A tall, armored bes with the face of bull and a huge, hulking body bellowed with rage from the rear ranks of creatures that were still standing. Cato said, pointing at the minotaur, “Abaddon.”
Cato’s illusions vanished. He made eye contact with me and then pointed in the direction of the valley where the besy camped.
I felt my eyes widen. “They’re part of that minotaur’s army?” Cato nodded.
My heart sank. If that was so, we needed to get rid of this vanguard as soon as we could and get back to destroy the portal. Though the bes, Abaddon, lost the majority of its troops, the remains were still formidable, especially if they invaded a world without magic to stop them.
Theo said he and Cato would take first watch, so Owen and I snagged our blue tent and we left Julian and Bard the other. Once inside, I whispered with Owen for a long time until I felt calm enough for sleep.
Later, when I woke in the night afraid again, his warm body beside me, cradling mine, soothed me back to sleep.
Chapter 26
In the morning, we had guests.
I was still sleeping when Julian whisper-shouted outside our tent, “Very!” When I crawled out a minute later, two more Varangians were standing in our campsite. A tall man and a tall girl were talking in low voices to Bard and Cato. The dawning light painted them in shades of pale yellow.
The man was older, with a trim beard and long blond-gray hair tied back in a braid. He had a sword on each hip, chain mail over his tunic, and a pack on his back. The girl was probably around Theo’s age, with red hair and a pinched expression on her face. She looked around at our camp dismissively and turned her back to me when I met her eyes. I recognized her then – she was the girl in Cato’s images last night, the girl that sent the cauldrons over the wall. An air elemental.
Bard was talking and pointing north in the direction of the bes camp, then gesturing around at our camp. He waved me over and introduced me to the man and girl. The man smiled kindly at me and said, “Rurik,” when he gestured to himself, and “Astrid,” when he gestured to the girl. The girl did not smile back at me. She had a bow over her shoulder and a quiver on her back.
I introduced Julian, Theo, and Owen and then said, “Welcome.” I felt frustrated. We had two more fighters now, but no way to communicate battle plans. “I wish we could understand each other,” I said unhappily.
“Me me me!” a voice trilled from the trees above our group. A little cuckoo dropped out of the branches and landed on the snow in front of us. She had a long tail, with black and white feathers. “Cold cold cold,” she warbled.
We stared at the bird, mystified. She hopped from one foot to the other in the snow. “Secret secret secret,” she said next and then flew to my shoulder. I flinched away from her sharp little beak near my eye, and she trilled directly into my ear.
“Gift gift gift,” she sang and then “secret secret secret,” again. Then she stuck her tongue in my ear. I shrieked and batted her away, but she was already gone. She flew to Rurik next and unlike me, he stood calmly while she cleaned his ear. Then she waited on his shoulder.
Rurik said to me, “It’s Ozwiena. She has a gift from Veles.” I stared at him, shocked I could understand what he said. “But you must not tell Chernobog, or she will get in trouble.”
I nodded slowly and then turned to Owen, Julian, and Theo. “I understand what he’s saying now. I think you should let the bird stick her tongue in your ear.”
Theo was the first to step forward and soon, we were all communicating. The cuckoo flew away, calling out about secrets once again.
Cato built up a small fire and we sat around it.
Rurik explained that he and his three children had been scouting for besy a few days’ ride from the citadel. There had been a great battle recently and the besy scattered, hiding out in small groups. The Varangians were afraid they would amass again soon because their leader, Abaddon, was in league with the Black God and had a strange new control over the besy.
“The balachko came out of the mountains and the todorats came out of the plains. All gathered before his black banner.”
They were in a clearing, preparing for nightfall, when everything exploded. When their eyes cleared, they were in a strange place inside of a crater. It was morning. Cato picked up a glowing blue stone that was caught in his cloak and then, somehow a door opened and they were back in their home world; their camp was gone, replaced by a crater, and it was night once more.
They kept the blue stone and quickly left the crater. They stayed nearby though, trying to decide what to do, and saw a group of about 20 besy also enter the demolished clearing. The leader, who had tall horns, picked up one of the glowing blue stones on the ground and the gateway opened again. The besy went through.
Rurik and Cato stayed, watching the crater for their return, while Astrid and Bard ran back to the citadel as fast as they could. They reported what they’d seen to the elders. The elders consulted with each other, discussing some ancient stories, and decided that for now, they would watch the site. They sent Astrid and Bard back.
The family watched until finally, the besy came back through the portal. There were only five of them now. Rurik confessed he couldn’t
