Chapter 17

Dharsha sensed the pursuit before Caled had an inkling. First it was just twitching ears and looks over his shoulder as they rode, then a whispered declaration that sent shivers of unease across Caled's skin.

There are men behind us. Men in this mountainous wilderness were hard to come by. Two days since Ka Lamar and they'd passed the mining trails that might have explained the presence of men. Too coincidental, this time of year for men to cross paths up here, unless it were no coincidence. Unless it was nothing but ill luck.

Caled knew the trails, he knew the ways to obscure a path, but fear of what was following - - of who - - urged simple flight. He'd had a promise made him, by a brother he'd betrayed, if betrayal were a thing possible with the devious ranks of the Lamar's, of what would happen if he stepped foot back within the walls of Ka Lamar. He'd forgotten for a time, but he recalled well enough now with the possibility of that selfsame brother on his heels.

So he urged the horses to a faster pace, with Dharsha fast behind him and sought the pass that would take them across the ridgeline and into lands that held no trails at all, but those frequented by game. Lands that a man who'd lived in these woods for a third of his life might use to avoid notice by those who hadn't.

But he misjudged the skill, or the determination of those who followed and half a day in Dharsha's keen hearing or his unnaturally fine sense of smell had him jumping at shadows and softly warning of pursuit closing in. But still, they might make that pass and Caled held onto that hope, until nature, or the fates decided to hamper his progress with a narrow trail blocked by snow and fallen trees from the slopes above.

He hissed and swung his horse around, taking to the lower slope at breakneck speed in hopes of working his way around and back up the other side.

Dharsha called something to him from behind, a question, a warning maybe. Caled could not get the dark places beneath the estate in Ka Lamar out of his head for long enough to pay heed. Could not shake the whispered recollection of Tered's voice, soft and cool even when he was in the midst of bloodletting. Ever their father's son.

He looked back to assure himself Dharsha was still behind him. The dog bounded somewhere in the shadows to his right. He saw the dark shape of a rider on the trail above, then another, and swore.

Whatever drove Caled, it smelled of fear. Dharsha identified that scent from instinct alone, knew it for what it was, and still had no choice but to follow on the mad rush through snow covered forest. He heard the sounds of men and horses behind, had heard them, or scented their unique odors - - leather, horse sweat, human sweat for a day now - - relentless on their trail. Hunters.

The pursuit Caled had feared. He felt a wash of guilt that perhaps if they had not dallied, and left when Caled had wanted, bleeding wound or no, they might have been well beyond the capacity of these men to track by now. He wondered if Caled regretted the same thing.

There was no time to wonder, with the horse stumbling and sliding in the snow and the dark shapes of riders closing in. Caled cried out in front of him, struggling in his pack as he rode, bringing out that fearful weapon that had taken down the mama boar with a flash of light and an ear splitting crack.

The dog was a wraith in the woods, beyond Dharsha's ability to see or hear past the crashing of the horses. Dharsha urged his mount to close the distance, wanting nearer Caled, afraid of getting separated by snow dusted bramble and too close straight boled trees. He heard shouting from behind, and the high-pitched whiz of an arrow. It thunked into the trunk of a tree well to the side of him, but the firing of it made the hairs stand up on his skin. Caled twisted in his saddle and Dharsha could barely see the white of his clenched teeth as he lifted an arm and then Dharsha was staring at the muzzle of that terrible weapon and he flinched involuntarily, crouching in the saddle as the roar of it echoed in his ears. But it went well past him, towards the pursuing riders and whether it hit one of them or not, Dharsha did not know, too busy clinging to the mane of a horse shying from the unexpected sound.

The animal fought for its head, veering into a tree and Dharsha barely missed being scraped off in the process. The horse rebounded, sliding in the snow, going down in a tangle of legs. Dharsha threw himself off, rolling clear in the snow, coming up dusted in white himself. Hat gone in the forced dismount and ears flattened in dismay as the muffled thunder of hooves in snow descended.

He spun, snarling, barely avoiding the shoulder of a horse, flinching away from the kick aimed at his head by the boot of the rider. Faceless men, clad in dark armor. Only neko reflexes saved him from trampling, as the most of them passed him by, intent on Caled. A few others stayed, circling close, yelling at each other or him. He could hardly make it out, the blood pounded so loudly in his ears.

A shot rang out. That he heard well enough, and horses started and men cried out, and Dharsha heard Caled screaming, 'Run. Run, you fool!'

Another shot and past the dark shapes of the horses closest to him, Dharsha could see the others converged on Caled, who'd turned back to meet them. There were no more shots then, men lunging off horses to take Caled from the saddle of his. The dog had raced out of the woods, regardless of the numbers against her and into that mass, snarling and growling, mindless in her defense of her master. Her growls broke off, punctuated by shrill yelp.

Dharsha hissed, ducking out of the way as a man aimed the hilt of a sword at his head. He could be like that dog - -loyal and stupid and dying because of it - - or he could be the hunter and use his head. He could use what the ancestors had given him and flee the wrath of captors that might be no better than the ones he had left in that cabin on the other side of the mountains.

He growled and lashed out with claws extended at the face of the closest horse. The animal shied back, ears back, white rimmed eyes, and lost its footing in the snow. Dharsha darted past, towards the darkest section of wood, towards snow-covered bramble and thick grown trees where a man on a horse could not follow.

They called out for him to stop, and he heard the twap of a bowstring and the whistle of an arrow. He dodged to the left, away from the sound of its path and it passed by harmlessly, lost in the very tangle of wood he made for. He dove into the brush, wriggled like a ferret through the thickest part, scrambling under until he found the head room to run upright.

They were after him, yelling and pounding through snow, forced by necessity to the paths wide enough for their horses to pass.

This was different than the lush forests of home, frigid and stark in comparison, but it was still a forest and there were places enough to hide for a creature born of predators. He caught a low hanging limb and swung up, bounded from it to another, used his claws to aid in scrambling up to where the winter foliage would obscure him from riders below. Stayed there, hugging the rough bole, wondering if his heart was beating loud enough for them to hear it. But then, their senses were dull, these human men, and though he could hear them, clumsily tearing through the wood after him, calling to each other in query as to where he might have escaped, not a one of them bothered to simply look up.

One passed under to the right, and all Dharsha could see of him was a brown leather helm and dark cloak across armor-broadened shoulders. If he'd been fiercer of nature, like his uncles, he might have leaped down upon the man's shoulders, and ripped out his throat, silent as a leaf falling. But though he had the natural grace of a hunter, the will seemed lacking. He dug his claws into the bark of the tree and held his breath until the man passed. He strained his hearing, listening for the sound of Caled's voice, but he heard nothing but the stomp and rustle of many men and horses in the distance. No familiar voice, even raised in anger, of either man or dog.

He shut his eyes then and despaired, for Caled had won his freedom a second time and this time, it had been at the cost of his own.