The Shaman's Curse (Dual Magics Book 1) (26 page)

Without knowing why, Vatar said, “He’s dead, then.” And he
bowed his head, momentarily overcome with grief and remorse.

Orleus looked around the Dardani village with interest.
Everyone seemed to be in motion, from the eldest to the youngest child able to
walk on his or her own and carry anything. “What’s going on?”

“Looks like we got here just in time,” Arcas answered. “The
clans are breaking up and heading to their autumn villages. Another day and
we’d have missed them.” He looked around and then led Orleus and Cestus over to
a tall, blond man who seemed to be directing some portion of the chaos. “Fair
skies, Uncle Danar.”

“Arcas! Hello. I didn’t expect to see you again this year.”
The man spotted Arcas’s companions. “Cestus! Welcome back!”

“Thank you. This is Orleus, my half-brother.” Cestus smiled
and pointed to Orleus. “And this is Danar, chief of the Lion Clan and Vatar’s .
. . other father.”

“What brings you out to Zeda so late in the season?” Danar
asked.

“We’ve come to join Vatar on his Ordeal,” Orleus answered.
“I understand brothers are permitted.”

“Well, yes,” Danar answered. “But Vatar’s Ordeal has already
begun. It’d be next to impossible to find him in the Forest.”

“Leave that to me,” Orleus answered. “And Seeker.” He laid
his hand on the heavier of his two dogs. “All I need is to know where he
entered the Forest.”

Danar smiled. “It would be good to know he is not alone in
there. I’ll need to go talk to some of my fellow chiefs.”

It wasn’t long before Danar returned with another tall blond
man. “This is Bion, chief of the Horse Clan.” He turned to Bion. “You already
know Cestus. And this is Orleus, another half-brother of Vatar’s. They want to
join his Ordeal.”

Bion nodded to Orleus. “I escorted Vatar to the place of his
Ordeal. I can take you to the same place. We can leave tomorrow.”

Orleus smiled. “Good.”

Danar reached for Arcas’s arm. “Not you, Arcas. You have
gone as far as you can without compromising the Ordeal.”

Arcas nodded reluctantly.

“Go back to your wife,” Orleus said. “I’ll send word through
Father when we find him.”

~

“Vatar walked straight in until we couldn’t see him
anymore,” Bion said when they’d reached the spot.

Orleus nodded. “Horses will be no use in there. Will you
take Racer back and keep him for me until I return?”

“Of course,” Bion agreed readily. “Before you go into the
Forest, you must understand the terms. You are not bound by the Ordeal. That is
Vatar’s alone. You may turn back at any time. But once you find Vatar, if you
do, you also may not receive aid from any Dardani as long as you stay with him.
If you find him, and then turn back, you may not return to join him again.”

Orleus nodded once. “I understand. We won’t be turning
back.”

Bion sniffed the air. “Summer is ending. Frost will come
before long and then snow. Travel will be very difficult once the winter
starts.”

Orleus smiled. “I know. I’ve hunted in winter before. We’ll
be all right.”

Bion nodded.

Orleus and Cestus, accompanied by the two dogs, walked
straight into the Forest, just as Vatar had done. They hadn’t gone very far
when Orleus spotted several trees with arrows carved into them. All of the
arrows pointed in the same direction.

Orleus smiled. “It looks like someone was worried about
getting lost. Oh, this is going to be too easy.”

They followed the arrows and quickly arrived at Vatar’s
first camp. Orleus and Cestus inspected what remained—the shelter, the ashes of
the fire, and a pile of bones.

“Well, he lived here for some time,” Orleus said. “He had a
good shelter and he seems to have been eating well—venison, rabbit, and fish.
There must be a stream not too far away. Then, for some reason, he left.”

“Yes, but where? And why?” Cestus asked.

“We’ll have to ask him why when we find him. He hasn’t been
gone very long. Less than a month, I’d say.”

Rising, Orleus called Seeker to him. He took out the scrap
of fabric Arcas had taken from the forge and held it for Seeker to smell. “Find
him, Seeker. Find.”

Seeker began casting around, nose to the ground. After
following several tracks only to turn back, Seeker hit on the most recent trail
and started running deeper into the Forest, baying as he ran. The men had to
jog to keep up with him.

Seeker led them unerringly to Vatar’s second camp, but what
they found was not at all like the first. The lean-to had been smashed,
apparently in a fit of rage. The remains of the fire were scattered all across
the camp. A rabbit snare and fish trap were torn apart and strewn around the
area. It didn’t take Orleus’s skills to see that something bad had happened
here.

Orleus crouched to inspect those tracks that weren’t utterly
trampled, ignoring the squirrel-like creature that chittered angrily at him.

“Bear, wolf, and deer,” he said. “That makes no sense at
all.” Moving a short distance, he gasped. “There’s blood here. A lot of blood.”

“Vatar’s?” Cestus asked.

Orleus shook his head. “I haven’t the skill to tell. You’d
need Boreala for that.” Taking some of the bloody dirt in his hand, he smelled
it. The fecal smell was unmistakable. “Whoever, or whatever, bled here had a
gut wound.”

Cestus blanched.

Orleus continued to inspect the ground. He crouched at one
spot to inspect the tracks more closely. “The bear tracks stop here. They go no
farther. But here is a human footprint. Almost . . . almost as if . . .” He
stared up at Cestus.

“Almost as if someone had transformed into a bear,” Cestus finished.
“And then back.”

Orleus nodded. “That would account for the odd assortment of
animals, too. But who?”

“No Fasallon would have reason to attack Vatar like this,”
Cestus said.

Orleus’s eyes narrowed. “Mother might. Just for spite.”

Cestus paused and then shook his head. “Even if she knew he
was out here, Gerusa wouldn’t send anyone this far. It’d be beneath her. And no
one capable of the transformations would come so far for her.”

Orleus sighed and shrugged one shoulder. “True.”

He continued to inspect the ground. “Here! Booted feet. A
man carrying a heavy pack and wearing boots went this way. Maybe only a few
days ago. Seeker, find!”

They set out again, more slowly, following Vatar’s trail.

A wolf howled in the distance, prolonged and mournful.
Vatar’s head jerked up. They would be coming after him, now. And they would be
able to move through the forest faster than he could.
Fight
. The thought
rose in his mind as if it came from somewhere else. Very briefly, he considered
turning to face them, but he quickly decided against it. He didn’t think he
could fight all four of them. Now that he knew what—who—they were, he doubted
he would be able to fight them at all, even if they appeared as animals.
Certainly not to kill them. He
never
wanted to do that again. And he
didn’t think anything less would stop them.

Vatar turned and ran deeper into the Forest, away from his
pursuers. There was a definite upward slope to the ground, now. He’d been
climbing gradually for two days. The trees had changed, too. These were as
straight as spears. Even their leaves were pointed like needles. The Forest
here was permeated with a sharp, clean smell, completely unlike the rich,
earthy smell of the Forest farther to the west.

Vatar also had an increasing feeling that he was nearing
something. Somewhere up ahead, not far now, he felt that there was a place
where he could get help—a place of safety. He was certain of it.

The trees grew more sparsely here. In places, Vatar could
see through them to the mountains beyond. Snow was already marching far down
the mountain sides. What he wanted—what he needed—was on the other side of
those mountains. He could never have explained how he knew that, but he was as
sure of it as he was of the direction of the sun. Only there was no way over
those snow-covered mountains.

Vatar turned north, paralleling the mountains. He tried the
more open slopes for part of a day. It felt natural, having the open sky above
him—even this grey and threatening sky. He also thought he might be able to
move faster without the trees obstructing his path. About midday, a flash of
red high up caught his attention. Looking up, he saw something large flying
above the mountain peaks. Vatar watched it with interest for a moment. Its
wings appeared to be leathery, rather than feathered. As it circled lower,
Vatar realized that it wasn’t a bird at all, but some kind of flying reptile.
As soon as he recognized that, he felt something inside him quail in fear. It
was the kind of terror that usually only moving water could inspire in him. He
moved back into the cover of the trees. The open slopes felt entirely too
exposed, now.

The terrain became more rugged the farther he went. His path
was cut by gullies that he had to cross and the ground was rockier. Vatar
pushed on as long as he could, but the terrain slowed him down. He tired too
easily. The air didn’t seem to fill his lungs as it should and his head ached
with his effort.

Vatar stopped for a moment and took a sip from his water
skin. That made him feel a little better, so he pushed on again. He hadn’t gone
very far when he became aware of a white doe keeping pace with him on his
right. Looking to his left, he saw a white antelope. Of course. They would be
the fastest, the ones who could catch him first. At a nod from the doe, the
antelope wheeled and ran back down the way he had come.
Gone to bring the
others
.

The white doe stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
She shimmered and Lorania, eyes red from crying, stood in front of him.

“You killed him! Why?”

After the last several days, Vatar had become too inured to
the magic to even react to this. Part of his mind registered that this would
have been terrifying not long ago. Now, it was just another obstacle.

“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to,” Vatar answered. “I
didn’t have any choice. He would have killed me.”

“Now we
will
kill you!” she hissed.

Vatar shed his pack and ran, pushing past her. Lorania
became the doe again, keeping pace with him easily. It wouldn’t take long for
the others to catch up to him.

The trees ended unexpectedly. There was a long open slope
leading to a gap between the mountain peaks. So close! Vatar knew that he
needed to get through that gap. He dropped his spear and his water skin, too.
All that mattered was getting through that gap before they caught him. As he
sprinted, one thought ran through his brain, repeating and repeating.
Help!
Help! Help!

Thekila looked ahead as she walked beside Quetza. The path was
wide and rose at a gentle slope, at least compared to the trails they usually
used for their flights. This hike wasn’t for a flight, though. The Pass was
just ahead, less than a mile. What would they do when they reached the Pass and
there was still no sign of the five missing students?

“Wait,” Terania gasped behind them. “Can’t we take a rest?”

Thekila suppressed a giggle at the way Quetza rolled her
eyes.

With a sigh, Quetza composed her face and turned back.
“Well, it’s not a foot race. We just have to get there and back before the
snows close the Pass.” She looked meaningfully up at the heavy clouds
threatening snow before morning.

Teran looked up and frowned, then he looked back at his
twin, now sitting on a convenient boulder. “Just for a minute. I don’t know why
the Elders sent us on this expedition anyway.”

“Because we’re the newest and youngest teachers at the
Academy, of course.” Thekila walked back and offered the water skin she carried
to Terania. “The newest always get the tasks the Elders don’t want. You know
that.”

“I still say it’d be easier just to do a fly over. You two
could just wait here and let us get a bird’s eye view.” Quetza winked at
Thekila. “So to speak.”

Teran placed his hand protectively on Thekila’s arm. “No.
It’s much too dangerous.”

Thekila half-turned her back and rolled her eyes at Quetza,
who choked to cover a laugh.

Thekila was the first to turn her head at the shout she
heard with her mind, not her ears. She knew that voice!

Terania jumped to her feet. “That must be one of them!
What’s gone wrong?”

“Only one way to find out,” Quetza said and broke into a run
for the top of the Pass. Thekila, shorter legs pumping hard, was right behind
her.
It’s
him
. He’s here. And he’s in trouble.

Vatar struggled up the slope. He must be two-thirds of the
way to the top, now, but he couldn’t stop. They wouldn’t be that far behind
him. Lungs burning, he pushed himself to go on.

The wolf’s hunting howl told him they were close behind him.
Too close. Vatar didn’t dare stop to look back. All his energy was focused on
getting to the top of the incline.

The world went crazy. Crazier. The slope around him seemed
to burst into life. Rocks of all sizes from pebbles to fist-sized stones began
jumping up from the ground and throwing themselves at him. At first, most of
them missed. He continued struggling towards the top, dodging flying rocks as
he stumbled upward.

The rocks seemed to be learning, though. Vatar choked on a
hysterical laugh at that thought. The impulse died as more and more of the
rocks struck him. Vatar felt the bones crunch as a large rock struck his
upraised hand with force. The sudden pain dropped him to his knees. Vatar bit
back a scream. He struggled back to his feet and tried to make it to the top.
So close, now! So close!

Another rock struck him on the side of the head and Vatar
fell face first into blackness.