Gods of Garran

The Gods of Garran: Chapter 26

A novel by Meredith Skye

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During the next day the group traveled closer to the sea. Sindke said that they should reach it by nightfall. The land became more solid. At least they were through the marshes.

Morrhan appointed himself Asta's unofficial guardian and stayed close to her. They spoke little, but Asta found his presence comforting. Occasionally they smiled at each other, but then she remembered that this assignment might not end well. Morrhan mustn't influence her. She had a job to do.

For a year she'd worked as an Enforcer, hoping for this chance to get into the Stealth Unit. She'd had no time for relationships.

Or was that true?

She just didn't want anything to come between her and her goals. Is that why she pushed Ruben away? Was she afraid a boyfriend would be an unwanted distraction?

Now, riding now alongside Morrhan, Asta realized that she felt lonely, maybe for the first time in a long time. She'd always felt that she didn't need anyone and that she was fine on her own. But it wasn't true. The thought made her even more angry at Morrhan who wouldn't stop treating her more politely than a Garran should.

The Garrans were the enemy, especially those in rebellion to the Chanden High Realm. If Ruben didn't kill Morrhan, he would probably be arrested for his part in this expedition.

Towards midday they came upon a terrible sight that stopped them in their tracks. Miles and miles of burned land. It shocked the senses to come out of that riot of green plants into an almost endless patch of black. Asta felt as horrified as the rest of them.

Before anyone spoke, she knew what had happened here. Garran plants contained an irritant, something not compatible with Chanden plants. In order to plant crops, the Chanden often burned acres of land to clear it. She had no idea the great empty place it left on the countryside.

"The Chanden did this," spat Jarvaine. "The bastards should die!"

Sindke raised her hand to silence him.

"How can they do such a thing?" asked Morrhan, his eyes full of disbelief. Asta felt ashamed. She wanted to explain but couldn't. And even to herself now the explanation seemed weak. Chanden preferred Chanden food so they destroyed the local ecology in favor of a new set of plants—foreign plants. Chanden arrogance again. The Garrans weren't fools; they knew the wrongs the Chanden committed.

They continued towards the sea through the endless black hills. Death. Ruin. Was this the Chanden legacy? It weighed heavily on her mind—the casualness which they destroyed so near a place sacred to the Garrans.

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In the early evening they came upon a small farm. Here the land had been converted to Chanden crops (food that Asta highly preferred to the bland Garran vegetables). They stopped while Jarvaine and Draiha scouted ahead. Stalking this farm made her nervous and Asta hoped that no violence broke out between their group and the Garrans. If it came to a fight, Asta didn't want to have to attack her own people in order to keep her cover. The thought ate at her.

Morrhan sensed her uneasiness; he glanced at her but she avoided his eyes, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

Soon the others signaled a come-ahead and Asta followed the others forward, with trepidation. As they approached the main complex Asta saw the bodies strewn about—Chanden farmers. Dead. Shocked, she stopped her yithhe to stare at them.

Jarvaine and Draiha met them there. "Dead—all of them," he said. "And good riddance. The less of them here the better." He spat.

"They've been dead a day, maybe," said Draiha. "No evidence as to who did it."