Eternal Darkness (The Cimmerian Cycle #1)

Chapter 18

Mik nodded seriously and ran off with Yulan at his heels.

“Come on Kiayani, let’s go,” Koran said and Kiayani ran towards the hut where their packs were being kept.

Together they sped through the camp, as silent as mice but twice as fast. When they reached the hut they both sat crouched beneath the window. Koran raised his head very slowly to look inside. He then stood up straight and opened the door, motioning for the girl to follow him.

The hut was empty, only their packs filling the space. To Koran’s delight all of their knives and weapons were also there. They both collected all of their belongs before sliding out of the door. They would have to move a lot slower now that they were weighed down by heavy packs. Rute had remained behind and was delighted to see them return. Kiayani and Koran gave him his and Leo’s packs and stood waiting.

“How did you know they were poachers?” Kiayani asked Koran.

“Did you see the one wearing the demon skin?” he said and she nodded, how could she have missed him?

“Well he wasn’t the only one, and it kind of makes sense. What other reason would a group of men have to be in a forest?”

“The pitfall,” Kiayani said her thought aloud.

“Exactly,” Koran continued, “they set traps for wild animals and then take their findings to the nearest town to sell.”

“But what about the funny language they speak?” Kiayani asked.

Koran paused for a moment, “they must be from a kingdom beyond the mountains. Why they are here exactly I really don’t have faintest idea. Perhaps they came looking for demons. Not that it really matters.”

“Of course,” Kiayani said nodding.

They remained silent for a few minutes as the conversation died away.

“I wish Mik would hurry up,” said Koran a sometime later, “The longer we stay here the less chance we have off getting away.”

“Do you think they caught him?” Kiayani said feeling worried.

Koran shifted his gaze from her face to the camp in front of them, “Mik is smart enough not to get caught twice.”

“If you say so,” replied Kiayani quietly.

She wanted to drop the two packs she carried as they were cutting into her shoulders but she had a feeling that they might need a quick getaway in which an exchange of bags would not be appropriate.

A few minutes later they heard the sound of soft hoof beats. They swung around to see Mik walking through the forest, Yulan at his side, with six horses.

“Sorry I took so long,” he said looking at them apologetically, “there was one big fat man snoring right next to them. I had to prise a set of keys from his fingers.”

They gave a quick chuckle but the laughter was short lived. They had got horses and were no longer bound to trees but they still had to get away from poachers themselves. The boys first secured Leo to a horse and Mik took the reins while getting on another. Kiayani was given a mare to ride and she hoped that it wouldn’t be nearly as uncomfortable as riding the moose. She also hoped that she would be able to ride it without looking stupid.

She mounted it clumsily, almost slipping off the other side. Her pack was on her back and she was ready to go. The boys all mounted their horses quickly and wordlessly, and then they rode off into the forest. Koran leading the way as he had checked which way they needed to go first with his compass.

Kiayani gripped the reins so hard that the tips her fingers were numb. She had only ever ridden a horse once and that was when she was only a small child. The most she could do was sit in the saddle and let the horse take her along. She admired the mare’s speed. The motion of the horse was similar to the moose but gentler and smoother.

They rode hard for a few hours. Even though they were all exhausted they kept going. Kiayani guessed that the poachers would be after them as soon as they noticed their disappearance. When Koran called them to halt Kiayani was so relieved to be able to get off the horse, so happy in fact that she slid off the horse in such a hurry that the end of motion made her dizzy enough to trip over. She caught the edge of the saddle before she could really fall over and her horse gave a soft neigh. Once the mare was secured she went over to help Mik with Leo. Yulan had already lifted him off the horse and laid him gently on the ground. Mik was leaning over him, cleaning his face with a rag. She ran towards them and dropped down to the ground beside him. She opened her bag and pulled out her water sac and some clean rags. She worked on him in a feverish manner, he was going to survive. Leo wouldn’t be allowed to die. The others didn’t dare disturb her as she took the rag from Mik and thoroughly cleaned his face with the help of some water.

Behind her she could sense the others setting up camp but she took little notice. She wasn’t satisfied until she couldn’t see any blood on him. Now she just had to wait for Leo to wake up. She got Rute to move him closer to the fire that they had built in the clearing. She found his bedroll with his pack and pulled out his blanket. Gently as she could she wrapped him up so that he would stay warm.

Then she set up her own bedroll beside him. She would stay awake until she was sure that he was completely all right. She lay down on her bedding, her eyes glued on Leo’s face. She was watching for any sign of movement. When Mik came around to hand her some food he knelt down next to her with a clean, damp rag.

“Wash your face with this,” he said placing it in her hands.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

She felt her face gingerly, there was blood caked on her face on her cheeks and chin. She took the cloth and wiped her face carefully. Mik placed the plate of food in front of her.

“You should get some rest,” he said, “You look terrible.” Seeing her expression of horror he added, “Don’t worry about Leo, we’ll look after him. We aren’t that hopeless.”

He gave a quick smile and walked off. After that he came back a few minutes later with his bedroll. In that time Kiayani had quickly eaten her fill and was sitting up watching Leo anxiously.

Mik saw her and frowned, “sleep Kiayani.”

She looked at him and he nodded vigorously. Slightly annoyed she slipped into her blankets and closed her eyes. To her displeasure sleep was already waiting to take over and she slid into the drowsiness with open arms.

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