Echoes (13 page)

“A girl. I have a girl.” Daniel reached down and used one finger to carefully explore his daughter’s dainty hand. When the baby wrapped her fingers around his, he smiled broadly. “Will you look at that! She knows me already!”

Niada cautiously approached. “Carly, may I lay this wreath around your baby’s head? It is an Etrafarian tradition, a blessing for your child.”

“Of course, Niada. Thank you.” Carly adjusted the baby so that Niada could slip the woven wreath over her head.

The leaves were a bit prickly, and the newborn wriggled in her mother’s arms. She let forth a howl of displeasure, but then she turned her head and made little sucking movements with her rosebud mouth, bringing chuckles to the adults in the room.

Dearra was entranced. “She’s so beautiful, Carly. Even covered in blood from the birth she’s the prettiest baby I think I’ve ever seen. She’s so little, too. I worried, because Brin thought she might be too early, but she looks perfect. I think she—”

Dearra got no further, as the minuscule buds on the spring holly swelled before their eyes and then burst forth in a spray of fragile white blossoms.

Niada gripped Aesri’s sleeve looking to her for an explanation, but Aesri could only shake her head.

“Is that some sort of fairy thing?” Daniel asked. He stroked the baby’s cheek. The baby turned her head and resumed her sucking motion.

“I have never seen anything like it,” Aesri said. “But she is not pure Etrafarian. She has a very special mother, so I see no reason for alarm, Daniel. She is, as Dearra says, perfect in every way that I can see. Do not be concerned.”

Daniel looked skeptical for a moment, but then smiled, and caressed Carly’s face. “Yes, she does have a very special mother.”

“What are you going to name her, Carly?” Dearra asked.

“I think I will call her…Holly.”

An uneasy stillness had settled over the island. All of the families with small children had long since left Maj for the relative safety of Mirin Tor. The Etrafarians had also made their way to the capital. Aesri was not happy to leave Dearra and Darius, but she needed to see her people settled. Some of them were already starting to question the decision to become involved in this war. Aesri worried that if she didn’t stay with them, they might come to the conclusion that they should return home and leave the rest to Rah. Carly adamantly refused to leave until Daniel agreed to go with her. It was the right thing to do. He would be more use training recruits at the capital anyway. Kahn was loaded aboard one of the rafts that had been constructed to carry the livestock, and Dearra was on hand to see them off with a wave and quite a few hugs.

Zusia, Royce, and Phillip remained on the island, as their families were still there. Dearra worried that she should have sent Phillip on ahead with Carly and Daniel, but she felt they had been separated enough. First he was kidnapped and taken to Parsaia, and then she was forced to be away from him again so she could see to her responsibilities on Mirin Tor. She reasoned there would be time to see him safely away before the Breken made landfall. At least, that’s what she told herself. He seemed so happy to be with her, and there were few guarantees that there would be many happy times ahead. If she could give him this one small thing, it was worth the risk. Wasn’t all of life a risk anyway?

The summer was starting out fine. The ice was gone, and in its place flowers bloomed. The fields, however, remained untilled and untouched. It made no sense to do anything that might aid the enemy when they arrived, and there weren’t that many people left who could do the work, besides. Daily meals were monotonous. Very little remained, and often, they ate whatever they could forage or hunt. Animals, grain, and just about anything else that could be taken to the capital had been. Zusia’s bow brought down deer and rabbits with amazing frequency, and everyone was grateful for the variety her skills brought to their diet.

Dearra and Darius walked hand and hand along the cliffs. It was her habit to make the circuit daily and check on the watch that was nearest Maj Keep.

“You’re so quiet today,” Darius asked. “What are you thinking, Dearra?” He bent to pluck a rose that was growing wild and stripped the thorns from it before tucking it into Dearra’s hair.

She shook her head. “Nothing, really.” She thought about leaving it at that, but there were no secrets between them anymore. He would respect her privacy and not inquire further, but she knew he would worry if she didn’t tell him. “I was mostly wishing my father were here,” she admitted quietly.

Darius stopped, pulled her so that she leaned into his chest, and laid his cheek against the top of her head. “He’s here, Dearra. He will never leave you. Not really.”

She sighed before reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. “I want to believe that, really I do. I look for him everywhere. I listen for his voice, but all I hear are hollow echoes.”

Darius reached his hand up and his fingers traced down her face and along her jaw. He kissed her tenderly and said, “You’re trying too hard, Dearra, and you’re looking in the wrong places and for the wrong things. You’ll see him again, and when you do, you’ll understand that he never went away.”

A mournful howl interrupted them, and Dearra turned to look for Reo. What she saw chilled her blood. A flaming arrow arced high as it was loosed from a bow aboard the Maj ship that patrolled the coast. One of the signal fires were lit, and then another, and another, and another. The fires blazed, and smoked heavily. Wet leaves had been added, so that even if the flames were not visible in the light of day, the smoke certainly would be. Even at this distance, Dearra could see the watchers at the nearest fire abandoning their post. Now that their duty had been fulfilled, they would make with all haste for the remaining boats that waited to carry them to Mirin Tor. The sails of the Maj ship that had fired the arrow filled with the ocean wind, speeding them to safety. The other ship wasn’t visible, as it was too far away on the other end of the island, but they were bound to see the signal fires and head to the mainland as well.

On the horizon, a line of black appeared and then swelled, as hundreds and hundreds of Breken ships slithered forth, like an asp poised to strike.

Darius grabbed Dearra by the hand and wrenched her from her silent awe. He pulled her in the direction of the keep without a word.

“Phillip!” Dearra screamed, trying to struggle free from Darius’s vice-like grip. “We have to get Phillip!”

“Where is he, Brin?” Darius demanded.

The three of them are in the forest. Zusia is hunting, and Phillip and Royce are with her.

“We have to get him!” Dearra yanked free and sprinted headlong toward the woods.

Darius grabbed her around the waist and put his lips close to her ear. “Listen to me. Dearra! Listen! We will find them. You need to calm down and think. Brin knows where they are.”

We’ll get them, Dearra. Follow the path past the practice field. Head towards Cyrus’s tree.

Darius loosened his hold, and they dashed toward the practice field and then along the well-worn path that would lead them deeper into the woods. In their haste, they almost collided with William who wore a look of terror.

“It’s okay, William,” Darius reassured him. “Brin sees them. Come with us.”

***

The children were grouped around a stag and were just finishing field dressing it to bring back to the keep when they heard their names being called.

“Here, Dearra! I’m over here!” Phillip called out.

Dearra ran to her brother and crushed him in a tight hug.

William held first Royce and then Zusia. His relief evident by the fierce embrace.

Darius took charge at once. “The Breken are here. We have to leave. Now.”

Phillip suddenly looked terrified. Royce was less affected, but seemed more determined. Zusia frowned and growled quietly to herself.

“I have to get Catherine!” William said. “Dearra, take the children to the boats. We’ll meet you there.”

Royce clung to his father’s arm and pleaded desperately. “No! No, Father! I want to stay with you!”

“Darius,” William said, giving the Breken a look and then nodding.

Darius physically lifted Royce away from his father.

Royce thrashed and screamed, but Darius ignored him and set off at a steady pace, with Dearra, Phillip, and Zusia right behind him.

Royce watched his father disappear into the woods, and continued to call out to him, but Darius never slowed.

They’re here. Dearra, I can hear them. They’re on the island.

How many, Brin?
Dearra asked in her head, so she wouldn’t frighten the children.

A lot.

Dearra sped up, and Darius moved with her, careful not to go so fast that they would outpace Zuzu and Phillip’s shorter strides.

Darius!
Brin yelled a warning.

A Breken crashed out from the underbrush, directly in their path. Darius struggled to maintain his hold on Royce as he pulled his weapon free with his other hand, and braced to meet his opponent.

Dearra charged forward in pursuit of a Breken with Brin extended, but the whoosh of an arrow flew past her ear, and embedded itself in the head of the warrior before Dearra had gone more than a couple of steps.

“Nice shot,” Dearra called to Zusia, and they ran on.

Dearra could see other Maj through the trees as they sprinted, but the most they could do was nod as they went. More Breken loomed before them, and from time to time they would have to pause to engage. Darius wasn’t able to fight very well. Royce wasn’t making it easy on him—it was clear he would cut and run to find his father if Darius didn’t keep a tight grip on him.

“How are they getting ahead of us?” Dearra asked.

Some of their ships are landing on the other side of the island. They are surrounding us. Tightening the noose,
Brin answered.

Darius took an elbow to the face as Royce continued to struggle. “Keep going Dearra,” Darius said. “We’re almost to the boats.”

Darius! They’re coming right for us!
Brin called out.

“How many?”

Six. Dearra, get ready.

Five Breken warriors emerged from the woods, and just behind them, Jacob. He wore Falco red and black and had a tattoo on his face. Darius didn’t have time to wonder at the strange turn of events, before he was forced to set Royce down.

Royce scrambled to his feet and was gone in an instant.

“Phillip! Zusia! Stop him!” Dearra was unable to say more, as three warriors moved in for the attack.

“Reo, go!” Darius yelled to the wolf, and he readied his blade to meet the oncoming attack.

Jacob stood well away, and he made no move to draw his sword, content to sit back and watch as Dearra and Darius fought for their lives.

Dearra was magnificent. She spun and twirled, parrying every strike. The ringing of steel filled the air. When one of the attackers slipped before her, she drove her sword into his back, stepped up on him, and used the momentum of her body to wrench her sword free. Before she had even touched back to the ground, she’d swung the blade around in a wide circle, slicing the belly of the second warrior, and he landed face down in the dirt. She turned her attention to the remaining threat and stalked him with easy grace. The Breken warrior looked for assistance from Jacob, but he only shrugged and took another step back, as if preparing to escape, should the need arise.

Darius had eliminated one threat as well, and he moved nearer to Dearra so they could stand, back to back, and offer each other some small measure of protection, should more Breken make an appearance.

When Dearra’s opponent slammed into her, Darius felt her body as it collided with his. She was bracing herself against him, trying to remain standing, but there was little he could do to help, as his own sword was occupied by the enemy before him. He heard her yelp of pain, and he chanced a glance over his shoulder. He saw that the Breken fighting her had locked his sword with hers, and he’d pressed in so close that their faces were only inches apart. Darius used his free hand to grab hold of the knife at his waist. His sword arm shook with the effort it took to hold the crazed Breken he fought at bay. He spun the knife so that it was pointing backward, took one more, quick look to be sure of Dearra’s position, and then thrust the knife backward between Dearra’s arm and her side to embed it in her attacker.

Dearra never hesitated. When the man before her fell, she turned deftly, and emerged from behind Darius. Brin sang through the air and took out the last opponent.

Jacob was on the move before the warrior had hit the ground, and Darius sprang to pursue, as Dearra went in search of the children.

She slashed at the tangle of bushes around her, fighting her way back to the path she knew lay beyond.

No
! Brin’s voice was a harsh whisper of pain in her mind, but before she had time to question what it meant, she heard Catherine scream in agony.

Dearra cleared the brush a moment later, just in time to see the Breken warrior withdraw the sword that had pierced Royce’s chest.

William’s howl of rage echoed through the trees, and he lunged forward.

Reo was faster. He took a running leap and clamped his jaws around the throat of the Breken who had harmed his boy. A spray of blood covered his muzzle. The wolf shook his head violently and then released his victim.

“Royce!” William stumbled and crawled the last few feet to scoop Royce up into his arms.

Catherine and Zusia clung to one another. Catherine was holding one hand to her mouth in a silent scream. Phillip seemed frozen in shock. His face was blank, and his eyes stared straight ahead, unable to look at his fallen friend, unable to accept the horror of it.
 

“Father?” Royce’s voice was calm, as if he weren’t aware the wound he had sustained was mortal, but his eyes had a clouded, faraway look.

“Royce, don’t speak,” William sobbed. He cradled the boy to his chest and rocked him slowly.

“Can you hear them, Father? Can you hear the gulls?”

“Please, Royce, be still. We have to get you out of here,” William said. There was a desperate quality to his words, and he looked at Dearra with pleading eyes, silently begging her to think of something that would fix all of this.

“The ship, Father! Have you ever seen such a ship?” He smiled in rapture as his eyes beheld something that none of them could see.

Royce stretched out his hand as if reaching for something.

“It’s everything I dreamed it would be. It’s beautiful,” Royce’s voice trailed away on the last word. His hand dropped to his side, fluttered, and was still.

William gently lowered his son to the ground, crossing his small arms across his chest.

The sound of Breken troops, as they called to one another, reached their ears.

“We have to go,” Dearra whispered.

William took Zusia in his arms and shifted her around to his back. She clamped her arms around his neck and buried her tear-streaked face against him. He took Catherine’s hand and urged her to move. She resisted at first. It went against every motherly instinct she possessed to abandon her child, even now, but she still had one child remaining, and the sound of Zuzu’s sobs got her moving when nothing else would have.