Essence of Chaos Read online

  Storm was on his feet in a second, with Jenna close behind. He glanced toward the pile of boulders at the front, and then back to her. “Stay here.”

  “I will not stay here.” She glared at him. “I’m not some little flower that needs to be protected.”

  He folded his arms and stared down at her. “Oh? What weapons do you carry? Do you have skills of arms that I don’t know about?” He took a step closer, forcing her to tilt her head back to look at him. “I’m being practical, not unfair. I’m sure with some training you’ll be fine. But you said it yourself; you know nothing about this world.”

  Jenna sighed, blowing her hair out of her face, and slid back down to the floor. “Okay. Go kill whatever is out there. I’ll be good.”

  Storm ignored the sarcasm in her voice. “I won’t be long. I want to make sure the boulders hold.” Satisfied she’d stay put, he went around the corner.

  The crashing sounds stopped, but a low whiffing noise around the bottom of the largest boulder told him the animals who’d been in the forest were still there. Holding his knife ready, Storm waited to see if whatever was out there was large enough to force the rocks aside. He released a breath as the sounds faded away. He shoved the rocks aside. They’d have precious little time to make it back to the cottage before those things came back. They probably went for reinforcements when they couldn’t bash through or dig under the rocks. He was guessing, based on intuition, but that had saved many a hunter—especially in this forest.

  He was moving the final stone when Jenna ran into the front of the cave waving a short stick.

  “Thank god you’re all right.” She skidded to a halt on the gravelly floor.

  “And if I wasn’t, what would you have done with that?” He shook his head. “I’ll have to warn Ghortin that his new apprentice doesn’t obey well.”

  “It’s never been a strong point of mine,” she said. “What was it? Is it gone?”

  Storm finished rolling the outer stone into its original place. “Gone for now at any rate. But not for long I’d wager. Which means we need to get back to the cottage quickly.” He held up a hand to forestall her questions. “No time. I’m not sure how far away they went. Come on.” He turned and left the cave.

  “They? As in plural?”

  Storm was already off down the trail at a steady pace. “We’ve no time now, maybe later, but yes, there was definitely more than one out here.”

  He heard her start running behind him, swearing under her breath the entire way. As long as he could get back to his weapons, and those blessed Bakkera trees, they should be all right.

  6

  Jenna ran as quietly as she could. The skin-crawling feeling from the forest vanished the moment they passed under the double circle of Bakkera trees.

  She slowed down at that point, but Storm jogged to the cottage. Whatever was out there, he clearly didn’t trust the trees alone to be sufficient protection. She entered the cottage not far behind him, but didn’t see him anywhere. She was about to go into the vortex to look for him when he came out of a hallway, pulling an elegant long sword out of its sheath.

  “Where’d you get that?” She hadn’t seen him with anything fancier than a bow and hunting knife. The long blade looked out of place on him, but by the way he held it, it wasn’t a stranger.

  “From my father,” he said with a crooked grin. “I don’t suppose you know how to handle a bow?”

  “No.” Jenna shook her head. “I’m confused. You didn’t have that yesterday, and isn’t it kind of large for a hunting weapon?”

  Storm looked down as he slid the blade back into its sheath, so she only caught a hint of the odd look that flashed across his face. “I leave it here when I’m in the forest. It’s not a good hunting weapon, but I don’t want to only be carrying a bow and knife if our friends come back.” He shook his head.

  “That’s the first thing I’m going to teach you once I’m sure things are clear—fighting skills. You probably won’t be good with a long sword, might be able to eventually go with a long bow and short sword though.” He was talking more to himself than her as he walked around her, as if he were judging her strength and agility on sight. “You wouldn’t happen to be any good with throwing knives, would you?”

  “Don’t know.” Jenna turned, trying to follow him as he continued his circle. “I’ve never tried; there’s not a real big call for them where I’m from.” She thought of all the nights she and her friends had hung out at the local pub. “I’m pretty good with darts though.”

  “Your people hunt with darts?” He snorted. “What do you hunt?”

  “Dartboards.” Jenna shrugged. “I didn’t mean that I would use darts as weapons. You’d have to put poison or something on them, and I’d probably end up jabbing myself. I was saying that maybe I’d be good with throwing knives, since I seem to have good aim.”

  “Good thinking.” He buckled the sword belt around his waist as they spoke, and headed toward the door. “Let’s see if there’s any sign of our guests.” He held out his hunting knife for her to take and gathered up his longbow and quiver. “This knife isn’t for throwing, but I’d rather not have you completely defenseless.”

  Jenna nodded grimly and took the knife. She wasn’t squeamish about the concept of killing something if it was a matter of her or it. Particularly if it was anything like those things from her nightmarish visions.

  They walked slowly out to the rim of white trees. A soft breeze brought with it the small forest sounds that had been missing earlier.

  Jenna watched the tension leave Storm’s shoulders. He continued past the ring of trees, but silently motioned for her to stay back. She almost objected. But if something was out there, she didn’t want to hinder him. The knife he gave her was a little too unwieldy for her to have any hope of hurting something other than herself with it.

  He hadn’t gone far when he froze, nothing moving except for the wind picking up strands of his long hair.

  He gave a slight nod, then turned and came back within the circle of trees. “They’re gone, at least for now. And I’ll know if they come back into the forest.”

  “What were they?” A shiver ran up her spine at his calmness. Whatever had been after them didn’t seem to be something to be shrugged off. Most likely he was being overly calm to keep her from worrying. Which, of course, had the opposite effect.

  “I recognized their scent eventually. They’re called ertin.”

  When he turned and started heading to the side of the cottage, Jenna spun and marched after him. “Well, enlighten me. How am I supposed to learn if you don’t tell me what ertin are?”

  “Easy, easy.” He held out his hands, warding off her attack. “Give the girl a knife and she turns into a warrior. I was just curious if that mysterious echo of yours would recognize the term. Is it still there?”

  Jenna paused for a moment. “No, it doesn’t seem to be there now. In fact, I haven’t noticed it all morning. You don’t think it’s gone, do you?”

  “I have no idea. I’m afraid that would be Ghortin’s expertise, not mine,” he said. “Unfortunately, he also knows more about ertin. I just know what I’ve heard, enough to recognize them on sight, or in this case, by smell. They’re hunters, and little more than myths up until a few years ago. I’ve never heard of them being this far outside of the Markare before though.”

  As he spoke, Storm led her to the far side of the cottage. He went behind the wall and pulled out a well-used archery target.

  “Now, your first lesson.” He frowned when he realized she was still holding the knife. “That won’t work. Wait here and I’ll go get Ghortin’s short bow.” As he passed, he adjusted her hold on the knife. “It works a bit better if you grip it like this.”

  Jenna nodded and moved her hand; it did give her more control. “But I thought you were going to teach me the longbow?” She nodded to the dark bow he still carried.

  “Ah, fearsome huntress, I shall. However, first you need to get used to arche
ry. Besides, this bow is hard to pull back. You’ll have to build up strength before you try.”

  He disappeared around the corner, reappearing minutes later with a much smaller bow and quiver.

  “This is Ghortin’s old set, perfect for an apprentice.”

  As he showed her how to string and draw the bow, an image invaded Jenna’s mind. The shapeless, fanged forms from her terrifying visions were no longer so shapeless. “Storm, are these ertin all teeth, pale, with long pointed faces, and sort of dog-like?”

  He pulled back in surprise at her description. “They would be much larger than our regular hunting dogs, but that would be an accurate description from what I’ve heard. Although Ghortin told me they’re actually reptiles and they can be dark or pale. I thought the echo was gone, has it come back?”

  “No.” She shook her head slowly, not sure exactly how to explain it. “I don’t think it’s the echo. I think it may come from my own memories.”

  “They have such things in your world?” Storm’s eyebrow rose at that.

  “I think it may be part of what happened before you found me.” She grimaced. “Before I fell into that pit. I remember being chased by those horrible things with teeth. They almost got me. It isn’t any clearer than that. Just them, me, and the woods.”

  “Woods?” Storm looked toward the forest behind them. “These woods? Do you remember which way you were running?”

  She shook her head with a sigh. The images were completely gone again. “I’m sorry, I can’t remember. For some reason, I don’t think it was these woods. I can’t explain why though.”

  “All trees have a different feel to them. It could be that you’re sensitive to it. Tell me if anything else comes back; and tell Ghortin. I think he’s going to be quite concerned about two sightings of those things.” He handed her an arrow. “But for now, we start turning you into an archer.”

  The rest of the afternoon went quickly. For Storm anyway. Jenna was starting to think her arms were going to fall off before the sun set. Finally Storm called an end to practice and they headed back into the cottage.

  Storm toyed with going out and hunting something for dinner, but Jenna convinced him that whatever was in Ghortin’s larder would be fine with her. Although there had been no sign of the ertin, she didn’t like the idea of him going off this close to nightfall.

  Jenna stretched out on the small couch, trying to work up enough energy to smear on a salve Storm had left for her sore hands and arms. She finally stirred herself and reached for the small jar, only to almost drop it once she’d opened the lid. “What died in here?” She glared suspiciously at Storm’s back. “Are you sure that this is going to help me?”

  Storm turned around from his attack on Ghortin’s larder. “Would I lie to you? Well, I might, but not this time. One thing about Ghortin’s concoctions; they work, but they’re usually nasty about it.”

  He shrugged and turned back to his pile of ingredients. “It’s up to you. Don’t use it if you don’t want to, but you’re the one who won’t be able to move a finger tomorrow. Hope you like stew; he’s got a lot of stuff here, but not enough of any one thing.”

  Grimacing at the smell from the jar, Jenna gingerly rubbed on the ointment. She would admit it was soothing, as long as she didn’t inhale. “At this point I’d eat a horse.”

  “Sorry, not this time.” Storm came back to the parlor with a mug in each hand. “Water or ale?”

  She thought of the aches in her body. “Ale, ale, and more ale.”

  Storm handed her one of the mugs and laughed at her expression. “I thought you might say that. But I’ll warn you, you’ll feel ten times worse if you’re fighting off both a hangover and muscle fatigue tomorrow.”

  “Okay, then just ale. One, that’s all.” She took a deep drink and came up sputtering. “Good god, what is this, hundred proof?” She’d expected a nice beer and was hit with something that was much closer to two-hundred-year-old whiskey.

  Storm smiled none too apologetically. “Sorry, I forgot to warn you. I thought a slight bit of Fire Lake might help you relax. The entire mug isn’t full of it. Just a floater on top. By the look on your face, I’d say you probably got all of it.”

  “Do you people drink that stuff on a regular basis?” She cautiously took a smaller sip. It now tasted like a strong, warm, beer.

  “It’s a little strong for recreational drinking.” From the way he drank, he obviously hadn’t added the mystery liquid to his own drink. Jenna didn’t think anyone could get so used to the stuff that they didn’t flinch at all.

  She stared into her mug for a few minutes. “You don’t think those ertin things got Ghortin do you?” The question had been nagging in the back of her head all day, but she’d been too afraid to ask.

  From his brief frown it had probably been on Storm’s mind as well. “I don’t think so. I saw three from a distance when I rolled back the rocks. Which might have caused us a problem, since we were basically unarmed. However, Ghortin was fully armed, and don’t tell him I said this, but he’s one hell of a mage. It would take more than three of those demon spawn to take him down.” He rose and started setting a fire in the small hearth.

  “Those things weren’t really demons?” Everything was happening so fast; kelars, mages, ertin—she didn’t think she could handle demons from some netherworld too.

  Storm rocked back on his boot heels as he watched the logs catch. Satisfied, he went to check on the progress of their stew.

  “Couldn’t tell you,” he said around a sampling mouthful. “I doubt it. Ghortin says it’s almost impossible for demons to cross into our world.”

  That wasn’t reassuring. “There are demons? And they could get here?”

  “Of course there are demons, but they would have a hard time getting over here. I mean, it’s a whole different world.”

  Jenna frowned at him. “I made it, didn’t I?”

  “Good point.” Storm looked at her and nodded slowly. “I guess if they tried hard, perhaps they could duplicate what you did. You don’t happen to remember what you did, so there’s no point in worrying, is there?”

  Jenna shook her head. He made sense if she just didn’t think about it too hard. Right now, not thinking too hard sounded like a wonderful idea.

  Finally, Storm pronounced the stew fit to eat. He brought two bowls out to the parlor saying he hated to waste a beautiful fire. Jenna was grateful that she didn’t have to get up to eat, but too hungry to say anything beyond thank you.

  They’d both finished their food, and Jenna was thinking about going to bed, when a distant howling could be heard from outside. It was so low and airy she couldn’t tell at first if it was just the wind. The grim look on Storm’s face answered the question for her.

  “Stay here.” He grabbed his sword from where he’d left it by the door, tossing aside the sheath. “Don’t open this door unless I call your name.” The relaxed man he’d been moments before was gone.

  “What if you’re injured and can’t call?” She followed him to the door, her muscles no longer in pain.

  “If I’m not back at this door within fifteen minutes, go into your room in the vortex and don’t come out until Ghortin gets you.” His sharp face was tense, his tone serious. Jenna’s gut tightened. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and turned to stare down at her. “I mean it, Jenna, but I can’t explain now. Just don’t open this door.”

  Taken back by the intensity in his stare, Jenna could only nod. Then he opened the door and was gone into the night.

  Jenna hesitated in shutting the door behind him, as she tried to see anything in the dark. All she could see was Storm rapidly disappearing into the night as he ran toward the line of Bakkera trees.

  Sliding the bolt home, she leaned against the wooden door. What kind of world was this, where creatures could reach out of your nightmares and attack you?

  After a few numb minutes, she went back to the fire and forced her mind not to think about anything, especially the ri
sing howls she heard outside.

  Within minutes she slid into a strange trance as the flames drew her in. She found herself floating through a gray fog. A primal anger that didn’t feel like her own cut through it.

  She wasn’t sure how long she had been in the trance when a feeling of fury overcame her. Global at first, angry at everything, and then it slowly narrowed down to outside of the cottage. Her body moved without thought as she ignored Storm’s warning and opened the door.

  The scene was clear to her this time, even though it was still pitch black. A weird glow had taken over everything, as if her mind was getting the images without help from her eyes.

  Storm stood no more than ten feet inside the circle of trees, fiercely fighting off what looked to be a group of large, dark, hairless dogs. Ones with disproportionately large fangs and heavy spikes down their bodies. When she focused harder, she knew they had to be the ertin. Most of the pack stayed on the other side of the protective trees, hissing and howling, but not crossing. Five had crossed the tree line and lay dead, their bodies twisted horribly in mute evidence to the lethal combination of the magic of the trees and Storm’s skill as a swordsman. Six more were advancing on Storm, holding themselves awkwardly, as if fighting great pain as they crossed the row of glowing white trees. They advanced nonetheless. Storm was holding his own, but Jenna could tell from the way he stood that the jagged bite wound on his leg was taking its toll.

  With her strange trance-like vision, Jenna saw an unhealthy red glow shining from the wound and that he was barely standing. One good rush from those creatures and he would fall. None of the participants noticed Jenna as she walked out the door.

  She had no weapons, had no idea what she was going to do, yet she was compelled forward by a raging anger she’d never felt before. Something deep in her gut confirmed these were the creatures who had attacked her in her visions. At the same instant, three of the ertin circling Storm lunged forward. He skillfully slid his sword through the belly of one, and then turned to the next. Unfortunately, it was on the side with his injured leg, and he stumbled.