The Dragon Star (Realms of Shadow and Grace: Episodes 1-3 of 7)

THE FUGITIVES - SHA-KUTAN

THE SCENT of fear and exhaustion mingled with the odor of desperation and anger. Another aroma filled the air. What was it? Gratitude? Relief?

Sha-Kutan swung the door closed behind his back as he stepped into his small house. He looked at the woman holding the girl on the far side of the table. The blade in her hand wavered where she brandished it against him.

"We were hungry," the woman said, her eyes fixed on the ax resting across his right shoulder. "We only wanted some food. We'll go. We mean you no harm."

"You could not harm me."

Sha-Kutan continued to stare at the woman and girl, wondering if he had made a mistake, if he had set himself on the wrong path. He had stood at the edge of the woods and waited, sensing the woman and girl as they approached, seeing them emerge from the tree line and follow the trail across the field. He had cursed his reticence to buy a horse or a mule when the woman examined the barn. She surely would have mounted a horse and fled.

When she entered the house, he had pondered what to do. Let her steal food and escape? This seemed the best course of action. The men pursing her would find the farm soon, see evidence of her theft, and follow her, leaving him once more in peace.

But how far could they flee with the men so close on their trail? How much longer could they run before exhaustion rendered flight impossible? The Book of Golden Words says, "Our door must always be open to the weary traveler, our larder a provision for those in need. Only by seeing the lost and outcast as our own can our hearts divine the essence of the Divine."

The words of his faith tore at him, urging him to action, but it was the girl who had brought him from his hidden vantage among the leaves and branches. Clinging to the woman's neck, too tired for walking, the girl looked over the woman's shoulder, out across the yard and through the darkness and into Sha-Kutan's eyes. The girl had held that stare, watching Sha-Kutan as he watched her — while the woman carried her first to the barn and then into the house.

Who was the girl? How had she seen him? Who was the woman to her? Why did the men hunt them? Should he risk his hard-fought safety to learn these answers? Could he follow the edicts of his faith and his curiosity?

He would find out.

Sha-Kutan lowered the ax head to the floor and leaned the handle against the wall. The woman relaxed slightly.

"Eat." Sha-Kutan gestured to the modest provisions stacked on the table and the lone chair beside the woman.

Best to say little.

Yes. Let her tell her story.

The woman slowly sat in the chair, the girl in her lap. She lowered the meat knife to the table, leaving it within easy reach. She tore a hunk from the hard, flat loaf of dinbao and handed it to the girl. The girl mutely accepted the bread and began to gnaw on the thin crust as the woman used the blade to slice free a chunk of dried meat.

Sha-Kutan stared at the woman and girl as they ate in silence. The woman did not look at him directly, but she kept him in the corner of her eyes, her hand never straying far from the blade. He crossed to a low table by the window and retrieved a clay pitcher of water and a dented pewter cup. He poured the water into the cup and sat them both on the table beside the woman and girl.

The woman glanced at him as he stepped across the small space and lowered himself to the edge of the bed. She shifted in her chair to keep him in view as she handed the cup of water to the girl. The girl emptied the cup in a long gulp, holding it up as a signal for more. The woman poured more water into the cup, and the girl offered it up to her instead of drinking it. The woman accepted the cup and took a long sip before placing it on the table and cutting a large slice of cheese that she split in half to share with the girl.

Saying nothing may be too little.

And we have too little time.

"Why do the men hunt you?" Sha-Kutan asked.

The woman's head snapped toward the door, and her hand reached for the knife. She clenched the hilt of the blade and then looked back to Sha-Kutan.

"How do you know about the men following us?" the woman asked.

"The same way I knew you were headed toward my farm."

The woman frowned and squinted at Sha-Kutan, clearly unhappy with such a vague answer.

"Do they wish to harm you?" Sha-Kutan asked.

"Yes," the woman answered.

"Why?"

The woman put down the meat knife, wiped the grease from her lips with the back of her hand, and took a sip of water before speaking.

"My husband died. Killed in the war. A border skirmish with the Daeshen army. He had defied his family to marry me. His father sits on the Inner Council. Mine sold cloth in the bazaar. His family tolerated me because he gave them no choice. As the only child, he could not easily be disinherited. After my husband's death, his mother fell ill with grief. His father did not wait long after her passing to take a new and younger wife. She bore him a child. A boy. An heir. He then had the courts declare my marriage to his son void and my daughter named a sacrilege. He is an influential man with powerful allies. The soldiers he sends to hunt us will kill me and my daughter if they catch us. I'm sorry we broke into your home. We have not eaten in days."

The woman took another sip of water.

A tragic story.

A story woven of lies.

Why would she lie?

What does she hide?

There was one truth in her tale.

Yes. The men will kill her and the child if they find them.

"We will go." The woman tightened her arm around the girl and placed the palm of her free hand on the table to help her stand.

"They are too close," Sha-Kutan said. "And you are too weak. They will find you."

"How close?" The woman looked at the door and licked her lips.

"Close enough."

The girl did not turn to the door. Her eyes held Sha-Kutan's, staring at him with a look of curious expectancy. It unsettled him, and few things disconcerted Sha-Kutan.

Why does the girl stare at us so?

She is a danger, but I do not know how.

Maybe this is why they are hunted.

A dangerous child?

A child in danger?

What should we do?

We can hold them and turn them over to the soldiers.

Yes. The soldiers will leave then.

And we will be safe again.

And they will kill the girl.

And they will kill the woman.

After they have raped her.

We could...

Yes. We could...

The woman had joined the girl in staring at Sha-Kutan. He did not remember standing, but the motion must have brought the woman's attention. Her eyes darted to the door and back to Sha-Kutan, her hand blindly searching out the hilt of the meat knife.

"They will kill you if you run," Sha-Kutan said. "I can hide you until they pass."

The woman glanced again at the door, her face a mixture of relief and fear and confusion. The girl had not altered her focus. A thin smile filled her lips as she continued to stare at Sha-Kutan. He found thes mile more disquieting than the stare. No one ever smiled at Sha-Kutan.