Shieldwolf Dawning (18 page)

Merganser pointed out the inhospitable environments of the icy poles, first north. "We guard the ice prison in Mirabuka Landing—" then south, "—and we patrol the wastelands of Zuriel." She pointed to the east. "Shieldwolves also patrol Admetusland and the islands of Pythia over here." Merganser put the map back into its casing.

She went to the window and beckoned for Samarra and Brin to join her. "What do you see?" she asked them. Samarra stepped forward cautiously and looked outside. The Shieldwolf battlegroup she had seen before was waiting by the stables — there were probably sixty shamans in dark armour. "Well?" prompted Merganser.

"I see a Shieldwolf battlegroup," replied Samarra. What else could she say?

"Do you know what they are waiting for?"

Samarra shook her head. "Not really." She thought about the fruit. "Maybe… I don't know."

"Take another look." Merganser went back to her desk. "What can you see now?"

Samarra scanned the courtyard more closely. She noticed an archeop in dark armour standing by the fountain — it was Irik. He plunged his claws into the water and pulled out a shard of ice. The shard took the form of a dragon. Irik whispered to the dragon and the shard exploded into hundreds of snowflakes. Irik brushed the wetness from his body and ran to Croak, who had just appeared in the courtyard. Like Irik, Croak was in full armour. Samarra stood by the window, unsure of what to say.

Brin spoke up. "Elder Croak and Elder Irik are having a conversation. Irik has just used the Sight. A battlegroup is heading out. That's what I see."

"A battlegroup is heading out. Thank you." Merganser gestured at the empty seats. "Please, sit down."

Samarra and Brin obliged.

"Do you know why a battlegroup is heading out?" asked Merganser.

Neither Samarra nor Brin said a word. Samarra was too scared to say anything.

Merganser cleared her throat. "Let me explain. Many Kairu know that one fruit of sublimation contains enough power to propel an individual through dimensions, or a larger group to destinations within Kairuhan. What most Kairu do not know is that one fruit can also produce enough force to implode entire areas into flux — no light, no life as we know it."

Samarra's stomach turned to knots. How could a simple mistake lead to all of this?

Merganser leaned forward in her seat. "We must never forget that dragons are selfish creatures, material leeches who only act according to their own interests. They are also chaotic. What Suthum might do with the fruit is unpredictable. It will be a challenge to take it from her. She will fight until the end before relinquishing her chance for escape." Merganser lowered her voice. "Elder Irik has spoken with the water spirits to locate Suthum. She is deep in the cradle, but not in her cave. The battlegroup is prepared for a swift fight. They will do what is necessary to recover the fruit." Merganser's good eye bored into the swains. Samarra was too scared to look away.

"As an Elder, it is my duty to synthesize the facts before I determine a suitable consequence for your actions — such is the Law of Living. You both disobeyed direct orders when you left Shieldwolf Proper without clearance. That is a fact you have accepted. For this, your movement is restricted to the barracks and any training grounds relevant to your daily instruction for seven days. You will also partake in twelve consecutive hours of physical training as determined by Shieldwolf Longmane."

Samarra made moves to stand.

Merganser put up her hand. "Stay where you are."

Samarra sank back into the chair.

"With regards to trading the fruit," Merganser went on, "I cannot hold you completely accountable for something beyond your understanding, yet I am forced to acknowledge the part you played in the event. Samarra, you found an object that you pocketed when it was clearly not yours for the taking. You then gave the object to a dragon, an untrustworthy creature with questionable motives."

Samarra tensed up. Something felt wrong. She gripped the bottom of her chair. Her nails dug grooves into the wood.

"Having said this, I must also acknowledge the character you displayed when you informed Shieldwolf Longmane of your actions." Merganser folded her hands in front of her. "In the same instance, others might not have been so honourable. If this incident unfolds with no serious consequences, I might consider limiting your punishment to an official warning." Merganser went to a shelf by the far wall. She picked up a thick book and scanned the pages.

"The consequences for your actions, Samarra, will be measured by the imbalance that ensues. If even one life is lost during recovery of the fruit of sublimation, you will face disciplinary action worse than anything you can currently imagine."

Samarra's heart plummeted. Why did she always end up making a mess of things? Couldn't she get anything right? She stared at her boots — they didn't seem so shiny anymore.

Merganser spoke into her tablet. "They are on their way." She walked to the door.

Brin stood up hesitantly. Samarra followed suit. Her head hurt and she wanted to talk to Cassian. She wanted to hug him and tell him she was sorry for bringing him here. She wanted him to tell her that everything would be okay. She wanted to not be in trouble.

"Report to Shieldwolf Longmane. "He is waiting for you on the main training field." Merganser opened the door and ushered them out. The heavy wood clicked shut behind them.

Brin exhaled with a long hiss.

"I know," Samarra replied with a glum hiccup. "I know."

Mean Grrlz

"Get up!" Shieldwolf Longmane rammed his staff into the gravel next to Samarra's face.

Her muscles were burning, yet she forced her body up. "Four hundred and ninety-eight," she groaned, more than ready to pass out from exhaustion.

Samarra had spent the last few hours doing push-ups with her staff balanced across her neck. The veins in her temples were bulging, and she could barely feel her hands because they had gone numb from being pressed into sharp rocks. "Four hundred and ninety-nine," she grunted in pain.

Drops of her sweat exploded in circles of wet darkness as they hit the stone. Her muscles throbbed, but she knew that if she relaxed even a little bit, her staff would tip over and fall off and the militant Shieldwolf Longmane would make her start her push-ups from zero, just like he had done three times already. Brin had finished his push-ups a while ago and had been sent back to the barracks for sleep.

Samarra struggled to lift herself up once more. The pain was unbearable. "Five hundred." She exhaled before she collapsed on the ground. She lay still and caught her breath. The cold rock was soothing on her cheek.

"You may now return to your sleeping quarters." Shieldwolf Longmane kneeled down to check her pulse. He took the staff and placed it at her side. "Dawning?"

Samarra refused to look at his face. Instead, she focused on the training dummy nearby. Shieldwolf Longmane sat down beside her and waited. She could tell he wanted to say something, but she didn't care. He was a tool as far as she was concerned.

Shieldwolf Longmane stayed there for a while. "Dawning," he said again.

Samarra ignored him and lay quiet and still until he left. When she was sure he was gone, she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Samarra had believed that she'd been coming to a better place, but she wasn't so sure anymore. Living with the Sairfangs had been unbearable for her, but Cassian had been happy. What if he was right? What if it wasn't too late to save the biosphere? Maybe she should have listened to him. Maybe she
was
selfish. Maybe she didn't think things through properly. Now they were stuck.

Time passed. A light breeze cooled her skin. Samarra could feel herself getting drowsy. She had almost nodded off when she heard a shrill in the distance. She sat up with a start. A Shieldwolf circled above her and landed a few feet away. The archeop's eyes looked shocked and unblinking, as if he had never seen a blue-haired gaian.

"The fruit has been recovered from Suthum. There have been no significant losses. You will face no major disciplinary measures for your actions." The archeop waited for Samarra to speak. When nothing was forthcoming, he flapped his wings and launched himself into the air. "Return to your sleeping quarters immediately," he called out over his wing on his way back to the main tower.

Samarra sat motionless. She was grateful that she wouldn't be facing a worse form of punishment, but she still couldn't help feeling a sense of hopelessness tugging away at her heart. Her world was turning upside down and she didn't know how to make sense of it or make it stop. With a forlorn sigh, she grabbed her staff and made her way to the barracks, ready for sleep.

****

"I swear I'm going to break both your legs!" Samarra swung wide and fierce with her staff. Hard wood cracked the back of Tavani's knees. The platophibian went down in a heap, pulling her right knee up to her chest and screaming in pain.

"Stop! Stop!" she pleaded.

"Only when you can't walk." Samarra gave her best mean look and prepared another swing.

A group of swains training nearby stopped to watch the fight. Shieldwolf Longmane was either ignoring them or completely focused on helping Whistler and Brin work on their attack moves, Samarra couldn't tell. She had been waiting for a chance like this since the first time she had met Tavani. A combination of Shieldwolf Longmane's orders and Tavani's big mouth had handed Samarra the perfect opportunity to test run her staff and, more importantly, her awesome kicker boots.

"Your grandfather can't get you out of this one." Samarra scowled. "Don't ever call me a filthy gaian." She readied her boot and kicked Tavani's other leg with everything she had.

"Don't kick! No! No! Don't kick!" Tavani held up her hands in fear. Her long tail curled around to protect her leg. "I'll stop calling you names. I promise. I'll be nice."

Samarra readjusted her position and poised her staff for attack.

"What?" Tavani shrieked.
"Stop!
I told you… I'll be nice."

Samarra narrowed her gaze, going for extra effect. "Grr."

"Shieldwolf Longmane, make the mean girl stop." Tavani clawed at the muddy ground and scrambled to get away.

Samarra swung her staff, but before she could follow through, she was dragged back by a pair of strong hands.

"Enough!"
Shieldwolf Longmane's voice had an edge like the sharpest steel.

Samarra put down her weapon and stood at attention all straight and still, but she was shaking like crazy on the inside. Her head was flaring hot and her boots were amazing.

"Dawning, your instructions were to
tap
the target, not
pound
or
kick
." Shieldwolf Longmane bent down to check Tavani's leg. "You will be fine," he told her gruffly. "Return to starting position. Both of you."

"But… but… she almost broke my leg into pieces." Tavani dragged herself to sitting position. Translucent green tears gushed down her mud-splattered face.

"Well—" Shieldwolf Longmane glared at her, "—you will have to dodge her attack next time and not walk into it like a fool."

Tavani screamed like a spoilt brat and beat the wet grass with angry fists. "I'm telling Grandfather on you!"

The swains fell silent. Samarra wanted to laugh. Shieldwolf Longmane was unmoved. He stared straight ahead with a calm expression and waited for Tavani to settle down. When she had stepped into line with her staff at her side and her face spotty with anger, he marched to the front of the training field. Samarra thought she saw a smile touch his lips before he launched into another speech on basic attack moves.

Samarra zoned out when he started to pick apart what the swains had done well and what they could improve on. She leaned over to Cassian who, as usual, was standing next to her in the front row. He had refused to speak to her since the first day of basic training. Although she had tried a few times to strike up a conversation with him, he would simply ignore her as if she wasn't even there. But Samarra would not give up. She wanted him to forgive her for bringing him here. She had made a mistake and she was more than sorry.

"Cass, I know you can hear me," she whispered. He didn't move a muscle. "All right, I'm going to talk to you anyway." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I don't know how many times I've had to apologize to you for what I've done. But I did what I did so that we could live in a better place."

He kept his focus on Shieldwolf Longmane.

"Cass?" She hoped he would say something and sighed when he didn't. "Okay, I'm sorry I'm not more like you. Yeah, sometimes I make decisions without thinking through every tiny detail, and every now and then I make a mistake. I can tell you I'm sorry a hundred times a day, every day for the rest of my life, but that won't change a thing. We're here, and we have to make the most of what we have. It is what it is. Can we please move on?"

When Cassian spoke, he was calm. "The Shieldwolves think I'm supposed to end a war. They're sending me — us — to war. Don't you get it? I wouldn't be forced to do this if we had stayed on Gaia. Thanks to you I'm training to be a Shieldwolf. I don't want to be in an army. I've told you that so many times."

"Am I going to have to hear about it every day for the rest of my life?" Samarra groaned. "Can't you just accept my apology, and we'll go back to what we were like before all of this happened. Please?"

"We can never go back to what we were like," he said stubbornly.