Lilyana
The G’henni called Tark had been leading them each night using nothing but the light of the stars and his so-called impeccable sense of direction to guide them. They never took anything that resembled a well-traveled road, so Lily thought it actually must have been impeccable. She was impressed with his ability to keep them pointed in the right direction—wherever that direction was.
He kept assuring her and her mother that they would be reaching their destination soon, but that had been at least two nights ago. Lily was beginning to wonder just how loyal these men were to her uncle.
“Mother,” Lily quietly said as she tugged on her mother’s long sleeve, “do you know where they’re taking us?” She was seated atop a young stallion that Tark had let her ride, and her mother was walking beside her.
Coraline looked up at Lily and smiled. “I’ve told you, young lady: to your uncle. He’s going to meet us near the border of Gal’dorok. It’s a long journey.”
Lily saw her mother smiling with her lips, but her eyes did not appear to share the sentiment. That made Lily nervous. She looked up at the moon, which had gotten fuller in the past few days, and frowned.
***
They were getting close to the border, according to Tark. The landscape had certainly changed. Far off in the distance, illuminated by the moon, Lily saw the tops of mountains that she could only assume were the peaks of Gal’behem, the Great Serpent. It was hard to distinguish the peaks from the clouds; the orange glow of campfires that dotted their sides was the only way Lily could be sure she wasn’t looking at an approaching storm.
“What are those fires?” Lily asked, pointing.
“Tough to say,” Gorbun said from behind her. His voice was not nearly as gruff as Lily had expected; his short, dirty blond hair made the stocky man seem approachable, but the way his eyes darted back and forth as if he was looking for something made her uneasy. “Could be patrols from Khala Val’ur. Could be fighters from Ghal Thurái out ’unting Chovathi.”
Chovathi, Lily thought. It was the first time she’d heard the word, and it sounded scary. “Wh-What are Chovathi?” she asked.
A laugh came from the tall, dark Agheer, half G’henni by birth. “Something to be feared,” he answered. He had tied back his black hair, and Lily could see the seriousness on his face. “They enjoy the taste of flesh, and they see well at night. Open flame keeps them at bay—usually.” He added the last word almost as an afterthought and looked right at Lily when he said it.
“Quit screwing around, you two,” said Damazo from in front of them. “You’re scaring the girl.”
“Good,” retorted Gorbun. “She’s right to be afraid of the Chovathi. They’ll eat ’er alive if they catch ’er alone.”
Lily wasn’t sure how much of that was true, but she didn’t want to risk finding out. For the first time since they had found her and her mother, she actually found herself being thankful that these men were with them.
Agheer drew in closer to whisper to Lily: “He’s right.” And the serious look on his face made her shiver. “I fought one once, a long time ago.” Raising his arm, he pulled back his sleeve to reveal thick off-brown scars that ran the length of his forearm. “Left me with this. Claw marks.”
Lily’s eyes went wide as she looked at the scars. They were jagged and wide, and none of the thick black hair on the half G’henni’s forearm were present, making them easily distinguishable even at night. No wonder he wears long sleeves, Lily thought. Her eyes darted back to Agheer’s.
“How did you get away?”
Gorbun laughed from up ahead. “’e did what any smart man would do: ’e ran.”
Agheer smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Though, to be fair, so did Gorbun. But”—he raised his voice at the blond man—“remind me whose turn it was on watch.”
Gorbun waved his hand dismissively. “It’s not my fault that Drausté makes such good roasted pork. My eyes were as ’eavy as my belly.”
Lily heard him pat his stomach, with a laugh.
Agheer nodded in confirmation. “He does make good pork.”
Lily found herself cracking a smile. Maybe these men weren’t so bad after all. At least Agheer seemed nice.
***
Looking ahead, Lily could see the tops of the mountains beginning to turn orange as dawn crept its way toward them. If previous nights were any indication, they would be stopping soon. Tark always had them seek shelter during the day while one man stood watch, rotating in and out to get a few hours of sleep. But, in a rocky outcropping up ahead at the foothills of the mountains, Lily was surprised to see a caravan. There were a few covered wagons, a number of horses, and at least a half dozen people. It was still early, and the remains of a campfire were still smoldering. One man was hunched over it and looked to be putting it out.
“Ho there,” Tark called out. He was ahead of the group, with Agheer, Gorbun, and Damazo in the rear.
A burly man with brown hair and a thick beard looked up, shaded his eyes with his hand, and smiled. Standing up, he started walking toward them. “Tark!” he shouted. “Took you long enough!” He was grinning from ear to ear when he approached. His eyes immediately went to Coraline.
“Cora! It’s really you. It’s been so long,” he said wistfully. Shifting his eyes over to Lily, he added with a laugh, “Too long it seems. She’s gotten big!”
Coraline walked over and gave the man a hug. “So have you,” she said as they embraced. “It’s good to see you again, Thaurson.”
“You as well.” Thaurson’s eyes glimmered as he looked at Lily, smiling. “And you,” he said. Though Lily was still seated atop her horse, Thaurson was even with her eyes. He was tall and broad, and strong by the looks of it. But when he reached out to take her hand and gave it a kiss, Lily was surprised by how gentle he was. “You were only a baby when I left Ellenos.” Turning to Cora, he said, “She looks like Mother.”
“I know,” Cora answered with a smile.
Thaurson turned his head to shout at the caravan: “Morgan! Come meet your niece!”
From one of the wagons peeked out the head of a rosy-cheeked brunette. “This is the first time I’m hearing about a niece,” she shouted back. Gathering the length of her white dress covered by a green apron, she shuffled over to them. She was tall for a woman, but standing next to Thaurson, the couple looked normal. Lily thought that if these two had any children, they were bound to be giants.
“Morgan,” Thaurson said, pointing to Lily, “this is Lilyana.”
Lily giggled as he used her full name. “No one calls me Lilyana unless I’m in trouble. My friends call me Lily.”
“Well,” Morgan said as she smiled, “pleased to meet you, Lily.”
Thaurson was looking back at the caravan, covering his eyes with his hand, as though he was searching for something. “Where is that boy?” he asked.
“Sleeping in the wagon,” Morgan answered. “It’s nearly dawn, though. I’ll go wake him.”
As she walked off, Tark and Thaurson shook hands, laughing like old friends. Lily saw Thaurson pass him a small cloth pouch, which she thought was most likely the smugglers’ payment for escorting her mother and her. Tark shook his head, though, and muttered something about the job not being done. Thaurson’s face darkened a bit at the words and he looked away. Looking back at Tark, he nodded his understanding and put the coin pouch away.
Just then, a young boy about Lily’s age came racing up to them. He had brown hair and looked like a younger version of Thaurson. Lily got excited when he came closer, as she realized this could be her cousin. She’d never had a cousin before!
“There he is,” Thaurson said as the boy raced over to him and was picked up in the big hands of his father. “Son, I want you to meet your cousin, Lily.”
Thaurson held up the boy so that he was even with Lily while she was seated in the saddle. He giggled and shook her hand.
“Lily, this is your cousin, Olson Woods.”