Page 48

T hey brought the oxen. It was too great a treasure to abandon, and the beasts followed them readily enough. Indeed, they could hardly stop them, for they were used to humans.

Lucky for Jai’s men, their path was easy, for the trail Jai’s knights carved had already been beaten by their quarry.

The Keldar. The grass in their path was yet to reclaim its domain, and he could see the footprints of shoe and khiro in the mud.

By now, his eye was accustomed to picking out the useful plants, hidden in among the leaves. He could see few had been harvested at the edges of their path. This was a tribe in flight.

They spurred themselves on. Into the night. So it was not long after the sun had set, and the moon but a silver glow behind an overcast sky, that they at last saw the fires of the Keldar, growing larger on the horizon.

But as they drew closer, consternation began among his riders. He signalled a general halt, to hear the whispers, even as he called back the eager Winter with a thought.

‘They didn’t know we were coming,’ Harleen said, catching up to him, Sindri hot on her heels.

‘What does that matter,’ Jai said. ‘Isn’t that a good thing?’

‘No,’ Sindri snapped, stabbing a finger towards the horizon. ‘Look.’

Jai furrowed his brow. And saw other, more distant lights. Many of them, now that he looked. Sindri summoned Kiran, and the soulbound knight spurred closer to them, her mount snorting, white foam gathered on its hoary lips.

In that time, Jai realised his folly. He voiced it.

‘That is another Great Tribe?’ Jai asked, and received a nod in return. ‘So they travel fast, but in plain sight, even with a Great Tribe close enough to see them. Yet they continue, dangerously close. Why aren’t they scared of them? And what were they rushing for?’

‘Mayhap they are late,’ Harleen jested.

The two Valor gave her unamused looks, but Jai caught the meaning behind it.

‘Sindri,’ Jai whispered. ‘How many riders do the Keldar have?’

‘One hundred and fifty,’ she said.

‘You’re sure?’ Jai asked.

‘You think I am their regular guest, counting their warriors?’ Sindri snapped back. ‘You think we truck with traders as often as you Kidara, shooting the breeze about our rival’s forces? I don’t know, Jai. If they sent half their force to meet us that day, then that is my prediction.’

Kiran raised a hesitant hand.

‘They may... be closer to two hundred,’ she said. ‘Judging from the tracks.’

Jai cursed.

‘They must have left more than half behind, when they rode out to face us,’ Jai said. ‘Riders to protect their families. Scouts, perhaps a small force in case of a band of riteless. Perhaps they are not the marauders you think they are, Sindri.’

Now it was Sindri’s turn to curse.

‘So we only match their number,’ Sindri said.

‘No,’ Jai said. ‘More.’

They stared at him, and Jai rubbed his eyes.

‘Even if they have fifty more knights than we expected, it is still not enough to warrant fires this close to a Great Tribe. Too great a risk.’

Harleen sniffed, and nodded.

‘We’ve followed them for days, yet only see their fires tonight. Wherever they were headed... I think they have arrived.’

‘So what is this?’ Harleen asked.

‘We’ve a few hours of light left,’ Jai said. ‘If we move any closer now, they will see us. Kiran and I will go on foot. The rest of you... dismount, and keep your khiroi’s heads low.’

‘Alone?’ Sindri asked.

‘We are soulbound,’ Jai said. ‘You’ll only slow us down.’

He leaped down, wincing as his stiff legs came to life once more.

‘Ready?’ Jai asked.

Kiran nodded, leaping down with far more grace. She kissed her khiro goodbye, huffing her breath into the beast’s nose. It calmed the whickering khiro. And then, with a few steps... she was gone, into the underbrush.

Jai followed without a second thought, glad he was tall enough that grass did not reach his face. Still, it snatched at his body. He could make out Kiran, her head just visible. Soon, they were in parallel, and Jai felt the mana surge in his muscles as he forced himself through the tangling, grasping strands.

It was hard work to move among this. This was what Leonid’s legionaries must have faced, as a horde of khiroi and screaming warriors charged at them. He did not envy it.

They pushed on, together, Winter winding a sinuous path at their front, leading them ever closer to their destination.

Soon enough, Kiran held up a fist, stopping him in his tracks. She drew her blade, holding it low and kneeling to rub mud upon it, dulling its shine.

Next, she cut the grass around them with great sweeps of her blade, before knotting and stacking it with practised hands. Before long, there was a small, tight mound of grass, which she used as a stepping stone to peer at the enemy. Jai tiptoed and did the same.

Beyond, he could see the Keldar camp, now far more clearly than before. They were close. Dangerously so, and he was glad that the wind was against them. He could smell the cooking fires wafting, and the animal scent of khiroi.

But most of all, it was the voices. He ducked down, and concentrated, listening to the words. It was hard to make out, especially in the accented sithosi that he was not yet used to.

‘A wedding,’ Kiran whispered. ‘Big one.’

Jai stared at her. ‘How do you know?’ he hissed.

She crouched beside him, and motioned the camp’s way with her chin.

‘They cook with saffron,’ she mused aloud. ‘That is only for special occasions – marriages or royal births.’

Jai sniffed deep, and caught the tang of it. And something else.

‘Fresh blood,’ he said, scrunching his eyes tight. ‘And booze... khymis.’

Kiran straightened, leaping a foot off the ground before ducking once more.

‘There are khiroi,’ she said. ‘Many of them. This is the union of two tribes.’

Jai bit back a curse, and rubbed his eyes.

‘How many?’ he asked.

She rubbed her chin, thinking.

‘Three hundred.’

He was right. They outnumbered him.

‘How do you know?’

‘Rare for tribes of unequal powers to join. I would say four hundred, but the Keldar are the largest of the Tainted tribes. They have no equal.’

This time, he did curse. Long and loud enough that even Kiran glanced nervously at the enemy camp.

‘We retreat,’ she said. ‘Fight another day.’

Jai did not reply. He was thinking.

‘If we do that, I have placed my people in danger for nothing,’ Jai said. ‘There is only so long we can hide in the Yaltai. We won’t get another chance like this. We’ll be chasing our tails across the steppes, warring with lesser tribes for scraps. While the gryphons lay waste, and my people die.’

Jai chewed his lip.

‘Will they have time to meet us in the field?’ he asked, suddenly. ‘If we charge now?’

Even from where they lay, Jai could hear the music and laughter clearly. But there were scouts, dotted along the edges of the camp. Watching.

‘They will be taking no chances with a Great Tribe on the horizon,’ Kiran whispered. ‘The warriors will be ready to run for their khiroi at a moment’s notice.’

‘Why not defend from the camp?’ Jai asked. ‘Why rush to meet us in the open?’

She looked at him, confused.

‘To protect their elders, their children,’ she said. ‘When a tribe rides into the other’s camp, victory soon follows. They would never dare risk it.’

Jai let her words sit for a while. The inklings of an idea were forming in his mind.

‘We’ve seen enough,’ Jai breathed. ‘Let’s get back to the others.’

‘You have a plan.’ It was almost an accusation.

‘I do.’ And he found that he was smiling.