Rise of the Red Harbinger by Khalid Uddin

Author:Khalid Uddin [Uddin, Khalid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-06-05T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Hunters

From The Book of Orijin, Verse Thirty-Six

You shall all endure pain and suffering. Man cannot truly appreciate joy without suffering. But We shall not bestow upon you more pain than you are capable of overcoming.

The night hadn’t been as quiet as Garrison would have liked. Insects hummed and buzzed throughout the forest, as well as the screeches of owls and bats. Garrison crouched atop a high branch in a tall, leafy tree. Yorik and Marika had done the same in separate trees. Yorik had insisted that he would keep lookout first while Garrison and Marika slept, but Garrison refused to sleep when he knew the arrival of more soldiers was imminent. He doubted that Marika slept either.

The air remained thick and humid despite the sun having set hours ago. Garrison saw it as a boon, considering they didn’t dare start a campfire. He had argued with Yorik and Marika about whether to continue on or hide. The Taurani implored him to keep riding, but Garrison knew that the only way they would have a chance against the king’s soldiers would be the element of surprise. If the soldiers had caught up to them while on the run, there would be very limited options for the three of them. But waiting in the trees in the dark brought certain advantages. The moonlight penetrated the forest enough to see on the ground, but the trees were too dense for Garrison and the Taurani to be noticed.

Garrison had explained his plan to the two Taurani and they hesitantly acquiesced. They’d ridden throughout the day and there was no concealing that all three were tired, as were their horses. The Taurani agreed that it would be foolish to continue riding while there was a risk of any of them dozing off or losing focus. Hiding in the trees, whoever saw danger first would whistle out to the other two. At least if any of them fell asleep, they wouldn’t be exposed. And Garrison had given Yorik and Marika each pouches of Red Dust, which would be the first element of surprise. If anyone was sleeping, the boom of an exploding tree would wake them up.

Garrison groped the pouches in his pockets at the thought. He had given Kavon all of the Yellow Dust. Garrison hadn’t regretted it, but the Yellow was his favorite and would surely be useful against soldiers in the dark. Once he reached the House, he would promptly make more.

He briefly thought of Kavon and regretted losing him. Yorik and Marika expressed no sadness, or any emotion for that matter, regarding Kavon. Garrison supposed that they’d understood that death was a possibility on this journey. Garrison refused to entertain that notion, however. He was simply too stubborn to accept it as a possible outcome. He shook his head and returned his focus to the ground below.

Garrison felt the warrior in him returning. Although he personally hadn’t killed any soldiers earlier in the day, he’d been in the middle of conflict and had kept his head level.

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