Aegis Rising (7 page)

Tegan laughed, then choked as Jag enveloped her in a playful headlock. “Hey, let go! You’re gonna crack my head!”

Jag winked. “Yeah, right. Your skull’s too thick for that.”

“You’d better learn to sleep with your eyes open.” Huffing with effort, Tegan scrambled out of her friend’s strong grip only to be barged at by Aari. The five of them laughed, relishing the fact that they were back together.

“I feel almost whole now,” Kody murmured as he sat down on a log. He combed his fingers through his short hair and stared at the ground.

The others glanced at one another, then quietly went to stand by his side. Jag rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We found each other. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we find your dad.

Kody said nothing. The friends were silent for a while after that until Mariah tentatively asked, “Does anyone know where we are? Or how we got here?”

“Not a clue,” Jag answered. “But there are people here. They don’t speak English, but they found us and they’ve been keeping us alive, I guess.”

“Speaking of that . . .” Mariah seized her stomach with her arms and moaned. “I am so hungry. I could really do with a burger and a can of Dr Pepper right about now.”

Tegan patted her friend on the back. “I know how you feel.” She looked around, squinting against the sun. “I wonder how long we’ve been in this place. A couple of days?”

“Actually, you have been recuperating here for nearly a week,” a new voice cloaked in an unfamiliar accent surprised them.

The five looked at each other and turned around warily.

The youth, Akol, was standing behind them with his arms folded across his chest and a light grin on his face. Jag turned to Kody and Aari, then turned back to the newcomer. Startled, he asked, “Did . . . did you just say that?”

Akol dipped his head. “Yes.”

The boys stared at each other, agape and baffled. Kody flicked a finger in Akol’s direction and gave him a sideways, mystified look. “But, man, we were with you before . . . you only spoke in your language.”

Tegan and Mariah shot Kody perplexed expressions, which he ignored.

Akol laughed, a little nervously, and rubbed one side of his face. “Let us just say that I am a quick learner.”

Jag stared at Akol with deep suspicion. “That’s pretty quick learning for anyone.”

“Not really.”

Tegan placed her hands on her hips and demanded, “Someone mind explaining what’s going on here?”

Jag was still glaring distrustfully at Akol; her words fell on deaf ears. Akol, feeling the tension in the air, faced Tegan. “Let me introduce myself. I am Akol. I know your friends already, but what are your names?”

Jag rolled his eyes at the obvious dodge but remained quiet. Tegan and Mariah glanced at each other. “I’m Tegan, and this is Mariah.”

“I am glad you are okay. I was a little worried when I could not find you in your
neyra
.”

“What’s a
neyra
?” Tegan asked curiously.

“They are the shelters you were recovering in.” Akol smiled and was about to add something else when Tegan slapped her forehead.
What am I doing sharing small talk with this dude?

Looking at the older teenager in the eye, she said, “Listen, we appreciate you being concerned for us, but where
are
we? What is this place?”

Akol realized he couldn’t go on without giving some information and sighed. “Come. Let us go to Huyani’s
neyra
. I am sure she will have some food prepared for us. We may speak afterward.”

“Who’s Huyani?” asked Mariah.

“It’s the girl who was tending to us,” Kody answered.

“Wait—is she tall with long black hair?”

“Yeah. You know her?”

Mariah nodded. “I saw her once. She gave me something to drink and it killed my pain.”

Not wanting to expose the five to his people yet, Akol led the friends through an alternate route behind the tree line. As they trod along the winding trail, the five breathed in deeply. They liked the smell of the forest and the mountain air.

As they walked up an incline, the five saw an astounding sight through the pine needles that hung from the trees. On the opposite bank of the turquoise river stood an immense building about three-quarters the size of a football field. It had a pyramid-shaped roof and seemed alien in a remote village. It appeared to be clad in blue-green walls that were translucent, but the teenagers were too far away to make out what was inside. Next to that structure, smaller by comparison but quite big themselves, were buildings made of timber. They resembled a kind of stable or barn complete with a gambrel roof.

The friends kept the questions that were swirling in their minds to themselves, not wanting to be the first to break the silence that now hung over them. Akol also said nothing and walked steadily onward. They trudged along for a few minutes more until Akol turned around and grinned. “We are here.”

Piloting the way out of the foliage and toward the shelter next to a grove of blue spruce trees, Akol opened the door to Huyani’s
neyra
and ushered the friends in. When they entered the shelter, Tegan was startled to see a large black dog napping on the ground. As the six of them stepped inside, the dog opened its bright yellow eyes and raised its head, alert. Tegan gasped.

It was a wolf.

Beside her, Mariah’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. She grabbed Tegan’s arm and dug her fingernails into her friend’s skin. Wincing, Tegan jerked her arm away and studied the wolf with admiration. Fangs and claws gleamed like polished ivory when the wolf’s lips pulled back into a wild canine smile as it raised itself off the floor and stretched. The muscular body, covered in thick midnight-black fur, rippled with power. Tegan noted how big its paws were, and how it moved with stealth as it drew near the friends. Driven by impulse, she dropped to her knees, her hands on the ground in front of her, and watched the wolf keenly as it watched her.

Akol’s voice reached her ears. “Tegan, if I may, this is Chayton, one of the wolves who enjoys our company. We think he is about five years old, and he is a wonderful friend.”

“He’s your pet?”

“Goodness, no. These creatures are free. They come and go as they please, although Chayton seems to enjoy being around us more than the others.”

“How many wolves visit you?”

“Four in total, though Chayton will probably be the one you will encounter the most. A number of other animals come by as well, notably a lone female lynx.”

Twin cries erupted from Mariah and Tegan, startling the wolf and the boys. “A lynx? We had an encounter with one earlier!”

“Did she have a golden pelt with white stripes running down her shoulders?” Akol asked, an eager note in his voice. They nodded. “Then that was Tyse you met.”

Tegan whistled. “This place is
amazing
.”

“It is certainly quite incredible during the summer.” Akol scratched his chin. “Then there is winter. It comes two ways, stunning and unforgiving.”

“I don’t doubt it. This is way up north, so it must be harsh.” Tegan paused when Chayton was right in front of her, his black muzzle only a few inches from her nose. After a moment, he licked her cheek and playfully nibbled her hair. Tegan broke into a large smile and laughed, relieved.

Akol stared at her and the wolf, astounded. “He likes you the first time around. That is quite rare.”

Kody rested an elbow on Tegan’s head and hooted, “Akol m’man, you don’t know this girl unless you’ve been around her long enough. She’s got her ways with animals, wild or not.”

Tegan grunted at the sharp elbow on her head and shook it off, then got up and shoved Kody. He tottered backwards and nearly tipped over, all the while snickering. Chayton slunk past and exited the shelter. No sooner was he gone than the door opened wide and a slender form stepped in. Seeing the six of them in her shelter, Huyani smiled and welcomed them warmly in her own language. Akol laughed.

“There is no need,” he told Huyani. “We may speak to them in their tongue.”

“Ah,” she said with a gleam in her eyes. “So they know.”

Akol looked sheepish.

Huyani shook her head with a smile. “Really now, brother.”

The five gawked.
They’re siblings!

Turning to the boys, Huyani greeted them. “Nice to see you, Jag, Aari, Kody!” Her accented voice sounded like a nightingale’s song; the friends felt lifted.

Mariah smiled. “Hi—I’m Mariah. I remember you.”

Huyani nodded. “Hello, Mariah. My name is Huyani. It is lovely to see some color back in your cheeks now. And you are . . . ?” She fixed her dark brown eyes on Tegan.

“Tegan.”

“Nice to meet you. How are all of you faring?”

“I feel almost good enough to do a backflip,” Kody said. “That is, if I could do one in the first place, which I can’t.”

“We all feel that way,” Aari confirmed as Huyani looked at the others with concern.

“That is good.”

Kody looked around the cabin. “Where are we?”

“Hold on, Kody,” Huyani said gently. “I must still examine each of you to check your condition for myself. Questions may come later.” As Huyani lifted Jag’s chin to see his facial cuts in the light, a rumbling noise sounded. She paused and shared puzzled looks with Jag. After a moment, Jag roared with laughter. Looking at Mariah, he called out, “That was you, wasn’t it?”

Everyone stared at Mariah as she blushed, embarrassed. “Blame the hungry pet lion living in my stomach, people.”

The shelter filled with howls of amusement. Huyani consoled Mariah. “I will make something for you.”

“Thank you,” Mariah said weakly. Huyani shepherded the friends toward another end of her
neyra
once she had checked on their condition. She gently pushed them down onto a padded divan made from moose-hide, and then went into the kitchen quarter with Akol.

“How did the meeting with the Elders go?” Akol asked quietly, out of the friends’ earshot.

“I will tell you once we have the five settled down properly,” his sister murmured back as she nodded in the direction of their visitors.

Tegan leaned back comfortably and gazed around, her gray eyes smartly picking up details. “I still want to know where we are,” she muttered.

Aari patted her shoulder. “You and all of us.”

A good fifteen minutes passed, or so Tegan estimated, when the delicious fragrance of grilled meat seasoned with herbs and spices tickled their noses.

Mariah sniffed the air and gushed. “That smells
good
.”

Kody licked his lips. “If it’s what the guys and I had before, then you two are in for a special treat.”

Tegan eyed him. “I won’t ask when you guys ate your meal, but I will say that your appetite never fails you. You’re impossible to fill up
or
shut up.”

“What I don’t get is how you stay as slim as the rest of us,” Mariah said.

“I work out,” he boasted with mock pride.

“Sure, and my grandpa Joe was a merman,” Aari retorted.

“Hey, I thought you said he was Bigfoot.”

“Oh, good grief . . .”

Jag tried not to burst out with laughter. Tegan and Mariah both covered their mouths, struggling to not snigger at the pair’s repartee. Kody and Aari’s consistent banter was well-known at Great Falls High School in Montana, where the friends would be going into their third year the coming fall.

Huyani called from the kitchen. “Come! Your meal is ready!”

Mariah and Kody were off the couch in a flash and tearing toward their warm, waiting food. Jag, Aari, and Tegan followed. Mariah beamed at the grilled, seasoned meat on her dish and the accompanying mix of fresh greens.

“Awesome,” she said hungrily as she and Kody attacked their steaks.

As Jag, Aari, and Tegan took their places and began digging into their servings, Huyani said, “Enjoy.”

“Thank you!” the five chorused, their mouths full.

While the friends indulged in their meal, Huyani leaned against one of the kitchen counters. Akol joined her. “So how did the meeting go?” he asked softly, switching to his native tongue.

Huyani pushed a strand of her raven hair from her face, answering likewise. “Quite well. The Elders wanted to learn about the five’s progress.”

“So do they really think these are the ones? From the prophecy, I mean.”

Huyani shrugged her slim shoulders. “I do not know, brother, but they were keenly interested.” She paused. “Except for Elder Ashack. Always the skeptical one.”

Akol laughed quietly. Huyani looked at him. “Akol, we must tell them something soon.”

“You mean the five? Yes, I agree. I already told them we will talk after they have finished eating.”

“Good. We cannot keep them in the dark forever. Question is: What do we tell them, and how much do we tell them?”

“W-ell . . .” Akol scratched his head. “Do we have permission to in the first place?”

Huyani’s delicate features contorted into one of her rare scowls. “No. But I know that we cannot hide these things from them. We have to tell them something. They have the right to know. Do you not agree?”

“I do. How much can we reveal, though? I can tell they are a persistent bunch. If they are not satisfied, we will hear no end of their relentless questions.”

They discussed back and forth until they reached a conclusion. Reverting into the friends’ language again, Akol said casually, “Would you like something to drink? We have water and wild berry juices.”

The five raised an eyebrow at each other. “I think we’ll settle for water, thanks,” Jag said. Huyani handed them their drinks.

“That was the best meal I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Tegan announced delightedly. “Thank you so much.”

Huyani seemed pleased. “You are most welcome. Would you like some sweets?”

Tegan’s eyes widened. “You mean desserts? You have those?”

“I suppose that is the word you use. Yes.”

“Nice—what do you have?”

“Well, we have a variety. We have lots of wild berries, sweet roots, potatoes and more.”

Tegan was about to eagerly pick her dessert choices when Aari quietly clamped a hand over her mouth and looked at Akol and Huyani. “That sounds great, guys, and maybe we’ll have some later. But first, we have to get at least some of our questions answered. It’s been like a splinter in our minds, and we really need to get things straightened out.”