Warlord (4 page)

Keir bounced up immediately and I was right behind. I'd heard so much about these animals, I couldn't wait to see one. The closest I'd come was when the warriors had stomped around the living chess board, pretending to be ehats. I stuffed my journal in my satchel, took Keir's hand, and let him pull me through the grass.

Marcus was before our tent with a scout and Tant. Others were gathering, drawn by the news. The scout and Tant were both grinning like fools as Keir strode up. "Ehats?" Keir asked again.

The scout's smile grew broader. "Four ehats, Warlord."

Keir stopped, stunned. Then his face hardened. "You lie."

I sucked in a breath at the insult, since there'd been no exchange of tokens. But the scout merely threw his head back and laughed. "I knew those would be your words, and can't fault you, Warlord. But may the skies and the earth witness that I speak true. Four ehats, young males, away from the herd, unmated and qualified for hunting."

Everyone stood there, stunned.

"Four ehats, Warlord." The scout patiently repeated himself. "As many as the elements themselves, and upwind of the camp." He paused for effect. "At least, for the moment."

"Four," breathed Keir. "A gift from the elements."

"Or a challenge." Joden spoke from behind us.

"Either way, it's one I will take." Keir looked back at the scout. "If this is true, I'll honor you with first meats. If false, I'll kill you with my own hands."

"Done," the scout responded, still grinning. "Know that you will gift the first meats to Lail of the Badger."

"Summon the warleaders, but use no cries," Keir ordered.

Warriors ran off, in every direction.

"We'll need musk teams and kill teams, ten members each," Keir snapped out. "Marcus, gather what we need for the musk teams, four in all." With a nod Marcus disappeared to do his bidding.

"You'll try for them all?" Joden demanded.

Keir gave him a defiant look. "The skies favor the bold, Joden." Keir turned to face me, then looked back over his shoulder. "Besides, you need something to sing of, yes?"

Only I saw the look of shock on Joden's face.

Keir faced me, his eyes alight. "An ehat hunt, Lara. It's rare enough to find two, but four is unheard of. We will try to take all of them, together."

"It's dangerous, isn't it?" I asked, stepping closer.

The warleaders were coming from all across the camp; I only had a moment to express my concern.

Keir drew me close, and lowered his voice. "Death comes in an instant, Lara. We both know that. But ehats are the finest meat on the Plains, and the leather, wool, everything down to the gut is valued for its use. Four ehats will fill the hands of all my warriors, and their hearts with the glory of the tale."

I kissed him gently. "Have a care, my Warlord, for you carry my heart with you."

I stepped back as Yers ran up, with Iften and Wesren right behind. The warleaders were gathered now, and Keir stepped forward. Yers smiled at him, with no hesitation. "Four ehats, Warlord? Simus will curse that he was not here."

"Is this wise, Warlord?" Ortis asked, his voice carefully neutral. "To risk for all, when we could easily take one?"

"Perhaps we should let them go, to appease the elements," Aret offered. She took one look at Keir's face and hastily added, "In case we have offended."

Sal snorted.

Iften stood, his arms crossed over his chest. "We are not worthy of this gift."

Keir's face was tight with anger, but he controlled it. "Our skill at the hunt will show our worth. Any who think they are unworthy," he glared at Iften, "or have offended," he moved his glare to Aret, "they are free to decline the hunt." His upper lip curled. "They can chant for their evening meal."

"I want fresh ehat, fresh from the fire." Yers smacked his lips.

Keir laughed, nodding in agreement. "As is traditional, I will take the first musk team. Iften, if you would hunt, you may have the second. Yers—"

Iften interrupted. "I'd rather first kill."

Keir raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You decline the honor?" At Iften's nod, Keir wasted no more time. "Yers, you may have the second musk team."

"An honor, Warlord." Yers reached for the buckles of his armor and started to remove it.

"Ortis and Aret, if you would hunt, you may have third and fourth musk." Ortis nodded, and handed his weapons to those around him. Aret paused, then shrugged, and started to remove her armor as well.

"Joden." Keir started to unlace his leather. "I offer you second kill."

This caused a bit of a stir, but Joden refused. "I must watch the hunt, Warlord, if I am to sing of it."

"Then Sal, Uzaina, and Tsor, you have the honors. Choose your warriors well."

They all nodded, and moved off, talking and sending runners off as well, apparently to summon warriors. Wesren stood silent for a moment, without an assignment. His face flushed, he turned toward Iften. That warrior-priest was there as well, handing something to Iften, who placed it in his mouth. I looked away before they could catch me staring.

Keir had dropped his leather armor in the grass, and started to pile his weapons on top. "Joden, would you keep watch over the Warprize during the hunt?"

"I will tend to Xylara," Joden answered. "See to your own hide, Keir. Ehat horns know no difference between warlord and warrior."

Keir nodded. "Rafe and Prest, would you ride with me?"

They both jerked in surprise, Prest's eyes going wide. Rafe responded, "YES!" They both began to strip.

"Marcus! Where is that oil?" Keir called, having stripped down to his trous.

"Here." Marcus led a pack horse close, and started handing out pots of a thick greenish paste. I grabbed one to look at. Keir took a handful from the pot I held and started rubbing it on his chest.

"What is this?" I asked, dipping my finger in and holding it to my nose. A faint sweet smell caught me by surprise, since it felt almost like lard. "I haven't seen this before."

"Sweetfat," Keir answered, stepping out of his trous, standing there naked. "Would you do my back?"

With a nod, I looked up to discover myself in a crowd of naked men and women, in the process of rubbing this stuff all over themselves and each other. I flushed, moved behind Keir, and focused on his back, and his back alone. Which was no real sacrifice, since his bronze skin looked well with the gleam of the oil. I tried to keep my mind on other things. "Sweetfat?"

Marcus came up beside me with another pot. "We use it for rough skin, or when the wind blows faces red and raw. Or to prevent the musk from sticking to skin."

"Musk?"

Keir was rubbing the oil into his face and hair. "Ehat musk is vile. We have to get the animal to empty its sac before we can kill it or the meat will be tainted."

I scooped up a handful and smeared more on his back. There was a very faint greenish tinge to the fat. "What kind of grasses do you use in this?"

Keir shrugged.

Marcus had gone to another pack horse, and was handing out cloths and garments that were torn and tattered. The warriors chosen for the musk teams were putting these on, tattered trous, or wrapping shirts and loose cloth about their loins. Old footwear as well was offered and everyone tried to find something that fit.

"The clothes will be burned when we are done. Water does no good to remove the stink. Instead we will strip and rub ourselves with dirt and grasses afterwards," Keir explained.

"It sounds unpleasant."

Yers laughed. "Which is why the 'honor' goes to the highest ranked warriors, Warprize."

I kept my eyes averted, but I pondered Yers's words. If that was the case, why had Iften refused a musk team?

The horses were being led up and I decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat out of the way. Joden followed, as did Ander and Yveni. By now most of the teams were covered, although they all shone from the fat they'd rubbed into their bodies. The decision made to hunt, the excitement and tension was starting to build.

"Ander, just how dangerous are ehats?" I asked as the teams started to wrap thin cloths over the horses' eyes. The horses had been stripped of their tack, except for their headgear. The riders were going bareback. Keir was searching for a cloth thin enough for his eyes as well.

"Very," Ander said.

"The teams will harass from a distance, Lara, trying to get the creature to spray them." Joden sounded reassuring. "They use the lances to kill from a distance, since arrows can't pierce the wool and hide."

Marcus had come up to us. "The scouts have found a place for us to watch this hunt. We need to leave now to be in position."

I mounted Greatheart, and looked back to catch Keir's eye. But Marcus got us moving, and my last glimpse was of Keir mounting his black and gathering his team.

No wonder they'd replaced the castles on the chess board with ehat figures. The animals were as big as castles.

Huge, in fact, with thick dark wool that dangled from their bodies in long shaggy strings. The horns were massive, wide and sharp, and stuck out from each side of the beast's forehead. One sweep would easily knock a horse from its feet and impale the rider. I swallowed hard from the image in my head.

"They're young." Marcus spoke softly. He was laying next to me on the rise, in the tall grass. We'd crawled here, he, Joden, and I, to watch the hunt. Ander and Yveni were down with the horses, keeping watch.

"How can you tell?" I asked softly. The animals had their heads down, eating the grasses. I couldn't make out their eyes, since the thick hair hung down over their snouts. The horns seemed to go on forever, and I couldn't take my eyes off the tips.

"If they were older, one would watch as the others grazed," Joden answered. "They'd also stay closer together."

"Why bother?" I asked. "What can harm them? Besides men?"

"Cats," Marcus replied. "A cat can pull one down."

A cat? I frowned, looking out at the hulking beasts, and opened my mouth to question Marcus, when a group of riders appeared, and charged the nearest animal.

I'm sure that the other groups charged as well, but whether by accident or plan, Keir was in the group closest to us. I had a clear view and I almost wished I didn't.

It was one thing to hear that Keir would be riding bareback and weaponless, with no armor, but it was another thing entirely to see it. He looked small and vulnerable, and I sucked in a breath as he and the other riders with him galloped toward the ehat.

They swept around the animal at a full gallop, yelling and waving their arms. Some threw stones, more to annoy than to hurt, since they seemed to bounce right off. I could see Rafe and Prest in the thick of things, trying to anger the beast.

The ehat raised its head from the grasses, its nostrils flaring as it took in their scent. It had a short, stubby tail that fluttered in annoyance at being disturbed. Even at this distance I could hear a deep growl, and then the animal snapped its head to the side, sweeping its horns at the nearest rider.

Dearest Goddess, it was
fast.

Far quicker than I'd assumed it would be. I must have spoken out loud, because Marcus agreed. "They are, Warprize. It's tricky, it is. They need to be close enough to anger, but far enough to avoid the horns or being trampled." Joden nodded in agreement.

The other teams were also moving, but I watched only Keir as his team circled yet again. My heart stopped as Keir charged right into the ehat's face, and the black reared to paw at the sky, neighing a challenge.

The ehat's head came down with a terrific snort, and it stamped, as if preparing to charge. But Keir and the black had already moved off, to join the others circling back behind the animal, beyond the reach of those horns.

"That's done it," Joden said.

"How do you—"

"The tail." Marcus pointed.

I looked in time to see the stub of the tail stand straight up, and a thick stream of yellow ichor shoot out at the riders. Keir was missed, but others weren't so lucky. Prest seemed to be dripping in the stuff.

"Two left," Marcus commented.