The Stolen Prince (Blood for Blood Book 1) (17 page)

Skeet’s entire body was shaking. “My family is dead! Someone has to pay!” Skeet lifted his spear and ran toward the Su girl and Tadi, not caring who he struck first. Hakon zipped to him, grabbed his arm, and zipped him into the thick of the aspens.

Once they landed, Skeet put his foot on the ground. Hakon caught his tremor just in time. “No, Skeet.” He looked above the tree line and zipped them into the sky. They were now suspended and falling high above the tree line. “You can’t zip without earth, and if you push me away, you’ll fall.”

Skeet punched him anyway and began free falling. Hakon zipped to catch him and zipped higher into the sky again.

“Curse you, Alem. Think you have the advantage in air zipping.”

The words stung at Hakon. Had Skeet already put him in the enemy’s camp? “They are my family too, Skeet.” He zipped them farther out into the forest, landing hard on its floor. “He is just a boy, Brother. We both know Windfather’s tribe planted him as my third, but he’s just a pawn. They sent him with us with hardly any training. “

“Even a baby cobra’s bite can kill,” Skeet said.

“We don’t know it was his tribe who attacked us.”

“Who else then?”

Hakon wasn’t sure. No other tribe had opposed them so fiercely. He ignored Skeet’s question. “Our family will be avenged, Skeet. But I will not let you kill that boy. There was as much surprise on his face as ours when they attacked. I saw him fighting for his life and for me. They weren’t afraid to kill him if needed.”

Skeet relaxed under Hakon’s grip. Then he fell to his knees, burying his head against the earth. The rush of fear that had taken Hakon now subsided to the seeping of grief. The reality was still distant. Of course there were survivors. There had to be. His tribe was full of skilled fighters—legendary. Hakon felt a wave of guilt. What if he had decided not to chase the carrier pigeons and stayed and saved more of his kin? Chasing the birds had been worthless. Their chances at peace or negotiation were destroyed. He could have saved more lives if he’d stayed.

He didn’t want to think about how many men he had killed. How many dead souls now cried for vengeance at his blood?

Hakon sank down next to Skeet. “What do we do, Brother?”

Skeet looked up—his eyes were dry, but sorrow hung there. “Let’s not leave Tadi with a Su stranger.”

***

The sun set slowly and lingered in a deep red color. Still the Su girl stayed. She brushed her horse methodically, and then filled her canteens at the waterfall. Hakon watched her closely. She didn’t carry any weapons. She only wore the tangled outfit that hugged against her body tightly with a series of knots and pockets. Now that Skeet had identified her, Hakon recognized the signs, though he had never seen a Su before, only heard stories. Her hands were webbed, and the skin on her hands appeared to be covered with small white ripples. He couldn’t see her eyes because of the blindfold she wore, but he imagined they must be blue.

Tadi sat apart from them curled against his ziff. Somehow, against all odds, the animal found his way back to Tadi. “Isn’t Ziff amazing?” the injured boy had told Hakon. Apparently he hadn’t been very creative when naming the wolfdog. Tadi leaned against him now, one arm holding his head tightly, like he was the last link to home. He had finally put away his bow and arrow when Skeet convinced him he didn’t intend to kill him, yet.

Skeet had said upon their return, “If I find out it was your family that killed my father and my sisters, all of you will die by this sword.”

Tadi only nodded solemnly.

From that tense moment, Skeet had kept busy. He was sitting on a rock, higher up, beside the waterfall with his knife. He was carving each of the names of the dead. The names became bolder and bolder, scratched white against the black rock.

Hakon found himself paralyzed by grief and indecision. His furs and skins were covered in blood, so he had put them in the river, weighed down by rocks, hoping the cold water would draw his brothers’ and enemies’ blood out. He kept staring at the blood on his axe and dagger. It was dried and flaky now. He should clean it, he knew, but rinsing his clothes was hard enough. He was realizing the rest of the mission was up to him. Skeet and Tadi were still sworn to him, and they relied on him. In some ways, he wished he were alone. When he was young and had journeyed on his Survival, the terror of being alone in the wilderness was his and his alone. He had overcome that fear. Up to this point, Hakon had always thought of himself cool under pressure, a man able to adjust in the present.

But he had never had his entire family slaughtered before his eyes.

He didn’t know where to direct his anger. He couldn’t blame the Alem for this murder, not like he could for his mother’s. That hatred had been slow and seething for a long time. This was like a fresh flare, a spark that popped out of the fire and seared an exposed hand. Now he hated his own—the Terra—and their betrayal and infighting. He was reminded of the old philosophy taught among the guardians. The Terra were punished by the Master for their ways before the conquerors. This was the reason they were driven into the forest, the reason for their sufferings. For the first time, Hakon thought it was right for the Master to punish his own people.

He had been raised to believe that the Terra were holy, blessed by this land, made strong by it. The Alem were a cruel and tyrannical race. He had been special to be free of them. But now, he suspected all men were made of evil, whether they were Terra, Alem, or the traitorous Su.

But Hakon didn’t have the energy of anger that Skeet had. It was too exhausting to hate everyone else. So he directed his anger toward one man. Himself.

His entire tribe had believed in him and his mission, and they had all died for it. He wondered what it mattered now—his destiny. His duty.

He looked up again to find the Su girl standing over him. How had she gotten there so quietly?

“Yes?” he asked, breaking the long–held silence among them.

“I must tell you, your friend is disfiguring a holy place,” she said quietly. “He will have to repay.”

“The Su do not own these waters or these rocks.”

“No, the Alem do. But they are still holy.”

Hakon stood, facing the girl. She cocked her head to the side and then turned again, so she was facing him. “Listen, Su…”

“Lanikai. Or you may call me Kai.”

“Kai, my brother is carving the names of the dead. So if this place were not already holy, he is now making it more so.”

“Hm.” Kai paused. “I am charged to protect these waters. You may repay me and, therefore, the honor of the Su by letting me accompany you.”

“Of course not,” Hakon said, a little too loudly. Skeet turned to watch, and Tadi stirred beside Ziff. “The Su are traitors and the lapdogs for the Alem. We have no reason to trust you.”

“I have gifted you my name!” The horse behind her snorted as if too agree.

Skeet called from his rock. “Why do you wish to accompany us? You don’t know where we are going.”

“I am a traveler. A collector of places, you could say. I am done collecting these holy waters, and another protector will take my place, so now I wish to go elsewhere. Besides, it is dangerous for a blind girl to be alone.”

Skeet looked away and ported down from his rock, landing near Kai and Hakon. “As you said. It is dangerous. How can you be sure to trust us?”

“You are men of your word,” she said simply. “You could have killed the boy while he slept defenseless. You did not.”

Tadi stood up. “I like her. Let her come along.”

Hakon glanced at Skeet, who shook his head. “No,” Skeet said. Kai didn’t look surprised or disappointed but remained where she stood.

“Skeet?” Hakon gestured for Skeet to accompany him. “May we talk?”

Tadi zipped in between them. “I am your sworn third, Hakon. I should hear what you discuss if it concerns your mission.”

Hakon regarded the boy. He was stout, and Hakon was grateful for his fortitude in this moment. He nodded, and the three of them walked away from the woman and into the forest. He looked around him. The forest was so open, with tall aspens just beginning to grow fresh green leaves. Red and pink light streamed through the thin forest. It was nothing like the thick and treacherous mountains he was used to.

“This attack will only escalate the war. There will be no hope of a treaty or peace offering with the Terra as fragmented as we are. I am beginning to think our tribe’s loyalty in me was unfounded…”

“Quiet, Hakon,” Skeet said, clearly resisting the urge to punch him. “Your destiny is clear, and don’t smear their deaths with your own doubt.”

“What destiny, Skeet? The secret Gage and our father kept from me? The obscure legend? Did they tell you something about it that I don’t know? It wasn’t to bring peace—vengeance is cried on both sides. The Alem will not let the Terra free, even if they raised their crown prince. I see that now.”

Tadi coughed. “Then enact vengeance. If you are one of us, then use your position among the Alem to fight for us. If they welcome you back, you will be in the best position to sabotage their rule in our favor.”

Skeet eyed Tadi and then grinned. “It’s a good idea, but you underestimate the inner conflict of my brother.” Skeet looked at Hakon. “You would never betray your own kin.”

“I killed them last night. All those soldiers…” Hakon muttered.

Skeet waved his hand and shrugged. “You are not brother to every man on earth, Hakon, despite your mixed heritage.” He leaned in close. “We have very little to go back to now. Let us move forward. You have to face your true role as heir to Atmen one day. You may as well do it in the middle of a war.”

Hakon saw a glimmer in Skeet’s eyes. Hakon agreed with him. He had to do
something
.

“And what should we do about the girl?” Hakon asked.

“Leave her,” Skeet said. “It’s not like she’ll see us going.”

“I liked her,” Tadi said.

“It won’t be your last crush, Tadi.” Skeet smirked. He put his hand on Hakon’s shoulder. “Your decision?”

They would go, and Hakon would let fate guide him to his purpose. “We will go to Atmen.”

Tadi smiled, and Skeet whooped. He began to tie his spear to his back. “I love a good adventure.”

“You are no longer sad?” Tadi asked. Skeet frowned momentarily, and then it disappeared into a smile.

“There is time for mourning, young cub. A warrior never forgets,” Skeet said as he finished the knot on his spear. “But we have a mission now. We have to get this lost air sucker to his rightful home so he can face his tyrant father and make friends with all the high–marked men who killed his Terra mother.” Skeet grinned.

Hakon wanted to punch Skeet hard. “Thanks, Skeet.”

“I don’t envy you, Brother,” Skeet said. Then he strutted back toward the falls calling, “I’ll fetch what little supplies remain.”

Tadi turned to Hakon, confused. “He…”

“Don’t misread Skeet, Tadi. He holds his anger and sorrow very close, just behind the shadow of humor.”

“And you hold yours behind solemnity,” Tadi noted. Then he turned toward the falls and left Hakon alone to ponder the future of their fates.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Is she still following us?”

“Yes.”

Hakon sighed. Tadi had just returned from zipping to see if Kai, the Su girl they had met at the falls, was still following them. It had been a few days now, ever since they had cleaned up and packed their supplies, and still she persisted. Hakon couldn’t stop her. She didn’t deserve any harm—a blind Su didn’t appear a great threat. He only wondered how she managed to follow them when she was blind.

Tadi was grinning.

“What, Tadi?”

“Nothing,” he said, smile disappearing from his face.

Skeet leaned toward Hakon. “I think he has a crush.”

They continued to walk underneath the moon. They were following the stars due west, using the rudimentary knowledge of the plains they were taught in school by Gage. So far, they had encountered huge ravines and rivers, which proved great challenges to zip over or around. The Great Plains were hardly plains. They couldn’t zip the entire way, for it was a great deal like sprinting, and they could only go so far with the energy they had between the three of them for those bursts. Skeet hadn’t seen this landscape, so he was wary of vanishing too far. Besides, they wanted to save their energy for fighting.

Their ignorance of the land was slowing them down. Kai had said she was a traveler. Hakon wondered if the Su girl might be helpful after all.

“I have a theory,” Skeet said, interrupting Hakon’s thoughts. “I think it’s her horse that’s following us. The horse can see our tracks, especially when Tadi does the zipping. It can see the impressions he leaves in the earth with his feet.”

“Smart horse,” Tadi remarked.

“I wouldn’t know,” Hakon said. “There aren’t many horses in the Desolate Forest.”

Even if that were the case, how did she keep up with them when they zipped? They continued walking under the night sky. It was so strange for Hakon to be in the open like this. The only cloak was darkness. He felt exposed.

They were traveling on a road that appeared to lead due west. They had agreed to follow it with a plan to escape should they meet any night travelers. Hakon hoped it would lead to a village, and from there they could get a better sense of where they were headed.

Skeet noticed it first. As they approached what appeared to be a small farming village, Skeet held out his hand and stopped them.

“What are they doing?” he asked.

They moved in closer, pulling their weapons out. There was the distant sound of feet scurrying in the middle of the night—it sounded like disorganized marching. They moved along the edges of the houses. They heard a distant barked command.

Tadi looked back at Hakon. “Did I hear that correctly?”

Hakon held out his arm, and the others grabbed a hold. Hakon spotted his destination and then zipped them to a distant roof, then another. He aimed high, so they fell a few feet every time they landed. It was safer to land hard than lose a foot in a roof. As they approached the sounds, they saw torchlight. They leaned over the edge of the roof, and what they saw confirmed Tadi’s question.