Hunter's War (Legend of the Wild Hunter Book 4) (34 page)

The carriage drivers looked to Lord Bollen for confirmation, but they never received it. The horses, on the other hand, didn’t need any. They knew who to listen to. Twenty two carriages, carrying supplies, wounded and civilian, made for the open road.

Tullner quickly caught up with Kile, his weapon now drawn.

“Shouldn’t we send guards to protect the wounded?” he asked her.

“They’re not after the wounded,” she told him. “They are coming for Lord Bollen and they’re here.”

The shadow was already creeping out of the hills, like a wave of darkness, it covered the land, then broke upon them. Not even the sunlight could penetrate it. It was as if the night had come before its appointed time.

This was something unexpected, Kile thought, staring into the darkness. She was seeing some physical aspect of the Maligar, or at least some representation of it. It had always confined itself to the natural realm, and now it was leaking over into the mortal world. What did it mean? Was it getting stronger? Could everyone see it?

The Valgar shed their cloaks. There was no need for secrecy now. Only when Lord Bollen, and the Callor army, saw them, did they prepare for battle, but by then, it was too late. The two forces collided in the middle of the field. Kile push Grim forward with reckless abandonment, and when the pony went down, she threw herself into the fray. There was no thought or reasoning behind her actions. She simply lived for the chaos. She gave herself over to her feral side, because she knew, if she didn’t, she would have no chance surviving. She could feel the heat rising within her. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The smell of blood, and sounds of battle, were overwhelming. Shields shattered, swords broke, men screamed, wolves howled, and she was losing herself to the darkness. She could no longer remember who she was, where she was, or even why she wanted to live. She was fighting out of pure instinct, but it wasn’t enough. The darkness was offering peace, it was offering salvation, it was offering her a place she would be accepted. It reached out to her, and she embraced it.

The black tendrils wrapped themselves around her, and this time, she did not fight it. All she wanted was to sleep in the darkness. There was a familiarity within it, almost as if she was coming home. She wasn’t sure how long she remained cradled in the arms of the Maligar, it could have been hours, or days, or years, or mere seconds, but the sound of thunder shattered the darkness, and the rain began to fall.

Kile fell to her knees and stared up into the heavens and let the rain fall upon her face. It washed away the smell of blood, and cooled the burning in her soul. It drowned out the sounds of battle until all she could hear was the gentle sound of the falling rain around her. The smell of the forest, the grass, the touch of the earth, this was who she was. The darkness had receded, and the natural world reclaimed its own

-Sister?-

She opened her eyes and looked into the face of the wolf, who sat before her.

-We came when we heard you call.-

There was so much compassion in the wolf’s words, so much concern, so much love, she found herself crying. Blinking back the tears, she looked around. They surrounded her, the wolves and the Callor hound. Their presence was reassuring and it gave her strength.

“Thank you,” she whispered, hugging the wolf. “Thank you so much.”

Slowly, she staggered to her feet. She wasn’t injured, at least, not that she could tell. If she was, it wasn’t a physical injury she suffered. She was tired, so very tired, as if she had not slept in days.

The battle was over. It was quick, but it was costly. Men, horses, dogs, even the bodies of wolves lay among the Valgar. The rain was washing away the blood, but not quickly enough. This place would always be stained, she thought. She watched as the Callor soldier picked among the dead, seeking out the wounded. They thought little of the dogs and wolves, turning a blind eye to their suffering, even though, if it had not been for them, the count would have been higher. Only the men of Moran sought to aid the animals. They fought alongside the hounds, and understood their sacrifice.

Lord Bollen was still alive, in that alone, they succeeded. He was being tended to by his men, although, it didn’t look as if he was injured in any way. She looked at the soldiers who were still standing, looking for familiar faces. Tullner and Sandson were easy to pick out, since they were wearing the Fennel colors, but she couldn’t find Anurr or Lesh. Were they among the fallen?

The dogs and wolves parted when the mountain pony approached. He was limping.

“You’re hurt,” she said, coming to his side.

-It’s nothing.-

Grim replied.

She ran her hand over his wound and he winced. She had seen the horse run head first, through a barn door without breaking stride.

“I’m sorry, Grim.”

-There is nothing to be sorry about. I’m not dead yet.-

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and the pony rested his head on her shoulder. Vesper took the opportunity to slide down his nose and onto Kile’s head and she laughed.

“I didn’t forget about you,” she said, lifting the yarrow up. “Are you okay?”

-Hungry-

The yarrow replied.

-Please, Fur ball, when are you not?-

Grim asked.

Kile looked at the mountain pony.

“Can you understand him?” she asked.

-Only when you’re around. You make a pretty good interpreter.-

He replied, but his voice was a bit strained.

“We should probably see to that wound,” she told him.

-It’ll keep. What about you? You don’t look too worse for wear.-

“I’m just tired. I don’t think I can keep going on like this,” she told him.

-If you had listened to me, we would have been away from here a long time ago.-

He said, and then turned and slowly walked away. She followed him.

“Kile,” Tullner shouted upon seeing her. She made her way toward him.

“Are you all right?” he asked her.

“I think so.” She replied. “What of the others. I saw Sandson, what of Anurr and Lesh?”

“Anurr will survive,” Tullner said, brushing the rain from his face. “But, I’m afraid we lost Private Lesh.”

Private Lesh. She didn’t even know his first name.

“I assume the wolves are yours,” Tullner said, drawing her attention back to the here and now.

“I’m sorry?”

“The wolves, they are yours, aren’t they?”

“No. I mean, they came because they heard me, but, they’re not mine.”

“Well, regardless of why they came, their arrival was timely.”

“Was it?” she asked. “To tell you the truth, I don’t remember anything.”

“Maybe you should go sit down, take it easy.”

“No, the wounded; we have to see to the wounded first.”

-Reinforcements, right on time, as usual.-

Grim said from behind her.

Kile turned to see riders coming up the road. She took a deep breath and sniffed the wind.

“Hunters,” she said. “Folkstaff, Erin, even Daniel’s with them. They must have intercepted the carriages.”

-Would they be the same Hunters who were supposed to make sure the coast was clear? - Grim asked.

“It’s not their fault, Grim. Not even Hunters could see this coming.”

“You did,” Tullner added.

Kile ignored him and started walking toward the riders, when Sandson called out to her. She turned and saw him kneeling beside a fallen soldier. He waved frantically to her, but she hesitated. She couldn’t see the face of the soldier from where she was standing, but something deep inside, told her she already knew who it was. She quickly looked around the field, looking for those familiar faces, or just that one. When she couldn’t find him, she ran to where Sandson waited.

Captain Bartholomew Jax laid motionless on the ground, his armor had been stripped away, exposing the wound to his side. She fell to the ground beside him and took his hand in hers. He opened his eyes and looked up at her.

“You’re all right,” he said in a weak voice.

“Yes, I’m all right, and so are you,” she told him.

He laughed. “You never were very good at lying,” he said. “From the first day I met you and you tried to feed me that story.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. She could tell, by the squeezing of her hand, he was in pain. “What of Lord Bollen?”

“He lives. He does not appear to be hurt,” she told him.

“Good, then, at any rate, I did my job,” Jax laughed, although the laughter was weak and he started to cough.

“Take it easy, the healers are here, they’re going to help you.”

“I don’t think so, not this time,” he replied once he got his breath back. “If nothing else, it was one hell of a ride.”

“Don’t say that, you’ll be back on the walls of Moran in no time.”

“Yeah, sure. Look, I need for you to do me a favor,”

“Anything.”

“I need for you to deliver a message… to my wife.”

“You can deliver that yourself.”

“Please, you are a Hunter, aren’t you? Isn’t that what… Hunters are supposed to do?” he asked.

“Yes, that’s what Hunters do,” she replied.

“Then tell her… tell her I was coming home,” he said, gripping her hand tightly. “Tell her I love her.”

“I’ll tell her,” she promised, but he didn’t hear.

“Kile.”

Looking up, she saw Daniel running across the field toward her.

              “Help him, please,” she pleaded.

Daniel knelt down beside Jax and placed his hands upon the soldier's chest. He fell into his Edge.

Kile could smell the magic building around them. It was strong, stronger than she remembered. Like the smell of the ocean, or at least what she thought the ocean should smell like. She could see the blue strands of light flowing from his fingers. They wound their way around Jax, growing in intensity until they eventually faded and disappeared altogether. She looked up at Daniel. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. You better go see what you can do for the others.” She told him as she gently brushed the hair from Jax’s face. “At least he doesn’t have to give his report now.”

“Will you be okay?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Go, get out of here. Go help the others.”

Daniel slowly got to his feet.

She looked up at him. “Danny, I really hate to ask this…”

“You want me to check up on the hounds and the wolves. Am I right?”

“If you could.”

“Of course, I was planning on it anyway.” He said with a hint of a smile.

Kile stayed beside Captain Jax until two men came to carry him away.

The darkness was coming and the shadows were closing in. Thunder rumbled overhead. The rain was falling in sheets, making it nearly impossible to see. Her fur was soaked and her feet were caked in mud. She was tired, too tired to keep going, but she had to keep running. She had to keep ahead of the darkness, keep ahead of the Maligar. The lightning flashed, and for one fleeting moment, she could see the great oak standing before her, but it was still too far away. The faster she ran, the farther she had to go, but this time she wasn’t alone. Her pack was with her, the wolves came in on both sides. There were two at first, then four, then eight, and then more than she could count. She couldn’t see them all through the rain, but she could feel them, and they gave her strength, they gave her courage. Thousands of them raced alongside her across the open field toward the tree where the maiden waited. She was pulling ahead of the darkness now. She could hear the woman shouting, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of the wind and the rain.

“I can’t hear you.” Kile screamed. “What are you saying?”

“Do not trust them,” her bother wolf said.

“Don’t trust who?”

“Excuse me, ma’am,” The wolf replied.

Kile opened her eyes. She was curled up with the dogs, sleeping just outside the campsite. It was still raining, but she didn’t care. The rain was refreshing in a way, almost cleansing, and she needed to be clean. She peered up over one of the hounds at a young soldier who stood just outside the circle of dogs. He didn’t dare get any closer. None of them did, not after what they saw.

“What is it?” she asked.

“They want you in the command tent, ma’am,” he said, nervously.

“Why?” she asked.

“I… I don’t really know, ma’am. I was just sent to fetch you.”

“Fine. You did. I’ll be there soon,” she told him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, and couldn’t get away quick enough

She was getting that a lot, not from the soldiers she served with at Moran, but the ones from Callor, the ones who rode with Lord Bollen. They diverted their eyes when she looked at them. They avoided her, when she came too close. In a way, it made her laugh. What would Alisa think if she could see her now? She was the only woman in a camp full of men, and they fell over themselves trying to get away from her.

She couldn’t really blame them, if what she heard about the battle was true. The last thing she remembered was riding straight into the Valgar. Grim went down, and she was alone. That was when the darkness took her. From that point on, there was nothing, not until the rain, not until the wolf spoke to her.

They set up camp on the opposite side of the road, away from the field of battle. It only seemed proper. The men needed rest and the wounded needed tending, before they could continue to Forthbar. There was still a day’s worth of travel, until they reached their destination. She tried to help with the wounded, but, according to Daniel, she was acting a bit dazed. He told her to lie down, so she did. Walking through the camp, looking for a place away from everyone else, she overheard the soldiers talking. They said she fought like a wild animal, that she was less than human. But, she didn’t remember any of it. The other topic of conversation was the arrival of the wolf packs. They came out of the forest, behind the Valgar. At first, many of the soldiers thought the wolves were coming for them and were surprised when they actually attacked the saladogs.

It was among the hounds of Moran, she found acceptance and comfort, and that’s where she fell asleep.