Hunter's War (Legend of the Wild Hunter Book 4) (65 page)

“What is over there?” she asked Umingoth.

-I do not know.-

The dragon replied, he slowly turned west.

-Long has it been since I have spread my wings. Much has changed in the years I have been imprisoned. We can go see, if you wish.-

She wanted desperately to say yes, but she knew she couldn’t. Not yet, she told herself. There will come a time when she will be able to, but it wasn’t now. The west would have to wait a little while longer.

“There’s still too much we have to do,” she told him. “We have to find my friends, then we have to return and warn the King.”

-As you wish, but you may already be too late.-

Umingoth turned away from the green lands. Steadying his wings, he banked right, and turned into the rising sun.

“What do you mean, it may be too late?” Kile asked. “Do you know what Ravenshadow was planning?”

-Of course I do. As I said, he did not think I could understand him, so he spoke at length of his plans in my presence.-

“Why haven’t you told me this before?”

-You never asked.-

“I’m asking now. What is Ravenshadow’s plan? What did he need you for?”

-Ravenshadow has sent vir into the Northlands. They have plundered and burned villages, all in the name of your King.-

“But we’ve never had any problems with the north folk.”

-It does not matter. At this time, the vir of the north have raised an army, bent on revenge. They only await the proper moment.-

Of course, with the Callor province under the rule of Lord Rimes and occupied by the valrik, and with most of the King’s Command stretched out along the wasteland’s border, King Roland would have no other choice but to pull the rear guard in to confront the threat on his front doorstep. It would leave most of the northeastern territory undefended. Then the men of Rojan would ride into the Kingdom of Aru unchallenged.

“So, you were supposed to be the proper moment,” Kile shouted. “You were going to lead the invasion?”

-That is what he had in mind.-

Umingoth replied.

With a dragon leading the northern men, the damage would have been catastrophic. There weren’t too many armies that could stand against the might of a dragon. But still, it didn’t make any sense. By destroying the outpost of Moran, they prevented the valrik from reinforcing Lord Rimes. The valrik were held in the Denal province, and Lord Rimes was out of the picture. There is no longer a threat to Azintar, which meant the rear guard would remain stationed in the city. And with the dragon no longer under Ravenshadow’s control, not that he ever was, the north folk would be riding into a massacre. If this was Ravenshadow’s full plan, it was falling apart all around him.

“Down there,” Alex shouted, pointing to a handful of figures who were moving away from the stone city and heading back up into the hills.

“They must be heading back to the camp,” Kile replied.

“Does that mean we get to land?”

“We’ll be on the ground soon.”

Instead of going directly back to camp, she had Umingoth circle the hills. Kile tried to tell herself it was because she wanted to make sure no one was converging on the site, but the truth was, she was reluctant to give up flying so soon. When she ran out of excuses, she urged Umingoth to the ground.

She had hoped he would be discrete, landing a few yards away from the camp, so as not to cause too much of a disturbance, but Umingoth had his own ideas. He not only land in the middle of the campsite, he actually made it a point to land on the tent. His back foot crushing the canvas structure and his wings stirred up the sands of the desert, creating a small dust storm. Men, Ogres, dogs and horses ran in all directions at his arrival; all but Grim refused to move. The mountain pony stood silently and watched with interest as the dragon descended.

Umingoth landed and tucked his leathery wings to his body. He lowered himself to the ground all while keeping an eye on the mountain pony. Grim never blinked, or if he did, it was difficult to tell under all that hair.

Kile slid off the dragon’s back, using his front leg as a gangplank. Once she was on the ground, she helped Alex down. He was a little wobbly and ended up falling on his ass.

“That is the last time I’m riding one of those,” he said when he was finally on the ground. “If man was meant to fly, it was definitely not on the back of a dragon.”

Kile left him where he sat and headed to where Grim was waiting for her.

-Wonderful, a large lizard. Is he joining our rag-tag army now?-

The mountain pony asked.

“Umingoth has agreed to help.” Kile replied. “So be nice.”

-Oh, so the lizard has a name.-

Grim snorted.

-Don’t place too much into what a dragon says, they are not known for their truthfulness or their trust.-

-So says a mountain pony.-

Umingoth replied.

“Okay, knock it off. I have enough problems to deal with, without having to separate the two of you.”

-He started it.-

Umingoth grumbled.

Daniel was the first to approach, although he kept a safe distance from the dragon. He was so nervous in Umingoth’s presence, he hadn’t realized he was standing beside Grim. He tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was Kile, drake, and flatlands.

“It’s all right Danny,” she told him, as she extended a hand to allow an overly excited Vesper to run up her arm. He took his place on her shoulder and she scratched the yarrow’s head. “He’s on our side, for the moment,” she added.

-Don’t be so sure.-

Grim mumbled.

“That is… the drake…?”

“Yes, this is Umingoth, the drake of the flatlands and the last of the class A open scripts.”

“What in all the realms?”

Kile spun around to see Tullner standing off to one side. The young soldier adjusted his glasses as if he wasn’t sure he was seeing what he was seeing.

“Tullner, you’re alright,” she said, running to him. “Is Carter…?”

“He’s fine.” Tullner replied, his eyes never leaving the dragon, who was now watching him with an equal amount of suspicion. “What’s going on here?”

“It’s a long story and I don’t think we have much time,” she explained. “Ravenshadow has been stirring up trouble in Rojan. They believe King Roland is trying to advance into the northern territory.”

“Well, that’s ridiculous. There’s been a treaty with Rojan since the days of King Waltair II.”

“I don’t think that matter. They already think we broke the treaty.”

“Even if they do try to invade Aru, the King’s Command is still stationed in Azintar.” Browne said from a safe distance away. “It won’t be much of a battle.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Tullner replied. “My grandfather told me stories about the wars in the north. The northern men will not go down easily. Rojan is not a nation to be taken lightly”

“But they will go down.” Browne said, and he dared to a few steps closer. “Maybe it’s for the better.”

“How can you say that?” Kile asked. “The men of the north have no stake in this war. They didn’t ask for it, they don’t want it, they’re just defending their homeland.”

“Not to mention the fact it will split the forces between two fronts.” Tullner replied. “We’ll be at war, not only with the Uhyre along the wasteland, but with the Rojan from the north.”

“That might be, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” Daniel added. “By now, Larks has already brought our message to Colonel Barshed.”

Kile had all but forgotten about Larks. The Hunter left days ago. He should have easily arrived with the message by now. Not only will the King’s guard be waiting for the Rojan, but so will the troops of the King’s Command, who were stationed in Callor.

“I’m afraid Danny’s right.” Tullner added. “There really is nothing we can do about it.”

“We have to try.” she told them.

“Try what? For all we know, the war could have already started. There’s no way we can get there in time.” Tullner explained.

“Grim,” she said, turning toward the mountain pony. “He may not be as fast as Larks, but he can run day and night without needing rest.”

“You aren’t seriously thinking of riding all the way back to Callor on that horse, are you?” Tullner asked.

“What, me, no of course not.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“You’re going to.”

Tullner looked at Kile, then at Grim. The pony didn’t appear to be any happier with the idea.

“You’re mad.” he replied.

“It has to be you.” she explained. “You’re the commanding officer of Perha Squad. They’ll have to listen to you.”

“Oh yeah, if they don’t clap me in irons first for going AWOL, and that’s just assuming I actually reach Callor in one piece, and your horse doesn’t try to kill me on the way.”

Kile stared at the mountain pony. “Grim will behave himself, because I don’t have time to argue with him,” she said.

-Fine, if that’s what you want. But you will owe me.-

Grim answered.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you went?” Daniel asked. “I mean, you understand Grim, and you’re the only one who can control him.”

“No. For starters, they already think I’m a loon. I seriously doubt if they’ll take my word for anything. If you remember, I tried to assassinate the Alva ambassadors.”

“Oh year, I forgot about that.”

“Besides, I have to try to stop the war, before it gets started, if I’m not too late.”

“And how are you planning on doing that?” Tullner asked.

“Simple. The same way Ravenshadow wanted to start it. Umingoth is going to fly Alex and me to Rojan.”

“We’re going to what, now?” Alex asked.

Kile waved him away. “It’ll be fine,” she said.

“Wait-- you’re going to take a dragon into a hostile territory, and then do what?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know, I’ll think of something when I get there.”

“You’re more likely to start a war than end one.” Tullner pointed out.

“Maybe not.”

“If you’re really set on flying, why not just go straight to Callor and deliver the message yourself?”

“You’re forgetting, Loon,” she said, pointing to herself. “And besides, I have to keep Umingoth out of sight. He’s the last of his kind. It would be like painting a target on him. We’ll have vir from both sides trying to see who can knock him out of the sky first.”

“I don’t know about this,” Daniel protested.

“Look, I’m all out of ideas, so unless you can think of something...”

All Daniel could do was shake his head. He had known Kile for too long to believe he could change her mind once it was set.

Kile turned to the dragon. “What do you say, Umingoth? Care to spread your wings once more?”

-As long as you keep your side of the bargain, I will keep mine.-

“You ready Alex?”

“You’ve got to be kidding. I just got off that ride, why would I want to get back on?” he asked.

“Because it’s going to be the greatest story you’ll ever tell,” she replied.

“Yeah, well, assuming I survive, and besides, I can always make up a story, I don’t’ necessarily have to be a part of it.”

“Well, I’m sure it will impress Emara.”

Alex went silent for a moment, then grinned. “Alright, I’m sold, let’s go,” he said.

Kile took a few minutes with Grim, trying to convince the mountain pony not to cause any trouble for Tullner. First she tried reasoning with him, and then she tried to pander to his good nature, unfortunately, he didn’t seem to have one. She even went as far as to threaten him, but by now he knew she would never follow through with sending him back to the north folk. As a last resort she had to bribe him.

“So, is this going to work?” asked Tullner.

“It’ll be fine.” she said. “All you have to do is hold on and keep your head down. I doubt if you’ll be able to steer him in any direction he doesn’t want to go, but I don’t think he’ll deliberately put you in danger.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.”

“I’ve also advised him to take a break every so often. So you can stretch your legs or do… you know, what you need to do.”

“Thanks, I was kind of wondering about that. I don’t think I would last the whole way without stopping. He won’t, you know, take off without me, while I’m stretching my legs, will he?”

“He’d better not.” Kile said, eyeing Grim. “He knows that, in order to get his apple pie, he has to get you to Forthbar in one piece. That’s the deal.”

“Apple pie?”

“It’s a long story,” she said, waving it off.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Tullner said. He looked over to where Alex was waiting nervously. “You guys going to be okay? I mean, taking a dragon over the spine of the world is not an everyday event.”

Kile grinned. “Don’t worry about us,” she said. “You have enough to worry about. Just get to Colonel Barshed or Guild Master Latherby. They’ll know what to do.”

“Well then, I guess I’m off,” Tullner said as he nervously approached the mountain pony. Grim just gave him a sideways glare, and Kile wasn’t sure who was in more danger, her with the dragon or Tullner with the pony.

Grabbing a handful of mane, the soldier easily threw himself onto Grim’s back. He held himself still for a few minutes, for fear of being thrown off, but the pony hardly moved.

“So far so good.” He grinned as he started to ease up. “Look, Ki, when this is all over, and assuming we survive, you want to...”

Tullner never finished what he was going to ask her. Grim was on his way to Forthbar, whether or not the soldier was ready. If Tullner hadn’t been holding on tight, he would’ve rolled off the back of the mountain pony when he bolted. She watched them for a while as they grew smaller in the distance, and couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to ask her. She had an idea, but she would never dare voice it.

“Tullner’s off then?” Daniel asked as he came up behind her.

“Looks that way.” She smiled. “You guys going to be all right taking the long route?”

“Not like we have much of a choice.” He replied as they started back toward the camp. “What are we going to do about Marcus?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean, are we going to turn him in, or what?”

“For what?”

“Kile, he betrayed us.”