Hunter's War (Legend of the Wild Hunter Book 4) (27 page)

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“You can’t be serious. You can’t just go out there and talk to them.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s not the way it’s done,” Jax explained. “If they want to talk, you let them make the first move. If they have something to say, they will send someone forward. They have the upper hand at the moment and they know it. All we can do is wait and see what they do with it.”

Kile urged Grim forward, but the pony refused to move.

-Listen to him, child, he’s the first vir who actually makes sense.-

“What, you think I’m crazy, you really think I was just going to go out there and start up a conversation.”

-It wouldn’t be the first time you did something… well… stupid.-

“Thanks for your undying support,” Kile replied. “I was actually going to talk to
them
,” she said, pointing to the ravens gathering on the wall.

It was not unusual to see ravens on the battlefield, although they usually came after the fighting was over. She had not seen any since the battle started, but then, she wasn’t really looking for them. Somehow, the concept of staying alive drove out any thoughts of birds. They were perched upon the rubble of Moran, and appeared to minding their own business. They didn’t seem to be very interested in the fighting or the fallen, and instead, were watching her.

When she approached, they made no attempt to fly. There were about two dozen, but she felt there may be more nearby. The last time she saw a flock of ravens was back in the wastelands, under the control of the infamous Ravenshadow. Were these his birds? Were they here to witness the fall of Moran? How far did his control actually extend?

“Should I… welcome you?” she asked them.

The birds looked among themselves as if searching for an answer before one came forward. He was older than the others, or at least that’s the way he felt to her. It was difficult to tell how old a bird was, they don’t exactly go gray with age.

He spread his wings and flew down to her, landed on the corner of a large crate just off to her right.

“Who are you?” she asked him.

-Bakara-

The raven replied in his sharp raspy voice.

“Why are you here, Bakara?”

-We bring… sight.-

“Who sent you?”

-Lindear.-

“Lindear? I don’t know any…”

-Lindear.-

The raven repeated, and this time the name carried meaning. It was not the one she expected, but it was not the one she feared.

“You serve… Lindear?” she asked.

-No.-

The raven replied. In his answer, she saw the wastelands stretched out before her. In the distance there was an old stronghold, which she knew all too well and preferred never to have seen again.

“You serve Ravenshadow,” she said.

-No more.-

The raven replied.

“Then who do you serve?” she asked.

-We serve… Kile.-

Now that was something she didn’t expect. Since when did ravens show allegiance to anyone?

“I think you’ve made a mistake somewhere,” she replied.

-We serve Kile-

-Kile-

-Kile-

-Kile-

Suddenly all the ravens began screeching out her name. She saw herself through their eyes while they flocked about her. It was a strange, if not nauseating sensation, seeing herself, from many different angles simultaneously.

“Okay, enough… please.” She shouted, trying to drive them out of her head. “Look, I don’t know why you came to serve me, or why Lindear sent you, but I can use your help. You said you had something to show me.”

-Sight.-

Bakara screeched and with the word, Kile was flying again.

She was higher than the battlefield, higher than even the outpost which now lay destroyed beneath her. Although she yearned to go west, as she always did when she flew, it was to the east Bakara’s vision took her. She saw what the raven wanted her to see. The realization of what was happening snapped her back to her senses.

“Damn,” she cursed.

-What did the birdies have to say?-

Grim asked.

“Only that it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better,” she replied.

Returning to the wagon, which was now being used as a command post, she found Jax in conversation with Raf and Tullner. Tullner was the first to look up when Grim approached.

“You are aware you have a bird on your head?” he remarked.

“His name is Bakara and I’m afraid he brings bad news,” Kile replied.

“I have often heard ravens and crows bring ill omens,” Raf added. “But up until now, I never took it literally.”

“Ill omens, or not, we need to get the wounded up here now,” she said.

“Are you serious? Why would we want to do that?” Raf asked. “They’ll only get in the way, and we’ll never be able to move them in time if the valrik break through the line.”

“It's not those valrik I’m worried about. It’s the ones who are coming in from the east.”

“What do mean?” Jax asked, quickly getting to his feet.

“The ravens have come to warn us. The valrik forces have gathered in Callor and are now marching here. My guess is, they are going to try to box us in, hit us from both sides at once.”

“If that’s true, we don’t stand a chance,” Tullner said.

“How long do we have?” Jax asked.

“Not long,” Kile replied. “I’m afraid the information could be hours old by the now.”

“Understood,” Jax said with a heavy sigh. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared up at the sky for a few moments. Was he praying, Kile wondered? She had never been very religious herself, but it seemed appropriate at the moment.

“Raf, take a couple of men, get down to Sumsor, let him know what is happening. Tell him to get his gear together and get the wounded up here as quickly as possible. Tullner, along here, there used to be a large meeting hall. Get some men, clear out the debris, and see if you can gain access to it. We can place the wounded in there if it’s still usable, it may even be our last line of defense.”

Tullner was already gathering soldiers together before Jax even finished giving the young man his orders.

“He’ll make a good officer someday,” he added with a grin.

“Let’s hope so,” Kile replied.

“How reliable is this information?”

“I can’t see any reason Bakara would lie to me, assuming Lindear actually sent him.”

“Lindear? Who’s Lindear?”

“Oh… Lindear. She was an old vulture I met in the wastelands last year.”

“Of course she was.”

-Something bothering you?-

Grim asked as they stared out at the valrik who still waited.

The smoke was finally lifting, and the day was upon them. They could see the enemy as they filled the Cliff Road from one side to the other, and still they waited. More men were pulled from the wall to help clear out the old meeting hall which Tullner uncovered. The floor sloped badly, and the far wall was a pile of rubble, but it was better than nothing. The wounded were already starting to fill up the corners and Sumsor was not too happy with his change of address. He made sure to let Jax know about it. All the while the enemy waited.

“What are they waiting for?” Kile asked.

-As you said, they are waiting for the second force to arrive.-

“But how do they know?”

There was no way, she could think of, for the valrik to send information to the second army, which was now marching on Moran, or what was left of Moran. Information sent through Marcin’s Pass would take too long, and she personally made sure the skies were clear of any birds which could carry messages. Although, it wasn’t like the valrik would use birds since no bird would be used by them. The only things flying were the ravens, and they kept a watchful eye on the progress of the second army.

-Do you suppose they have some of those… mystics among them?-

Grim suggested.

“I suppose, it is possible, but I really can’t see it. The mystics refused to get involved.”

-Not all mystics-

A raven circled once around her before she extended her arm for him to use as a perch. He landed on it rather gracefully, digging his claws into the old cloth she wrapped around it for protection. It only took one raven landing on her exposed arm before she decided to use the cloth.

“Show me.” She said, looking into the raven’s eyes, and she was flying again.

The trip wasn’t very far. The valrik were a lot closer than where the last raven placed them. They were moving faster than she anticipated. It wouldn’t be long before they were spotted by the lookout on the east wall.

When the vision ended, the raven took flight. He would fly the same route he had already flown and return to her with updated information. She had several routes which extended farther and farther east and several ravens on each route. It was a rather efficient means of keeping the information up to date. They were not only watching the advancing valrik army, but were also keeping an eye out for reinforcements, if they should come.

She turned Grim toward the last barricade, where Captain Jax moved his headquarters.

“What’s the update?” he asked.

“Latest report shows the valrik forces are still about an hour out. We should be hearing from the watch soon.”

Jax closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked exhausted. “They’re moving a lot faster than I had hoped for,” he said.

“Will the east gates hold?” she asked.

“Hardly,” he replied. “The east gate was never meant to hold against an invading force. I guess the architect never thought there would be much danger coming from that direction.”

“It’s not like anyone ever expects to be attacked from their own homeland,” Raf added.

“It’s too wide to defend anyhow,” Sandson replied. “If we try to defend the wall, we’ll be spreading our forces too thin.”

“So what? That’s it. We’re giving up?” Tullner asked, looking at each one of them.

Kile kind of felt sorry for him. He had never asked to be here, but then again, none of them did.

“Nobody is giving up,” Jax said, gripping the young man’s shoulder. “We’ll fight them to their last saladog if that’s what it takes, mark my words.”

“Saladogs,” Kile exclaimed.

“Where?” Raf shouted, grabbing for his pike, which clattered to the ground.

“Saladogs, that’s how they’re communicating. They must be using the saladogs.”

“What are you on about?” Jax asked.

“The saladogs aren’t of this world, not really anyway. There’s a connection between them, that’s why I keep losing myself in them, because their minds are linked.”

“I don’t follow.” Jax said, shaking his head.

“That’s all right, neither do I,” Kile replied. “The point is, if I can prevent them from communicating, maybe we can upset their plans. If the western force doesn’t know the eastern force has arrived, they may not attack.”

“That will at least give us a shot at reducing the eastern force.” Jax replied. “We can take every third man off the barricade and reinforce the wall.”

“You can’t,” Tullner shouted at Kile. “You know what will happen if you try to do… well, whatever it is that you do.”

-The kid’s right. You’re going to go loopy again if you try to tangle with those things.-

Grim added.

“Maybe not. Not if the dogs are with me.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Tullner replied.

“Son, it’s no more dangerous than what we’re all about to face,” Jax added.

Kile made herself comfortable in the back of the wagon while the dogs set up a perimeter around her. It wasn’t exactly the most convenient place, but it was better than sitting in the middle of the courtyard. The last thing she needed was to be run over by the battle.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tullner asked, for what had to be the eleventh time. At first it was endearing, now it was just getting annoying.

“There’s no more time to discuss it,” she said. “By all accounts, they should be in view of the watch shortly.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Tullner added.

Why start now, she thought, closing her eyes and falling into her Edge.

She wasn’t sure how this was going to work or what she could accomplish. She needed to cause as many problems with the valrik communications as possible, and if there was one thing she excelled at, it was causing problems.

Her first priority was to establish connections with the hounds, making sure her safety net was well in place and well grounded. She felt their concerns, and with each connection she made, she felt more in control.

Letting her mind wander, she stretched out her consciousness. Turning it to the east, were the Callor soldiers were prepared for the assault on the gatehouse. Although she could feel their presence, they were only ghosts to her. They were there, she knew they were there, but they had no substance. They were just memories. The dogs, however, were like glowing beacons which seemed to recognize her and acknowledge her when her mind passed through theirs.

Stretching her consciousness, even further, she began to sense more living things. There were rats in the fallen places of Moran and the birds still filled the skies. There was a black fox on the far side of the wall as well as two badgers a few dozen squirrels and a sleeping possum, who had no regard for what was going on outside his hole.

Turning her mind from the natural world, she looked into the shadows and that’s when she saw it, the Maligar. It was all around her, a living, breathing form of darkness. It touched every mind and every life, as if it was searching for something, or someone. It was there, and yet it wasn’t. It had form, but no shape. It existed, not only in the natural realm, but in the mortal world, and realms beyond those. A black mass which blotted out the sky, looming over the outpost, its dark tendrils stretch both east and west. The saladogs, the reptilian wolves, whatever they were, they were a part of it, like black smudges on the landscape.

This was so much beyond anything she could ever image. How was she supposed to go up against something like that? Where would she start? A head-on attack was out of the question. Even with her mind anchored to the hounds around her, she would lose herself to the darkness. Her mind and her psyche would be absorbed before she had a chance to make a difference.