Giants (7 page)

“Drink,” Lord Uriah told Herrek, thrusting the horn at him.

Herrek sipped, and then he handed the golden horn back to his great, great grandfather.

“You sip rather than gulp, warrior. Why?”

“Soon I must search for Elidad, as we agreed.”

Lord Uriah nodded sagely, his bleary eyes riveted upon Herrek. “And I gulp because Elidad has headed north, and a giant has been seen.” The Patriarch’s head moved abruptly, and he stared at Joash.

Joash tried to look obedient as he stared at the dog.

“Look at me, runner.”

Joash did. The Patriarch measured him. Joash looked away from those bleary, yet wise-seeming, eyes.

“What duty did I lay upon you today, runner?”

Joash tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry. “To make sure no harm comes to Harn, lord.”

“Or instructions to that effect, yes?”

“Yes, lord.”

“But Harn fought a sabertooth.”

Joash hung his head.

“Should you have leashed him?” Lord Uriah asked, gravely.

Joash frowned. “I suppose so, Lord.”

“But the sabertooth surprised you. Still, you could have grabbed Harn by the scruff of the neck. Why did you fail to even do that?”

“I was not swift enough, Lord. I should have realized when the sabertooth appeared... I failed
then,
lord. I should have grabbed Harn by the scruff of the neck then.”

“How then would you have defended yourself?”

“I would have managed, Lord.”

“Do not lie to me.”

“Forgive me, Lord,” Joash whispered.

Lord Uriah nodded. “Tell me the truth now. How would you have defended yourself?”

“I don’t know.”

“And neither do I,” Lord Uriah said, as if that closed the matter. “Now, you spoke with a giant tonight. Tell me what occurred.”

Joash had been waiting for this. Carefully, trying to retell each word as it had been spoken, he told Lord Uriah about Mimir. When Joash was finished, Lord Uriah thoughtfully poked the glowing coals.

“Did I do wrong to say what I did?” Joash asked.

“Who can know? Mimir could have slain you at any time, yet you charmed him. I am surprised by that.”

“Lord?” Joash dared ask.

Lord Uriah nodded for him to speak.

“Mimir spoke as if he knew you.”

“We’ve met before. I was young then, not much older than you are now.”

“Will Mimir truly attack the camp?” Herrek asked.

Lord Uriah appeared not to hear the question. He sipped ale, and said softly, “Joash charmed him. Mimir used his gift upon him, and was ready to kidnap Joash because of what he saw.”

“What did he do to me?” Joash asked, certain a spell had been put upon him.

“He searched you. He looked at your mettle. What he saw both impressed and worried him.”

“How can you know that?” Joash asked in awe.

“I know because I know giants. I know because I know what Mimir’s gift is. He sees the spirit of a man, if he wishes to. He sees the height of a man’s flame, of his passion, of his daring. I think he wished to make you his body servant.”

“B-but why would he wish to do
that
, lord?”

“I’m uncertain. He believes, however, that your paths will cross again.”

“I don’t understand,” Joash said.

“Mimir undoubtedly plans evil, and he knows that Elohim raises champions to thwart Nephilim schemes.”

Herrek sat up. For many years, he’d volunteered for Lord Uriah’s quests. He knew his great, great grandfather’s ways.

“What has Elohim shown you?” Herrek asked.

“It is not your place to question me,” said Lord Uriah.

“Forgive me, Lord,” Herrek said, but he didn’t sound repentant.

“Mother Protectress,” Lord Uriah called.

The curtain moved, and Zillith entered the room. She wore a shawl and a black robe. Herrek rose, bowed, and sat on the rug beside Joash. Zillith sat in the chair. She had a wrinkled face, with sharp cheekbones, and large doe’s eyes. Once, she must have been a beauty. Now, she had bearing and presence. There was something eerily formidable in her dark eyes, a sense of strength for her friends, and cunning danger against her enemies.

“Mimir has seen Joash’s flame,” Lord Uriah told his sister.

“Mimir the Wise?” asked Zillith.

Lord Uriah threw aside his cloak and stood. Maybe he wasn’t as big as Herrek, but he was still a warrior to fear. Perhaps the wise would fear him more, for a long lifetime had taught Lord Uriah unusual skills. “Will the dog live?”

“Maybe,” Zillith said.

Lord Uriah laughed. It was not a pleasant sound. “I wish to reward you, Joash.”

“Lord?”

“Stand up.”

Joash leaped to his feet.

“You risked your life to obey my command. I would be a foolish Patriarch indeed, if I did not recognize such valor. Then, you found Mimir the giant, and spoke with him. And even more, you allowed Mimir, the so-called Wise, to judge your mettle and find you superior. You have performed mightily this night, Joash the Chariot-Runner. I am well pleased.”

Joash flushed with pride.

“Herrek tells me that you withdrew his spear from the sabertooth corpse.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“You had need of a weapon, eh?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“You needed a warrior’s weapon, isn’t that so?”

Joash nodded.

“You risked your life to obey my command, and then, you realized that because of your boldness, you needed a true weapon. Such a weapon was before you, and you took it. Is that the truth?”

“Yes, lord,” Joash said, wondering what was about to happen.

Lord Uriah turned toward his great, great grandson. “Did he insult you by withdrawing your weapon from the beast you had so nobly slain?”

“No, Lord,” Herrek said. “I am pleased he chose my spear.”

“Pleased enough that as his lord you would give him gifts?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Pleased enough that you would honor him by letting me bless one of the gifts?”

Herrek grinned.

“Pleased enough to set him on the path to warrior-hood?”

Herrek paused. “He has been a fine runner, Lord, brave and filled with stamina. In time he might make a fine warrior.”

“In time?” Lord Uriah asked.

“Given training.”

“But he has no proper weapons.”

“That is bad,” Herrek said. “For how can a runner become a warrior if he has not the proper weapons to train with?”

“This is a mystery,” Lord Uriah agreed.

Joash couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He waited, hoping that his two-year-old dream was coming true. He wasn’t an Elonite, but he’d hoped, ever since watching Herrek defeat Balak, to become a warrior just like him.

“Joash,” Lord Uriah said.

Joash stood as straight as he could.

Lord Uriah threw aside a rug, and lifted the seven-foot spear that Joash had withdrawn from the sabertooth’s corpse. The steel head gleamed, shining in the candle and coal-light. Joash understood now why it had smelled like weapon-oil in the room. Lord Uriah had cleaned and polished the steel. Awe filled him.

“I bless this spear,” Lord Uriah said solemnly. “And I have asked for Elohim’s blessing as well. It is my honor to give you this spear, Joash, to give you the spear of your Lord Herrek.”

“Thank you, Lord. And thank you,” he told Herrek.

“You are no longer a bondservant,” Lord Uriah said. “That is
my
gift to you. You are now Herrek’s Groom, who needs one to temporarily replace poor Nestor.”

“L-Lord Uriah,” Joash stammered.

“And if Harn lives, he is yours as well,” Herrek said.

“Yes,” Lord Uriah said. “Such fierce loyalty should be well rewarded. Of course, as a groom you will still run behind Herrek’s chariot.”

Joash laughed, because he was bubbling with joy.

“Your first task, Groom, will be to take your spear, and go with Herrek into the steppes. You must find out what happened to Elidad. Adah the Singer will join you, as well as Gens, of course. More would go, but not at a time when giants threaten the camp. When you return, all the camp shall rejoice over your newfound status.”

“Thank you, Lord Uriah!”

Lord Uriah gave Joash a bear hug, slapping him on the back. Then he dipped his golden horn into a keg, and bade Joash drink the entire draught. Joash coughed and wheezed, but he choked it down. Herrek laughed, Lord Uriah smiled, and Zillith shook her head, no doubt at the strange ways of men.

“Now,” Lord Uriah said, “you must be about your business. But carefully, Groom. Beware of giants and old sabertooths.”

Joash nodded, and together with Herrek, he took his leave.

Chapter Five

Hunting for Elidad

And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own homes—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

-- Jude 6

Joash was very aware of the spear in his hand. No longer was it a javelin, a narrow length of wood with a small metal point on the end. Now he held a warrior’s weapon, a seven-foot spear, a charioteer’s most-used tool. Hunters and skirmishers used javelins, but only the trained fighting men had weapons fashioned from faraway Caphtor.

Joash felt tired nonetheless. He rode in a chariot beside Adah. Herrek and Gens were nearby and several dogs trotted with them. They’d traveled since leaving Lord Uriah’s sod room until dawn. They’d stopped to feed the horses, and then trekked inland again.

Joash glanced sidelong at Adah. Of course, he’d heard the whispers about her. She always slept with lit candles in her room or tent, and she couldn’t stand to be alone. For all that, she was very beautiful. Joash enjoyed being with her, enjoyed her rose perfume odor. He’d begun to wonder... well, just how old was she? Or rather, was she young enough so he could try to kiss her? The idea made him blush, because he stood beside her.

Hours passed as the two chariots followed the sniffing hounds. The sun became hotter. In time, they worked up sloping terrain. An eagle watched them, screeching from time to time. The eagle finally dove into a depression. Moments later it arose with a rabbit in its talons.

“Nephilim are nearby,” Adah said. “We must, therefore, be very careful. One can never be complacent when Nephilim are near. They yearn for the old glories the way you and I yearn to breathe. Worse, the First Born plot to reclaim the position left by the
bene elohim
. Mimir spoke to you. Now, I am fearful for Lord Uriah.”

“Why?” Joash asked, startled by her speech.

“Lord Uriah recalls the lost glories of the Empire and of Caphtor. The Nephilim and First Born hate those things. They know Lord Uriah will go to any length to save Caphtor.” Adah smiled oddly. “Yet Lord Uriah will also make the great city pay for any favor he does it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why, that Lord Uriah is a complex man, and that he has many motives for being here.”

Joash frowned. He’d never thought before to consider his lord’s motives. A chariot-runner did his duties, as did a bondservant. Now he was a freeman. Now, he could, and probably should, wonder why his lord did what he did. He thought about the footprint of Old Three-Paws. He’d seen the print near the last spring they’d stopped at.

“What does Herrek think chased Elidad?” he asked.

Adah studied him, enough so he smiled. Her eyes were so dark, so
enjoyable
to look into.

“You examined some tracks before,” she said, a small smile twitching into place. “Tell me what you found.”

“Sabertooth tracks by the spring.”

“What kind?”

“Of a brute with a crippled left paw.”

“What do you call this beast?”

“Old Three-Paws,” Joash said, remembering the Teman Clan warriors who had glanced at Herrek when he had last mentioned the name.

“Listen to what Lord Uriah told me last night,” Adah said. “It explains much.”

“Herrek, and his oldest brother, Jeremoth, once gave each other ever increasingly harder challenges. Each thought himself their father Teman’s hardiest warrior. Eleven years ago, Jeremoth challenged Herrek to go to Giant Land and bring back a mammoth hide and tusks. Herrek boldly accepted the challenge. He landed at the same camp we stayed at, and went out after a four-day blizzard. They found a half-frozen mammoth and made their kill. During the skinning, sabertooths attacked. A huge male led the beasts. The big beasts slew many of the charioteers. Herrek, trapped at the edge of the drop where they’d cornered the mammoth, readied his sword as the big male rushed him. Herrek struck the sabertooth’s paw as the sabertooth knocked him off the edge. Herrek survived the fall, although, several of his ribs were broken by it. Despite his ravings to go back after the sabertooth, Gens refused, and drove him back to camp.”