The Journey of the Marked (The Miyran Heir Book 1) (32 page)

Tren answered easily, “My family
works on machines. We always have and we’re better than most. But Tip possesses
greater ability than any other Liput past or present. But why would that
matter?” As he finished the question, a look of realization crossed his face. “Unless
… she needs Tip and she needed him to be prepared. If Tip had been the only son
marked, he would have had no preparation at all and likely wouldn’t have
survived.” Arith nodded, indicating this was indeed what he believed. Tren
stammered, his face turning red, “You mean my son … my eldest … was sacrificed
so that Tip would survive!”

He seemed to be talking to himself.
He paced back and forth in quick, short strides, throwing his hands into the
air. The others moved out of his way. After a few moments, Arith was about to
reach out to him when Tren pulled himself together, the color receding from his
face.

“She must have had a reason. Must
have.” He stopped pacing. “I believe in Anyamae. I don’t believe she would
sacrifice my child needlessly.” His words spoke reason, though his voice
betrayed him. Arith suspected Tren would never come to terms with something
that justified the death of his first-born son? Tren wiped his brow. He turned
his eyes toward Arith. “For what purpose could she need Tip’s skills?”

“I don’t know,” Arith replied
quietly. “We’ll have to let events unfold to discover the answer, as I’m sure
Anyamae would provide it if it were that simple.” Tren seemed to accept this,
at least for the moment. How could he be so rational given the circumstances?

Arith turned to the others and
continued once they had quieted: “We must be cautious. The messages from
Anyamae make it clear that she believes something is going to happen. She
selected your children and brought them together for a reason. What that reason
is, we don’t yet know, but we must be prepared. Let us reflect on these events
over the next few days and meet again in the future. Until then, we will honor
Ishta and those who have fallen before her.”

They all nodded in solemn agreement
and one by one, they filed out of the café, leaving Lifston and his daughter to
continue preparing for the day’s business.

*******

Archt casually leaned against the
side of a house near the café in the center of Banston. While his reputation as
a trader was mixed, at best, he could easily travel to any community on Zolei
without question. Based on information provided by Natal, he had rented a room
near the house where the Krystic male was staying. The man was cautious, but
obviously not skilled at evading someone trained in the art of surveillance.

Several individuals had entered the
café after the Krystic, which was odd given the early hour. The purple bird
intrigued him. Luckily he caught a glimpse of it shifting into a small creature
through the window — a Sharmuse outside the palace was most unusual indeed. Archt
had studied each face as they approached the entrance. He saw the world in
pictures, in images. After looking at a man for not more than ten seconds, he
could describe nearly every line and hair on the individual’s face. Natal paid
him handsomely for this skill.

After rubbing several of the tubes
fanning out from the opening on the side of his head, he then aimed that side
of his head in the direction of the café. He had positioned himself just out of
view of anyone leaving the café, but would risk peering around the house for an
additional glimpse of each person departing the meeting.

What would Natal think about the
presence of the Sharmuse? The corners of Archt’s mouth curled up slightly. How
many coins was this information worth?

While they heard the Graeliths, the
marked ones were able to maintain enough distance between them that they
weren’t yet visible. Eros and Tip led the group and Prizene trailed behind a
little, allowing her to better hear the Graeliths’ advance.

Eros kept them moving in the
direction he remembered traveling with his mother, hoping his recollections
were accurate. He dared not think about the outcome if his mother hadn’t
actually been showing him the training camp entrance. He had been young at the
time, but certainly old enough to handle a difficult journey with her
assistance. They had camped several nights in the forest. His mother had shared
tales of the Humans in their old home world. He loved those stories and could
listen to them over and over.

He turned his thoughts back to the
path. He remembered walking through the dense forest, climbing a wall of rocks,
then stopping in a very dark area surrounded by lush forest plants. The dark
area extended through the forest with high rock walls on each side. They had
traveled a fair distance, then turned back and gone home. The entrance must be
somewhere in that darkened ravine. He also remembered Arith’s directions, which
ended within the small mountain chain. Since they left Sah, the ground had been
continually rising. Between that, the trip with his mother, and the compass, he
was convinced they were headed in the right direction.

Kenrya walked behind him. She
certainly smelled better, but there was still a certain ripe, lingering aroma. Never
before had he met a female like her. Hopefully once they arrived at the camp,
she would bathe properly with soap. Technically, he still owed her a debt. Azetan
rescued her when she fell into the river and Tip heroically ran through the
forest, carrying the message that prevented her from being swallowed whole by
Sah. Eros glanced back at her and their eyes met briefly before he looked
forward again. Something about Kenrya nagged at him. Why did his thoughts
always return to her? What was it about her? He didn’t wish danger upon her,
but once he settled the debt, perhaps his focus would change.

Eros cursed himself silently for
losing focus again. Maybe they could train separately at the camp. Distance
might help.

As the trees grew large and less
cumbersome, the marked ones journeyed through this part of the forest with
greater ease. While the distance from the Graeliths hadn’t increased, neither
had they drawn closer throughout the morning.

Eros’s gaze darted in all
directions as he confirmed time and again that the path remained the same as he
remembered. They would soon find the rock wall with the small path leading to
its top. Little rocks covered the path and larger rocks loosened easily. The
effort required caution and skill to prevent one of them being injured by a
falling rock as the Graeliths at their backs afforded them no time to climb the
wall one by one. As they walked, Eros told the group exactly what to expect.

After listening, Prizene suggested,
“Could we prepare traps on the path? Tip, remember that contraption you created
by the river? Could you build something that could allow us to push a rock over
the side if the Graeliths come too close?”

“Good idea,” Azetan agreed. “I can
help by lifting the rocks.”

When Tip said nothing, Prizene
tried again, “Tip? Are you okay?”

Azetan nudged him from behind.

“What?” Tip turned sharply, eyes
wide. “I was thinking.”

“About what?”

“Traps. Isn’t that what you said?”

Prizene chuckled. “Yes, traps. You
were so quiet we didn’t know if you heard us.”

“Oh, sorry. I was thinking.” And
with that, Tip grew very quiet again.

Azetan glanced back at Prizene and
she held her finger to her lips to indicate they should be as quiet as
possible. Azetan smiled at this and acted like he was going to nudge Tip again
for fun. Prizene covered her mouth, giggling.

While they walked, Tip selected
several limbs from the forest floor and removed branches and leaves from them
before placing them either inside his jacket or in his waistband.

Late in the morning and not long
before the sun had traveled half its journey for the day, the marked ones found
themselves at the base of a daunting rock wall. It rose only forty or fifty
feet, but appeared to be a very straight vertical climb.

“Eros,” Kenrya asked nervously, “uh
… are you sure this is the way?” Her eyes scanned the length of the wall.

Eros nodded. “Yes. I remember
climbing the wall.”

“But it’s straight up!”

“No, it’s not. Not over here.” He
walked a few feet along the base of the wall, then pointed and traced his
finger in a zigzag up the wall. “See? The path starts here and winds its way to
the top.” The others stared at the location to which Eros indicated, then
looked hesitantly at each other. Eros tried to put them at ease. “I know the
path looks risky — narrow and uneven. But, we can do it if we’re careful. We
have no choice!”

“Before you climb,” Tip said,
holding out his hand, “let me have the rope.”

Eros removed the rope from his pack
and handed it to Tip. Without further discussion, he started climbing the
little path. “Be careful not to loosen any rocks. Maybe we can climb high
enough before the Graeliths arrive that they won’t see us.”

“I doubt that,” Kenrya replied
dryly. With a quick look at the others, she stepped to the path and followed
him.

Azetan nodded to Prizene. “You go
next. I’ll stay with Tip and help with the traps.” Prizene took a deep breath
then started up the path, followed by Azetan and Tip.

They slowly worked their way up the
narrow trail, each following in the footsteps of the preceding one as closely
as possible to minimize rock falls. They reached halfway when Prizene turned
her ankle on a loose rock, causing her to slip. She sucked in air quickly. Her
left leg slid off the ledge, followed by her right, and she fell sharply on her
stomach, grabbing onto rock to keep from falling off the ledge. Small rocks
showered down on Tip below her. Azetan closed the distance to Prizene quickly,
steadied himself, then firmly placed his hands on each side of Prizene’s pack
and lifted. By relieving her of the pack weight, Prizene was able to place her
right foot back on the path and brought her left knee to rest beside her right
foot. Eros held his breath while watching from the path ahead.

“Can you stand?” Azetan asked her.

Prizene stretched her left ankle
and winced. “I think so. Are you ready?”

“Let me hold the pack another way.”
Azetan released the pack one hand at a time and shifted the placement of his
hands to make it easier for Prizene to stand.

She stood carefully and placed
weight gingerly on her left ankle. “I think it’s fine now. Thank you.” She gave
him a quick smile, then started moving up the path again.

Tip called to Azetan, indicating
that the turn in the path between them seemed to be a good location for a trap.
A large rock overhung the path with only a few smaller rocks keeping it from
sliding down the wall. Eros watched as Tip pulled a piece of rope loose, then
started patting his pockets. He held up the rope to Azetan. “I need to cut
this.”

Azetan slowly pulled one of his
swords from his side and said, “Hold each side of the rope where you want it
cut.”

Tip’s hands shook a little as he
placed one on each side of the rope. He cringed as Azetan dipped his hand down,
gradually bringing the sword into the middle of the circle Tip made with his
body, hands, and the rope. Then Azetan began sawing the sword cautiously
through the rope toward himself. Tip sighed in relief. With the rope cut, he
removed a few of the branches from his waistband. With Azetan’s help, he put
the branch in place, then frayed the piece of rope into smaller pieces. He
rigged the rope to trip the Graeliths, which would also loosen the rock and
cause the larger rock to crash onto those beneath them. Once everything was in
place, he nodded to Azetan and they continued their upward ascent along the
path, setting other traps as they went.

Eros was pleased they worked
quickly. He turned back to the path and completed the rest of the climb without
incident, stopping once he reached the small platform at the top. He turned
back to see how the others were progressing. Kenrya and Prizene were close to
the top, Tip and Azetan were about three quarters of the way up, and the
Graeliths stood at the base of the rock wall. As they started to climb, Eros
heard a loud screech. He felt the muscles in his back tense. He had to protect
the others. He wiped his hands on his pants and gathered a few loose rocks into
his arms, watching for the fanes. The fanes diving at the others would likely
knock them off the wall.

“Fanes!” Azetan alerted the others.

“And Graeliths,” Eros added. “Climbing
the wall.”

Azetan gazed in that direction and
glanced back at Tip. To his credit, Tip never once looked down and he kept
climbing. Azetan then followed his lead.

The first fane came into view over
the treetops and circled only once before diving for Eros. He hurled a rock at
the bird, sending it screeching back into the sky. Kenrya and Prizene joined
him at the top and gathered the few remaining rocks around the platform. They
prevented the fanes from attacking Azetan and Tip, but were quickly running out
of rocks. Making matters worse, the Graeliths were covering distance up the
wall quickly and were hurling knives toward the boys.

“Surely they realize the knives
that miss will fall back onto them,” Prizene said exasperated.

Eros scoffed. “They train to catch
knives. Hopefully they’ll lose their balance.”

They heard a roar from below as one
of the lead Graeliths tripped on Tip’s trap, pulling loose the supporting
stick. Without the stick, the smaller rocks loosened, triggering the large
boulder to tumble down the slope. The Graelith below attempted to avoid being
struck by stepping quickly to the side. The rock knocked one Graelith
completely off the ledge and caused two others to lose their balance, slipping
farther down the rock wall.

As Eros hurled the last rock at a
diving fane, he said, “Check your packs. We need anything we can throw.”

“That won’t be necessary,” a voice
called.

Eros turned to find a Krystic male
and a Bruner female, both about his age, standing below the platform behind
them. The boy said, “If you move aside, we can help.”

“Traudin!” Prizene exclaimed, a big
grin on her face. “You made it!”

Traudin smiled at her as he and the
girl jumped onto the platform. They each carried a strong bow and full quiver
of arrows. The weapons surprised Eros, since bows were not commonly used in
Zolei, at least not since the Tyrnott rule began. A fane dipped low, heading
straight for Azetan, when Traudin’s arrow pierced the bird’s neck. Tip lunged
forward to prevent the dead bird from falling on him. That fane would not fly
again.

One of the Graeliths blew a whistle
and the birds stopped their attack. Eros found this surprising, as he assumed
the birds were expendable.

When Azetan and Tip stepped onto
the platform, the Graeliths were over half the way up the path. Traudin turned
to the others. “Quickly. More Graeliths make their way along the rock wall to
the south and will find an opening soon enough.”

He hopped off the platform, running
quickly down the gradually sloped ground leading to a small, dark forest,
fifteen feet below the top of the rock walls. The walls surrounded the little
forest on all sides and the trees here were massive. Once they reached the
forest floor, the darkness was absolute, despite the fact the sun now shone
directly overhead. A thick mist hung heavily in the air, reducing the ability
to see more than a few feet ahead. Traudin flipped on an electric torch, as did
the Bruner girl, and they guided the marked ones through the dense trees.

After a short journey, Eros saw the
ring of trees ahead. He remembered now his mother showing him the ring of trees
and explaining how unique they were. Ten trees stood an even distance apart,
forming the ring. Unlike the others, they grew straight, with enormous trunks
and branches stretching straight out from the trees, starting six feet off the
ground.

Traudin headed directly for the
circle and stopped once he stood inside the ring of trees. The others followed
him with the Bruner joining them last.

Eros studied one of the trees. Something
emanated from it. Despite the darkness of the forest, the tension in his back
eased. He rubbed his hand across the tree’s bark and felt warmth in his fingers
that slowly spread up his arm.

“Listen,” Prizene whispered to
Traudin.

“I know, the Graeliths,” Traudin
replied. “I hear them, too.”

“They must have found the opening
already. They’re inside the forest,” Prizene said.

“What do we do?” Tip asked.

“Hold your breath,” Traudin
replied. “And you might want to hold your nose.”

Roots shot out from the tree
branches, straight down, embedding themselves in the ground. More and more
roots dropped from the branches, as the trees slowly closed the circle around
the marked ones. Once the roots formed a thick wall, the ground beneath them
started giving way. Eros was sinking. He looked to Traudin and saw no fear on
the boy’s face. Everything was fine. Kenrya sucked in a breath. She looked
worried, which was not surprising given her earlier experience with Sah. Eros
put his hand on her shoulder, then remembering what Traudin said, he pinched
his nose with his other hand. The others all did the same, as they slowly sank
beneath the surface.

Eros closed his eyes and held his
breath as his head drew closer to the ground, then a few seconds later, he felt
himself break free of the dirt and drop below. He opened his eyes to find that
they had landed in an underground cavern. Eros brushed the dirt from his hair
and clothes.