sky. Judging by the position of the sun, she must have been asleep for at least an hour. What had woken her up? She looked around again, and after a few seconds of searching she spotted something moving in the trees. A shadow was darting from tree to tree, heading toward Kira’s left. Her heart started to race as she tried to figure out what it was. Why did I stop? How could I have fallen asleep? I should have kept going! She scolded herself. Crouching lower to the ground, she started to walk slowly towards the section of trees where the shadow was. She still couldn’t tell what it was, but by its movement, the creature didn’t seem to have noticed her. She stopped walking, hoping to avoid drawing its attention. Her spear, however, was still at the ready. If she had a clear shot she would take it, as she couldn’t risk having a predator following her into the Black Wood.

  The shadow stopped moving to the left and paused for a moment. Kira held her breath, trying to remain as quiet as she could. After a few seconds the figure started moving again, this time heading in her direction. She could hear the rustling in the undergrowth grow louder as it moved closer to her.

  Kira could feel her lungs desperately crying out for air, but she couldn’t risk giving away her presence. Her pupils dilated with fear, as the sounds of the movement grew louder and louder. She gripped her spear even tighter than before, as she knew her opportunity was coming. Once it moved beyond the inner layer of undergrowth she would have an open shot and she knew her only chance was to catch it off guard with a precise throw. If she missed, she would be forced to either flee or to fight with her knife, which would be no match for a sabercat or wolf.

  The blood started racing through her veins as her adrenaline kicked in, making everything seem to slow down. She could see the brown fur of the beast through the foliage. It looked like a wolf’s pelt. Readying her spear, she calculated the amount of strength she would need to make the throw. She leaned back, starting to propel the spear forward when she heard a strange sound that made her stop.

  First a snap, then a heavy thud as the bush shook violently, followed by a muffled grunt. She held the spear mid-throw and, with wide eyes, surveyed the foliage. She couldn’t make it out exactly, but it seemed that the creature had fallen or tripped on something. Her heart was racing. Afraid it would leap from the bush at any moment, she pulled her spear back a second time.

  “Ow!” a familiar voice yelled out from the undergrowth. “Well, are you just going to stand there staring at me, or are you going to help me out of this bush?”

  Kira let out the breath she had been holding, and gasped another one in. The world started to spin for a moment as she tried not to faint from the lack of air. Steadying herself, she dropped her spear on the ground and walked towards the bush. She knew the voice, and with it she knew things had just gotten much more complicated. Walking over to the bush, she could see her sister Kaya tangled in the branches of the large green plant. She reached her hand down to grasp for her sister’s outstretched arm. Grabbing her by the wrist she pulled the lanky girl free from her snare and helped her to her feet.

  “What are you doing here?!” Kira scolded.

  Looking to the ground sheepishly, Kaya replied, “I followed you.”

  “Well obviously, otherwise you wouldn’t be standing here! But that’s not what I meant. Why didn’t you stay in the village like I told you to?” Kira’s fear was turning into anger and was growing by the second.

  Surprised by her sister’s irritation, Kaya stuttered, “But… but I wanted to help you!”

  “Help me? How? By sneaking up on me and scaring me half to death? I thought you were a wolf! I would have killed you had you not tripped and tangled yourself in that bush!” Kira shouted.

  Kaya looked at the ground again, this time with look of shame. Tears welled in her eyes. She had not expected this reaction from her older sister, having assumed Kira would be glad to see her. Kaya did not know what to say, so she just stood there, sullen and sniffling.

  “You were supposed to stay with Dad. There was a reason for that! I came alone because it was too dangerous for me to bring you along! Now what am I supposed to do?”

  Shaking her head, Kira fumed, pacing back and forth in front of her sister. She gaped at the young girl. How could she be so reckless? She thought to herself. Doesn’t she know how dangerous it is out here? She wanted to calm herself, but how could she? It was far too perilous of a journey to have her sister accompany her, but there wasn’t nearly enough time to take her back to the village. She didn’t know what to do and after her unplanned nap, time was running short. Succumbing to her frustration, Kira stopped pacing and sat on the ground in front of Kaya. She crossed her legs and arms and let out a long sigh. Kaya followed suit and for a few minutes the two girls did nothing but stare at each other. Kira continued to glare at her sister, trying to figure out what to do, while Kaya, still looking sheepish, sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes.

  Kira wanted to scold her more. She wanted to yell and rant and tell her how foolish she had been, but decided not to. What good would it do? She knew that there was no choice but to bring her sister with. She let out another long sigh and shook her head in disappointment. She couldn’t just send Kaya back by herself, not with all the predators that would start roaming in the twilight hours. Honestly, it was a wonder that she had made it safely this far on her own.

  No, Kira knew that she had to watch over her, even if it meant a slower pace. She had always been responsible for keeping Kaya safe, and this was no different. She hated the idea of bringing her sister into the most dangerous place she could think of, but decided that having the company might not be so bad. Having someone to talk to would make the trip seem shorter and having a second set of eyes would make finding the flowers easier. Letting go of her anger, she decided that if they were going to make it in time they needed to start moving. As Kira went to stand, she noticed something by the trees. She smiled and looked back at her sister.

  “You know... you really should try to be less clumsy, little sister,” Kira said softly, smirking as she nodded towards the bush Kaya had been tangled in.

  Puzzled by the comment, Kaya looked behind her. At first she didn’t understand, but after a moment she noticed that towards the bottom of the bush, a small leather satchel was caught on one of the branches. Instinctively she felt at her hip, just then realizing that she was missing her bag. She looked back at Kira, and without a word both girls started to laugh, all animosity between the two fading in that moment.

  Still laughing, Kira got to her feet and walked over to her spear. She picked it up and shook her head. “I really did think you were a wolf. You don’t know how close I was to throwing this when you tripped.” She looked over her shoulder, smiling at her sister.

  Kaya giggled and then, pretending to be a wolf, howled, “Ahwwoooo!!” They both laughed again and although Kira still lamented the danger her sister was in, she decided that she was glad Kaya had come.

  After collecting their possessions they started up the hill together, still chatting and laughing about Kaya’s wolf impression. The hill wasn’t steep, but the tall grass made it difficult to climb. After several minutes they crested the top and what they saw when they got there put an immediate end to the lighthearted mood. Kira had been correct in her assumption that they would be able to see the Black Wood from the hill, but she hadn’t anticipated the effect it would have. It was still several miles away, across a large valley of grasslands, but it could not be missed or mistaken. Stretching out across the horizon as far as the eye could see it looked like the coast of a black-green ocean engulfing the land from north to south. What she had not expected, however, were the massive dark storm clouds that hung in the distance, directl
y above their destination. The sisters exchanged worried looks and Kaya asked, “Do you think they will pass?”

  Kira tried to gauge which direction the clouds were moving but couldn’t as they didn’t appear to be moving at all. She was about to say that she didn’t know when a cold humid wind, that smelled of rain, blew in from the direction of the storm clouds. Kira realized that they hadn’t looked like they were moving because they were coming straight for them. Dismayed at the development, she looked back at her sister and frowned, “I think we might get wet.”

  Of all the things Kira had prepared for, a storm was not among them, and by the look of these clouds, there was going to be a mighty one. Far off in the distance, she could see violent lighting striking at the heart of the Black Wood. Without saying anything else, she started jogging down the hill towards the valley, Kaya following close behind. Kira knew that if they had any hopes of missing the storm they would have to make excellent time; she just hoped her sister would be able to keep up. The clouds seemed far enough away that they might be able to make it in and out before the storm struck, but even that seemed like a fool’s hope. She knew that it would be nearing sunset by time they reached the edge of the forest, so any hopes of finding the flowers rested on the short period of sunlight they still had. Storm clouds would shorten that period dramatically, and would make finding the flowers near impossible in the dark.

  The two girls jogged side by side, silently maintaining a slow but steady pace for some time. Kira knew it would do them no good to be exhausted when they arrived. If anything, the run would probably be the easier part of the journey since the terrain would become thick and overgrown with plant life once they entered the woods. They would be forced to fight their way through the underbrush in order to find the flowers, all the while keeping a watchful eye out for predators.

  Thinking about the dangers that could be waiting for them seemed to make Kira’s already-fatigued muscles burn with renewed vigor. They had been running for nearly an hour and the familiar sting of her legs and numbness in her feet had returned. She knew that if she didn’t take her mind off of the pain, there would be no hope to maintain the speed.

  In order to distract herself, she looked over at her sister and was surprised to find that the young girl was keeping pace better than expected. Instead of seeing the kid sister she had cared for over the years, she saw a fearless young woman, determined to not fall behind. Kira couldn’t explain it, but seeing this hardened determination made her swell with pride. Having been so young when their mother died, Kaya hadn’t been able to fend for herself, so Kira had been forced to take care of her; much like a mother would have. In many ways, Kaya was like a daughter to Kira and as a result, Kaya looked up to her more than anyone else.

  Kira smiled with pride as she ran, but the pain in her legs was getting worse. She had to try harder to take her mind off of it, so between gasps of air she asked her sister, “So how did you… escape the village… anyways?”

  Kaya grinned, and between her own labored breathing responded, “Well… I pretended to go to the food storage... to get stuff for breakfast… and Yamara bought it… so I just snuck out… when no one was watching.”

  Kira tried to laugh, but was breathing too heavily to manage anything more than a snort. Still trying to distract herself, she tried to ask another question, but was interrupted before she could. Not paying attention to where she had been running her left foot caught on a large piece of wood buried in the tall grass, causing her to fall to the ground. An explosion of pain shot through her left leg as she landed in the grass. Grabbing her ankle with both hands, she cried out in pain. Kaya came to a stop a few yards away and with a worried look ran back to her sister, asking “What happened? Are you all right?”

  The pain was blinding as Kira rolled around on the ground moaning. Damnit! She screamed in her mind. How could I have been so careless? She didn’t know what was worse, the pain coursing through her leg, or knowing that an injury would slow them down even more. Tears welled in her eyes as she rubbed her ankle, trying to feel for any broken bones. There were no protrusions and nothing seemed to be permanently damaged, but that was only a slight comfort as the pain continued to shoot up her leg. She finally managed to speak, “I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s definitely sprained.”

  Kaya didn’t respond at first, seemingly unsure of what to do. She sat next to Kira in the grass and stared at her ankle for a moment before something occurred to her. Her eyes lit up as she pulled open her satchel and started to frantically dig through the contents; finally pulling out a long stretch of leather strapping and a small container filled with green paste. Grinning with pride she pulled Kira’s hands away from the injured ankle and began to rub the green paste on the swelling skin. Once she had covered the entire area with the strange smelling substance, she started to tightly wrap the ankle in the leather strap until she had used the length of it. With a hard yank and a loud cry from her sister, Kaya tied the strap off as tightly as she could and asked, “Does it feel any better now?”

  At first there wasn’t much of a change, but after a few moments the pain did begin to recede. Squeezing her ankle, Kira was astonished at her sister’s handiwork. “I think… I’ll be okay. Where did you learn to do that?”

  Kaya smiled. “Yamara showed me. She started teaching me how to mend injuries while you were away, hunting with the others. I also have some other kinds of medicine in case we need it.”

  Kira was impressed, and felt even more proud of her sister than she had before she tripped. The pain continued to recede as her ankle tingled with numbness, so she decided to test the foot. With a helping hand from Kaya, she got to her feet; placing only a slight amount of weight on her left foot. The moment she did, the pain returned, although not with the same vigor. She took a few steps, leaning on her spear like a cane and wincing the way her uncle had earlier that morning. The pain was manageable, but it would definitely slow her down. Letting out a sigh, she said, “Well, I don’t think I’m going to be able to run any more… but I should still be able to walk.”

  “I can go on alone, if you think I should?” Kaya suggested.

  Kira shook her head. “No. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we are both safely home. I’m coming with you… just more slowly than before. Although, if you are feeling a desire to be helpful, maybe you could carry my bag for me?”

  Kaya smiled and nodded, pulling the satchel off of Kira’s shoulder. Placing it over her own shoulder, she tried to support Kira’s weight for her as they started to walk again, but Kira shook her head. “No, I can do it. I need you to be at the ready in case something sneaks up on us; I don’t want you worrying about keeping me on my feet, when you should be running or hiding. Things will be getting much more dangerous shortly.” Looking ahead of her, Kira could tell that the Black Wood was only a short distance away and that they would be arriving at its edge soon, even at the slower pace.

  The two girls moved as quickly as Kira’s ankle would allow, for what seemed like hours; each step hurting a little less than the one before until eventually, her ankle had gone completely numb. What once was shooting pain had now become only a dull throb. Kira tried to keep her spirits up but as the Black Wood grew larger and the storm clouds overhead drew ever closer, she found herself wishing they were back at home.

  The humidity in the autumn air rose, and the temperature began to drop. The cold winds became more pronounced, stealing the heat away from the girls, and leaving both of them to shiver in the cold as they trudged onwards. The dark storm clouds hung overhead and were quickly consuming the sky in all directions. It hadn’t started raining yet, but it was getting dark and the thunder was getting louder.

  When they finally reached the edge of the Black Wood, the sisters exchanged apprehensive glances before stepping into the thick undergrowth. It was difficult to make out anything beyond the first line of trees in the fading grey light; this was going to make things challenging. They couldn’t risk starti
ng a fire or bringing torches with them. Their best chance now was to hope to get lucky and quickly find what they were looking for, before anything noticed them.

  “Are you ready? Do you remember what we are looking for?” Kira asked Kaya.

  “Night’s Widow, a dark blue flower with white dots on the outside petals,” Kaya repeated, nodding back at her sister.

  “And where do they grow?” Kira asked.

  “Umm…” Kaya tried to remember what Felmar had said. “Don’t they grow next to the mushrooms that feed on fallen trees?” she guessed, unsure of her answer.

  “Correct. Now we have to be very quiet in there. No snapping twigs like you did back there and definitely no falling into bushes!” Kira jeered.

  Kaya looked abashed and nodded. “I’ll be as quiet as a field mouse, I promise,” she said with a grin.

  “Okay, then let’s do this quickly, before it starts to storm. Keep your eyes peeled for the flowers, but also pay attention to anything that moves. If you hear something, or think that you see something, do not ignore it. We cannot afford to be caught off guard, okay?”

  Kaya nodded again. Both girls started into the trees as lighting struck in the distance, sending out a rolling thunder that echoed across the valley behind them.

  CHAPTER 4