Part 25 (1/2)

It seemed that months pa.s.sed, but it was only a few days. On the evening of the third day, the cages were unloaded from the wagon. Through the bars, Ulaume could see that the Uigenna were making camp, and it appeared to be more permanent than the last few nights. There must be something in this area that demanded their lengthy attention. A har, who Ulaume now regarded as his keeper, came to open the cages. He put a leash on both Ulaume and the lion and let them out. The lion must have been kept in this way since it was young, because it had no spirit. It did not lash out with its great paws and knock the har senseless, as it surely could have done.

'You're to clean yourself up,' said the keeper to Ulaume. 'Somehar wants you tonight.'

This was not welcome news, but perhaps Ulaume might be lucky and find himself with har who could be influenced by his charms; what was left of them.

The keeper led his charges to a deep watering hole, surrounded by high rocks. Here the lion crouched to drink. Ulaume went into the water and submerged himself, joined to the land by the leash. He wondered if he had the courage to drown himself. The har who held him did not yank the leash or pull him back. Ulaume relaxed, let his limbs float free. He felt the blood melt from him and drift away. His hair would grow again. He rubbed at his face with his hands, then smoothed his body. He must remember hope and strength. As long as he was alive, he had the power to make changes.

As he thought this, the leash jerked. Ulaume gulped water and floundered a little. Stupid har! His first instinct was to grab the leash and pull back, haul his hated keeper into the water, but he realised this would not be a good move. If he failed to overpower the har, he could end up dead. Now, he was being pulled back to the bank of the waterhole. Breaking through the water's surface, Ulaume coughed and blinked. He pushed wet hair from his eyes. Above him, standing on the bank, he saw a tall dark figure that looked like a manifestation of Aruhani himself. It seemed to emanate dark light. This figure crouched down and held out a hand. Ulaume took it and a familiar sensation of rus.h.i.+ng dark energy coursed up his arm. Terez had returned to the Uigenna, then. Ulaume saw the lion cowering some feet away and a bundle of cloth and limbs that looked very much like a dead har. It appeared Terez had not returned to be a part of the tribe.

'Terez,' Ulaume said. 'That is is you, isn't it?' you, isn't it?'

Terez hauled him from the water. 'Yes. They've made a mess of you.' This observation was delivered without feeling.

'Thanks to you. Have you killed that har? Why? This isn't a rescue, is it?'

'Yes it is,' Terez said. 'Stop gabbing and take that leash off.'

Ulaume did so. 'Well, well. Did guilt actually get to you?'

Terez exhaled impatiently through his nose. 'I have been observing the troupe for a couple of days. Needed to be sure of where you were being held. Now, we will release Flick. Strip the Uigenna of his clothes and dress yourself. Be quick.'

Ulaume wondered whether this might be a dream: dressing himself in the clothes of a dead har, rescued by a living dead har. His keeper had worn a ta.s.selled scarf around his head. Ulaume took this and beneath it hid his butchered hair. He unleashed the lion and hoped it might go free, but it probably wouldn't. It would sit there s.h.i.+vering until somehar came for it and discovered its keeper was dead.

'Do you know where they're keeping Flick?' Ulaume asked.

'More or less, but it'll be easy to find out precisely.'

'I hope you can do it, then,' Ulaume said. 'My senses aren't what they should be at the moment.'

'Yes.' Terez threw back his head, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. After a moment, he opened his eyes again and without glancing at Ulaume said, 'This way. Keep to the shadows.'

There was little security in the Uigenna camp, because they clearly didn't think they had anything in this area to secure themselves against. Some hara were busy erecting tepees, building fires and cooking food. Others were attending to animals, horses and the small flock of sheep that accompanied the troupe. There were no idle hands. Ulaume and Terez picked up a bale of fodder each they found in a pile next to a newly erected tepee and made their way round the edge of the camp, keeping a distance from everyhar else. Flick was being kept apart from the main camp, which was most convenient. Even as they approached, Ulaume could feel the familiar warmth of Flick's spirit, and it was like coming home, even though he could tell Flick was far from happy.

Two Uigenna guards were stationed at the entrance to the tepee. Terez called to them and they both looked his way. Ulaume had taken a knife from the lion keeper. His strength had returned with his hope. In an instant, he leapt forward and cut a har's throat. Terez dealt with the other one by twisting his neck. Ulaume heard the damp snap of bone. Terez then finished off the har whose throat Ulaume had cut. It was over so quickly. Together, Ulaume and Terez dragged the bodies behind the tepee, before anyhar noticed something was amiss.

'Get Flick,' Terez said. 'Meet me back at the waterhole. I'll fetch horses.' He backed away into the shadows.

Ulaume went into the tepee and saw Flick crouched on a large silk cus.h.i.+on. He was pale, with dark circles beneath his eyes, dressed up like a Kakkahaar wh.o.r.e. Ulaume could not imagine what he might have lived through over the past few days.

'Come!' Ulaume said. 'Now Flick. We're leaving.'

Flick looked confused for a moment. 'Ulaume?' He stared at the fresh blood on Ulaume's s.h.i.+rt.

'Quick, no time for talk. Come on.' Ulaume grabbed hold of Flick's left hand and dragged him out of the tepee, desperate to get him beyond the light of the camp torches. He was afraid that somehar would pa.s.s the back of the tepee and spot the dead bodies. Then the alarm would be raised.

Without words, Ulaume and Flick ran to the waterhole. Terez wasn't there. 'By Aru, I hope he makes it!' Ulaume hissed. 'You won't believe it, Flick, but it was Terez who rescued us.'

Flick was staring at the dead har. The lion had wandered off after all. 'Terez,' Flick said weakly. 'I wish we'd killed him.' There was a bitterness in Flick's voice that Ulaume hadn't heard before.

'Well, if we had, then the Uigenna might still have returned, and we'd have had no knight in s.h.i.+ning armour to save us,' Ulaume said, 'so maybe you were right about Terez after all.'

Flick merely grunted.

Ulaume heard the sound of hooves on the packed earth and then Terez appeared out of the darkness with the reins of three horses in his hand. One of them was Ghost. The animals stomped and snorted behind him. Terez put a finger to his lips for silence, then indicated they should mount up. He began to climb onto Ghost, but Flick pushed him aside and swung into the saddle himself. Terez shrugged and mounted another horse.

They walked the animals for about a hundred yards from the camp, then urged them into a gallop. The trouble with desert travel, Ulaume thought, was that you left a very obvious trail. A mile or so from the Uigenna, Terez directed them east, towards the cordillera.

'They'll follow us,' Flick said.

'We have the lead,' Terez said. 'We must keep it up.'

At dawn, they had pa.s.sed beyond the foothills and were in a deeply forested region. Here, Terez decided it was safe for them to rest the horses for a couple of hours. Ulaume and Flick were so shocked and exhausted, they were happy to let Terez take control. They would have to take it in turns to keep watch. Terez offered to do so first.

Flick and Ulaume did not contest this. They climbed into a wide hollow tree and here Ulaume took off his scarf.

'Oh no,' Flick said. 'Your hair. Your face.' He reached to touch Ulaume's head, but Ulaume pulled away. He couldn't bear for it to be touched now.

'It'll grow back,' he said. 'And bruises fade. How are you?'

'All right. Better than you.' Flick reached out and gripped Ulaume's right arm. 'I'm so sorry.'

'Terez is the one who should be apologising, not you,' Ulaume said.

'Why did he come for us?'

'I don't know and I don't care. I'm just glad he did.'

'We can't let them take us again.'

'We won't. I'll die first.'

Ulaume knew they should sleep, because they'd need their strength, but it was difficult to surrender to it. His senses strained to pick up sounds of pursuit. The best he could hope for was a short time out of the saddle. He wouldn't sleep until he felt safe.

Flick clearly felt the same. He explained how Wraxilan was obsessed with Cal and believed that Flick was in touch with him. 'He wouldn't listen to me. It was what he wanted to believe. I felt that at any moment, one night, he'd go mad and try to beat it out of me, the information I don't have.' He paused. 'Ulaume, those hara are... The things I did...' He shook his head. 'I can't speak of it.'

Ulaume stroked his face. 'We escaped. We survived. That is all that matters.'

Flick sighed. 'Yes, I suppose so.' He paused. 'We won't be able to return to Casa Ricardo and live there as before, will we?'

'No,' Ulaume said. 'It would be safer if we moved on.'

'Where will we go?'

'Just away,' Ulaume replied. 'Ask your dehara. Quest for the advice we need.'