The Scorched Earth (The Chaos Born) (16 page)

“Back then Shalana and I were close, but our feelings were only those of good friends. But when my father returned to the earth something changed.

“He was taken too soon; after the sickness his health was always poor. His death left a void in Shalana’s life … as it did in mine. In our loss and sorrow we turned to each other for comfort. We drew closer. Eventually we became much more than friends.”

Norr grunted in pained surprise as Scythe’s examinations found a tender spot.

Luckily the ligaments aren’t ruptured
, she noted, trying to recall
Methodis’s lessons about anatomy.
But he needs to stay off his feet for at least a week to heal properly
.

Norr looked down at her, his eyebrows raised inquisitively. Scythe indicated for him to continue his tale with a subtle tilt of her chin.

“That summer we approached Terramon and told him of our feelings. We asked for his blessing on our union, both as Shalana’s father and as leader of the clan. He granted our request without hesitation. At the time, neither of us knew him well enough to suspect the trouble he would bring upon us.”

“He didn’t actually approve of you?” Keegan asked.

“Terramon and my father saw the world differently,” Norr said after a long pause to gather his thoughts. “Terramon believed in conquest and expanding our empire. Battle was all he knew. But though my father had once been a warrior, he learned that there was more to life. He believed there comes a time when it is more important to defend and protect what you have, when one must set aside the sword and keep close the very things you once fought for: family, friends, and clan.

“He had spoken to Terramon and the other thanes of this, and many agreed with him. Terramon’s never-ending wars had spread the Stone Spirit influence and brought us wealth and prestige, but there was a heavy cost: many warriors had lost their lives, and those who lived spent many months of each year away from their families.

“After thirty years of war, the clan was weary. Many hoped Terramon would step down and let Shalana become chief. That is the way of my people when the chiefs enter the twilight of their years. They step aside and take on the role of councillor to the new chief.

“Many expected that, even with Terramon serving as one of her advisers, Shalana would take them down a different path. But
Terramon was not a man of peace; he had built his reputation on conflict and strife. Perhaps he feared what would become of him once he stepped down; perhaps he feared his counsel would be ignored. Maybe it would have been.”

“So he refused to step down?” Vaaler asked.

“That would have been a temporary solution,” Norr explained. “Eventually, the thanes would have forced him to name a successor. Or one would have risen and challenged him for the right to be chief. Terramon knew this, so he devised a more cunning solution.

“He called a meeting of the entire clan. There, in front of his thanes and all his people, he named me to be his successor instead of his own flesh and blood. Shalana was devastated. Humiliated and shamed in front of everyone.”

“I don’t get it,” Keegan said. “Couldn’t you just refuse?”

“The damage had already been done,” Norr explained. “Terramon had cast a cloud over Shalana’s name. He had publicly questioned his own daughter’s ability to lead our people. Even if I refused, there would still be those who doubted her, especially among the other clans.

“By stepping aside, I would make the Stone Spirits seem weak and some of the chiefs who paid us tribute would challenge Shalana’s authority. The thanes would have to set aside their desire for peace to defend the glory of our clan.”

“And Terramon would have what he wanted all along,” Jerrod noted. “More battles. More war.”

“I tried to speak with Shalana,” Norr continued, “hoping we could find some way to put things right. But she wouldn’t listen to me. She was bitter and angry.

“There had already been whispers among some of the thanes that I should be the next chief. Because of my size and strength, my reputation had spread across the East, and my father had been
a great warrior in his youth and a respected voice of wisdom in his later years. And while it is not unheard of for a chief to name a female successor, it is uncommon.

“By publicly naming me, Terramon strengthened the resolve of those who wanted me to take over. Shalana saw this as another betrayal, another slight against her reputation and her pride. So she turned to the old ways, and challenged me to single combat to prove which of us was worthy of becoming chief.”

“That spiteful bitch!” Scythe snarled, instinctively jumping to Norr’s defense even after the fact. “It wasn’t your fault her father’s an ass, but she turned on you the second she didn’t get what she wanted!”

“She’s not like that,” Norr insisted. “You just don’t understand.”

“I think I do,” Vaaler said quietly. “Terramon took away her birthright. As long as she could remember, she’d been told she would one day rule her people. That identity defined her. Everything she did and everything she learned was centered around it. She spent her entire life trying to prepare herself for the responsibility; to make herself worthy of being a leader. And then in a single humiliating moment it was all stripped away from her. You can’t imagine what that feels like.”

His words gave Scythe pause, and in light of the former prince’s obvious pain she decided to keep any further arguments to herself.

He’s right—I don’t know what that feels like. But Vaaler didn’t turn on his friends when it happened to him. Shalana did
.

“According to our customs, Shalana needed at least a third of the thanes to support her claim before she could challenge me,” Norr continued. “She found them, though there were many who still supported my claim as well. Terramon had driven a wedge between the thanes, forcing them to choose sides and stirring up bitter animosity in our clan.”

“Who won the duel?” Keegan asked, eager to hear the end of Norr’s tale.

“We didn’t fight,” Norr answered. “The duels are rarely lethal; typically one of the combatants would yield once the other gained the upper hand. But I feared Shalana wouldn’t yield. I feared she would force me to kill her.”

“What if she defeated you?” Jerrod asked.

Norr paused before reluctantly admitting, “Shalana was a great warrior, but she was no match for me. Few were. My strength and size gave me too great an advantage. We had sparred enough times for us both to know this.”

“Yet she challenged you anyway,” Vaaler noted. “She was desperate. She would rather die than face the humiliation of what her father had done to her.”

“Even if I let her win,” Norr said, “many of the thanes would suspect what I had done. Some of those who supported me would continue to urge me to become chief, constantly pushing me to challenge Shalana to a second duel for leadership of the clan. And my presence would be a constant reminder of Shalana’s shame.

“I realized that as long as I remained with the clan, there could be no true resolution. The only solution was to disappear; to vanish. So I fled the night before our duel, slinking away like a coward in the night, renouncing my people and my status as a warrior.”

That’s why you refuse to carry a weapon now
, Scythe realized.
You don’t think you’re worthy of one anymore!

“You could have told us this before you led us into this frozen wasteland,” Jerrod growled. “Instead of delivering us into the hands of a bitter political rival.”

“It’s not like we had a lot of other options,” Scythe reminded the monk.

“I’m sorry for keeping this from you,” Norr apologized, though Scythe wasn’t sure if he was speaking only to her or to the entire
group. “I struggled for the proper way to bring this up, but I thought I’d have more time.

“Shalana is the clan chief now; I didn’t expect her to be part of the delegation that came to parlay with the Ice Fangs.”

Scythe shook her head at Norr’s naïveté. “Did you really think disappearing for a few years would make her forget everything that happened between you?”

“This might not be a bad thing,” Vaaler pointed out. “She doesn’t seem to hate Norr. Not that I can tell, anyway. Maybe she regrets what happened. Maybe she wants to try to repair your relationship.”

That could be even worse
, Scythe thought.

“Well?” Jerrod demanded. “Is she an ally or a foe?”

“I don’t know,” Norr admitted. “She is keeping her feelings hidden, at least until we reach the clan’s main camp.

“When we get there I will confront her,” Norr promised. “I will tell her of Keegan’s importance; I will explain that he is the chosen savior of the mortal world and I will ask for her to help us.”

“Maybe don’t just blurt it out like that,” Keegan cautioned. “It can be a lot for someone to take in all at once.”

“Good advice,” Scythe concurred. “Maybe don’t say anything for a while. At least until we know if she’s on our side or not.”

“How much longer until we get to the camp?” Jerrod asked.

“Three or four days,” Norr said. “Depending on the pace Shalana chooses.”

“No matter how tight I wrap your leg, you can’t handle three more days of marching,” Scythe warned him.

Remembering how Jerrod had helped heal Norr’s wounds after they’d escaped Torian, she decided to swallow her pride.

“Anything you can do?” she asked the monk.

“Something about this land limits and restricts my abilities,” he reminded her. “I can try, but the results will be minimal.”

“Don’t worry,” Vaaler assured them. “I’ve got a better solution.”

T
HEY SET OUT
early the next morning at Shalana’s command. The air was cold, but the wind had died and the sky above was a clear, cloudless blue.

Perched atop the sled, Norr sat with his arms crossed and a petulant scowl etched on his face, glaring at the backs of the four Stone Spirit warriors tasked with dragging him along. When Vaaler had first suggested he ride while everyone else walked, he’d voiced his objection—traditionally only the very old, the very young, and the infirm rode in the sleds. But the others had supported the idea, especially Scythe, and he quickly realized it was better to submit than risk angering the fiery young woman. She was already upset with him for not telling her about Shalana.

We’ve always said the past doesn’t matter, but that’s not really true. Especially not when my past jumps up and slaps her in the face
.

He’d been planning to tell Scythe everything, of course. But he just hadn’t found the right time to bring it up. Before they were taken by the Pack Masters, there hadn’t seemed to be any reason to dredge up his past relationship. And once they were in the Ice Fang camp, he was afraid telling her might upset her enough to do something rash that might jeopardize the exchange with the Stone Spirits.

I could have told her while we were heading to the Stone Spirit camp if Shalana hadn’t blurted it out
.

Seeing her in the Stone Spirit delegation had caught him completely by surprise; clan chiefs rarely went out on such expeditions.

But she decided to come and see me with her own eyes
.

He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. It was possible she had forgiven him after all this time; she wasn’t a vindictive person.

At least, she didn’t used to be. Who knows what happened to her after I left?

Shalana had readily agreed to Vaaler’s suggestion that Norr ride on the sled.

She didn’t just agree. She jumped at the idea
.

Shalana knew how humiliating it would be for him. She wanted to shame him. Punish him.

Maybe I deserve a little punishment
.

He had abandoned her without a word, sneaking off in the night like a coward instead of meeting her in battle. At the time, he’d convinced himself that he had acted out of love—sacrificing his place in the clan to spare her the embarrassment of possibly losing to him in combat. Now, however, he knew that wasn’t the truth.

Shalana and I were close friends, but I never really loved her. Not like I love Scythe
.

For years they had both known their betrothal was inevitable, but when it was officially announced he hadn’t felt any joy. Yet he never voiced his reservations for fear of upsetting Shalana and the thanes.

Our engagement was founded on momentum and the expectations of the clan. After seeing us grow up together, everyone just assumed we would marry
.

He had no idea if Shalana had felt the same way or if she had cared for him more deeply than he cared for her.

Instead of having the courage to ask her and find out, I chose to disappear. She has every right to be angry with me. She has every reason to want to shame me
.

If his embarrassment was the cost of winning Shalana’s cooperation, Norr was more than ready to pay. But what if this petty revenge wasn’t the only price? What if this was just the start of something much more? Something much darker?

Shalana isn’t like that. Whatever ill will she bears me, she’s still a fair and decent person
.

But as much as he wanted to convince himself everything would work out, part of him couldn’t help but worry. He was assuming she was still the same woman he had grown up with.

People change
, he reminded himself.
And not always for the better
.

After several hours, Shalana called for a brief rest stop. While most of the group were still fresh enough to press on, Jerrod could sense that the warriors pulling Norr’s sled were growing fatigued.

As they were about to set off again, the monk caught Vaaler’s eye and nodded in the sled’s direction. Taking the unspoken cue, the Danaan joined him in taking a turn on the tow ropes, along with two fresh Stone Spirits.

Grunting with exertion, Jerrod and the others struggled and strained against the ropes. The thin layer of ice and snow helped the sled glide smoothly over the ground, but it also made it difficult to find any traction. The first few steps were slow and difficult, but as the sled gathered momentum it became much easier to keep it moving. Even though Shalana set a brisk pace, Jerrod and the others were able to keep up, and they made better progress than they would have with Norr limping along on foot.