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Lotari moved through the dark forest with his mate, Esdra, at his side. Neither spoke, not wishing to alert anyone to their mission.
Soon the sound of moving water hit his sharp ears. Esdra’s hands tightened around his bicep, and her body moved closer to his, their steps almost in unison. He patted her fingers.
“Don’t fret my heart, soon you’ll be home. The transport through is only momentary.” He kept his voice at a whisper. They were near the river now, the one flowing past Marya’s house. The Logorian who was residing with her had agreed to open a portal to Wilderland for them.
In a whisper, she replied, “It will be good to feel my home soil under my hooves once again. Though I do love how the sun breaks through the canopy here. Your river woods are so bright and merry.”
Lotari smiled over how much she’d changed since they united over a year ago. She’d been so frightened of the outside world, of leaving the security of her home and clan. Since then, she’d traveled to Aloblase, and fought bravely at his side during two battles, before traveling once again here to Many Rivers. His clan had welcomed her into their fold more willingly than they’d welcomed his return.
He was glad to see her finally returning from her strange sadness and hoped this trip would help cheer her up even more.
She pulled him to a stop when they reached the shore of the river. “Did you tell Wyndham we were leaving?”
Heat burned along Lotari’s forehead and temples. “No. He still refuses to speak with me after our last tiff.”
“Tiff? You called him a stubborn slug. I believe you even said the trolls had more intelligence than he was showing. I can’t imagine why he kicked you out of his home and refuses to speak to you.”
Lotari ran his hand through this curly hair. “Stitch must be rubbing off on me. I’ve found it hard to hold my tongue since I’ve returned here. I used to make excuses for Wyndham’s guardedness and his distrust of humans. But no more. The town of Many Rivers has done everything they possibly can to include us in their township. Issah himself has come to speak with him, and the old goat refuses to have anything to do with any of it.” He kicked up a spray of water with his hoof. “I’m at the end of my patience and have run out of excuses for his behavior.”
He led her across the stream until they were at the edge of Marya’s backyard. They waited by the place where the stream cascaded down a rocky ravine into a shallow pool.
“Wounds go deep, my love. Humans have treated creatures with disdain for hundreds of years. Many have forgotten how we all once lived in harmony.”
“But we can have that harmony again,” Lotari pounded his fists into the palm of his other hand. “If only we’ll set aside our grievances and work together to rid this land of the poison that separated us. Issah will need us to join him in this battle. Why can’t Wyndham realize that the Dark One uses us as his slaves, and forces our kind to battle for him? Perhaps we can rescue more like Stitch who are not there of their own free will.”
“He knows.” His wife’s beautiful face turned up toward his. The silvery light of the moon made her appear ghost-like, but the effect caused his heart to trip in its beat. She reached up and tugged a few bits of grass and twigs from his unruly crop of hair and flicked them aside. “He chooses not to acknowledge it.”
She playfully tugged his arm, her wary smile growing wider. “You need not convince me, brave Lotari. Besides, you have found favor with a portion of your clan. They have ventured into the town and joined with the humans’ work. They listen to you. Be satisfied with what you have accomplished. It’s more than you realize.”
“Right. That’s part of the reason Wyndham hates me. He thinks I’m trying to usurp his leadership. I’m sure if we stay in Wilderland too long, he’ll succeed in showing them the folly of following me.”
Esdra took a step away from him as she glanced around at their surroundings. “We will not stay long. We will join Talos’ for the Autumn Moon Feast, use the opportunity of his celebratory mood to speak with him, then return here before the moon begins to wane.”
Lotari breathed in a deep, calming breath, thankful for his mate who’d become such strong support in his life. He never let a day pass without thanking Shaydon for her.
“Lotari? Esdra?” Came a soft voice from within the trees. “Are you ready?” Polsellis moved toward them as if he floated. His booted feet never left a print on the muddy bank.
“Yes, sir. I do appreciate your willingness to meet us at this late hour.” Lotari tried not to grunt when Esdra’s nails dug into the skin of his upper arm.
Polsellis smiled as he studied Esdra more intently. “Perhaps her ladyship would allow me to accompany her through the portal. It will make the passage less displeasing.”
Esdra’s almond-shaped eyes widened at the his title for her. Even in the moonlight, Lotari noticed color rising on his wife’s face. “Thank you. That would help. I keep fearing that one of these times I’ll give in to my panic and get stuck halfway through.”
The Logorian offered his arm to her. “We’d never allow that to happen, dear friend. You and I shall go first, then Lotari will follow.”
Lotari hated the feeling of being squeezed as much as Esdra did, but he refused to complain or shy away from passing through. Still, when his hooves hit the pine-covered earth of Wilderland, he breathed out a loud sigh of relief. His wife, still clutching the Logorian’s arm, glanced back at him with a knowing smirk. Ah well, he’d never been able to fool her anyway.
“Thank you, Polsellis.” Lotari blinked against the bright lights from torches and faeries’ glow. “Please feel free to stay if you’re so inclined. There is plenty of food, I’m sure.”
Fast beating music played from a large group gathered around a towering bonfire beside the Meeting Hall.
The Logorian’s expression brightened as a grin spread across his face. “Why, I’d be honored to stay for a while. I see a couple of my friends standing beside the entrance of your unusual Hall. I must go see what you brilliant creatures have done.” His gaze traveled upward at the trees that had been incorporated into the structure. “Amazing. Truly.” Polsellis handed Esdra back to him and then strolled off to examine the Wilderland Meeting Hall.
Lotari had to admit that Stitch’s ideas were brilliant. A stab of pain pierced his chest at the thought of his young friend. That impetuous mule-headed skunk! He shoved any thoughts of Stitch from his mind. Not now. If he dwelt on that last letter Stich had sent... no, he’d not think on that now. Shaydon would protect Stitch and Ethan. He had to keep his trust in that hope.
“Well, my love,” Esdra tugged at the strap of his quiver. “Will we stand here all night, or join the fun?”
He snapped back to the present moment. Taking in a long sniff, he took in the scent of stews brewing on the fires and venison roasting. “Yes, let’s go join the fun.”
Fun now. Then the real work would come. He needed to sway Talos to his side. If Talos agreed to his plan, then perhaps Wyndham would not wish to be upstaged by the Wilderland clan leader. He’d be sure to agree to Lotari’s proposal.
* * * *
The next day, Lotari followed the scouts, led by Talos, through the ancient forest. Esdra had stayed behind to visit with her cousins and to pack a few personal belongings she wished to return to Many Rivers with.
Talos stopped, his red eyes narrowing on a cluster of brush a few yards off the path. His guards readied their weapons. Lotari listened with his sharp ears and sniffed the air for any unusual scents. Nothing out of the ordinary smells of damp earth, mossy growth on the rocks, and the musky stench of a possum family burrowed in a nearby tree came to him.
He’d been waiting for the opportunity to speak with the clan’s leader, but Talos had evaded him so far. Which was how Lotari found himself on this jaunt through the woods, hoping if he tailed the albino centaur, he’d be given a chance to speak. Unfortunately, Lotari feared Talos suspected his intentions and was avoiding having to broach the subject.
Eventually, the guards relaxed their stance, and Talos moved on. Lotari trotted up to his side. The others remained behind a few paces. He was running out of time and would need to return to Many Rivers soon. As he opened his mouth to speak, Talos cut him off.
“Esdra confided her fears to me.” He paused, “Of her inability to continue our lineage.”
Lotari’s words stumbled over each other in his throat, causing him to cough. He didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t something the menfolk of the clan normally talked about or acknowledged. So he nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on the path ahead of them as he answered,
“There’s a reason for everything. In Shaydon’s letters, he reminds his children of this many times. And he asks for our trust that everything will work out for the best in due time. These words give me comfort, and I wish my mate would find the same. It seems she hasn’t yet.” The blasted cough had left his throat raw and burning. He tried clearing it, to no avail.
Talos’ hand rested on his shoulder. “I’m comforted in the fact she has such a caring and brave mate in you, my son. You both have many years ahead of you. I’ve told her the colts will come when the time is right. Her mother and I went several decades before Esdra arrived.”
They walked on in silence for several more moments. Lotari tried desperately to gather his thoughts and beat his emotions back into submission. He hadn’t anticipated Talos would broach this subject. He’d told Esdra the same, many times. Yet for some reason, she worried.
Swallowing down the last bit of discomfort, he decided to try again, and again Talos cut him off. “Have you decided where you will settle down? Of course, I’d be most pleased if you returned to Wilderland.”
Lotari’s mouth moved, but no words came out. This was not how he anticipated this meeting to go!
“However,” Talos continued, “I understand, that you have much work to do in the river valley. I’m grateful to Prince Issah for making a way for us to travel quickly across the land. Several of us have visited Aloblase a few times. We’ve learned much about the state of the land during those visits.”
This was news! Lotari finally looked at Talos, meeting his kind gaze. “That is good to hear. If you know of the state of the land, then you must know—”
“I know you struggle to convince your birth clan to join Issah in a battle they feel isn’t theirs.”
“But the battle belongs to all of us who wish to be free of that tyrant. Talos, you have suffered at the Dark One’s hand more than others. I was hoping that if you agreed to fight with Issah, perhaps Wyndham might also be inspired to also join forces. Even us creatures have a stake—”
Talos laughed, patting Lotari’s back. “You need not convince me, son. I’ve heard your tirades over and over. I’m not in disagreement. However, I’m still pondering and talking over all of our options in this matter. I must protect my people. This is what your leader faces, as well, Lotari. Neither of us wishes to have the blood of our loved ones on our hands. Humans have never been kind to us. We are the ones the enemy targets first.”
“Because they underestimate us, Talos. And not all humans are cruel. If you’d visit Many Rivers, you would see.”
“I’ve visited many towns, son. I have seen there is good. A few jewels in the rubble. However, the place we would be going to is not kind, at all. They will kill us if they cannot overpower us. Even now, we are still hunted for the Dark One’s stock. They do not drag us back unwillingly. They now destroy the minds of their captives with some kind of poison they carry with them. I’ve had to kill two of my best warriors after they’d been affected with that dark potion.”
Lotari’s steps slowed. “But, doesn’t that make them more dangerous to control?”
Talos shrugged. “Yes, a few have escaped their captors. They were the ones we had to destroy. Other creatures have been hunted down and put out of their torment, as well. A few have successfully been taken to Racah.”
The ground Lotari stood on seemed to lurch with this news. How many had the headhunters collected? And Stitch was heading right into that danger. He should warn him. Then Lotari remembered that Stitch’s last letter said to not bother writing, he’d not answer. When one of them had news, they’d send it.
Dear Shaydon, please, please, please protect my young, impetuous friend!
So long as he kept his medallion, he should be safe. Oh, Lotari hoped so.
Talos gripped Lotari’s shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. “You look extremely troubled. Tell me what thoughts have brought such an anxious expression to your eyes?”
He explained what had happened with Stitch, and his decision to travel to Racah on his own.
“With the Messenger? The brother of the Light Child?”
“Yes. And this news you’ve shared with me only brings more worry. I’m almost ready to charge toward Racah this very moment, though I know... I shouldn’t. I must wait. For Issah. I must keep trying to persuade my clan to help. They haven’t gotten to know Stitch as you have.”
Talos’ pale brows furrowed. “This is grave tidings. Why did you not share this sooner?”
“I only now—” Lotari paused, hearing a strange buzzing in the air. The hairs on his back rose with the agitated sound. He looked around at their surroundings. “Where are we? Can you hear that?”
“The Elmbold forest. I always pass through for news. They are troubled today. But I’m unsure why.” Talos hushed the other bucks, and they all remained still as boulders.
Another noise, sounding as if someone were in pain and crying out, drifted to them on the breeze which also carried the scent of an animal. The beast bellowed, causing everyone to jump in shock. Talos stepped one hoof off the path, then stopped himself. They’d followed the White road through the forest. The one laid down by Riyah when he passed through with the Messenger Ethan.
The thick undergrowth of the forest trembled. Lotari narrowed his gaze, trying to figure out what might be heading their way. It sounded wounded, which meant it might be dangerous.
“There!” One of the guards pointed. Then Lotari saw the giant elk stumbling through the trees, dragging its back leg. “He’s injured. Should we capture him?”
Talos stepped off the path to get a better look. “From what I can tell, it looks as if he’s dying. We will go put the unfortunate one out of his misery. He will provide nourishment for us and complete his life cycle.” Motioning for his men to spread out, he whispered. “Keep your wits about you, friends. Let us make quick work of this and end his suffering.”
Lotari loaded his bow and followed hesitantly. The trees still seem upset about something, though he couldn’t make out what their buzzing sounds meant. If he happened upon one of the actual Elmbolds, he would be able to understand, but they were hard to pick out among the regular trees. Two arrows flew through the woods, taking down the great beast. As they stepped toward their kill, the woods exploded around them.
Several men threw aside the covering of branches they hid beneath. They weren’t of the Greenman village. These intruders were dressed in grays and blacks with the moon and stars emblem on their breasts.
Lotari let loose his arrow, taking down the closest one. They held sticks to their mouths that shot slender darts. One stuck into Talos’ side. He quickly brushed it off, yelling to his men to retreat to the cover of the trees.
“Help us,” Talos cried out to the trees.
The earth heaved. Roots sprang from the soft ground and grabbed the men closest to their trunks.
Lotari jumped back, trying to avoid the flying darts. He tumbled against the trunk of a tree. The moment his shoulder brushed the bark, he heard, Intruders. Beware! Thieves! Destroy them!
Well, he’d found the Elmbolds.
“Kill them.” Talos hissed, gripping a low-hanging branch as his legs buckled beneath him. “Don’t allow any to escape.”
Lotari loaded another arrow. Several of the guards had found safe spots to fight from. Pressing his free hand to the tree, he said, “You heard Talos. Don’t let any of them escape. I’ll take down all I can, but we need your help.”
The tree shivered under his hand. Branches fell from the canopy, driving two men from their hiding spots only a few feet away from Lotari. He aimed for the first one, then charged after the second, pulling his dagger from his belt. The man stopped and turned, casting a large net over Lotari’s head.
The ground opened beneath the man’s feet, and he tumbled into the temporary gorge created by the Elmbold’s roots.
Lotari tried to dodge the net, but it landed over his body, tiny barbs dug into his skin and hide. The blade of his knife sliced through the fibers. Sharp jabs pricked at his skin as it slid off his horse body. Blood trickled from hundreds of small cuts. The pain infuriated Lotari and he charged for the closest man when the ground closed, cutting off his screams.
Rearing on his hind legs, Lotari turned in a circle, searching for more headhunters. Several bodies lay motionless on the forest floor, along with two centaurs. One of them was Talos. Lotari galloped over to the white buck and knelt at his side, searching for wounds. Aside from the scratch on his side, he saw nothing that would have killed him.
Gripping Talos’ shoulders, Lotari shook him hard. “Talos. Speak to me. You cannot go to Everlasting yet.”
“He’s not dead,” replied the captain of the guard, a tan centaur with dark brown hair and tail. He reached down and gathered Talos’ spear. “He sleeps from the darts. They try to knock us out first, then they feed us the poison once we’re bound in chains. He will wake shortly with a bad headache as if he drank too much mead the night before.”
The other guards returned, loaded with weapons from the dark land. “They’re all gone. The Elmbolds are discarding the bodies.”
Once again, the great trees saved them. Lotari glanced up appreciatively. “We are blessed to have them on our side, indeed.”
“Lotari,” said the captain. “Do not fret my friend. When the time comes to march with Issah, we will go. We’ve already spoken of this since the battle in the valley. We also grow weary of constantly being hunted. It’s time to stand our ground, and we will stand beside you, as we did before.”
