Things Unseen: (An epic fantasy adventure series) (The Caris Chronicles Book 1) (9 page)

Caris finished cleaning the plates and headed over to lay out her roll. As she passed Kalen and Garner, they glanced up at her and she heard Kalen saying softly, “I just can’t at the moment Garner. I have my own stuff to work through.” Intrigued, Caris wanted to stop, but not wanting to intrude she continued on to lay out her sleeping mat. Instead of lying down immediately, Caris cut through the trees.

This evening, she walked away from the river and headed for the tree line opening out onto the vast dry land she had always known. As she cleared the trees, the sky suddenly came alive with stars that had been blocked by overhanging branches. She found a place to sit but was disappointed to discover her view hindered by tall clumps of grass. Wearily Caris considered standing but found herself too tired
. I’ve been sitting all day,
she thought wryly,
you’d think I’d be glad to have the chance to stand on my own two feet.

She sat for a while gazing at the stars, and comparing the prickly plant nearby to the one she was more familiar with from home. She wondered what Garner had been asking Kalen to do and what was the stuff she had to work out.
It could be about her feelings for Jispri,
she mused, but though Kalen was always kind to him, Caris hadn’t detected any signs of affection that she didn’t show to her other companions; in fact she was probably more restrained with him than she was with Bonny, Syngar, and Crispin.

Caris stayed a short while, then headed tiredly back to her roll. Sleep didn’t come easily though and she kept finding herself staring at the blackness of the canopy of trees above, where stars should have been.

The next morning as they rode out, Caris watched as Bridee, a handsome young soldier who was friends with Jispri and Corin, rode up to join Kalen. Kalen shook her head at him and with a quiet word nudged her horse away. He fell back dejectedly and from behind, Caris heard Jispri laugh and call out, “Told ya”. Kalen ignored them and continued to ride, staring straight ahead as if lost in another world.

Before long Garner’s horse fell naturally into step alongside Indira. “I’m trying to spot new kinds of animals,” she told him. He began to tell her about the quillet, a quick sleek animal similar to the eppet in appearance but much smaller. It sounded so beautiful Caris hoped she might see one, but Garner assured her that they were so timid they would never remain close to where the band was coming through.

The rest of the morning, whenever their pace allowed, Garner told her about the wonderful animals in the jungle they were heading toward. Caris began to look forward to entering that immense area of trees. She wondered how Garner knew so much about the animals in their surroundings
. He never even really looks around,
she mused. “Garner, how have you seen so many animals if they all run away from the band?”

“Oh, I haven’t seen half of them,” he laughed, “I’ve been told about them.” Caris was disappointed, and for the rest of their ride she only listened to him with half an ear, preferring to put her concentration into seeing the local scrub, animal droppings, trails, and bits of broken twigs that told of animal passing’s.

Crispin called them to a halt for a hurried meal when the sun, still visible through the ceiling of leaves, was directly above them. Seeing Garner stepping toward her Caris tried to dismount quickly. She succeeded in swinging her leg over Indira’s rump before he reached up behind her and lifted her down. Irritated she led Indira away from him down toward the nearby river.
Why does he keep doing that? It’s like he thinks I’m a toddler who hasn’t yet learnt how to leap from a horse.
As she walked toward the water, she brushed at the top of her hips, trying to erase the feeling of his hands resting there after he had set her down.

Bridee and Frystal quickly watered their horses, then, bread and cheese in hand, mounted up and headed out in a south and west direction. Caris had noticed them do this before, and realised with a spurt of hope, that they were relieving a team from scouting duty. She hoped it would be Janen’s team. In her excitement, she forgot all about her irritation with Garner and welcomed him with a smile when he sat down beside her to eat his lunch.

Caris was talking happily with Garner, her mood enlivened by her hope of seeing Janen, when he, Tilda, and Bek emerged from the brush to the east of them. Bek had a young dead eppet draped over his horse’s rear. “How does Bek’s horse cope with that?” she asked Garner.

“He’s a war horse, trained for battle. He can’t afford to be skittish at the smell of blood.” Seeing the fresh kill, Gemeil and Belti excitedly raced over to help skin and prepare it. Caris watched Janen dismount and go to water his horse. Remembering Kalen’s suspicions of her feelings when she was watching him in the village, she forced herself to peel her eyes away from him.

It had only been a day and a half since she had seen him but it felt like a moon. She forced herself to continue eating though her food was hard to swallow; she looked at everything around her, except Janen, but she could focus on nothing. Garner continued to talk beside her but she was not even aware of his presence. Every sense was trained on the young man, over her left shoulder, watering his horse down by the river.

Eventually, he came up and pulled some food from his saddlebag. Allowing herself to look at him, she realised with a sinking feeling that he didn’t intend to join her. He sat down with Tilda and didn’t even look at her. Caris watched them openly now, and took in their easy camaraderie. She watched Tilda’s short curly blonde hair bouncing as she talked energetically to Janen. He sat listening quietly as he ate his lunch
. What can they have left to talk about? They’ve been together constantly for the last day and a half,
thought Caris. She applied herself to finishing her lunch, then rising while Garner was mid sentence, she went over to shower some affection on Indira.

Their lunch was protracted to allow time to skin and prepare the eppet for its afternoon journey. Caris was glad when they finally regained their saddles. She thought she might ride in solitude as Kalen did of a morning. If she was going to be a spinster she might as well do it properly. She was working up her courage to turn away anyone who tried to talk to her when Janen pulled alongside. She looked past him for Tilda but she wasn’t there. Finally, Caris spotted her talking with Crispin
. He’s only come to join me because she’s busy,
Caris thought sourly.

“Hi,” he said with an almost shy smile. She didn’t reply immediately but just looked at him, thinking about how she had never met anyone with so many different smiles, ranging from shy, embarrassed, rueful through to cheeky, rogue, and absolutely outlandish.

“Hi,” she finally replied
. Why was it she spent so much time wanting to see him and then when she did, she just wanted to cry?

Noticing her diffidence, he said hesitantly, “Sorry I didn’t come and say hi at lunch; I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation with Garner.”

“That’s okay; it looked like Tilda had a lot to tell you.”

Caris wanted to keep her defences against Janen. She knew it was wise to keep a degree of distance between them to save herself more heartache down the track, but she had been friends with him too long. It was too hard to remain aloof, and with his humour, interesting stories and amazing smile, they had not been riding long before he had won his way through again. The afternoon passed before Caris knew and it was only because Janen reined in beside her that she realised everyone else had stopped. Janen laughed at her and she laughed happily back.

She was just about to dismount when suddenly Garner was at her side again. He reached up to lift Caris from her saddle. She tried to resist him but his strong blacksmith arms picked her up easily. She turned away from him in embarrassment to see Janen walking away. Disappointed and angry with Garner for interrupting her time with Janen she hissed at him, “Stop doing that! I’m perfectly capable of getting off a horse by myself!”

Garner laughed aloud and replied with a gentle smile, “I know you are. I just like the excuse to put my arms around you.” Caris looked away in confusion to see Corin sniggering; he clapped Janen on his clenched back,

“You didn’t think you’d have no competition, did you?” Jispri, watching them, laughed. Caris had no idea what Corin was talking about but was thankful everyone’s attention had been diverted away from her embarrassment.

Caris took longer than usual watering Indira and brushing her coat by the river, hoping that Janen would join her. Eventually, running out of excuses to linger, and seeing everyone sitting down to eat, she wandered up to the camp. Janen was standing talking to Jispri and Corin. Caris got herself a plate of hot food and not having the confidence to join their circle sat down nearby to eat. Janen glanced up and made eye contact with her, then went back to talking to the others. Soon after, he excused himself and went to get some food.

Caris concentrated on eating. She was troubled by her feelings for Janen. She could not avoid the fact that she desired his company more than what was reasonable for friends. She knew he would never return her affection but she didn’t know how to stifle her own. She thought perhaps she could handle the heartbreak of him marrying another but knew that if others were aware of her true feelings she would not be able to keep a friendship with him. She sat lost in these thoughts, hoping Janen would come and join her for the evening, until Garner sitting down by her side, distracted her.

Still annoyed with him, she looked the other way and noticed Janen walking past her, plate piled high with food, to rejoin Jispri and Corin. Disappointed, she looked down at her plate and continued to eat her meal slowly. Garner broke the silence, “I’m sorry about before. I never intended to offend you,” he said softly.

“Of course I know you can get off a horse by yourself. You are a great horsewoman. Not many people can cope with the hard riding we did when you first joined the band, even with Kalen’s magic salve. I love to watch you ride. You and Indira move like you are one creature. And your seat is sensational.” Caris, hearing a different inflection in his voice during his last comment, looked up. His eyes were twinkling and he was smiling. She had been ready to forgive him but he was only mocking her. She got up and started collecting people’s plates to wash them.

They had been riding for a while the next morning when Garner joined her. She had been enjoying her solitude but was relieved to see he held no hard feelings after her rudeness the previous evening. After a few idle comments, they rode in silence. The trees around them had grown thicker and Caris could no longer see the bare land through them. The morning was hot and the air thick with humidity, sapping the desire for conversation from them.

Caris was riding farther forward in the group than she usually did and found herself behind Kalen. Not for the first time she wondered about this quiet self-contained woman who seemed so content even though she had not seen her love in years and couldn’t even know he still lived. She wished she could attain some of the assurance that allowed Kalen to demand her own space, without losing the friendship or esteem of those around her.

Around mid morning, they slowed from a canter to a brisk walk. Caris was listening with half an ear to Garner’s tales of life in the city when she began to feel cold. She looked for some sign as to why the temperature had dropped but could find none. Her limbs felt increasingly chilled and she began to fear she was getting sick. As she looked around at the surrounding trees, the colour seemed to drain out of the world.

In front of her, Kalen let out a loud gasp. Caris watched her take a moment to steady herself, then quickly kick her horse forward to join Crispin. She spoke urgently with shaky gestures. Crispin wheeled his horse around to face them and called out, “There’s trouble ahead! Pair up!”

Caris looked at Garner expecting to pair with him but, without even glancing at her, he kneed his horse and cantered over to join Holmen, a tall broad shouldered, barrel-chested young man who she had seldom seen him talk to. She looked around wondering whom she could pair with. She noticed Bridee and Frystal take off ahead at a gallop, Bonny dropped back to care for the spare horses, and then Syngar was by her side.

“Get your bow ready Caris, and whatever happens you stick with me!” he ordered as he kneed his horse into a gallop with the rest of the band.

They rode hard, Kalen by Crispin’s side at their head. They had not gone far when Kalen gestured to Crispin and led them off the road and into the bush. Forced by the brush to slow their horses, they searched for ways through the undergrowth. People broke off in pairs to find easier passage but still stayed close to the group. Bridee and Frystal rejoined them speaking urgently to Crispin.

Crispin held his arm straight in the air and as everyone watched, he held up five fingers. Immediately, everyone began to reshuffle. Garner and Holmen, who had been riding off to the side, urged their mounts in directly behind Crispin, followed closely by the rest of the group, apart from Bridee and Frystal who peeled off to the west. To Caris’ surprise, she noticed Syngar gesturing to her to follow him as he veered off into the bush to the east.

She followed Syngar as he weaved through the brush away from the main group. She could hear the others charging forward as fast as they were able through the bush. They hadn’t gone far when she heard the sounds of battle joined. Syngar quickly led her amongst the trees until they had circled around to the east edge of the fighting. He dismounted and Caris followed quickly.