the ISLE

Escape and Family Matters

Summer began to fade, the clear air taking longer to warm up, the rains coming a little earlier each day. Although too soon, Lantern was firm about resuming hunting with Gesang. The younger man took the lead in such ventures, but their trips were quick and silent, most of their meat fish. Sound carried very well among the mountains, and the Hunters were too close to risk attracting attention. In the early dawn or late evening, the two scouted out the advancing party, tracking their progress across the mountain range. The result was disheartening.

At night, Lantern held his wife close, his cheek resting against her hair. No amount of exhaustion could silence the disquieting thoughts churning in his mind. The most anxious was, would they have enough time. The Hunters were moving closer each day, and a few weeks more was the most they could expect. He was sure they had no more than two. The rain was coming, but it might be too late to be useful. When it came to the weather, it was best to have an alternative plan.

Nuri moved slightly in her sleep, and he glanced at her. In the dim ember's glow, Jack studied her features. Her youth was most apparent when she slept, the maturity of her mind hidden behind her smooth skin and slim features. She was not more than twenty-one, more than ten years his junior, yet she was his equal in every way, smart, strong, and capable. Looking over at where Gesang lay he saw the young man too was awake, and their eyes met across the dying fire. Jack read in him the same anxiety, the same sense of foreboding that kept sleep from him. It was late in the night before he was able to rest.

A shot of adrenaline pulsed through him like a spear, jerking Lantern from the grip of a nightmare back to the comforting darkness of the cave. Nuri's soft breathing was at his side. Quietly sitting up he looked around the small space that had become home. Leaving here was hard to contemplate, but perhaps it was the safest thing. If they headed south, they may be able to lose the Hunters in the jungles above the southern bay falls, discouraging them into giving up until the rains left. It might buy them the time to think of a way to leave. Unhappy with that idea he put it to one side, a desperate, last resort.

Careful not to disturb Nuri in slipping from bed, Lantern left the cave, taking his spear with him. The beautiful weapon had become a natural extension of his arm, as familiar to him as the long blade still strapped to his side. Dawn was just breaking over the eastern edge of the valley wall, easing a tinge of pale yellow into the inky blue horizon. Going down to the deep pool of water he stripped and plunged in, trying to clear his head, to think clearly and practically. He won or lost battles before ever engaging the enemy, but this time Lantern had so much more to lose.

Looking down at the five jagged scars running the length of his torso he remembered how much he had already suffered. Fingering the long scar that traced along his ribs, he thought back to how drastically his life had changed since he shipwrecked here. A life such as this had never been imaginable, and now to lose it would crush him.

The two people under his care were family, and there was no way he was going to let them down. Three against three dozen was simply not possible. The logic of it simply was not there. That left only one option, and his fists tightened at the thought. Running from a fight cut against the mold he'd been made from, but his pride was not worth their lives.

They faced ancient beliefs, a deeply ingrained culture that was intolerant of deviation and outsiders. Already, they were being hunted like criminals, forced into an ever-tightening corner where conflict was inevitable. It sent a hot rush through his veins, and Jack strode from the water, his blood like fire in his veins. If the Anaiya wanted to bring war, let them come! He would show them what it meant-

"You are thinking to make a stand here." Gesang's voice spun him around, spear up and ready. The young man had grown in confidence during Lantern's rehabilitation, and smiled, lifting a hand in peace. "I can see it on your face."