Lovers in the Woods (19 page)

“Seems to me, they have a deal with them.
It’s give and take and they respect each other.”

“
Says Sajitar, the zoologist. What visions
did the Horlyns send you? Pictures of them sewing patchwork
blankets and nibbling little petals as a snack?”

He grinned and began shaking her hand back
and forth with his answer. “Pictures of you and me and children and
success in the wilderness. Enough to convince you?”

“
You’re making fun of me. Or the Horlyns
did some kind of brainwash to you and now you talk gibberish. We’d
better return before you take me to their nest.”

He stopped her when she turned, suddenly dead
serious.

“Don’t do this just for show, Ray.”

“What?”

“Being nice to me. Just for show so that they
leave us alone.”

“
Wouldn’t that be my role?”

“
Usually, yes, but not here. Take me if you
want me, but don’t cast me out the moment we leave the village.”
She freed her hand and began walking back. “You are a strange man,
Saji.”

* * * *

Sajitar
followed her for a
brief moment but then, when she kept going, halted. “Call me
strange, but at least be honest. I can’t deny what I did or who I
am, and that’s the same with you.”

Rayenne turned and walked back to him. Her
expression was unreadable and he feared he’d be slapped for his
forthrightness.

She put her hands on his cheeks.

“
You won’t get any written contract that
binds me to you, but if my reaction upon your return did not
convince you of my intentions, nothing will.”

He put his hands over hers. His voice
trembled. “That was the best declaration of love I ever heard. You
are—”

“Ah, please, shut up.”

Rayenne kissed him deeply.
Sajiter returned the kiss with so much energy he nearly ran out of
air. They held each other in a tight embrace, unwilling to let go.
He kissed her hair and closed his eyes as he leaned against her. He
did not wish this moment to end.
What would be so bad about living in a
small society? Maybe this is the right way. Maybe city life is all
wrong. There is no need to leave the woods. And Rayenne will stay
with me. What a dream!

Sajitar felt the mighty presence
before Rayenne stiffened in his arms. Slowly he turned around.
Behind them between the tall trees stood a large Horlyn, shimmering
in different lights so that his outer appearance changed every
second. It was hard to tell its size. Sajitar knew it was alarmed,
but it sent no information to decipher. It suddenly glistened in a
wet orange due to the drizzle that had started minutes
before. Its antennae
lowered toward the ground as if to reach out for the two of them
standing with their hearts hammering. Sajitar felt small and
vulnerable and when it lifted its front pair of legs, the memory of
the days in the nest weakened his knees. He found it hard to
breathe and just wished he could take Rayenne and fly
away.

“What does it want?” Rayenne asked in a low,
anxious voice, retreating carefully.

“I don’t know. It’s…I can’t make anything out
of this. It’s wild, just a mix of colors, and too many things at
the same time.”

The Horlyn put his legs down on the ground
with a thump, then took a step forward and lowered its mighty head
that the long antennae touched ground. Suddenly, the picture was
all too clear. He saw Rayenne and himself running away.

“It wants us to run.”

“Is this a kind of game? Does it want its
prey fresh?”

“I don’t care. Just go!”

“No need telling me.” Rayenne pulled him with
her. The Horlyn followed, pressing its mighty abdomen between the
trunks, tweeting either in frustration or alarm. “Hurry!”

Sajitar stumbled, looking back over his
shoulder. His head hurt and he had trouble focusing. The image told
of safety in the village and of a thing with a mouth big enough to
swallow them whole. “There’s something else!”

“I don’t care!” Rayenne held fast to
Sajitar’s arm to support him as they fled back to the village. She
dodged a branch and turned to pull Sajitar down. “Watch out!”

He tried to send a question to the mighty
insectoid, but the only response was another tweeting, louder this
time. Then he saw a black shadow move across the open space between
two trees. It was so fast its appearance was a blur, and he could
not tell if the animal had fur or feathers or just shining skin. He
was as fascinated as he was frightened. His attempt to follow
Rayenne’s pace only led to another misstep, sending him down hard
on his knees. Pain shot up his thighs and down his shins. He
grimaced.

“Saji, come, get up! Whatever this is, I
don’t want you to be its dinner!”

He tried and failed. As he looked up there
was true panic in Ray’s eyes and for a moment he was moved by her
compassion much more than he was paralyzed by fear. He panted so
hard he needed to catch his breath before he shook his head. As
much as he tried, his muscles did not obey his orders.

“I can’t. Go.”

Ray stood in front of him to grab him
under the armpits. “You won’t give up! Not so easily! Damn
it!”

The animal escaped the grip of the Horlyn
to attack them. It had thick short fur, six stout legs and a pair
of mighty tusks protruding from its oblong mouth. If this sight was
not bad enough, it roared as it got closer, mighty paws scratching
the soil and sending it flying in large chunks. The tusks jutted
forward, out to gut Sajitar.

Adrenalin pumping, Saji stumbled
to his feet, but knew even if he
was strong enough, he would never outrun
it. Rayenne pulled him away in time and the beast, unable to stop,
ran past them.

Rayenne drew her knife and,
turning around, shielded Sajitar with her body.
“Just come, and I’ll show you
who gets gutted!”

The sight of the beast was impressive, but
the chasing Horlyn took their breaths away. The mighty beast
charged through the undergrowth as if it were slick as soap. Its
body moved with practiced ease and elegance between the trunks as
if they were just sticks on an obstacle course. It knew where it
fit and where the trunks were too narrow to pass.

The animal had almost
reached
them,
so close that they smelled its wet fur when the Horlyn’s leg
crushed down. It missed the animal by enough that it reared and
escaped to the left, eyes wide with panic. The Horlyn turned on his
back pair of legs, searching for another way to keep up the
chase.

The black
animal circled, not yet willing to give up its prey. Standing tall,
it was almost as big as a B-horse. Its roaring was deafening.
Sajitar flattened against a trunk, Rayenne still in front of him,
watching the creature and not trusting the Horlyn could catch it in
time. He watched her move with it, ready to react. There was no
doubt it was getting closer, cleverly using the narrow
pathways.

Sajitar had the
absurd impression of the beast playing hide and seek with its prey.
He did not want to end up as a meal.

The beast evaded the
Horlyn’s
pursuit another time, but did not gain an advantage.
Stopping and turning, it shook its head so hard its spittle flew.
During the next attempt, the Horlyn crushed through the undergrowth
like a train cutting a swath through the wood. Its mighty legs
thundered across the soil and it overran the shrieking attacker,
leaving it smashed and unmoving.

Sajitar leaned his head against the trunk,
fighting for air. The picture of death along with the Horlyn’s
boasting glee was strange and hard to bear. Its triumph exploded in
colors in Sajitar’s head, driving him to the ground, hands pressed
against his temples.

“Saji, hey, please talk to me!”

He could not. The emotions of the Horlyn
celebrating victory against the black attacker were too alien, too
weird and too overwhelming to block out. His lack of understanding
caused him pain as he tried to push the Horlyn out of his head. For
a long moment, he was a Horlyn himself, a beast celebrating victory
over another equally dangerous beast. Similar images of dead
opponents rushed him and if he had any notion that Horlyns were
peaceful, he changed his mind. The knowledge caused him nausea.
Horlyns were able to fight and kill and feel great about
it.

He opened his
eyes wearily, stomach still turning so much so that he was close to
vomiting as he pushed the Horlyn out of his mind. The shadow of the
Horlyn appeared and the picture of superior power lingered. Sajitar
felt smaller than an ant, crouching on the ground, hoping to get
away untouched. He suffered the impression of the Horlyn as ruler
over the woods until it abated. When the shivering diminished and
he was strong enough to sit up, the Horlyn had already turned. He
watched its mighty abdomen swing with every move and listened to
the thumping on the ground as if it played its own victory march.
The beaten attacker remained as a heap of meat and fur. The tusks
stood up like sentinels after a lost battle.

“Are you both all right?”

Sajitar took a deep breath and nodded
toward Thannis, who had come running from the village. More men
followed him and when they saw the dead enemy, they whistled with
surprise.

Thannis knelt beside
Sajitar.
“Did
the Tusk-turner get to you?”

“
No,” Rayenne answered, sheathing her
knife. “It didn’t.”

“Thanks to the Color-changer, I suppose.”

Sajitar felt Rayenne stiffen and gently took
her hand.

“
First it scared the shit out of us,” he
admitted, and let Rayenne pull him to his feet. “It looked as if it
would attack us.”

“It would never do us any harm.” Thannis
smiled amiably. “The Color-changers protect the village.”

“
But tell you not to stray too far,
right?”

Thannis dropped his head and turned to
walk back to the village with them, gently supporting Sajitar when
his knees buckled.

“There are more dangers around than we know
of. We follow the rules, Sajitar, and therefore our friends reward
us with their protection and support.”

“What do you know of Emerald Green? How far
have you gone from here?”

“
We go fishing. That is a two-day’s march
to the river. And we go hunting in small groups.” He wiggled his
brows. “We are no cowards, if you thought so. We are but settlers
who feel good where we are. We don’t want to explore all of these
woods. We respect the rights of those who have lived here for
centuries.”

Rayenne shook her head.
“You would not
invade their privacy. We are men. Curiosity is our second
nature.”

“And our first nature is to feel safe. All
members of our settlement are safe. The Color-changers keep the
predators at bay. We have never suffered any losses from an animal
attack. Isn’t that great news to you?”

When Sajitar did not reply, Thannis smiled
at him. “I understand your wish to explore the lands. Be assured,
there is always time to go out and about. But it’s not now. The
season of the Tusk-turners has just begun. There will be more out
for easy prey in the next moon phase. It’s better now to stay
within the limits of our village.”

Sajitar exchanged a quick glance with
Rayenne. There was no doubt about the meaning.

“We have been out and about for weeks,” he
replied, unable to keep his mouth shut. “We are able to watch our
backs.”

“
And you got lost in the wilderness. Today
you would not have stood a chance. You should take a closer look at
the teeth the beast has, aside from the tusks. They’re sharper than
any bone knife. Very useful for working on leather, by the
way.”

Sajitar gritted his teeth. He wanted to
say more, but Rayenne’s sharp glance forbade it.

The Tusk-turner became the attraction of
the evening. When the settlers gathered for their meal, the attack
was the sole subject of interest and Sajitar stopped counting how
often he had to repeat that the Color-changer had arrived in time
to save both Ray and him. He did not mention the images that had
caused him a lasting headache and made his stomach turn.

He wiped his face, tired of more than just
talking. Rayenne had taken care of him during the afternoon and
with every hour he cherished her company more. The quiet
understanding, all the little gestures of care and love lifted his
mood. He even tolerated Thannis’ litany about the immeasurable help
of the Color-changers, those friends who came when the villagers
were in need, without comment. Whenever Thannis looked his way,
Sajitar avoided eye contact. He was not out to spoil the mood. The
dead beast had been gutted, the meat put aside for cooking and
drying, and the fur would be cleaned and dried for the next baby’s
cradle.

The announcement to leave for bedtime woke
him from his reverie. He put down his empty goblet and got up
slowly. His belly ached as well as his side with every move, but
the pain was largely tolerable. He was very glad to be alive,
Horlyns or no Horlyns. If their greatest threat consisted of
sending him pictures that were hard to stomach, he would withstand
the challenge and the nightmares that followed.

“
Come, that was the bedtime call.” Rayenne
smiled like only women did. It was information, an invitation, and
a flirt all in one glance.

When she stood, he kissed her
without making it a show for others. He just wanted to feel her
close, the closest he could get without sneaking under her skin.
Being alive was one wonderful sensation after
another.