Shadow of the Horsemen (Kalie's Journey) (30 page)

She stepped down from the stool, and found Riyik beside her. He lifted his arms as though to take Kalie into them, then hesitated. It was that hesitation that made it so easy for her to fling herself into his arms and wrap hers tightly around him.

“I believe, my love,” he said, gently disentangling himself, “that it is time for us to go.”

Between them, Kalie and Riyik were able to make order out of chaos in a surprisingly short time.

Most of the women making the journey were slaves, and thus good at following orders and doing what needed to be done. The problems occurred when they began taking things out of their tents, such as water bags, food or even a single blanket. And of, course, themselves.

Kalie resented the fact that she had to call on Riyik and his warriors to pry a number of outraged wives off the women they believed to be their property. She had hoped this would be something she and her followers could handle themselves. At least the men were able to settle matters quickly. For, while those staying far outnumbered those leaving, and nomad women possessed impressive strength when it came to beating up other women, none of them would challenge an armed man with anything other than sharp words.

“Stop this!” screamed a desperate wife, as the slaves who were staying behind looked on in wonder. She kicked the departing slave girl viciously in the leg, causing her to stumble, and then launched herself at Kalie with wickedly sharp fingernails. “He will beat me if he finds her gone!”

“Then keep a knife handy and find the strength to use it on him!” Kalie shot back, pushing back a stray lock of hair, which now, freed from its veil blew wildly around her face. “You have two others who choose to stay! Be thankful for them!”

“But she keeps his interest from returning to me! Another baby will kill me!”

Kalie groaned and waved to one of the warriors to take over. Borik, a muscular giant, came over and lifted the struggling slave girl, carrying her to where a growing line was preparing to leave.

“Come with us!” Kalie said uselessly to the weeping wife, who now sobbed in the arms of her two remaining slaves.

There were bigger problems over supplies. It seemed that no matter how little the runaways were taking with them, it was too much.

“Fine, go, you worthless slut!” a red-faced wife was shouting at a skinny, half naked girl. “But all you’re taking with you is your rotted cunt!” She then tried to tear off the rest of the girl’s clothes. Kalie was grateful she had clarified the exception about defense of herself or another in her vow to stop hitting women. She had to pummel the woman half unconscious before she would stop.

For those few who were wives in their own right, the departure was easier. There were still disputes when a senior wife wanted to argue, or all of the women of the household united to stop her. But most simply stared in baffled amazement at their good fortune.

“You are his first wife, Nesia!” cried a pockmarked woman with a fussy baby at her breast. “You want to leave all you have to go die of thirst? What about your children?”

Nesia adjusted the strap that kept her infant son securely bound beneath her breast, then took the hand of her five-year-old daughter. “It is for them that I do this,” she said. “You know how ill our husband was when he rode to battle. What are the chances he will return alive?”

“But if he does, he will ride for as long as he must to bring back his children,” said a young concubine, a malicious grin on her face. “And he will beat you until you plead for death—which you deserve for such a deed!”

Elka watched with a puzzled frown as Brenia packed and walked quietly out of her tent with Barak on her back. Only when they passed the last of the tents, and took their places at the front of the line of refugees did Elka suddenly howl and give chase. “No!” she screamed. “It isn’t fair! Hysaak must kill you himself! It’s the only way I can be sure he loves me!”

“He will kill her as soon as he catches her!” laughed a woman who stood watching. “Why aren’t you happy to see her go? She’s taking your son’s only rival with her!”

Elka launched herself at Brenia. “I will not be cheated of my prize!”

Kalie pried the younger woman off Riyik’s sister and flung her to the ground with more force than was perhaps necessary. Elka kicked at her from the ground, her blond hair tangling around her head like a nest of snakes. “If she leaves, Hysak will remember only that he once loved her, and will want her back! She must stay! Without her to hate, he will begin to hate me!”

“I know this place is crazy,” Kalie said to no one in particular. “But I think she’d qualify as insane anywhere.”

“You’re probably right,” said one of the Aahken men in their group. In all, twenty-seven men were going west with them. It seemed to Kalie a good number: enough to provide protection on the journey home, but not enough to threaten a city if they proved less than honorable when the journey was over.

Finally, the camp was divided into two groups: a small group of women, ready to brave the unknown and make new lives, and the rest, who would wait in their tents as they had done for all of theirs.

The most heartbreaking, Kalie thought, were those who wanted to go, but stayed because of their children.

More than half the women leaving were either pregnant, or carried a nursing infant. Some had older children, who followed their mothers without question. But those with older children who understood what was going on and did not support it, faced an agonizing decision.

Most boys over the age of ten had gone with the warriors. But Kalie wept as she watched six women give up their dream of freedom when threatened by their own children.

“I will wait for father!” an angry seven-year old boy shouted with arms crossed over his chest. His mother looked sadly at Kalie, shook her head, and allowed the boy to lead her back into their tent.

“If you try to take me, I will kill you!” a child no older than nine shouted at his concubine mother. “You dishonor my father and all my ancestors.”

“I’ll show that little brat honor!” Kalie shouted.

Riyik held her back. “I know this is hard, but in these cases, we cannot interfere.”

“So we let children dictate to their mothers?” Kalie demanded. “Don’t they know that if the Wolf and their allies win this battle, every one of those boys will be killed? Their mothers to follow if they’re not desirable enough to merit rape and slavery?”

“Of course they know!” said Riyik. “But to them, it’s a better fate than fleeing the protection of a home and clan. Of being branded a coward and a traitor, and losing any chance of reaching paradise in the next life.”

Kalie had known how much the women who followed her risked, but until that moment she hadn’t realized how much they were giving up—for themselves and their children. It made her more determined than ever to make sure they lived to rejoice in their decision. But the scene before her still stung.

“We could drug the children. Or bind them.” Kalie looked pleadingly at Riyik. “Just until they understand it’s for their own good. When they reach the west they’ll be glad they came!” At Riyik’s look, she faltered, but did not give up. “If we could at least convince the mothers to come, they would not have to watch their sons die, or endure a life of slavery knowing every day that didn’t have to!”

Riyik’s face was lined with pain, but he shook his head. “If those women leave their children, they will come to hate themselves. And if we take those boys with us by force, what do you think will happen?”

Kalie groaned. “They will seek every opportunity to escape, and bring the warriors after us—or destroy us on their own, to avenge what we have done,” she said bitterly.

“As you yourself have done to this tribe, my beloved.”

“I hate it when you’re right,” Kalie said, shoulders sagging with defeat.

Riyik flung an arm around her and turned her until she faced west. “I grieve with you for those who stay behind. But look upon what you have accomplished!”

Before them stood an orderly line of thirty-two women, fifteen children, and twenty-six men. All of the men were mounted. Seven horses served as pack animals, to allow the unencumbered travelers to move at higher speed than they normally did. The old and sick, including Danica and Agafa, rode pillion behind patient warriors. Two horses stood saddled, but without riders: Thunder and Blossom. About fifty sheep and goats milled about, anxiously anticipating the signal to begin walking.

Riyik looked at the sky. “We can travel ten miles before dark. Perhaps twice that each day that follows.” He pointed to the full moon rising in the west. “If fate is kind, we will be in your land when next the moon reaches this phase.”

Kalie turned to him, memorizing every bit of this beloved face. “Get them started on their journey, Riyik, for that is something only you can do. I will catch up with you before the sun sets. But there is something I must do first.”

Riyik swung on her so suddenly Kalie thought he was going to hit her.

Then she saw the look in his eyes, and knew he would not—only that he was as determined that she not do this thing as she was determined that she would.

“I can’t let anyone follow us,” she said simply. “You know as well as I that if the men of Aahk are not wiped out to a man, that they will come after us. And if the other side wins, they may well be drunk enough on kumis and victory to hunt us down tonight while we sleep, just for the sport of it.”

“Then we shall deal with that tonight,” said Riyik. “Together. You know that it’s much more likely neither side will have the strength or desire to pursue us at all.”

“I can’t let their lives depend on what’s likely!” Kalie pointed at the group ready to depart. “Please, my love! I’ve come too far and suffered too much to leave my work unfinished. And you are the only one I can trust to lead these people to my home.”

“So what is your plan?” Riyik demanded. “Ride to the battle and take on every warrior who survives?”

“No, only those who ride in this direction. Those who ride east may do so with my blessing!”

“By yourself? With neither training nor experience? And no weapons besides those bone toys?” Riyik pointed to the baskets of Serpent Fangs, which stood ready.

“It’s what I have to do!”

“I will not let you die on the very day we begin our new life together!”

“And I will not let you live with the knowledge that you killed your own spear- brothers while they tried to retreat to safety!”

“That is not your decision to make, Kalie!”

“Neither is how I finish my mission your decision, Riyik!”

“You’ve done enough! It’s time to leave!”

“Excuse me,” said a gruff voice. Borik loomed over both of them. “Could we get this group moving, and explore the future of marriage latter? They’re getting restless.”

Kalie could see the excitement of departure turning to panic. Varena stood with her arm around Katya, waving anxiously for Kalie to join them. Agafa looked like she might lose her resolve and die now if they didn’t start. Kalie felt her own resolve weaken.

“These new weapons are a wonder,” said another of Riyik’s men, carefully touching one of the Serpent Fangs. “Leaving behind a small group while the others begin the journey might be a smart idea. We could find out how well they work, perhaps destroy the tribe’s ability to pursue us and with good horses, join up with the others by nightfall.”

Danica had dismounted and come to see what was going on. “It would increase our chances of reaching the west safely,” she said.

After a swift discussion, about half the men agreed to go with Kalie and Riyik to scout the area of the battle, and make sure no one followed the escapees. The rest would lead the women and children west. If all went well, they would be together again that evening.

Kalie paused long enough to duck into their tent and change into an old outfit of Riyik’s, realizing as she did so that she was probably the only woman here who’d worn pants before.

When she emerged from the tent, Kalie found Alessa, similarly dressed, waiting for her.

“I have to go with you,” Alessa said.

Too rushed to argue, Kalie simply asked, “Why?”

“I’m not altogether sure,” said Alessa. “I just know that I have to.”

“You were brutally beaten and dragged by a horse this morning…” Kalie began, but Alessa merely shook her head. “We will be killing men and horses,” she added more firmly, knowing Alessa would want nothing to do with either.

“She can ride with me,” said Borik. Kalie saw that it was time to go. Borik lifted Alessa effortlessly—and surprisingly gently—and placed her behind him on his horse.

Then Riyik gave the signal, and the larger group began to move slowly to the west. Kalie and her raiding party moved at a much faster clip in the opposite direction.

“I loved your story,” Alessa said to Kalie as their horses ride side by side. “And I loved the way you used it to save my life. But you still should have told them the truth.”

“What do you mean?” Kalie asked.

“Alesaak was you, not me. His name should have been Kalaak.”

Kalie thought about it, not really surprised to discover it was so. But she wasn’t completely convinced. “His anger and determination were mine,” she conceded. “But his strength and courage were yours.”

Alessa was silent for a moment. Then she said, “I told him, you know. I told Nelek everything we did to Valaan and Barta.”

That was, of course, the only way Nelek could have known. Kalie had been too busy to think of it earlier, and did not want to think about it now. “Anyone can break under torture,” she told her friend. “Even you. I would never think any less of you—“

“Nelek never tortured me, Kalie. I went to him on my own. These welts on my back are from the beating he gave me afterward.”

Kalie did not know what to say, so she waited.

“You were right when you guessed that I learned of Amaar’s plot to overthrow is father; that I went to Nelek to warn him. But then, somehow, after that…I just couldn’t stop. After Barta was killed, I became so lost…I could no longer hear Her voice. I couldn’t find Her anywhere! I needed guidance, and for reasons I’ll never understand, I went to Nelek for it!” Alessa shook her head in confusion.

“Alessa, your faith sustained you through so much. Losing it must have been like trying to navigate a boat during a storm: nothing to give you directions. Is it really so surprising that you simply went to the man with all the power? Confusing that, as these people do, with having all the answers?”

Alessa thought about that, then nodded. “I wonder if that’s what happened to Kestra?” she said. Kalie lost the rest as Borik urged his horse forward.

They traveled silently; tensely.

Quickly, too quickly it seemed, they heard the sounds of battle. Two scouts rode forward before Kalie realized that Riyik had sent them. The rest dismounted and hid in the tall grass until they returned. The sky above was black with ravens and vultures. The not so distant clang of weapons and the screams of the dying were harsh and unreal in Kalie’s ears. Blood and death rode on the wind.

“It is as we hoped,” reported the first scout after only a short time had passed. “Each side has inflicted heavy losses on the other. The battle is ending now, and they seem to have fought to a stand-still. The Wolf and Hansi are returning to their camps in the north.”

“What remains of ‘The Great Federation of Tribes,’” smirked the second scout, “is already limping back toward camp. They shall pass this way very soon.”

“We should set up there,” said the first scout, pointing to a stand of grass a short distance to the east.

“A good thing we have so many of these new weapons,” remarked Borik. “The warriors will travel singly or in small groups. They’ll cover a wide area over an unknown length of time. We will need all of these.”

“Maybe not,” said Riyik. “I fear they will become useless once the horses begin falling and the men become alert to what is going on.”

Kalie surveyed the endless stretches of grass. Some had been beaten down by the army, which had passed through earlier in the day. Most stood waving, eternally indifferent to the creatures that lived upon it. “I hadn’t thought of that. It is the perfect weapon for forests, where riders must travel down a single trail.”

“All the more reason you must return to your people to show them,” said Riyik.

Kalie waited, then smiled when Riyik said nothing more. She knew he wanted to her head for safety; to leave this fight to the men, but he didn’t argue. And she loved him all the more for that.

But not enough for her to run from this fight.

She had exchanged the knife Basha had given her for a larger, more deadly knife from one of the warriors. Riyik had given her a spear, but they both knew she had never cast one before. Kalie wore it strapped to her back as the warriors did with their spares. In her hands she held a basket of Serpent Fangs: a weapon no one had any experience with.

At least in that they were all equal.

Each of the raiders took a basket of the new weapons and spread out among the places where they hoped the retreating warriors of Aahk and Wolf and Malquor would have to pass. Kalie had wanted to scatter the stars and retreat, but the others had insisted there weren’t enough of them to take such a risk. For today, her new weapon would have to be used at close quarters and flung directly in the path of fast-moving horses.

She sensed Riyik’s presence nearby, even though she couldn’t see him. Kalie wished the warriors would arrive soon so she wouldn’t have to brood about what had she gotten him into. If he killed a kinsman or a childhood friend this day, would he ever forgive himself? Would he ever forgive her?

Then she heard it: the sound of pounding hooves riding for the camp just behind them. Everyone was in position. Kalie peered through the grass and saw exhausted men riding lathered horses. Many were in injured. Some, from the way they slumped in their saddles, were either dead or dying. She saw men she recognized. And although she hated every one of them, the cost of war sickened her.

Suddenly, Kalie knew this was not why the Goddess had shown her this weapon. And more importantly, that she could not simply spring an attack on defeated men who only sought the safety of their own tents.

With a quick birdcall to Riyik, she motioned to him her intentions. Not waiting to for a response, Kalie slid forward in the grass. Kariik was just coming into view, riding a once fine black stallion. Both man and horse were covered with blood and grime, Kariik with a hastily dressed wound on his spear arm. The largest group of warriors clustered around him, while stragglers followed.

Kalie rose to her full height, allowing her head and shoulders to show above the grass. She raised her empty hands. “Kariik, stop!” she shouted. “You are not in danger yet, and you needn’t be, but pause and listen.” Kariik stopped, more puzzled than alarmed. Not so the men around him. Kalie knew she would have only moments before they began scouring the grass, and discovering her companions.

“A small number of your people have chosen to leave your tribe. Some of them are men you have condemned—however unfairly—while others are women held against their will. I ask only that you let them leave in peace. You have survived this battle; take that as a sign of favor from your gods. Go in peace to your winter camps, and you may continue as you always have. But seek to follow us, or threaten the lands of the Goddess, and all of you will die. The choice is yours!” And although she couldn’t see her, Kalie sensed Alessa’s approving gaze.

Kariik’s pallid face grew red. “A horse to the man who brings me her head!” he shouted.

The survivors of the battle formed a perfect column, all heading straight for Kalie. As if, she realized, they were on a road through a forest. Those of Kariik’s men who rode away from the column to search the surrounding area were the first to fall.

The shrieking of injured horses was the first indication of the effectiveness of the new weapon. To her right, Kalie watched as two horses reared and stumbled. One managed to remain upright but threw its rider, who hit the ground with a curse. The other horse went down, pinning its rider beneath. The screams of the dying man mixed with those of his terrified horse.

The nearby commotion caused some of the warriors with Kariik to swerve or slow, but most continued straight on to where Kalie stood. She never flinched. As the lead horses came so close she could feel their hot and winded breath and smell the stench of blood mixed with their sweat, she flung half her stars straight into the faces of the startled riders, then flung herself hard to the left.

Kalie rolled, tangling herself in the tall grass. Even before she found her feet and began crawling to safety, the thunderous sounds of chaos behind her told her the attack was successful.

Only a few horses had stepped directly on the stars, but each of those fell into one or more other horses. Kalie watched in amazement as a falling horse knocked the one beside it into the one behind that. All three horses fell in a tangled heap, thrashing and writhing, two men pinned beneath. Two more horses could not stop in time and fell full length into the melee. The warriors behind those five, Kariik among them, were able to swerve in time, parting around the pile of bodies like a river around a boulder. But by then, everyone else had gone to work.

Some of the men had already exhausted their supply of Horse- Killers, and had left the cover of the grass to engage in hand-to-hand fighting with the fallen warriors. Others were chasing those who had avoided the bone stars. There were, Kalie saw in amazement, quite few of the latter. They just might be able to fight until everyone left alive from the previous battle was cut down in this one.

Riyik paused to cut a suffering horse’s throat, and then did battle with its crazed rider. Kalie feared that rage might make their enemies more dangerous, but panic engendered by the new weapon seemed to be clouding their judgment. Riyik dispatched his opponent with a thrust of this spear, then turned to leap on a warrior who had discovered Alessa in the grass and was poised to run her through.

Kalie spared only a moment to make certain they were both all right, then raced to where the men protecting Kariik were making a last stand. She flung the last of her sharpened bone fragments up into the men’s faces and down to where the horses were stepping, dodging both deadly hooves and flying spears. Somehow, she always stayed a step ahead of them.