SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter 27
The silence of the valley was disturbed by the drone of the flies as they discovered the feast of dead bodies. Overhead, buzzards flew, circling lower to join in the meal provided by the five standing people. Each of the five stood in a different location and just stared at each other for a moment as they tried to catch their breath.
“We can’t stay here long. Another patrol will be by anytime.” Airidon finally panted and tried to stand straighter.
Jehro cast his mind across the nearby hills, searching for anything not animal. “Actually, we have about two days, if we want them. Barring magic, that is how close the nearest patrol is.”
“And just how do you know this?” Shrina demanded.
Airidon held up his hand to stop anything else Shrina might add. He looked over to Fini and lifted a hand in question.
“He’s Jehro and she’s Tyra, I would trust them.”
“Well you are not me.” Shrina again stated. “We don’t know anything about them. For all we know they could be spies and we have just walked into a trap.”
“It’s a fair concern, Shrina.” Airidon said. “Why were you being held prisoner?”
Jehro looked across to Tyra and she looked back to him. “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.” Tyra started, but held up her hand as Shrina was about to shriek something else. “We have a common dream, a girl in some forest. Only, she’s not in the forest anymore, at least, not the same forest as before. Greshinea is afraid of her and any that dream of her, he wants dead. That’s what the guards said.” Tyra finished and then dropped to her knees and started to clean her sword on the tunic of one of the dead.
Jehro turned his back on the others and raided the supply wagon. He then brought a water skin to Tyra and allowed her to drink first. When he had finished drinking himself, he offered it to Fini who was closest. Fini took it and slaked his own thirst and then moved to hand it to Airidon. For a moment the two men looked at each other, and then Airidon took the skin and drank his fill.
“What is this? Some kind of new ceremony? Trust us, we share water with you?” Shrina slapped the water skin away when Airidon offered it.
“No, it’s called common courtesy. We have just ended a battle with almost overwhelming odds. I thought you might like something to drink.” Jehro said, cleaning his own weapon before putting it away.
Shrina stood to one side as the four others seemed to stand in a group. She felt the pull of these two people, just as she had with Airidon and Fini and they did talk about the dream.
“I’m Airidon.” The red headed warrior offered his hand to Jehro and then Tyra. “Fini is the one who cut you loose and Shrina is the distrustful one.” Airidon looked to Fini and held out his hands. Shrina moved as if to stop them, but then shook her head in disgust and walked to start looting the dead. “Is this the girl?” Fini handed them a parchment with a sketch on it.
Tyra glanced at it and the shock of recognition was all the others needed. Jehro studied it longer, a finger lightly tracing the jaw line a moment. “Yes, that’s her. We were heading north, to find her when we were taken.”
“When was this? About three weeks ago?” Airidon asked and for a moment, Shrina paused in her looting.
Jehro and Tyra exchanged a look and then nodded together. “How did you know?” Jehro asked.
Shrina mumbled under her breath and continued to go through the dead, taking everything of value. Fini shrugged and moved to the supply wagon to see what they could use for their continued journey.
“We were in Jentro three weeks ago and managed to escape from a patrol sent to get us by just a few hours. I was…prompted to go south in search of something or someone. I don’t feel that prompting any longer. I think we have found what we were sent to find.” He looked up at the sky and then at the corpse ridden ground. “Let’s gather what we can and leave here. We should be able to make camp a few miles away before night if we hurry.”
Tyra and Jehro nodded to each other and fell in with everyone else in gathering items of use. Only Shrina took everything she could carry that was of value. Within an hour, they were on the road again, heading north, Fini again guiding them.
“They are coming together nicely.” Chaos said as he and Serenity walked in the gardens outside of Shægnek’s library. He stopped to pick a white rose and hand it to his sister. “I would have thought there would be more personality clashes and battles of will.”
“That is part of the prophecy, Chaos. They must bend their will to mine and follow what I have decreed. Not all of them understand that yet, but they will discover it. It will be easier when Trisinda is with them.”
“That is another question I had, Serenity. Why not have Meckin join Tris when they first met? Wouldn’t that have been easier?”
“Easier?” Serenity echoed, surprised that such a question would be asked. “What does easier have to do with anything, Chaos? I have never seen anywhere in all the teachings of Father where easy was part of life. Would it have been easier, yes, but would it have been wiser? I am proud of Tris for making the hard choice and leaving before becoming too entangled with Meckin. They are not meant for each other and it would make things worse in the future.”
Chaos stared at his sister. He had always thought her gentle and compassionate, but this side of her that demanded her chosen go through hell was something foreign to him. “I never knew…”
“Chaos, it is never easy to find freedom. It is never easy to maintain liberty. How can people who have never known the hardships of life withstand the fury of the battle for independence they must encounter? That would be like putting a wall of daisies up to stop the flood. They might look good, but daisies cannot withstand the onslaught of water.”
Chaos nodded. “I understand, I just never thought about it in such terms before. No wonder you aren’t disturbed by all that has happened so far to your chosen. And some say I am the harsh taskmaster.”
Serenity just smiled and continued to enjoy her walk through the garden.