The Dark Ages of the Synakoy; The Past Forgotten, Wolfheart [top ebook reader .txt] 📗

Kiyoshi shook her head. “If you’re going to aid us, don’t keep us out here in the cold. We’re not tramping around in the snow with a tent and firewood. Show us to the closest town or…” She looked around. “Show us to the nearest village.”
The woman turned around. “Well…the closest thing to either of those is our Caravan. We’re only the scouts.”
“You have a Caravan?” She asked doubtfully. She looked the fox-like mounts up and down.
“Yes. We are on a mission to end the terrorism in this land.”
“Where are we, exactly, that gives you the right to travel all over killing people?”
“I’ll show you, alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll be returning to the palace soon.”
Kai snorted. “Did you just say palace? Where are we, Britain?”
“I've never heard of this Britain. Where is it?” She sounded confused.
Where are we?

Kai shook her head. “Something is strange, Ky…let’s get outa here.”
“We can’t stay in this cold, though, Kai, and we’re clearly far from home.”
Kai saw Kiyoshi, too, was shivering. Only she was dressed far lighter than the other three; she was in a tee shirt, blue jeans and riding boots. Her riding cap was in her arms as she shivered.
“Right...” Levin continued “We’ll get sick, and we don’t know where we are, for one. And how would we get food? I don’t think they have a McDonalds in these mountains – not in a place where they ride foxes the size of a horse.”
“Besides…” Ivory remounted Bell swiftly. “The horses are tired, hungry and will fall ill if we stay out in the snow. They had no time to grow a winter coat; one second, mid-fall, the other – winter. Bell’s sweat is making her shiver, and Wildfire…she’ll loose her foal...”
Levin mounted, and Kiyoshi lifted herself gracefully up. Sighing, Kai got onto Wildfire’s back. She nickered tiredly. When the mare shuddered, Kai understood Ivory’s anxiety. The horses had been run hard enough to sweat, and were now in a heavy snow with summer pelts. And there obviously were no roads up here in the barren mountains, leading to civilization that may not exist for hundreds of miles.
Besides…people riding foxes the size of horses…I don’t think we’re in North Carolina anymore.

“Lead the way, Riviera.” Kiyoshi waved her hand. “But…remember that we’re only following you because we have no other choice, not because we believe you.”
“No problem.” She gave a hand signal. A young woman dressed in fur brought her a sleek canine the size of a horse. Its fur was white, with gray paws and black ear tips. The tail was a shade of dark gray. There was a mane along its spine. The creature had amber eyes. It sniffed at the horses curiously, as if it had never seen such a beast.
“We apologize for his curiosity. Wingless horses are rare in the mountains, and they know only the winged.”
Riviera gently mounted the huge Maned Wolf – the closest race she could name the beast too – and began to ride. Kiyoshi took to her right and Levin to her left. Kai rode directly behind them with Ivory. The other ten or so people rode in an orderly line. As Kai listened to Kiyoshi try to amuse their psychotic savior, she knew they were never getting home.

*****

The sun was down long before the company came to a halt. Kiyoshi made sure Kai, Ivory and Levin were all dressed in warm furs, and had a warm fire going before she changed from her thin, soaked clothing into the warm caribou hide shirt, jacket and pants. She changed into the boots that were perfect for winter – most likely some kind of beaver or otter fur – and then the gloves that were animal hide and fur stuffed on the inside – though she had no idea what either was. Nobody had suggested caring for her horses, so she turned next to them. She made sure they were warmed, fed and tied to tree limbs.
When she returned to the campfire, Levin was dishing out a thick stew. Ky sat down and was given a bowl herself. Even Viper was given a bowl. Apparently, the dog was theirs, even though Riviera had claimed to know her. They ate it quietly. Ky was sore and mentally exhausted from trying to make sense of what was going on. Riviera was obviously not much older than her, but was so clearly in charge there was no doubt her party had confidence and respect of her. They treated her like a mature, sane adult.
Hell, they treat us like we’re crazy, outlandish idiots. And it’s only been three hours. How do they do this?

The stew tasted odd. The flavor wasn’t bad, however, and she focused on trying to identify it. The meat was tough and had been smoked and salted, but it was easy enough to chew. The broth was thick and heavily spiced. Because the spices blended, she couldn’t be sure what was used. There were roots and veggies in it, but she was completely lost on them altogether.
“Where’d you get this?” Ky finally broke the silence.
“Riviera brought the supplies and made the fire. I cooked it.”
“What meat did you use?”
“It looked like some kind of deer meat, but when you see people saddling giant foxes, you can’t be sure what the hell is around you.”
She nodded, understanding how upset he was. “Get ready for bed, girls. I think they’ll want to leave sometime around daybreak.”
“Are you kidding me? We just rode hours. We were on them all day yesterday, too.” Ivory complained indignantly.
“Would you rather starve and freeze?” Ky demanded. Ivory’s face expressed itself. “I said get to bed.”
“But-“
“Now, damnit!” Ky growled and her voice growing cold. “No ands, ifs or buts!”
The girls finished eating and disappeared into the tent. It, too, was animal hide.
They live so basic. It’s like they’re in the dark ages again. Well...I guess the huge dog mounts aren't the dark ages...but...still!

“So we’ll travel with them?”
“Unless you want to attempt to find North Carolina in these sheer peeks of snow and ice, yeah.”
He nodded, not arguing, though it was obvious he wasn’t happy about it.
“I’m sorry. I don’t like it, either. Riviera doesn’t seem…stable. But she’s our only chance. I mean…this place is the strangest place I’ve ever seen. Everybody and everything has two faces, and nothing is quite…” She frowned. “I don’t know…real. Well… what we consider real, anyway.”
“I know. Just be careful, alright? Try not to be alone with any of them – especially the men.”
She nodded. “Yes…from the looks of things…they won’t have women rights.”
“Good night.“
After a moment of silence, he rose and went to his tent. For some reason, there were three. He took the smallest. Ivory and Kai had left the largest one for her. As soon as she was finished eating, she stored the remainder of the food in little containers left beside the fire and pot. She cleaned the dishes using snow, recalling suddenly how her mother would do both of these things, although she wasn’t sure where the memory had come from. Then she re-checked the horses and put out the fire before going into her tent.
Surprisingly, there was a cot covered in many assorted hides and furs sown together. There were books in a stack as well. Just a glance at them proved they were useless to her; they weren’t written in letters, but characters that reminded her a little of the Celts and a little of Japanese, but not quite either language. After putting the stored food in a corner of the too-large tent, Ky tied the tent closed and lay down. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Viper lay at the foot of the cot.
This is going to be a long night.

She yawned.
But tomorrow will be an even longer day.

Chapter Three

Journey through Ice and Stone

Viper’s snarl woke Kiyoshi with a start. She leapt from her cot and shivered. Slipping on her coat and boots quickly, Ky saw the shadow just outside her tent. Something told her it was Riviera coming to say hello. She reached down and tapped Viper on her muzzle. “Quiet.” When the dog looked at her, insulted, she said “good girl, Viper.” The dog sneezed, but didn’t bark more. Grabbing her violin, she came out of the tent. As she’d suspected, Riviera stood in the growing dawn light.
“You sleep late, Kiyoshi. Are you even packed?”
Furious, Ky got up in her face. “Listen here, Ms. Leader, I’m not one of your damn scouts. Get that through your thick skull or we’ll find our own damn way. I won’t have you ordering around my group. I’ll wake up when I damn well please. Is that understood?”
The shock on her face was clear. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open. But there was such fury there that she shook, and her pupils turned black. Ky forced herself to stand her ground – not to step back, however afraid of Riviera she really was. She’s not accustomed to being told off, is she? And I have a feeling there’s more reasons to her holding back than me standing up to her. What does she have to gain?

Then Riviera regained composure, slowly cooling down – by force – and nodded. “Fair enough, Lady Kiyoshi. But I would ask that you get up in time for us to move out. Most of the camp is ready to move. Dawn is the time most of the more proficient predators are hunting, so it’s quite hazardous to just start moving then. Awaken your family and pack up. Tell me when you’re ready to go.”
“Oh…where do you want those books?” Ky kept the emotion from her voice. She couldn’t show her relief that this psycho had held back.
She blinked. “Those aren’t mine. They were yours and your mother’s; we just made sure they remained safe.”
Then she turned and went off to speak with Tenzik. Looking around, Ky sighed. Most of the mounts were saddled, and everything was already packed up. They hadn’t brought another animal to carry most of this stuff…
What the hell am I going to do with a cot?

But she did have a place to begin. She went over to Kai and Ivory’s tent and looked at Viper.
“Go get Levin, Viper.”
The dog wagged her tail and zipped off for his tent. As she slipped in, she heard a flurry of barking and then Levin shouting at the dog to shut up.
She was surprised to see the girls lying on stacks of fur and hide, without a cot. It made packing less complicated, but it wasn’t healthy. They were well-bundled, sure, but it still concerned her. Not only the cot was missing, but so were the books. Instead, there was extra, fancier clothing. The clothes were more designed to help a person blend into a forest than the ice-covered mountains. Other than that, however, it was bare. Ky came to Ivory first. She bent down and gently shook her. The child woke and sleepily said “bug off. I’m too tired to go to school.”
“Good for you.” Ky laughed. “You’re not going to school for the rest of your life if you don’t get your ass up.”
She gave her a look of bewildered confusion, but then saw the tent and snow.
She groaned