When War Calls(91)

‘He left,’ said Tarsha. ‘He said he had to go.’

‘Where?’

‘He didn’t say.’

Vennoss turned to Adonis and Blair. ‘Find him.’

The two Daijuar nodded and hurried down the stairway to Tarsha.

‘He went out through there,’ she said, pointing to the other end of the hollow.

Without responding, the two ran as fast as they could, leaving Tarsha far behind calling out for them to wait.

When they came out of the small tunnel Jaden had used to enter days before, midday sunlight made them close their eyes for a moment, its brightness blinding even for them.

The sky was all but clear over the mountainside, save for the few remnants of the storm that had passed. The wilderness was still wet from early morning showers, causing the ground to make a crunching noise as they stepped, and had kept a slight imprint of where Jaden had run. They saw him passing over the side of the mountain slope in the south, but he was in a full run and was only seen for a second. The two Daijuar gave chase, but were unable to gain any ground on the young sprinter. They followed his trail for what seemed as miles, catching a glimpse only when there was a break in the trees or a depression in the ground, and it seemed Jaden was now gaining more distance ahead of them. Half an hour passed without either party slowing, but the Daijuar soon came to a complete stop at the edge of a great river, its current too strong for any to swim across.

‘Which way would he go?’ asked Blair, searching over the ground for tracks.

Before Adonis could answer his question, they heard a girl scream. The sound bounced off the many trees, so they could not pinpoint her exact location, but they followed the sound as best they could. They then heard a loud thwack and the girl’s screams were silenced. Still they could not find her; unsuccessfully searching through the many shrubs and thickets everywhere they turned. It was another five minutes before they came across a clearing. At the other end, they saw Jaden on the ground, kneeling in front of the girl that had screamed, holding her to him in an embrace. For a moment, it seemed he had attacked her. But to the left, they soon spotted a middle-aged man lying on the ground with bullet wounds to his head and chest, and in the centre was an Alliance scout, blood pouring from his right ear as he stumbled left and right, trying to take aim at Jaden.

With a flash of Daijuarn light, the Alliance scout was off his feet and flying through the air over Jaden’s head, hitting the trees hard before falling to the ground where he slumped back against a rock, unconscious.

Jaden turned to the Daijuar and then back to the girl he held, resting his head against hers. They did not ask him what had happened, as the evidence was clear. The middle-aged man was in plain clothing and had been shot dead by the scout, beyond repair even for Daijuarn healing. He had no doubt been travelling with the girl. Once dead, the scout would have attempted to have his way with the girl, but Jaden had used a large part of a branch as a club to hit him off her, which was why he was bleeding from the ear. And Jaden had almost made a grave mistake by assuming the scout would stay down. It was reckless, something both Adonis and Blair noted with interest.

Knowing there would be other scouts in the vicinity, the two Daijuarn sentinels quickly helped the teenagers up from the ground and escorted them away from the grim scene, not a word being spoken.

It was nightfall before they made camp, having found a place to cross the river at dusk. Tarsha had caught up to them along the way, at a loss for breath as she reached them and not short of a few complaints. But as a fire was lit by the Daijuarn energy, she quietened and let Jaden and the girl sleep in peace. She sat prodding the fire for a while, staring into the flames mindlessly as the wood and leaves crackled and jumped out disapprovingly, as if they were not fond of the temperature. She was oblivious to Adonis and Blair moving away from the camp to speak out of her hearing range.

The two Daijuar made themselves comfortable on the ground in meditative positions, but did not close their eyes. They looked back toward the fire, to where Jaden slept.

‘He is calm,’ said Adonis.

‘He feels love.’

‘How did he know where to find her?’

‘He is not what he seems,’ Blair concluded.

‘Should he be taught?’

‘We are in need of him.’

‘He may not choose to help us,’ reminded Adonis.

‘A risk,’ Blair agreed.

‘He could still be dangerous.’

‘Noviahn would not be pleased with us.’

‘The blame will rest with him.’

‘Perhaps he can be used,’ said Blair. ‘He may not do as we would have him do, he will do only as he wants to.’