The Vulture King Page 7

  Ellery straightened her back and Aram could swear a faint light shone behind the film of her blind eyes. Her voice, when she spoke, cast a spell with its deep and sure authority.

  “Before it became the Carrionlands, our realm was called Alaiya, meaning ‘place of peace.’ Veldera were respected, even loved, for their wisdom and abilities. In the heart of the land was a secret stronghold which the Veldera protected with their lives. Atop the glass mountain, lies a lake of power--the only one of its kind. It is the pulsing lifeblood, if you will, of all this land’s magic. If you can find a way to link to this external radix, you may just be able to defeat the vulture king.”

  Aram waited for her to continue, but Ellery had lapsed into silence. He looked from Bina to Bayre in confusion. Was that supposed to explain everything then? Did this make sense to them and somehow, he was missing the point?

  “But where is it?” he burst out. “I’ve never heard of any glass mountains or strange magical lakes. It sounds like something from a folktale. How am I supposed to find it, and what makes you think I have the slightest chance of being able to use this external radix?”

  Ellery’s chicken clucked and she laid a soothing hand on its head. “I can tell you the way to get there. I went myself in my youth, but in my confident arrogance, I failed. I can’t help you further than that though. The rest will be up to you.” She smiled at him, and he was hard put to stop himself screaming at her in frustration. This was complete and utter madness.

  Through gritted teeth he asked, “Can you at least tell me why you failed?”

  “It requires a sacrifice I was not brave enough to make. This is also what keeps the radix safe from the king. He has no ability to care about anyone other than himself.”

  Aram shook his head. Everything Ellery said simply confused him further. He wished she’d stop with all the mystical nonsense and just give him the plain facts. Bina laid a hand on his shoulder, perhaps sensing his frustration about to boil over.

  “I’m going with Aram,” she said to Ellery. “This isn’t something he should have to do alone.”

  Aram hadn’t considered for even a moment he might have to head off on this mad quest on his own. He clutched Bina’s hand gratefully.

  “I’ll go with you too, boy.” Bayre was standing at his other shoulder. “No telling what trouble the two of you would get into on your own.”

  “I’ll go too!” Tai burst out of the trees where he’d been hiding, eavesdropping on the conversation. He stood in front of Aram, jaw jutted forwards and fists clenched. “I know you don’t like me, but I’ll be able to help.”

  For a moment Aram considered simply saying no. But he looked at the strong, defiant boy standing in front of him and read the desperation in his eyes. A difficult journey lay ahead. It wasn’t the time to be turning down offers of help, no matter who they came from.

  He inclined his head to each of the three of them in turn. “I would be glad of your company, every one of you.”

  The tension went out of Tai’s shoulders, and he nodded back at Aram.

  Bayre stepped forwards as Ellery put out a gnarled hand. He helped the old woman to her feet, and she looked around the circle of expectant faces. “May you be luck’s favoured friends on your journey. I will lead the Veldera to our new home, but my heart will be with you wherever you go.”

  Bayre led her off through the trees as the three children stood together in uneasy silence.

  Tai turned and strode towards a pack which lay to one side. He rummaged inside it and withdrew four water skins. He threw a couple over to Bina and Aram.

  “Bayre left emergency packs stashed though-out the forest. Let’s fill these up from the stream. The old man really did think of everything.”

  Strangely, Aram could understand the touch of bitterness in his tone.

  As they filled the bottles, Tai continued. “There are knives and flints in the pack, but we’ll have to gather food as we go. It will slow us down unless we can buy supplies once we’re closer to a kraal.”

  Bina rolled her eyes at Aram behind the other boy’s back. He suppressed a small grin. Tai could pretend to be the leader all he liked, Aram was still grateful to him for volunteering to come. The thought of the journey ahead weighed heavily on him, as well as the unwanted responsibility which had just been dropped like a boulder on his back.

  Soon Bayre returned and pulled the pack onto his back. Each of the children slung a water skin over their shoulders and then stood looking to him for instructions.

  Bayre cleared his throat and said, “We’re headed for the Barrens.”

  His words seemed to still the air around them.

  “The Barrens?” Aram was furious to feel his voice quaver on the word. “Nobody goes into the Barrens. Well, nobody who hopes to come back out alive.”

  Bayre turned calm eyes to him. “The Barrens are dangerous, but they can be travelled if you keep your wits about you. I will get you where you need to go Aram, I promise you this.”

  The boy nodded at the older man, one sharp jerk of the head.

  Without another word they set off, Bayre in the lead closely followed by Tai. Aram trailed right at the back of the group trying to work through what he felt about this mad new direction his life seemed to be taking. Part of him was happy he was finally doing something that might help his mother. The rest of him, the much bigger part, felt utterly terrified.

  He lagged further and further behind until Bina finally dropped back to join him.

  “Keep up Aram. This journey is absolutely pointless without you, after all.”

  Aram kicked at a stone and felt a vicious sense of satisfaction when it bounced off a nearby tree trunk, taking a large chunk out of the bark.

  Ryu squawked disapprovingly on his shoulder and Bina cut her eyes sideways at him.

  “Did that help, taking it out on a defenseless tree? Relieve some of your bad temper, did it?”

  He knew she was trying to chivvy him out of his sulk, but her words only made him angrier.

  “Why can’t you understand that I didn’t ask for any of this? How would you feel if you were the one supposed to take on some deranged tyrant when you know that you’re going to fail? Everyone has all their hopes pinned on me now, like I’m some kind of saviour. I’m not particularly brave or clever and, until a short while ago, I was pretty much just nobody. People like me don’t save the world. It’s supposed to be some hero with a grand destiny.”

  Bina walked in silence for a few minutes, mouth pursed as she thought.

  “You know, Aram, destiny is a bit of a funny thing. Seems to me, it changes by the day. Weeks ago, in that cage, my best guess was I was destined to die. Then you freed me and a whole new life unfolded in front of me. I think maybe we write our own destinies. We’re not prisoners to fate.”

  Aram’s bird eyes bored into the side of her face, but she didn’t turn to look at him.

  “How did you get so wise?” he asked. “You’re a pretty frightening person you know.”

  She smiled serenely at him. “Girls are just so much smarter than boys. Don’t you agree?”

  Despite himself, he felt a smile break out on his face. Bina winked at him then her expression turned serious again.

  “I know it’s intimidating, all this expectation and hope placed on you. But you need to know I believe in you. And I’ll follow you to the very end to help in any way I can. I might not be the saviour of Alaiya, but I can be his best friend.”

  Her words lit a very small flame of hope in Aram’s heart. Maybe he could become the person the world needed. So much of his life he’d believed he deserved to be alone, but Bina changed that. Her faith in him gave him just the tiniest bit of faith in himself and for now, that was more than enough.

  They fell easily back into the walking rhythm they’d found on their journey to the settlement. Once they were out of the forest, they moved by night again and found shelter during the daylight hours. Bayre hunted small animals for meat and the children gathered
what berries and edible leaves they could find. It was enough to sustain them, although you could often hear empty bellies growling in protest before they fell asleep at night. Tai walked mostly with Bayre, leaving Aram and Bina to be travel companions. This arrangement suited Aram just fine. Talking with his friend helped ease many of his fears and he was starting to feel the beginnings of a fragile confidence in himself.

  The fight started over a song of all things. They had found a cave to shelter in for the day. As dusk fell and they prepared to head out, they gathered around the small fire Bayre had lit. A rodent carcass roasted over the flames. As they sat with firelight flickering over their faces, Bina began to sing. Her cracked voice made Aram smile and he hummed along softly. He recognised the words even though Bina couldn’t hold the tune. Then Tai joined in, his voice a strong, clear tenor that lifted the melody and wove magic through it. Bina fell silent and simply sat watching him, admiration shining in her eyes. When the song was done, she softly asked, “Who taught you to sing like that?”

  Tai’s purple eyes were far away as he replied. “Bayre says my mother was a singer. She was also a Veldera. She died when I was less than a year old and my father handed me over to Bayre. He was afraid of what I was, afraid of what I would bring down on him if he couldn’t keep me hidden. So, he gave me away rather than risk any harm to himself.”

  There was bleak sorrow in the boy’s voice, and Bina laid a hand on top of one of his. A sudden flame of jealousy speared through Aram. Bina was his friend. He was the one she was supposed to reserve her sympathy for. Not this sad, ashy stranger and his sorry attempts to draw attention to himself.

  It was only when Bina’s startled eyes turned towards him that he realised he’d let his aggravation escape him in a contemptuous snort. Tai immediately stiffened and threw off Bina’s hand.

  “Something you feel like saying there, Aram? Not a fan of music, perhaps?’

  “I’ve got no problem with music. Just depends who’s playing it.”

  The two of them locked eyes and Tai leaned towards the younger boy aggressively.

  “Why have you got such a problem with me? I’m here trying to help you with this stupid quest of yours, and all I get in return is resentment.”

  Aram’s temper flared. “Nobody asked you to come along. Couldn’t wait to poke your nose into other people’s business, could you? Because you’re just so brave and strong, what would we possibly do without you?’

  Tai hissed air in through his teeth. “Seems to me I’m not the only one who thinks he’s special around here. You think you’re some kind of hero, all set to save the day? Well, all I see is a boy who does an awful lot of sniveling and whining. We’ve all got to tread so carefully around your precious feelings. We have no choice but to rely on you, although I can’t say you inspire much confidence.”

  Aram leapt to his feet, fists clenched at his side. “Well, you’ve got a whole lot to be proud of yourself. Who led us into danger back at the settlement when the king’s Veldera attacked? You, that’s who. No sane person would have led us back there.”

  A black suspicion which had been lurking in the darkest parts of his mind suddenly surfaced. He strode closer to Tai and glared at him.

  “I heard Bayre say someone at the settlement was leaving out animal carcasses. Ellery thought whoever it was, was trying to attract the vulture king’s attention. You went running towards his cechua fast enough when they arrived, so you want to know what I think? I think you betrayed the settlement. You’re nothing but a dirty, stinking traitor.”

  Bayre’s voice cracked out like a whip. “Aram, that’s enough.”

  But Aram couldn’t stop. Vitriol boiled up in him like white hot lava and poured out of him in a flood.

  “That’s right take his side, you always do. He’s like the son you never had, isn’t he? Pity you can’t see your so-called son is a liar and has betrayed everything you believe in.”

  Bayre took a deep breath before he replied in a steady voice, “You have no proof Aram. You’re scared and instead of dealing with your fear, you’re turning your anger onto others.”

  Tai chipped in, “It’s because he thinks he’s special now. He’s the boy who’s going to save the world. Maybe he’s upset because we’re not all bowing and scraping to him like he thinks he deserves.”

  With an incoherent scream of rage, Aram threw himself at Tai. It took only seconds for Bayre to wrestle him off the older boy and then he stood, panting and humiliated in front of them both. Without another word he turned on his heel and stormed out of the cave. He heard a low murmur of voices start up behind him.

  Let them talk, he thought viciously, let them all talk about me behind my back. There was nothing they could say he hadn’t thought himself a thousand times. He hated them all anyway and it would probably be better if he just headed off to the Barrens alone.

  He marched up and down, fuming and kicking out at any plant that dared to look at him funny. Slowly his anger began to melt away and was replaced, rather irritatingly, by a sense of shame. He heard crunching steps behind him, and his bird fluttered up to show him Bina approaching through the darkness.

  “You’re turning storming off into quite a habit. Has it made you feel any better this time?”

  Aram was pleased she couldn’t see him flush in the dim light. Bina had a way of highlighting exactly how ridiculous his behaviour sometimes was.

  The girl continued, “We’ve saved you some meat, so you’d better come along. We can’t waste a whole night’s walking while you sulk out here.”

  The two of them returned to the cave without another word. As they approached, they could hear Bayre’s bass voice rumble. Aram held up a hand to stop Bina. His sharp ears caught the tail end of a sentence. “…feel like I have no choice. It is a heavy burden Ellery has put on me and one that it makes me sick to my stomach to have to carry out. But if anything happens to me in the Barrens, you’ll have to be the one to do it. Can I trust you with this Tai?”

  After a moment they heard Tai’s voice, unusually subdued as he replied, “I won’t let you down Bayre, I promise.”

  When Aram turned his bird eyes on Bina, she was frowning and biting her lip. He hadn’t liked the sound of what they’d overheard either. Bayre was keeping secrets from them, and it shook his confidence in the man. He whispered to Bina, “Don’t say anything about what we just heard. But keep a sharp ear out, I don’t like secrets and I’d like to know what this task is of Bayre’s.”

  Bina nodded her agreement before her dove called out gaily, “Come along Aram, breakfast is this way.”

  He followed her back into the cave. It seemed Tai wasn’t the only one he needed to keep a close eye on. Perhaps the Barrens were the least of his worries. Betrayal by his own companions appeared to be the far greater danger. Suspicion lay like a rock in his gut, weighing him down, heavier with each moment that passed.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  In the days that followed, the gulf between Aram and Bina and their companions only grew deeper. Aram refused point blank to apologise to Tai for his accusations, and now neither boy would speak to the other. Bina occasionally attempted to bridge the gap between them but was met by cold silence. Bayre didn’t appear inclined to intervene and now spent most of his time walking with Tai.

  As they walked Aram started to play a strange game. If he could reach that bush without stepping on a stick, his mother would live. If he could hold his breath until he’d taken a hundred steps, he would get to her in time to save her. Each night was broken into a hundred small victories and losses, his mother’s life hanging in the balance again with each new game. Whenever he slept, he watched her die again and again. She fell from the back of a cechua. The king struck her down in a rage. And the worst one of all, she drew on her power just as he reached her, only to find it was the last of her magic. She crumbled away to dust while he stood there, helpless to save her. He would wake sweating and shaking from these nightmares to find Bina stroking his back and humming to hi
m.

  They passed the occasional kraal, but Bayre skirted them widely. They were managing to gather just enough food as they walked, and he didn’t feel extra supplies were worth the risk.

  As days turned into weeks, Aram found his fear of what was to come growing. Bina tried to reassure him it was all going to work out in the end, but he couldn’t seem to believe it himself. Terror for his mother’s safety gnawed continually at his gut, and sleep was no longer an escape. Exhausted and afraid, he stumbled onwards in a daze, losing track of exactly how far they had come.

  So, when they reached the edge of a plateau near sunrise one day, his mind struggled to comprehend what lay in front of him. As light crept across the eastern sky, it bathed the stark landscape in red and orange. As far as the eye could see, there stretched dusty plains unbroken by any type of vegetation. Occasional outcroppings of rock were all that broke the monotony of the view. It was as bleak and unwelcoming a place as any Aram had ever seen.

  Bayre stood close to the edge of the drop-off and flung out one arm. “Welcome to the Barrens.”

  The children joined him and stared out, overwhelmed by the sight. Tai was the first to break the silence. “How do we get down?”

  Bayre pointed off to one side where they could just make out the start of a very faint path. “We head down there. Watch your step, it’s little more than a goat trail, and a fall from this height will be the end of you. Once we’re down, we must stick closely together. Most everything that lives in the Barrens will try to kill you, so I want everyone keeping a sharp eye out.”

  Bina asked, “What are we looking out for--snakes, scorpions, that sort of thing?”

  Bayre nodded. “All of those and worse, varanid packs hunt the Barrens and even the plants here are poisonous.”

  Seeing as there wasn’t a plant in sight, Aram didn’t find that cause for much concern. But the mention of varanids sent a shiver down his back. The giant lizards of the Barrens with their poisoned saliva were legendary. They could outrun a man on horseback and their jaws would crush your leg in one bite. He supposed the best they could hope for was to avoid them completely. He didn’t see any way they could survive an attack by a hungry pack.