Vankara (Book 1) (22 page)

The fresh air
coming off of the large pool of water felt delicious after having traveled
underground for so long.  Standing by the tree, their reins tethered to a large
limb, were two horses:  one white and one black.  Each had been outfitted with
a saddle and a small pack of supplies.  John walked up to the black horse and
slung his saddle pack on top of another pack which was already secured over the
horn of the saddle.  I walked to the white horse and glided my hand down its
nose in a comforting manner before untying its reins from the branch.

“Follow me,”
Gabriel said to us.

He led us a short
distance away through a growth of bushes and trees to the Iron Wall.  We walked
along the wall until Gabriel stopped at an undistinguishable section.

He looked to make
sure we were behind him before saying “Mei inimicus, mei amicus.”

A door appeared in
the wall as if it had been there all the time.  Gabriel turned the knob
allowing me my first glimpse inside the world of the fae.

“When you return,
simply repeat the words I said at this spot on the wall on the other side and
the door will appear.  I would advise you to wait until sunset to come back to
the castle, just to make certain no one sees you returning.”

John and I walked
our horses through the door opening.

“Be watchful,”
Gabriel warned from the other side of the door.  “There’s probably a very good
reason none of our spies ever made it back home.”

“We’ll be fine,”
Fallon said with a lot more confidence than I was feeling.  He closed the door
making it instantly disappeared like a pebble in water.

Fallon gathered a
few fallen tree limbs and piled them in front of where the door was so we could
find it easily when we were ready to return to home.

We mounted our
horses and quickly found a path leading out of the dense brush which surrounded
the wall.

The forest we were
in was thick with animal life and vegetation.  Under the bright light of the
moon, I could see large leafed ferns, bushes and tall trees on either side of
the path we rode on.  At one point, the trees began to thin out but only
because each solitary tree became larger in width and length.  The bottom of
the tree trunks became so large I could well imagine a small cottage fitting
snuggly inside them.

“What kind of
trees are these?” I asked.

“Giant redwoods,”
Fallon answered, keeping a watchful eye on our surroundings.  I felt sure all
of his years of military training had heightened his senses, especially if
danger was close at hand.

“Do trees like
this grow on our side of the wall?”

“Not this big.”

“I’ve heard tales
that the fae build their villages in trees. Do you think that’s true?”

“That’s what I’ve
always heard.  But who knows?  It’s been two hundred years since a Vankaran has
set foot on this side of the wall and lived long enough to tell what he saw.”

As we made our way
down the path, I began to see movement to the left of us out of the corner of
my eye.  I wasn’t sure if what I was seeing was real or simply a phantom fueled
by my own unease and the eeriness of our surroundings.  Sometimes the mind can
play tricks on your senses if the circumstances are right.  I turned my head to
look directly into the thick forest surrounding us.  Camouflaged by the foliage
and absence of much light, I saw a bulky black mass shift the darkness around
it.

“Fallon stop,” I
whispered, gently reining in my horse to a stand still.

Fallon turned his
horse back around to me.

“What’s wrong?” he
whispered, following my gaze into the forest.

I didn’t have to
answer.  The thing watching us answered for me.

A shaft of
moonlight shot through the dense forest illuminating an animal four sizes
larger than the horse I rode.  I stared, completely transfixed, as a pair of
featherless wings stretched out from either side of the creature.  Realizing it
was no longer concealed from our view, it stood from its crouched position
revealing a long thin tapered neck and small head.  The creature moved its
wings until we could hear them flapping in the wind.

“Damn it,” Fallon
yelled.  “Run!”

I hesitated,
always a fatal mistake in such times.

The creature
quickly rose into the air.  I watched its ascension feeling helpless and lost
before its magnificence.  Fallon galloped to my side and slapped the backside
of my horse forcing it into a flat out run as he followed close beside me. 
Fallon pulled his sword from its sheath not a moment too soon.  Before I knew
it, the creature swooped down on us deftly extending its razor sharp talons
towards me.  Just as it was about to sink its claws into my back, an invisible
force provided by the spell on my cloak propelled the creature high into the
air above us like it had been hit in the pit of its stomach by an unseen hand. 
With a wail, which sounded somewhere between pain and frustration, the creature
descended on us again but this time targeting Fallon and snatching him out of
his saddle before climbing back into the air.

“Run, Sarah!”
Fallon screamed to me in a mix of pain and urgency.

Without
instruction from me, my horse bolted down the road as fast as she could go.  A
sane person would have paid heed to Fallon’s warning, but I knew I wouldn’t be
able to live with myself if I didn’t try to do everything within my power to
help him.  I had to literally lean my whole body backwards, almost lying
straight against my horse’s back, to make her stop her skittish retreat.  I
couldn’t blame her for instinctively wanting to runaway from a dangerous
situation but I needed to do what I could to help Fallon, even if it meant I
might fall victim to his same fate.

Over the sound of
mine and the horse’s heavy breathing, I could hear Fallon’s screams and curses
fill the air.  I jerked on my reins, forcing the horse to head back to where
the creature had abducted the Marshall.

I didn’t mind
hearing Fallon’s screams; at least it meant he was still alive.  It was only
when silence ruled the forest once more that I became frantic with worry.  Just
as I approached the spot where Fallon’s horse should have been, I saw the
outline of the creature’s body lying across the path.  Its head had been
completely severed from its thin tapered neck.  Fallon lay motionless, face
down, next to the creature’s corpse with his sword still tightly clenched in
one hand.

I leapt off my
horse and ran to his side, kneeling to find out if he was still alive.  I
immediately turned him onto his back.  There across his chest were three large
slashes made by the talons of the creature.  Oozing out of the slash marks was
a sulfurous smelling yellow pus accompanied by large quantities of Fallon’s own
blood.  With a trembling hand, I placed my fingers against his throat to see if
he was still alive.  I sighed in relief as I felt the tell tale thumping of
life against my fingers.

Tragedy either
turns people into fools or heroes.  Luckily, I had been trained by my father to
temper my emotions when situations seemed without hope.  Fallon wouldn’t
survive much longer if I didn’t act quickly.

I knew right away
I wouldn’t be able to move Fallon very far by myself.  Plus, I wasn’t sure how
deep the gashes on his chest were.  If I tried to move him, I might do more
harm than good.  I stood up and went to search through my horse’s pack to judge
what I had to work with.

In my pack,
Gabriel had given me a flint, tin cup, some dried beef, and half a loaf of
bread.  I grabbed the pack and the water canteen.

With all the
kindling around us, I had a roaring fire lit in no time.  With the added light,
I made a more thorough investigation of the wounds on Fallon’s chest.

The creature’s
talons hadn’t slashed as deeply as I first thought in the dim light of the
moon, but the oozing yellow puss seemed to be slowly eating away at the raw
open flesh.  I quickly unbuttoned Fallon’s leather jacket to pull the ruined
garment away from the wounds.  I grabbed my water canteen hoping to wash away
the pus but it seemed like the more water I poured onto the gashes the more pus
bubbled forth.  I wasn’t sure if I was helping draw out the poison or if I was
actually causing more poison to be made.  I decided to stop what I was doing
and think of an alternative plan.

I heard the snort
of Fallon’s horse before I saw him walk around from the other side of the
creature’s corpse.  He cantered over to stand beside my horse.  I walked over
to him to see what might be in Fallon’s packs.  Gabriel had given us each the
same things except he had packed a small iron skillet among Fallon’s items.  I
stared at the pack Fallon had brought with him for a few seconds before
deciding he probably wouldn’t mind me pilfering through his belongings in a
time of need, especially if he had brought something which would save his life.

Luckily,
disregarding common courtesy panned out.

Fallon had packed
a roll of bandages, a pair of small scissors and a bottle of laudanum.  I felt
ashamed I hadn’t thought to bring any medical supplies on our trip but silently
thanked Fallon for having the foresight to do so.

I laid out what
supplies I had by the fire.  Since Fallon was out cold, laudanum wouldn’t be necessary
just yet.  The bandages would help cover the wound and prevent further
infection but I needed to find a way to get rid of the pus from his wounds
first.

I mentally
shuffled through the various herbal remedies my father had taught me trying to
decide on the appropriate one for the situation at hand.  I quickly rose to my
feet and made a torch by wrapping some bandages around a small fallen tree limb
to light my way into the forest praying I could find a clearing which would be
exposed to a great deal of sunlight for the plant I hoped to find.

Just a few yards
away, I found exactly what I was looking for. 

During the time my
father and I spent out in the woods together, he taught me about the plant life
around me explaining nature was the greatest healer.

“Whatever might be
wrong with you,” he said, “nature has a cure for it.”

Growing low to the
ground in a small clearing of the redwood forest was a patch of chickweed.  I
knew it was good for healing minor cuts and hoped it would lend itself to
healing major ones also.

I grabbed as much
as I could carry in one hand and made my way back to camp.  I got my tin cup
and found a short stick.  I poured some water into the cup and began grinding
the chickweed into a poultice.  I had to make a few trips to the chickweed
patch in the forest but I soon had enough paste to cover all of Fallon’s
wounds.  I then placed strips of bandages over them to prevent infection from an
outside source.  I gathered some more chickweed and put it into my cup with
some water.  I set the skillet in the fire with the cup inside to make some tea
for Fallon to drink. 

With nothing
better to do than watch water boil, I decided to study the creature which had
caused us so much havoc.  Its scales were smooth and the color of blue topaz.

I noticed what
looked like a small pouch at the base of the creature’s belly.  Curiosity got
the better of me and I pulled the upper layer of skin away to look inside. 
Nestled there was an egg the color of a robin’s egg and the size of a chicken
egg.  I reached in and pulled it out.  There was what looked like a fleshy cord
attached to one end of it.  As soon as the forest air touched the fragile tube,
it evaporated leaving only the egg in my hand.

As I held the egg,
it began to vibrate, almost causing me to drop it on the ground.  I assumed the
egg I held might be the creatures progeny, but I wouldn’t fully understand the
treasure I held in my hands until much later.

Not knowing what
else to do with the egg, I laid it by the fire to keep it warm.

After the tea was
done, I cradled Fallon’s head in my lap trying to coax the healing liquid down
his throat.  He swallowed some but most simply ran down the sides of his face.

I wondered if I
should try to make my way back to the Iron Wall and get help, but couldn’t
bring myself to leave Fallon so unprotected.  Who knew what other creatures
lurked in the forest around us?  Instead, I lay down next to him and draped the
Mantle of Power over both of us soon finding myself fall into an exhausted
sleep.

My dreams were filled
with a series of distorted images causing me to wake up with a start sometime
later.  I looked over at Fallon and found him awake and staring at me.

“Bad dream?” he
asked in a weak voice.  I could see a sheen of perspiration covering his brow.

I quickly sat up
and leaned over him touching his forehead with my hand.  He was burning up with
fever.

“How long have you
been awake?” I asked.

“Not long,” he
answered, closing his eyes like the two words had cost him more than just air
to say.

I removed the mantle
from his chest and saw that the wounds did indeed look a bit better but
certainly not completely healed.  The yellow pus still oozed from his wounds.

“I think I need to
change your dressing,” I said.  “And make you some more of the poultice to put
on your wounds.  Are you in a lot of pain?  I found the laudanum you packed. 
Do you need some?”

Fallon shook his
head slightly, not having the strength to make a verbal reply.

“I’ll be right
back,” I promised.

I got up and went
to my patch of chickweed to gather some more.  The sky was lighter now and I
could only assume morning was fast approaching.  I didn’t even need a torch to
see where I was going.

Once I reached the
chickweed, I sat on the back of my heels and pulled up as much of the weed as I
could.

I was diligently
pulling up the plant, root and all, until I heard a woman’s voice say behind
me, “If you don’t mind dear, could you leave a bit of that in the ground?”