Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

As we sat in silence following Bran's announcement, the sounds of the forest at night crept in. There's a sound that snow made when it began to freeze into a layer of ice, a low harmonic tremor that rippled through the land, almost imperceptible to the naked ear. But it echoed like a low rumbling quake, small enough to not be sure if you really heard it, but big enough to unsettle.

As the snow began to freeze over, the sky cleared and stars began to twinkle against the black backdrop of night. In the forest, a rustling sounded as snow broke off of trees. Some creature was crossing through the thicket. It sounded big, by the thump of its footsteps, but the cadence told me it was four-footed, not two, and it was alone, so it probably wasn't Karehl.

Every now and then, a bough snapped and fell off one of the trees, though most that were weak had already fallen. The forest felt massive and uncaring, and for the first time I felt like I wanted to go home—wherever home may be, to hide safely away from the elements. At first I tried to push the fear aside, but then I stopped and sat with it, letting it wash over me. Face your fears, my father used to tell me. If you bury them, they'll attack you when you least expect it.

So, I let the fear settle in my stomach, examining it. What was I afraid of? I'd hunted creatures all my life. I was used to the uncertainty, to the tension. I was used to being alone out in the forest. So, was the fear of facing Karehl? Or was it that the forest spooked me? I wasn't sure, but my fears calmed as I let them have their say, and they began to pass rather than stay knotted up inside.

As we sat there in silence, the fire crackled and the sparks lit up the air as they sizzled and popped. Bran looked deep in thought. Quen and San were tending to their weapons.

Fenling yawned. "I'm tired. Shall we turn in and get an early start?"

"I suppose," I said. "But what are we going to do ? Are we just going to wait for him to find us? Aren't we going to do anything while we wait?"

Bran cleared his throat. "Yes, we wait. But that doesn't mean sitting around camp. Tomorrow morning we'll explore the surrounding area. We need to memorize as much of the forest as possible. Sleep is a good idea. Quen, will you take first watch? San, second, and then wake me and I'll take third."

Quen settled in on a stump, close enough to the fire to stay warm, but just uncomfortable enough to keep him awake. He placed his sword across his lap and continued to sip on his tea. Bran stood, holding out his hand to help me up. I let him draw me into his arms.

"Thank you for coming," he whispered. "I trust you in battle, and I trust you in my heart."

"Whatever happens, know that I love you." I pressed my lips to his and kissed him, longing to hold him in my arms, in my bed. He kissed me back, his arms warm and strong, and the stone in my stomach took form and I suddenly understood what the fear actually was: I was terrified I'd lose him. I was afraid he'd fall, that Karehl would win, and that I'd spend the rest of my life mourning a love I'd never had a chance to fully explore.

"Rest," he said, letting go, but keeping his gaze focused on me. "All will be well. Keep light in your heart, my love. We need all the hope we can muster."

With that, I crawled into the tent with Fenling, and we burrowed under the thick covers. I expected to remain awake for hours, but within minutes, I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Come morning, we boiled water for tea and had some bread, cheese, and dried meat. Then, Quen and I headed out to scout the trees around our campsite. Bran, Fenling, and San stayed back at the camp. We arranged for a certain whistle to indicate trouble, and then Quen and I rode to the tree line around the clearing, and entered the wood.

"It's amazing how difficult it is to keep track of where we are, when there's no undergrowth between the trees," I said, keeping my voice low. "It's hard to see any landmarks when everything's covered with snow.

"That's because the snowdrifts rise and fall, so it's difficult to tell how deep the snow is in any one area. It all blends together in a massive blur. The sun reflecting off of the dunes doesn't help matters, either, given it makes it hard to stare at without squinting," Quen said.

"What are we looking for? If it takes two days travel to reach us, we're not going to find Karehl this morning," I said.

"We're looking for anything that might affect the hunt. Any cave openings, rivers or streams, ravines…whatever we need to know about the topography." Quen paused, then pointed to our right. "Look, there—that mound of snow isn't just a drift. There's something under it."

"How can you be sure?" I asked. "I don't…" I paused, as the mound began to shift. "What the hell?"

"Freeze," Quen said, pulling on the reins to stop his horse.

We watched as the snow began to fall off something that had been buried beneath the snow. Whatever was there broke from beneath the chill blanket, rising up on two legs.

"Holy…" I caught my breath as the creature—bipedal and as tall as three men high—broke free. Covered in fur, it had two arms and a head, but it was no human, nor ice giant, nor rock elemental. The creature was white as the snow itself, with eyes that glowed red, and it yawned, exposing massive teeth that glistened in the morning sun. It hadn't noticed us yet, but it was so big that towered over us and our horses.

My heart in my chest, I slowly reached for my bow, taking my time so as not to draw its attention. I wasn't sure if it could hear us, so kept my mouth shut as I slid an arrow out of my quiver. Quen silently drew his sword. Yaran shifted and I patted him, hoping he would stay calm. But the next moment, the creature raised his head, sniffing the air, and swiftly turned toward us with a loud roar.

"He sees us!" Quen said, trying to control his mount as the horse whinnied and reared up onto his back legs.

Yaran let out a whinny and was about to rear up as well, but I pulled on the reins. "Calm, Yaran! Calm!"

I'd trained my horse from when I was young to settle when we were around big game like bears. My father had set up practice runs in the forest, near to where he knew the bears were roaming, so that I would learn how to handle emergencies. Now, I whispered a prayer of thanks that he'd been so thorough with my training.

Yaran shifted, but remained on all fours. As the creature headed our way, I took a deep breath and brought up my bow, quickly nocking the arrow as I aimed for where I imagined its heart might be. I let the arrow fly, immediately reaching for a second one.

Quen's horse bucked again, throwing him off. But Quen came up, sword in hand, as his horse sidestepped away.

My first arrow lodged into the creature's chest, piercing deep. Blood began to flow from the wound, staining it's long clumps of fur, and the creature let out a loud shriek, flailing at the arrow, trying to knock it away.

I took aim again and shot a second time. This time, the arrow struck the creature in the head, but by then, it was only a few steps away.

I commanded Yaran to move, and we galloped out of the way. Quen was out of my reach, or I would have tried to sweep him up onto the back of my horse. But the creature was aiming for me—giving Quen the chance to chase after his horse. He managed to catch it, swinging into the saddle again. Holding the reins in one hand, and his sword in the other, he swung around and charged forward, his sword out. He galloped past the creature's back, slashing with his sword, knocking the monster to his knees.

I took the chance to nock another arrow, then quickly shot, hitting the creature's head again. As I did so, Quen leaped off his horse and raced over behind the creature. He brought his sword up, but at that moment, the monster turned and swiped with one, long armed paw. He hit Quen across his arm, slicing deep with his claws.

Quen ignored the wound, thrusting his sword into the creature's chest. The next moment, the brute let out a loud roar, and collapsed forward, landing near Yaran's feet. I stared at it for a moment, then looked over at Quen, who was bleeding, holding his arm as he sat in the snow.

"Quen!" I slid off Yaran's back, racing over to where he knelt. He groaned, bleeding with a steady flow from the three long gashes. I was wearing a scarf under the hood of my cloak, and now I pulled it off my head, wrapping it around Quen's wounds. I whistled for his horse, and helped him up.

"How do you feel?"

"Not great," Quen said, grunting. "I'll live, but…" He winced. "I need to throw up." He turned to the side and I braced him as he vomited. He grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth. "It's the pain. I can't believe how much this hurts."

"Let's get you back to camp. We aren't that far away," I said, helping him over to his horse. I boosted him up into the saddle, and he leaned forward with a groan, trying to hold the reins with one hand. I took them from him and, swinging back into my saddle, I turned, leading his mount behind me.

As I navigated our way back to the campsite, I kept my eyes open for any other creatures like the one we had just fought. I had no clue what it was, but questions flew through my mind—did they travel in packs, or were they solitary? Was there venom in the claws? This was the second time I'd saved Quen and I hoped that he'd heal up like he had the first time.

Finally, I saw the mark we'd left on a tree where we'd turned left after we came through the treeline. I quickly turned right, and there, not far ahead, was the campsite. As I rode into camp, Bran and Fenling jumped up.

"What happened?"

"We met some sort of beast out there and it injured Quen," I said, sliding off Yaran's back. "We managed to kill it, but not before it caught him."

"What sort of beast?" Bran helped Quen down, and he and San guided him over to a stump and sat him down.

"It stood as tall as three men standing on each other's shoulders, and it was covered in fur. White fur, that hung in long matted clumps. The creature had red eyes and long talons on its front paws. It stood on two feet. It wasn't a bear or anything else I've encountered." I followed them, pulling off my gloves.

San stripped off Quen's cloak and they carefully helped him out of his tunic so we could see what damage had been done. Fenling fetched the medical kit. Bran examined the wounds, then turned to me.

"Bring me hot water and I need a cloth to wash away the blood," he said.

I hurried to fetch the water. We had extra rags in our supply bags, so I found one that looked the cleanest. I carried it, along with the water, over to Bran. He began to wash away some of the blood. Since the sun was still up, we were able to see the wounds clearly. It was obvious they hurt, but they weren't festering, and Bran leaned close to one of the gashes and smelled it.

"I don't smell poison…or venom. The blood runs clean, but we'd better treat these so they don't get infected." He finished cleaning Quen's arm.

Three long gashes bled freely, though the blood was beginning to slow. Quen winced as Bran asked for more hot water. Finally, San handed him the powders that healed and cleared infection, and Bran sprinkled Quen's wounds with the medicine, making sure they were fully covered. After that, he stitched up the gashes while Quen swore a blue streak, and we tore strips of the clean cloths into bandages to wrap around his arm.

"That should keep you until we finish our challenge, but be cautious with that arm. I don't want those stitches pulling. If it's too difficult to manage, I order you to hide. I won't have you losing your life because you're too wounded to defend yourself." Bran stood, eyeing him closely. "How do you feel?"

Quen stretched his arm, staring at the stitches. He flexed, carefully, swore, then reached for his tunic. "They hurt, I'm not going to lie, but once again, Asajia saved my life." He glanced at me, then inclined his head. "You're my good luck charm, I guess. Whatever I can do to protect you, I will."

"Don't worry about me," I said. "Protect Bran with your life. He must win."

"We all will," San said.

"So, did you find anything while you were out in the woodland?" Fenling asked.

I shook my head. "No, and while we still have light, we should go out again. San, come with me? Quen should rest."

"You're willing to try again, after that encounter?" Bran asked, as he washed his hands with snow.

"We have to make certain that nothing worse waits for us. I don't want to be surprised when Karehl gets here by some other enemy. We couldn't fight off both your brother and a creature like that at the same time." I checked my quiver and bow, then swung up on Yaran's back. "San, are you coming?"

He started to head for his horse, but Fenling stopped him. "No, I'll go. Better we leave a strong warrior with Bran. Now that Quen is wounded, we can't just leave him alone without a guard."

I nodded, motioning for her to get her horse and follow me.

"We'll be careful," I promised Bran, as we headed for the tree line. I wanted to explore more before dusk. As we entered the forest again, I made sure my bow was ready. I didn't want a reenactment of what happened with Quen.