Jaleigh Johnson - Unbroken Chain - The Darker Road

Ashok stared back until the boy turned a little pale and looked away. Skittish, Ashok thought. He mounted the nightmare and rode back to where Skagi and Cree waited. They were arguing, as usual.

“It won’t happen tonight,” Cree said. “No human force can get themselves organized that fast.”

Skagi nudged Ashok. “The one-eyed pup thinks we won’t see an ambush tonight. Needs his sleep, I guess. What say you, Ashok? Will we see them tonight?”

The caravan was moving, joining the flow of life again. Ashok did his best to go along with it, but he was still tense. “I hope we don’t see anything tonight,” he said. “We’re not ready.”

“Speak for yourself,” Skagi said sullenly.

Ashok sighed. “Fine, then. I’m not ready.” Mareyn had been right. He was too new. “There’s so much-I don’t know where to look, where to put my hands.”

The rain came two hours before nightfall. It started as intermittent drops, cold surprises splashing against their faces and necks. Ashok looked up at the sky. The dark blue clouds had turned black, and a crack of thunder sounded above their heads. A breath later, a torrent of icy needles came pouring from those clouds. The caravan was soon saturated.

Ashok pulled up the hood of his cloak to keep the rain out of his eyes, and the caravan crew hunkered down as best it could while still moving forward. The soft grass they traveled on would quickly turn to impassable mud. They would have to make camp soon or waste time and energy pushing forward through the muck.

He wiped the rainwater from his face. In the back of the last wagon, Ilvani sat with her head bent, her chin almost touching her knees. She hadn’t put her hood up, and the rain plastered her hair to her face.

“Ilvani!” He rode up to the wagon. The nightmare blew a hot, agitated breath, but otherwise it didn’t react to her presence. “Are you all right?”

She raised her head and, as if she’d only just noticed the rain, tipped her face to the sky and let the sleet hit her cheeks. Ashok let her alone for a breath before he repeated his question.

“It’s time to sleep now, isn’t it?” Ilvani said. Weary resignation descended on her body, bending her forward again.

Before Ashok had a chance to say anything, the wagons slowed and halted. Tuva rode back to them and motioned to Ashok.

“We’re stopping for the night,” he said, pitching his voice loud enough to carry to the rest of the caravan. “The rain’s too heavy-we can’t get to the usual campsite used for this route, but there’s some rocky ground up ahead that’ll serve. We’ll still be soaked, but we won’t be sleeping in mud. More important, the wagons won’t be stuck during the night. Guards, see Vlahna for your watch assignments. Passengers, make yourselves as comfortable as you can. The rest of you, get the gear and wagons secured. You know your jobs.”

The rain was too heavy for fires, so the caravan cook handed out cold rations and the guards took the horses down to the river for fresh water. Vlahna assigned Ashok and the brothers the first watch. She pulled them aside.

“I want the three of you to hunt a little before dawn. Shadar-kai have the best eyes, and the more fresh meat we have the better. Just don’t stray too far from the caravan. I think we’ll be looking at a surprise from those bandits come morning.”

Cree elbowed Skagi. “Told you,” he said.

The camp came together sloppily in the rain, but by the time it was full dark, everyone had eaten and was bedded down in the wagons, hastily erected tents, or on the ground with blankets thrown over their heads. The rain eventually dwindled to a fine, icy mist.

Ashok went to where Ilvani still sat in the back of the wagon. “You can bed down back here if you want, or you can have one of the tents,” he told her.

“Stay in the wagon, witch,” Skagi advised. He shook out his own soggy tent cloth. “You won’t find a dry spot anywhere else.”

“It won’t matter,” Ilvani said. “She’ll find me wherever I go. I’ll stay here.” She huddled inside her cloak and lay down in the wagon.

“We’ll encircle the camp,” Ashok said. “I’ll ride out a little ways with the … my horse, and see if there’s anything moving.”

“Don’t go looking for trouble without us,” Cree said, giving Ashok a meaningful look.

“Not this time,” Ashok said. He glanced again at the wagon where Ilvani slept.

“Don’t worry,” Cree said. “We’ll all keep an eye on her.”

Ashok mounted the nightmare and rode out from the camp. His vision adjusted easily to the moonlit darkness. Patchy silver light illuminated the open plain. He could see for miles across it, but there was no sign of their attackers. He circled the camp in an ever-widening arc, looking for tracks, but he found nothing.

They aren’t ghosts, Ashok thought. They’re here somewhere. It was possible they had magical means to communicate with their partners.

Once he got out far enough from the camp, Ashok gave the nightmare free rein. The beast took off, gaining speed and power as he ran. Ashok sucked frigid air into his lungs. He could feel the contained heat of the nightmare beneath him.

“You’ll wait, won’t you,” Ashok murmured to the beast. “You’re biding your time because you don’t quite know your place here. But not for long. You’ll taste blood soon, but we have to be careful. You can’t betray what you really are.”

Ashok slept in short snatches that night. He kept hearing unfamiliar sounds, movement, and cries of animals he didn’t recognize. Once he watched a bird soar down to trap a mouse in its talons. The creature was snow-white and had a flat face with dark-rimmed eyes. Ashok had never seen a bird like it before.

Skagi roused him before dawn, and the trio left the camp with the nightmare to hunt. They found deer tracks, a small herd moving north away from the camp. Skagi kneeled to examine the droppings.

“Pretty fresh,” Skagi said. He wiped his hand on the grass. “We’ll catch up to them if we run.”

Standing next to him, Cree didn’t reply. Skagi sighed and wiped his fingers on his brother’s boot.

Ashok noted the warrior’s stiff posture. He had his hands on his katars. “What is it?” Ashok said. “Did you hear something?”

Cree shook his head. “Look at the tracks,” he said. “They’re too widely spaced. Something scared them, made them run.”

“A predator?” Ashok said.

“No sign of any in the area,” Cree said. “And look here.” He pointed to where the tracks came up from the river. “The tracks are evenly spaced. Something happened between here and there to make them run.”

“They must have heard something,” Skagi said. “Something the caravan missed.”

“A sound they’ve heard before,” Ashok said, understanding. “Something that signals violence to the animals in this area of the caravan route.”

“We need to get back,” Cree said, “now.”

Ashok mounted the nightmare, and the brothers ran along beside him back toward the camp. Gray light spread from the deep blue horizon. Riders came into view from the west-ten of them-moving fast. The camp had already seen them. The shadar-kai mounted up to go meet them while the rest stayed to defend the wagons.

Then, to the south, Ashok heard crossbow bolts singing in the air. Their owners-Ashok counted at least five of them-rode through the tall grass by the river. Ashok shouted a warning to Skagi and Cree and wrenched the nightmare around before they charged right into the path of the missiles. The black quarrels buried themselves in the wagon sides and into the dirt. Horse screams rang out as they hit two of the beasts.

No cheap weapons this time, Ashok thought grimly. They’ve brought out their best finery, just for us. He unhooked his chain from his belt and let it whip behind the running nightmare like a second barbed tail.