A Warrior's Path Read online

  “Irrationally?” her brother repeated. “Marui, what about the signs? 'Fire from the east', the elders say. What more evidence do you need?”

  “'And darkness from the west,' they say as well,” she said, correcting the selectiveness of his memory. “The fire from the east is simply a reference to Teomin's ancestors. Even if it meant something more sinister, this is all the more reason I should join them. The last time our people stood idly by as a city was destroyed. Let us not make that mistake again.”

  It was clear from the firm set of his jaw that she was making little progress. Marui looked around in exasperation. She saw her nephew, dancing with the other elves. In him she saw a younger Tilon: inquisitive, graceful and headstrong. She truly hoped he would grow to be as strong as his father and his grandfather.

  “You know what the signs foretell as well as I do,” she said to her brother finally. “If we do not ally ourselves with the empire, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of this conflict. Etrusin is a good man, and he leads his soldiers for what he believes is right, which is nothing more than the defense of his home and his people. Look past your fears, and you will know the truth. If we leave him to fall to this darkness, we will be in its path when it rolls through our own home on its way to the empire, and it will not be stopped, neither by your bow nor your son's innocent face.”

  Marui could tell that she had struck a chord. His change in expression was slight, but it was enough to tell her that he would not soon have a rebuttal. With that she turned and walked away, leaving her brother to think about where he wanted to place his trust. She hoped it would be in her.

  * * *

  The eastern horizon glowed dimly as the sun neared its hour of rising. Five silhouettes stood by the edge of the camp carrying traveling packs and some weapons. Six horses stood nearby, pawing the ground occasionally and grazing on the grass. Komeris glanced at each of his companions with a grim expression. Pei-Shi stood as still as stone, hands resting upon the pommels of the two blades at her hips, calmly waiting. Next to her paced the bulky Reniu, muttering quietly and glancing sidelong at his captain, impatience evident in his eyes. Denlin, a tall, thin soldier with a shaven head, leaned upon his staff and stared at nothing in particular. Standing slightly apart from the group was O'eintsu, dressed all in black and watching Reniu's endless pacing without emotion.

  The captain knew two of his companions well, for he had served with Reniu and Pei-Shi for many years, but these other two were new recruits. Komeris did know them by reputation, however, as both came from very well-known families within the empire. Denlin was from the house of Kou-Ioushin, which was so large it had virtually been its own tribe before the unification. The family boasted one of the most effective fighting styles in the empire and often took in students from other families to study at their secluded shiodu many miles east of the palace. Denlin was a master of the staff. Indeed, he had made it an extension of himself and was never seen without it.

  The other soldier, O'eintsu, had also come from a family with its own shiodu, but no students from other families were allowed to join that school. The Lihou family was very secretive about their style, and it was rarely ever seen in public. Rumors had long spread throughout Kesitul, even before the unification, that all the male children of Lihou were indentured to their shiodu and were forced to undergo a harsh, lifelong training program that included extreme manual labor and sparse living conditions. The Lihou were masters of stealth, and if they donned their hoods, they were invisible in the shadows. Their only weapons, beside their limbs, were the small, flat, four-pointed chiun, star-shaped missiles that signaled eternal night for their victim.

  Although the quiet Lihou soldier was more than a decade his captain's junior, Komeris had felt intimidated at their first meeting. But the captain had not gotten where he was in life by being timid, and he quickly recognized that he was more unnerved by the mystery surrounding this man's family than he was by the man himself. Knowing the nature of his own people, he also understood that the mystery and rumors of the Lihou shiodu had likely become exaggerated in the telling.

  The horizon brightened a bit more, and Reniu's loud sigh broke the captain's thoughts. “Where is she?” he growled.

  Komeris put up a hand to calm him. “Patience, Reniu, we are early. Remember?” Indeed, the five warriors had been restless all night, and each of them had come out to the agreed meeting place well before dawn.

  “Not sure why she's got ta come along in the first place,” the big warrior huffed in reply. “Not as if they ever leave their precious forest.”

  “On the contrary,” came a sing-song voice from behind the soldier, “I think you will find we are much better traveled than even the most adventurous of your people.”

  Reniu turned slowly and scowled sheepishly at the approaching elf, and despite the difficult nature of deciphering the big man's expressions, Marui seemed to understand and accept his unspoken apology.

  “Welcome, Marui,” Komeris said with a bow. The other soldiers mimicked the gesture.

  Marui nodded to each of them. “Good morning, my friends. No doubt Komeris has told you of me, though I do not know all of you.”

  Komeris caught the hidden request and briefly introduced all of his companions. Not wanting to waste time, he immediately pressed on. “Please forgive my haste, but we should begin.”

  Their new elven companion nodded her assent. “Yes, we shall proceed without delay, heading southwest. There is an easier path to the lands beyond the mountains that lies near the southern cliffs. Barring any recent natural catastrophe, the path should still be clear, though other dangers may wait along the way.”

  “For those, we will be ready,” spoke up the otherwise quiet O'eintsu.

  Marui gave him an appraising stare. “Very well,” she said.

  * * *

  Su-Ni breathed a sigh of frustration as the group moved away from the camp. She had awoken early, grabbing the small pack of light supplies she had prepared the previous night, and snuck out to wait for the soldiers to gather. She scolded herself silently when she discovered that it had not been early enough, as they had all already assembled on the edge of camp. She was in the process of creeping around the tents when she saw Marui join the company.

  The young diplomat cursed under her breath at the addition of the elf and the presence of the horses. This would all make it much more difficult for her to follow unnoticed. She strained to listen to their conversation, all the while making sure to be absolutely silent. She did not so easily forget the elves’ keen hearing. As the group departed, the young woman debated with herself over the wisdom of following. It did not take long for her curiosity to win out, and she hurried off to try to get herself a horse. At least she knew the general direction they were heading. She was confident enough in her riding abilities to believe she could easily catch up with them at least by the time they got to the mountains. From there she would have many places to hide.

  Sneaking off with a horse turned out to be easier than she expected, as few guards were actively walking that side of camp. And while she felt guilty about the theft, she didn’t let it talk her out of what she was about to do. She thundered off in the early light of dawn, setting a steady pace to gain on her quarry, if perhaps not too quickly. As the sun broke the horizon, she felt very smug at having set out undetected after the group who had thought they’d been so careful. She wasn’t really sure what she would do once they reached their destination, but she had the whole journey to work out the details.

  It was clear to her that this group of battle-hardened warriors needed the presence of a level-headed diplomat, and she was going to make sure it was her. Ninei and Ini’io would never have understood. They would have insisted that this was not part of their original mission. That didn’t really matter to her. What really mattered was that their empire was about to make its first contact with other humans for the first time in living memory. It was simply too important to be left to a bunch of soldiers.
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  The morning pressed on, and Su-Ni spent most of it imagining what lay at the end of this journey. She practiced several speeches aloud, one for if she was caught, one to make peace with their supposed enemy, and one to graciously accept the praise of the emperor upon her return. She was oblivious to the way her voice shuddered with every hoof beat, and she hardly noticed when her horse slowed down to rest before galloping off again. She only half watched for the scattered signs of the group’s passing.

  But by late afternoon, the young diplomat’s cavalier manner faded, and she began to worry. Though she had wanted to catch up with the party gradually, she realized that night would be upon her soon, and she wasn’t too sure about being alone in the wild. Her wisdom was returning to mock her curiosity. She began truly searching the ground ahead of her more closely for some sign that the group had passed this way.

  The sun eventually began to set, and Su-Ni rode on, desperately searching for an indication that they had stopped to make camp. But she saw no campfire spring up on the horizon, and all she could do was continue in the direction she had been riding all day and debate turning back.

  Hours passed and the moon had just begun to peek over her shoulder when a campfire did finally spring up not far in front of her. She brought her horse to a halt and practically dropped to the ground. She immediately felt foolish as she realized that, though she was surprised to find she was so close, it was unlikely that any of the warriors could see her in the darkness beyond their campfire. She did note with pride that her sense of direction had been completely accurate, as the fire had popped up directly in front of her.

  Gratefully stretching her muscles, sore and buzzing from a whole day of riding, the woman unpacked a blanket and spread it out upon the grass. But before she lay down, she thankfully rubbed down her horse and apologized for pushing him so far today. The horse grazed wearily, but seemed pleased with the attention she was giving him. Finally, the young diplomat relaxed. She lay upon her blanket propped up on her elbows and facing the party's campfire. In this comfortable position, she realized how very relieved she was to be resting this night. She was weary from the day’s travel, and soon her eyelids drooped, and her head nodded.

  A well-waxed moon hung overhead when she awoke to find herself slumped over her arms, which had folded under her as she slid into a deep slumber. She couldn't imagine how she had managed to sleep in such an awkward position all this time. She rolled onto her back, stiff from the ride, and clenched her tingling fists several times to regain the circulation in her forearms.

  Sitting up, Su-Ni looked to her unwitting companions' campfire. It was burning low, though she knew someone must have still been awake, keeping watch and tending the small fire. The young diplomat took comfort in the tiny yellow light in the distance, and she sat watching it for several minutes until her eyelids once again became heavy.

  Somewhere to her right, a cricket chirped, and her eyes snapped open. A little in front of her, another cricket answered. She realized that the small insects had likely been playing all night, and it was her stirring that had momentarily silenced them. She continued to sit still as the whole grassy earth around her slowly came alive with a crescendo of the natural music. Normally the repetitive, high-pitched noise would have aggravated her and kept her awake, but her weary muscles and heavy eyelids took that away. The cricketsong was a lullaby, and she was succumbing to its magic.

  Her eyes snapped open again.

  The sudden silence roared in her ears. She flinched and looked around cautiously. Perhaps she had begun to fall back and caught herself or her horse had shifted and the sudden movement startled the crickets. She peered into the darkness all about her but could not see beyond ten feet in the light of this not-quite-full moon.

  Su-Ni froze as a light patter, almost imperceptible, issued from her left. It seemed as though the sound darted quickly to somewhere in front of her. The distant campfire blinked out of her sight for just a moment. She knew something was out there now. Her horse sensed it too, as he snorted nervously. Something was circling them. Not ready to panic yet, she wondered if it might be someone from the camp investigating the area.

  “Hello?” she ventured, but not too loudly. “Who is there?”

  Something flashed in the darkness, low to the ground. Four little circles appeared and disappeared quickly just out beyond the dim light. The young diplomat recognized the reflection of the moonlight in the eyes of some animal.

  Or animals.

  It seemed to her that it had to be more than one, for she had seen two pairs of eyes flashing in the dark. She peered out all around her, squinting slightly at the effort. The pattering came again, followed by another flash of eyes. Her horse began to stamp restlessly. Su-Ni started to worry that a pack of hungry wild dogs had come upon them in the night and saw them for what they were.

  Easy prey.

  Su-Ni cursed herself for bringing no weapons with her on this journey. Not that she was skilled with any weapon, but she certainly would have felt safer now with some kind of dagger in her hand. She glanced over at the faintly glowing campfire in the distance and wondered if they would hear her if she screamed and, more importantly, if they would arrive in time to save her.

  She gritted her teeth against that thought. She was not even sure if the creature, or creatures, were dangerous. She would only reveal herself if she perceived a greater risk in doing otherwise. Of course, she wondered again if there would be enough time to save them when she finally perceived that risk.

  A low chittering sound broke the silence, causing Su-Ni to jump and her horse to let out a strained neigh. She got up quickly and cautiously stepped over to the horse, patting him reassuringly on the neck. She looked all about, trying to catch another glimpse of their stalker. She tried to control her breathing and strained to hear over the pounding of her heart in her ears. That sound was surely not made by any dog.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another movement, and she turned to look. Something stepped into the circle of low light offered by the moon.

  She could see that it was some manner of quadruped, but she was confused by strange shadows waving near its head. The creature ventured closer, seemingly smelling the air and looking from side to side. As it stepped toward her and into a bit more light, Su-Ni's confusion melted into tentative fascination. The wavering shadows were made by an extra set of long, jointed forelimbs that grew from its well-muscled chest. She was also shocked to see that the two pairs of eyes she had seen belonged to only a single creature. It turned its head again to focus on her with the other pair of lidless, glittering black eyes.

  Though the rest of the creature's brown fur-covered body was dog shaped, the four eyes and the two extra limbs, which now started to unfold and probe the ground in front of it with large, black, single-clawed tips, made it seem almost spiderlike. It chittered again, and Su-Ni noted the massive black beak from which it had issued the sound.

  She marveled at the enigmatic looking creature. It seemed to be a mix of the most unlikely animals she could think of. She also thought, though it did nothing to quell her uneasiness, that the creature had a rather comical face. A bony ridge set high on its flat head made it look a bit surprised to see her. She knew better than to be at ease as those two taloned limbs now pawed at the air.

  The creature chittered once more in an almost quizzical tone.

  An answering chitter came from behind Su-Ni. At that unexpected sound, her horse gave a terrified cry and bolted. Now, she was definitely feeling panicked. She heard an unfamiliar screeching from the direction her horse had run. She looked back and forth between the two beasts that were creeping toward her while at least one more chased her horse. As they came closer, it seemed that their tapered bodies crouched lower, especially in the rear, where their thickly-built back legs twitched eagerly.

  Su-Ni did not doubt the imminent danger, but she was too stunned to find voice enough to scream for help. The way the two creatures padded forward, more with those
powerful rear legs than with their front, told her that she needed to be ready. Each inch that they crept closer brought the prominent ridge of their spines arching even higher.

  The two creatures leapt at her with terrifying speed, using their rear legs to push them off the ground and their extra limbs to provide impetus. It was purely her instinct that had Su-Ni dropping to the ground at just the right instant. She had barely hit the dirt and started rolling out of the way as they crashed into each other in midair. They fell to the ground and fought with one another, trying to disentangle their limbs, snarling and screeching simultaneously. The sound chilled Su-Ni to the bone, but she wasted no time gaping at the struggling beasts. She jumped up and began running toward the low campfire in the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a third creature take up the chase, screeching loudly.

  Now she screamed.

  She was running full speed, yelling for help as loudly as she could. The fire that had moments ago seemed comfortably close now looked as though it were miles away. She looked back over her shoulder, hoping that the creatures had decided she was too much trouble. She looked just in time to see a sleek, fur-lined body flying at her.

  Again Su-Ni ducked, but it was not fast enough this time. She was hit with a force that knocked the air from her lungs and pushed her to the ground. She screamed again as the creature's claws dug into her sides. She threw her arms up defensively against the wildly stabbing talons of its forelimbs. The beast's screech tore through the night air and left her ears ringing so that she could not hear the others bounding up fast to join in the kill.

  She knew they were coming anyway, so she continued to scream and tried desperately to roll out from under the beast while still attempting to defend herself. The creature merely screeched louder and dug its claws in deeper. Its talons tore deep gashes in her forearms, which began to lower as Su-Ni tired and as muscle was cut down to the bone. Her screams became weak, pleading sobs. Tears mixed with blood.