Читать книгу Hidden Enemies - Steve Reilly - Страница 7

Xavier crouched staring into the small camp fire, deep in thought. They had tracked the girl for many weeks now without success but his instincts told him that they were close. He had seen the signs of her passing. Now they had come upon an impassable cliff that stretched beyond sight in each direction. She could not have climbed it so she must be nearby. After that night in Thistledowne when the girl had escaped, he had not expected that he might need to return without news of her death and did not look forward to giving the boss a report of her escape. He took pride in being able to complete any job he was asked to do and he had not failed before. But he could not understand how a girl on foot, alone and without supplies could elude them.

The others sat around waiting for the evening meal to be cooked. They were good loyal men, proven fighters too. They would keep riding until he called for the chase to end. His second-in-command approached and crouched beside him. Jaimz was a man he would trust with his life. The man was the son of a swordmaster, his best friend for the last five years.

“We’ll find her soon,” Jaimz promised.

“I hope so. It isn’t helping either of our careers if one young girl can escape us so easily.” Xavier sat silent for a few minutes before asking, “Why are we chasing her?”

“Because she is a witch.”

“But she has done nothing wrong.”

“Do you doubt the wisdom of the Council?”

“I am a loyal Society member but I can’t help but wonder at the decision to hunt down all witches.”

“It is not our job to wonder, only to obey.”

“Of course I will obey, but have you never asked yourself what we are doing?”

“When I try to make sense of our orders and cannot, I tell myself that I do not have all the facts available to the Council.”

“I suppose so.”

“Why should it matter to you if the witches are all killed?”

Xavier thought about his reply. “It doesn’t, but I would like to understand why we do these things.”

“When you returned after your mother’s death you were lost and I took you to hear Piaz speak. He showed you the evil of the witches and what they were doing around the land. That was when you became a member and devoted yourself to our ideals. Why do you now doubt your choices?”

“I never told you about Redhill, my home town. This chase has me thinking about my childhood again. My father was a drunk and used to beat me just because I was there. My mother tried her best to protect me. She would take me to see Jehane, the town witch, when I was badly hurt. Jehane would take the pain away and always had sweetcakes or such to comfort me. When I could bear it no more I left home to come to Whitebridge. I was twelve.”

As the meal was being served, Xavier made up his mind. They had chased the girl long enough. He would search the area around here tomorrow and if they found no further sign of her in that time they would return and he would be forced to report her escape. With his mind settled Xavier sat back waiting for the meal as the weight of frustration lifted from his shoulders.

Next morning as the early light brought the camp to life, the men broke their fast with cheese and dry biscuits before saddling the horses for another day’s ride. He decided to search to the left for no other reason than his intuition. They set out along the cliff face searching for signs of her passing. Fallen rocks and rubble forced them to move away from the face into the strange trees that seemed to spread away before them. The meagre underbrush allowed Xavier and his men to move at a good pace. They had not ridden far when Jaimz came up to Xavier and pointed over to the rock face ahead of them without speaking. There was definitely movement along the base of the cliff, though from this distance Xavier found it difficult to make out.

“If that is our girl, you have earned yourself a bonus, Jaimz.” said Xavier.

He ordered the men to follow while he and Jaimz went ahead to investigate. They rode quickly through the trees in order to outflank their quarry before dismounting and hitching the horses to a fallen branch. Taking care to remain hidden as they made their way through the rocky terrain, they worked their way towards the cliff to take up a position hidden among a group of larger rocks. From this observation point they could wait for the girl’s approach. Xavier tried to estimate how long it would take her to get from where they had seen the movement to their current position. He thought they would be waiting a short while and was about to tell Jaimz to relax when something moved nearby, catching his attention. He was surprised when a beast stepped over a rock barely fifty paces away. The big blue animal seemed to lumber along, yet covered the ground at an amazing pace, carrying a bundle over its shoulder.

“What is that?” Jaimz whispered beside him.

Xavier didn’t reply. He had seen that the load the creature carried was the girl they had been seeking for so long. She was screaming and yelling at the creature while beating at its back with her fists. As they watched, the creature turned and disappeared into a fissure in the cliff face.

“That, my friend, was an auch,” Xavier finally answered. He had read stories of such animals.

Jaimz looked to where the creature had disappeared. “What do we do now?” he asked.

Xavier just sat and looked at the dark hole that had swallowed the auch and the girl. When neither reappeared after some minutes Xavier told Jaimz to return and fetch the other men. “Leave the horses and men in the trees,” he ordered, “and then come back here with Thom.”

Jaimz rejoined him shortly and Thom followed him into the rocks. He left them watching the entrance while he returned to the others and ordered them to set up camp. He suspected that they would be here overnight so he organised shifts of lookouts. Two men would keep the opening under surveillance at all times while he planned their next move, though he didn’t like the idea of following the beast into the dark. They kept their vigil for the rest of the day but there was no sign of the auch or the girl. As night fell, Xavier began to believe that the girl had to be dead. He could find no other reason for her not emerging from the fissure. Even so he had the men prepare for their watches throughout the night. They would wait until the auch left its den and then check for the girl’s body.

The next day, the men were restless. None had seen an auch before and few had believed in their existence. They sat in silence, away from each other, and all interaction was strained. If he ordered it they would fight any man but the thought of fighting an auch made them edgy. The stories of their childhoods haunted them. Discontent grew and when Harry and Jack bumped each other with part of Jack’s meal ending up on the ground, the fight broke out. Jack swung a bony fist landing it squarely on Harry’s jaw who retaliated by picking up the smaller man and throwing him across the camp. Jack rolled to his feet and both men faced each other in fighter’s crouches before coming together with fists flying. Xavier let the fight continue, seeing it as a way to relieve some of the tension, but when Harry drew his sword he called for them to stop. Discipline hadn’t deserted them yet and both men stepped back. The time had come to do something before he lost control of them completely. He told them that if there was no sign of the auch by morning he was going into the fissure to find it and the girl. He asked which of them would like the honour of going with him.

Both men stood silent until Jaimz spoke out. “I will go.”

Xavier ordered the men to break camp and prepare to travel while they were gone. “If we do not return by noon you are to leave and take a report of all that has happened here directly to the boss,” he told them. The men all moved back to their places and settled quietly to eat and wait.

He went to sit with Jaimz. “You didn’t need to do that,” he said.

“If you go after that beast you will need a good sword to stand beside you.”

“Harry or Jack would have stood with me.”

“But they are not trained by my father in the skills of a swordmaster. Besides, if we have to run, I’m faster.” Xavier chuckled.

The early morning half-light invaded the camp as Jaimz and Xavier checked their weapons before moving up to the observation post. “No sense in waiting any longer,” said Jaimz, nervousness showing in his voice. “Let’s get this over with.” Xavier moved toward the dark opening, with Jaimz carrying the torches that they had prepared the night before. At the entrance they paused long enough to strike flint to stone and light the first torch before entering the darkness. It took only moments for their eyes to become accustomed to the torch light and together they worked their way deeper into the fissure. There seemed to be no hollows or dark corners that could hide the auch so they cautiously continued up the trail with their swords drawn. Although they knew that time was passing the two men hidden in the darkness had no concept of how long their walk up the trail was taking. Time seemed suspended. They continued walking, surrounded by the glow of the torch until the brightening of daylight ahead and the roar of falling water hammered at their senses. Turning the next bend they found themselves on a wide ledge cut into the side of a vertical shaft. Water fell from above.

“There have been no other passages,” Xavier thought aloud. “The auch must have come this way. Where has it gone?”

“Maybe down there,” said Jaimz, looking over the edge of the platform into the depths.

“I don’t think so. There must be another passage,” said Xavier. “Look around.” It did not take them long to find the cave hidden behind the waterfall. Xavier entered, Jaimz took a deep breath before following. As they walked up the spiralling tunnel Xavier sheathed his sword and began to stride. He was becoming certain that this was a passage and not the lair of the creature. When they emerged from the tunnel and found themselves on the lush land above the wall they stopped and stared. The mountains stood over them. A river poured from the valley before them, snaking its way across the narrow plain before disappearing down the sink hole.

Jaimz sat on a nearby rock. “Where now?” he asked.

“The auch could have gone anywhere,” said Xavier. “But do you realise what we have found?” Jaimz looked up at him questioningly. “We have found a path to the mountains and proof that the auchs still live here. The boss will be very pleased with this knowledge. Come on. Let’s go back and join the others.”

Noon was rapidly approaching when the two men emerged from the fissure. The lookouts were relieved to see them. “Did you find them?” one asked.

“We found…” started Jaimz before Xavier cut him off.

“Let’s go and join the men.” His look told Jaimz not to say any more.

When they returned to the camp, everything was packed and the horses stood saddled and ready. “Mount up,” he said. “We are going to Whitebridge.”