Legacy

Chapter 9 - The Rabbit Runs

A single long ray of sunlight cut through the branches and hunger gnawed at his belly. Broken and weary, Kane groggily opened his eyes. He couldn't be sure but it must have been well past midday. His arm throbbed in pain, which was a good sign, but under the strain of climbing the wall yesterday it hung limp and lifeless. With time and care he hoped it would be useable again but, at least for now, he'd have to do the best he could without it. Seeing that he was finally awake, the young prince handed Kane a pack of dried meat and fruit before sitting back down to read his book. A flock of birds flew overhead startled by some unseen animal.

"Sorry, I've slept too long," Kane said "The fight took a lot out of me. Perhaps we should just rest again today. Give your leg a chance to heal."

"It's actually feeling a lot better and I've found this branch I can use as walking stick."

"That's good to hear, my prince." The sounds of hoofs and roars could be heard drawing towards the bottom of the cliff.

"I was tempted to climb down to look at the carcass while you were asleep. But I didn't think I'd be able to make it back up. Besides it's not a wild razorback. It's a hunting razorback, you can tell from the stunted tusks. Shame really I'd love to have the tusk of a wild razorback," the prince said ruefully.

Kane dragged himself to the edge of the cliff. The carcass did, indeed, have smaller tusks than a wild one; its jaw was also enlarged. That was probably why its bite had been so savage; its owner had bred it to be a killer.

"We have to get moving, my prince," Kane decided. "That thing was tracking us. Praxis agents are hunting us and they could be here soon. Get your things. We must go."

"Where? If hunters are this close, where can we possibly run to?"

"We should be close to Barren Ravine now. Those hunting beasts won't be able to follow us once we're across," Kane said.

As they prepared to depart, five snarling razorbacks emerged from the underbrush and descended on the corpse. Their snouts pressed firmly to the ground as they searched for the scent of the slayer of their fallen comrade. A tall ashen-skinned man with an iron ring through his nose emerged from the forest his eyes fixed on the body. The beasts milled around letting him by. Bending down he gave the dead razorback a fond caress before cutting off one of its tusks with a deadly curved blade. He sniffed the body, and then the blood splattered ground, searching for unseen signs until he came to a few small drops of still-damp blood. Dipping his fingers in the blood he licked the crimson liquid from his fingers tips and a crooked smile crossed his face.

"Warriors! Come out to play," the man mockingly called out. "My little pet gave as good as it got, didn't it? I know you're close by. I've got the scent of your blood and his brothers have too. Run, run, run as fast as you can but you'll never get away from us now."

Kane grabbed his gear and silently led the prince deeper into the woods, the sounds of the razorbacks just a short distance below. They moved slowly at first, gaining momentum as they went. The prince was hobbling slightly but he managed to keep pace. Weaving around the trees they broke into a run trying to cover as much ground as they could manage, leaving the taunts of the Hunter and the sounds of his beasts behind. There was a gentle rush of wind through the trees and scattered leaves were tossed aside as they made their way through the undergrowth.

The prince was wheezing before long and Kane, despite his stamina, was still struggling to breathe. Despite the danger they had to slow to a walk before they both collapsed. The ground was rockier now and the trees had begun to thin but there was still too much ground to cover before they reached the ravine. Only one thought raced through Kane's mind – they needed to go faster. It was only a matter of time before the Hunter managed to find a route around the cliff which might buy them an hour, maybe two. Not nearly long enough. The young prince was injured and the rate they were going it would be sundown by the time they were across. Even then, unless they managed to get across fast enough, he would be right behind them. The Hunter's deadly razorbacks would make short work of them in such an exhausted and injured state.