The Silver Sphere (21 page)

"It still doesn't make things better. They have his little
boy. He was thinking with his heart."

"I shudder to think of where a man must decide between what
is right and his son," said Mr. Dempsey.

They chewed chud and drank water. Shelby tried to enjoy the sounds
and sights of the forest. The sentinels and oaks spread onward forever, but she
only felt sad.

Before long, Presage strode over to the Kin. "Reconnoiters
will assist in locating Throg and Zach and escorting them back to us. I can't tell
you how relieved I am that he found his way to Throg. We cannot stay in one place
for long, so we'll be moving again shortly. Milo and Barrick are discussing an alternate
route back to Meracuse, as the Dorado Path appears too perilous for us to travel.
We will let you know as soon as we make a decision."

The Kin reclined for some time. Shelby played with the dirt,
tracing her fingers through it in random patterns.

"That poor boy," said Riley with a shake of her head.
"I remember when I was little. I got lost in the supermarket, and was I ever
scared. The whole experience freaked me out for a long time!"

"I can't imagine getting lost here," agreed Stuart.
"Above all, without anyone to explain things to you."

"I hope this Throg guy was able to tell him what's going
on," said Riley.

"I'm sure he was," said Max. "And if not, we can
bring him up to speed."

Shelby noticed that Emily pulled her knees to her chest and refused
to look at anyone.
Such a quiet girl.
Shelby was about to ask Emily if she
wanted some chud, when Mr. Dempsey strolled over to Emily, handed her a steaming
mug of tea, and sat down beside her.

"The evening approaches." The Kin turned to behold
Milo. He didn't meet Shelby's gaze, but he did motion for them to get up. "We
should move on."

They packed their belongings and prepared for the coming journey.
Shelby paused and peered into the darkening wood. The twilight air carried an arctic
hush.

Throg and Zach continued at a light jog, slowing every few minutes
to examine their surroundings. Zach recollected his experiences so far, as they
traveled. He'd barely had a chance to let them soak in. He thought of the Bogmen
and the Fugues. Had the Fugues not intervened, he might have been killed twice already.
The encounter with the witch still made him nervous.

They stopped for a respite. Zach's shirt clung to him, as sweat
streamed down his back, neck, face, and chest. They had been sprinting for nearly
an hour. Without his new body, he could never have run quite so long.

Throg said, "I wish it was possible to put my mental shield
down to contact Presage. He's a trusted advisor to the Assembly and a mentor. I
fear, however, this would alert others to our location."

"Is it also dangerous when my link tries to contact me?"

"No, it's a different type of transmission. That message
would go directly to you, so do not fear."

"I was wondering about the witch I ran into and Baku. Are
these creatures back on Earth as well?"

"In different forms, absolutely. Some originated on this
planet. Beings having access to certain magic—such as the case with the witch or
a celestial being, like Baku— can travel to wherever they want. Azimuth is a more
comfortable setting for witches. You might remember in Earth's history when they
were burned at the stake. Some pure dwarves still live on Earth in underground cities
far from man and Biskara. Biskara attacked the Meridians' home on Earth, Atlaseria,
through a tremendous wave. The mentors managed to establish contact with Azimuth
and decided to travel here."

Zach nodded and the two were off once more. Constant racing was
mundane, and he was thirsty, licking his dry lips. Sometime ago, he had stopped
looking at the trees and shrubbery. For now, he just avoided running into anything
while gasping for air. They had a cask of water thanks to Drake, but no food except
for some berries Throg had picked from a bush.

In a short time, they came upon an older man working a campfire.
Throg slowed and Zach was grateful for the relief. He inhaled a few deep breaths,
glad to fill his lungs and take a drink. Cold water slaked the worst of his thirst.

They approached the campfire as the old
man shot them a suspicious look. He poked a stick into the fire with leathery mitts,
his long grey hair expertly missing the flames by an inch.

"We are simply passing through," said Throg, holding
his hands out at hip level.

"My, that's been said before," declared the man in
an accent that reminded Zach of British English. "This part of the woods, nobody
is passing through. You are either on the run, looking for someone, or a bandit."

"Where do you fall?" Throg asked.

"Me? I'm a bandit."

Throg smirked and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "We're
looking for someone. Friends of Meridia."

"You're not the only ones. A troop of dark soldiers passed
through a few hours back. Never seen their type before. They left me alone. I pretended
I was deaf."

"You're luckier than the last group we ran into. They encountered
that same troop, but didn't live."

"No kidding? Well, my share of bad luck is full, so a little
good luck is due. My name is Brodeur. If you're hungry, I can offer some smoked
lattice with salt, and plenty of tea leaves as well."

"We are flying light, and although we are rushed, it won't
do us any good to walk with an empty belly. We accept. Few bandits offer lattice.
Dang hard fish to snag." Throg grinned and sauntered toward the campfire, and
Zach followed warily.

"They're plentiful in the Invunche Lake," said Brodeur.
"I had a good run on them last week, so much that I had to smoke most of my
catch to keep the meat from spoiling."

They sat around the flames, enjoying the warmth. Brodeur unfolded
a soft leather rag and pulled out a generous hunk of the smoked fish for each of
them.

The lattice was delicious. Zach likened
it to trout, except much better. The taste wasn't quite as salty as he'd expected,
and it was buttery.

Brodeur boiled tea and gave them both a large clay mug laced
with rope. He shuffled in his bag. After unfolding another tan rag, he pulled out
a sticky honeycomb and poured a spot of honey into their cups.

They cradled their warm mugs and ate their fish. The crackling
of the flames reminded Zach of a camping trip he'd been on with his foster parents
when he was younger—one of the best times of his life, right before they'd started
yelling.

"They were looking for you, this troop," said Brodeur,
sipping his tea.

"Did I mention we're also on the run?" Throg smiled.

Brodeur coughed, nodding his head. "Usually, men run for
more than one reason. I guess you can say a bandit is always on the run."

"May I ask which way they were headed?"

"Sure. The same way you're going. They're Nightlanders,
aren't they?"

"They are."

"Well, then I am lucky, because these woods will be turned
inside out. I may need to head to Vixen for a spell."

Throg grinned again and looked at Zach. "Vixen is a village
about a day's walk from here, off the Dorado Path. It's an entertainment town, a
bit like Earth's Amsterdam mixed with Las Vegas, but smaller. You can travel with
us part of the way, Brodeur, if you can keep up and don't mind that the Nightlanders
are looking for us."

Brodeur didn't answer for a few moments. He then gathered his
belongings and placed them in his bag, and strapped a crossbow to the side.

"I guess I can take a chance. Maybe my luck will still be
good for a little while, and I have missed the comfort of companionship for some
time. I did hear some Zumbaki are on this side of the wood, so company is a trade-off.
Much safer to travel in numbers. By the way, I'm not so ancient that I can't keep
up a brisk pace yet... long as you don't turn it into a marathon." Brodeur
winked.

They walked for about an hour before the woods began to stir.
A pack of ferrets scampered by, accompanied by a gang of gophers. The animals started
getting bigger. A trio of oversized boar raced to the south of them, followed by
a score of terrified bearcats to the north.

"Something spooked them, for sure," Brodeur observed.

A throng of deer and cheetahs bolted past them, thrashing through
the brush.

Throg stopped. "Okay, now, when cheetahs are running with
deer instead of hunting them, something bad is going on."

Ahead of them, Drake emerged from the woods. His hands were on
his temples, and he appeared distressed. The Leshy sighed when he spotted them.

"What in the world...." Brodeur fished out a knife.

"It's okay," said Throg. "I know him. Leshy do
not like speaking to strangers. Stay here." He walked up to Drake with Zach.

"Dimshootz! I knew these dang Nightlanders would be a problem
for the forest," said Drake.

"What got the wildlife all roused up?"

"The Nightlanders' stupidity. They caught a chimera up in
the Evern Mountains. They brought the thing down here with its jaws wrapped in a
muzzle, but one of the Disembowelers tussled with it and knocked the gag off. The
chimera panicked and shot flame. Half of my woods are ablaze. I'm calling out to
my brethren for assistance, but it'll take us some time to extinguish this conflagration."

Throg shook his head. "I'm sorry, Drake. What of the battle
on the path, and the Kin?"

"The skirmish subsided. I assisted the two Kin in escaping,
and Milo brought them back to safety. I told him you rescued this Kin and asked
for aid. Then the fire started, and I got my hands full. You will not be able to
travel through it. You need to travel westward if you wish to go to Meracuse."

"Blast. Going west is completely out of the way," Throg
muttered.

"Aren't the Canopus Hills west?" Zach asked.

"Yes, they are. Don't get any ideas, though." Throg
gave him a stern look. "If the Assembly is held there, you're not the one who
will rescue them. That job will fall to a Meridian division, or to the Stonecoats."

Zach shrugged. "I wonder if the rest of the Kin had contact
with their links. If they're also headed to the Canopus Hills, maybe this Presage
will be going there, too. Do you think they'd wait for us?"

"A good point, but we must assume Presage will send out
reconnoiters to bring us in. Until then, we'll go around the fire and hopefully
meet up at the Dorado in a day or so."

"Well, I have work to do," Drake said. "Nightlander
patrols are scattered west. Keep a lookout." He disappeared into the brush.

Brodeur strode forward.

"A large fire in the forest means we can only travel west,"
Throg said. "It's far out of the way to reach Meracuse."

"Not much we can do about those things. West we go,"
Brodeur said.

The distinct smell of burning wood, and the sight of billowing
smoke in the sky, accompanied them on their detour. Animals of all kinds continued
their steady escape from the fire.

As they hiked around the blaze, Brodeur entertained them with
tales of his past. One of his stories was especially interesting—how he had impersonated
a Lord Falconer in a king's court near a city named Tobor. He'd enjoyed a fabulous
meal, sat only four seats from the king, and snuck away with several gold chalices.

Although Brodeur was a thief, Zach sensed
Throg trusted him, and his own intuition agreed.

After a few hours of traveling, they stopped for a rest. A rustling
clatter erupted from the bushes, and Throg and Brodeur crept toward the noise, their
swords drawn.

"Monganese turtles. We're in luck." Brodeur rubbed
his hands together.

"In more ways than one. Their shells are excellent shields,"
Throg said.

They caught and skinned the two large turtles as Zach watched.
Brodeur lit a fire, and before long, Zach enjoyed the first turtle meat he'd ever
eaten. The tangy meat reminded him of a cross between pork and chicken.

As Brodeur and Zach continued to devour the grilled turtle, Throg
started working on the shells. He'd asked Brodeur for some extra leather hides,
and pulled out a few smaller tools and nails from his knapsack.

After an hour's work, Throg packed up the husks and insisted
they move on. "I'll finish these on our next stop. They'll come in handy if
we run into a Nightlander patrol."

The farther they traveled west, the more the woods returned to
normal. After taking another break, Throg finished constructing the Monganese turtle
shields. He laced the shields with soft goatskin on the inside, and fastened a tough
leather sling to cradle the defensive unit between the forearm and the elbow.

"These shells are hard as any metal," Throg said.

The front of the turtle shields was winter green with light jade
edges, and one fit snugly on Zach's wrist. His body felt like he knew exactly how
to defend himself with the shield, even though he'd never seen one.