Dark Days, page 21
part #1 of The Albatar Chronicles Series
Stumpy didn’t seem to mind at all. Rather, he seemed to appreciate the leafy foliage, occasionally tugging at the reins to nip a few of the leaves with his teeth. Eventually, Javon held up a hand to signal a halt. By that time, Kazari was scratched, speckled liberally with yellow, and felt as though she had bits of leaf and twig itching their way down her neck. She brushed a few bits out of her short curls with her free hand, noting that she’d need to trim it when she returned to the Abbey. She could see a small clearing, and what looked like the edge of the trees not far away. At least, she could see more blue sky in that direction than she’d seen since they’d left the road.
“We’ll leave the horses here,” said Andiss, “and set up camp. We’ll be working our way into town when it’s dark, so once you’ve got yourselves sorted, we’ll eat.” They hobbled the horses and set up two small tents, vestibule to vestibule. Javon showed them how to suspend a fine mesh above them which they then covered with dry vegetation. Kazari was surprised to see how well it disguised the tents – from a short distance she could barely see them at all. Certainly, someone coming from the village would only see them if they stumbled upon them accidentally.
After a quick meal of cheese and flatbread, the four Hunters perched themselves on the edge of the scrub, watching the village and what they could see of the road. Kazari checked her map in the late afternoon light, using her fingers to estimate distances. The village was named as Pleasance, and from her map, Kazari was surprised to see that Pleasance was as close to Seraph as Chator was, just in a different direction. She walked her fingers around her map a bit more, and realised that Athos was definitely a long way from its Lady’s town, which explained why the local mayor loomed much larger in her mind than its Lady. In fact, she didn’t think she could even recall her name.
She wondered why Athos hadn’t come under Seraph’s rule, rather than Chester’s. Still, it probably didn’t matter anyway, so she contented herself with studying the map, trying to make more sense of Albatar’s geography than she currently had at her fingertips. Of course, on her travels, she’d been with Javon and Andiss, and they’d guided the journeys and given some basic instruction in navigation, but at the time it hadn’t seemed as pressing as her regular training in fighting skills and the use of her Gifts.
As the sun sank lower, the warm spring air gave way to the chill of the evening, and Kazari added another layer to her clothing. Still, as the short twilight ended, and darkness enveloped them, she shivered slightly and wished she’d added yet another one. A moon rose slowly above the horizon, but the slight haze around it hinted of clouds to come as Kazari followed Javon out of the trees and across the paddocks on the edge of the village.
She stepped on a twig which snapped loudly underneath her foot and froze, convinced the sound must have startled the entire village.
“Move on, Kaz!” whispered Sendar, tapping her on the shoulder. She almost let out a yell in surprise. He must have felt her start. “It wasn’t that loud, but please try and look where you’re going.”
She rolled her eyes in the darkness – look where she was going? It was dark. Of course, that was the moment she realised that it wasn’t really dark, and that her eyes had adjusted enough that she could make out forms and contours – even vague shadows of trees ahead and rocks on the ground, if the colour differential was enough.
She went to sigh, stifled it, and kept moving, trying to place her feet with care while keeping her eyes roving ahead. She wished there was more light, and then she didn’t because light would have made them visible. She wished there was a Hunter’s Gift that illuminated the dark for Hunters only, and almost fell over when she felt the impression of amusement and a faint warmth from her amethyst. She groped for it at her chest, but there was no glow. Of course, that would have made her visible too.
She almost fell over a rock she hadn’t seen, and Kazari realised that she needed to stop thinking and concentrate on what she was actually doing. Her mind felt as if it was a litter of active puppies, thoughts darting here, there and everywhere, with no sense of control or focus. By the time they’d reached the village, she’d managed to focus herself on what might be ahead, so she didn’t start when Javon reached back with a hand and drew her to her side.
“We’ll make our way slightly west. There’s a flat paddock there where caravans usually set camp.” Kazari nodded, realised Javon couldn’t see her and whispered her assent. Then she reached back and passed the message to Sendar. A moment later, and they were on the move again. Here and there, lights shone from windows. Kazari quickly learned to keep her eyes averted, after she’d peered towards one and completely lost her night vision.
This village had a row of houses on this side, backing on to the southern border of the village. They passed a gate set between two of the houses, and when Kazari looked curiously between them, she saw a narrow alleyway that led onto a dimly lit street. She supposed that Pleasance was large enough to have street lamps and a lamp lighter to tend them.
She was warm from the exercise, and pleased now she hadn’t added another layer or else she’d have been overheated. As they reached the western end of the row of dwellings, Javon slowed her pace just before her hand urged Kazari to a crouch.
“We’ll take the north, and Sendar and Andiss the south. Follow me.”
She moved off directly behind Javon, casting furtive glances through the darkness. The smell of woodsmoke hung in the air, gradually strengthening as she and Javon moved along the western boundary. It wasn’t a square; the houses were more scattered, unlike the southern boundary. It seemed that Pleasance had gradually sprawled further west as it grew, so Kazari and Javon followed a meandering path, occasionally struggling through ditches and around trees. Or at least Kazari struggled, while Javon moved smoothly, or so it seemed to Kazari.
She had to remind herself to blink occasionally, but with the footing so uneven, Kazari found herself straining to pierce the darkness ahead. The moon was now fully risen, but clouds scudded across the sky, and the light was uncertain, sometimes changing from one moment to the next. Eventually, she spied a ruddy glow ahead. The smell of something savoury added itself to the woodsmoke, and for a moment her stomach grumbled. It wanted something hot, not just the bread and cheese.
The glow resolved into flickering flames, and the sound of conversation came faintly to her. There was the smell of horses not far away, and as the flames surged higher and embers fountained into the air, the shadowy shapes of wagons parked side by side on a small rise became visible. Javon drew Kazari down again, and they lay flat on the ground, looking up towards the wagons.
“We’re going to move up behind the wagons, Kaz,” whispered Javon. “We’re too exposed here.” She backtracked slightly before beginning to circle around the campsite, keeping the two of them clear of the edge of the village. Kazari felt her heart beating faster, and found that the palms of her hands had grown sweaty, despite the chill in the air.
Eventually, Javon paused a little way from the wagons, and Kazari saw that they were now just behind the rise where the wagons sat. Their high bases and large wheels left a gap beneath them so that Kazari and Javon could see some of what was happening by the fire. It was also unlikely that anyone looking up the hill towards the wagons would see them. She relaxed slightly.
As her eyes adapted, Kazari could see people sitting on low stools around the fire, plates and cups held on laps. Sparks fountained again, and she saw that someone had stirred the coals with a shovel and was piling fresh ones on top of several camp ovens.
“I guess we’ve found old Aron’s cow,” whispered Javon.
They’d found the cow, Kazari thought. Where? Just before realisation kicked in. The camp ovens and the savoury smell of roasting meat…
She strained her ears, trying to hear what the people around the fire were saying, but the voices were too quiet, apart from the odd word here or there. Kazari shivered slightly. The people looked warm, tucked around the fire, eating and drinking, and now that she was stationery, the chill in the air was making itself known. Javon touched her arm slightly and pulled her down behind the rise.
“We’ll be here for a while, Kaz. You wait here and watch. I’m going to scout around further west, see if there’s anything different there, and meet up with Andiss. I’ll be back shortly. Keep your ears open.” The woman slid back down the rise and moved off without making any discernible sound. Kazari wondered how long it would take for her to learn that skill. She crawled back up the rise and lifted her head cautiously, peering under the wagon again. She froze as the wagon rocked slightly, then she saw feet descending a small ladder at the front of it. They obscured her view briefly, and then she was looking through the rungs – just as she had been the whole time, she realised.
The booted feet moved to the fire, joining the others around it, and then the savoury smell intensified and Kazari felt the wind rise slightly, brushing her cheeks with its chill. At the same time, a hint of acridity touched her nostrils, and she tensed – gorgones? It was there and then gone almost immediately, and for a moment she thought she’d imagined it. Then reason won over uncertainty. She’d smelled that exact same smell before – not gorgones – or not exactly – but the ‘changed’. The smell was burned deep into her memory, along with the memory of pain, and the longest night she’d ever experienced.
She looked around to alert the others, then remembered she was alone. Alone and watching and listening, while somewhere nearby was a ‘changed’. Or perhaps a changing. Kazari remembered the nightmare transformations all too well. They’d fed off her fear and her pain. Her mind raced – what should she do? Should she follow Javon? But no, she didn’t really know exactly where the other Hunter was going, except to circle around the campsite. What if she decided to do an entire circle while Kazari chased her? They could end up going round and round without meeting.
Kazari forced her panic down, and made herself take notice of what was happening near the fire. She breathed in at the same time, widening her nostrils, trying to detect that elusive scent again. All that came on the breeze was the smell of beef stew. And something else. Something that wasn’t ‘changed’, or gorgone, or stew, but still pungent, and oddly familiar. Voices rose again, so she focused on trying to hear anything that might make sense.
With the wind rising slowly, the snatches of conversation came more clearly than they had previously, but the sentences were disjointed, their meanings unclear.
“…From the old man at…”
“…Underneath it – remember? When the messenger came, she gave us a description…”
“…Infiltration is almost complete but there were a few…”
Frustrated, Kazari wished she could get closer, but with the firelight and the ground as it was, if she moved closer, she’d be clearly visible, even if she crawled under the wagon in front of her. The savoury smell intensified again as someone lifted the lid of one of the camp ovens using a tent peg. She squinted in the sudden flare of firelight. The familiar smell assailed her nostrils again, and at last she recognised it – apples – but only barely. The smell of apples was almost eclipsed by something stronger – the pungent smell of hard spirits. For some reason, they were heating it further, and doing something with it.
Kazari peered under the wagon again, trying to see anything that might be of use, all the time keeping her ears pricked for the fragments of conversation wafting on the wind. She started as a yelp sounded clearly on the wind, followed by frantic yapping. A door slammed at the front of the wagon next to the one Kazari was looking underneath, and the yelping escalated briefly, before a thud sounded and it subsided to whimpers.
Kazari’s heart sank – Sim’s puppies? She was fond of dogs herself, although her family hadn’t had one of their own, and she’d enjoyed the company of Dari’s sheep dogs. She craned her head to the right, trying to see if anyone was near the other caravan, wondering if she should somehow sneak into the caravan and rescue the puppies. Still, even if she could get into the caravan, how would she keep the pups quiet?
She looked to either side, hoping that Javon would appear out of the darkness, while the quiet whimpers kept distracting her from what she should really be doing. The wind blew more strongly, and the night seemed suddenly darker, and Kazari realised that clouds had now obscured the moonlight completely. She could hear quiet cursing coming from around the fire.
“…Might be turning…”
“…Finished that batch?…”
Something glinted brightly as the fire flared briefly again, and the smell of spirits, or something made from it, was suddenly chokingly strong. Kazari had to cover her nose and mouth to stop herself from coughing. Her eyes watered, and she blotted the tears quickly with her other hand, ducking below the ridge line into the fresher air.
She inhaled gratefully, wondering exactly what the caravaners were doing – even if the people of Cidertown hadn’t sold them any of the hard cider, they’d obviously ‘acquired’ it from either Cidertown or somewhere else and were using it for something,
“…Told you to keep it away from the dinner…”
“…Your mouth, there’s nothing in the stew, it’s just the…”
Well, someone around the fire wasn’t pleased with the stench either. Kazari risked a quick sniff above the ridge line and was pleased to discover that the smell had paled off to just a hint of its previous pungency. Firelight glinted redly off something that tinkled and clattered as one of the figures upended a pot onto a rug on the ground. Kazari narrowed her eyes – surely not? She’d seen things like that before – in Suborden.
A whisper at her side made her spin in place, reflexively drawing a knife from her boot. A heartbeat later she subsided with relief – it was Javon.
“Javon – I think there might be ‘changed’ here,” she whispered urgently.
Chapter Twenty-six: Malmetal
“You’re sure?” whispered Javon.
“Yes,” Kazari whispered back. “And they’ve been doing something with alcohol at the fire, and I think the litter of pups is here as well.”
Javon drew her down behind the rise, and then two of them moved further into the concealing darkness. The darkness was all encompassing at first, and after looking into the fire lit campsite, Kazari’s night vision took some minutes to return, and she felt as if she might stumble and fall any moment as Javon moved them further away. At last the older woman stopped and tugged her into a squat behind what Kazari belatedly realised was a pile of debris, set in a cone for a bonfire.
“Now, tell me what you think you’ve seen and heard,” Javon said quietly.
Kazari ran through her list – the smell of the ‘changed’, the pups, and whatever they’d been cooking up on the fire. Then she remembered the snatches of conversation.
“They said something about infiltration being ‘almost complete.’ But I couldn’t hear anything that made any sense of that,” she finished. There seemed to be so many things to recount, and Kazari had no idea what they should pursue first. The ‘changed’, maybe? Her mind raced.
Javon was silent beside her for a long time, and Kazari had to force herself not to fidget. The woman was clearly thinking over what Kazari had told her, and perhaps she had more to add from her own reconnaissance. At last, Javon spoke.
“That rise is our best spot for listening, so I want you to go back there. Don’t do anything but listen – listen and remember exactly what’s being said.” In the faint light, Kazari saw Javon tilt her head to look at the sky. The dense clouds had scattered slightly again, but Kazari could see the clouds scudding quickly across the sky, and what light the moon emitted was intermittent. “I’ll get the others. They might have a bit more information by now. Sendar was going to try and lift Andiss onto the top of a wagon.”
“What?” exclaimed Kazari. Javon’s hand covered her mouth, and Kazari shamefacedly realised that she’d spoken loudly. She looked about wildly, but they were downwind, so hopefully no-one at the fire had heard anything.
“Keep your voice down,” hissed Javon, and for the first time since meeting her, she heard hints of irritation in the Hunter’s voice.
“Sorry,” whispered Kazari. “But…how? I mean, what if the top of the wagon collapses?”
In the darkness, Kazari felt, rather than saw Javon shrug. “It’s necessary. Now, get back to the rise, and listen. Ignore the pups, they’re the least of our worries right now. If this caravan is what I think it is, then we’ve bigger problems that we’d thought.”
“Javon, what do you mean?”
“I suspect they’re manufacturing malmetal charms and distributing them. And if they’re talking about infiltration, then we need to know what’s being infiltrated, and where and how. And if you think there are ‘changed’, then that complicates matters even more. We need information, which means we can’t just wade in and dispatch them.”
Kazari rocked back on her heels. What was Javon saying? That they’d let those changed go? Or capture one – or more? Or what? Her mind reeled. Javon’s hand on her shoulder shocked her back into the present.
“Kaz!” Javon whispered. “I need to know you can do this!”
“Yes. I’ll be fine, it’s just…” Words failed her.
“There’s more to our hunting than just fighting, Kaz,” whispered Javon. “And this is part of it. Go on, we won’t be long.” She squeezed Kazari’s shoulder and then vanished into the darkness. Kazari sat on her heels for another moment, drawing deep breaths, and then pushed herself off and moved back towards the wagons. She tried to emulate Javon’s silent movement, but eventually settled for being as quiet as she could, relieved that the wind continued to blow towards her.
