Lawrence Watt-Evans - Relics of War

Ishta did not seem entirely convinced, but she was not stupid or desperate enough to go out in the storm looking for her demonic friend; she knew how easy it was to get disoriented in all that whiteness and howling wind, and how quickly a person-or at least the goat they had lost during a storm two years earlier-could freeze to death. They used tethers and guide-ropes just to get from the house to the barn; venturing into the woods was out of the question.

After a day and a half the storm eased, and when Garander returned from watering the cattle he found Ishta leaning out the door, staring toward the forest.

“He’s fine,” Garander told her as he reached the house. He pulled her inside and slammed the door. “Don’t let out all the warmth.”

“We don’t know he’s fine,” Ishta said. “I know you said he’s survived worse, when I was little, but we don’t know that. He might have been hiding in a cave up in the hills or something back then, and maybe this time he was caught off-guard.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Garander replied.

“We should check on him!”

“In this weather? We can’t.”

“When the snow stops, I mean.”

Garander sighed. “Ishta, if he is in trouble, it’ll be too late by then, even if we could find him.”

“We should look, though! He’s part demon; maybe he…oh, I don’t know.”

“Neither do I,” Garander admitted. “But if you’re really that worried, I’ll help you take a look when the weather lets up. You can’t go out there alone in all this snow. And we’ll have to tell Father-he’d see the tracks, in any case.”

“But he told us to stay away from Tesk!”

Garander had momentarily forgotten that; doing his chores in the blizzard had distracted him. He frowned.

Just then their sister Shella opened the door and stepped in, carrying an armful of firewood. Ishta glanced up at Garander.

“We’ll talk later,” he said. Shella threw him a curious glance, but said nothing.

The snow stopped completely that evening, and by morning the clouds had blown away, leaving a white world ablaze with light, sun reflecting from every snow-covered surface. Grondar put the children and himself to work, shoveling out paths and clearing snow from windows and doors; it was tiring, but the effort kept them warm.

Around noon Garander was up in the loft, clearing the loft door and making sure the weight of the snow had not cracked any rafters, when he glanced out across the north field, toward the forest.

A thin line of smoke was rising from the trees.

He blinked, then smiled. There was only one way there could be a fire out there in these conditions. Tesk had survived the storm.

He took one more look around, gave the loft door a final swing to make sure no snow blocked its movement, then latched it and headed downstairs to tell Ishta that the shatra was alive.

He found her clearing snow from the chicken run, where she received the news with less delight than Garander had expected.

“He built a fire?”

“Well, someone did, and who else could it be?”

“But anyone could see it!”

Annoyed, Garander asked, “Who else is there around here?”

“The neighbors! Felder can probably see it.”

Garander had to stop and think a moment, then said, “From his house it probably looks like it’s ours.”

Ishta opened her mouth to argue, then stopped. “Oh,” she said.

“Tesk isn’t stupid,” Garander pointed out.

“What about from Kolar’s farm?”

“I’m not sure he could see it at all; he’s on the other side of the south ridge.”

“What about Shessin…no, I guess not.” Ishta frowned. “Let me see it.”

The two climbed back up to the loft, where Garander opened the door and pointed out the thin trail of pale smoke.

Ishta squinted out into the glare. “I can hardly see it,” she said. “It’s white smoke. You didn’t say that.”

“I told you he wasn’t stupid.”

Garander had thought that would settle the matter, but that evening Ishta pulled him aside and made it clear that she still wanted to check on Tesk when she got a chance, and she expected Garander to help her.

“But you’ll leave tracks!” Garander protested.

“Maybe we can hide them somehow.”

Garander had no idea how they could hide tracks in snow this deep-the blizzard had deposited about a foot and a half of snow, with drifts as much as ten feet high. Of course, the wind that made those drifts had also scoured some areas down to a mere inch or two, and there was a long arc across the north field where that had happened. He wondered whether they could use that somehow.

It was four days later, though, that Ishta came up with her own solution-hide behind the drifts, where their tracks would not be visible from the house or barn. That would not take them all the way, but it might be enough to keep their father from noticing their trail.

It was obvious that she was not going to be deterred, so Garander accompanied her, crouching behind the drifts as they wound their way around the barn, past the bushes, across the north field, and into the woods.

They had scarcely stepped into the shadow of the first few trees when Tesk called to them.

“ Hsst !” he said, and both of them looked up to see him crouched on a tree limb, about fifteen feet up. Garander immediately looked at the snow beneath it; there were no footprints.

There were mounds of snow fallen from branches, though, which could have been normal, but was probably Tesk’s doing. He must have made his way through the treetops.

“Tesk!” Ishta shouted.

Tesk immediately placed a finger to his lips. “Sound travels well in this weather,” he said.

“I’m so glad to see you!” Ishta exclaimed, a little more quietly.

“And I am pleased to see you.”

“I was afraid you’d freeze out here, in that storm!”

Tesk smiled. “I have my magic,” he said. “I am fine.”

“We saw the smoke from your fire,” Garander said. “Four days ago.”

“I intended you to,” Tesk said. “That was a signal to let you know I was safe.”

“So that’s why I never saw smoke in the forest before?”

Tesk nodded. “I do not need fire often. When I do, I have ways of hiding it. I let you see that one deliberately.”

“I was worried,” Ishta said. “Especially when we saw the smoke right after the storm, but then it was gone again later.”

“It was intended to reassure you. White smoke will always mean I am safe. If I am not, the smoke will be dark.”

Ishta nodded understanding.

“I am glad you and your family were safe.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Garander said. “We have a house, we aren’t out in the woods!”

“Still, a storm can be dangerous. I came to see you were safe that night.”

“You did?”

Tesk nodded.

“I didn’t see footprints,” Garander said.

Tesk smiled at that. “I have magic.”

Garander smiled back, then turned serious. “Father has told the neighbors you’re here,” he said.

“Did they believe him?”

“I don’t know,” Garander admitted. “Probably not.”

“Then I will not worry about it, but I thank you for the warning.” Then his head jerked up slightly. “I think you should go. Your father is moving this way.”

Ishta turned to stare back toward the farm, but Garander hesitated. “Would you be willing to talk with him sometime?” he asked.

Tesk stared at Garander for a moment before answering, “I would. But not now.” Then he turned and slid up the tree, disappearing quickly among the snow-covered branches.