The Gods of Garran (17 page)

By moonlight they walked most of the night. They were all tired and hungry and above all--thirsty. Their food and most of their water had been with the animals. Moorhen still mourned for Crysethe and Draiha. At first he'd refused to believe that the Chanden would kill one so young as Crysethe. Perhaps she had been stunned. He had no way of knowing--might never know.

Moorhen could scarcely contain his anger. The Chanden were animals. Maybe his father was right to attack them or die trying. Surely these men meant to kill them all. They were after the godstone but how did they know it was here?

Asta walked with them, silent and seemingly tireless. Her eyes had changed from gray to blue. It was an unnatural color among them. To Moorhen, she looked even more pale than before, if that were possible, and more distant. Surely she was god-touched. He had no idea what would happen next--what Asta would do, under the influence of the godstone. He wished he could help her.

Draiha was also gone--another clan member, leaving only two survivors of all the warriors that went out to battle. Three, counting Taglethe. Moorhen mourned the death of his clan, and vowed in his heart that he would take revenge on the Chanden. He would spill their blood--they would pay.

To Sindke, he spoke in a low voice. "Where will we go?"

Sindke looked exhausted. This endless walking had taken a toll on her. "They'll follow us, I fear," she said. "But I know a series of tunnels near here--firecaves. By them we can travel for nearly a day without detection."

Moorhen nodded. And lose the Chanden Enforcers that followed them. It could work.

They found the firecaves before dawn and made sure to cover their tracks, not that the Chanden were very good at tracking--but just in case. The Chanden were more likely to use air vehicles to try and find them; they could pinpoint a human easily from the sky with their technology, but the caves would block their instruments.

Only a few of them had torches left--the Chanden kind that they kept in a pouch for emergencies. They shared them.

During this whole time, Asta said nothing, only followed them. She was no longer aloof--she was not herself at all and it disturbed Moorhen. What had been done to her? Had she angered the gods by touching the stone? Surely not--wasn't she a
shaheak
--a servant of the gods?

Perhaps she could she save them? Had she started the earthquake and caused the mountain to overflow? Moorhen hoped so. Perhaps with the power of the godstone they could destroy the Chanden cities--pulverize them and drive the Chanden from the planet, as the Chanden had driven them a century earlier. Surely the gods would help them do this. Moorhen took heart--everything relied on the godstone.

They walked long into the morning when they could have rested, knowing it would be better for them to make progress. Finally they had to stop as Sindke could walk no farther. They slept without posting a guard, as they were deep within the earth. The Chanden would not follow them here.

^
^
^
^ *

Hours later, Sindke woke them. Moorhen couldn’t tell how long they'd slept.

"Do you think we've lost them?" asked Moorhen.

"It would be very difficult for them to follow us," said Jarvaine, confident. "They would not know about these firecaves--not unless a Garran betrayed us and told them--or guided them." He glanced over at Asta who still had not spoken since they'd left the sand fortress.

"You suspect Asta?" Moorhen asked defensively.

"She says she comes from the Shing River clan, from Noloon, but I've never heard of her."

"The Shing River Clan are scattered," said Moorhen, "everyone knows that. That doesn't mean she lies."

"Doesn't it?" asked Jarvaine.

Surely Asta could hear their conversations. It embarrassed Moorhen that Jarvaine would speak as if she wasn't present. Still--she said nothing in her defense but she almost seemed in a trance.

"She's god-touched," said Moorhen. "She would not betray us."

It disturbed Moorhen that Sindke said nothing during all of this, taking no sides. They began their journey again.

"Are you all right?" Moorhen asked Asta, but she only stared at him with those silent, blue eyes. It chilled Moorhen to look into them.

^
^
^
^ *

They traveled nearly all night before they came to the end of the firecave, this branch of it, anyway. They had passed up other passageways in the dark but Sindke had chosen this route, saying it would take them the closest to safety. The Chanden weren't likely to search this remote, rocky area, especially on foot.

The sun was up when they emerged. Jarvaine went out and scouted around briefly, then came back and reported all clear.

They had not traveled far from the mouth of the cave when a noise to their right warned them of an ambush.

Moorhen grabbed Asta's arm and ran with her back towards the cave, pausing only to fire a shot using his distance weapon. Jarvaine, farther out, cursed and dove for cover, shooting at the Chanden with his own laser.

"You cannot escape," said a Chanden voice over a loudspeaker. "Surrender your weapons."

Sindke made it to safety, along with Moorhen and Asta. Rheggi stood up and tried to give him cover fire but was himself hit by a laser blast.

Jarvaine dropped behind a rock and shot wildly at the Chanden. "Run!" he told Rheggi.

Rheggi tried to run but stumbled. Moorhen ran out and grabbed him, shooting at the Chanden on the cliffs as they ran. Moorhen saw no targets but hoped it would at least send them for cover.

Moorhen dragged Rheggi back into the cave. He was wounded in the shoulder and arm, hopefully not more. Moorhen cursed--only he and Rheggi were left. Would the Chanden not be satisfied until he has eradicated their entire clan? Anger burned within him.

Outside the sound of shooting stopped. Moorhen and the others waited a few minutes, until Jarvaine burst into the cavern. Surely the Chanden wouldn't enter the cave--as long as they defended it.

Everyone exchanged solemn glances.

"She's the traitor," shouted Jarvaine. He went over and jerked Asta to her feet. Moorhen ran to her side, ready to defend her, but he hesitated. If she were a half-garr, then perhaps she did have Chanden ties.

"Leave her alone!" said Moorhen.

"They could not have followed us to this entrance without help, woman," said Jarvaine. He slapped her. "Confess it--are you in league with the Chanden?"

Moorhen took a few steps closer to Jarvaine, but again hesitated.

Asta stared at Jarvaine blankly. "Confess it!" He slapped her again, hard. Moorhen wanted to stop Jarvaine, but he also wanted the answer.

"Yes," Asta said at last, even more pale than usual. "I am."

"Impossible," muttered Moorhen, looking to Sindke for confirmation.

Sindke nodded slowly. "I suspected she was not who she claimed to be. But that the gods have a connection to her is clear."

No one spoke.

All that talk about her mother being killed by Chanden. She had been playing Moorhen this whole time. Moorhen looked Asta in the eyes. "You lied to me." Overcome by anger, he snatched the pouch from Asta. She screamed and lunged for it but Jarvaine held her back.

"You would have given them the godstone?" Moorhen demanded.

"Yes," she admitted. Then she shook her head. “No! I don’t know.” She reached out towards the bag. "Please," she begged, "give it to me. I must have it!"

Jarvaine shoved her to the ground. "Chanden dog! Let's shoot her and be done with it!" He pulled out his laser and aimed it at her.

"Jarvaine!" said Sindke sharply. "You will not."

"She betrayed us!"

"I didn't know!" shouted Asta.

"Didn't know what?" demanded Jarvaine.

Asta made no reply but whimpered at the agony of separation from the godstone.

"How is this possible?" Moorhen demanded of Sindke.

"Give her the stone," said Sindke.

"No!" said Jarvaine. "I say we leave her body for the Chanden."

"The godstone bonded with her mind, and she will bear it," said Sindke. "If this isn't their will--they will take their revenge on her. It is said that those that bond with it amiss will be driven mad by the stone--to their death. Only then can the godstone bond with another."

"She will betray us," said Jarvaine.

"Then she will die," said Sindke.

There was silence a moment. Asta jumped up and ran at Moorhen, grabbing the stone from him. He let her have it, but his heart was dark. He'd kissed this traitor and she'd let him. She'd only planned to use him.

"We will take another route through the mountain," said Sindke.

Jarvaine glanced at the entrance, reluctant. "All right. I'll stay and keep them from entering. But I pray this works because the price of this journey has been high."

Sindke nodded. "Thank you, Jarvaine." Jarvaine gave Asta one last hostile glance and made his way towards the cave-mouth, taking a few shots to warn the Chanden that they had not abandoned the entrance.

Moorhen looked down at Asta, who clutched the bag to her chest. She had a crazed look in her eye. Almost he pitied her--surely the gods would not be kind. Roughly Moorhen pulled Asta to her feet, and made sure that she followed the others. At that moment, if Sindke had allowed it, he would have slit her throat.

^
^
^
^ *

Again they walked all day, taking a new tunnel, one that Sindke hoped their pursuers could not find. They might not think the cave would extend so far. Their only hope was to lose the Chanden and escape the cave, maybe make for the ancient ruins of Durtang or head southeast to the Upper Steppes. Moorhen had no desire to go that way, but they had little choice.

For an hour or two, they slept on their journey, but no more. As tired as Moorhen was--surely Sindke was worse off. Asta didn't look very good either but he couldn't tell how much was due to exhaustion and how much was the strain of the godstone on her. She made no complaints.

The mood among them was bleak. They had put all their hopes on the godstone and its power to deliver them. Now Asta possessed the stone in a way that it couldn't be used by others. Looking for help from the godstone seemed unlikely while it held her mind. Moorhen considered that they might have to kill her. There was no question that she deserved it. However, they had taken her weapons and she was now their prisoner, defenseless, even if they had not bound her hands. To kill a defenseless enemy, even an evil one, lacked honor.

"If you didn't trust her," Moorhen asked Sindke. "Why did you let her bond with the stone? Shouldn't someone else have done it?"

"The godstone has a power we do not understand," said Sindke. "It chooses the one whom they'll work through. And whoever blends with them will lose themselves. How much will remain is not clear. Though you hate her, Asta is no longer who she was. The gods have entered her mind."

Moorhen considered this as they walked westward through the endless firecave tunnels, hoping for escape.

The journey passed as nothing but a blur to Asta. The dizziness persisted and the moments of memory loss got worse. She wasn't sure how long they had walked. She knew that her identity as an agent had been discovered. So far they hadn't hurt her but she was effectively a hostage.

All her attempts to think of an escape plan were interrupted by random thoughts and memories--as though someone were rummaging through her mind. She found it hard to concentrate and keep control. The guilt and pain continued in varying intensities.

She had to escape the Garrans--she knew that much. There was no telling how long they would tolerate her before they took the stone and killed her.

But the Chanden would also want the stone, and she didn't want to relinquish it. Above all else, she needed the stone. And there was more …. In the city of Urrlan stood an ancient place named the Temple of the Stars. She had to take the stone there … it
wanted
to be taken there. She didn't understand why but this thought rooted itself in her mind. Nothing else mattered.

She had heard them talk about the stone and how it could drive someone mad. Perhaps she was mad already. But somehow getting to the temple seemed essential for her to keep her sanity.

A sound from behind them in the cave startled them. But it was just Jarvaine, catching up with them.

"What happened?" asked Moorhen.

"They left after a few hours," said Jarvaine. He joined them in their trek through the firecaves.

Within an hour they made it to the west entrance. "Do you think they'll be waiting for us?" asked Moorhen.

Jarvaine shook his head. "I hope not. I'll take a look. Wait here."

They rested an hour while Jarvaine scouted around. Finally he came back. "It's clear--at least as far as I can see."

Jarvaine led them from the caves, and they made their way along a ravine that gave them partial cover. Colors interrupted Asta's thought: blue, white, pale yellow. Images of spears, huts, fire. Destruction. A Chanden squad just over the hillside.

Asta stopped suddenly. "Danger," she said. The others stopped and looked at her.

"What danger?" asked Sindke. Had it been a dream or was it real? Asta wasn't even sure.

"Is it the Chanden?" asked Jarvaine. Asta made no reply.

Jarvaine climbed out of the ravine and scanned the horizon, then came back down. "I saw something. I think they're following us."

"Impossible," said Moorhen. "How do they know where we are?"

Jarvaine looked at Asta. He came over to her, pulled out his laser and held it to her head. "How do they know?" He powered the laser up. "Tell me!"

She stared at him. The situation wasn't working. Something had to change. Purple, orange, green.

"I said--tell me!" something hit her. She opened her eyes to see Jarvaine, waving the gun at her. He had hit her with it.

"A locator," she said.

"Give it to me," he said.

"It's internal," she managed to say.

"That's it. We leave her,
we have to
," said Jarvaine. Even Sindke had no other answer. Movement on the ridge above them caught Jarvaine's eye. "They're coming!" He shoved Asta to the ground. "Get the stone!"

Asta struggled to recover but before she knew what was happening Moorhen grabbed the bag from her and ran. She started after him but the pain hit her immediately and she buckled to her knees. "No!" she screamed.

"I'll kill her," said Jarvaine.

"No!" said Sindke.

Red, yellow, pale blue. The sun setting on an ocean of glass. Sitting across a fire with other Garrans. Murmuring.

Pain enveloped Asta and she knew that Moorhen had escaped with the stone. She opened her eyes and saw laser fire. Up to her right she saw Chanden enforcers. With her last strength she got up and ran for them. They'd help. They'd get the stone.

She stumbled into a group of them and they nearly shot her.

"Asta!" one man shouted. "She's one of us!" He made his way over to her. It was Ruben. But Asta's head was swimming. She felt unsteady.

"Are you all right?" asked Ruben, taking her hands to steady her. "You look terrible! Did they hurt you?"

She ignored the question. None of that mattered. "They've got the stone," she told him. "You've got to catch them."

"We will," He said. "When you stopped reporting, we feared the worst. We've been on your tail ever since. I knew you'd come through."

Asta was in too much pain to reply.

"Do you need a medic?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she grimaced.

"Get the stone!" Ruben signaled to a team of five soldiers, standing nearby. They nodded and took off. Asta followed. Half running, half falling she made her way down the slope after the Chanden, despite Ruben's objections. He followed. His laser drawn.

Pale green, white, brown.

Strange music, a familiar melody.

Asta ran after the Garrans, half blind.

Suddenly Asta realized that they'd stopped. She'd lost time again. They'd captured the Garrans. She hurried over to where the Chanden held them, taking their weapons. Moorhen lay on the ground, stunned. Sindke was wounded. She didn't see Jarvaine.

Asta ran to over Moorhen. She ripped the bag from him.

"We trusted you," said Moorhen, a deep hurt in his eyes. Asta had no answer for him. She had the stone--that was all that mattered. The pain in her mind eased. She turned and walked back towards Ruben and the others.

"You have it?" asked Ruben. "Let me see."

She hesitated and finally pulled the stone out of the bag. It glowed a pale blue. The others stared at it. Ruben picked it up and immediately dropped it.

He turned to the others. "I thought I felt it move!"

Carefully Asta picked it up and wrapped it in its cloth. She slipped the stone back in the bag. "They say it's cursed. It will drive you mad," Asta said coldly.

Ruben could think of no response. None of the others argued with Asta as she shouldered the bag.

As they walked back to the ship, Ruben tried to put his arm around her. "I was so worried about you."

She pulled back from him. "Don't touch me," she said, angry. Surprised, he withdrew his arm. She continued up the hill towards the ship without him.

Asta watched vacantly as the Garrans were loaded in an airship. Moorhen glared at her, sullenly. It didn't matter--the stone was hers.