Siena (Forestfolk, Book 1)

Chapter 20

It was dark when we saw the glittering clusters of torches in the distance. Remi returned to tell us that it was the Krat compound.

I stopped. This was it, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. It occurred to me that I hadn’t thought about this moment at all. “What happens next?” I asked, eyes darting to the dots of light. “Do we walk in and say ‘Hi, we just need to kill your leader’? I don’t think that would go over well.”

“Our best chance is to go in after they’ve gone to sleep,” Galen said and looked up at the waning moon high overhead. “There will probably be guards.”

“Which is why I should go in alone,” Remi stated.

“What? No!” I blurted without thinking.

“Siena, it’s the best chance we have,” Remi explained. “I can sneak in undetected.”

“But . . .” My voice petered out and I rubbed my arms. I had no valid reason other than to keep him safe.

I looked to Galen. “Shouldn’t you go with him, then? To warn him of danger?”

“I plan to,” he said. Remi started to protest, but Galen cut him off. “Remi, I can find us the best path in, past the patrols.”

I felt a little relief that Remi wouldn’t be alone, but I was also dismayed that I would be left out on the sidelines, with nothing to do but watch.

While we waited for the night to progress, we approached the compound as close as we dared. Close enough to see the perimeter and the guards. It was very similar to the Zurbo compound, with poles forming a fence, and wide gaps for exits.

We slowly circled around, careful to avoid detection, observing the guard movements and behavior. When the moon had advanced far across the sky and the number of lit torches became few, they moved in. They left their supplies with me and took only their weapons. I was to wait by some shrubs, keeping out of sight and quiet. I didn’t like the arrangement, but what else could I do? I wasn’t a fighter, and wasn’t even particularly stealthy. I think it was my sheer stubbornness that had gotten me on this trip in the first place.

With a huge sigh, I sat down among the shrubs and watched as they advanced toward the compound, illuminated only slightly by the dim light of the waning moon.

They crept along the perimeter fence. A guard strolled out of the entrance, and I nearly screamed a warning. I held my breath instead, muscles taut with the desire to run and help somehow. To do something besides watching helplessly.

Galen tugged Remi back into the shadows just as the guard passed them and turned in another direction. When they slipped inside where I could no longer see them, I released my breath and waited. It wasn’t long before I found myself wringing my hands. This was a horrible idea. What were we doing here? What were we thinking? None of us were assassins!

Time passed.

Nothing was happening.

I had to remind myself numerous times that this was a good thing. If all went well, no one would be aware of their presence. They would rejoin me out here, whereupon we could quietly slip away and head home.

I watched the guards as they yawned and strolled about. All I could hear were crickets and an occasional night bird.

More time passed.

The wait was interminable.

And then something happened.

There was a shout, then more shouts. The guards outside ran into the compound. I frantically searched the darkness for signs of Galen or Remi, but no one came out. I stood up, fists clenched with indecision. I searched again. Where were they?

I couldn’t wait any longer. If they were caught, then it wouldn’t be long before they were killed. Seeing no guards outside, I ran full speed to the compound perimeter and plastered my back against it. Edging to the entrance, I peeked in and saw a commotion outside the largest hut.

My heart sank to the floor when I saw both Galen and Remi dragged out of the large hut, a guard on each arm. I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

Since all the guards had left their posts, I was able to slip into the compound and sidle up next to a hut. Seeing no onlookers, I skittered closer to hide behind a small shed. My heart thundered. I had no plan. No idea what I was doing. I glanced at the stick still strapped to my thigh and almost laughed. As if I could take out even one of those men, much less five. I peeked around the corner again. Ten now.

My panicked eyes cast about as I searched for something I could do, something I could use. Then the men quieted and the scuffles stopped. I peeked around the corner of the shed to see what was happening. A towering man had come out of one of the smaller huts. His face was long and angular, his nose reminded me of a horse, and he wore nothing but a loincloth. He was thinner than Remi, but immensely tall, and from the way everyone bowed their heads and parted in front of him, I surmised that this was Borga.

His eyes darted back and forth, as if harboring a deep mistrust of his own people. “Show me these would-be assassins.” The sneer on his face matched the smugness of his tone.

The men dragged Galen and Remi, still struggling, toward him.

“Well, now, a boy. And who is this, your father? Come to take revenge, have you?” He tilted his head in mock sympathy. “Did we kill your mama?”

I could see the hatred seething in Remi’s eyes.

“Did you really think you could kill the mighty Krat Chieftain?” Borga began to pace. “I haven’t become this powerful, this successful, by making myself a target every night in the chieftain’s hut. Fools.”

The captives said nothing while Borga gloated. This seemed to annoy him. “Where are you from?” he demanded.

Galen stared in stony silence while Remi looked away.

“Chieftain, if I may?” One of the guards stepped forward. “I believe the boy is a runaway captive. We used to use him on scouting missions. He’s an Aberration, Chieftain.”

A slow, sinister smile spread across the harsh planes of Borga’s face. “An Aberration, eh?” He stepped in front of Remi and grasped his chin. Remi jerked it away and refused to look at him. “And what about this one?”

“We don’t know this one, sir.”

Borga approached Galen and grabbed his bearded face with a large hand. “Ah, I can feel it. Another Aberration.”

Borga patted Galen’s face and resumed pacing. “So. A runaway captive and another unknown Aberration. Where might you have been living all these years, hmm? Might it be with the Forestfolk, perhaps?”

I inhaled sharply and flattened myself behind the shed again, clamping a hand over my mouth and desperately hoping they hadn’t heard me. If he knew about Foresthome then none of us were safe.

“Oh, don’t look so surprised, lad. I’ve known for years that the Forestfolk were more than just rumors. I’ve just been waiting for the right opportunity. And now, it seems to have presented itself. Either of you feel like talking?”

I waited behind the shed, straining to hear what was going on. There was silence, then I heard Borga say, “I suspected as much. No matter, I was hoping for a little bit of fun, anyway.”

I had to do something. My hands shook with the need. But what? What could I possibly do? I was—

I shut my eyes and pushed the word useless out of my mind. I was not useless.

When I opened them, my eyes landed on the stockpile of firewood on the far side of the compound. I stole away from the shed, dashing from shadow to shadow and grabbing a torch along the way. When I reached it, I threw the torch onto a pile of kindling and ran out of the compound.

The perimeter guards were still gone, so I ran along the outside of the perimeter fence, away from the blaze that was starting to climb higher. This place was huge. By the time I finally encountered another entrance, I had to pause to catch my breath.

After checking for witnesses, I ducked back into the compound just as someone shouted an alert to the fire on the other side.

I hid in a space behind a hut near the fence. I had no plan beyond the fire, and maybe that had been a bad idea. The compound began buzzing with activity as more people scrambled out of their dwellings. Someone was bound to see me for sure now. I shook my head at my own stupidity. I was no master strategist. What was I doing here?

Then I saw something in the ground ahead of me, in a large clearing. There were multiple torches suspended over large holes in the ground. Each hole was about the size of a hut, covered by a wooden lattice. Curious, I glanced around for guards and approached. When I peered over the edge of one of the holes, I found it to be a pit, deeper than the size of a man, full of people. Prisoners. Some were asleep, but many had awoken from the ruckus I had caused and were now staring quizzically at me.

I backed away, unsure what to do. I didn’t know these people. I went to the next hole and peered into it. This one was full of children. Galen was right, they had been capturing them instead of killing them. I dropped to my belly to get a better look inside. It smelled awful. They were filthy, wearing dirty rags, languishing in grimy conditions. Many of the kids looked sickly and near death.

Then I saw Pimo. He looked right at me as if I were a ghost.

“Siena?” he said, edging closer.

I put a finger to my lips. “I’ll try to get you out,” I whispered and began to pull at the hatch covering the hole. It was stuck. I glanced at my surroundings, then circled around to what looked like a latch. I was frantically trying to figure out how the latch worked in the dim light when someone shouted, “You there, stop!”

I looked up to see a muscular guard rushing in my direction. In a panic, I dropped what I was doing and ran for my life. I heard the shrill voice of Pimo wailing after me, “Don’t leave me here! It’s your fault I’m in here!”

His words stung even as I sprinted out toward the darkness of the plain. Flashbacks of escaping the Zurbo compound crowded my mind. I imagined the arrows flying past me, and I ran even faster.

There were no arrows. I wasn’t even sure if the guard was chasing me. When I reached a small cluster of saplings, I slid to the ground behind them and laid myself flat on my stomach, panting. My eyes combed the landscape, but I saw no torches and heard no footsteps. All I could hear was my own ragged breathing and galloping pulse.

The fire I had started glowed bright orange. I wondered, hoping beyond hope, if maybe enough guards had gone to help. Maybe Galen and Remi could somehow fight their way out and escape.

After concluding that no one was searching for me, I got up and began circling at a distance around the compound, back to where I last saw my friends being held captive. I was too far to see anything, so I crept closer, keeping an eye out for anyone who might spot me. And for Galen and Remi, who could possibly have escaped.

But I saw no one.

I crept closer still.

A voice in my mind kept telling me I had no idea what I was doing. That I was going to get myself killed. That I should leave and warn the Forestfolk. But an even louder voice drowned it out. Galen would die. Remi would die. All those people in the pits might die.

I would find a way.

I had to.

I was a stone’s throw away from the entrance, lying on the ground on my elbows just outside the reach of the torchlight. I found it odd that no one at all was outside the perimeter looking for me. Surely the guard would have told everyone what he saw by now. The fire was no longer blazing out of control, and the clamoring had stopped.

I was still trying to decide what to do next when I heard that familiar shrill voice again.

“Let go of me! I gave you the information!”

I strained to see where Pimo’s voice was coming from, then he appeared at the entrance, held fast by Borga’s hand on the back of his neck. I flattened myself to the ground.

“You’re a liar!” Pimo screamed, trying to stomp on Borga’s foot.

“Settle down,” Borga said with a shake of his hand, causing Pimo’s head to bob around.

Pimo fell silent and then Borga began to speak loudly into the darkness. “It’s my understanding that we have a third Aberration skulking about. Come forward, and your little brother lives. Stay hidden, and he dies.”

“That wasn’t the deal!” Pimo shrieked and kicked again. “She’s not coming. She hates me. It’s her fault I’m here!”

Borga laughed as if Pimo had just told him a joke. “Little boy, you give her far too much credit. I would have taken you if she existed or not.”

“You’re a bad man.” Pimo sniffled and then began to cry.

“That’s my boy, put on a good show for your sister.” Borga swept his eyes across the dark plain. “You have until the count of ten to show yourself! One!”

I was paralyzed. How did I get in this situation?

“Two!”

My mind raced faster than my heart. I may never have liked Pimo, but he was still family. The only blood relative I had left. The only thing left of my mother besides me.

“Three!”

If I stayed hidden, maybe I could find a way to somehow save everyone.

“Four!”

Borga would have no qualms killing a small boy. This I knew. If he died because I didn’t show my face, that would be on me.

“Five!”

“She’s not coming!” Pimo repeated in between sobs. “She hates me! I don’t want to die!”

His wailing broke my heart, and I found myself rising slowly to my feet.

“Six!”

I swallowed hard, trying desperately to grasp at the right decision. If I gave myself up, did that mean the end of Foresthome?

“Seven!”

My breathing grew fast and shallow. If I showed myself, Pimo might be saved. If I left now, Foresthome might be saved.

“Eight! Oh my, Pimo, she is cutting it close, isn’t she?”

Wasn’t there a way to save everyone? I took a hesitant step forward and stopped. What if I couldn’t save anyone at all?

“Nine!”

The only thing I could do was what felt right at this very moment. And at this very moment, my feet seemed to be propelling me toward the Krat Chieftain.

I entered the glow of torchlight just as Borga was about to announce the end of the count, and his eyes lit up. He looked me over and I froze in place. “A young Iceling, how charming. Pimo, how could this creature be related to you?”

Pimo stood there staring at me, mouth open in disbelief. “You came.”

I didn’t answer him. Couldn’t even look at him. His selfishness got me into this mess, just like the last time he sold me out. Even so, there was a small measure of relief that I had done what I could to prevent his death.

“Are there any more of you rascals hiding out there?” he asked and watched me intently.

I was too petrified to reply. My body began to tremble.

“No? That’s good. If this is the best that the Forestfolk have to offer, then we should encounter no resistance. Once we find them, of course.”

I hated his smug voice. Like he’d already won. And maybe he had. With me apprehended, there was no way to warn them now.

“Well, don’t just stand there, come closer.”

I took two steps and stopped again. If I turned right this second, maybe I could still run away.

And then what? Lead them straight to Foresthome?

“You are a skittish one, aren’t you?” Borga looked amused, then barked at a nearby guard, “Take this one back to the pits!”

“You were supposed to let me go!” Pimo’s feet dragged as the guard hauled him away. “That was the deal!”

When his screams of outrage faded away, Borga sighed contentedly. “Screechy little thing, isn’t he?”

“You won’t kill him?” I ventured to ask.

“Oh, you’re not mute! That’s wonderful. No, he won’t be harmed. Children are so impressionable. They’ll grow up to be loyal Krat followers. Once you break them, of course.”

Dread seeped into me, slowly crawling up my spine and spreading all over my body. I began to regret trading my life for Pimo’s. That little rat probably didn’t even appreciate the gravity of what I’d done.

“Well, come on,” Borga said testily. “We haven’t got all night.” He took a step forward and I stepped back, unwilling to get any closer to this monster.

He sighed impatiently. “Do you want me to drag your little brother back out here? There are plenty of children. I won’t mind losing one.”

“Half brother,” I snarled.

“Well, that explains the lack of family resemblance. His father must be repugnant.”

I stared back at him defiantly, but eventually realized that the only direction I had was forward. With another great swallow, I pushed myself forward and hesitantly shuffled toward Borga. He stayed still, as if any sudden movement might scare me away.

It likely would have.

As soon as I was within reach, he clamped a hand painfully onto my shoulder. “That’s a good girl.”