Chapter 7 Chapter 9

- Chapter 8: Rapids -

At Earec's rousing cry, Keir instinctively leaped up, grabbing Onaonte and flinging its sheath aside as the priests and their acolytes attacked. Unfortunately, the rest of his comrades were not so quick to their feet. One acolyte raised a mace above Black Muraga's head but Keir's sword was faster, catching the mace's handle as it began its descent. Black Muraga's blade flashed as it grated through the novice's rib cage, and both acolyte and mace toppled harmlessly to the ground.

Keir jumped to aid the twins, who were surrounded by half-a-dozen acolytes. Onaonte slashed the neck of one as Brabin and Brobin leaped forward, their famards splattering blood with every vicious swing. Twisting, Keir dodged the sword of another cleric then lunged, Onaonte finding its mark in the acolyte's spleen.

As he jerked his sword out of the acolyte's body, a sudden flash of light caused him to risk a glance to his side. There a white beam shot from the orange orb atop Bautista's staff, striking a pair of priests. They twisted as if against their will, terror in their faces, and reluctantly blasted each other to pieces with their beams of Black Magic. Keir faltered briefly at the scene, bile rising in his throat.

Quickly regaining his composure, Keir pivoted. Acolytes surrounded the three Eleshen. As he rushed forward, Rulac clashed swords with one servant. Suddenly, another acolyte smashed Rulac's head from behind with a club. The Eleshi collapsed, his body limp and skull crushed. Before the acolyte could raise his club again, Keir drove Onaonte through the novice's gut.

Earec cried out, his voice anguished. All fighting halted momentarily, heads turning towards the Eleshi as his silver eyes turned blood red and his nostrils flared. Then he was swinging his sword madly through the remainder of the acolytes, unmindful of any of their blows. Those whom Earec did not slay fell back into the weapons of the rest of the company.

Then it was over. Rulac, a score of acolytes and two priests lay dead. Earec held a knife to the neck of the lone surviving acolyte whom he'd captured. Keir shuddered as he watched the hateful gleam in the Eleshi's eyes. The dagger twitched as if eager to find its way into the novice's throat. Finally Earec spoke, his voice a rumbling growl.

"Foul demon, I charge you to deliver this curse to your fellow spawn: If any of you fetid priests or acolytes ever come within sight of Earec Resgau again, it will be your death. Now go, you bloodsucking rat! Return to the rest of your muck!" The Eleshi roughly shoved the man towards the woods. The acolyte stumbled, ripping his robe, but immediately scampered up and away, his frightened face never looking back.

As soon as the man fled, Earec dropped to his knees and cried bitterly. Keir, feeling empathy for the Eleshi, knelt and wrapped his arm about Earec's shoulders. He himself became teary-eyed and only vaguely heard Bautista utter last rites. Then Jiam stooped in front of Earec, his eyes red with sorrow and tears. Laying his hand tenderly against Earec's cheek, he spoke softly.

"We must leave quickly, my friend. Rulac will not be forgotten. And there must surely be more priests. Come."

Earec took the hand Jiam offered him, rose and silently began dragging one of the canoes towards the river, his face wet with tears.

Jiam turned to the others, his voice terse. "Traditionally, Eleshen traders place their dead in funeral boats as a symbol of passing from this life to the next. Unfortunately, we have neither the time nor an extra boat and so we'll have to bury him. But leave the bodies of his murderers for the wilderness beasts."

As they dug a shallow grave, Keir glanced at Earec. A fey recklessness was visible in the trader's actions, even in the digging of Rulac's grave.

Rulac's death was so sudden, Keir thought. It's going to be a long time before Earec recovers. I remember how long it took me each time my brothers were killed. Even now, I still grieve for father. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, placing a hand over his heart. O god how that still hurts.

He watched Earec stamp the earth down on Rulac's grave. If Jarik was to die... I wonder how he's doing? He can't die! I don't want to be alone. O Evesthar, protect him! O Janal, guide him!

Earec's sudden curse drew everyone's stares. The husky Eleshi kicked the corpse of an acolyte. "Why, dammit, why?"

Glancing up, he glared at the company, his eyes red. "Well? Let's get movin'!"

As the trader yanked his canoe out of the brush, Keir also offered brief, silent prayers for Earec to the Most High and the Goddess of Wisdom.

Jiam handed Rulac's amulet to Bautista so that he might guide the third craft while the wizard and Brabin switched places in the canoes. As they pushed out into the chill waters of the Zon, the pink morning sky revealed the gray, turbulent clouds Jiam had predicted the night before. Now he predicted rain within the hour.

After a mile of steady paddling, Keir glanced back. Behind he could see several black objects seemingly floating on the river. He yanked at Earec's sleeve until the Eleshi turned to face him.

"Hey, what do you think those are?" he asked, pointing over his shoulder. The entire company turned to look.

"Demon's Eye!" Earec swore, slapping the water with his paddle. "Priests of The Voryaki! Bautista, turn around!"

The wizard shook his head. "No! This mission will not be sacrificed for your vengeance. We will have to outrun them."

"You're crazy!" cried Earec, who was so angry that his agitation shook the boat. "If we do that, we'll have to take the Meylin with no rest! That'll kill us for sure."

"Not for sure," replied Jiam calmly. "We can make it. But I see the wizard's logic. While we might not have any rest, neither will the priests. And I doubt any of them have ever traveled through the Meylin."

"And neither has Bautista. We're not gonna be able to teach him now!"

"Yes but how many of the priests or their acolytes could possibly survive the Rapids?"

Black Muraga thrust his paddle noisily into the water. "Unless we start moving now, the priests won't have to worry about reaching the Rapids." The others nodded and Earec was forced to give up his argument.

It wasn't long, however, before black storm clouds swirled above them, darkening the sky so as if dusk had already arrived. They forced their tired arms to keep stroking in the sluggish river for a half-turn. Suddenly, lightning streaked across the sky followed seconds later by a jarring thunderclap directly above, rattling the canoes. Then rain started falling. For another quarter-turn they paddled until the downpour became so thick that they could hardly see ten paces in any direction. The priests were lost from sight.

Jiam signaled for the boats to draw close. As they did, he shouted, "We're only a couple of miles from the Rapids. I suggest we paddle to shore and wait out the storm rather than chance the Rapids with this little visibility."

Bautista nodded, then glanced behind him. "Sounds good, but what about the priests?"

"If we're careful, they won't even notice our hiding place, especially if the storm holds. They might even try going through the Rapids."

"Let's do it then."

"I'd rather ambush those bloodsucking priests," muttered Earec, but no one except Keir seemed to hear.

They found a spot with easy access and soon had the canoes ashore, hiding them several paces from the river's edge. Bautista and Jiam took the first watch as the others tried their best to keep from getting any wetter, even though their clothes were already soaked.

As they waited, Keir watched Earec's face grow darker, sullen, as he withdrew from the others' soft bantering. He thought about talking to the Eleshi but before he could approach, Jiam hissed at them to hush. Silently they rose and peered around the trees. Several dark shapes glided past, their dim forms instantly recognizable as men in canoes. For a few seconds, Keir worried that the priests might spot them but the canoes quickly disappeared into the rain.

"I'll follow and see how far they go," Jiam said, his eyes still straining to watch the canoes.

Bautista laid a restraining hand on the Eleshi's shoulder. "Don't go any farther than the beginning of the Meylin and then return here. And be careful. We desperately need your services if we're to survive the Rapids."

"I'll be back within two or three turns, no longer." The wizard removed his hand and Jiam stealthily slipped between the trees, fading more swiftly then the priests had. Bautista continued to maintain the watch as the others sat down. Quickly, the twins and Black Muraga dropped into a silent slumber, their war-hardened bodies able to sleep at a moment's notice.

Keir glanced at Earec. The Eleshi's face was buried in his arms. The youth hesitated only briefly, then rose and moved next to the trader. For several minutes they merely sat side by side while he considered what he could say to the grieving Eleshi. He knew what Earec was going through, having lost nearly all his family. He realized also that if Earec didn't put aside his vengeful anger towards the priests, he would endanger the entire company when they attempted the rapids. Finally Keir spoke, his voice quiet and compassionate.

"I know what you're feeling, Earec. The priests have killed six of my brothers, as well as my father. It's an awful feeling."

The Eleshi lifted his head and Keir noticed how red his eyes still were. "You humans could never possibly understand how I feel," he murmured. "You've lived less than twenty years while Rulac and I have known each other for more than five hundred. How can you even equate your inferior relationships to mine?"

Keir grimaced at Earec's harsh words, but managed to keep his immediate comment inside his head for several moments as he considered the Eleshi's statement. Finally he spoke again, carefully choosing his words.

"Your race is not that different from mine, Earec. Maybe the bond you shared with your brother had more time to develop but that doesn't make it any stronger than the ones I shared with my family, especially with my father."

Earec's eyes narrowed. "You could never understand so don't even try."

Keir had to struggle to keep his seat and not leave the Eleshi alone. Demon's Eye but he's arrogant! No, that's not quite true. He just lost his only brother a few turns ago. Taking a deep breath, Keir forced himself to remain calm.

"Listen, I'm not saying you should just forget about what happened this morning. You've every right to be bitter. It took me a long time to deal with the death of each of my brothers and I'm still angry about my father's murder. But you don't have a long time. We need you now to make it through the rapids. Still, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen." He rose and started to walk away but Earec grabbed his sleeve.

"Wait."

Keir stopped, turning around slowly. There was no anger in Earec's almond-shaped eyes now, only sorrow and pain.

"I'm sorry for what I said. You're right." He glanced at the soggy ground, sniffling, then looked back up into Keir's blue eyes. "I'll be ready when the time comes."

Keir smiled gently. "I know you will. But for now I think we ought to see if we can't do what they're doing." He gestured with a thumb towards the twins and Black Muraga, all three snoring peacefully.

Chuckling, Earec stood and clasped the youth's shoulder. "Good advice, Keir. We're going to need it."

*****

It was late afternoon before the storm finally petered out, but there was no sign of Jiam. The company huddled nervously or took turns watching the Zon River. Silence hung in the woods like a misty fog; only the river sloshing against its banks broke the eerie stillness. Something was wrong and they all knew it, although no one voiced their fears.

As they waited for Jiam to return Keir tried wringing out his clothes and had some success, but his ears and eyes concentrated more on the surrounding woods. Dusk settled and Bautista began pacing.

Suddenly, they heard the snap of twigs breaking. Instantly they were on their feet, weapons drawn, and peering into the dim light. A tall, lithe form could be seen darting through the trees towards them.

"It's Jiam!" hissed Earec. "Get yourselves and the boats ready to go!"

Moments later, Jiam burst into their campsite. "There's a priest and a bunch of acolytes behind me!" he panted, a grim expression spread across his face.

"How far?" asked Bautista.

"Maybe a quarter-mile. They're following more slowly. But it's worse than we thought. There were another dozen priests with two or three score acolytes waiting for us at the beginning of the Meylin. And they've got more canoes than I could count."

The company gasped as one. "They knew we were coming!" said Keir.

Bautista nodded. "It seems that but for this rain we would have ridden right into their trap." The wizard looked at Jiam. "What happened when the priests you followed met the others?"

"There was a hot debate while they decided what to do. I didn't hear most of what was said but you could sure see how angry the leaders were that the first group had missed us. Finally they sent out several acolytes to scout the area. That's when I left."

Black Muraga stepped up. "If we left now, what chance do you think we would have of slipping by them?"

"We'd have a better chance in the dark but if we wait that long, I'm sure that priest behind me will have spotted us and alerted the others. I suggest we leave immediately and stick close to the near shore. But no matter what, it'll still be dark when we hit the heart of the rapids."

Earec lifted his head. "We've never even thought of doing the Meylin at night, much less allow the wizard to lead one of the canoes."

Bautista nodded thoughtfully. "We will fit into two. That should work even if they are a little heavy."

"It'll work but you're gonna owe me for that third boat. Still, unless you can provide us with some light, I'd just as soon try to ambush 'em."

"You'll have your light and your money, Earec," Bautista assured. "We cannot wait any longer, however. Now, push these boats out."

Keir jumped into Jiam's boat along with the twins while Bautista and Black Muraga clambered into Earec's. For nearly two miles of lethargic waters, the company silently stroked, the two canoes hugging the shoreline. Soon dim firelight could be seen flickering ahead as they neared the priests' campsite. At the same time, the river banks drew tighter and the water began to churn as the deadly Rapids of Meylin loomed closer.

"Now get in the middle of the river," Jiam whispered hoarsely. "Stay low and just let the boats float past. Maybe they won't see us."

Everyone ducked and for a while Keir thought their plan might succeed. Then shouts suddenly erupted on both sides of the Zon and he knew they'd been spotted. Arrows hissed past, narrowly missing, a few nicking the canoes. He and the others grabbed their paddles and thrust them into the water, furiously pumping their arms as they raced for the rapids.

Keir wondered where the light Bautista had promised would come from. As if the wizard had read his thoughts, the globe on the end of his staff flickered to life, its argent glow shining brightly on the rocks ahead. Then they burst into the rapids and the roar of rushing water drowned out the sounds of pursuit. Keir offered a brief but fervent prayer to Taren, goddess of dooms, as Jiam guided the canoe past and through several large boulders.

The Eleshen traders kneeled precariously at the bow of their canoes, their eyes and minds glued to the raging river. Keir could sense them recalling their many trips through the deadly gorge. As they reached a short calm stretch, Earec turned to Bautista and pointed at the wizard's staff.

"It's not enough!" he shouted. "I need more light!"

"It's the best I can do!"

"Demon's Eye! We'll never make it without more light!"

Suddenly, the thick clouds broke, revealing a moon far from its peak. The clouds continued to disperse as if a chaotic wind was scattering its toys. Stars blazed and the thin slice of moon gave dim shadows to what had been formless voids.

"Evesthar be praised!" exclaimed Earec with a sudden change of mood. "With this much light, we could do it! Let's move before they reach us!"

It was a draining, deadly ride. Keir's muscles cramped, the result of the constant tension and energy sap in the non-stop ripping force hurtling them through their lunatic course. Whenever there was a lull in the thunderous roar of the white water pounding against the monstrous stone monoliths, the traders gave quick, precise directions on handling the next passage.

After five grueling miles, the canoes glided into a half-mile long stretch of calm, placid waters.

"Bautista," panted Keir, "We've got to stop for a bit. I'm nearly dead from exhaustion."

Jiam nodded agreement. "I would rather fight any priests who survived than attempt the second half of the rapids." The others echoed his view.

Bautista agreed to allow the boats to float downstream by themselves, allowing the company to save what little energy they did have for a possible fight. As the wizard doused the light of his staff, the others turned their eyes towards the end of the rapids and waited.

"There's one," hissed Jiam as a canoe, pale in the moonlight, whisked out of the hills marking the end of the first half of the rapids. "And another." Keir glanced at Earec as three more craft popped out and gathered together no more than a hundred paces away. The Eleshi's eyes were dark, his face tightening with rage.

Keir returned his attention to the priests, who had spread out in a line across the river, each boat maybe ten paces apart and with a priest and two acolytes to a canoe. The distance between the company and the priests narrowed. When the servants' faces could be seen clearly, the Eleshen loosed their remaining arrows. Six of their enemies slumped where they sat and the company moved in.

As the servants closed to attack, Bautista's staff flared and the priest in one of the boats suddenly fired black beams at another priest, horror showing clearly in his face. Fear of his own raced through Keir, turning his stomach queasy as he rejected a sudden desire reach inside himself for his own white magic; he gripped his knife instead. Then the boats crashed together and immediately hands were grappling and knife blades flashing in the moonlight. Keir's canoe overturned, tossing him into the cold water.

Two wiry but powerful arms wrapped tightly about Keir's neck. He let his knife go and grabbed the acolyte's arms in a struggling effort to breathe. As he sputtered, the novice shoved his head under, water rushing painfully into his mouth and nose. In sudden anguish, Keir somehow managed to lift his head and suck in air, clearing the panic from his mind and filling it with the will to survive. Grasping the elbow and wrist of the acolyte's lower arm, he submerged. He twisted inward and down on the acolyte's hand and then pushed the man's elbow upward, freeing himself from the acolyte's grip. Coming up behind the surprised servant, Keir wrapped his arms around the man's neck, squeezing and forcing the head under. The acolyte struggled futilely for several moments, weakening until he went limp.

Keir spotted Brabin bobbing a dozen strokes away in the cold water, arms thrashing madly. Releasing the acolyte's body, he sprinted to the Brimuli, threw an arm over the warrior's broad chest and, using only the strength of his legs, kicked both of them to the semi-safety of an overturned canoe. While Brabin grabbed the canoe's side, sputtering and coughing, Keir yanked the Brimuli's dagger from his belt and swam to aid the others.

Black Muraga and Earec seemed to be faring well, the Eleshi fighting with berserker fury. Bautista and Brobin, on the other hand, were grasping the swamped hull of another boat. The wizard's robe was so heavy with water that he couldn't lift his arms while Brobin was unable to swim at all.

Two acolytes suddenly popped up in front of Jiam. As Keir raced to aid him, Jiam attempted to stab one but the acolyte grabbed his wrist, squeezing with nails until the Eleshi dropped his dirk. While Bautista and Brobin pushed away from the security of their craft, one acolyte shoved Jiam's head under the water while the other twice rammed a dagger into the Eleshi's chest. Jiam's body shuddered even as Keir finished his final stroke with a powerful sweep of Brabin's knife, embedding it deep in the back of the acolyte. Black Muraga wrenched the other acolyte away from Jiam, wrapping a bear hold around the man while Earec gently pulled the unconscious Eleshi to a canoe. As Keir slit the throat of the acolyte Black Muraga held, then glanced about. The others each held onto the hull of a swamped or overturned canoe. They quickly realized that there were no more Servants.

"How's Jiam?" asked Keir fearfully.

"There's still a pulse," said Earec grimly as he tried to staunch the flow of blood. Keir could hear little hope in his voice. "We must get him to shore immediately."