Zara the Wolf (3 page)

A handful of moons later, the snows had receded and the
three chiefs called for a gathering of the tribe. The head chief, Tasunke,
raised a pole adorned with symbols and animals carved into the wood that proclaimed
him the leader of the Ojaza.

"We are in need of many things for the winter to come:
sheep, cloth, grain, and entertainment for our bored warriors," he shouted,
and received roars of approval. "Chief Ahote will lead a party of a hand-of-hands
and one to the lowlands in the south, and Chief Tocho a party of a hand-of-hands
and one to the lowlands in the north. New warriors Ayas the Cat and Kele the Badger
will accompany Ahote, and warrior Zara the Wolf will go with Chief Tocho."

I put my right fist to my heart in acknowledgement of his
seniority. I smiled to myself. This may be the perfect opportunity to find my
freedom. Of course, it might be the perfect opportunity to have me killed if I
don't meet Tocho's expectations. I doubted they trusted me—warrior status
or not.

Tocho turned out to be a good leader, not that I was an
expert. He called all the warriors who would be accompanying him and went over
the details of the raid: the route we would travel, the farms and cities he
knew about, and the ones he expected to raid after they had scouted the area
and updated their maps, the items of primary importance, and the order of our
retreat. From the talk afterward, I gathered the tribes had never raided this far
into the lowlands in recent memory, and everyone was excited.

We left the next morning. Only four warriors had horses:
Chief Tocho, a woman warrior who would be responsible for any slaves taken, and
two warrior scouts. The rest of us would be on foot. Since any warrior could
run a horse to death, it was hardly a limiting factor. It took a hand-of-days
to reach the lower mountains and another hand-of-days to reach the northern
foothills. We skirted two small villages, which Tocho would probably raid on
the way back as we continued onto the open plains. We broke up into small
parties and scouted the land for the next two-hands of days before returning
for orders. Tocho listened to what each team had found and carefully updated
his map before deciding on a course of action. He finally chose two small
communities which had the livestock we needed, stockpiles of food for the
winter, and horses to move the loot. Each community consisted of about two-hands
of menfolk. Tocho split us into two groups of three-hands each and elected to
accompany the group I was assigned. Both groups would strike two days from now
at noon when everyone would be out in the fields working and easy prey. To
delay any possible pursuit, no one was to be left alive.

* * *

We lay in a wooded area a one-minute fast run from the field
many of the people were currently harvesting. The compound had a small fence
surrounding it and three guards with swords, but I doubted they or the men
coming and going from the fields with weapons were as well trained as the warriors.
I quieted my mind. I couldn't make a plan since I didn't know what would
happen. This community wasn't going to overpower the warriors, so I would have
to wait for the right opportunity. I knew Tocho would be watching me closely
and probably so would others. This was a test for me, of that I was sure.

At noon, Tocho waved and everyone rose and began running. I
was assigned the compound and ran in that direction. I smiled as the group
slowly moved several steps in front of me, not unexpectedly. I had never been
able to keep up with the warriors. So I was the last one to reach the gate. By
then, the three guards were dead and the warriors were spreading out and
entering the four buildings. I followed two warriors through a corral into a
large barn, which formed part of the compound’s protective fence. When I
arrived, a man lay dead on the floor. One of the two warriors was putting
collars on two small children while the other was ripping the clothes off a
woman. He pointed to the warrior with the children.

"Help Skah with the children, Zara," he said. I
sliced through his neck as I passed on the way to Skah. Still struggling with a
young boy, he never saw the sword as it severed his neck.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted, Zara. Sneaky like the
wolf you are named."

"Lady, light that lantern if you wish you and your
children to live," I said as I prepared to fight Tocho, hoping his
standard language was poor. I'd never heard him use it. The woman surprised me
by how quick she responded, considering the circumstances. The thought of her
children dying probably helped motivate her. As I reached her, I grabbed the
lantern as Tocho turned and whistled for help. I threw it over his head toward
the front of the barn. It exploded when it hit the floor, and the oil soon had
the hay on the floor in flames. The fire spread quickly. In less than a minute,
the entrance was engulfed in flames and no one could enter.

"Guess it's you and me, chief. A farmer's daughter and
a great chief of the Ojaza tribe," I said, feeling calm. One way or the
other, I was finally free. He looked nervously over his shoulder at the fire
blocking the entrance and quickly creeping toward him. Then he got that crazed
look the warriors get when they are racing through a village killing and
destroying lives. He took several half-running steps and lunged at me, throwing
all his weight behind a cut to my ribs. I made no attempt to stop it, just met
it with my sword so his slid into my guard and was trapped. The powerful stroke
drove my arm and sword into me, and pain shot through my side and shoulder. As
his momentum carried him into me, my dagger slid under the padding at shoulder
and neck, into his throat. Blood spattered in my face, and his weight pushed me
stumbling backward, leaving him to collapse onto his knees then his face. When
I looked around, the woman was taking the collar off her youngest boy.

"Is there a cellar in the barn?" I asked, knowing
my father had an underground pit where he stored food for the winter. She stared
at me awhile, clutching her two children to her. Couldn't blame her, I must
have looked like any blood-crazed warrior. "Your children's lives depend
upon you thinking clearly."

"Yes." She pointed to a stall toward the end of
the barn. By now the four cows and two horses were frantic with panic as the
flames grew higher and the heat intensified. "You and the children need to
hide there, and don't come out until morning. They will be gone by then. I'll
try to return, if they don't catch me."

She nodded, and still clutching her two chlidren, she shuffled
toward the back. I freed the horse closest to the flames, and he ran toward the
back. I threw a rope around the second horse’s
 
neck before releasing him. While
struggling to keep him under control, I made my way to the back. The woman
looked up at me from where she stood at the bottom of the steps.

"No noise, and don't attempt to come out until morning.
It will be safe by then." I closed the door and covered it with hay and
dirt. The back of the barn had a large double door with two bars securing them.
I lifted the bars and pushed open the doors. The cows and free horse ran. I
mounted the captured horse and kicked him into a gallop, leaning low over his
neck. In the distance, I faintly heard someone shout.

"It's Zara. She's running. Kill her."

When I looked back over my shoulder, two warriors were
running in my direction. They would eventually outrun the horse. It could only
gallop a short distance, but I would be fresh and could hopefully stay ahead of
them. On the open prairie, it proved easy to keep track of my pursuers. Late in
the day as shadows began to lengthen, one of the warriors stopped and turned
back. The other warrior continued at an increased pace. As she slowly closed
the distance, I recognized Ehwee. By now, my horse was lathered in white sweat
and couldn't last much longer, so I pulled up and dismounted. As I waited, I
notched an arrow and moved behind the horse. I hated to use the horse as a
shield, but even running, Ehwee was a better shot than me. And maybe she
wouldn't ...

When next I looked, she was running fast with her bow
notched with an arrow. At forty paces, she loosed the arrow that hit my horse
in the side. He bucked and plunged, throwing me backward several steps. The impact
made me loose my arrow, which went harmlessly to her right. I nocked another
arrow. When I looked up, she was twenty-five paces from me and loosed another
arrow. I spun in the direction of the horse and felt the arrow hit the padding
covering my shoulder. I thought the leather had stopped it, but there was no
time to look. I fought to quiet my mind. Sprinting hard, she was now only
fifteen steps away, eyes wide, mouth open gasping for breath, and face flushed
fire red. She had dropped the bow and was drawing her sword as I released my
nocked arrow. At her current speed, she couldn't possibly dodge, and it hit her
in the chest and appeared to penetrate several fingers width. But she kept
coming, sword high over her head.

"Die," she screamed as the sword began its
downward arc toward my head. I threw myself to the right, tucked my head, and
rolled to a standing position with my sword ready. It wasn't necessary. Her
momentum carried her well past me. She stumbled and fell onto one knee. Her
head turned in my direction. "Worthless slave with no honor."

I laughed. "Perhaps you taught me the honor of the
Ojaza, who kill defenseless farmers, rape their women, and steal their
children. Yes, I have adopted the honor of the Ojaza warriors."

"You daughter of the shit-eating dung bug," she gasped
as she staggered to her feet and steadied herself. She took two steps in my
direction, her arms trembling as she struggled to raise her sword to a fighting
position. I backhanded my sword across her throat. I didn't wish her a slow
death, just death. Hating it, I cut my horse's throat—its demise had been
my fault—and began a slow run back toward the compound.

* * *

It was nearly dawn. The sky had begun to turn grey through
the clouds, and a light rain fell. The barn stood a charred ruin with its roof
caved in and only a skeleton remaining of its walls. The only sounds were the
cries of the carrion birds as they feasted on the remains. I dreaded entering
the barn, afraid what I would find. I found the trap door easily, but it took
me a long time to clear away the burnt planks covering it. When I opened it,
the woman stood with her arms around her children; her face a ghostly pale
white.

"They've gone. It's safe to come out," I said and backed
away. I was dressed like a warrior, and she must have been half crazy trapped
down there for almost a day, not knowing if she would be found by the warriors.
And if she had tried the trap door, she would have realized she and her
children would eventually die there. It took her a long time to creep up the
stairs and survey the area before she allowed the children to exit the cellar.

"What ... who are you?" she asked, still hanging
onto the children.

"It's a very long story, but not here. Call me Zara.
Let's see if anyone survived and get you and your children something to eat and
drink," I said as I turned to leave.

"I'm Ethel," she shouted as I made my way out of
the barn toward the gate. While she got the children settled in one of the
buildings, I walked the fields, looking at the bodies. I didn't expect to find
anyone alive and didn't. By the time I reached the gate, she was kneeling next
to a man, crying. I walked by and examined each of the other six men scattered
around the compound. They had died quickly. As I entered the larger of the
buildings, she joined me. It was a large open room, which appeared to be the
community dining hall, kitchen, and food storage area. The bloody bodies of five
women lay naked, two on the long table and three on the floor.

It was a long emotionally draining day for me, but a living
nightmare for Ethel. I dug graves and carried the bodies Ethel had dressed and
buried them. Ethel said a prayer over each. I stood silent. My father and mother
had a God; the Ojaza had gods; and Ethel had a God. I wasn't sure where her God
was when the Ojaza were killing and raping her people.

It was late in the night when Ethel and I sat drinking
coffee. She had prepared a hot meal, fed the children and us, and put them to
bed. Afterward, I spent an hour giving her a brief account of my experience
with the Ojaza.

"What are you going to do now, Zara?" she asked.

"Don't really know. Need to learn how to be civilized
again." I smiled at the thought. I had only been a hand plus four summers
when the Ojaza took me. I knew a lot about the Ojaza world but very little
about this world.

"You can stay here if you wish ..."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, thinking if I
were her I’d flee back to the city as fast as I could.

"Stay!" she shouted, then lowered her voice.
"Sorry. Will they come back?"

"Not for many summers. They live high in the mountains
and are a full turn of the moon travel from here."

"You could teach us how to defend ourselves." She
grabbed my arm, looking desperate.

"No, I can't. They train their youth to be warriors.
They are better trained than your soldiers. And your farmers and artisans are not
soldiers. You can't be both. If you are going to live close to these mountains,
your only safety is in numbers and having a small militia."

"Please stay. I can't stay alone. I'll help you become
civilized, to be a woman again. There are lots of clothes here. You can have
whatever you want ..." She rambled on, her hand tightening on my arm,
nearly hysterical toward the end.