Chapter 5: decisions

The small band moved quickly and silently through the dimness. The moon was full, and Seth was thankful for the faint patches of moonlight that illuminated even the area beneath the trees. But it would be full dark very soon, and they were still too exposed. They had escaped their pursuers, but there were other dangers.

It was Aard who found what they needed. One of the giant trees of the Deepwood had been toppled by lightning, apparently many lives ago. Mossy and overgrown, it at first presented an obstacle, blocking their path. But as Aard circled to find a way around it, he spotted the opening in the butt end of the hollowed trunk. “I think it may be large enough inside for all of us, with room for a small fire, for cooking. There is water nearby too, and it will be easy to screen the entrance with brush.” Almost as an afterthought he added, “And it’s empty. There was a porky in there, but I scared it away.”

Seth surveyed the boy’s discovery. “You have done well, Aard.” Dann smiled, and nodded too, delighted with his protégé’s success. Seth continued, speaking to Dann now, “I think we have made a wise choice for your apprentice, kinsman, and so far you have begun to teach him well.”

“Pah! Apprentice? Kinsman? Untested youths!” Gar made his presence known by his derision. “And they play at children’s games in the dark.” He spat on the ground in their direction and continued, “And this stupid girl who addresses you as a hunter would speak; who is she that she should walk with us? She belongs with the women! If I were leader she would know her place.”

Dann had merely smiled when Gar referred to him and to Aard, but he bristled in anger when the man began to speak ill of Tia. “Hold,” said Seth in a quiet voice. “I fear that our brother is still disturbed by what has happened, and is not in his right mind.” He turned back to the derisive hunter, and continued in the same quiet voice. “You are tired, Gar, and perhaps it would be best to continue this discussion in the morning, after we have rested. If you like, we can also include the rest of the Group, and see if they would have you replace me as leader. But if I remember correctly, they have rejected you more than once before.”

Gar recoiled as if from a physical blow. He would not be mollified, and, muttering to himself, he stalked off into the trees, toward a small ravine. “I will not stay in the same place with women and children,” he called back over his shoulder, “I will find my own shelter.” He continued on out of sight, disappearing into the gorse lining the edge of the ravine.

One of the other rescued prisoners called after him, but got no answer. She looked back at the others, “He will not listen to reason, Seth, and that is part of the reason we were captured in the first place. If he had turned to help Ran and the others, we could have defended the large sleeping hut, but he would not, and they were killed, and we were taken.”

A muffled scream broke the silence, putting them all on the alert again. The women and children backed into the tree shelter, and the men ringed the narrow opening, spears at the ready. They could hear faint gurgling and thrashing sound from the ravine, and Dann shuddered and said “It sounds like an Eater. He must have walked right into it! Let us hope there are no more near here, and if there are, that they do not hunt this way.”

Seth turned to his daughter and whispered quietly, “Tia, can you...”

Tia looked shaken, and glanced about to see if anyone else was watching her. “Dann is right, it is a small cluster, but Gar had no chance at all. I see it, and Gar is dead, torn in pieces. Three are growing there, I think. They are feeding,” she shuddered at the vision of the carnivorous plant. Deceptively slow, eaters grew in clusters, and could actually move along the ground for short distances. “They are moving away from us now. I think they will not bother us again tonight.” The group simply stared at her, too tired to even wonder how she knew these things.

Seth simply nodded and turned to the rest of the group. “We will post a guard,” he said, “Tia and I will watch first; Aard and Dann will relieve us at half-night. Now take some rest, and we will take counsel in the morning. We must try to save the others as well, and as much as I would like to leave now, I know we cannot run blindly after them. Do not stray from this shelter if you awaken in the night. I do not like the feel of this place. There are other dangers here besides the Eater.” He got up and peered out through the entrance to their tree-cave. “Come, Tia, we will sit together.”

Seth and Tia concealed themselves in the thorny brush they had stacked just inside the opening, careful not to silhouette themselves against the dim glow from the low fire. They sat quietly at first as their eyes adjusted to the deeper darkness outside, waiting and watching for any sign of danger. The night was quiet, and the wan glow of moonlight filtering through the trees illuminated the immediate area well enough that they could see any movement nearby.

There was indeed movement, as many of the smaller forest creatures were active. The timid birds and small mammals were moving about naturally, which was a good sign. Their absence and silence would be the first warning that something was amiss, and hunters and warriors depended on them more than even they knew. It had become an automatic part of their lives, and they had developed the ability to sense a change in the behavior of these creatures without consciously doing so. Five thousand years of wilderness survival had re-sharpened long-dormant instincts and skills.

Seth looked at his daughter and asked, “How long? How long have you been able to ‘see’?” She shifted uncomfortably, and he put his hand on her shoulder, to calm her. “No, Tia, I am not angry or frightened over this. And I am sorry that your mother and I never spoke with you about her gifts.”

She looked up at this, and asked “Gifts?” There was more than one ability?” She peered closely at him, as if trying to read some hidden message in his face. “I have felt that there is more. I, I know there is more, but I do not know how I am to use this gift. Or if I am to use it. I do wish I could have talked to her about it.”

“I know, little one,” he said, addressing her by the familiar expression they had used around the family fire. “I wish it had been otherwise as well, but we could not risk frightening you and the others with this, especially with the group so unstable. Dag knew that he had but a little while to live, and the stability of the Group demanded his and our full attention. If this had become common knowledge then, we would have become separated, with no one to lead us. Dag, alone, knew of it, and he and I made the decision, with your mother’s consent, to keep it from the whole Group, including you. Please do not be angry at us for doing so. We had only your safety and the Group’s stability in mind.”

Tia nodded, and smiled ruefully, “I understand, father, and I am not angry, only disappointed that I could not have shared this with her. I have so many questions!”

“As did I,” said Seth, ‘and as did your mother.” Peering intently into her face, he suddenly asked, “Have you tried your gift on other humans yet?” She recoiled in shock, and he was quick to say, “I know. It would be a terrible burden to see through the eyes of another, to see his thoughts, and I would be frightened indeed if you did not share that feeling. Your mother felt that burden, and she and I spoke of it often.” He closed his eyes, remembering a conversation. “Yes, we spoke of it often.” His mind drifted back to a day when he and Leana had begun to explore her new-found ability.

“But Seth, I fear we will be cut off from the Group if they find out.” Leana had covered her face with her hands and shuddered. “I don’t want to bring that on you and Tia. I would rather die first!”

“No, Leana,” he urged, “do not think of that at all! We will not bring it out into the open until we’re certain of what we have here, and we will trust only a few at first, until we know where they all stand.”

They had gone together in search of the reeds they used for arrows, and more of the dart-thorns. But there had been another purpose to be alone. They needed to think about the power that Leana had begun to manifest – about its meaning, and its threat. Others in the Group would certainly not understand, and, as Leana had said, the two of them, and Tia as well, would almost certainly be cut off from the rest of them, would be cast out to fend for themselves. Dag would be sympathetic, but he was getting old, and would soon be replaced by a younger leader. Many favored Seth, but there were those who opposed him as well. They would seize upon this new discovery, and would turn it into a wedge between them and the Group. They must wait until things calmed down again, and who knew how long that would take? So they kept their secrets, even from their daughter.