Marysvale (20 page)

I drew out the crossbow, and then
loosened the rifle and opened a pouch of cartridges. Jane followed
my lead and handed a pistol to a very scared Hannah.

I watched with my special vision as the
lead Brean crossed where we had just been.

T
HE
horses’ ears flicked up almost in unison, with the
packhorse being just a fraction slower. I drew it in close to where
I could quietly console both animals. Jane did the same, reassuring
Smoke
.

The first Brean in the column snapped
its head up, sensing something. It slowed, but it was a bit too
sudden, and got knocked over by the one directly behind it. Fits of
snarls and growls burst from both of them, as they clashed with
each other and commenced to fight.

Jane and Hannah couldn’t see what had
happened, but they could hear the angry confrontation, and they
looked terrified.

More snarls issued forth from those in
the middle of the column, as they desperately tried to avoid
colliding with the brawling twosome. The Brean in the far rear of
the group slowed as well. The two fighters, equal in their desire
to avoid a pile-up, quit their bickering and the whole group of
them continued their brisk pace—all except for the last one who
trailed behind the departing pack.

Nose held high, it searched for the
source of a newly detected scent. It hesitated, then turned, and
headed in the direction from which we had just come.

I breathed a deep sigh of
relief.

Unfortunately, my congratulatory
celebration was premature. The lone Brean hadn’t gone far before
the trail it followed ended. In a flash, it ran back to the
beginning before our scent could blow away. This time it followed
the wind and started up the right path towards us.

I motioned for Jane to get behind me. I
selected the crossbow, not sure it would do any good, but sure the
booming sound of a rifle would give our position away to the
others.

The stink from the Brean drifted in the
air and its putrid smell floated past us. The horses smelled it
too; and the wretched packhorse whinnied. I cursed it under my
breath. Fortunately, by this time, the other monsters had moved out
of earshot. With its suspicions now confirmed, the lone Brean
slowed and crept closer. Glaring, silvery eyes and a dark, hulking
shape dissolved out of the fog in front of us. Long, black claws
twitched in anticipation.

The girls could see it now. Hannah was
trembling, and Jane sat with her rifle poised. A low, guttural
growl rumbled from deep inside the monster’s body.

I waited for a charge, and with it, a
closer shot. However, the presence of the Brean was too much for
the packhorse. It panicked. Struggling against the rope that
tethered us, it dragged me and the mare sideways. I struggled to
keep the bow aimed, but the monster had its chance. However,
instead of charging, it straightened up and tilted its massive head
towards the sky.

Instantly, I knew what it intended to
do and my blood ran cold.

Without waiting for a steady shot, I
pulled the trigger. With a twang, the arrow left the bow and sliced
through the fog. Fearing it would miss, I immediately dropped the
crossbow, snatched up the rifle, and aimed…but it wasn’t necessary.
The only sound to issue from the Brean was a great gasp and a rush
of air from its lungs as it fell lifeless to the ground.

Just the feathers and a bit of the
shaft was all that could be seen of the arrow, as it protruded from
the monster’s eye socket.

I scanned our surroundings to find the
other Brean…nothing. They hadn’t noticed one of their own missing.
I wonder how long that will last,
I thought. At their
current pace, they will soon be arriving at the cabin. I hoped
Sarah’s plans didn’t involve any type of standoff. If they all
charged at once, there wasn’t anything she could do to stop
them.

I secured the rifle, climbed off my
mount, and retrieved the fallen crossbow. I walked over to examine
the Brean and was joined by Jane and Hannah; both were covering
their noses.

“
It’s uglier than I
imagined, and it smells just horrible,” said Hannah.

“
Is this the first one
you’ve seen?” I questioned, somewhat surprised.

“
Yes…well no. I’ve seen them
from a distance sometimes, outside the town walls; but this is the
first one I’ve been able to get a good look at, so I’m going to
count it as the first.”

“
Well then, let’s hope it’s
the last, as well.”

I bent down and grabbed the protruding
arrow.

“
You’re not…are you?” asked
Jane disgustedly.

“
Do you have the tools to
make new arrows?”

“
No.”

“
Neither do I.”

I began to twist the arrow to work it
out. It didn’t give. I braced my foot against the Brean’s head and
pulled harder. This time it came, accompanied by a chorus of “ewws”
and “yucks” from the girls. I wiped the bits and pieces of Brean
onto the grass, and then secured the arrow back inside the
crossbow.

“
Come on,” I said. “We’d
better keep moving. Eventually, the other Brean will realize this
one is missing and may come looking.”

We mounted and I asked Jane, “Do you
know if there’s a stream or a river close by?”

“
Maybe, but I don’t know
where we are.”

I explained to Jane roughly where we
were in relation to Sarah’s cabin.

“
I think there is one nine
or ten miles that way,” she said, pointing west.

“
It’s farther than I’d like,
but it’ll have to do.”

“
Why are you looking for a
river?”

“
I don’t know if those
things know how to track, but I’d rather not find out the hard
way.”

She agreed and then asked, “Do you
really think they will come looking for us?”

“
I don’t know; but at the
pace they’re moving, it won’t take them long to come back if they
decide to.”

We traveled in silence as the night
progressed. I’d never before used my gifts so much, and it was
taking its toll. Each time I opened my vision, I found it
increasingly more laborious. With the excitement of the encounter
wearing off, added to lack of sleep, staying awake was becoming
extremely difficult. My head drooped and my eyes closed. I drifted
in and out of sleep, in a state of semi consciousness. I tried to
stay awake and in the saddle, but kept slipping back into an
exhausted stupor.

When I awoke, it was to the sound of
running water. Morning had dawned, though it remained cold and
foggy. Jane rode by my side, ready, just in case I slipped off. She
caught my eyes and flashed a beautiful smile that instantly
dissipated any remaining sleep. I blushed uncontrollably and
returned an awkward grin. Suddenly self-conscious, I stopped
smiling stupidly. I could see a silent laugh shake her, which made
me redden even deeper.

Hannah was fast asleep, still clutching
Jane, but not as tightly as before.

We splashed into a slow-moving, dark
and bubbly river. Trees and green grass grew along the banks. The
river deepened and cold water swirled around my calves.

A small shriek came from Hannah, who
was ripped from her sleep by the frigid river and was now fully
awake. She wrapped her legs around Jane’s waist in a desperate
attempt to avoid getting any wetter.

I laughed and she replied defensively,
“Well, there’s no reason why we should both get wet.”

“
You’re welcome,” I
said.

“
For what? What have you
done?”

“
For putting you on Smoke
and keeping you dry.”

“
Oh,” she said, noticing
that the water around me was now up to mid saddle, where it had not
yet even reached the bottom of Smoke’s.

Slowly, the water receded down my legs
as we neared the other side. Before stepping out onto the bank, we
turned and trudged up the river, allowing it to hide our tracks and
scent. A fair distance away, we finally exited onto dry ground and
continued our trek towards Marysvale.

I took the opportunity to ask some
questions of Jane.

“
Why can’t Sarah go back to
town and why would it be more dangerous for her there?”

She thought for a moment.

“
Inciting rebellion and
habitual imprudence were the official charges.”

Silence.

“
Oh,” I said, as if it made
perfect sense. “I can see the rebellion charge, though one would be
hard-pressed to find Sarah unwise in anyway.”

Jane glared at me.

“
Well if that’s all you’re
going to tell me, what else am I supposed to conclude?” I asked,
defensively.

“
If you’ll have patience, I
was deciding where to start,” she retorted.

“
How about from the
beginning?” I suggested.

“
That will take some
time.”

I shrugged. “What else do you have to
do?”

She rolled her eyes. “Very well. Do you
know how Sarah came to live in Marysvale?”

“
I know about the attack on
your homes and that the three of you and your father were the only
ones to survive.”

“
It was a long time ago, and
I don’t personally remember much about what happened.

But this is what Sarah told
me.

“
There were others living
outside of town then, but they hadn’t been attacked yet. When news
of what happened spread to the rest of the outlying country, a
great debate raged on what to do about it. At first, there were
many ideas; but they quickly melted down into two opposing
camps.

“
The first plan was led by
an old blacksmith named Angus Shepherd. Of course he wasn’t that
old at the time. Shepherd and his supporters wanted to immediately
hunt the beasts and drive them out of our lands. His son, James,
and Sarah were two of his most vocal supporters.”

I gasped.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I know James
Shepherd.”

“
It must be someone else,”
said Jane dismissively.

“
He’s about the same age as
Sarah.”

“
No, it can’t be. James died
a long time ago.”

“
How?” I asked.

“
He was with a party of men
who were sent to get help from the outside. They never made it.
Only one man survived. He alone returned to tell the
tale.”

I thought about that for a moment, yet
I was still sure that the man I knew as James Shepherd was the son
of Angus Shepherd.

I asked another question, “Do you know
Angus?”

“
Yes,” replied Hannah, her
curiosity suddenly piqued by our conversation.

“
Is he a Scot?”

“
Yes,” she replied, with
growing excitement. “How did you know?”

“
James didn’t die,” I said
confidently. “He’s alive in Syre.”

Then I described him with his Scottish
accent and how he, too, was a blacksmith.