Anton Anderson - The Seekers - Soul Ties

Sabiri wrinkled her long nose in a grimace. «Don’t you remind me about that shit! Those… those… Well, at least this will be over soon.»

Shai stood up and looked around, though she couldn’t see much in the middle of all these plants and vegetation.

«Where will the command be located? I can barely see what’s twenty meters ahead of me,» she asked.

«There’s a place; it’s almost an elevation…» Sabiri started to speak.

Shai interrupted her. «Almost? Well, great!»

«At least it’s right in front of the gates! We’ll manage,» Sabiri finished.

Greta laughed. «We can climb a tree or something. Come on, it’ll be a good enough view if it’s in front of the gates.»

Trying not to leave too many hoofprints on the soft soil, the group returned to the scouts who were standing back as lookouts.

«I heard you saw some animal traps nearby?» Sabiri asked one of them.

«Yes, mistress, I can show you,» said an Imbralestan scout.

The procession followed her. There was a little opening between the trees. Too many fallen leaves in that spot, and they definitely weren’t from the trees nearby. The scout came closer and carefully revealed the trap beneath its disguise. It was definitely intended for someone big.

«You’ve marked the spots on the map, I trust?» Sabiri asked as she knelt down to take a better look.

«Of course she did!» Shai said. «She’s one of our best scouts!»

«Have you found out when Drowners usually check their traps?» Greta asked. «It would suck to meet them before the attack.»

«I can wait for them, mistress,» the scout answered.

Sabiri nodded. «Please do. Take one of mine, and one of Scarlet’s scouts with you. I’m sure there are more than one such trap.»

The procession headed towards several streams that had been found by the scouts earlier. Those streams were quite old, having eroded deep channels for themselves, yet they ran almost noiselessly. Many animals had made their home near them, or at least their usual bathing place. Jumping around, flying up and landing back again, pecking and pushing each other, little birds were cleaning their feathers and quenching their thirst. Their lively songs and banter made Sabiri smile, distracting her from the thoughts of the upcoming battle. She cherished such distractions, for constantly thinking about death and destruction was most unpleasant.

«I see a few more such streams nearby,» Greta said. «Close enough to the field. It’s perfect!»

«Yeah, nice to have.» Shai scooped up some water and had a taste. She winced and started rubbing her hands like crazy. «Why is stream water always so cold?»

«Sometimes it’s handy, Shai. Shall we depart? We know for sure they do have some scouts,» Sabiri suggested.

They’d already finished deciding which scouts should stay back and wait for Drowners when one of them snapped her fingers twice. Everyone shut up and froze. Sabiri couldn’t see the scout, but apparently Shai could, as she showed everyone two fingers, then added another one. Great, three of them? Who? Were they Drowners? Unable to move without the signal, Sabiri felt cheated somehow. Would all their preparations be undone by some Drowners scouts?

Shai showed her thumb. Everyone crouched to hide behind the bushes and grabbed their weapons.

«Three igni, armed and poorly armored. Who knows who they are, but we can’t risk it,» the scout said. «Let’s just sneak up on them – we have bows.»

«Agreed,» Sabiri said.

There were no objections. They followed the scout, trying to stay as low and as quiet as possible. Shai was right behind her, then followed Greta and two scouts; Sabiri and the rest of the scouts were at the back. It wasn’t easy to move through all that vegetation, but at least the sounds of the wildlife would disguise the noise the igni were making.

They kept moving away from the village, but that could mean many things. They came across one more stream, then climbed up a small hill. There was an old camp near the base of the cliff; nothing but burnt logs. Time and time again they had to stop, waiting for their target to resume moving and stop looking in their direction. But this stop was different somehow.

«Everyone. We need to vote,» Sabiri heard Shai whispering.

When Sabiri came closer, she immediately saw what Shai wanted to vote about. There was a fast river ahead of them, and the igni were crossing it using a bridge. A light bridge. It looked almost like a stone bridge: there were railings on the sides, beautiful carvings on the surface – except it was made entirely of pure light. This one was white, not as bright as some others, and Sabiri could see right through it with ease.

«They look confident using that thing,» Shai whispered. «I see no quick way to cross the river. Do we abandon the pursuit or try the bridge?»

Greta said, «They don’t look like they’ve seen us, but they might be just pretending. Anyway, if those are Drowners, then what are they doing here? I think we need to know.»

Sabiri shook her head. «You understand what you’re saying? If we „need to know,“ then we need to take at least one of them alive.»

«Time’s up,» the scout whispered. «We’ll lose them.»

«We’ll probably survive if the bridge will trick us. What can it do, vanish? Or worse?» Shai said. «Let’s risk it. I’m really curious as to who they are.»

Everyone nodded. They ran to the bridge, then probed it carefully. It was solid, but for how long? Were there any empty spots? Was it going to burn them? To enchant or teleport them? What else could this thing do or not do to them?

The procession moved in a single line, trying to step where the other stepped. It was so weird to be walking on this hardened light, to see the running water right below their hooves. Just a few more meters, a little bit more. Finally, the other side. One by one, the igni stepped on the solid ground again. Safe…

With a quiet splash, the last scout fell into the water right through the bridge. The other scout managed to catch her arm last second. Shai rushed to help; she seized the scout’s free elbow. But they didn’t pull her back. Instead, they moved her through the bridge, away from it. Only now, when she wasn’t inside the bridge anymore, did they pull her out from the water. She was wet and a bit startled, but otherwise fine.

There was no time to waste. The lead scout ran ahead to track the targets. When the others caught up with her, they saw that their target had finally stopped. There was a cozy opening between the trees; the ground was covered with a thick and soft layer of moss. Two igni were sitting on the violet grass, rummaging through their bags. Another had gone, probably to find some fuel. Sabiri pointed at that lone igni, then at herself. Greta and Shai signaled that they were going with her.

Trying not to be seen, they moved around the opening. Vegetation was very dense in these parts – it took them a while to find their prey. The igni had already collected a pile of wood but was still searching the ground for more.

In two swift leaps Sabiri got to her, grabbing her from behind and covering her mouth. The igni jerked her head backwards, trying to get Sabiri’s face. Their horns clashed. The igni threw her wood on the ground, freeing her hands and making clatter. She clawed at Sabiri’s helmet, trying to reach her face. Their tails had already tied up each other’s legs, so running wasn’t an option. Grunting heavily, the igni tried to shake Sabiri off once again. She kept twisting and jerking her body with insane persistence, trying to get free. Her elbow hit Sabiri’s torso. Then again. And again.

But Shai and Greta had finally caught up. Seeing the arrows pointed at her caused the igni to stop struggling. Shai retrieved a piece of rope from her bag and quickly tied the igni’s arms, legs, and tail. Then she grabbed her sword and put the edge to their prisoner’s throat, pressing just hard enough to release a single bead of blood.