Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) (22 page)

“Let’s go,” Jedek said, and they pulled Ahnon across the surface of the water. The current had pulled them way out, but they were making much better time now with Ahnon sliding across the top of the water. Looking at the beach, he saw Minos finally reach the beach and collapse. “Minos made it,” he said, smiling.

“Jedek, is walking on water a shield spell?” Kenna asked.

“No, it just doesn’t let you break the surface.”

“So if something is in the water, it can get us then?” she asked, pulling Ahnon harder.

“Yes, why?” he asked.

“I see fins behind us,” she said, pointing.

Looking back, Jedek saw over two dozen fins sticking out of the water, all of them over ten feet tall. “Can you shield us?” she asked hopefully.

“I can’t move my shield, and we would have to stay in one place. The water spell only lasts two hours, and we’ve been out here I’m sure for almost one.”

“Can’t you…” she waved her hand at the sharks.

“I don’t know any spells like that yet. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining because where they are now is where we were just at,” she said. “How about we move really fast to the beach?” she offered, straining with everything she had.

They both tugged hard, breaking into a slow jog. The sharks undoubtedly didn’t like joggers. One swam in front of them. Looking through the water, they saw the massive size. “He can swallow us whole,” Kenna said, staring at the massive shark.

“Let’s not give him the chance,” Jedek said, breaking in to a run, really irritating the sharks. “Left!” he yelled, and they darted left as a huge mouth came out of the water. The shark went past them, causing them to stumble on the waves he made. Fifty paces from shore, the sharks moved away. “I think the water is too shallow here.”

“I don’t care. We are getting off the water now.” They tripped over a wave, falling on the beach face-first. Minos came over, licking them.

“I win,” he said, lying down beside them.

Jedek got up on his knees then heard coughing. Looking back, he saw the waves crashing over Ahnon. “Kenna, the spell’s gone,” he said, grabbing Ahnon as the waves tried to pull him off the beach. They pulled Ahnon out of reach of the lapping waves.

“Wait here. I’m going to see if I can find us a spot to camp,” he said, adjusting his sword.

“You know how to use that?” she asked hopefully, looking at his sword.

“I’ve only had a few lessons, so it’s the pointy end goes into what you don’t like.”

Kenna laughed. “Hey, that works.” She started wringing out the yard-long hair on her head.

Jedek eased into the forest but kept the beach in sight. He found them a spot and went back. With great effort and a lot of words they shouldn’t have known, they pulled Ahnon to it. They were both panting heavily. “I like being twice as strong,” Kenna admitted.

“I don’t think we could’ve done that without it,” Jedek said, trying to keep his head from spinning. Standing, he worked the pack off of Ahnon. “Kenna, don’t take this the wrong way, but don’t reach in any of his pouches. They don’t know you, and I don’t know what they would do,” Jedek said as he pulled out a throwing axe.

“Okay then. I’ll start trying to get him dry,” she said, tying her hair up.

“Any small knives you see will be coated with poison. That’s why he wears gloves.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“Get some firewood and some branches to make beds.”

“Why? We don’t have blankets.”

“Well, we have two in Ahnon’s pack, but we have to get off the ground even if only an inch so we don’t freeze.”

“You’ve done this before?” she asked, surprised.

Nodding, he said, “Yeah, Ahnon took me camping, teaching me the woods.” He looked at Ahnon with longing.

“He’s going to be fine,” Kenna said, standing and taking off her knapsack to pull out some sandals.

“What if he’s not?”

“He will be, Jedek. Think it, and it will be.” She stood with her hands on her hips, watching him.

Laughing, he said, “Well, I can’t argue with a woman in a nightgown and sandals.” Kenna smiled, trying to think of what they needed to do.

They worked hard, telling Minos to stay with Ahnon as they gathered wood and branches. It was late afternoon with the first sun touching the horizon when they finished, and Jedek sat down beside the pack and took a deep breath then pulled stuff out.

“It’s not wet?” Kenna asked, stacking the firewood.

“No. His pack and pouches have spells on them I don’t understand.
Yet
. They also carry more than you can believe,” he said, pulling out water skins and food.

“Man, I thought I packed heavy,” she said as Jedek continued pulling out stuff.

“That’s all I know in this one,” Jedek said, walking over to Ahnon. Kenna came over, helping him remove the pouch harness. When they had it off, Kenna noticed Jedek only went in one pouch. Jedek sighed, pulling out a small bottle of glowing green liquid. “He has one left,” he said, relieved.

“That’s a healing potion?” she asked.

“Yes, with a stamina component, and it tastes good.”

With a stunned voice, she asked, “You’ve drank one?”

“No. That’s what I was taught.” He handed her the bottle. “Make him drink it as I finish setting up.”

“He will probably do it for you better,” she pointed out.

“Kenna, you charm griffons. Ahnon is no challenge,” he said, smiling, and started arranging the branches for beds.

When he started setting up the area for the fire, Kenna looked up. “Okay, he drank it all, and his breathing seems much better,” she said, sounding reassured. “Aren’t you scared to start a fire this close to the sea? I know we flew a long way but…?”

“Don’t worry; they can’t see it,” he assured her. Then he stood up and walked back to the beach. Their footprints and Ahnon’s drag mark stuck out bad. “If someone sees that, they will know the grown up is hurt and it’s only kids,” he said, pointing at their footprints.

“Okay, so how do we make it go away?” she asked, picking up some branches to brush the tracks.

He grabbed her arm and reached down, picking up a handful of sand. “A’ur dab zukum,” he said slowly, releasing the sand and waving his hand back and forth. Kenna watched in amazement as the tracks filled with sand, leaving no trace.

“You are quite handy to have around,” she said, turning to look at him and saw him swaying on his feet. Moving over, she put one of his arms over her shoulder and led him back to camp. “You overdid it, didn’t you?” she said, helping him sit.

“Just a little,” he panted.

“Well, sit down, and tell me how to start a fire,” she said, moving over to the pile of sticks.

“I tried with the flint; the wood’s too damp. I wanted to think on it,” he admitted.

“I heard someone say if you rub two sticks together, you can make a fire,” she said hopefully, holding up two sticks.

“Kenna, Ahnon showed me that, and he busted out in sweat, and it took half an hour.”

Grabbing a water skin, she walked over and handed it to Jedek. “Drink but not too much.”

“You sounded just like Ahnon then, Kenna,” he said, smiling.

“Really?” she asked in awe.

He nodded. “Yeah, he’s always telling me that.” He put the skin down and picked up four stakes, each three feet long with a small box on one end. “This is how we will hide,” he said as he walked around the area, pushing the stakes into the ground as he went, forming a box around their camp.

“So we’re invisible now?” she asked optimistically.

“No, not yet.” He walked over to a stake and rotated a side of one of the boxes on top. Kenna watched the air shimmer with a yellowish cast to it. “Now we are,” he said. “Try to get out.”

Kenna pushed against the shield. It didn’t move. Then she watched Jedek step out then back in.

“It recognizes me. That’s why I didn’t want you reaching in the bags,” he explained.

“So what if I have to go to the bathroom?” she asked.

“Watch,” he said, holding out his hand, and he pulled her through. She turned around and couldn’t see their camp. It seemed she could hear Minos way off in the distance, barking. “Minos is mad we left him,” he said, pulling her back inside.

“What if I’m alone in here?” she asked, and Jedek showed her how to turn it off.

“Kenna, I’m fixing to make some fire, but I’m going to need your help.”

“Thank you. I’m freezing,” she said, wrapping her arms around her shoulders as Jedek handed her a blanket. “If I have a fire, I don’t need this.”

“No, that’s to use on me if my arm catches on fire,” he said, moving to Ahnon’s pouch.

She threw the blanket down on the ground. “We can be cold,” she told him pointedly.

“Kenna, he’s shivering, and you are too. I can do this, but just in case, be ready.”

Reaching down, he rubbed his hand on one of the spigots, getting some silver liquid, then another, getting a yellow powder. Pointing at the sticks, he cleared his mind and made a picture of what he wanted. “Ti Rah Ganzer,” he said, and a flaming arrow shot from his finger, hitting the sticks and setting them ablaze. “I did it,” he said then dropped to his knees and fell over.

Kenna rushed over and saw his eyes wouldn’t focus on her. She put some wood on the fire and checked on Ahnon. Seeing he was doing fine, she sat down and put Jedek’s head in her lap. Twenty minutes later, Jedek looked up at her.

“Did you see that? I did it,” he said proudly.

With her face set in stone, “You’ve never done that one, have you?” she asked with a hint of irritation.

“No, but I’ve seen Ahnon do it hundreds of times,” he said, sitting up.

“Don’t do anymore spells you haven’t done before till Ahnon is awake,” she commanded.

“Don’t worry,” he said, moving over to Ahnon. He started taking Ahnon’s shirt off, wrestling one arm out. Kenna moved over to help, and when they rolled him on his side, she jumped back.

“By the Gods, how could anyone live through that?” she asked, looking at the scars that covered his back. She reached out, touching them, cringing as tears formed in her eyes. “Karme had a few, but Jedek—” she was at loss for words.

“He doesn’t like to talk about them,” he said, pulling Ahnon’s boots off. “They go all the way down his back to his ankles. The ones on his chest are from swords and arrows. The one on his right arm is from a spell.” He dressed the burn on Ahnon’s arm, which was healing fast after the second potion, and all the new cuts were fresh scars. Grabbing a blanket, Jedek shook his head as he covered Ahnon. He looked at Kenna and saw tears running down her face.

“Yeah, that’s what I did the first few times I saw them. He got those for me, Kenna. He wanted to be the best so I could live.” He looked down at her. Walking over to the fire, he sat down, looking at the flames. She came over and curled up beside him. “I want Ahnon to teach me what he knows, Kenna. Not just the magic—I want to learn it all,” he confided in her. “The next time someone comes to kill my family, I want them to wish Ahnon had gotten to them before me,” he said as he laid back.

“Then I learn with you,” she said. “We are family and best friends.”

“When he wakes up, we will tell him then,” he said, drifting off to sleep.

Chapter 17

Kenna cracked her eyes, hearing birds singing. Feeling cramped, she tried to move but found she could only wiggle. Blinking, she lifted her head to find she was trapped. Ahnon was still on his side like they left him last night, and Jedek had his back to her on the right. She turned toward Ahnon’s back, fighting a shudder.

Reaching out, she ran her hand over the scars. The night before, she had to search to find a place that wasn’t covered with the whip scars and only found one area at the top of his left shoulder blade that she could cover with her fingertip. “That is love and devotion,” she said to herself.

Giving up on standing, she crawled out from between them and moved over to the fire and threw some more sticks on it. Minos rolled over, looking at her. “The air won’t let me go,” he told her in a pained expression.

With a sigh, “Minos, we can’t let anyone find us,” she said.

“Long fur, I have to go to trees,” he whined.

“Minos, you can’t risk our lives to play,” she told him sternly.

He let out a serious whine. “I need trees to go or I use dead trees here,” he informed her blatantly.

Kenna jumped up and shook Jedek awake to make him take Minos. When they came back, Kenna went. Getting back, she started going over the food and agreed with what Jedek told her. It was enough for two people for three days, not three people and a growing bocha hound. Last night, they put a real dent in the food and water.

“Turn the shield off,” she said, standing up with the water skins. “Minos, find some water we can drink.” He shot off when the shield came down.

“I’ll go,” Jedek said.

“No, I’ll do it. Minos has already proven he’ll kill for me, Jedek.”

Minos found a stream not far from camp. Jedek was by the fire when she threw the skins down.

“We need food?” Jedek said.

“Yes, I went over it this morning. We will be out tonight,” she said, looking around. “I wish I knew where we were.”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“You know?” she said accusingly.

“Within a few hundred miles.” Seeing her stare at him, he reached back and pulled out a scroll. As he unrolled it, she saw it was a map. “About right here in western Racor,” he said as she looked at it. “The closest city is going to be Muchan, six hundred miles to our northeast. I’m sure there are villages on the way, but I can’t find the glass lens to make the map bigger.” Kenna kept running her finger from Gratu to them. “One thousand eight hundred miles, give or take a hundred miles,” he said, and she looked up.

“Jedek, it only took about half a day to get here. That’s not possible. Nothing can move that fast,” she said, trying to believe it.

“Well, he did it,” Jedek said, motioning to the unconscious form of Ahnon. “I know four edible plants. I’m going to see if I can find them,” he said, walking away. “See if you can get him to eat some more porridge. I won’t be far.”

Kenna fed Ahnon two bowls of porridge before Jedek came back carrying an armload of plants and dropped them. “We can eat now,” he said, smiling.

“You sure?” she asked, studying the plants.

“I only know four, and Ahnon told me they were the hardest to mess up. He said, ‘Even a blind sheepherder could get them right,’” Jedek said, grinning.

“That’s good, but we don’t have anything to boil them in,” she pointed out, and he walked over and pulled a large pot from the pack.

“I’m getting one of those,” she said, looking at the pack.

Jedek knelt. “Minos, come here,” he said, and Minos walked over. “Minos, go catch a rabbit.”

“Why?” Minos asked.

“I want one.”

“You catch one. They move fast.”

Jedek stood up. “You don’t catch one, you don’t eat.”

Letting out a groan, Minos walked away. “Rabbits not play fair,” he whined.

“You think he can catch a rabbit?” Kenna asked hopefully.

“He has a better chance than we do,” Jedek said, kneeling down, and he started cleaning the plants off. “He’s eating?” Jedek asked.

“Kind of,” Kenna told him. “I put it in his mouth, tilt his head back, and massage his throat to make him swallow,” she admitted.

“That’s cool,” Jedek said, smiling.

“I saw a healer do it once, and Karme let me try it on her,” Kenna said, holding her smile as Jedek watched her. “I’m not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Karme will always be with me here,” Kenna said, touching her chest, holding her amulet in her fist. It had fallen off the second Karme died. Jedek nodded.

An uneasy silence settled over them, and Kenna looked at Jedek. “Jedek, can I do magic?” She asked.

“Ahnon said you could, but he has known lots of people that could that didn’t.”

“Why would he say that?”

“I asked him if you could,” Jedek admitted, making Kenna smile.

“Can you start the basics till he wakes up?” she asked.

He thought for a minute. “I guess I could.”

“Let’s say after lunch then,” she said, trying not to grin.

“Okay, after lunch.” He concentrated on cleaning the dirt off the plants.

An hour later, Minos came trotting back with a large, gray bundle hanging from his mouth. He headed straight to Jedek and stopped in front of him. Jedek reached down. “Good boy, Minos,” he said, taking the rabbit from Minos’ mouth. When Jedek’s hand touched the rabbit, it kicked in the air as he held it up. “Minos, you didn’t kill it,” Jedek whined.

“You tell catch rabbit,” Minos informed him

“Well, kill it then,” Jedek moaned, looking at the large hare.

Minos just dropped down on his side. “You kill it. Rabbit ran hard. Tired.”

Jedek looked at Kenna, who shrugged. “Oh man,” he huffed pulling out his sword. Placing the tip on the rabbit’s chest as he held tight, Jedek took a deep breath.

“You’re going to stab a bunny?” Kenna asked.

“Yeah, how else do you expect me to kill it?” he asked.

Making a chopping motion with her hand, she said, “Chop its head off.”

For the first time, Jedek was having reservations about his princess with her ease of chopping a bunny’s head off. “You’re a little too flamboyant with that,” Jedek told her, lowering the rabbit down and raising his sword.

“Give me the sword. I’ll do it,” Kenna said. Jedek lowered the sword, staring at her in shock. “What? I can like animals, but they serve a purpose. I’ve killed livestock before, Jedek. Father demanded all females know the kitchen. In reality, he liked watching some of my sisters cry as they killed the chickens and bunnies.”

“Kenna, don’t take this the wrong way, and remember I do love you, but I’m going to punch your father in the mouth.”

“Really?” she said, perking up instantly.

“Yeah. I’m going to have to get Ahnon to take care of his sho-ka first, but he has definitely earned a punch from me.” Kenna jumped up and ran over, kissing him on the cheek.

“You’re the best,” she said, grinning. “I can kill the rabbit if you let me use your sword.”

“I can do it,” Jedek said. “I just need a second.” Kenna smiled and moved away as Jedek started taking deep breaths, working himself up for the blow. Seeing the bunny look at him, Jedek turned away, raising his sword.
I can do this
, he kept telling himself over and over again. Taking a deep breath, Jedek felt the rabbit jerk in his hand.

Looking back at the rabbit, he saw its head was gone. Jedek jumped, dropping the body. Then he noticed Minos standing there, chewing. “Oh, you kill it now?” Jedek screamed.

“You play with food to long,” Minos said, swallowing. Kenna bounced over and picked up the bunny.

“Can I borrow your knife?” she asked, and Jedek reached to his belt and handed over his dagger. Grabbing it, she smiled and sat on a log. Jedek watched, amazed a princess could skin a rabbit and a prince couldn’t even kill one. A little disappointed in himself, Jedek sheathed his sword.

As Kenna cut up the rabbit and put it in the pot, she looked up at Jedek, who was watching her every movement. “What do we need for you to start after lunch?” she asked.

“A shovel.”

Kenna’s hands froze as she looked at him. “A shovel?” she asked, bewildered.

“Yes.”

Nodding, Kenna continued cutting the rabbit. “A shovel then,” she said.

Ahnon could hear voices off in the distance, and he tried to concentrate on them. The voices sounded young but very serious. Fighting the darkness around him, Ahnon struggled to consciousness. Cracking his eyes open, he noticed it was close to dusk, and still, the light really hurt his eyes. Slamming them shut again, he started testing body parts for movement. Satisfied he could move everything even though he felt utterly drained, he slowly sat up.

Sitting up on his elbows, he cracked his eyes. Jedek was sitting on the ground with his legs folded under him and his hands on his thighs. Kenna was absolutely filthy, sitting in front of him on her lower legs, one big hole behind her and another hole with a large piece of bark that someone had used as a shovel. “Kenna, it’s going to take three days to get your hair clean and brushed out,” Ahnon said in a dry, raspy voice.

“Ahnon!” they both screamed, jumping up and running over, diving on top of him, driving him back down.

“Are you two alright?” Ahnon asked, returning their hugs.

“Yes, Ahnon,” they said together as he looked around and rubbed his throat.

“Who massaged my throat for me to swallow?” he asked.

Kenna looked down. “I did. Did I do it too hard?” she asked, worried.

“No, good technique. I just wanted to know who made me swallow,” Ahnon said, feeling his throat trying to stick closed as he talked. Jedek handed him a water skin, and he came close to draining it.

“That’s not fair. When I’m thirsty, you make me take sips,” Jedek said.

“When you can tell your stomach to shut up and not throw up, you can do it also,” Ahnon said. “You poured the green potion down me, didn’t you?” he asked Jedek.

“Well, actually, Kenna did after I found it in your pouch. I was gathering up stuff for the campsite.”

“Probably why I’m alive,” Ahnon said, nodding. Jedek and Kenna just froze in shock. “I’m sorry; I thought I could make it to the coast and drink it myself. I guess I was more exhausted than I realized,” Ahnon admitted. “I’m proud of you for paying attention all those times we went camping and the layout of the packs and pouches,” Ahnon said then kept smacking his lips. “I didn’t have rabbit in the pack.”

Leaning back, Jedek said, “Minos caught one, and Kenna cooked it.”

“Jedek collected some plants, and I made a stew,” Kenna said, smiling with a dirt-covered face.

Ahnon looked at her, studying her dirt-streaked face. “I’m at a total loss, Kenna. Why are you covered in dirt?”

Jedek grinned. “I’m telling her the first lesson of magic.”

Ahnon tried to chuckle, but it hurt everywhere. “Don’t go further than the first lesson, sire,” he warned, dropping back down. Felling like a herd of oxen had run over him, Ahnon looked at Jedek. “How close did I get us?”

“Less than a mile from the coast,” Jedek said then told him what they had done.

When he finished, Ahnon reached out and gripped his hand, “Sire, I’m proud of you,” Ahnon said. Then he looked at the filthy Kenna. “Young princess, I’m very proud of you as well,” he said, holding out his arm. Kenna dove, hugging him.

When Kenna released him and knelt beside Jedek, he said, “Ahnon, I thought they killed you at the castle.”

“Well, it wasn’t for the lack of trying, sire. I was halfway to the west wall at the royal garden entrance when I spotted a group of kytensa. I have no idea how many I fought, but it was a lot. When the last fell, I tried to fly to you when one shot a fire ball at me and saved my life.”

“I don’t understand,” Jedek said.

“The fire ball hit a force shield hovering a hundred feet in the air. If I had hit it, I would have died instantly. I have to admit I never thought about just hanging a force shield off the ground for someone to fly into like a spider web. Kind of smart. I had to drop to the ground and fight my way to you, sire. I’m sorry it took so long.”

Kenna grabbed Ahnon’s hand. “How many kytensa do you think attacked us?” she asked.

Ahnon shook his head. “I don’t know, but it was thousands.”

“How many are in a kytensa regiment?” Jedek asked.

“About a thousand. Why?” Ahnon asked.

“Ryetan said he had five regiments attacking the castle,” Jedek said, and Ahnon’s eyes grew wide.

“Unholy mother of the abyss,” he whispered.

“We didn’t stand much of a chance, did we, Ahnon?” Jedek asked with a sorrowful look.

Ahnon lifted his body up on his elbows. “Sire, you and Kenna are alive. They failed.”

“Ahnon, they didn’t want to kill me. They wanted to take me back with them.”

“Are you sure?” Ahnon asked, feeling his head spin.

Jedek nodded. “Yes, one told Father as he ran his sword in his heart,” Jedek said, fighting tears.