Stormrider (12 page)

Tanith arched a golden eyebrow, giving him full play of her startling green eyes. He was the one who had watched the morning of Raptor Simic’s arrival. He was, she remembered, a favorite of Grey Wanderer, a real up-and-comer in the village. And despite his youth, his long black hair was done up in a tight war club.
 

She spoke quietly. “Has Grey Wanderer taught you such disrespect that you will not even speak to a woman?”

“No.” The word, grudgingly spoken.

“Well, what are you doing here?”

Strongheart, seating himself at Tanith’s feet, tongue lolling from his mouth.
He was here before we were.

Tanith glanced down at Strongheart, then back at Song Dog.

“Before we were?” She ordered her words a little more plainly for the boy’s sake. “The wolf says you were here before we were. Why? Do you know of this place? Have you been here before?”

A shake of the head and Song Dog met her gaze a little more directly, soft, dark, watchful eyes giving away nothing.

“No, this is the first time I’ve come, though I had heard tales of its existence.” He paused, gathering courage. “Who was that with you? Have you come here before? Is this an evil place? A place only for Shamans and the chosen of Nashira? Have I trespassed? Will I be punished?”

When young Song Dog opened up he was like a freshet whose flow could not be stemmed.
 

“Do you know you are not of the chosen of Nashira?” Tanith countered gently. “I know little more than you, other than the words he spoke to me, and those I think were meant to confuse, not to help.”

Strongheart snorted.
The Ancient Ones do not come to confuse. They come to speak truths.

“The Ancient Ones?” Tanith looked down into Strongheart’s eyes. “Is that a title or a condition?”

If it was possible Song Dog’s eyes widened even further.

“The Ancient Ones. He was one of the Ancient Ones?”

“So Strongheart says.”

“You do not know?”

Tanith shrugged. “He did not say. I had no reason to ask. Who are the Ancient Ones?”

“They are the
Disir
, The Ancient Ones. Beings who are of Nashira yet are not. Of this time and place, yet are not. It is said they were the first upon Nashira and The People are descendent from them. From a long ago time when all The People were as the Ancient Ones are. It is said they will again make themselves known to The People and our lives will change as the pattern of leaves scatter before the wind.”

“Well that certainly is informative,” Tanith said dryly.

Do not mock the boy.
Strongheart counseled restraint and patience.
You have not yet had your question answered.

Tanith sighed and tried again. “If you have not been here before, why are you here now?”

“I will not be punished?”

Tanith sighed again.

Strongheart answered.
He will not be punished. He is welcome here.

Startled, Tanith blurted the words before she could consider them. “How do you know?”

Tell him.

Tanith turned to Song Dog. “The wolf says you will not be punished. He says you are welcome here.”

That appeared to give Song Dog a great deal of reassurance, bolstering his confidence. His thin chest puffed out until he closely resembled a pigeon.

“I was among those taken by the slavers, but before they could count me I slipped away into the desert.”

Tanith was surprised, but managed to hide it. The slavers must have made a bold raid indeed and been moving exceedingly fast to have not made a count on the spot. And once the count was made it was next to impossible to escape as Song Dog apparently had. In fact, except for her own escape, which she had miraculously managed after the count and her own subsequent rescue, she had heard of no others. The gangling, angular boy had apparently caught them off guard. And the slavers would not even know he was missing. She trusted that was the case or they would already be hot after him and the slavers on a trail were worse than the hounds of the Dinh Dinh on blood scent.

“So you saw this place and decided to hide here?”

Song Dog glanced away, pride warring with obvious facts.

“I do not hide merely to save myself. I sought concealment to think, to consider. A warrior lost is worth nothing to those who would depend on him. I was trying to work out a plan to help the others the
Jaiqi
took. I know where they are. They stopped moving. I think they will be there for a while.” Then he looked at her with some suspicion. “I saw the one you had in your camp with the
Jaiqi
. You said he was not of them . . .”

Now it was Tanith’s turn for real shock. Raptor? With the
Jaiqi
?

“He is not
Jaiqi
,” Tanith repeated. “He has a reason to be among them if it is truly he that you saw.” She paused. “You are certain it was Raptor you saw?”

Song Dog nodded. “He wishes to find the Amulet and take it from here.”

Tanith blinked, a little startled by the boy’s knowledge of the Amulet. But then perhaps it was not so surprising. No doubt all The People in various settlements and camps would know of the Amulet which was to be brought to the gathering.

Recovering herself, Tanith agreed. “He does.”

“So do you!” Accusatory. Damning from the lips of one so young.

“Yes,” Tanith admitted, knowing the boy could not possibly know the Amulet’s history as she did. “I must return it to where it belongs.”

“It belongs here! You cannot take it away! It lives! Here, it truly lives!”

“I have not seen the Amulet since it was taken from Antaris,” Tanith admitted. “That is a place far from here. But I know it lives just as you do. It has lived in Antaris for all of memory.”

“Not all of memory! We have memory too! It is of Nashira! It lives here!”

His adolescent voice nearly cracked with anxiety.

Tanith gave up. She could not reason with the young man about this. And certainly not now. She placed her hands on her hips and took a step closer to Song Dog. She understood the pride and ego of The People. It was imbued in the women as well as the men though the men possessed a much heavier dose. Song Dog had obviously gotten his share. She summoned up every bit of Nashira’s heritage, remembered at some deep, primal level, and put the best warrior scowl she could muster across her face.

“I am no threat to the Amulet for now. If we are to help your people we must work together. Later we will fight.” She used her last term loosely since she had no intention of ever actually fighting the young man. She would do what she must when the need arose.

Song Dog’s jaw again dropped. “You would help The People?” Sternly, Tanith glared at him in her best imitation of Grey Wanderer’s manner. “I am
of
The People. I am Stormrider. I was tracking the
Jaiqi
before I was drawn here. And now I will track them again if they did not remain where they were when you slipped away. The wolves will aid us. Together we will find a way to liberate those who have been stolen. Later we will settle our differences.”

“You speak as a warrior and yet you are a woman.”

“I am a warrior.” Tanith played to his sense of honor, throwing out a bluff. “Would you care to discover that for yourself now, or shall we better use our talents to free others?”

Strongheart rose, apparently bored by the posturing, walking back toward the arch through which they had entered. He gazed about himself with the comical expression of a fascinated child. He glanced back once to curl his lip over sharp, gleaming white teeth, just to remind the young man he was part of the package, then moved further up the stairs out of sight, heavy paws rasping against stone.

Appearing much older than his years, Song Dog considered her challenge with a deep frown which made the sharp angles of his face even sharper. The silence was all-enveloping.

Tanith was tempted to roll her eyes with impatience, but there was no one there to see except the boy—and she did not want him to see. They were wasting time. The slavers moved quickly. And, there was Raptor Simic, bounty hunter, to consider. Would he be threat or ally? He owed her a blood debt. He was sworn to repay it. But, how much honor did a bounty hunter truly possess? She collected herself and spoke again to the boy.

“Well?” Tanith prompted. “If we do not work together we will work separately. I have known the cruelty of the
Jaiqi
and I will not leave this to you.You escaped before the count. I escaped after. Who do you suppose has more experience?”

Song Dog’s eyes grew even rounder, his face reflecting his every emotion despite his efforts to be a good warrior and conceal all save granite face. “You escaped from the slavers after the count? You can show me that such is true?”

Such disbelief was not uncommon. The boy had probably believed himself to be totally unique and now she had pricked his pride by claiming that she, a woman, had accomplished a feat viewed as greater than his own. A feat by far more difficult and dangerous than that which he had managed. Tanith was not proud of her lack of tact where the boy was concerned, but they didn’t have time for great contemplation and she didn’t want them working at cross-purposes.

Tanith lifted a hank of brandy-colored hair exposing the flesh of her neck below the left earlobe, and with it the bluish scar extending down a distance equal to that between knuckle and fingertip. A counter long before removed.

For the
Jaiqi
the count was something more than numerical though it was that as well. It was long and thin as a needle, flexible and permanently implanted under the skin at the time of the count. It was the mark of identification and possession for slaves were, after all, valuable property. And it was even more. It was the means by which they could track a wayward slave and a way to control him. The only dim hope of escape was to remove it and that meant the slave had to risk severing his or her own jugular in the attempt. A few had died that way, spewing their life’s blood at the feet of a very disgruntled master.

Even removed, as Tanith had removed hers, it left behind the bluish scar. Distinctive, identifying. If seen, it made its owner a target for return to slavery at any time. There were bounty hunters about. The slavers paid generously. Even out of proportion to worth in order to make the point that one could not escape the
Jaiqi
for long. Recapture meant degradation and death. For just that reason few knew of Tanith’s background. It would not do for a Janissary in the midst of an assignment to be snatched by a bounty hunter. The Council knew. Raptor Simic, if he read the papers handed to him when her death had been believed to be reality, knew. And, now, Song Dog of The People knew.

* * *

Song Dog already held her in some awe because of her gift of the wolves, but this . . . this was beyond awe. The People bred strong women, but as far as Song Dog knew, none like this. Yet, she was of The People. Grey Wanderer admitted to her heritage. And if she was not of the People, would it be easier to accept? No, probably harder since, if she was not a product of the great Goddess, unusual though she was, what else could she be?

Song Dog raised his narrow chin, fixing her with luminous brown eyes. “We will go together. Other concerns will be left until later.”

Strongheart howled, the sound of it bouncing eerily from rock walls far above and Tanith felt the sudden jolt of his presence, touching her, slamming against her, jerking her calm from beneath her with the same abruptness as the ground turning to water.

Danger!
Strongheart’s communication with words ended abruptly. A flood of pictures followed.

Slavers.
Jaiqi
. Many of them. Here. Trodding the glistening steps of the city. Searching. Knowing—somehow they did—that the boy was here. Weapons at ready. Footsteps hastening. Too late. Too late. Flash of Tanith and Song Dog hiding. Hurry. Hurry. Too late. Too late.

Staggered by the power of Strongheart’s communication, Tanith spun toward the glittering archway. Even though it stood empty she could feel the incredible rush which surged through Strongheart.

“
Jaiqi
are here.” Tanith gave Song Dog a shove toward the back of the room, hoping there would be another door leading to another place. “Go. Run. You must hide. They search for you.”

“No!” he shot back.

Stubbornness. No time for it.
Hela
take him, the boy would not move! Tanith felt for Strongheart. Reached out for Littlefoot and One Eye. The other two wolves were close, but not close enough. The
Jaiqi
were all around them. Where Strongheart had been was only a yawning void, a terrifying emptiness, fear—yes she recognized that feeling—knotted and writhed in her stomach. Blood slid through her veins like icy needles. Long tamped down memories rose again in a nightmare of remembered horror, threatening a numbing reaction over which she had no control.

Tanith delved deep inside herself, drew from that well of strength and training at the core of her life as Janissary and twisted her fear into fury. She stepped in front of Song Dog. Too late. Too late. They couldn’t run and they couldn’t hide. She knew the
Jaiqi
well. Her past was her past. This time she was not a child! She had the ability. She would fight. They would not take her! It would not happen again!