"Please do not tell us this herder has a daughter," said Rishi.
Seema"s face grew fearful. "I am afraid he does," she said. *Two of them."
Yago studied his companions, then said, "Can"t be what you"re thinking. Too much blood."
"I don"t think it"s blood," said Atreus, "at least not the way you think."
He pointed down the creek to where it was joined by a small rivulet from a sidegully. The red stain was spreading up the side gulch.
"Think we found Tarch?" Yago asked.
Atreus"s only response was to start up the stream bank.
They crept through the rhododendrons, moving as quietly and rapidly as fourpeople could through such thick undergrowth. The water continued to grow redder and thicker until the stream took on the appearance of a vein filled with dark, clottyblood. A nauseating, copper-like stench began to hang in the air, and alarming little noises began to rise from Seema"s throat. When they finally reached the terraces beneath the herder"s shed, it grew apparent that there was no need forstealth. The gra.s.sy pastures were strewn with slaughtered yaks, and an old woman was up near the shed, wailing and cradling her husband"s smashed head.
"Seema, you"d better go first," said Atreus, recalling how Timin"s delirious father had initially reacted to him and Yago. "We"ll follow after you cover her eyes."
Seema nodded, then clambered over the terraces. She kneeled beside the old woman and spoke to her softly, covering her head with a shawl. By the time Atreusand his companions arrived, Seema had the story.
"She said a sharp-eared devil came for her daughters and killed her husband whenhe tried to save them. The beast left five minutes ago." Seema"s face was hard and angry, almost ugly. She pointed into the shed. There are axes and scythes inside."
Rishi"s jaw fell and he asked, "Are you saying what I think you"re saying?"Seema glanced at the destruction surrounding her and said, "Do what you must Iwant him stopped." Atreus raised his brow. "We"ll try," he said, "but it wouldn"t hurt to call the Sannyasi."
Seema nodded, and Rishi rushed off to fetch the weapons. Yago glanced atAtreus. Though the ogre had managed to force a smile onto his jaw, Atreus couldread the doubt in his friend"s eyes. Shield-breaker or not, Yago was afraid. As far ashe was concerned, Tarch could not be stopped.
Atreus clamped the ogre on his huge forearm and said, "We"ll manage."
"Don"t we always?" Yago answered. "But if I get*"
"I know . . . don"t let the crows get your eyes," said Atreus.
Yago"s behest was a standard Shield-breaker request They believed crows to bespies of Skiggaret, the fear-loving G.o.d of their bugbear enemies. Though the reminder betrayed Yago"s fear at facing Tarch again, Atreus said nothing to rea.s.sure his friend.Among ogres, acknowledging another"s fear was the worst kind of insult.
"You have nothing to worry about, Yago," said Seema. "There are no crows in Langdarma."
The ogre forced a smile and said, "So this is paradise."
Rishi returned with an armload of tools. He had a rope and the scythe for Yago, aniron kettle lid and a double-bladed tree axe for Atreus, and a pair of skinning knivesand a net for himself. As he accepted the kettle lid, Atreus frowned in confusion.
"For the flames," Rishi explained, smiling. "I am always thinking of the good sir"s safety, am I not?"
"What you"re thinking is that I"ll go in first," Atreus replied, "and you"re right."
He started off at a trot and they had no trouble following Tarch"s trail. The devil was tearing a broad swath through the rhododendrons, angling up the slope toward thecliffs at the mouth of the basin. The slave master appeared to be carrying onedaughter under each arm, as the stalkers never saw any tracks but his. Even so, he was moving so rapidly they never seemed to catch a glimpse of him.
After a quarter hour of running, they climbed out of the forest, emerging onto one ofthe talus fields that tumbled down from the basin walls. Tarch was nowhere in sight. Itwas impossible to follow his trail across the field of jumbled boulders, but there was noquestion about where he was going. A mile ahead loomed the Turquoise Cliff, itsface pocked by the dark mouths of the Caves of Blue.
"Got to catch him before he gets into them caves again," huffed Yago.
The ogre bounded up the talus field at an ungainly sprint, quickly drawing away fromhis companions. Atreus followed as best he could. His weak leg began to ache from theexertion, but he clenched his teeth and hobbled up the mountain, inspired by hisfriend"s example. Yago soon vanished behind a jumbled crest of stone. Tarch"s silhouette appeared farther up the hill, running along a flat boulder with a beautifulLangdarma girl tucked under each arm.
For the next few minutes, the chase continued with Yago and Tarch vanishing andreappearing at odd intervals, the ogre steadily closing the distance as the devil drew nearer to the Caves of Blue. Rishi hung back for a while, then finally cursedLangdarma for rubbing off on him and danced up the hill ahead of Atreus. Atreustried to match the Mar"s pace, but found it impossible and resigned himself towatching the first part of the battle from below.
Yago was still twenty paces behind when Tarch reached the Turquoise Cliff and, tucking both girls under one arm, began to scurry up the rocky face as easily as aspider. Yago grabbed a melon-sized rock and hurled it on the run.
The stone caught Tarch square between the shoulder blades. The devil gruntedloudly, let his captives tumble free, and pushed off the cliff. He spun around in mid-airand landed facing his attacker. The battle was on, with Atreus still a hundred pacesdown the slope.
The fury of Yago"s a.s.sault belied his dread of facing Tarch again. The ogrestepped in swinging, bringing the scythe around in a two-handed sweep that caughtthe devil in his midsection and launched him across the slope. Tarch landed a halfdozen paces away, clattered down between the boulders, and disappeared. For one long moment, Atreus dared to hope Yago had ended the battle with a singleb.l.o.o.d.y stroke.
As the ogre stomped over to finish what he had started, a goat-sized boulder cameflying up at him. He raised his scythe to block. The rock smashed through thewooden handle and caught him full in the chest, bowling him over backward. He camedown hard, a sharp crack echoing off the cliff as his head struck the flat of a stone. Tarch clambered into view and staggered toward his groaning foe, a flap of scalyhide dangling from the gruesome wound in his side. Rishi was a dozen paces behindthe devil, creeping across the boulder pile as silently as a cloud. Atreus wanted toshout at him to hurry but did not dare. The Mar"s only advantage was surprise.
Tarch stopped a pace shy of the groaning ogre and lifted a hand, preparing to incinerate him. Atreus opened his * mouth to shout. In the same instant Rishi braced himself and flung his net, wrapping the devil"s arm in a mesh of coa.r.s.e rope.
Rishi gave the draw line a terrific jerk and leaped down behind a boulder. Tarchwas spun around, his hand spraying a crescent of flame across the talus field. "Filthy Mar!" The devil shook his arm free of the net"s charred remains, then started toward Rishi"s hiding place. "That"s the last time you skrag me!""Then it"s ..." Yago paused, drawing in a breath so deep Atreus heard it fifteenpaces away,"... my turn!"
The ogre sat up, heaving the boulder on his chest toward Tarch. The devilbrought his arm up and spun around, but the stone"s momentum blasted through the block and sent him tumbling headfirst down into the talus.
Yago was up in an instant, flinging himself across the jumbled stones withscythe in hand. A scaly hand emerged from between the boulders. The ogrestopped short, twisting aside just as a long gout of orange flame shot past.
Then Atreus was there, climbing over the talus from the opposite side, holding the kettle lid in front of him like a shield. Tarch lay down in a hollow between threeboulders, one leg trapped under the heavy stone he and Yago had been hurlingback and forth, struggling to twist around so he could bring his crackling flames...o...b..ar on the ogre. Though his side lay flayed open from sternum to spine, hisscaly face betrayed nothing but anger. Atreus leaped down, turning the iron lid flatand lowering it over the devil"s hand.
The flame stream reversed itself and roared back into the hollow and billowed upin a huge, orange halo. The acrid smell of scorched leather filled the air. Tarch howled in anguish. Atreus dropped the lid and leaped away, one arm raised toprotect his face from the searing heat.
The roar died as abruptly as it had begun, as Tarch started to rise from his fiery grave.
Atreus jumped down to meet him, wielding his axe with both hands. Tarch, now awithered and blackened thing that seemed nothing but scorched claw and charred fang, lashed out with both claws. Atreus slipped the first attack and caught thesecond on his axe head, then brought the sharp blade around and buried it deep inthe devil"s shoulder.
Tarch bellowed and brought his uninjured arm up to unleash another of his conflagrations. Yago"s scythe arced down from above, severing the scaly hand at the wrist. A gummy syrup of fire oozed from the stump, rolling back down the devil"s armand engulfing it in flame.
Tarch"s blazing arm went limp and fell back toward his scorched chest. Atreus andYago were on him with their flashing blades, hewing and chopping and slicing untilthe battered devil finally stopped struggling and lay in his hole charred and bleeding,barely conscious and clinging to life only by the thinnest strand of wicked will.
Atreus stepped over next to Tarch"s mangled head and raised his axe, preparingto finish the battle. The devil glared up at him out of one blood-shot eye, his viciousstare expressing the hatred his tongue was too weak to speak. Atreus bent hisknees, gathering the strength he would need to chop through the tough sinews and thick bone of Tarch"s neck. Then a pair of small voices gasped from the edge of the hollow. He looked up to see Tarch"s kidnap victims standing on a boulder above him, staringdown at him with two pairs of horrified brown eyes. They were as beautiful as allthe children of Langdarma, and in their puzzled expressions he saw both theinnocence and the peaceful repose that had first attracted him to Seema.
Rishi rushed up from behind the two girls. "What are you doing?" he said. "This is notfor the eyes of little girls."The Mar pulled the girls back from the edge of the hollow, but Atreus could notbring the axe down. Instead, he motioned Yago to his side. "The Sannyasi should be here soon." Atreus handed the axe to the ogre. "Until then, you"re in charge."The ogre frowned, then glanced in the direction of the retreating girls and seemedto understand. He hefted the axe over Tarch"s throat, sneering down at his prisoner."I doubt you can move," he said. "But just so you know, I"d enjoy taking your head off if you try."
Chapter 15.
By the time Seema arrived at the Turquoise Cliffs, all the streams in the basin had turned the color of blood. The stain was creeping down into the main valley, lacing itsway through the trees as though some huge spider was spinning a scarlet web overLangdarma itself. Atreus could see by the alarm in Seema"s eyes that such a thing hadnever before happened, and that she blamed herself for this horror. Had she knownwhat would come of bringing strangers into paradise, he wondered if she would still have saved his life.
As Seema came up beside him, Atreus gestured down into the hollow, where Yagostill held the axe over Tarch"s neck. "He"s pretty beaten up, but we didn"t kill him," Atreus said, glancing out over thered-laced basin. "I don"t know if that will mean anything for Langdarma." "Who can say?" Seema sounded drained and numb. "It is good you spared him. Asecond murder does not undo the first. What of the girls? Are they injured?"
Atreus shook his head, then pointed toward the base of the cliff and said, "Rishi hasthem up in a cave. They"re not hurt physically, but they"re not saying much." He looked down at Tarch"s mangled form. "They saw a pretty b.l.o.o.d.y fight"
When Seema glanced at the devil, her eyes grew hard and surprisingly ugly. "At least they did not see a vengeance murder," she said. "They will heal better for it, but I am not sure I will. I wanted him dead. I still do." Atreus looked away, not knowing what to say. Had she expressed such sentiments inRivenshield he would have handed her Yago"s axe and told her to take as manyswings as she liked. But they were not in Rivenshield, and Atreus was as lost with hisemotions as she was with hers. He had spared Tarch"s life only because he did not want to corrupt the innocence of the two girls watching. Now that Seema had losthers, he had no idea how to give it back.
Instead, he said, "Maybe you should check the girls. You"ll be more comfort to them than Rishi."
The suggestion seemed to lighten Seema"s burden. Her eyes grew brighter and shesaid, nodding, "Of course. They will need to know their mother is well, and perhaps I can explain to them how this happened." She squeezed his shoulder. "Thank you."
Seema started up the slope. Not long after, Atreus noticed a silver comet over themain valley. For a moment, it seemed to hang motionless near the far end, then itgradually began to swell and brighten. A faint sizzling echoed up the canyon, growing louder as the comet enlarged, and at last it became apparent that the shiny ball wasactually moving, streaking through the air toward the Turquoise Cliffs.
The sizzle built to a roar, and the silver ball became a platinum blur arcing downtoward the talus slope. Tarch"s bloodshot eyes grew large and angry. He tried to roll to his feet, but Yago hammered his head with the flat of the axe blade and beat himback into submission.
The platinum blur resolved itself into a milky white oval supported by two shimmering wings. Seema and Rishi came down from the cave with the two sistersand stood next to Atreus. Together, they all waited respectfully as the figure slowedand took on the more humanlike form of the Sannyasi, then circled overhead, creating a pearly halo over the hollow where Tarch lay trapped.After this brief inspection, the Sannyasi alighted on the boulder next to Atreus. Heturned at once to the girls.
"Have no fear," he said, and touched his palms to their faces. "The devil will harmyou no more."
"We are not afraid for ourselves," said the oldest sister. "We are thinking of our father."
"The devil bit him!" gasped the younger.
"I know," the Sannyasi said grimacing. He continued to touch them, but even hecould not erase their pain or explain to them why Tarch had done such a terriblething. He merely nodded and said, "He is from Outside, and there are things Outsidewe can never understand. Do not worry on your father"s account He is with the Serene Ones now, and it makes no difference to them how he died. You were a blessing to him in life, and I have it on good authority that his only wish is for you live in peace and forget what you have seen today."
This drew some of the pain from the girls faces, and only then did the Sannyasispread his feathery wings and glide down into the hollow. Tarch"s scorched and battered body began to tremble and exude vile-smelling fumes, and he glared at the winged guardian in red-eyed hatred.
The Sannyasi took the axe from Yago and motioned him out of the hollow. He lookeddownat Tarch. "How dare you bring your evil into this place." The Sannyasi"s voice was filled withcontrolled fury. "Did you not see my wards?"
"Pike it... bubber!" Tarch barely managed to moan the words. "How long you thinkyou can hold this little corner? This world"s ours. We"ll be coming for you soon enough*"
"If that is so, you will not see it"The Sannyasi stepped on his prisoner"s chest. A glowing white halo appeared beneathhis foot and started to spread outward, slowly turning the devil"s scaly hide pale and translucent. Tarch howled in pain and began to flail around, his thrashing fists poundingstones to powder. He struck at his captor time and again, clawed his leg, tried to drag himself free, but he was no match for the Sannyasi"s strength. The white radiance continued to spread over the devil"s body, turning him as clear as gla.s.sfrom head to toe, and when he became nothing more than a crystal ghost, he finallylet out an agonized howl and stopped writhing.
The Sannyasi glared down at the devil"s still form, then brought the axe down. Tarch"s body shattered like ice, and began to melt away and stream off in alldirections.
"Water turns the wheel, the wheel turns time," said the Sannyasi. "When the wheel brings your spirit around again, I pray you find a happier life." Yago arched his bushy brows. "You killed him," he said. "After all we went through not to?"
"I did not kill him. I sent his spirit back to the endless river," the Sannyasi said,then returned the axe to Yago. "You were right to spare his life. It will help you findhappiness Outside."
"Outside?" Seema asked.
The Sannyasi nodded. "It is not easy to subdue such a fiend without killing him," he said. "If your friends are strong enough to do this, they are strong enough to leave Langdarma."
Atreus"s heart sank.
"How soon?"
The Sannyasi looked from Seema to Atreus. "Three days," he said. "The fall storms are coming soon."
"And if we don"t care about the storms?" Atreus asked. He glanced at the scowlon Yago"s face, then added, "What if / don"t care about the storms. What if I don"t want to leave... ever?"
The Sannyasi"s eyes softened. "This is not your home," he said softly.
"I have never been happier in my home than I am here." Atreus took Seema"s hand, then added, "I have found here what is forbidden me in Rivenshield." "Perhaps that is so. But you are a child of Rivenshield. You have a violent heart,and we have already seen what comes of violent hearts in Langdarma." The Sannyasi gestured at the web of scarlet streams spreading over the valley and said,"It cannot be."
"Violent hearts?" Rishi scoffed. "Did we not risk our own lives to spare Tarch"s?"
"Tarch was here only because of you, and you are here only because of him."The Sannyasi glanced up at the two young sisters, who were observing the exchange with blank, faraway eyes, and continued, "Violence clings to you like anaura. You carry it with you wherever you go. You may stay for three days... nomore."
"Ungrateful squab!" Rishi hissed. "After all we have done for Langdarma, youdare insult us like this? You do not know who you are talking to." "I do not need to," said the Sannyasi. "You have proven my point with your ownwords."
"And if they don"t leave?" Yago"s tone was stubborn and menacing, but it did notescape Atreus"s notice that the ogre had not included himself. He, at least, knewwhere he belonged, and it wasn"t Langdarma. "You think you can force them?"
Seema gasped at the ogre"s brazenness, but the Sannyasi"s silvery eyes remained calm and patient"They will leave. That is the only possible outcome." He looked away from theogre and asked Atreus, "What of the other two missing women?"It took Atreus a moment to swallow his disappointment and answer, for hisstomach had grown so bitter and tight that he could barely speak. "I imagine they"re still alive," he said, gesturing at the cave mouth toward whichTarch had been climbing. "We"ll find them somewhere in there."
"I will find them," said the Sannyasi. "You must rest and prepare yourself for your journey."
With that, he spread his wings and flew up to the cave, leaving Atreus and hiscompanions alone with the two girls. Atreus watched the Sannyasi disappear into thedark cavern and turned to stare out over Langdarma. The red web already stretched over as much of the valley as he could see.
"Maybe the Sannyasi is right," Atreus said, shaking his head sadly. "I only hope we haven"t destroyed this little world already."
"Us?" Rishi snorted. "This is not our fault It was Tarch who killed, not us."
"Tarch wouldn"t have found Langdarma if we hadn"t been looking for it," said Atreus.
"And Seema would"ve been some devil"s bed slave by now," Yago said, and smothered Atreus"s shoulder beneath his heavy hand. "Don"t go playing What if. This isa big valley. If you want to stay, we can hide out until after the storms start. The Sannyasi won"t send us off till next summer, and maybe he"ll change his mind by then."
"Thanks. I know what a sacrifice that would be for you," said Atreus, "but no good cancome of defying the Sannyasi. It would only harm Langdarma, and we"d still have toleave."
Seema raised her brow, then her eyes grew gla.s.sy. She turned to the girls Tarchhad kidnapped and asked them, "Will it be okay for Rishi and Yago to take you back toyour mother? They helped rescue you, and I believe you know you can trust them."
The oldest girl nodded, and the younger one said, "Rishi is nice."
"So is Yago," said Seema, "and very brave."
"And where will you be taking the good sir?" asked Rishi.
Seema turned to Atreus and said, "There is something I would like to show himbefore he leaves." "And this is something we are not permitted to see?" Rishi leered, then gestured athimself and Yago.
"I fear not," Seema blushed. "Besides, you saw much of Langdarma while Atreuswas recuperating. I think it only fair that he gets to see something special."
Atreus bit his Up, torn between his desire to spend his last few days with Seema andto continue his search for the Fountain of Infinite Grace. "How long will this take?Perhaps we could meet Rishi and Yago after they return the girls."
Seema winced, clearly stung by Atreus"s suggestion.
"You do not wish to spend your remaining time with me?"
"Of course I do!" Atreus exclaimed, realizing what a mistake he had made. "It"s justthat... we all had our plans, and I didn"t want to let the Sannyasi"s decision change them."
"Oh, you must not concern yourself with Yago and me," said Rishi, patting Atreus"s side. "We will see to the girls and continue on as before, but I think you should go withSeema and see this special sight"
Atreus felt something small and light drop into his cloak pocket Guessing that it wasprobably the empty vial Rishi had taken from Seema"s kitchen, Atreus realized theMar was right. Perhaps Seema had decided to show him the Fountain of Infinite Grace after all. Atreus turned to Seema and took her hands.
"I would enjoy nothing more than spending all my remaining time with you."Though he was speaking the absolute truth, he could not escape the hollow feeling inhis stomach as he added, "I hope you"ll forgive me for being as foolish as I am ugly."