“You can come down now,” said the stranger in a low, musical voice. “They will not bother you again.”
“Who are you?” asked Amero, trying to maintain a firm grip on the tree.
The stranger did not respond, but merely stared up at him with a mildly interested expression. In spite of his innate wariness, Amero found his fingers slipping. He was so weak, so tired from his long captivity in the tree that it was hard to hold on another moment.
Helplessly, Amero asked, “You’ll not… hurt me?”
The stranger sighed. “What I did to those creatures I could do to you whether you are in the tree or out. Remain there, if you wish.”
His words sounded logical, and Amero was simply too exhausted to resist further. He loosened the laces that held him to the tree. Soon his feet were on firm ground, but his legs wouldn’t support him. His knees folded, and he found himself sitting down hard on the ground.
“My family, out there,” he murmured. “Have you seen anyone else?”
“No.” The stranger’s eyes — a light blue color, like the sky — betrayed no hint of emotion. “I saw only you.”
Amero pulled himself upright. “Are you a spirit? Do you command the wind — is that how you defeated the yevi?”
“‘Yevi?’ Ah, you have named them already.”
Amero was about to repeat his question when a single animal reappeared from the tall grass. The boy pressed his weakened body against the tree, unable to haul himself up. However, flight was unnecessary.
The stranger frowned at the yevi. “Begone,” he said simply.
You thwart our hunt. Amero heard the words distinctly, though the beast’s jaws never moved. Why do you protect our prey? What is he to you?
“This is my land,” the man replied, smiling. “I do as I will. You don’t belong here. Tell your master to send no more hunting packs into my domain. I won’t tolerate poaching.”
You dare challenge Sthenn?
The stranger shrugged. “I know your master well. He can seek me any time he chooses, but he won’t. He’s a coward. He prefers to use vermin like you, you ‘yevi’ — ” he nodded at Amero in acknowledgment for the name — “to accomplish what he wants.”
The gray beast let loose a guttural yelp. And what will you do, mighty one? Take up humans as your favored pets?
“They’re too frail and stupid to make good pets, but I won’t have you randomly butchering creatures on my land, either. Go and tell your master what I’ve said.”
He turned his back on the yevi and started to walk away. Amero pulled himself to his feet, intending to follow the man, but the yevi sprang for the boy’s throat. It never made it. There was a brilliant flash, the smell of singed flesh, and the yevi was blasted to scorched bits.
Amero rubbed his eyes, and his vision quickly returned. “You destroyed it!” he said, agog.
“I should have known a creature like that could not be trusted. Well, when none of the pack returns, my message will be just as clear.”
He walked carelessly away, Amero limping at his heels. “You never told me your name,” the boy said. There was no response, so Amero added, “I have no family, no one. Can I go with you? I can… I can serve you.”
The boy limped faster, hissing in pain each time his injured leg touched the ground. Desperate, he began listing his accomplishments. “I can fish, gather berries and roots, make snares, skin rabbits, knap flint, and… and if this Sthenn comes looking for you, I can guard your back.”
At the mention of the name, the stranger whirled and seized the boy with both hands. An image flickered through Amero’s mind, an impression of vast size and enormous power. A light seemed to glow from within the man’s oddly colored eyes, and Amero feared he was about to be roasted like the last yevi.
“Where did you hear that name?” the man demanded.
“The beast spoke it,” Amero replied in a strangled voice. The man’s grip was painful.
His blue eyes narrowed. “You understood what the beasts said?”
“Yes. They spoke to me yesterday, trying to lure me out of my tree — ”
“Tell me what else it said!”
The boy hastily recounted the exchange he’d just heard between the yevi and the stranger. When he was done, the man released him. Fear and exhaustion robbed Amero completely of strength. He sank to the grass.
“Now that’s… interesting,” was all the stranger said.
“What will you do with me, spirit-man?” he said weakly.
His rescuer seemed lost in thought, but finally said, “Duranix.”
“What?” asked Amero.
“My name is Duranix, and no, I won’t kill you. In fact, you may follow me.” It didn’t sound like a request. Duranix strode away, due east toward the distant mountains. A little stunned, Amero hobbled after him.
“Where are you going, Duranix?”
“Home.”
“What’s home?”
Duranix glanced back. “A place to live. Where one sleeps at night. Where is your home, Amero?”
“I have no home.” Amero swallowed a lump in his throat and looked down at his scraped, dirty feet. He would not cry. He was a man, and men did not cry. Oto never did. “We make a new camp every night. If you stay in one place too long, you go hungry. All the food gets eaten or runs away.”
“I see what you mean. I too travel a lot, but I always return to my home.”
In spite of his grief, Amero felt a stirring of curiosity. Lifting his tear-stained face, he said, “Where’s home?”
“Where the mountains meet the plain and a river breaks on a high cliff, that is home.”
“Oh, a waterfall. How large is it? What is it called?”
Duranix smiled. “Just ‘home.’ What would you call it, Amero?”
“I don’t know. I’d have to see it — but I could make up a name for it, if you want.”
“No doubt you would. Humans name things the way bees work a field of cornflowers. Here’s one, here’s another, here’s ten more.”
Heart singing with hope, Amero pushed himself to his feet. He took a step, then the sky seemed to spin around his head. The ground rushed up to meet him and he knew no more.
Duranix looked down at the unconscious boy for a moment, then effortlessly plucked him off the ground with one hand and tucked him under his arm.
“How can you understand the beasts?” Duranix said to the unconscious boy. “Why did I hear your thoughts of pain?” He answered himself. “Time will tell. Sleep now, boy. When you wake, we shall be home.”
Chapter 3
Nianki awoke in stifling darkness. Memory of the previous day’s terror returned. After slaying the last of the beasts stalking her, she’d crawled to the foot of the boulder and burrowed into the loose sand of the dry creek bed. Handful by handful she’d hollowed out a hiding place, and while the red moon still blazed like an ember in the sky, she crawled into her makeshift cave and slept like a dead person. The overhanging bulk of the boulder had warmed her during the night, but it must be daylight now — the sun-baked stone made the hole unbearable. Breaking through the thin wall of gravel and sand she’d erected to hide the opening, Nianki crawled into fresh air.
The gully was empty. The bodies of the beasts she’d slain were gone. Nianki tried to stand, but her wounds flamed with pain. Bracing herself against the boulder, she forced herself erect. This last movement drew her mouth open in a silent howl, but she did not allow herself to give voice to her torment. Even if the killer pack was no longer around, there were plenty of other scavengers who would find the injured Nianki a tasty morsel.
She found a length of dried vine to use as a crutch. It was as thick as her wrist and curled along its entire length, but it was stout. With its help she limped down the creek bed. A fallen tree blocked the way a few paces on. Nianki dragged herself over the obstruction and moved on, leaning heavily on her stick.
