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  They moved with stealth and slid down the sandy banks of the hill, landing at the shore of the waterhole. There were several bubbles from water-dwellers in the deeps, but they were far enough away that Roeg wasn’t concerned.

  He bent down on the sandy shore and dipped his hide pouch in the water. The pouch made him think of Luli, and Luli made him think of Krukk and the Great Hunt. He didn’t miss it. Well, he missed Luli, but he certainly didn’t miss Krukk. He missed the village, but the best part of the village was here with him. He looked over at Ookum and Tsisa as they filled their pouches, then he looked to Unn.

  Unn squatted in the water. He cupped his hands and brought the water to his mouth then over his head. He did this several times then stood, turning and splashing out of the water. He carried no water pouch.

  As Unn crossed the beach and climbed the sandy hill back up to the grasslands, he called out, “Tsisa, come now.” Unn let out a long, slow sigh without looking back.

  Roeg saw the last bubble exit the hole of his water pouch. He pulled the soggy hide pouch out of the water and tightened the sinew, shutting the hole. Drips of water fell from the pouch and bounced off the face of the water below. Ookum finished filling his pouch as well and walked out of the water.

  Ookum called back to Roeg, “Beat’cha up the hill!” He tore off across the long, sandy beach.

  Roeg tensed, preparing to chase after Ookum, when he saw ripples in the water. At first, he thought his water pouch was leaking, but the lid was sealed tight. He backed up. Maybe it was a water-dweller? He looked out to the water and saw nothing. He felt the ground shake under his feet. Small waves broke against the shore. Roeg looked to the far side of the waterhole and saw a great herd of onehorn’rs caught in a stampede. In the flats of the waterhole, from the shore to the base of the hills, a line of onehorn’rs filled the space and were charging right at Roeg.

  Two huge eyes popped out of the water; the tremors had stirred the water-dwellers. Roeg turned and shot to the sandy hills. Ookum was halfway across the beach—he would make it easily. Roeg looked to the onehorn’rs—they gained on him.

  His legs burned, and his plump water pouch slammed at his side as he ran. Unn stood at the top of the hill and called down, “Hurry up!”

  Tsisa pulled herself up the hill and saw the mass of charging onehorn’rs. Her voice joined Unn’s. “Come on, run!”

  Ookum looked at the charging herd and lost his footing. He stumbled for several steps, his arms flailing as he tried to catch his balance. He teetered in the sand and fell forward, landing face-first. Roeg shot past his friend then skidded to a halt. He ran back and tried to yank him up, but Ookum didn’t budge.

  Roeg dragged and pulled, but Ookum was too heavy. “Come on, Ookum!” No words came out of Ookum, as he stared at the stampeding herd.

  Tsisa slid down the hill and ran to her brother. “I’m coming!”

  Roeg pulled and struggled to drag Ookum to the sandy hills. They weren’t going to make it. Not without Tsisa.

  Unn looked to the Great Above and closed his eyes. He chanted something under his breath, and a single tear flowed down his cheek.

  Tsisa reached the boys, grabbed Ookum by the arm, and dragged him. They moved faster, but it wasn’t enough; they were too far from the sandy hills. The tremor of the herd thundered beneath their feet as the beasts approached. Sand from the hills crumbled and fell to the shore.

  There was no way out. A massive onehorn’r charged right for them, its thick, woolly coat quivering with each powerful step.

  “Ookum, wake up!” Tsisa yelled.

  The Firestone flashed at Roeg’s throat, and a ball of flames ignited around them. Roeg stood, staff in hand, while Tsisa shielded Ookum with her body.

  Sharp pain shot through Roeg as the staff vibrated and shook. Everything was red. The thunder of the charging beasts engulfed Roeg, consuming him. The first beast to touch the flames was the last—it burst into flames and crumbled into ash. The other beasts veered to the side, avoiding a similar fate. The ball of flame was sucked back into the stone as the last charging onehorn’r passed by Roeg.

  Roeg could hold himself up no longer. His vision blurred. He heard Unn’s voice, but it was nothing more than a murmur. His knees buckled, and he collapsed. Everything went black.

  Unn

  Conestink’r Flower

  U

  nn, Tsisa, and Ookum each took a limb and pulled. They dragged Roeg’s limp body up the sandy hill and laid him under the thorn tree, lit by moonlight. Unn bent down and gently shook Roeg, “My boy—wake up.” He shook harder. Roeg lay still.

  Ookum paced around the thorn tree with his sling’r out. Each noise he heard made him jump and point his sling’r into the darkness.

  Tsisa knelt by Unn and poked at Roeg. “Why won’t he wake up? What happened?”

  Unn looked at Tsisa, his brow furled. “His Firestone protected you like it protected me when he was a baby.” Unn’s face turned sullen. “The power of the stone is too much for him. I think when it protects him, it hurts him. Now I’m sure of it.” Unn looked to Roeg’s damaged hand; the dark, stone scaling that covered his hand previously, now ascended up his arm to his elbow.

  Ookum stumbled to where Roeg lay helpless. “This isn’t a good spot for camp. I can hear the laughing spotted dogs down by the waterhole.”

  Unn grunted in acknowledgment. He looked past the waterhole, then to the twins. “Ookum, you stay with Roeg. Tsisa, you come with me.”

  Ookum shook his head. “I don’t think we should split up.”

  Unn grunt-clicked, “There is a plant on the other side of the waterhole. Its powerful scent, when crushed, will cause the body to stir. We need to collect it, but we can’t leave Roeg alone.”

  Tsisa looked to where Unn pointed. “Let’s go.”

  Ookum protested. “Why do I have to stay here? What if the laughing spotted dogs come? What will I do?”

  Unn walked to Ookum and grunted, “You are still covered with the thorn tree slime. You should be fine, if you keep quiet. Don’t leave Roeg’s side, and believe in yourself!” Unn grabbed his staff and walked off into the night, Tsisa following behind him.

  Ookum stood by Roeg and quavered at the sounds of the night with his sling’r in hand.

  Unn climbed the sandy hill on the far side of the waterhole. When he poked his head above the ridge, the edge of the thicket came to view.

  He shushed Tsisa as she clambered up the hill behind him. “There is a fire over in the clearing, maybe a clan.”

  Tsisa poked her head above the ridge. “It looks like many fires. Who lives here?”

  Unn let out a low growl. “No clan we want to meet. I need a better look. Come.”

  He pulled himself up and moved stealthily to the edge of the thicket for a better view. Primal growls filled the night, and Unn could see large, dark shadows bustling around, snapping sticks and throwing them into the fire.

  He motioned for Tsisa to quietly follow him. He stalked to a tree on the far side of the clearing, Tsisa following in a crouch behind him. When his vision cleared, he let out a hushed gasp.

  He ducked behind a large bush and cursed. “As I expected. A clan of man-beasts.”

  Tsisa peeked through the bush and let out her own hushed gasp. “What are they?”

  Unn shook his head. “They are more beast than man. They come from a time long ago when man knew nothing and—”

  Tsisa sniggered. “Men still know nothing.”

  Unn gave her a sideways glance and hushed her. “They are not to be made light of. They are primal, more so than any clan we know. I didn’t think they were around anymore. They haven’t been seen for many moons. My father’s father was only a boy when he last saw the man-beasts.”

  Tsisa poked her head around the bush. “They don’t seem so bad.”

  Then one stood. She gasped and ducked behind the bush, her hand over her mouth.

  Erect, they stood twice her height
and were covered in thick, dark fur. One of them stretched and yawned, opening its jaw wide. Razor-sharp fangs glinted in the darkness. The man-beasts wore little-to-no hide coverings, and their hands and feet were thick and wide. They seemed to speak some ancient guttural language.

  Tsisa poked her head through the bush again. “They sound kind of like us, but I can’t understand their growls.”

  Unn rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and finger. “They speak the ancient tongue. They are probably the last of their kind… and good thing too. They are nasty.” A sly smile crossed Unn’s lips. “They make Krukk look like a flower.”

  Tsisa held in her laugh, half because she was scared the man-beasts would hear and half because she knew it was true.

  The man-beast clan stirred, and several of them got up and shuffled around the fires, kicking them out. The smoke and smells from the clearing were carried in the wind to the edge of the thicket. Tsisa coughed and held her nose. “What is that stench? It smells like Ookum but much worse.”

  Unn grinned, while still rubbing his head. “They stink. Imagine what you’d smell like if you had all that fur. And I don’t think they like the water much.” Unn opened his eyes and turned to the clearing. “We wait until they sleep. There’s no way around them. Once they are asleep, we sneak past and over to the other side where the conestink’rs are.”

  Tsisa still held her nose. “What about Roeg and Ookum?”

  Unn laid down. “They will have to wait. Rest now. We move when they fall asleep.”

  Unn poked Tsisa, who gently snored, and motioned for her to follow. She blinked blearily and pulled herself up. Unn crouched and stepped into the clearing. The rattle of man-beast snores masked their steps as they tip-toed across the space. Man-beasts were sprawled around the spent firepits. Some slept close together and others out by themselves; there were some huddled in groups. This made it difficult to find a direct path across the clearing.

  SNAP.

  The sound echoed in the still night and rang off the trees. Unn slowly turned and saw Tsisa stopped with a gaping mouth and her eyes wide. Her foot was poised over a loose branch. He brought his finger to his lips and shushed her again.

  He continued the slow sneak through the sleeping bodies without incident. Once they passed the clearing, the thicket changed.

  A grove of odorous flowers took the place of the low bushes and trees on the other side of the clearing. The large, red petals of the flower grew close to the ground and spread wide. In the center of the petals stood huge, brown cone towers that stretched to the Great Above. Most of the cone towers were taller than Unn. The smell of the conestink’rs was overpowering; it made the musty stink of the man-beasts seem bearable.

  Tsisa held her nose; her eyes watered, and her face flushed red. Unn let out a soft chuckle. He walked to the closest conestink’r and scraped the loose material from the tall cone into his hand, stuffing it in his satchel. He turned and made his way back through the clearing.

  As they snuck back to the other side of the clearing, Tsisa was ahead of Unn and already into the thicket.

  SNAP.

  Again, the sound echoed in the still night. Unn’s heart froze. He turned and saw a shadow rise well above his head. The shadow lunged, and a face emerged out of the darkness. Its small, beady eyes flashed as the jaws of the man-beast extended to their max, revealing its razor-sharp fangs. The beast let out a deep growl, and gobs of saliva that reeked like rotting flesh flew through the air.

  Unn turned and yelled, “Run!”

  Tsisa looked behind and needed no more direction—she shot ahead into the night. Unn ran as fast as his small legs would move. For an old man with a wobbled gait, he caught up to Tsisa quickly.

  The deep growl of the man-beast startled the rest of them awake. They bumbled and crashed in the blackness but scented their trail and were quickly in pursuit.

  Unn looked back to see the man-beasts gaining on them. “We can’t outrun them.” He looked to the waterhole on the other side of the thicket. He turned sharply and leapt over the ridge of the sandy hills that led to the flats. Mid-air, he clicked to Tsisa to follow.

  They tumbled down the hill to the sandy flats of the waterhole. The man-beasts were already at the top of the hill. They had spears in their hands and let them loose into the night, howling out violent war whoops.

  The water-dwellers stirred, visible only as bubbles and rings of water. On the shores, the land-beasts of the night were on the hunt. A pack of spotted laughing dogs tore through the sandy flats, headed their way. Unn couldn’t decide which way to go. If they went through the shallows where the water-dwellers waited, they would be swallowed whole for sure. If they kept to the sandy flats, they would meet the spotted laughing dogs. If they stopped, the man-beasts would catch up.

  They were trapped.

  Unn looked back, and the man-beasts tore through the sand with supernatural speed, their long legs not slowed by the sand. Unn looked to the pack of spotted laughing dogs. Their cackles rang through the darkness, setting an eerie tone to the night.

  Unn called out to Tsisa, “Through the shallows!”

  He spun and bolted for the shores of the waterhole. He splashed through the shallows, in the direction of the large thorn tree, with Tsisa not far behind. A huge spotted dog appeared and snapped at Unn, barely missing. Its black eyes were furious with hunger. It lunged again and missed. Unn knew it wouldn’t miss a third time.

  He heard a sickening crunch, followed by a pain-filled yelp; Tsisa had launched her spear and pierced the spotted dog in the shoulder—it collapsed before dragging itself up and hobbling away.

  Tsisa shot past Unn. “Hurry up!”

  The old man’s legs gave way to the burn, and they slowed. He couldn’t keep pace any longer. The man-beasts gained on him. A spear flew by his head and splashed in the water behind him, then another barely missed.

  He looked to his side and didn’t see the pack of spotted dogs. His legs slowed even more, despite his efforts to move them.

  Tsisa came back, grabbed the old man’s hand, and pulled. “Come on. Hurry. Please!” she begged.

  Splashing water and the sounds of combat thundered from behind them. Tsisa pulled Unn out of the shallows—they raced now on the other side of the sandy flats toward the thorn tree.

  Unn looked back and saw the spotted laughing dogs and the clan of man-beasts colliding in a bloodied frenzy. Water splashed, spears flew, and the spotted dogs leaped through the air. Their battle echoed in the darkness.

  Unn and Tsisa tore up the sandy hill to the thorn tree.

  Sling’r in hand, Ookum called out, “Who’s there? Is that you, Unn? Tsisa? Laughing spotted dogs?”

  Before Unn could see anything, he heard the stretch of Ookum’s sling’r. Unn called out, “It’s us! Put that thing away.”

  Unn stopped at the base of the thorn tree and buckled to his knees. He gasped for breath and held the tree with one hand as he sucked for air. Tsisa collapsed to the ground beside Roeg and fought for breath.

  “What happened? I heard crashing and war whoops. It didn’t sound like Tsisa though. I was scared,” Ookum said.

  Both Unn and Tsisa didn’t answer as they tried to get their breath back.

  Unn looked up to Ookum and clicked, “We are being chased. We need to move—now.” He reached into his satchel and pinched a bit of the brown dust between his fingers. He placed his fingers under Roeg’s nose and sprinkled the powder.

  Ookum asked, “What are you doing?”

  Roeg’s eyes snapped open. He gasped and shot to his feet, rubbing at his nose and gasping for air.

  Unn gripped Roeg’s arm and said, “We have no time. Run!”

  SEPHONEI

  Pery

  T

  he moon was high in the sky, and the humid air felt brisk. The rustling leaves of the tree tunnel sang the tune of the night breeze. Sephonei, Ku-aya, and Semessa walked the path back to the outpost ahead of
the others. Shantae and Abil struggled to tow the peryton back to the outpost; it mewed and bucked at its captors, throwing them at will as they secured it with rope. The creature stood several heads taller and a body wider than them, using all its power to attempt escape, as they struggled to lead it.

  Ku-aya walked in silence for a few minutes as she wrung at her glove, then she spoke. “So, what happened back there? I guess that was your ability?”

  Sephonei nodded and detailed what had happened when they were bewitched. She recalled how the poison flask had caught her eye and how she had lost sight of it and thrown the “petrify” flask instead.

  Semessa jolted. “Eish! That was an accident?”

  Ku-aya let out a hard breath. “That was lucky. What if you’d grabbed an explosion oil or some other oil you didn’t know the effects of? That was kinda reckless.”

  Semessa cut in and winked at Sephonei. “The whole operation was kind of reckless. I am glad for your young apprentice’s luck.”

  Sephonei read Semessa’s aura; greens and blues played with oranges in circular patterns. Semessa was being kind and honest—her aura spoke to Sephonei of honesty and pride but also of sadness and longing. She felt good, knowing Semessa was on her side—but she knew that, like herself, the sebtaurs were being used by the Order.

  Ku-aya cut in. “So, this music of yours—how’s it work? Can you control it?”

  Sephonei thought about it long before she answered. “No, I don’t know much about it, other than when I play my lute, it charms whoever is listening to it.”

  Semessa stroked her chin as she walked, and without looking at Sephonei she asked, “Does it happen when you sing, or is it the lute?”

  “It started when I found the lute,” Sephonei said.

  Behind them, the peryton mewed and bucked and was getting more and more agitated. The colors of its aura were flush with emotion.