BK1 Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

I shifted a little as the ridge of the Kreshna's back began digging into my rear. I had made the right choice in approaching the bull of the herd. I hadn't known I could tame the wild Kreshna, but my inclination had been correct. The beast-taming skill Vishka had hidden was definitely what made this possible. By taming the bull, the rest of the herd followed us. Their numbers kept the demonic rat beasts at bay, and they acted as our guard as we rode through the reeds.

It was nice to rest for once.

My body was battered and bruised, and from the soft slump on the back of my shoulder, Rian was also exhausted. Her chest moved steadily against my back as she slept, leaning on me. I held her hands around my waist to keep her secure so she wouldn't fall off.

Shifting to hold Rian's hands with my left hand, I gingerly raised my injured right. "Sign update."

Blood Sign Updates:

Dagger Strike: 12 – (Initiate) +2

Stamina: 12 – (Initiate) +1

Beast Taming: 3 – (Novice) +2

The confirmation of my theory gave me confidence. My beast-taming skill had indeed been what had allowed me to tame the wild Kreshna bull. So why had Vishka hidden it? Was it connected to my beast-born trait? I had no idea what that even meant for me.

I sighed, lowering my hand as it began to hurt.

What did any of this mean?

So much had happened in this life I had never experienced before. It was baffling how much I had missed. My memories were often fuzzy on details, but I remembered enough of what mattered. Yet I had never come across anything like beast born. There was much I still had to learn about Zopan and what being a child of Vishka meant.

That was what Albus had called me.

Vishka, she had told me she couldn't tell me why I had been reborn back in the temple of Talbour. But somehow, I knew it couldn't have been for no reason. Was there something I was supposed to do? Was her guidance leading me to something I didn't want? All I wanted to do was survive.

I sighed, my mind reeling as I tried to reason with this.

We rode through the reeds in peace, the Kreshna pausing to graze every other hour. Our pace was twice as fast then it would have been if Rian and I had walked. I gently woke Rian on the third hour to stretch our legs as the Kreshna grazed. We still had to try and find the brigade. I had no idea what to look for. I hoped she did.

Rian used a round device from her pocket. A needle in the centre spun, indicating our direction. I recognised it as a compass. I had seen them in the stalls of Talbour's market and on the pocket of Eduard's jacket from time to time. She told me that we needed to be heading south, as the capital was south of the highland plains. So we rubbed our sore rears and got back on the Kreshna bull I had decided to name Kuru.

We continued until darkness stained the sky and the Kreshna settled. They grouped in pairs, snuggling against one another as they bedded down for the night. Their young nestled between their parents after a short time of play. They had tried to approach us, but a swift bump from their mothers dragged them away. Kreshna were very protective of their young; we were still a threat.

Rian tried to make a fire, but I quickly stopped her. The flames could be dangerous in the reeds, and we didn't know how the Kreshna would react. So we ate cold cuts left over from the night before, and I shared Rian's water as mine was still empty. We took turns on watch, and I finally got some sleep. My body was aching for the rest. I awoke once at the sound of feet to find the bull, Kuru, watching us, keeping guard of his herd. He didn't bother us after that, but it showed me he was still anxious about us. Finally, morning came, and we packed up to pursue the brigade.

***

"I don't get it" Rian frowned, tapping her compass. "We should be close by now. We were only a few days behind. At this pace, we should be catching up."

"I think we just need to get out of these reeds first." I sighed, getting sick of seeing them, quite frankly. We had been travelling all morning and couldn't see the end. We had been foolish to think we could run through them. Without the Kreshna, I was confident we would have perished alone in them. I was hoping we were maybe just not high enough to see the edge of the green stems.

A small hope.

It was getting so bad I was starting to miss Talbour.

I shivered internally at the thought.

"We could maybe follow their trail if we could see it" Rian slumped against me, her twin blades clattering against her thighs.

"Maybe," I said though my hope was dwindling. Would their footprints still be in the ground after so long? I didn't know.

A bellow suddenly split the reeds. The Kreshna's halted, responding.

Kuru stomped and charged. I slipped at the sudden jolt of his legs and grabbed his horns to lift my body back into place. Rian yelped as she clung to my waist and tightened her grip.

"What's happening!?" Rian panicked as we sped through the reeds. They snapped at us, whipping against our skin, red lines forming on our arms.

"I think one of the females was attacked", I theorised as we came close to one of the small Kreshna's. She was thrashing her hind legs kicking at something we could not see, hidden in the reeds. The female bellowed again as a flash of fire erupted from her side.

Kuru's muscles throbbed as he ran careening into the fray in a burst. Earth lifted at his feet as he jumped, swallowing the flames whole.

The faces of four soldiers stared up at Kuru.

We stared back.

Then Kuru charged.

The soldiers scattered as Kuru lowered his head, his horns aiming for an older man wielding a sabre. The man dashed, sinking into the earth with each step as he fell into the soil, his brown cloak flowing behind him.

A second raised a lance coating it with flames. He darted toward us, and I could feel the heat of his flames as they licked at Kuru. Kuru slammed a shield of earth, blockading his attack from reaching.

A third swung a flail on a chain as he chased after the female. Water was scissored in slashes with every spin towards her, and her cry of pain rang horribly in my ears. Blood streamed down her flank as she limped to get away. But the water summoner didn't stop, his water blades cutting into her deeper.

"STOP" Rian cried as I held onto Kuru. He stamped the ground, and the earth rose in columns around the female, creating a cage to protect her. I pulled his horns back in an attempt to make him leave, but Kuru refused, his eyes focusing on the fire summoner.

The fire summoner readied his weapon in a twirl, creating a fire vortex. Kuru charged at him. Earth flowed from his feet and clung to his face in armour as he crashed into the shield of fire. The flames stretched around Kuru as he pushed against the fire summoners lance. I could see the strain on his face as he slid backwards. His feet slipped, and Kuru bucked his head, breaking the shield directly impacting the chest of the summoner. He flew through the reeds, and I held my breath, but the earth summoner suddenly rose to catch him.

"Kuru, stop, please", I begged, glancing to my left to see the water summoner swinging his flail towards us.

"Please, run away" I felt my voice catch, and Rian squeezed me as tears threatened to fall. I didn't want this. This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

Abruptly an arrow shot into the sky, and it split into dozens of copies shining green against the sun.

I swiftly lifted my arms to shield my face, and Rian grabbed me, pulling me into her as we braced for the impact.

Kuru reared, and I felt myself slip. Rian and I tumbled as we lost our balance, crashing into a tangled mess.

A rumble deafened us as earth rose in a dome of protection above the three of us.

The arrows pounded into the dome, their tips sinking through the brown, crumbling soil. We looked up, amazed at the power Kuru had. He was a powerful Kreshna.

"Run, Kuru, please" I tried again to convince him, and he paused to study me.

I reached out to him but suddenly felt my body sinking. A hand snatched out from the ground around my mouth, dragging me down. My heart hammered, and I frantically tried to pull the hand away. But my body was already waist-deep. Rian struggled similarly against the earth summoner as he dragged us into the depths of the earth with him.

***

I coughed the soil up out of my mouth as we were thrown out of the ground. Leaning on my good hand and knees, I couldn't take in the air fast enough after that suffocating experience. Rian fell onto her back as she gasped, her body trembling in shock.

The earth summoner appeared behind us. Rising from the ground slowly, like he was a freaking plant, his piercing brown eyes glaring at us.

"Who are you?" He demanded with an accent I couldn't place.

"Trainees", I croaked out, wiping my mouth from the spit.

"Sure, and I'm a Tragot beast." He sarcastically spat. "What in Urish's name are you doing here."

"We got separated, you ass", Rian scowled, finding her voice as she righted herself. "Urish has nothing to do with it", she glared at him. Urish was the god of Justice and Exchange, was this earth summoner suggesting we were outlaws?

"Urish", he growled threateningly, drawing a short sword. "Has everything to do with it."

"Vernan, lower your sword" The water summoner dragged the limping fire summoner through the reeds towards us. "They aren't a threat."

"We don't know that. They could be bandits" Vernan narrowed his eyes at us.

"I don't think a pair of girls in that bad shape would be bandits, Vernan" A man I hadn't seen leaned his arm on his hip. He carried a carved wooden bow on his back and a holster of feathered arrows. He swished his green embroidered cloak and leant down to our level.

"But he does raise a good point. What are you doing here?" He asked, rubbing his long pointed ginger beard.

"Like I said," Rian bit her cheek in frustration. "We got separated from the brigade. We're trainees."

"I don't know many trainees who can ride Kreshna" The wind summoner raised an eyebrow.

I blanched at his gaze. What should I say here? Should I keep my beast-taming a secret?

"Well… we do", Rian spoke before I could, struggling to stand. To our surprise, the wind summoner helped her. Why did she not say anything?

Rian glanced at me and meekly smiled. Was she keeping my secret?

"Alright, say I believe you. Just how have you two survived out here?" The wind summoner asked.

"We haven't", I sighed, cradling my right arm. It was pulsing in pain. I had landed on it when Kuru had thrown us off his back.

"We got by", Rian interjected.

"You look like a wreck" The water summoner shook his head as he took something out of his pocket and shoved it into the fire summoner's mouth. The fire summoner swallowed it and immediately belched, his eyes flying open. He quickly stuck out his tongue and scratched at it, trying to get the taste off.

"Ugh damn it, Frank, you know I hate that stuff" he made a yuck noise and drowned it away with water from his water skin. I gulped, seeing the water trickle down his stubbled brown chin.

I hadn't drunk that much water in days.

The water summoner laughed. "Then don't get yourself thrown off next time, Deacon."

"Whatever" The fire summoner looked away from Frank, displeased. "If it weren't for those two distracting me, it wouldn't have happened.

"Suuuure, that must be it" Frank smirked at him, and Deacon punched him in the shoulder.

"Shut it", he snarled, standing up and shoving Frank away.

"The Kreshna did you... did you kill them" I whispered. I don't know how long we were in the ground when Vernan pulled us in.

Kuru... was he still... I clenched my teeth, not wanting to think.

"No", Deacon clicked his tongue. "Couldn't exactly finish the job with you there."

I smiled as relief filled my heart. I would have felt guilty for so long if he had been killed by the soldiers he was helping us find.

"Don't look so happy. They were our meal for the next few days", Vernan said, tightening the grip on his sword.

Frank laughed at his friend and smoothed down his dark blue cloak. "I guess we should figure out what to do with you two then."

"I say we leave them" Vernan gave us a dirty look. "I don't trust a word they say."

"The feeling is mutual" Rian folded her arms and tapped her foot. Vernan jutted his chin and began to step towards her, but the wind summoner grabbed the back of his brown cloak pulling him back.

"Enough, Vernan, we aren't leaving them. That would be irresponsible."

"Arjun is right" Frank nodded. "If they are Trainees, the duke will want to see them."

"Duke?"

"Duke?"

Rian and I spoke, both knitting our features.

"Duke Elkart", Deacon spun his lance, sweeping his hand across its widened metal.

I gripped Rian as she helped me stand. My hands shook a little, so I quickly took a deep breath.

"Alright, let's go then", I said, moving forward, determined to get back to safety.

To meet the man who had killed me.