The Reluctant Warrior (18 page)

“War brings out the best and the worst in a man. More often than not the worst outweighs the best.”

“Nonsense,” Rex spluttered. “I don’t want to hear any more talk like that. You’re doing what you have to do. We all are. The only difference between you and us is you’ve got the intellect to figure out what that animal is up to and we don’t.”

“Like I said, I’m beginning to believe I’m more like him than I’d given myself credit for.”

“I’m not listening to any more of this,” Rex said angrily. “I’m not sticking around while my best friend is being slandered, even if it is by himself.”

Jed watched Rex as he stormed on ahead, leaving him to hobble along painfully in his wake. Pig-headed Rex, dear loyal pig-headed Rex, what would he do without him?

That evening they camped under the cover of a huge overhanging rock and ate the last of their rations. Jed knew they would have to risk using the rifles from now on if they wanted to eat, and it was going to alert every predator for miles around of their whereabouts. But what choice did they have, they had to eat.

Jed lay himself down and felt a sudden rush of exhaustion sweep over him. Jonathon had kindly volunteered for first watch and so he had several hours of restful sleep to look forward to, or he would have if it weren’t for his leg. He couldn’t have been asleep for more than half an hour when the dull throbbing brought him back to a state of painful wakefulness.

Jonathon looked across at him. “You really ought to try and get some more sleep. That leg will never get better otherwise.”

Jed hauled himself up into a sitting position. “I don’t think I can sleep, Jonathon. You might as well doze off and I’ll wake you when I’m getting sleepy.”

“All right,” Jonathon agreed, knowing it was better not to argue with Jed when he had that determined tone to his voice. “But make sure you do wake me when you’re getting tired.”

Jed’s bleary eyes ranged across the grayish sky, all was quiet. Being well hidden on two sides by the rock and by tall grass on the other two sides left him reasonably confident they were safe from ground dwelling predators. He kept his eyes on the sky as he attempted to block out the pain from his leg and ruminated on their situation. There couldn’t be more than a day’s walk of this plain before they reached the Forbidden Lands. All going well it should be another three days before they reached the first set of mountains, and then two or three days from there to Chantros. Even with everything going well it was going to be two weeks before they could get back with the weapon. He hoped it wouldn’t be heavy, for nothing must be allowed to hinder their speedy return.

What a weapon it must be, if it truly existed that was, a weapon that could rewind events, and give an army the opportunity to try out different tactics. Not a man would be lost until they found a tactic that won them the battle.

If only Jed could get his hands on that craft he and Rex had seen out on the plain today, something that could maneuver so deftly in the air like that and direct bolts of fire would give him a decided advantage. Now that Montrose had no choppers left an airborne assault on his compound with a craft that possessed that level of technology would produce devastating results.

A cruel stab of pain broke through the usual dull ache and racing down his infected leg caused a sharp intake of breath. He realized he hadn’t checked its condition for at least twenty-four hours now, and so quietly standing up he slid down his trousers and inspected the wound. It was as he had expected, gradually getting worse. Taking the handkerchief out of his pocket he gingerly wiped away the yellow pus that was oozing up from its fetid depths. He was just cleaning up the last of it when he noticed them, a dozen or so big creatures flying towards his position at an alarming speed. Pterodactyls, he had taken his eyes off the sky and then foolishly stood up. It was all the movement they had needed to spot him, and now they were coming for him.

“Rex, Jonathon, Amora,” he shouted, “wake up.”

Rex and Jonathon were at his side in an instant.

“There’s got to be at least fifteen of them,” Rex said, hurriedly loading shells into his rifle.

Jonathon was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “It looks like they really mean business too.”

Kneeling down and pulling back the bolt on his rifle Jed took careful aim. “Amora…keep your back pressed into the rock, and whatever you do don’t try to run.”

The creatures swooped in low and passed overhead before anyone had a chance to get a shot off.

“What are they up to?” Jonathon spun around to see where they had gone.

“They’re just doing a little reconnaissance,” Jed said, calmly changing his position. “They’ll make their move when they’re ready.”

“Where are they?” Rex was frantically trying to pick them out against the hazy sky.

Jed was aiming at a spot just above the big rock. “They’ll come in low so as to use the rock for cover then drop on us suddenly. “Amora…,” he said, without taking his eyes off the rifle sights, “no matter how frightened you get or how close they get to you just stay where you are.”

Jed waited for what seemed to be an eternity for the predators to make their second appearance, four of them dropping swiftly and silently over the rock in exactly the same manner he had predicted. Firing off a round and hitting one squarely in the breast it reared back and let out an ear piercing shriek. He didn’t wait to see what it would do next before driving another round into its featherless body.

Another Pterodactyl landed deftly on the top of the rock and arching its long neck towards the ground made a stab at Amora. As she screamed Jed fired three rounds blindly into it until it lay in its death throes at the foot of the rock, and then looked across at Amora to check if she was all right. But she was gone. Blind panic gripped him. She had been there only a few seconds ago, pressed in tightly underneath the overhanging rock. As he glanced frantically around he caught a glimpse of blonde hair off to his left and his heart missed a beat. The foolish girl had broken cover and was running wildly out onto the open plain.

He knew this was exactly what the Pterodactyls had been hoping for. The first five had been sent in to flush the prey out from the cover of the rock so that once they were out in the open the others could pick them off from the air, and now his Amora had become that prey.

He ran, knowing full well that even if he made it to her in time there was no way he could fight off ten of them on his own. Within seconds he heard the flap of giant wings and felt the rush of air as a terrifying creature swooped down, and with its talons extended hit Amora in the back with such sickening force that it catapulted her forward into the long grass.

Jed gasped. If the bone crunching impact hadn’t killed her then she surely must have a broken spine. As the reptile turned gracefully and came back Jed realized he didn’t have time to beat it to Amora and so swinging his rifle up he squeezed the trigger. The creature reeled back, it was almost as if it was surprised, like it hadn’t expected there to be any resistance, and that was all the hesitation Jed needed to finish it off and cover the ground to Amora’s side.

Jed thought on the hop. There were still at least nine Pterodactyls up there, and they would be able to see Amora down. A mass attack and they would snatch her up for sure and fly off with her, so broken spine or not Jed was going to have to shift her. Slinging his rifle across his shoulder and scooping her up in his arms he made for the cover of the dead Pterodactyl. Placing her down gently behind its colossal body he quickly assessed her condition, alive, but unconscious, and so he readied himself for the next onslaught. They attempted a four pronged attack this time, one each side of him, one in front, and one behind. He easily took out the one in front and was just spinning around to deal to the others when he felt his rifle wrenched forcefully from his hands, and then watched helplessly as two huge talons carried it off into the sky.

Something slammed into his shoulder and bit hard. Screaming with the pain he still managed to draw his knife and slash wildly at the underbelly of his attacker, a pile of evil smelling intestines spilling copiously onto the ground around him.

Jed heard Rex and Jonathon’s rifle’s burst into life and was thankful they had entered the fray. Sensing they had failed the remaining Pterodactyls took to the air and flew to safety.

“Is she okay?” Rex puffed into sight.

Jed spoke gently to her. “Amora…Amora honey, can you hear me?”

Opening her eyes she looked up into his. “Just sore,” she said quietly. “It was lucky that when you woke us up I grabbed my pack and slung it on my back. I was scared something would take it.”

“And the Pterodactyl hit the backpack. That pack has just saved your life.” Jed turned to Rex. “My rifle is gone.”

“I know I saw. How’s the shoulder? That thing gave you a real bite and a half.”

Jed probed the warm patch of blood. “Not too serious. It just hurts a bit.”

Rex’s eyes moved from Jed to the rapidly retreating Pterodactyls. “Surely things can only get better from here.”

Jed straightened up and followed his friends gaze. “I wouldn’t count on it,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t count on it at all.”

Jed couldn’t say he was sorry to leave the Plain of the Giant Lizards behind, now maybe he wouldn’t have to be on the alert quite so much as he had been down there. Here in the mountains they would be safe from the big predators, and would only need to keep an eye out for the giant eagles.

Fortunately his shoulder was nothing to worry about, he had been wearing his thermal jacket when the Pterodactyl attacked him and it had absorbed most of the bite. Amora had come through her ordeal better than expected as well, the backpack absorbing enough of the impact so as to only leave her badly bruised. She had given him a nasty fright though. When he saw that Pterodactyl hit her and then circle back to finish her off he was almost too overcome by fear and desperation to act. He could no longer deny that he had deep feelings for her and that nagged away at him much more than Cassie ever could.

He looked across at her now and caught her eye. She smiled and he immediately returned it. She was so beautiful even in her disheveled state that he could have gazed at her all day and not grown tired of her features. There was a softness about them that contrasted starkly with the harshness of Cassie’s. Not that he was denying that Cassie was a beautiful woman; she was, with many male admirers to prove it. It was just that she possessed this coldness about her features that made her lose a little of that essential femininity that Amora possessed in abundance. It was that soft femininity that lifted Amora into a class of her own.

Jed chuckled quietly to himself. If he ever by some miracle made it back to New York and took Amora with him he could well imagine the sensation she would cause amongst the male population. New York men would be tripping over themselves to get near to her. For just a mere glimpse of her they would be prepared to queue for hours. The women in whose circle he had moved would hate her of course. If you knew you could never emulate nor compete with someone, and they couldn’t with Amora, then hatred would be the outcome. And no one would hate her more than Cassie would.

He could almost hear Cassie’s snide remarks ringing in his ears now. “Primitive little barbarian,” or, “uncouth savage,” or some other equally jealous attack would slip out of her lips, and all because she lacked what Amora had and knew it. Sure, Cassie had looks, she had sex appeal, and she even gave off the illusion of being classy. But it was all a front, a cleverly rehearsed play that once she was off stage she could never quite keep up.

Amora had that aura about her that very few women do. The looks, the sex appeal, they weren’t carefully orchestrated. In fact, Jed was aware that Amora didn’t even know she had sex appeal, let alone to the degree she possessed it. And therein lay her crowning strength, her all encompassing all conquering attraction.

Jed clambered up over a jagged chunk of rock that was barring the pathway and hoped he wouldn’t have to do it too many times during the trek over these mountains. His leg simply wasn’t up to it. He wondered what Amora would make of him if she really knew what he was like. If only she knew that back in New York he was just another face in the crowd, a regular Joe and not considered to be anyone of any real significance. Would that tumble him off his pedestal in her eyes? Would he then cease to be the mighty warrior she believed him to be?

The truth was what man could be a warrior in New York? How difficult it had become to display those manly traits that were so admired amongst the Noragin and yet had become so despised in big city America. But they were important to Amora and all the Noragin women. A soft or effeminate man was looked down on in their culture. Back in New York he would be prized as a highly desirable…what was it they called them…a sensitive new age guy? What a world apart the two cultures were.

Rex clambered over a rock beside him. “A penny for your thoughts,” he said.

Jed grinned. “I don’t think they’re worth that much.”

“Well, if you were thinking what I was thinking then it had something to do with being glad to leave that plain behind.”

“I must confess that sentiment has crossed my mind more than once today.”

“Not far to the top now,” Rex said, eyes firmly fixed on the summit. “We should get a glimpse of the mountains of Chantros from there.”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic.”

“This whole business is troubling me. Everything hinges not only on Chantros existing and that they actually have a special weapon, but also on whether they’ll give it to us or not.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it I suppose.”

“I’ve always been the kind of guy who likes to have permission to cross other people’s bridges before he reaches them,” Jed said. “It kinda makes everything run a lot smoother.”

The comment made Rex chuckle. “It sure does. But that’s all out of our control for the time being.”

Jed paused to take in the terrain ahead of him. “That day back home when you invited me on this expedition I didn’t for one second dream anything like this would happen to us. I just expected a tough trek across the ice and afterwards that exhilarating feeling you get when you’ve achieved something momentous. But this has changed my life. The way I look at things, the value I place on things, and now I realize how selfish and shallow I’ve been all these years.”

“I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself.”

“Am I?” Jed resumed his slow quest to the summit. “New York is the type of place that breeds selfishness. Every man is out for himself. He’s desperately trying to claw his way to the top and is unconcerned about who he steps on to get there.”

“Yeah, I guess there’s truth in that.”

“Here,” Jed continued, “they live for each other and they’d die for each other. They don’t understand the concept of living only for oneself.”

“No they don’t,” Rex agreed. “I guess it’s that tribal thing. We’ve lost it but they still have it. Everybody plays their part for the good of the tribe.”

Jed stopped and considered his friends words for a moment. “You know, I think you’re right. And it’s that tribal thing that sense of belonging and having an important part to play that has been given back to you, Jonathon, and me.”

“Makes you feel kinda privileged doesn’t it?”

“But with that privilege comes this huge burden. And if we fail it’ll crush me more than anything ever has because I’ve never put my heart into something as much as I’ve put it into this.”

As they scrambled the last few yards to the top and then stood side by side taking in the view Amora came up beside them and pointed out a dusky range in the distance. “The mountains of Chantros,” she said triumphantly.

Jed took it all in. The mountains were much higher than the ones they were on now and were still a great distance away. The terrain between where he stood and the mountains of Chantros left him feeling more discouraged than at any other stage of this journey.

Jonathon came up at that very moment. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, as he laid eyes on what lay ahead of them.

Everything from gushing geysers to steaming mud pits to sulphur and dangerous looking marshes blocked their way to Chantros.

“No wonder it’s called the Forbidden Lands,” Jonathon said morosely. “I’m not sure how we’re going to negotiate our way through that lot.”

“A couple of days should see us through,” Jed said hopefully. “Then it’ll just be a matter of finding Chantros in that mountain range.”

“We’ll find it,” Rex said, but without his usual confident air. “I guess where there’s a will there has to be a way.”

The now familiar stab of pain rushed up Jed’s leg to remind him of the predicament he was in. Down below stretched a veritable maze of obstacles all the way to Chantros, and his leg had just voiced its disapproval at being expected to navigate that maze in its present condition. The others had no idea how bad his leg had become in the last few days as he had stoically dragged it along with him despite its incessant protests, doing his level best to ignore its rapidly deteriorating state. But now he feared the Forbidden Lands were going to be the hurdle that was just a little too high for him to get over.

“Shall we make a start?” Rex suggested, enthusiasm not surprisingly absent from his voice.

“It might be best if we rest up for a while,” Jed said, knowing full well there would be no opposition to his suggestion. “We’ll need some time to map out a route through that lot anyway.”

Jed sat with his back against a rock and hoped the rest would settle the searing pain that was cutting through his leg. Out the corner of his eye he could see Amora making her way over to him and hoped she wouldn’t ask to see the wound.

“You have been very quiet today,” she said, easing herself down beside him.

It didn’t escape him that her eyes were flitting from his leg to his face and back to his leg again. “I had a lot of thinking to do I guess,” he answered. “I’ve been wondering how we’re going to get into this Chantros once we’ve found it.”

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” she confessed, her eyes still on his leg. “But I know you will work something out when we get there.”

She sounded so confident, and it annoyed him somewhat to have that kind of pressure foisted onto him. To be expected to somehow discover the secret of breaking into a city that obviously possessed far greater technology than he had ever experienced. Those eyes were still locked on his leg and so he searched desperately for a topic that would prevent her from asking him how it was.

“So, have you recovered from your ordeal with the flying lizard?” he asked, with the gentlest of smiles.

“I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from that. It was the most frightened I have ever been in my life.”

“You certainly had me in a panic,” he volunteered. “I had visions of that thing carrying you off to its nest and feeding you to its young.”

“It would have if you hadn’t rescued me,” she said, her blue eyes finally moving from his leg to look into his own pain filled dark ones.

“I think Rex and Jonathon had a hand in that as well.”

“Yes, they helped,” she conceded. “But if you hadn’t got to me when you did I would have been taken long before they turned up.” She looked at him sheepishly. “I’m sorry I disobeyed you and ran. I was so frightened I didn’t stop to think about it, my legs just took over.”

“It’s all right,” he assured her. “I’m not that sure I wouldn’t have done the same thing if I were in your position.”

She shook her glorious mane of blonde hair. “You would have stood and fought. You know no other way.” Her voice was suffused with equal amounts of respect and admiration. “You are the mightiest warrior the Noragin have ever known.”

He was beginning to get annoyed with that particular compliment. What made it worse was that she was so sincere. How could she sit there and believe so totally in a man she barely knew, clutching fervently to an unshakeable faith that he was going to save her people from annihilation.

“I am no hero, Amora,” he said, and then noticed the brief flicker of surprise in those captivating eyes. “I only do what I feel I must do.”

“And do it so well,” she said obstinately, refusing to relinquish her belief in his ability to conquer against all odds. “No one could have achieved what you have.”

“I did have a lot of luck go my way,” he pointed out.

“My father always said that a man makes his own luck,” she countered. “You saw opportunities and turned them to your advantage. That is the sign of a mighty warrior.”

He sighed deeply. There would be no convincing her that he was a mere mortal, nothing more than an adventurer who managed to pull off a couple of daring feats because the cards he was dealt at the time just happened to turn up aces.

He looked tiredly out over the Forbidden Lands. She would know soon enough that he wasn’t infallible. Out there his leg was going to give out and they were going to have to carry him all the way to Chantros. He wouldn’t look so much like a hero then.

“When we win this war,” she said, breaking in on his thoughts, “I would like to go back to my father’s farm and try putting it back to what it once was. He used to be so proud of it before.”

He reached out and slipped her hand into his. “I know,” he said gently. “And you will be able to go back. And you will put the farm to rights.”

“Were you a farmer back in the Sky-Gods land?”

He laughed at the question. “I knew nothing about farming back home and even less about animals.”

“You will learn,” she said cheerfully. “Eric and I will teach you and then you will be the best farmer the Noragin have ever seen.”

There it was again, the hero worshipping, the unyielding belief that he was a master of all trades because he was way out there in a class of his own. “I’m not good at everything you know, Amora,” he said firmly. “There is a very strong possibility I won’t be any good at farming at all.”

The expression on her face betrayed the fact that she didn’t believe a single word he had just said. He was the bees knees and that was all there was to it.

“And we will have sons to help us on the farm and daughters to help run the big house we will build to house all our children. We will be the most envied family amongst the Noragin.

It struck him that she had been thinking deeply about their future together, and as a typical woman she had planned it right down to the finest detail. “You realize we have to survive this war before we can do all this don’t you?” he reminded her.