Shadow Hunted Page 3

  After that he had no idea. He would figure that out when he came to it. For now, it was enough that he knew where he was going next.

  He left shortly after sunrise. The tribe gathered round and watched while he uttered the first word of power, focusing it on a nearby aranti, willing the Sky Shaper to lift him into the air.

  He looked down as he was borne away. The little girl was dancing again, twirling in a circle, dust rising up around her.

  Chapter 2

  It was a calm, cloudless morning as Karliss flew south toward his clan and family. The air was so clear he felt he could see clear to the sea. The wind rushing past his face was invigorating. Several aranti accompanied him, and they and the one that was carrying him babbled on unceasing, like small children caught up in the excitement around them.

  The thought of where he was going was the only damper on the day. There were so many feelings tangled up there. Sorrow for the deaths he’d caused, whether inadvertently or not. Guilt over being the tool that the scarred Shaper used to get control of the key fragment. Mixed hurt and anger at the others in the clan for exiling him.

  How would he be greeted? How would he face them?

  Thinking about it made him feel awful. It made him want to run away. How badly he wanted to simply keep on going. Even burdened with his body, there was still so much to see and do. Every corner of the world lay open to him, and even the least of it appealed to him more than going back and facing his clan. He felt heavy and tired just thinking about it.

  Not wanting to face his conflicting feelings anymore, Karliss opened himself and let the aranti blow through him. As before, they excitedly raced into him. And, as before, the bad feelings faded quickly. They were still there, but they were far away. They couldn’t reach him. They couldn’t touch him.

  Karliss left himself open the rest of the flight, only sealing the aranti out once he saw the camp in the distance, not wanting them to distract him.

  It was near the end of the day when he reached his clan. They were still camped on top of the low hillock beside the bend in the Yanu River, the wagons drawn up in lines, the yurts staked firmly in place. The herds of yaks, goats and horses were grazing in the distance, watched over by warriors on horseback. It was all completely ordinary, no different from thousands of other days.

  So why did he dread going down there so much?

  Karliss took a deep breath and willed the aranti lower. He thought about putting down outside camp and walking in but then dismissed the idea. Walking was for those who did not control the winds.

  He came in fast and set down right beside the communal fire where it appeared quite a few of the clan had already gathered. The wind from his arrival stirred up a little cloud of dust and scattered sparks from the fire. Karliss slapped dust off his pants and coat, then looked up to see everyone staring at him in surprise. He threw his arms wide and grinned.

  “I’m back!”

  Dead silence at first. Some people looked happy to see him back. Others didn’t look so happy.

  “So you are,” Henta said. The grim-faced, old woman stood with her arms crossed, scowling at him. Karliss turned toward her.

  “Henta! I can tell you’re happy to see me.”

  Her scowl deepened. “What have you been doing? Did you anger the gods even more?”

  “Maybe…” Karliss said, pretending to inspect his fingernails. “I mean, I fought Kasai. He seemed pretty angry about it.” He hesitated for effect. “Before he died.”

  An audible gasp arose from the onlookers. Henta’s lined face twisted. “Impossible. You’re lying.”

  Karliss gave her his most innocent expression. “Why would I do that?”

  “To get out of your exile.”

  “Oh, that.” He waved it aside like it was nothing. “I don’t care about that.” And right then he honestly didn’t. The wind had taken care of that.

  “This changes nothing. Even if I believed what you say, and I don’t, you’re still a danger to this clan. We won’t be safe until you’re gone.”

  Karliss surveyed the clan. He could see from their faces that many of them agreed with her, mostly the older people. It hurt. Even the wind couldn’t completely blow the pain away. But he kept how he felt hidden.

  “You have that backwards, old woman,” he said with a mocking smile. “You’re safe because of me. Kasai will never bother you again.”

  “Don’t you speak to your elder that way!” she hissed.

  “But I’ve been exiled from the clan. You didn’t already forget that, did you? What difference does it make how I talk now?”

  Munkhe, Karliss’ mother, came running up then, pushing her way through the clan. “You’re back,” she said, throwing her arms around him and squeezing him tightly.

  Karliss soon started to feel uncomfortable. She was triggering too many feelings that he was trying to stay away from. He shifted in her grasp, then pushed her away. She looked at him with sorrow in her eyes.

  “Karliss?” she said.

  “It’s okay, Ana. I’m okay.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “I said I’m okay.” The words came out a little harsher than he’d intended, and he saw her wince slightly. He felt bad about it, but there wasn’t time for that right now.

  Munkhe turned on Henta. “Why don’t you go away? He only just returned. Can’t you leave him alone?”

  Henta’s eyes narrowed. “He should not have returned at all. Exile is permanent.”

  “Still you want to exile him? Even after he saved us from those stone soldiers?”

  The old woman looked at her coldly. “Still.”

  “What is wrong with you? Why do you hate my son so much?” Munkhe stepped forward while she talked, her hands curling into claws. By the last words she had her face right up to Henta’s and was practically yelling.

  Henta never blinked. “This is not about how I feel about him. This is about the safety of the clan. If you weren’t blinded by your feelings for him, you’d see that I’m right.”

  Karliss was sure for a moment that his mother would strike the old woman. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her back. “Don’t do this,” he told her. “It’s not worth it.”

  “Looks like you’re finally showing a little bit of wisdom,” Henta said. “Too little, too late.”

  Karliss spun on her, his anger spilling out finally. “Don’t push me,” he said in a low voice. A twitch of his will, and a small dust devil sprang up around her feet. “I’ve already been exiled. What more can you do to me?”

  She swallowed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She took a step back. “You’ll never be allowed to come here again,” she spluttered.

  Karliss kicked the dust devil up a little. “You already said that. Don’t you have anything else to say?”

  She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, Karliss lifted the dust devil enough to blind her and make her cough. Rubbing her eyes, she hurried away, followed by some of her friends.

  Terl Dashin came hurrying up then. He looked at Henta’s departing back, then at Karliss. “I assume you did not make peace with her,” he said to Karliss

  “She started in on him as soon as he got here,” Munkhe said indignantly. “He didn’t—”

  “Stop,” Karliss told her. “Let me fight my own battles.”

  She gave him a startled look but said no more.

  “What happened?” the terl asked.

  “I got the key. Then Kasai showed up.”

  The terl’s eyes traveled over Karliss. “You look uninjured.”

  “About that…” Karliss hesitated, not sure how much he wanted to share. “It was close, but I defeated him. He’s dead.”

  “You’re sure?” Dashin asked. Karliss nodded. “This is great news.”

  “Not to Henta,” Munkhe said. She put her hands up when Karliss turned to her. “I won’t say anything else.”

  “Where is the key?”

  K
arliss looked away. “I had it, but I lost it.”

  “How?”

  “It was after I defeated Kasai. Someone else showed up. I couldn’t stop him. I was lucky to escape alive.”

  “You don’t know who it was?”

  “No.”

  “Is he a threat to the clan?”

  “I don’t think so. He was only after the key.”

  “What does the key do?”

  “I don’t know. He said something about getting it for the Devourers, but I don’t know who that is.”

  The terl considered this. “It sounds like it went well overall. The foe who threatened us is dead. The other one got what he wanted and left.” He looked around at the gathered clan. “So why does everybody look so unhappy?”

  “I say we have another vote,” Munkhe said loudly. “My son has saved us from an enemy who already destroyed another clan. Maybe those who voted against him before will change their minds now.”

  There were murmurs and a few exclamations at her words. Karliss looked over the crowd. It was hard to tell who was for him and who was against. Honestly, except for Henta, who he knew had voted for exile, and his family and friends who were opposed to it, he wasn’t sure about anyone else.

  Not that it mattered, he told himself.

  “Don’t bother,” he said.

  His mother turned to him, her mouth opening in shock.

  “I’m leaving anyway.”

  “No,” she said, her voice barely audible. “No.”

  She tried to hold onto him, but he pushed her hands away and faced the terl. “I’m going to Qarath. I’m going to talk to their king, as Firehair asked me to. I’m going to help them in their war.” Until the words came out, he hadn’t been sure if that was what he was going to do or not.

  “Why?” Munkhe asked. “Their war is not ours.”

  Why indeed? Karliss wondered. He agreed with his mother. Qarath’s problems were not his. Was he doing it because of guilt over losing the key? But that didn’t feel right either. Why was he doing this?

  The words popped out without warning.

  “It sounds exciting,” he said.

  His mother frowned at him, as did the terl. “Exciting?” she said.

  He winced. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He knew it didn’t sound right. But it felt right. Big events were going on down south. He knew this not just from Firehair, but from the aranti. He wanted to go see what was happening.

  He wanted to get away from here. How much of it was that?

  “Their king said he would reward the clan if I went,” Karliss reminded the terl.

  “No reward is worth losing our tlacti,” the terl replied.

  “But you don’t need me anymore. Kasai is gone.”

  “What can I say to change your mind?” the terl asked.

  Karliss glanced out at the watching people. This time he felt certain he could interpret most of their expressions. Most of them—not all, but most—looked frightened. The thought of losing their tlacti was starting to sink in. How many had voted to exile him in a moment of fear, and since then had regretted that decision, now that they faced a future without a shaman to guide them? There was no way to know, but in a way Karliss was grateful to them now. He wanted to leave here. He wanted to be free of the endless burdens that came with being clan tlacti. Their votes had given him the courage to do what he really wanted to.

  “Nothing,” Karliss said. “I’m leaving in the morning.”

  “I will not compel you. You are not our prisoner. Are you going to return?”

  A hush as everyone waited for his answer.

  “I don’t know.” A sigh went up from them. Karliss turned away and headed for his yurt. He could hear his mother’s footsteps behind him, and he frowned. She wasn’t going to be easy.

  They broke away from the rest and into a quiet area between the yurts. She took his arm and pulled him to a stop.

  “You’re not really going to leave, are you?”

  “That’s what I said,” he replied.

  Her face tightened. “It’s Henta. That evil old witch. She’s always hated you, always had something against you. She poisoned them, made them turn on you. If you would just wait one day, give me a chance to—”

  He cut her off. “Stop.” She looked at him, so many emotions tangled together in her expression. “It’s not Henta. Or not only her.”

  “Then what is it? Why are you leaving us?”

  He looked into her eyes and knew that while she said “us”, she meant “me.”

  “It’s not you either,” he reassured her.

  “Is it the war? Because that’s not your war. You don’t have to make it yours.”

  “That’s not it. It’s part of it, but not all.”

  Her breath caught. “I need to know why. Please.”

  “I don’t know.” He tried to turn away, but she grabbed his arm.

  “That’s not good enough,” she said fiercely.

  He said the words knowing that they would hurt her. But he didn’t know what else to do, and he felt he owed her the truth. “I don’t think I belong here anymore.”

  “That’s ridiculous. This is your home. We’re your family.”

  “Maybe not anymore.”

  She seemed to crumple in on herself then, as if all the air had left her body. It hurt him to see, and he reached out to her.

  This time it was she who pushed his hands away. “I’m okay.” She took a deep breath and visibly straightened, pulling her shoulders back and wiping a stray tear from her eye. “I won’t stand in your way. I want to, but I won’t.”

  “Thank you.” He tried again to hug her, and this time she did not resist.

  “I’m always here for you,” she said in a husky voice. “I want you to know that.”

  “I do.”

  She let him go. With one hand she brushed a stray hair from his eyes. “I want you to promise that you’ll come back someday.”

  “I will.”

  “Come by the yurt later. Your sister will want to say goodbye.” With that she walked away.

  ╬ ╬ ╬

  Nergui was waiting at Karliss’ yurt, a big, loose-lipped smile on his face. He was holding his shapeless felt hat in his hands, crumpling it over and over.

  “I took good care of everything while you were gone,” he said. “You’ll see. Everything is there.”

  “Thank you,” Karliss said.

  “I heard you say you’re leaving again.” Nergui shifted from one foot to the other and back again, unable to keep his feet still.

  “I am.”

  “I wish I could go with you,” Nergui said. “Maybe I can drive the wagon for you? I’m good at driving a wagon.”

  “You’re the best at driving a wagon, Nergui,” Karliss said honestly. “But I won’t be taking a wagon when I leave.”

  “You’re going to fly again?” There was awe in his voice. “I wish I could fly.”

  “Maybe someday I can take you.”

  “That would be great!” he cried. Then he seemed to realize what he’d said, and he blinked, a sheepish look on his face. “I don’t know what I’m saying. That sounds too scary. I might scream like a little girl, and I think I’m too old to scream like that.”

  “Maybe we won’t go very high. That would help.”

  Nergui nodded enthusiastically. “Maybe just high enough to make me the tallest person in the clan. Even taller than Weg!”

  “That’s no problem. How about right now?” Karliss called the wind, and a breeze sprang up around Nergui’s ankles.

  Nergui squealed and waved his arms around. “Not now! Not now! I’m not ready.”

  Karliss grinned and let the wind go.

  “What can I do to help?” Nergui said.

  “You can help me the same way you always have.”

  “By watching your things?”

  “No,” Karliss said, putting his hand on Nergui’s shoulder. “By being my friend.”

  Nergui frowned. “That sounds h
ard. I’m not sure I know how to do that.”

  “Believe me, you’re the best at that too. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

  “Even if I don’t know what I’ve been doing?”

  “Even then.”

  Nergui’s face lit up. “That sounds easy. One thing I’m good at is doing the same thing I’ve always done. When you get back, you’re going to have so many great stories. I can’t wait to hear about all the adventures you had. That’s going to be something.” He got a serious look on his face. “Can I tell you something? A friend thing?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m glad I’m not going. It sounds awfully scary. I want to hear about it, but I don’t think I want to see it happen.”

  “That makes sense to me.”

  “It doesn’t make me a bad friend?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Whew. That’s a relief. Can I get you some food? I know where they hid some progis if you want. I know you love those things.”

  “That sounds great.”

  Nergui hurried away, whistling. Karliss went into his yurt. As Nergui had said, everything was in its place. He wondered what he should bring. Both the krysalas, the old and the new, were hanging on a thong from the ceiling. But he didn’t think he would need either of them. He’d outgrown them. Maybe Spotted Elk Clan would have a new tlacti someday, and the new shaman would need them. He opened the trunk containing the scrolls and took out the parchment he’d written the words of power on. This he would bring. Hopefully he would find the two others who could use the words for water and stone.

  Batu stuck his head into the open door of the yurt. “We’re glad to see you too,” he said.

  Karliss went outside and found both Batu and Hulagu there. “I was going to come find you. You know that.”

  “How did it go?” Hulagu asked, a concerned look on his face.

  Karliss grew somber. “Kasai nearly killed me. It was close.”

  “What did you do?”

  “You remember that yellow crystal? The one you said I shouldn’t touch?”

  “You touched it?” Batu said in disbelief.

  Karliss shook his head. “I’m not that dumb. I used the wind to pick it up.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Batu said. “I should have thought of that. I guess that’s why I’m not the hero.”