Page 16

T he riders followed on, leaving the wounded in the dirt, preferring to secure the fruits of their labour. Jai held Navi back, for he knew he would be of no help, and more likely to hurt himself or another.

Instead, he stayed and helped the wounded, such as he could. By now, the baggage train had caught up. The children, the elders and the injured dragging the belongings on their sledges to the wreckage of the hunt, using the few khiroi still too young to be ridden.

The elders, far from being a hindrance, took immediate charge. Bones were set and splinted without ceremony, such that those first minutes were stippled with shrieks of pain under their rough ministrations.

Toothless old men and women stuffed handfuls of herbs into the mouths of the children, such that they could chew it into a poultice. When the young ones spit it out, they used it liberally upon rope burn, broken limbs and cuts alike, and capped it with clay dug from deep within the soil.

Winter, usually a scampering, playful puppy, looked cowed. She nuzzled her snout beneath Jai’s arm, tucking herself into his armpit as Jai crouched in the mud. She’d become accustomed to sleeping there, somehow enjoying Jai’s scent.

‘Strange little thing,’ he whispered to the dragon, scratching beneath her chin.

Jai scanned the camp, looking for where he could help. But the elders had moved swiftly. Already, the tents were being thrown up, and Jai hurried to do the same. The sky was dark, darker than he’d yet seen it, and he feared it would rain.

The two calves continued to call for their mothers, their calls mournful, legs trembling. They hooted at whoever approached, and the children giggled, tempting the small creatures with outstretched vegetables and clumps of grass.

‘Newborns,’ Feng said, trudging up to him and casting an envious glance at Jai’s tent. ‘Hardly a few weeks old. We’ll let them loose when they start taking food. Otherwise, they’ll run off.’

‘Why so young?’ Jai asked.

‘If we weren’t on the move, we’d try for some does too, maybe a runtish bull. Those take days to settle, though, and they’re hard to hold. The calves are pretty tame; Sindri will get more of them. But we can’t be taking wild khiroi with us, not when we’re chasing down the Kidara.’

Feng tasted his finger and held it to the air.

‘They’ll settle when winds change. Young ’uns take years to learn how to follow the scents of the steppe, and are quick to forget their herd. They’ll bond with our own herd before long. Most of our khiroi were taken young.’

‘All this,’ Jai whispered, gesturing at their surroundings. ‘For two little calves?’

Feng sniffed, and nodded.

‘In a few years, those calves will be worth far more to the tribe than the pain and suffering of today. Two more riders for battle. Milk and blood in the winter. Meat, bone, horn, sinew and fur when they’re culled.’

Jai motioned at the limp body with his chin.

‘Worth more than a life?’

‘A long life, well lived. A fair trade, well made.’

He almost chanted it, and Jai imagined it was a Sithian proverb of sorts. That didn’t mean he had to like it.

‘You sound like Zayn, talking like that. There’s no trading when it comes to people’s lives.’

‘I only meant that he’s run his course. If another tribe took over this one, he’d be left behind.’

‘So is he only worth what he can contribute to the tribe? Now you really sound like Zayn. Better hope they don’t see you the same way.’

Feng turned away.

‘I contribute plenty,’ he said. ‘Where would you be, without me?’

‘Feng, I didn’t mean...’

But Feng was already walking away. Jai went to follow, but he couldn’t find the words. What more was there to say?

‘Give him time,’ Kiran said.

Jai turned to see her looking down at him from her mount.

‘Feng hides his hurt, when he should hide his fear instead,’ she said. ‘He thinks it weakness. Let him mourn in his own way.’

Winter pawed at Jai, wanting to be lifted into his arms, but she was far too large. The little dragon was going through a growth spurt, and Jai had seen children riding ponies smaller than she.

Instead, he scratched her chin, and looked out from whence they had come.

‘Not helping with the hunt?’ Jai asked.

‘Sindri sent me back,’ she said, avoiding his eyes.

Jai understood.

‘To keep an eye on me?’ he asked.

‘We are on your tribe’s trail now,’ she said, almost apologetic in her words. ‘If you rode into the night, with our warriors in the midst of a hunt, only Zayn or I might have a chance of bringing you back.’

Jai let out a bitter laugh.

‘I had thought you’d trust me by now.’

‘Why?’ Kiran asked.

Jai stared at her, at a loss.

As they stood there, a sudden commotion erupted from the edge of the camp. Jai and Kiran turned to see a group of riders approaching, their mounts lathered with sweat, their faces grim.

It was Zayn and Sindri returning. Behind them, three more calves were in tow, their ropes secured to the riders’ saddles... tugging and jerking as they dragged a furrow through the grass. The Valor looked triumphant, but the atmosphere was heavy. Among them, a rider carried a lifeless body slung across their mount – a young girl, her face pale and bloodied. Jai seemed to be the only one who had noticed her because Kiran was crying out, ‘Five!’ Clapping her hands, she shouted again, ‘Five!’

It was only when Zayn dismounted, carrying the young girl into the firelight, that the celebrations began to fade.

The camp was silent for a moment, and then the murmurs of mourning began. Kiran shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

‘She was so young,’ she said softly, more to herself than to anyone else.

Jai could only watch, as the girl was laid out beside the old man. To hunt the khiroi was a battle between man and beast. And if he was to be accepted by the Valor, or indeed the Kidara... Jai knew he might someday have to hunt them alone.