The New World (The Last Delar) (9 page)

Stripes eyes become wide and terrified as he looks over Taeau's shoulder; he quickly turns around and runs away in a crazy fit.

"Yeah, you run, you stinking coward!" shouts Taeau at Stripes's back.

"Taeau, look out!" yells Ven.

Ven pushes Taeau to the side and catches a flash of teeth before he is knocked off the hill. He lands on the ground, hitting his head hard on a rock.  A young Feather Runner has appeared from the forest, his mouth and face covered with blood.  It turns toward Taeau and snaps at him.  The other younglings run away in fear, leaving Taeau alone to defend his friend.  The young Runner moves closer, drooling and snapping while keeping his eyes fixed on Taeau.  Taeau stares at the beast, frozen in shock.  The beast attacks, and Taeau closes his eyes, swinging his sword.  He feels the weapon strike the Runner, and he hears it roar in pain.  The noise scares Taeau, and when he opens his eyes, he has to shield himself from the blood pouring from the Runners' snout.  The Runner retreats into the woods, shrieking in pain.  Taeau drops his sword and runs to Ven.  Carn barks loudly at the Runner but stays by his master's side.

Taeau kneels next to his cousin.  "Ven!  Are you hurt? Can you hear me?" He grabs Ven by the arm and shakes him in panic.  "Ven!"

Ven's eyes flutter open, and he looks at his cousin in confusion.

"Taeau, what happened? Why are you covered in blood?"

"It's not mine.  Ven . . . are you alright?"

"Ya, just got knocked out.  Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't had on this helmet." He takes off the helmet and rubs the bump that is starting to form on his head.  They hear screaming in the distance.

"Quiet, boy!" yells Taeau.

Carn comes to his master obediently, but continues to stare into the distance as he licks Ven's forehead.

"We'd better get back home, something big is going on.  And I need to tell dad what I saw, no matter how much trouble I'm in," says Ven.

"I agree, let's run to the crossroads and then split up.  Come on, Carn, let's go."

Taeau helps Ven up, and they run back to their homes.  Taeau can't believe what he did, it happened so fast, and Ven is beginning to dread how much trouble he will be in when he sees his father.  They reach the crossroads and face each other.  Through short breaths they say their good-byes.

"Well, this is it.  I imagine I won't be seeing you for a while," says Ven.

"Ya, well, they can't punish us forever.  I'll see you again as soon as I can."

Ven looks up and starts to thank his cousin for saving his life.  Taeau cuts in before he can say a word.  "You're the closest thing I have ever had to a brother.  If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way, we both would have been a meal for that beast." With that, they give each other a punch on the shoulder and go their separate ways. Taeau does not get far before Carn stops and begins growling loudly.  Taeau turns and looks down at his dog, "What is it now, boy? What do you hear?" Carn darts back the way they came, and Taeau shrugs his shoulders, turns around, and runs, trying to catch up to Carn.

"Wait up, boy! Not so fast!"

Taeau follows the dog through the woods and stops in his tracks.  His body stiffens, and he stands rigid in terror behind a bush.  Carn is still running and barking toward the most frightening creature Taeau has ever seen.  It is hideous: a beast that stands so tall that Taeau's neck hurts as he looks up. Its body is covered in black hair, spines line its hunched back and it wears a blood red cape. Taeau looks right into its face and sees the beast for all that he is. His eyes are small and filled with blood. He has folds of black furless skin rolling down his face stopping at his large, flat, scar covered nostrils. But what truly terrifies Taeau is the beast’s mouth. Grotesque layers of rodent like, blood stained teeth protrude from its fleshy gums. Carn is barking and growling at the beast more fiercely than Taeau has ever heard him.  Taeau stares at the beast and sees that the creature is clenching Ven by the neck.  His cousin is squirming violently, and the beast is whispering to him.  Carn tries to jump and bite the monster, but the beast swipes at Carn, slamming him to the ground.  Carn looks up at Taeau with blood pouring out of his snout and whimpers softly before his eyes shut and his breathing stops.  Taeau stands horrified, disbelieving what he sees.  Taeau then hears a bone-chilling crack, and Ven stops squirming.  His body goes limp.

Taeau collapses to his knees.  Tears streak down his face, but he feels nothing.  A bloodcurdling scream wakes him from his trance.  He sees a large figure diving down from the treetops.  Taeau recognizes his uncle, who soars toward the beast and lands behind him with his outstretched claws.

"USH-KA!!"

The beast tosses Ven to the ground like he is an insect.

"NO! NOT HIM! I'LL KILL YOU!" screams Black Claw, as he jumps toward his son.

Ush-Ka steps in his Black Claw’s way and growls.  Now clad in his battle armor, Black Claw faces Ush-Ka.  Ush-Ka lowers his head and arches his back showing Black Claw his deadly spines.  He roars, contracting his muscles and rattling the hollow, poison-laced quills.  Black Claw charges, and in a blur of teeth and claws their death struggle erupts.  Urine begins to trickle down Taeau's leg as he watches, petrified by the fury and the viciousness of the battle.  Black Claw digs his claws into Ush-Ka's thigh and wraps his teeth around his calf.  Ush-Ka roars then slashes Black Claw across his body, cutting him deeply with his claws.  Black Claw falls, crying out as blood blankets the forest.  Ush-Ka then picks up Black Claw and holds him over the body of his son.

"The mighty Black Claw! Time to join your rat son in the darkness!" sneers Ush-Ka as he slams Black Claw to the ground. 

Tears are streaming down Taeau's face as he helplessly watches his uncle crawl toward Ven.  Taeau can't move as Black Claw struggles to drag his broken body closer to Ven.  Black Claw reaches for his son and pulls Ven’s lifeless body close to his own.  He lays his bleeding head on his son and stares through the brush, seeing Taeau looking at him.  Black Claw smiles, remembering the day Mia-Koda brought the child to the city.  He remembers the words he spoke to Mia-Koda after handing the child to his brother.  How the child's eyes had haunted his dreams.  Black Claw had foreseen this moment and only now at the end does he understand his vision.  Black Claw closes his eyes and snuggles with his son.  Ush-Ka puts his foot on the back of Black Claw, raises a spear over his head, and chuckles loudly, "The great captain of the Salali!" He slams the weapon into the back of Black Claw.  Black Claws' head lifts as the spear is driven through his torn flesh.  His eyes open for just a moment before closing again.  He lands on his son's soft fur.  Taeau falls to the ground, and the world around him goes black.

---

Everything is dark, but Taeau can feel the warmth of blankets around him.  There is whispering nearby, voices he does not recognize.  Taeau sits up and opens his eyes.  Through his blurry vision he sees the unfamiliar face of a stranger.  She is an old woman, older than he has ever seen.  Her face is carved by time, with a few strands of brittle hair dangling across her face.  Taeau looks into her eyes and senses something familiar.  Her pupils have lost all their color, but there is a light, an aura of energy, that raises the hairs on his neck.  A small, dark, one-eyed creature rushes to his side and begins rubbing his arms and back.  The miniature, man-like creature is half his size, dirty and wild looking.  He has markings on his skin that flash as he pets Taeau. Taeau looks around and can tell that he is outside the city gates.  The trees grow close here, creating a quiet, eerie darkness that he does not like.  Taeau begins to breathe more lightly now and lies back.  He  closes his eyes, flashes of the violent deaths of his best friend and uncle jolt him up with a gasp.

"Shhh...  It's okay…don't be afraid," the stranger says.  For some reason, he trusts this voice, and when he looks up at the old woman with her strange clothing, he feels safe.  She holds a staff and reaches into a pouch folded into her robes. "Here, chew on this.  It will help with your stomach," she says.

"Taeau!" yells a voice from behind him.  His mother runs out of the dark woods and collapses onto him, smothering him with hugs and tears.

"Are you alright? Let me look at you," she gushes as she begins to pat him all over, inspecting his body for injuries.  He can see his father from within his mother's grasp.  He is talking to the older woman.  His father is covered in blood and seems to be injured.  The two are arguing, and Taeau overhears the old woman telling his father that, "she told him this day would come!" The old woman keeps saying that "Taeau is not safe" and that "he must start his training."

Taeau's mother stands up and blocks Taeau from the old woman.

"I won't let you! He has been through too much, and he needs time to get better! He needs his mother.  I am the only one that can help him." His mother's broken and desperate voice only frightens Taeau, who is confused and weak.

The older woman walks up to Taeau's mother and stares into her eyes.  In a calm but stern tone she speaks.  "You have no say in the matter, Meadow.  Now say your goodbyes, time is short."

The old woman bows her head and disappears into the forest with the tiny one-eyed creature straggling behind her.  Taeau's parents kneel down and take their son into their arms.  Dirty Hands is the first to speak with a quivering voice.

"Son . . . you must leave with Mia-Koda tonight for your own safety.  She is wise and powerful; she will teach you many things and help you grow into a man.  I wish . . . I wish I could be there to see the man that you will become, but it is not to be.  Know that I will never forget you or stop loving you, son."

Taeau glances at his mother, searching for reassurance or some hope.  Only his mother’s uncontrollable tears meet him. His heart begins to sink, his throat starts to close, and the tears fall. "Bu . . . But I don't want to go with her!" Taeau gasps between sobs.  "Why can't I stay with you? I'm sorry about everything, I didn't mean it . . . please don't send me away."

Meadow breaks down, clenching her heart as she grabs her son with her other arm.  "You have done nothing wrong, child, nothing at all.   Your father and I love you very much . . . never forget that." She hugs him, squeezing him tightly.  She whispers to him her last words to him as a mother. "I will always be with you, Taeau . . . every night when you look up at the sky, know that I am looking at the same sky and thinking of you . . . and remember, my son, that I love and miss you very much.  You must be strong now, and do what Mia-Koda tells you, she was the one who, who …"

Meadow does not have the strength to continue.  The thought of losing another son is too much, and she begins to fall apart.  Between his own sobs, Taeau grabs his mother and she quickly kisses him on the head and runs into the forest.

"MOM!" screams Taeau, as he reaches in the direction of his mother.

His father grabs him by the arm and speaks to him lovingly.  "Let her go.  This is the second time in her life she has had to say good-bye to a son.  I never told you this, but we once had a child before you.  He died of sickness at an age younger than you are now.  But you brought happiness and hope back into your mother's life.  I am thankful for the time we have had.  You are a better son than I could ever have hoped for.  We will see each other again one day . . . I promise." Dirty Hands then picks up Taeau and carries him to Mia-Koda's wagon.

He lies in the back of the wagon, staring up into the forest.  Mia-Koda begins to walk, pulling Broomay, her horse, as Taeau watches his father fade away into the distance.  The day grows late and the threesome has been traveling with no rest.  A small storm cloud has come in from the West, and a light drizzle begins to dampen Taeau's hair.  Tib, Mia-Koda’s Wicker companion, clumsily slops through the muddy forest while covering his head with a large leaf.  Taeau has not said a word since their journey started, and has been falling in and out of consciousness in the wagon.  When his eyes close, he is assaulted with the images of Black Claw, his cousin, and the monster who took their lives.  He cannot escape his uncle's stare or the image of him lying helplessly with Ven. The dream repeats itself over and over, and soon Taeau cannot erase the vision even with his waking eyes.  His body becomes numb, and nothing seems real to him as the rain continues to fall.

The storm finally passes, and Mia-Koda decides it is time to make camp.  She finds a small clearing where she sets up their things and starts a fire.  Tib moves around, preparing their beds and gathering kindling as Taeau sits staring at the ground.  Mia-Koda senses that the boy will not be hungry, so she puts a pot of water over the fire to make them all a warm drink before they sleep.  She takes a root from one of her satchels, grinds it up, and pours the powder into Taeau's drink.

"Here, child, this will help you sleep without dreaming."

Taeau looks up at her and nods his head while reaching for the cup.  Mia-Koda notices that he has a black eye and is still wearing blood-soaked clothes.  She tells him to take them off, and gives him new ones.  He stares at the bloodstains in the dark and begins to drink, choking on the liquid for a moment.

"You soon will be asleep.  Things will look better in the morning."

Taeau stares into the cup with a distant gaze and answers the strange woman's comforting words.  "Nothing will be the same."

She looks down at him with understanding.  Tib yanks on Taeau's pants and points to his bed.  Taeau finishes his drink and crawls limply into the warm furs.  Mia-Koda sits by his side and speaks to him in a soft, storytelling voice.  "I have not seen you since you were an infant.  You have grown well.  Tib here has been waiting a long time to see you again.  He is pleased that you are healthy."

"Again?" mumbles Taeau with confusion in his voice.  "I have never seen either of you in my life." Taeau is beginning to feel the effects of the drink.  His eyes begin to feel heavy and his mind becomes light.

"You did when you were a young child.  You do not remember, I imagine.  That is a story I will save for another time.  Close your eyes, child . . . fall asleep."