Shadow Hunted Read online

  Another curse from Batu.

  “You seem awfully happy,” Hulagu said to Karliss. “I mean, after what you just went through and all.” He gave Karliss a sharp look. “You are happy, aren’t you? Not faking it?”

  Karliss thought about it for a moment. “I’m not faking it. I feel good. I feel a lot…lighter. This will sound bad, but I’m glad to leave the clan. I feel like a huge weight has been taken off me.”

  Hulagu nodded. “You went through a lot lately.”

  “You have no idea,” Karliss replied, his smile fading. “There were so many things happening, and the whole time I knew that if I made a mistake, people would die. Maybe everyone.”

  “And then we exiled you.”

  “Don’t say ‘we’. You didn’t.”

  “I didn’t either,” Batu said. “I think we should have exiled Henta.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Karliss said. He didn’t want to ever talk about it again. He didn’t want to even think about it. He wanted to leave all that behind him. He was free now, and he meant to enjoy it.

  They flew in silence then. Karliss enjoyed the feel of the wind on his face, the sun on his skin. Eventually Batu opened his eyes and began looking around. Hulagu even glanced at the ground a couple of times. Karliss took his time, not pushing the aranti to go too fast. He was in no rush. Once they got to Qarath, things would get complicated again. Why hurry toward that?

  Near sunset they put down by a small stream, and Karliss released the aranti, who flew away quickly, glad to be free once again. Hulagu built a small fire, more for the comfort than to cook food, since what they’d brought with them was already cooked. They talked about little things, things of no importance, how much Batu already missed Sube’s cooking, the new yurt that a young couple was making for their new family, how hot the day had been.

  “I’m glad you saw reason and decided to bring us,” Batu said. It was dark, and they were all lying on their backs, looking up at the stars. “You need us.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Karliss said. “I know you’re slowing me down.”

  “What?”

  “It’s true,” Karliss said with a chuckle. “The aranti carrying you was exhausted by the time I let it go. I’m surprised it didn’t drop you.”

  “Ha ha. You’re so funny. I’m not that fat. Besides, Hulagu weighs a lot more than me.”

  “Mine is spread out better,” Hulagu said.

  “You know what?” Karliss said. “I don’t think I’m going to leave you two behind after all.”

  Batu sat up and turned toward him. “You were going to leave us?”

  “I was thinking about it.”

  “Some friend you are.”

  “Why?” Hulagu asked.

  “Why was I thinking about leaving you? Because you forced me to bring you along, and I wanted to go alone.”

  “No. Why did you change your mind?”

  “Because I like this. It reminds me of our journey to find the words.”

  “Those were good times,” Hulagu said.

  “What?” Batu interjected. “Have you forgotten about almost starving, almost getting eaten by wolves and almost getting killed by those savages?”

  “They’re not savages,” Karliss said. “Not really.”

  Batu made a skeptical sound. “They sure looked like savages to me. Who ties bones all over themselves?”

  “And this time we don’t have to worry about going hungry,” Karliss said.

  “I hope you’re right,” Hulagu replied. “We only have enough food for a couple of days. We’ll need to stop and hunt.”

  “No, we won’t.”

  “Does this mean you finally figured out how to have the aranti fetch food for you?” Batu asked, excitement in his voice.

  “I’m not using the aranti to fetch food,” Karliss said. “I already told you that.”

  “Then what’s your plan?”

  “Don’t you want to be surprised?” Karliss asked playfully.

  “When it comes to food, I don’t like surprises,” Batu said. “Food is serious business. You should know that by now.”

  “How do you plan on getting us food?” Hulagu asked.

  “I’ll take it.”

  “From who? We’re in Angry Bear Clan territory now. I don’t want to tangle with them if we don’t have to.”

  “Not them. Farmers and such.”

  “Farmers?”

  “People who live in one place all the time and grow their own food. I heard Firehair talking about them. Once we get down off the steppes, he says there are farms all over the place. Towns too. They have markets that are full of food. With what I can do, it should be easy to get as much food as we need. Like when we stole those progis at the Gathering. Only this time there’s no mothers to catch us.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Hulagu asked.

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “I don’t know, maybe because people get mad when you steal their food? And mad people shoot arrows and such?”

  Karliss laughed. “I defeated Kasai. We don’t have to worry about a few arrows.”

  “Aren’t you worried about taking someone’s food and leaving them without enough? I don’t want to be responsible for someone’s kids not getting enough to eat this winter,” Hulagu said.

  “You worry too much. They grow their own food. They have their own animals that they can eat whenever they want to. It’s not like how we live, where you have to search all the time for food. They have as much as they need right there. They have so much they won’t notice. They don’t even have to ride a long way to get it.”

  “I don’t know. That doesn’t sound right,” Hulagu said.

  “You’re being difficult, that’s all. Batu, you’re in, aren’t you? This is going to be fun.”

  “I guess so,” Batu said, but he didn’t sound all that convinced.

  Chapter 4

  The second day after leaving the clan the three companions reached the Alon Mountains, the mountain range which formed a natural barrier between the steppes and the lower lands to the south. They were forbidding mountains, tall, shattered granite peaks covered in snow and stretching east and west as far as the eye could see. The mountaintops were obscured by thick clouds, and it looked like fresh snow had fallen the night before.

  “We’re not flying through that, are we?” Batu asked, shivering. “I’m going to freeze.”

  “I think there’s a pass over there,” Hulagu said, pointing.

  Karliss flew that way. Part way up the side of the mountains was a narrow, rocky pass. A faint wagon trail wound up to it, making its way around rock outcroppings. The mouth of the pass was framed by cliffs on either side. The threatening clouds were only a little bit higher than they were, so Karliss kept them low to the ground as they entered the pass. Visibility was poor, with streamers of clouds obscuring some areas.

  Partway through, the pass narrowed to the point that a strong warrior could have thrown a spear across it. At the narrowest point they came upon the ruins of an ancient stone fortress. A crumbling wall stretched across the pass, half-fallen towers at each end. Crows flew up from the towers as they approached. Everywhere were scattered huge, moss-covered stone blocks that had fallen from the towers and wall. Trees had grown up through the towers, their roots breaking the foundations. The gates had completely rotted away, rust-colored mounds showing where the hinges and iron bands had been.

  “Wow,” Batu said. “That looks amazing. Can we stop? I want to see it.”

  Karliss nodded. He’d been planning on it anyway. He’d never seen anything like this before. Not up close, anyway. He’d seen the city Kasai ruled when he went there searching for information. Stone was rare on the steppes, far too rare to be building walls with, not that the Sertithians had any use for them anyway. He set them down on top of the wall.

  “It’s huge!” Batu yelled. His voice didn’t echo, the sound deadened by the thick clouds, which seemed to be getti
ng even lower. “How did they even build something like this?”

  “I’ve heard Firehair tell stories about things like this, but I never really believed them,” Hulagu said, turning to take it all in.

  “What’s it for?” Batu asked.

  “This is the only good way through the mountains,” Hulagu said. “Whoever built this wanted to control the pass.”

  “But why? Why would anyone want to go through here?”

  “Raiding?” Hulagu ventured.

  “I don’t know,” Batu said doubtfully. “It seems like a long way to go to raid.”

  Rain mixed with flakes of snow began to fall, and they left, Karliss picking up speed to get them out of the moisture sooner. The pass was filled with twists and turns, some of them sharp. Karliss had to make some hard turns to keep from running into the cliff walls that flashed by on either side.

  “You’re going too fast!” Batu yelped. “We’re going to die!”

  “You worry too much,” Karliss shot back. “I got this.” He was enjoying himself. He’d gone faster through narrower defiles while riding the wind, but this was the first time he’d gotten a chance while in his body. It was exciting. Everything went by so fast.

  “Karliss…” Hulagu said in a warning tone.

  “You too?”

  “You said we didn’t need to hurry.”

  “But it’s raining.”

  “I’d rather get wet than splattered against a cliff,” Batu said.

  “You know I wouldn’t let that happen.”

  “My head might know it, but the rest of me doesn’t. Slow down!”

  “You two are no fun at all,” Karliss grumbled, reducing his speed.

  In the afternoon they made it out the other side. They left the clouds behind and flew through sunshine once again. The landscape on the south side of the Alon Mountains was far different from that on the north side. Instead of the gently undulating steppes, they found themselves in the foothills of the mountains, hilly country filled with sharp ridges and small peaks, all of it thickly wooded with huge pine and fir trees. Rivers and streams were everywhere.

  Karliss flew them just above the tops of the trees, and all three of them stared down in awe at the sight. The trees were taller than what passed for hills on the steppes.

  “Look how straight the trunks are,” Batu said. “Like spears made for gods.”

  “There’s more wood in one tree than in every wagon in the clan,” Hulagu said.

  As they passed over one especially tall tree, they startled a flock of birds with red-spotted wings. The whole flock took flight, chirping in alarm. Suddenly the air around them was filled with birds, so thick it was hard to see.

  “Don’t be scared,” Batu called to them. “We’re birds too. Just like you.”

  The flock peeled off and flew away.

  “That was incredible,” Batu said.

  “Speak for yourself,” Hulagu replied, rubbing at his coat sleeve. “One of them pooped on my arm.”

  “I guess you bring that out in people.” Batu looked at Karliss. “Can you put us down? I want to see what it’s like on the ground.”

  The trees were so thick that it wasn’t easy finding a clear way down to the ground. Both Batu and Hulagu got smacked by tree limbs on the way.

  “You did that on purpose,” Batu said, once they were standing on the ground.

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Then why are you laughing? And how come none of the limbs hit you?”

  “I’m paying more attention than you are?”

  “What does that have to do with anything? I can’t tell my aranti where to go. You control it, not me.”

  “You’ll get better at it. It takes time.”

  It was dark under the trees, most of the sunlight blocked by the thick foliage, and the tree trunks were so thick they couldn’t see very far. The ground underfoot was spongy with moss and fallen pine needles. A squirrel chattered at them from a limb, and a bright-eyed jay landed nearby, tilting its head to the side as it studied them. The sound of a stream could be heard nearby.

  “Ugh, this is terrible,” Batu said. “How do people live in this?”

  “I don’t know,” Karliss said.

  “It’s terrible. I can’t see at all. You could hardly even get a horse through here.”

  “And it’s so dark,” Hulagu said. “I can’t even see the sun.”

  Karliss didn’t like it much either. It was too enclosed, too restrictive. When Batu said, “I’m ready to leave. Can we go now?” he was happy to take them airborne once again.

  They flew back up above the trees and continued descending through the foothills. The wagon path turned into a small road. The terrain flattened somewhat, the giant trees giving way to oak and beech and other hardwoods. The forest was still thick, but no longer impenetrable.

  “Why are there no trees in that area over there?” Batu asked, pointing at an area a short distance back from the road.

  “It might be a farm,” Hulagu said.

  “Why’d they cut down all the trees?”

  “I guess to make room to grow things.”

  “That still sounds crazy to me. Who would want to spend all their time in one place waiting for plants to grow? That sounds so boring. Why not just move and find other plants?”

  “I have no idea. Maybe they like it better.”

  “Let’s go over there. I want to see the farm,” Batu said to Karliss.

  “You’re like a little kid, you know that?” Karliss said. “I want to see this, I want to see that.”

  “Don’t tell me you don’t want to see it too.”

  “I never said that.” Karliss flew them over to the cleared area. It was a few hundred paces across, most of it covered in plants growing in straight lines. That looked strange to Karliss. What kinds of plants grew in rows like that?

  Even stranger were the two buildings in the middle of the clearing. They were made of logs. Smoke came from a hole in the top of one. From Firehair he knew that one of them must be the farmer’s home—probably the one with smoke coming out the top—and the other must be the barn, where animals were kept. The idea of building a home that you couldn’t pack up and move seemed strange to him, but not as strange as building one to put animals in. They had fur, didn’t they? Why did they need a home?

  His friends stared around with big eyes as he set them down not far from the farmer’s home. They were standing there taking it all in when the door of the house opened, and a man came out.

  He was wearing frayed breeches, a thick wool shirt and heavy leather boots. He had a large axe in one hand and an unfriendly glint in his eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” he demanded. Behind him, in the open doorway, was a young woman. She was holding back three small boys who were all trying to get past her and see what the excitement was.

  “Uh…” Karliss hesitated, not sure what to say. It would probably sound weird to tell the man they’d come to look at his farm because they’d never seen one before. But Batu jumped right in.

  “We’re lost. We wandered in here by accident. We’re not from around here.”

  “Sure. That’s why you’re carrying a spear, and the big one has a sword. I’m warning you, you won’t find us easy prey. I know how to use this thing.” He gestured menacingly with the axe.

  Hulagu held up his hands. “We don’t want problems.”

  “Then move along. Don’t make me tell you again.”

  They backed slowly away. But while doing so, they accidentally walked into one of the farmer’s fields.

  “Get out of there!” the farmer yelled. “You’re trampling my melons!”

  “Sorry!” Hulagu cried. Trying to get out, he caught his foot on one of the vines and ripped the plant out of the ground.

  “Watch where you’re going!” The man took several steps forward, waving the axe. “Look what you did.” His face was bright red.

  Karliss decided this had gone on long enough. He exerted his will, and the ar
anti began to lift them into the air.

  When he saw that, the farmer’s eyes bugged out, and he moved backward so fast he fell. “Get inside!” he yelled to his wife, clambering to his feet and running for the house. His wife corralled the three boys and pulled them inside. The door slammed behind them.

  “I think that went well,” Batu said.

  “Are you crazy?” Hulagu replied. “He wanted to chop us into pieces.”

  “Maybe if you hadn’t stomped all over his melons,” Karliss pointed out. “Things were going okay before then.”

  “They were not going okay before then. And I didn’t mean to. I got my feet tangled is all.”

  “Maybe if they weren’t so big,” Batu said.

  “I’m big. What good would little feet do me?”

  “The important thing is we saw our first farm. I don’t know what melons are, but probably you can eat them,” Karliss said. “I say we go back after dark and help ourselves. We’re going to run out of food tomorrow.”

  “No,” Hulagu said firmly.

  “Why? He has lots of them,” Karliss said.

  “It’s not right. You saw how skinny his children are. I’m not stealing food from children.”

  “What if we find a farmer with fat children? Can we take food from him?” Karliss asked.

  “We’re not taking food from anyone. We’ll hunt.”

  “It’ll waste too much time. We have a war to fight.”

  “It won’t hurt us to go hungry.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Batu protested. “I don’t like being hungry. It bothers my stomach.”

  “We’re not stealing food from children.”

  “Was he always this dull?” Karliss asked Batu.

  “No. He’s been getting worse.”

  “The two of you act like little kids, you know that?” Hulagu said. “You should try growing up a little.”

  “Nope,” Karliss said. “I tried that, and I hated it. No more growing up for me.”

  “You’re not really going to turn your back on your clan once this is all over, are you?” Hulagu asked.

  “I’m not turning my back on them.”

  “What do you call it then?”

  “I call it being done!” Karliss snapped, angry suddenly. “I did everything for them, nearly got myself killed over and over, and what do they do? Are they grateful? Do they say, ‘Good job, Karliss’?” Hulagu started to reply, but Karliss stopped him. “Don’t answer. Let me. They exiled me. All I’m doing is going along with it.”