Earthbound, p.29
Earthbound, page 29
Loghin snorted as he took a sip from his cup. “I know. I only meant you’ll do right by her.”
Knox cleared his throat. Apparently, the emotion of the afternoon still had him wound tight. “I hope so.”
Loghin assessed Knox with a long look. “I used to be eager to throw stones at you, but my every thought has proved foolish. Give the cluster time. They’ll see too.”
“I’m not so sure. The Council made their feelings clear.” He looked toward the light of the cluster meeting bouncing off the cedars next to Cyrl’s home. The low murmur of voices travelled through the cool evening air.
Loghin grunted in agreement. “Ridiculous, that was.”
The two sat silent for a moment before Knox let out a puffed breath. “I can’t help but feel I should have gone after those last Tumultian craft.”
“Maybe,” Loghin allowed. “But, if you had, Gorrde would be dead.”
“But if I—”
Loghin cut him off. “You can’t solve every problem, and unlike the Council seems to think, not every stone-ground thing can be blamed on you. Not the beast, or the coming war.”
Knox stared into the flames, unconvinced. The Tumultian Commander knew he was from Rikken; it would be a small leap to believe she directed a targeted attack in retribution for Beryl. Despite the heat before him, he shivered. “The Commander—”
“Has better things to think about than an out-of-the-way backwater cluster like Rikken. They are pushing troops inland. Some were going to find their way here.”
Knox looked down at Kipp and hoped Loghin was right. The fire crackled and snapped between them.
“Have you heard how Gorrde is doing?” Loghin eventually asked.
A voice came from the darkness. “He’ll live.” Maven stepped into the firelight. She looked to have aged overnight. Her face was drawn and her steps slow. Loghin jumped up from his seat and offered it to her.
“Can I get you something, Healer?” Loghin asked.
She waved him off. “Lin is getting me something to eat as we speak.”
Loghin moved around and sat down next to Knox.
“Gorrde?” Knox asked.
She let out a heavy sigh. “It’s a serious break in one leg. I’m not sure if he will walk without support again. The bones were difficult to set.”
Silence was left behind the words. The blow of such an injury was catastrophic to anyone, but for Gorrde, whose whole life was on his feet creating in his shop, it felt particularly cruel.
“I should have gotten to him faster,” Knox said.
Maven lifted her tired eyes. “I don’t blame you Knox, nor should you blame yourself.” She shifted in her seat, drawing her shoulders back. “I do have something we need to speak of that can no longer wait.”
“Of course, anything.”
“How did you regain your strength?”
The question caught him off guard and Loghin seemed equally surprised, head snapping up. “Do you need me to go?”
Instinctively, Knox waited for the familiar clench in his stomach, the tying of his tongue, warning him against betraying his oaths. The feeling didn’t come. Similar to when he’d decided he wouldn’t give up Kipp. He looked at Maven, confused.
“Nothing is stopping you from speaking freely, is it?” she guessed.
“No. Why?”
“I wonder—” She didn’t complete the thought. “What oath did you speak to regain your strength?”
Knox sat silent thinking back to the moment, trying to remember past the feelings of desperation and hopelessness. He had spoken the Primary Oath, as a prayer, to calm his own fears. As the name suggested, the Primary Oath was only the beginning of the full oaths an Overseer swore to the Order and Sky.
“I only recited the Primary Oath,” he said slowly. “I assumed it was the loss of our child.” He hugged Kipp a little closer at the ache the thought brought.
Maven nodded. “In part, I think it was. You laid down your vows to the Order because of the new assurance forbidding your child. When he passed, something must have shifted.”
“He?”
Maven’s gaze softened. “Yes.”
A little boy. He could see him in his mind’s eye. A mixture of both Emilia and himself. A slow tear escaped, and he wiped it into his sleeve. Kipp stirred but remained asleep. He swallowed back the building emotion. “What does this mean?”
“I think you may only be bound to the Sky herself. Not the Order.”
“Am I allowed to hear this?” Loghin asked.
“No,” Maven and Knox said together.
“Right then,” he made a motion of sealing his lips.
“Can you—” Knox let the question hang.
Maven shook her head. “I gave up the assurances long ago. But you never did, did you? Except for the assurance regarding the child?”
“I couldn’t. It was all I had left of the Sky.” A thought struck him. “Without oaths to the Order, am I even an Overseer?”
She gave him a tight smile. “It’s her power that creates an Overseer, not the Order’s hierarchy. You are like the first Overseers, bound only to the will of the Sky. Not to the Order. Not to any Cluster. Your soul is tethered to the Sky alone and any you choose to hold close.” Her gaze drifted to Kipp, and her smile softened.
Loghin let out a restrained whoop. Knox looked at him in surprise. “Don’t you see?” Loghin said. “All that talk from the Council about your shortcomings. The endless arguments about your role and place in the cluster. It’s all for nothing. You are your own.”
“And the Sky’s,” Maven reminded.
Knox lifted his face to the darkening sky, his breath leaving him. I am the Sky’s alone. With the awareness, a burden lifted from his chest. The guilt of not serving the cluster perfectly, the tension of being torn between protecting those he loved and his duty, all fell from his shoulders.
He felt the truth of the statement burn alongside his strength. “Do we tell the Council—”
This time Loghin and Maven spoke in unison. “No.”
He grinned.
“They will learn the truth, but for now let it free you to act as you see fit,” Maven said, squeezing his shoulder as she stood. “I need to get back to Gorrde.” She glanced at Kipp, softly snoring in his arms. “Why don’t I take her back to the house? She can sleep by the fire and if she wakes, we can bring her back to you.”
Knox considered the child, her head tipped at a funny angle. “If you don’t mind. I’ll come and check on her when I am done here,” he said, looking off towards a glow above the camp that pushed back the gathering dark.
Knox handed Kipp off to Maven and watched the two vanish into the maze of tents. He turned to Loghin. “Feel like stirring things up? I’ve second-guessed myself long enough.”
Loghin clapped his hands in anticipation. “Stones, yes.”
◆◆◆
Knox walked through the tightly-pressed crowd of neighbours and friends. A murmur followed his movement like the wind through the grass. Loghin walked at his side, wearing a grim expression. The press of bodies gave way before them, some with grumbles and others with eager expectation.
In a cleared corner of the field, a large fire burned before the Tumultian craft Knox had brought to the camp. Doccet stood atop the craft, speaking in a loud voice. Her grey-streaked hair caught the flickering light as lines of silver, matching the grey Council setka she now wore.
“We will fortify the perimeter probes and will return to Rikken to rebuild.”
A cheer went up from the crowd, mixed with the undercurrent of murmuring from those who had spotted Knox. Doccet’s mouth pinched into a sour expression as she marked him. She raised her hands in the customary dismissal. “That is all. This meeting is adjourned.”
Her abrupt closing was met with a chorus of questions. No one moved to leave.
Doccet hurried to the back of the hovercraft to descend. Knox leapt. The jump propelled him above the heads of those gathered and he landed on the deck, absorbing the impact with a slight bend of his knees. Every eye fell on him.
“We are not done quite yet, Council.”
A flustered Doccet smoothed back a few stray hairs and gathered herself. “You have no authority to speak here.”
He took in her defensive posture and the anger and fear swirling across her features and kept his voice even. “I’m not your enemy.”
Her eyes narrowed in distrust.
“But I must honour my vow before the Sky with or without the Council’s blessing.”
A hush fell over the crowd as every ear craned to hear the quiet conversation unfolding before them. Doccet glanced between Knox and the people. She stepped back from the edge of the craft and turned as if to speak to Knox but lifted her voice so all could hear.
“Disavowed Knox, you have proven your vows to this cluster mean little to you.” A malicious snarl curled her lips. “Only crawling back to us when your wife dismissed you for another. Any vow you offer us is empty.”
The twisted truth hit with force. Fresh anger boiled to life. The heat of it set his fingertips twitching for action. He clenched his fists and pulled in a long, slow breath.
All of Rikken stilled, waiting for his response, and for once he didn’t bow to logic or protocol. He met Doccet’s eye, then turned away. He walked a few paces to the front of the craft and dropped down into the pilot pit.
With a flip of several switches, he brought the engines to life. The crowd shifted back from the wash of air spilling from beneath the craft. The bonfires flared. He met Doccet’s eye, cocked his head and engaged the earth probes. Energy crackled beneath the ship and Doccet’s eyes flew wide in shock.
Screams and shouts erupted as the ground nearest the craft turned soft and people scrambled back as their feet were swallowed by the greedy slough.
Loghin, who’d been quietly standing on the deck, looked at him in horror. “Knox! What are you doing?”
His eyes flicked to his companion. How far will his trust hold? Knox raised an eyebrow and looked out over the crowd. Their frantic retreat was slowed as they tried to free loved ones from the mire. He let the craft run several more heartbeats before he disengaged the probes and powered them down.
In the absence of the engine wail, quiet descended over the assembly. Knox jumped from the craft back to the ground, leaving Doccet behind, and faced the shocked cluster. The fire, now mostly smothered by the loose earth, gave off only a dim reddish glow and cast him in an eerie light.
“Doccet’s right. I am no longer bound to the Council, but I still fight for you. There are those who are coming who will not hesitate to swallow Rikken whole. Those who can muster the earthbound and drive them to their will. Those who delight in making the Mercurial their slave and sending Overseers into the depths of the earth.”
He stepped forward to a young man whose leg remained trapped up to his calf. He offered his hand and after a momentary hesitation, the young man grabbed it and let Knox pull him free. “You need to know what is coming for you. False hope is death.”
Someone in the crowd spoke up, “What should we do, Overseer?”
Knox looked back toward Loghin, who had mostly recovered from his shock. “Fight if you can. Defend those who cannot and move deeper into the mountains or flee for the Capital. There is no time for soft-peddled measures. Trouble is at our door, and if we wish to survive, we need to be ready to act.”
A small huddle of Council members stood together scowling at him. Ship, Daedan and a shrewd-eyed Councilwoman, Jain, stood apart from the group. It was clear Doccet was getting ready to speak again, but it was Cyrl’s sharp voice which rose first.
“Listen to this man at your own peril. He is disavowed. A man without an oath who only seeks to use you to his own ends. This cluster’s true Overseer is, even now, gathering help. He will return and protect us. I, for one, will remain and wait for the Sky’s true representative.”
Pandemonium broke out amongst the crowd, hundreds of voices all vying to be heard. Knox scanned the group, his brow heavy. If the cluster could not come to a consensus, he would have to leave those unwilling to follow. No doubt to their demise. The thought sat heavy in his chest.
Knox made his way back to Loghin’s side where he, Ship, and Jain stood discussing much the same thing.
“We can lead those who are willing towards Aegis Lake,” Ship was saying. “The valley there will give us a few extra weeks to prepare for winter, but within the protection of the high mountain stone. If the raiders come, they will have to meet us hand-to-hand.”
“I can organize supplies and essentials,” Jain offered.
Loghin dipped his head in respect to the woman. “Knox and I will take care of any of those who wish to defend the cluster.”
Knox murmured his agreement. “Did any of the weapons Gorrde was working on make it up here?”
“I believe so,” Ship said. “Long poles and bolts were loaded onto one of the craft before the beast made it through.”
“Excellent,” he said as a sharp tug pulled at his sleeve. He turned to see Lin, Maven’s assistant. He looked back at the group. “Are you good for a minute?”
“Go on,” Loghin waved. “We’ll get things in hand.” He glanced over his shoulder at the still agitated group. “It will take a bit until people are seeing clearly enough to reason with them, anyway.”
Knox nodded his thanks and followed Lin from the noise of the gathering. “Is Kipp awake?”
Lin glanced over her shoulder, but she didn’t answer.
“Lin?”
She held a finger to her lips and then beckoned him to follow. She hurried ahead through the maze of tents that separated the gathering from the old farmhouse. “They told me to bring you alone or everyone would die.”
Dread curdled his stomach. “Who told you?” He pulled the club from his belt.
Lin stopped and turned abruptly, and he almost crashed into her. She put a hand to his chest in a silent command. “Raiders stormed into the cabin moments ago.”
“You stay here, I’ll deal with—”
“No. You can’t—” Hazel eyes flew wide with fear. “They have a man watching us. They said if you resist, the girl will die the moment you do.”
“Kipp?” Oh, Skies, no. The hollow raggedness in his chest threatened to tear wide before the possibility of more loss.
Lin nodded. “Maven wouldn’t release the child,” she pointed down the road. “They took them both and said you were to follow on your own or they’d kill them. You’re to meet them on the lower field.”
Knox’s mind raced with scenarios. “What of the others in the cabin? Gorrde?”
“Alive. They were only interested in Kipp, but when Maven put up a fight, they forced her along. It happened so fast.” He saw the fear in her eyes.
“I’ll bring them back. Find Loghin, tell him everything you have told me but have him swear on the Sky he will not follow. I need him to organize the move—tonight—now if possible. If I can’t stop them here, they’ll be coming. I’ll give him as much time as I can and follow once I’m able.”
She nodded again. “Don’t wait. I know they watch.”
He gave a stiff nod to the young woman and stepped into the darkness.
Rend the Night
Knox
Once sure he was out of sight of the makeshift cluster, Knox ran. Whoever had been left watching him would be hard pressed to keep up. He pulled on his strength and let it propel his limbs and expand his lungs. His eyes adjusted and made full use of the twinned crescents hanging low, tracking in parallel course across the sky.
The thought of Kipp back in Tumultian custody made his throat constrict. He’d promised to keep her safe. He pushed the limits of his speed, his feet tearing at the dirt road beneath him. It had to be the Commander. Who else would know of his debt to the child?
The slope of the road levelled, and he looked to the sky. The silvered moons hung vibrant and the stars bright. No clouds or fog clung along the ground to conceal his approach. He pushed off anyway and let the cool night air envelope him. Let them see me coming.
The ruins of Rikken lay silent but for smouldering piles, the brecka long since moved on elsewhere. In the monochromatic light, the field looked like rough foothills; the deep ruts and steep banks reflecting nothing of the once tended land.
At the tree line, the lights of large bonfires danced against the blackness. An orange ring of flames surrounded a small, watchful camp. Shouts sounded as his silhouette was spotted in the sky and the raiders rushed to orientate themselves to his approach.
Energy weapons crackled to life as he landed and strode toward the camp, his hands held high in surrender, club at his belt.
“Release the girl and the woman you have taken,” he called out. His voice echoed off the wall of trees behind the camp. Those within the ring shifted uneasily but said nothing. “No one needs to die here tonight. Release them, and you will see the dawn.”
More shuffling and silence.
He pulled the club from his belt and a murmur of apprehension rolled through the group. At a quick count, there only appeared to be thirty or so within the flame-walled gathering, but he had no doubt the trees held a larger contingent of the Tumultian army.
If he started killing before he knew where Kipp was, she and Maven could be easily shifted out of his reach. No one in the group made a move.
“Show me the girl,” he snarled. The throaty shout leaked desperation, but he stalked forward, undaunted.
Those closest to the front edged backwards but held the line. As he neared, he could make out their faces by the firelight. Wide eyes and sweat dotted foreheads despite the cool night. Others sniffled or let silent tears track down their faces. These were not the raiders he had faced earlier.
Little physically differentiated the peoples of the Tumult and Mercurial. All were diverse in aspect and appearance, all born of the same spark but to different gods. The raiders often wore pieces of plated leather armour and sometimes adorned their hair with carved pieces of polished wood. None here wore either. These are not Tumultians.
