D. MacHale - The Soldiers of Halla

“Avoiding a tang. Did you know tangs can be tamed?” I asked.

“Not until I came back to Eelong. A lot has changed since we left.”

Kasha wore the same dark tunic that she always wore. She was a forager. When I knew her, she and her team would scour the jungle floor for food. Her job was to protect the others from tangs. From what I’d just seen, that wasn’t so important anymore.

“How long have you been back?” I asked. She could have landed back there fifteen minutes ago, or fifteen years. Time was becoming increasingly irrelevant.

“Only a day, but I’ve seen a lot.”

I stared at her, waiting for what I hoped would be good news. She knew exactly what I was thinking and added soberly, “I haven’t found the exiles.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I have. At least I know where they are.”

Kasha’s eyes widened. “That’s wonderful! Have you come to bring me back to Solara?”

“Uh, no. They’re here, Kasha. They’re in Black Water.”

Kasha stared at me, stunned. Yes, she was a klee, but I could tell that she was stunned.

“But… how?” she asked.

“Can we get out of this tree first?”

“Yes, yes of course.”

The two of us climbed down. Kasha was much more agile than I was, naturally. I felt a lot more safe with Kasha there. “Where are we?” I asked. “I mean, where on Eelong?” “Not far from Leeandra. I was headed there when I heard the tang attack. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I guess that’s why I landed where I did,” I said. “To find you.”

“Probably, and also because I believe it’s important that you see Leeandra.”

“Why? Has it changed?” I asked.

Kasha nodded. “You must see it for yourself.”

“But we need to get to Black Water,” I argued.

“Agreed. But you need to understand the new Eelong. If the exiles are in Black Water, what has happened to Leeandra will affect them.”

I was convinced. We would head back to the klee city in the trees. As Kasha led me through the jungle, I filled her in on all that had happened, right up to Nevva’s death and her dying words.

Kasha shook her head in dismay. “Black Water. I had no idea.”

“What am I gonna see in Leeandra?” I asked. I wanted to be a little prepared at least.

“It’s a dangerous place for gars. Far more than when you were here.”

Oh. Swell.

“More dangerous than being treated like a slave and being put on the menu?” I asked.

“Yes. Gars no longer live in Leeandra” was her answer. “They were banished.”

“But… no,” I argued. “There was a whole new cooperation going on between the two races. Gunny and Spader were part of it.”

“That was long ago,” Kasha answered. “Whatever truce was established was later torn apart.”

I couldn’t imagine what had happened that could turn things so far the other way. Before I could ask, I had my answer. We were indeed very close to Leeandra. Kasha and I stepped to the edge of the dense jungle to see the giant, wooden wall that protected the city in the trees. It had been erected to keep the tangs away from the klees. That hadn’t changed, but there was one distinct difference. I could see up to the top edge of the city wall, high above. Every ten feet or so was a long pole, from which flew a flag. A red flag with a star on it. The Ravinian star.

“The Ravinians control Eelong,” Kasha said.

“I should have guessed,” I said softly.

“It’s been difficult for me,” Kasha continued. “They no longer know who I am, so I’m not trusted. In the short time I’ve been back, I haven’t learned much, but there are rumors. Something is about to happen, and I fear it won’t go well for the gars.”

“We have to find out what it is,” I said. “On Eelong the exiles are all gars.”

“That’s why we must go inside. The answers will be there.”

In order for us to get inside the walls of Leeandra, I had to die. Sort of.

“Gars are no longer allowed inside the city walls,” Kasha explained. “At least, not by their own choice.” “What does that mean?” I asked.

Kasha didn’t answer. She was nervous. That wasn’t like her. At least, it wasn’t like the confident Kasha I knew. The two of us crouched in the jungle, just before the clearing that surrounded Leeandra. I’d guess there was a stretch of about fifty yards from where the jungle ended until the big wall that protected the tree city of Leeandra.

“Forgive me, Pendragon,” she said. “I’ve seen things since my return that have been quite disturbing. I’m having trouble understanding it all.”

“Tell me,” I said.

“When I returned, I arrived inside the walls of Leeandra. But the village had changed so drastically, it took me a while to realize it. The structure of the city had been altered dramatically. I tried to find Boon, but had no luck. I even tried to contact him through my Traveler ring. After all, he was my acolyte. But the ring no longer functions.”

“I hadn’t even thought about the rings,” I said. “They probably went dead when the flumes exploded.”

“That’s my guess. I asked anyone who would listen if they knew him, but got nowhere. Finally, I found someone who said that Boon had gone on an expedition to one of the outlying farms. That’s why I was on the outside. To look for Boon.”

“Did you find him?”

“No. The farms are no longer where they used to be. I came back, for fear of getting lost. That’s when I stumbled on the tang attack, and you.”

I nodded. “What else did you find in the city?”

“I roamed about, trying to get my bearings. It was nearly impossible. That’s when I realized that I had been sent to a time that was further in the future than when I had lived here. It was the only explanation as to why the city could have changed so.”

“You said something is about to happen to the gars. That must be why we are here now.”

“I believe it is.”

“So? What is it?” I asked.

Kasha fell silent. Something was obviously bothering her.

“You discovered something, didn’t you?” I asked.

“I saw something. Something I never thought would happen, yet it has. I walked to the part of the city that the foragers used as their base, hoping to find someone I might know. It is still there. Mostly as I remembered it. The foragers still function. They still leave the city to gather food. But…”

She couldn’t continue. Whatever she’d seen had really disturbed her. I didn’t push her, because I knew she’d eventually open up. Though she was a klee, I could read her expressions as clearly as if she were human. Her dark fur glistened, as if she were sweating. Kasha was definitely off balance.

“There was a group of foragers inside the barracks. They were eating and talking, and laughing about how their jobs would soon be so much easier. They said there would be no more lurking through the jungle. No more worrying about tangs. No more guarding those who harvested fruits and vegetables at the farms. It was a celebration of sorts. It was all about how their lives would soon change because they would no longer have to forage in the jungle.”

“So then, what are they going to do for food?” I asked.

“They didn’t say,” Kasha said. “They didn’t have to. I saw.” She swallowed. Hard. The memory was a tough one. “One of the foragers was chewing on a bone. He finished and threw it onto a pile that had been building near the door.”

I felt as if I knew where this was headed, but I still had to hear.

“What was he eating, Kasha?”

“It was a leg bone. A gar leg bone. All of the bones were gar bones. It’s happened, Pendragon. Gars have become food. They’re on the verge of repealing Edict Forty-six. It’s going to be legal to eat intelligent creatures! The foragers’ jobs will no longer be about finding food in the jungle. I believe they now will be in charge of gathering the gars for… for…” Kasha had to work hard to hold back her emotions. “It’s a step away from cannibalism.”