Hunter's War (Legend of the Wild Hunter Book 4) (33 page)

Actually, this was the same Hunter.

“As you wish, Commander,” he said with a grin.

He followed her out of the bathhouse and into the courtyard.

She quickly turned on him. “Why are you still here, Tullner? Pants. Now.”

“I have a message,” he replied.

“Out with it.”

“Lord Bollen wishes to be on the road in an hour. There have been reports coming in of Uhyre still in the area. He has sent men ahead, along with the Hunters, to secure the route to Forthbar.”

“Wonder,” she said, throwing up her arms. “I can’t go out looking like this, I look like… like…”

“Like a lady.” Jax said, coming up behind her.

“Oh great, not you too.”

“You look very pretty, Miss Veller,” he said with a smile.

“I am a Hunter, not a lady. This is not how a Hunter dresses. I want my weapons, I want my pants and I want my hair back.” She said, pulling at her hair until she freed it from the tight bun.

Jax sighed. “I knew it wouldn’t last,” he said.

Kile turned to Tullner. “You still here?”

“Commander?”

“Get me my something to wear, even if you have to strip down one of the soldiers,” she demanded.

“Yes, Commander,” Tullner replied, running off.

“Is it so bad to look like a lady, once in a while?” The Captain asked.

“Why, how many times do you do it?”

“You know what I mean, Kile. You are a young woman, let yourself be one.”

“I can be a woman without looking like a painted up doll for the men to stare at,” She replied. “This is frivolous, it’s impractical. How am I supposed to ride to Forthbar dressed like this?”

“Many women wear dresses and ride horses.”

“Yes, I know, they ride side saddle, but in case you haven’t noticed. I don’t use a saddle.”

“Of course,” Jax said, shaking his head.

“And what if we’re attacked on the road? How can I defend myself when I can hardly move around in this thing? It’s restricting. Where do I put my sword, my long knife?”

“You aren’t supposed to fight. You are a guest of his Lordship. His men will defend you if the need arises.”

“Defend me, since when do I need men to defend me,” she shouted. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“But Lord Bollen…”

“And that’s another thing. Why is this Lord of yours, riding around with an assortment of dresses. Isn’t that a little strange?”

“I had to come when I heard.” Folkstaff said, coming across the compound toward them. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Oh great, why don’t we just put me on display,” Kile said, throwing up her arms and walking away. She could hear them laughing behind her.

She made for the only place she knew she would be safe, the stables. Ducking in, she collapsed against the wall. This was humiliating, she thought. At least no one could gawk at her in here.

-Well, well, well-

Spoke too soon.

“Shut it Grim, I’m not in the mood.”

-I wasn’t going to say anything-

“Sure you weren’t”

-Is it really that bad?-

He asked.

She glared at him.

-How would I know? Vir have strange habits to begin with. Maybe you should embrace the wild side of your personality, and then it wouldn’t bother you as much.-

Kile laughed. “No, I’d just be running around naked. Somehow, I don’t think that would go over too well.”

“Thought we’d find you in here.”

Looking up, Kile saw Erin enter the stables, followed closely by Daniel.

“Oh, did you come for the freak show too?” she asked.

“Hardly a freak show,” Erin replied.

“Actually, I think you look rather nice,” Daniel added.

“Nice! Nice! You think I look nice,” She shouted. Daniel quickly backed up.

“We ran into Sergeant Tullner, and he told me of your plight,” Erin said, stepping between them. She handed Kile a bundle of clothes. “I think these should be more suitable,” she said.

“Thank you,” Kile replied. “At least somebody gets it,”

Taking the clothes into one of the stalls, she started to undress.

“I’ll… step outside… now.” Daniel stammered before leaving the stables.

Erin laughed. “I heard you gave the nonays a hard time.”

“I gave them a hard time? Did you see what they did to me? They scrubbed off my skin and yanked out my hair, painted my face. They even managed to mess up my sense of smell. It’s like I have roses shoved up my nose now,” she said, pulling on her pants. “I should have been able to smell you guys coming a mile away.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“Oh, sorry, that didn’t come out right.”

“I should say not.”

“I meant… Oh, never mind,” she said, stepping out from behind the stall. “How do I look now?” she asked.

“Like a Hunter,” Erin said with a grin. “We just need to do something with your hair.”

It was a large company of men, who assembled at the gatehouse. Many of Lord Bollen’s soldiers were staying in Moran, to reinforce the outpost guard. The valrik may have been routed, but it didn’t mean they were giving up. Denal was still under the control of the Uhyre, and Moran was still the easiest route into Callor.

Along with Lord Bollen, and his personal guard, were Major Folkstaff and Captain Jax. They waited at the head of the column. Daniel and three nonays would be responsible for the wounded. It was necessary to get them to Forthbar, since Moran no longer had the facilities to treat them. Sumsor agreed to stay behind. He spent most of his career at the outpost, and wasn’t going to abandon it now, regardless of the fact his office was under a couple of tons of stone. Perha Squad, or what was left of it, was also prepared to leave Moran. Sergeant Tullner, Corporal Sandson, and privates Anurr and Lesh were eager to meet up with the rest of their men in the hospitals of Forthbar.

As the last of the wounded were being secured to the wagons, and the supplies loaded up, Kile arrived on Grim alongside Erin, followed by twenty Callor hounds. Nobody questioned the inclusion of the hounds, as their effectiveness against the saladogs was well known. Erin continued to ride on, up to the front of the column, while Kile stayed behind. She really didn’t want to ride with the officers and preferred to stay at the rear with the soldiers. It was Captain Jax who spotted her and waived for her to join them.

“I thought you would be staying in Moran.” She said when she got closer to Jax.

The Captain grinned. He was looking old and tired. The siege took its toll on the man, although he tried to hide it.

“Unfortunately, I have to give my report to the higher ups.” he sighed. “Truth be told, I’d rather battle saladogs.”

“It shouldn’t be that bad.” Kile replied. “So, you’re leaving Raf in charge?”

Jack looked back at the ruins. “I don’t think even Raf could screw up this place now,” he laughed.

“Will you be coming back here?” she asked him.

He hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head. “I think I’ll request some time, maybe spend a week with my family. It’s been nearly six months since I’ve seen them. My wife has been nagging me to retire; maybe it’s time. I have two new grandkids I haven’t even met. What about you? You have any family?”

“Me, well, yeah, I have a brother back in Riverport.”

“Oh save us, there’s another one like you back home.”

Kile laughed. “Not quite.”

“Oh, so he’s normal.”

“Something like that. He runs the family farm. He’s married now, has a little boy of his own.”

“You ever go home to see them?” Jax asked.

“Once.” She replied. “It… didn’t go very well.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Kile looked sideways at him.

“That bad, huh,” he replied.

“Let’s just say, I’m not holding my breath for an invitation to Winter’s Feast.”

“Well then, if you have no other plans, you can always drop by the homestead. It might not be much, but we do put out a decent spread during the holidays.”

“Thanks, but, as you’ve no doubt noticed, chaos visits wherever I go.”

The Captain laughed. “Please,” he said. “I have seven children and fourteen grandchildren, not to mention five siblings, six nephews, twelve nieces, and a whole gaggle of grand nephews and nieces, who I don’t even know. Chaos doesn’t visit our house during the holidays, it sets up residency.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Kile replied.

Leaving Moran was uneventful. No fanfare, no farewells-- the gates were opened and suddenly they were in the Callor province. Kile looked back at the long line of riders behind them, and then at the outpost. She wasn’t sure if she was sorry to leave it behind or not. Like many places she visited, it was just one more step on a long journey, but she never knew where that journey was taking her.

They traveled for most of the day at a slow, easy pace, and even though Lord Bollen requested she ride in front with him, he said very little to her. Most of his conversations were with his personal guards and advisors. They were filled with discussions of politics and policies, none of which Kile could comprehend. It was all gibberish to her. She was beginning to think the valrik, with their guttural language, made more sense.

Captain Jax rode with a few of the more seasoned soldiers. They swapped war stories and laughed about the good old days. Erin and Folkstaff went on ahead to scout the area along with a few other Hunters. She asked to go with them, but Folkstaff wouldn’t allow it. He said, it was for her own safety, but she wondered if it had more to do with her state of mind. They were being careful around her, as if she would explode at any minute, and there were times she thought she might. Where they that scare of her? What did Captain Jax tell them?

It wasn’t until the evening, when the Hunters returned and directed the company to a clearing off the main road, did they finally stop and rest. Tents were set up, campfires were lit, food was being prepared and horses tended to. Everything moved with such precision, Kile didn’t know where she could fit in.

She wanted to help Daniel with the wounded, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t just because the nonays watched her carefully whenever she got close to one of their patients. What did they think she was going to do, run off with one of them when they weren’t looking? It was because of the Lasting. It followed the wounded, even out here in the wild. The smell of it was stifling. She couldn’t be around it for very long.

In the end, she ended up where she always ended up, with the horses. She didn’t mind. There were so many of them and they all had stories to share with her. She walked among them, talking with as many as she could. There were hundreds of horses with hundreds of names. Most of them couldn’t remember their real names, only the moniker the vir placed upon them. It was sad really. She often wondered what it would be like not to remember her name, and then she realized it had happened on more than one occasion. Whenever she tangled with the ever-present darkness, when it stole her mind and her identity, there were times when she had no idea who or what she was. There were times where she wanted to just sink into the darkness and forget about the war, the world and everything else around her. It would have been so easy, to truly be a part of something which accepted her for what she was.

The next day was pretty much the same as the last. The Hunter rode ahead to scout out the land, Jax rode with some of his old comrades, and Lord Bollen still didn’t take any notice of her. He was too busy carrying on the same conversation with his men as he had the day before, or at least, that’s what it sounded like to her. She still had no idea what they were discussing, and eventually tuned it out altogether. She thought about slowing Grim down and merging with the back of the line, maybe finding the last members of Perha Squad. At least they would acknowledge her existence. She was slowly moving Grim off to the side of the column, when the ravens came.

Their presence did not go unnoticed. The column came to a complete stop while the soldiers watched the birds circle. There were even murmurs of ill omens and bad tidings, until the birds landed. Two on Kile’s shoulders, one on Grim’s back, and another on his head, much to Vesper’s dismay. Bakara was the last. He landed on Kile’s hat, and looked down at her from over the brim. The silence was shattered by the roar of laughter. Even Lord Bollen and his close advisor joined in. Only those, who rode with Kile, who fought alongside her on the walls of Moran, held their breaths and waited. They did not laugh, because they understood the seriousness of the situation.

Kile closed her eyes, and fell into her Edge. Bakara showed her what she feared to see. The Valgar were coming. She couldn’t tell how many there were, they were cloaked in shadow, so deep, not even the Hunter who passed within ten feet of them, knew of their existence. They were moving silently through the fields, stalking their prey. Reaching out, she touched one of them and knew who they hunted.

When Kile opened her eyes the men around her, stopped laughing. She knew what they saw when they looked at her, since she was already letting her feral side take over.

“What is it?” Jax asked, riding up to her. He alone, had drawn his weapon.

“Saladogs,” she told him. Her voice was calm. “Coming in from the north, down out of the mountains, it’s an ambush.”

“Ridiculous.” One of the soldiers scoffed. “Are we to listen to this… freak?”

Kile turned to look at the man. He was twice her size, broad shouldered, squared chinned, a seasoned warrior, a veteran of the Callor forces. He flinched when she turned those eyes on him. She grinned.

“I don’t care who you listen to,” she said softly.

“Is this for real?” Lord Bollen asked.

Was that fear in the man’s voice?

Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply. Yes, that was fear, and it was intoxicating.

“Get the wounded and civilians to Forthbar, keep to the road, do not stop,” she shouted as she drew her Lann and urging Grim forward. The four members of Perha Squad broke ranks and closed in behind her, followed closely by the twenty Callor hounds, Captain Jax, and the men of Moran.