Chapter 9

Felek watched the riders approach.

There were seven horses with riders. This was good. No casualties. One horse had two riders. That was bad. Whatever was going on, they had more important things to do than to get involved. He walked past the last wagon, Ruta and Issa taking their place on the driver's bench. He had switched Adanya and the kids to the undamaged wagon, just in case. The wagons would change positions once they got going. He stopped as Anelie reined in.

"Who's our guest?"

The Kikker leaned out from behind the Hussar. Felek blinked.

"You!"

"Yes," Anelie said, dismounting. "Her. I thought I said to get moving."

"Hurried soldiers don't put wheels on correctly the first time, it seems. We're all set now." He watched as the Kikker girl carefully dismounted, unsure of the entire procedure. She dropped to the ground without falling over. "What's the story?"

"Ofure!" Anelie called to the Kikker. She ran over, brown breasts jiggling slightly.

"I'm here! Thank you!"

"Don't thank us yet. Tell Felek why you're here."

Her large yellow eyes widened slightly. Felek looked behind him. Ruta and Issa were standing beside the wagon. He sighed.

"Yes, tell us. Why did you follow us for half a day?"

"I had a dream," she blurted out. "A nightmare! I saw a Polish woman! Without clothing! She spoke to me! Said I had to go back to you! To travel with you! She said it was important!"

Felek turned to Ruta. His love's mouth was open, eyes wide in shock. Both hands clutched her necklace against her chest. This was either confirmation of all she was going through, or crazy coincidence. Anelie let out a sigh.

"We have to get moving. She was being molested by Watu bandits. We can talk about this later."

"One question now," Felek said, eyes on Ofure. "You haven't seen many Poles, have you?"

"No!" She shook her head, shaking. "Only once, and from a distance!"

"OK. You said this woman was nude. What did she look like between her legs?"

The look on Anelie's face was priceless, but he ignored it. What this girl did next was what was important. She frowned, thinking. Felek crossed his arms over his chest.

"She..." Her head cocked, eyes seeming to turn inward. "Fur. She had dark fur between her legs. Almost a triangle."

He nodded. Ruta's magic woman had been a topless blonde, but Ofure had at least seen an actual Pole and wasn't making things up. He looked at Anelie.

"I say we keep her riding double with one of your men. Don't trust her on the wagons yet."

She nodded. turning to remount her stallion.

"Agreed. Let's move out."

The delusional girl was quiet as the afternoon wore on, the talkative stalker of the day before gone. Felek liked that change. Traveling off the well used trails was bad enough, without having to deal with questions he might not like the answers to. Later, though. Tonight, they would find out what the hell was going on.

"I'm not impressed with these bandits," Anelie told him, her eyes again sweeping the roadsides. "They're not even trying to stay hidden."

"Well, they know we know they're there. I think they're just trying to encourage us to keep moving, not settle down in their territory for the night."

"I'm tempted to do that, just to spite them."

"But you're too smart for that," Felek added, smiling. She let out a rude noise.

"Doesn't mean I don't want to. I'm afraid they'll try a hit and run, go for one of the wagons. Pursuit through the woods would be difficult."

"Dangerous and risky."

"But are they smart enough to know that? Again, I like my bandits smart enough to not cause trouble."

That seemed to not make them bandits anymore, but he let it go. Names were often fluid things.

"Lady!" Klocia rode up, blonde braid flapping behind her. Felek turned in his saddle. He saw commotion back by the second wagon.

"Halt the column!" He yelled, arm up. Klocia reined in.

"Lady! The boy is ill!"

"Fuck!" Anelie reared her mount around, storming back. Felek motioned to the Hussars behind him.

"You two, ride ahead and see if there's a defensible camp we can use! Lewy, set up a perimeter!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Felek saw Ruta jump from the wagon, running back. He held up a hand to Issa.

"No, stay with the wagon! We may have to move quickly!" Kicking his mount, he rode back.

James lay on the grass, trembling, brown blotchy skin now more of a dark orange. Ruta threw herself down beside him, Adanya and Jaromira already there. Bogdi stood over them, arms wrapped around the crying Zuza. His face was blank.

"You're going to be OK, James!" his mother was saying, hand caressing his sweating face. "Just stay calm. It'll be OK!" Her head swung up. "I need the basket!"

Zuza shoved herself away from her father, leaping up into the covered wagon. She was out the back a moment later, tan woven basket in her hand. She sprinted to them, almost throwing her burden to Adanya as she too dropped to her knees. Her mother caught it instinctively, opening the lid as she brought it down to the grass.

"Water. I need a cup of water." Jaromira held one out, producing it seemingly from nowhere. Adanya took it. "Thank you!" Placing the wooden cup between her knees, she pulled a folded leaf from the basket. Opening it, she removed a single dried red flower with an orange center. Carefully, she dipped it in the cup, swirling it once. James' breathing came faster. Zuza grabbed his hands.

"It'll be OK! It'll be OK!"

"What ... what's wrong?" Ofure's voice broke the hypnotic spell which had overtaken Felek. He looked at the girl, now standing uncertainly away from the others. Everyone was speaking Polish, so obviously she'd be confused. He moved to her.

"He's sick. Both kids. That's why we're traveling. We have to find a cure."

"Drink this." Adanya gently lifted her son's head up, cup pressed to his lips. The water dribbled into his mouth, down his chin. He swallowed. Adanya looked up, eyes fierce.

"We need more flowers. I'm down to two. Don't care where you find them, or how much they cost."

The boy's trembling lessened. Pulling his hands free from his sister, he took the cup himself, lifting himself up on one elbow. He took a longer swig, swallowing hard.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he said, tears in his eyes. "I didn't mean to do this!"

"It's OK, it's not your fault. You have to tell me when it starts, right? Just tell me when you start to feel ill, and we'll use your medicine."

"It was just a twinge before. I didn't think..."

"It's OK, Honey! Just lay back down! We'll rest for a few minutes then we'll get back on the wagon."

Felek moved over to Bogdi. Ofure came with him.

"You couldn't stock up more before we left?" he asked, softly. Bogdi shook his head.

"We brought what we had. The shaking is rare. It..." His voice lost all emotion. "There usually are only a few attacks before the end. The flowers are from Ajani."

Felek grimaced. That meant they now had a deadline.

"How long?" he asked. Bogdi let out a sigh.

"A month, maybe. If we have enough flowers."

They traveled another six hours, pushing past their normal stopping time. What good that would do, when they did not know how close their destination was, Felek couldn't say. They just had to make up time. The boy seemed OK, for now. At least, no more news had come from the wagon. That was probably the best he could hope for as the shadows lengthened around them.

The Kikker girl had not spoken since they had moved on. Even during rests, she kept to herself, eyes taking all of them in. He was starting to believe her, for all she had not given more proof. Surely she was among them despite the children, despite all the Polish around her. Something strong had compelled her to race along through wilderness to find them.

He hoped it wasn't evil.

Two riders appeared up ahead, coming around a bend in the barely marked trail. They were not hurrying, which was good. Hurrying scouts were the prelude to danger. Anelie raised her arm beside him, bringing the column to a halt. Looking behind, Felek saw all eyes on the forest around them, wary.

"There's a rise just around the bend, Lady Anelie," Kazik told them, reining in. "It will make a good defensible camp."

"Good. Lead the way." She turned to address the column. "We make camp ahead! I want fortifications thrown up, and we double the guard!"

"Yes, Lady!" Bogdi yelled back. She turned to Felek.

"While they're breaking their backs, I think we have some talking to do with Ruta and our guest."

"Agreed."

The low hill was about fifty yards long, its southern end about half that distance wide. While the slope from the road was gentle, the eastern face was somewhat steep, providing an annoyance if not a barrier to intruders. Felek nodded to himself in approval as he walked the edge. Comfort wise, it would be better to be at the bottom of the hillside, protected from the now increasing winds from the west, but it was bandits they needed shelter from.