Akira Rises (12 page)

Akira shivered. She unconsciously rubbed the symbol her mother had tattooed onto the back of her neck, and the smaller one on the underside of her wrist. Her hair covered the larger symbol most of the time. If Baron Rolfe had noticed the symbol, he knew not of what it meant. His exotic wife had several tattoos and it added to her mystique. It would not seem out of the ordinary for their daughter to have similar skin embellishments.

Lady Shy had told Akira the symbol would grant her the assistance and protection of the people high on the mountain top. Her mother did not tell her it was a mark of membership in a secret society. Shy had lifter her own long hair and showed Akira her matching tattoo after she finished rubbing ink into the small needle marks she made on her daughter's neck. It looked like a dove. Her mother said it was a symbol of peace and freedom. Peace and freedom, what beautiful dreams they had shared. They shared the secret of the tattoos. Akira took a deep breath. Because her mother had been a member of the society her daughter was a legacy member. If she could reach the mountain monastery, if she could enlist help, she would search for her mother's family. She would exonerate her mother’s memory.

Pegasus had filled his belly. The swipes he took at tender pieces of grass were becoming slower and more selective. The temperature was falling fast. It almost felt like it could snow. Akira suddenly decided she should sleep against Pegasus. His body would keep her warmer. She had fallen asleep with him in the stables many a time, especially when he was a young colt. His closer presence would be comforting. He would hear and sense danger sooner than she and if he moved she would awaken quickly. She untethered him from the creek side and signaled for him to lay down close to the saddle and her bundle of supplies. The huge horse folded himself down at her bidding. She put her cape on the ground beside him and pulled her mother's fur robe over herself as she leaned against Pegasus. The robe reminded her of her mother. It was as comforting as the warm equine body she snuggled against. She sighed. Feeling his breathing her loneliness lessened. They had survived day two of freedom. She didn't really care if she was dirty, sore and smelly. Hope was burning as high as the grass fire flames she had set earlier in the day. A coyote yipped in the distance. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. If Pegasus wasn't worried, neither was she. She let herself give into the need to sleep. Pegasus made a quiet nicker. Akira snored.

~

Earlier in the day that had just passed, Baron Rolfe had slammed his fist so hard on the table planks his wine goblet shook and spilled. The vibration hurt his head. It was pounding with a headache from hell. Akira was gone. Ann was gone. “That snot nosed bitch defied me! That little witch is trying to make a fool of me.” He slammed his fist down again to his own detriment. A sharp pain seared his temples.

The servant who informed him that Akira too was gone was nervous, and rightly so. It mattered not to the master who the master struck in one of his temper tantrums. He dared not agree with the master… correct the master, tell him that indeed the girl had made a fool of him. The baron had thrown objects at him in the past and held back his wages. Sometime the throws were accurate, and the temper tantrum shorter if the objects hit their mark. Sometimes it paid to be struck.

“Has she taken off on the horse I forbade her to ride?”

“Yes m'lord. The horse is gone too.” The servant answered carefully. It would have been suicide to say what he was thinking.
It’
s
her horse you piece of rotten shit!

“It is time for that bitch daughter to learn her place,” shouted Baron Rolfe. His face was redder than ever with anger. A blue vein pulsed at his temples. “I shall put a price on her head! I want her back alive. She can be beaten, mounted like a bitch in heat. She shall beg for her life and ask for permission to breathe and bleed when I’m through with her. She has turned up her nose and refused to be a dutiful daughter for the last damned time!”

Baron Rolfe rose from the table and pushed his chair back so violently it fell over. “Send for my hunters you fool and pick up that buggered chair.” Baron Rolfe kicked the bitch dog waiting for table scraps. It yelped and ran from the dining hall. Baron Rolfe continued his rant as he stomped off. “I shall kill that horse and make her eat its heart.”

The servant let out his breath and rushed to right the chair again. He pitied Akira, but he admired her guts. He would pray to his gods for her safety. He would even fast for his late mistress's' daughter. Surely the gods would favor his prayers for the girl if he did. Shy had always been kind to him and the other servants, and taught her daughter to extend the same kindnesses. They had both been like candles in the dark. They had made life bearable for those forced with the thankless job of serving Baron Rolfe and his spoiled sons. He missed Lady Shy. He had held off informing the master of Akira’s disappearance for as long as he dared. He hoped she had a very good head start. She would need it. The baron was an evil and cruel man. The servant allowed himself one more hidden smile. She had made a fool of him. It was a pity the young serf had been caught. He was to be made an example of in a public display within the week. If no one could come up with payment to free him from his indenture, the young man would be missing body parts. Even if he survived a bloody amputation, his ability to work off his indebtedness would be gone. The old servant hoped for a miracle. An unknown benefactor needed to be found. Rumors were that a secret order had been contacted.

CHAPTER TWELVE

T
he pawing of Pegasus's hoof woke. Akira. She yawned and peeked out from under the fur robe. Frost was on the ground and trees. Pegasus was standing. Akira rose and patted his shoulder. There seemed to be no danger.

Pegasus was relaxed. His ears told her so. His yawn and shake told her so. She led him to the creek, Scalloped edges of thin ice had formed on the slower moving stretches of water trickling along the creek. Pegasus broke edges of ice as he drank and took his fill of the crystal clear water. Once again, Akira filled her flask with water. She wished she had thought to steal some mead. The potent honey flavored spirits would have warmed her insides.

A piece of ripped shirt served well enough to clean her teeth. Rinsed again, it felt icy against her face as she scrubbed at her cheeks and forehead. Another rinse and she scrubbed under her warm armpits. “Boy that sure is cold, ooh ooh” she talked to Pegasus as she wiped, rinsed, and wiped again. “If I wasn't wide awake a few minutes ago, I certainly am now! I hope you appreciate my effort to keep from offending your velvety soft nose.”

It was worth tearing her shirt for the sake of cleanliness she decided. In lieu of bathing, a splash and wipe cleaning was as good as it could get under the circumstances. She felt the call of nature, and looked at the handy piece of cloth. She hid behind the trees and discarded the ragged piece of cloth when she was finished. It had served more than one purpose. Akira felt quite pleased with herself, glad to be closer to her destination, thinking
if I’ve to be on the run for long, my shirt tail is going to get shorter and shorter.
A grin broke across her still grubby looking face. Despite her efforts to clean her face, a mirror would have revealed a need for soap to remove the gray smears remaining. A mirror would not have affected her wide grin. Now she knew why her brother's shirts had pieces missing occasionally. She chuckled. The asses had asses to wipe. She had helped mend their shirts. The big tough towering men she had for brothers seemed just a little less daunting.

It was time to make haste once more. She needed to get back away from the trees so she could look at the mountains and get her bearings. She turned her fur robe inside out and wrapped it around her belongings, tying it securely with strips of leather to the back of her saddle. Reaching under her shirt to the satchel of gold coins tied around her waist, she removed a few of the smaller coins.

If and when she was to find the village, she did not want to appear like she was carrying a large sum of money. She put the selected lesser value coins in a smaller bag and hung it around her neck, tucking it inside of her shirt. With her hair carefully tucked out of sight and her hooded cape dusted off with a good shaking, she was eager to saddle Pegasus and be on her way.

Her eyes examined Pegasus's sides. Having slept against one side of him, and with the other side of him against the ground, much of the soot had rubbed off. A frown came and went very quickly. It mattered not what color Pegasus's hair returned to. She decided to gamble that she was far enough away from eyes that could report the whereabouts of a grey dappled horse and rider to Baron Rolfe. If she had the head start she hoped for, there was no longer a need to disguise Pegasus. The soot had served its purpose, making horse and rider become dark shadows that melted into the night when it had been most dangerous for them to be seen. She rode out from the shelter of the trees, hoping her confidence was not a mistake.

Mountains observed, map reviewed, bearings confirmed, Akira followed the edge of the foothills until she came upon a well-traveled path leading back into the deep green forest. The thick forest dressed the bottom of the mountain like a green skirt. The sound of wings overhead made her look up. A white owl skimmed over the top of the trees and disappeared from sight. Akira shivered. It seemed odd to see an owl, after hearing one so recently. Was it a sign? Did it follow her? It was an unsettling thought. Had her father enlisted the powers of his dark and sinister mages to defeat her escape attempt? A rabbit scurried for the dense cover of some gnarly underbrush. Logic argued that the owl was only interested in a meal. She tried shaking off the feeling of being watched, attributing the feeling to an overactive imagination. The feeling persisted. The owl had not brought bad luck. Perhaps it was a good omen. She decided to take it as such. Perhaps her mother was speaking to her from the spirit world. It was a comforting thought.

The woods were shadowy and dark. The air was cooler. Frost, not yet caressed by sunlight had not melted. Pegasus’s hooves traveled over beds of pine needles, leaves and twigs. His steps seemed noisy in the quiet forest. The roadway curved back and forth hugging rocks and ravines, all the while slowly climbing. At each corner, she wondered if she might meet other travelers. As time passed and she met no one, Akira relaxed. The comforting motion of the horse beneath her, the smell of the forest, the lazy call of crows in the treetops lulled her. Beams of sunlight finding their way through the trees looked like slides for butterflies and birds. She smiled and looked up so a sunbeam could caress her face. Freedom was sweet. Freedom made a warm sunbeam in the middle of a forest a most wonderful experience. She pulled on the reins to stop in the sunbeam. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. She felt the coolness as she once again moved into the shadows. A yawn escaped. From the corner of an eye, she thought she saw a glimpse of white. Was it the owl?

Suddenly a doe raced across the road. Pegasus’s ears twitched. He warily watched as the doe bounded off. Unfortunately, the heavily antlered buck hot on the trail of the doe was one surprise too many for Pegasus. Pegasus snorted and skittered sideways. Akira’s eyes opened quickly to see the hind end of the buck as she slid sideways, unbalanced, and slid off her mount, much to her chagrin. Instinct made her hold the reins tightly. Pegasus came to an abrupt stop. With nothing more than her pride damaged, she quickly got back up and counted herself lucky. She scolded herself.
Daydreaming!
She soothed her horse with a reassuring calm voice, and apologized. “Sorry old boy
,
I should have been watching. Just a silly old deer. Looks like another female like me that wants nothing to do with anything in rut.” Akira laughed at her own joke. Pegasus shook his mane as if agreement and snorted.

The fall reminded her to stay alert and not day dream. The glimpse of white she had seen was most likely the raised tail of the doe. She settled back into her saddle. She sat straighter. Wide awake and warier Akira nudged Pegasus into a trot. It would not do to be caught daydreaming again. A small measure of worry crept into her musings. Had she missed an important fork in the road? It seemed like it was taking forever to reach the next spot on her map. She chewed her lip and sighed.
No more daydreaming!

The golden eyes of the owl high above her followed her direction. It spread its wings and soared high above the trees, perusing the landscape below. Easy daylight prey did not interest the beautiful winged predator, but then neither had easy prey in the nocturnal hours. The snowy white owl followed the young woman. She was quite unaware that a mage had an owl following her. She had no inkling forest animals and prairie animals were following her progress towards the mountains. She had no idea they were assisting a mage. She had not one inkling they were watching for ogres and foul beasts that dark forces had sent after her. The forest animals covered her scent with their own, covered Pegasus’s tracks. Had she known dark forces were also searching for her as well as her father she would not have slept a wink. The mountain sanctuary she sought was home to an ally she knew not of. She did not have the fear of the dark forces nor the comfort of an opposing force on the mountain trying to protect her. .A mage chanted and looked into his mirror-like waters in a luminous bowl like no other known to men, men unaware of the marvels contained in the mountain sanctuary.

Eventually, Akira came to a fork in the road. She searched for a blackened, lightning struck tree. She found it, and hoped she was not more than a day's ride to the village. The crumpled map indicated she needed to go right at a fork in the road marked by a blackened tree. It was a relief to see the black tree. It meant she was not lost. The relief was tempered with caution. Akira knew the closer she came to the village the odds were higher that she would meet strangers coming and going. She prepared herself for the possibility of meeting strangers by practicing a deep low voice that would help her sound like a boy. Pegasus’s ears twitched as she cleared her throat and tried to sound gravelly. It seemed stupid. But she had done stupid things before that worked in her favor. Once more, she made sure her hair was hidden. Her hood covered much of her face and it would seem ordinary in the cold morning air to have most of one's face covered to keep warm.