Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 7

Captain Rodal interjected his horse between the Valkea’s archers and Kulm and Darrine.

“Get back!” he commanded as he leveled his lance and held his shield high to protect them as best as he could.

Other horsemen followed the captain and helped him screen Darrine and Kulm.  The vanguard closed in from the front of the wagon so it was surrounded protectively.  However, it made little difference for the arrows were coming from above and not from the side so the rain of projectiles continued around the wagon.  

“Where are they?” Rodal demanded in frustration as he looked up the slope and scanned the area, but couldn’t see where the archers were shooting from.

Other areas of the column now came under attack and it was clear the Valkea’s archers were shooting the horses for they were easier targets than the armored and shielded men.  The air was filled with squeals of pain as the horses were hit.

“Archers shoot back at your best guess at where the bastards have to be!” Rodal roared in frustration.

The archers stationed on the wagons began to fire up the slope hoping to hit their unseen enemies.  The horsemen began to cluster closely together so they could shield each other and their horses from a killing shot.  The mounted men also were also attempting to protect the horses harnessed to the wagons.  Naturally, the men guarding Carra clustered closely about her so no arrows could find her.

One of the horses pulling the decoy wagon was hit and the gelding screamed out in pain as he reared up in panic.  Several arrows hit into his exposed side and he dropped to the ground dragging his harness-mate down with him.  Sergeant Garbarek grabbed a battleaxe from beneath the seat and jumped down to free the horse from the harness.  In a moment, he’d freed the mare from her traces and then he grabbed the reins to pull her up.  The mare responded to Garbarek’s urging and stood.  As soon as she was up, the sergeant leaped on her back.  Once mounted, he galloped her around the side of the wagon so he could help Darrine and Kulm escape.

Darrine drew her dagger and ran to Moonbeam to release her before she was hit with an arrow.

“Mount up,” Kulm hollered at her when he realized her intentions.  “We’ve got you covered.”  He vaulted up behind Garbarek who kept the horse between Darrine and the archers.

Moonbeam was saddled and bridled so she could be ridden in an emergency.  Darrine slashed through the lead tying her to the wagon and vaulted into the saddle without bothering with the stirrup.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 5

The words reminded her of Flindra’s chant, which she now drew back into her attention and repeated forcefully and emphatically in a low voice.  She didn’t care if the soldiers heard her – she needed to hear herself pray.  Her thoughts cleared as she spoke and heard the protective words and she shook her head in disgust at her previous foolishness.  Why was she thinking this nonsense and getting herself all worked up into a panic?  The Valkea’s forces had no chance of overwhelming the might of the men protecting her, much less the hundreds of experienced warriors who were in position to jump into battle as soon as the enemy surfaced.

She glanced about herself and saw tension and, yes, even fear on the faces of the men around her and she instantly knew the near panic she had felt was not of her making.  They may be an hour away from the spot they anticipated to be ambushed at, but the Valkea was already toying with their thoughts!

“Men of Unaya!” she called out loudly.  “The Enemy is upon us and clouding our reason.  Spirit around us,” she shouted.  “Spirit within us!”

Lieutenant Haxton heard her and shook his head to clear the grim and dangerously foolish thoughts that had filled his mind to distraction.  He suddenly realized that the sanctity of his own thoughts had been violated, and was embarrassed that he’d allowed it to happen.  He turned his glance to Carra, took note of the courage filling her eyes, and was deeply impressed that she had been the first one to recognize that the lies of the Valkea’s deceptions had been twisting their minds.  She may be a sheltered daughter of a noble family, but she possessed intelligence, wisdom, and courage in large measure.  She was an equal to any of the soldiers he’d had the privilege to serve with.

“Spirit protect us!” he chanted loudly in unison with her.  “Spirit direct us!”

Other men joined in the chorus of the Queen’s chant and soon their impassioned voices became a clarion call of reason, a wave of truth that rippled outward to free the minds of their comrades from the grip of the Valkea’s deceptions.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 4

Carra’s fear grew and she could no longer see the beauty in the landscape.  Instead, the rugged geometry of the mountainous country became wild and dangerous.  The high ground to the right seemed to grow steeper, rockier and nearer until it crowded the road so they were now enveloped in menacing shadows.  The cliff face seemed to squeeze them toward the river, which ran ten to fifteen feet below the level of the road in this place and coursed dangerously over jagged rocks.  Here in the shade of the cliff, there was ice beneath the snow and she worried about Badger falling and crushing her beneath his weight while the riders behind her struggled to avoid trampling her.

The Nameless Ones hadn’t been successful in deceiving animals so far, but was that due to inability and limits to their powers or merely due to the fact that they had not used this tactic before?  This was a possibility they hadn’t even discussed in the council!  What kind of fools had they been?  This was an obvious oversight on all their parts.  She suddenly wondered what terrible things could happen if the Valkea turned her fell will to the horses and drove them mad with fear.  A stampede of frenzied horses on the icy ground could prove disastrous.

A dribble of nervous sweat rolled down her back and she shivered, not from the cold but from nervous panic as a vision worse than the horse falling seeped into her thoughts.  The possibility of Badger grabbing the bit between his teeth and plunging insanely into the depths of the river beside her was a thought that filled her mind with dread and her heart with fear.  She had never felt comfortable standing on the lip above a steep slope and the idea of meeting her death by crashing into jagged rocks was particularly alarming to her.  She was an accomplished horsewoman but what hope had she to stop a panicked horse on slippery ground?

Her uncomfortable thoughts pulled her focus deeper into the fear until it was nearly choking her reason.  Unconsciously, her body translated her growing terror to her hands and she slowly started to tighten the reins and stiffened her position in the saddle.  Badger finally protested with a snort and he pulled against her grasp to loosen the reins.  His ears were turned toward her – not in an aggressive fashion – but as if he was trying to gauge her mood for she had so dramatically changed how she was connecting to him through rein and saddle.

Carra noticed what she was doing and eased her grip.  Fear still clouded her thoughts and out of instinct and long habit, she uttered a silent prayer for help.

“Spirit, please protect me.”

Kriki's Gift - Chapter 29 - Reading 3

Carra had no challenge seeing the beauty and grandeur of the Spirit’s presence in this magnificent landscape.  At the same time, the splendor of the day made it nearly impossible for her to comprehend the monstrous threat of the Valkea’s existence at the roots of the mountains, a presence growing and spreading like a canker in the darkness.  Somewhere beneath the loveliness of sun, snow, rock and sky was an evil underworld of staggering dimensions.

From what she had been told, it was a two-hour ride to the place where Wehgert routinely dropped off his supplies to the horde.  He had confessed there was a cave entrance hidden by an overhang of rock just inside one of the side valleys.  The Valkea shielded this entrance from discovery from prying eyes so even though it wasn’t far from the road, it had never been seen or its existence even suspected.  Carra knew that many of the soldiers assumed that they would be attacked near or at this place.  If that were so, they had but an hour remaining before they would be attacked.

She felt a heightening of tension in the pit of her stomach, but wasn’t afraid of the emotion for she was playing a vital role and was proud of her contribution.  When the Valkea took the offered bait, she would surface, exposing herself and her hellish horde to the powerful forces of Unaya.  The Valkea would face complete destruction, for Carra had absolute faith in the King and Queen’s ability to overwhelm their opponent.  Then they could turn their attention to the Valkea’s lair and cleanse the world of the unholy offspring she was producing and nurturing deep within the bowels of the mountains.  She and her dark world would be destroyed and it would be done in a manner that wouldn’t endanger the King’s life.

Her thoughts lingered on the vision of the nest of monsters being incubated in the nursery somewhere beneath them.  She had listened intently to the report Leitho and the King had given in the council and had picked up on the horror and revulsion in their words and demeanors.  They had spoken of King Meldh’s experience with similar inhuman beasts in his time and she thought of the nightmare reality that these monsters were here already, here in her time and in her world - in truth just miles away.

Fear and loathing started to inch their way into her thoughts and unconsciously she stopped repeating the Queen’s chant while she remembered what the King had said and in her imagination she pictured the reptilian-like offspring of human mothers.  She shuddered in revulsion at the vision of beasts with human intelligence, all under the control of the Nameless Ones.  They were creatures born of human mothers but designed to destroy humanity.

Her thoughts drifted to the stories she’d heard about the altar and the hideous rites of darkness and violence the Valkea had orchestrated there.  If something went wrong with their plans and if the wild throngs of the enemy overwhelmed her escort, she might find herself facing the bite of a sacrificial blade and the ultimate profanity of cannibalism after her death!

Sample Chapter from Kriki's Gift - Reading 1

Chapter XXIX

Carra soon discovered that Badger had a joyful bounce to his walk, which made him feel almost as if he were floating. She had expected the warhorse to have plodding gates because of his pronounced musculature, but he was anything but heavy beneath the saddle. His lilting steps punctuated the rhythm of her chant – as if the horse was joining her in the meditative power of Flindra’s prayer. She grew fond of this big, chestnut gelding as she settled into the comforting rhythm of the chant.

“Spirit around me; Spirit within me; Spirit protect me; Spirit direct me.”

The Queen’s chant eased her tension and touched her mind with a sense of peace. This simple prayer was such a heartening example of Flindra’s abiding faith in the goodness and love of the Divine. She smiled as she imagined her Queen using these words to combat fear in the days she served with the Rangers. It made her feel as close as a sister to her for Carra was entering into an adventure fraught with peril. She only hoped she would conduct herself with similar courage to what her Queen had evinced during her service in Kalmyk’s troop.

Carra suspected that many of the men around her were silently repeating the chant too, but the prayer didn’t seem to dull the sharp edge of their attentive scan of the surrounding landscape. Their expressions were focused and intent and their bodies translated the tension to their mounts so many of the horses strained at their bits and walked with exaggerated movements. It was a very different picture from the relaxed ride from Leidz to the Pass Gate just a few days before.

During the first hour of the ride, she glimpsed the presence of their troops only twice and understood how Lieutenant Benlof had expressed surprise at seeing how well hidden these men were. She knew that there were hundreds of men in position to battle the Valkea’s forces. General Ghesor was brilliant to be able to disperse his men so skillfully. It gave her a deep sense of security to know that the general and so many soldiers were hiding beyond observation and just waiting to spring into action.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the low hanging clouds peeled away from the peaks revealing the new snow glinting with dazzling beauty in the sunlight. Occasionally, the weight of snow on a tree branch would bend the limb too steeply and the snow would fall in a crash of powder that sparkled in the air like a shower of rainbow dust. She remembered that as a child she would look at a snow covered landscape and could imagine that the sparkles in the snow were in reality an infinite assortment of delicious sweets. Once, when she was very young, she had tasted an especially beautiful icicle and had welded her tongue to the frozen treat. She smiled at the comforting silliness of her childhood memories. She left her mind focused on other pleasant memories of her childhood for it gave her a sense of peace and comfort.