Haven Keep (Book 1) (11 page)

Soren was at Donell’s side in a few strides.  Ignoring Donell, Soren kept his eyes on the trees.  His body was tense, ready to move.  Kaiden and Ralf joined them a little more slowly. Ralf studied the tracks in the snow, puzzled over them.

“The trail will be lost to the storm if we don’t move forward now,” Donell protested.

Soren put his fore finger to his lips, then pointed into the trees.  The tracks stopped about ten spans in.  “There’s blood there,” Soren whispered, pointing to the snow at the base of a tree.  “In the tree,” he added, with another gesture of his finger.

Six spans up the tree, on the largest branch was a furry mass.  Mic.  What was left of him.

“Get him down,” Kaiden ordered.

Donell was already half way up the tree before Kaiden could rethink what he’d said. 
What if the creature was still in the tree?
  Donell was to Mic quickly and lowering his body down to Ralf before Kaiden had a chance to warn him to be careful.  Soren hung back, his head on a swivel, searching.

“Come down,” Kaiden said.  “The dogs aren’t showing anything is close.  We’re going back to camp.”

Donell started down, then stopped and climbed again.  Further up than before.  He sat on a thick limb, staring into the dark twisted branches.  Slowly he pulled out his long belt knife and moved from the branch he was on to the next tree, up a couple of more spans, then stopped.  Kaiden realized  Donell had been holding his breath when he finally let it out with a soft sigh.  “Throw me a rope,” he requested.

Soren was half way up the tree and throwing Donell a rope while Kaiden was still wondering if any one had brought one from camp.  The two were soon lowering something down.  Another body.  Human.

“Who is it?”  Ralf asked.

“How should we know,” Donell answered.

Kaiden wondered how this could be turning out any worse.  The body was frozen, impossible to tell how long it had been there.  How it had gotten into the tree seemed to be obvious.  Half the face was taken off by an enormous claw.  Other parts were chewed on.  The clothes, what was still there, were not Kailfen, they weren’t  from the north.  The hair was darker than most northerners’ too.  Probably one of the men who’d made that camp. 
What was he doing here and how had he gotten himself killed?

Donell was at Kaiden’s side, interrupting his thoughts.  “This is too big to be a snowcat and icebears almost never climb trees.  Nothing is tall enough to hang it’s prey that high without climbing.  What this is I don’t know.”

Kaiden nodded, agreeing with everything Donell had concluded.  He had no idea what this was either, but he had a suspicion Soren did.  “Let’s get back.  We’ll bury this man and Mic near camp.”

No one spoke the entire way back.  The wind died again and the clouds began to clear.  Stars shone through the clouds and overlaying tree branches, bathing the hills in an eerie light. 
Kaiden looked over his shoulder.   The others were on edge too, each man peering out into the night, trying to spot some unseen watcher.  They approached camp and saw the fire was dying down. 
What were Biv and Lester doing?

“Biv?”  Kaiden called out.  “Lester?”

No answer.  Biv’s horse was gone.  The dogs were gone too. 
Where had the fools gone?

“Kaiden,” called Ralf.  “Lester’s cloak is in his bed roll and Biv’s saddle is still here.  Wherever they left to, they left fast.”

“Build up the fire.”  Kaiden was fast losing patience.   “Secure the camp,” he snapped.  “Soren, I would speak with you.”  There was no getting any sleep tonight.  So much for a nice warm bed roll.

Kaiden realized his hands and feet were numb from the cold.  The fire would be welcome.  He retrieved fresh boots from his saddle bags.  Not bringing an extra pair could mean losing your toes.  He set his other pair down to dry by the fire.  The wind was blowing again, he could hear it howling through the trees, and the temperature was dropping fast.  Looking for Biv and Lester tonight might mean freezing to death.  Those two would have to look after themselves.
Fools.  Where had they gotten off to?

“Soren, you know what this beast is?”  It was almost an accusation rather than a question, but Kaiden felt Soren was holding back.

All the men gathered around the fire.  The flames were blazing higher and hotter than necessary.  Ralf  built it up to ward off the night and anything lurking in it.

“I fear I do not,” answered Soren solemnly.

“You said you’d encountered this beast once before.” Kaiden didn’t want to wait for an answer.  “Tell me what you know of it,” he demanded, not sure that he really wanted to know.

All eyes fixed on Soren.  He did not speak immediately, but when he did it was with a low voice, speaking only to the night.

“This beast.  I have heard it called a beast.  It is an ancient evil.  Spoken of in nightmares and old man’s tales.  When I was a boy, the tales of it’s existence were old.  Those who claimed to know of it were old themselves and told only stories they heard from their fathers and grandfathers.  In years past they say its numbers were great.  Now it lives and feeds in the shadows.”

“Old man’s tales is right,” sneered Donell.  “We are hearing an old man now and this is one of his tales.”

Ralf was not amused.  “Shut your mouth.  You’ve seen the same things we have.  You still think this is a bear?”

“Both of you shut your mouths,” rumbled Kaiden.  “I don’t recall inviting either of you  into this conversation.”  He turned to Soren, “Continue.  And no stories for children.  I want to know what you know.  Something that will help us.  I don’t need another lesson on the superstitions of our ancestors.”

“What I know may seem to be superstitious.”  Soren’s voice remained unchanged.  There was a distant look in his eye.  “It will bleed.  I do not know if it will die.”

“What foolishness is this?” Donell interjected.

Soren ignored the interruption.  “It comes with the wind.  It owns the night.”

“I’m going to bed,” Donell said.

“Sleep is a danger,” Soren warned.  “It comes in your nightmares, walking like a man, pursuing like a bear, feeding like a pack of wolves.  It flies on the wind.  An ancient enemy of man.”

“You speak of fairy tales, of  legends we have all heard,” mocked Ralf.  “Do not let this night’s strange events cloud your judgment.”

Kaiden didn’t know what to make of Soren’s rambling.  He sounded half mad. 
Nightmares, beasts from legend.

“My judgment is clear.”   Soren snapped.  He was facing the group again.  The warning he’d just given Donell, he was now giving to them all.  “As Kaiden said.  I have encountered this demon before.  When I was a boy.”  He gave challenging stares to his companions.  “We were trapped in the mountains in an early storm, and we took shelter in a cave.  One by one it drew the men into the storm.  We tried to destroy it to our detriment.  Finally we fled.  It pursued.  Hunted us.  Slovk the Hammer swore he would find me safely home.  He did so by sacrificing his own life.  We fought the beast.  Wounded it.  Again we fled.  Slovk returned me to the home of my fathers and died the next day.”

Kaiden knew there was more.  “This ‘demon.’  What would you call it?  A scourge?”  Scourges were beasts from legend.  The clerics told of how the scourges would come to punish those who had been untrue or unfaithful.  Stories to scare children into obedience.  “What did the clerics think of your story?”

“The clerics remained silent when I told my story.  They and the two oldest men in the village were the only ones who did not mock me or dismiss what I said.  The clerics held a constant watch with Slovk until he died.  Years later a cleric questioned me in private.  He wanted a detailed description.  He also wanted to know if it was a scourge.”

“Well, was it?” questioned Ralf.

“I don not know what to call it.  Macman, the eldest of our village called it vyr.”

Donell didn’t even try to hide his amusement.  “Vyr?  Might as well believe in dragons.”  He roared with laughter.

“Jest if you will, Donell,” Ralf said.  “The clerics say many things walked these mountains before man came here.  Some say further north strange beasts can still be found.”

“He’s not talking about strange beasts.  He is talking about wraiths and demons.”  Donell shook his head.  “If it bleeds, I’ll kill it!”  He stormed off to the lean-to.

“As I said,” Soren went on, “it does bleed.  We should be able to kill it.  If it is a vyr it will die easily enough.  Or so said Macman.  If it is a scourge...?”

“It is just a beast, driven off the mountains by the harsh weather,” Kaiden insisted, wanting to believe his own words, but only half able.  “We will kill it tomorrow and bring it’s carcass back to Azmark.  We’ll have stories to tell our grandchildren and they will be able to call us crazy old men.”  Kaiden hoped it was so.  The clerics believed in scourges, that eventually there would be one specific scourge. 
The Scourge
, it was called, come to punish the north for their misdeeds.  Vyr, if they ever existed, were supposed to be extinct.  No one even really knew what they were, only that old men believed in them.  It was all foolishness.  Donell was right, might as well believe in dragons.  Still, it wouldn’t hurt to exercise some caution.  Now if Biv and Lester would return from wherever they’d gotten off to Kaiden might be able to salvage this expedition.  So far he’d only lost one dog, and that was an acceptable loss. Biv and Lester were not. 
What had gotten into them? What had gotten into Mic?
  Kaiden wrapped up in his cloak and tried to rest next to the fire.  He hoped Biv and Lester found shelter from the cold.  The temperature of this night was the killing kind.  Suddenly the wind stopped dead.  The hours before dawn passed slow.

Chapter Eight

The morning chill kept Kaiden wrapped up by the fire longer than he planned, or maybe it was his exhaustion from not sleeping most the night.  The sun was barely peeking over the mountains, its golden rays reflected off the snow covered hills and rocky peaks even further in the distance. 
Well not that distant
, Kaiden thought.  The closest mountains were just over the hills, not currently visible because the hills were so close. The morning sun painted the snowy slopes pink and yellow, promising to bring warmth.  The clouds were gone with the storm.  Warm sunshine would be a welcome companion on this day.  Kaiden couldn’t help but contrast it with the darkness of the night before.

Breakfast was reheated stew and stale rolls.  Kaiden gulped it down like it was freshly made.  He would need his energy.

Biv and Lester never returned.  That did nothing to improve Kaiden’s mood.  The others were already making ready to leave.  Kaiden thought if they stayed longer somehow Biv and Lester would finally turn up.  He knew it was foolishness.  Kaiden, finished saddling Rove, strung his horse bow and mounted.  This needed to end today.

“We’ll find Biv and Lester first,” Kaiden announced to everyone.  “If they haven’t gone too far.”  He turned to Soren, who’d ridden up beside him.  “Any sign of them?”

“One left that way,” Soren pointed north up the hill, “on foot.  Most likely Lester.  The other, Biv I think, followed him on horseback.  The dogs were with the one on the horse.  They shouldn’t be too hard to track, now that the sun is up.”

“Then let’s be off.  Leave nothing here.  We may not be back.”  Kaiden planned on coming back, but how soon he did not know.  Whoever stayed here before them would be of interest to his father.  Kaiden meant to find out who they were and what they were up to.

The wind had blown over the tracks, obscuring them slightly.  Difficult to see at night, the trail was now easy to follow.  Almost as easy as following a trail of bread crumbs.  The procession was silent and somber.  Kaiden thought he was going to enjoy this hunt.  It had quickly become a much more serious task than anticipated.  No one spoke, keeping the mood of the party dark.  On they plodded through the rolling hills, the trees becoming less dense, mostly aspen now, with a few evergreen firs intermingled amongst them.  In the higher elevations the aspen would finally give way completely to evergreens and eventually there would be no trees at all.  Kaiden shivered at the thought of how cold it would be up there. 

He kept an arrow ready, hoping for a chance to use it.  Not that his small bow would do much more than slow down anything bigger than a snowcat, but it would still do some damage.  Aimed correctly, one arrow could even take down an icebear.   The problem was getting that perfect shot off.  He wished he could use his longbow from horseback.

Bo and Gray began to move a little faster, having caught the scent of something.  The dogs slowly picked up speed, began to bark, then broke into a run.  Soon their barks were being echoed.

“That sounds like Fras and Jack,” Ralf exclaimed.

“Either that or Lester has learned to bark,” Donell remarked, his mood a little better than just moments before.

At the top of the next knoll they could see down into a small gully.  Biv’s horse was there, sheltering between two trees.  So were Fras and Jack.
  Where were Biv and Lester?