THE REALM

Chapter Fifteen

  The big Trican, far from being put off by the sound of the Sabers' roars, let out a roar of her own as she picked up speed. Not 10 or even 20 sabers would be enough to bring her down, but a 100 or more was a different story.

  Our certain death was far from our shared thoughts as we plowed into the enemy line of fur and teeth. Saber Cats went flying or were crushed underfoot, while one was gored through by the big female's lower solitary horn.

  With a shake of her big head the Trican dislodged the gored wreckage of life and hunted for more. Her feet churned the desert sand in a wide arcing turn as she sought to run down the line of Saber Cats before her.

  They ducked out of the way to avoid her dangerous horns and crushing hooves. As they peeled off to the side they pounced and latched on to the big female's flanks as they tried to bring her down by weight alone.

  I explored the length of my tether as I ran back and forth across the shifting platform beneath my feet. My sword swung faster than I had ever wielded it and my sharp regret of the moment was that I did not have two swords to wield.

  Saber after Saber launched to land on the flanks of the big female. Some fell off to be churned under, but others hooked in with their massive forepaws and held on. I severed Saber after Saber of its forelegs in my bid to keep the Trican rolling forward unencumbered by the weight of the horde.

  Occasionally Sabers managed to claw their way up onto the broad back of the Trican to attack me. They came at me with deep chested roars and I hacked away with true savagery, until the back of the big beast I rode ran red with blood.

  My footing on the bloody surface became treacherous and I slipped many times, until I fell. My cord brought me up short of hitting the ground, but there were snarling Sabers all around me taking swipes at me.

  The big female turned sharp and brought her head to the right and I leapt toward the proffered horn hanging out in space, even as I sliced through my tether with my sword.

  I grabbed the horn, but a massive paw slammed into my shoulder and sent the sword flying along with my breath. I held on to the horn through sheer force of will, as my ride brought her head around and charged on as more and more Sabers fought to latch on.

  My breath had come back to me and I pulled myself up and over her horns and past her eyes to stand against her neck frill, only to duck a paw swipe aimed at my head. I dodged back up to be met with the snarling visage of a Saber. I let him have my fist to the side of his head with all the strength I could muster.

  The Saber's eyes glazed and he tumbled off the Trican. Wearily, I flipped up over the neck frill and landed on my feet as I pulled a pair of long knives from my belt. There were at least four Sabers on board and they were all surging toward me.

  This was a battle for survival. With a roar I ran toward them.

  The desert wind was blowing again and I was grateful for it, because it had blown sand all over the blood on the surface of the Trican's back. I could tell the Trican was tiring, but gamely she kept on as at least 30 Sabers were climbing up her sides, tearing into her thick hide in search of a perch.

  I ducked under one paw strike and ripped my knife along the Saber's flank. The Saber fell over the side and dislodged two of its brethren on the way down. Another Saber was before me, rising up to give me a fanged hug, and I stepped into the embrace of its paws and rammed both blades deep. Its paws shrugged off my shoulders even as the insane light in its eyes faded into darkness.

  Another Saber swiped at my legs and I heaved the dead one before me over to fall onto it, knocking the newest aggressor free of the Trican's back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a Saber in flight and I let the momentum of my heave of the dead Saber carry me over backward.

  I landed hard on my back. Numbly I thrust one knife upwards just in time to gut the Saber passing overhead of me.

  Awash with blood from my gutted victim I scrambled up to my feet, only to be startled from my fight for survival by the loud bellow of the big female. It wasn't a cry of death, but of war, and then the air seemed to ring with the sound of my friend's cries only manifested in greater volume.

  It was almost comical to see the way the heads of the latched on Sabers swiveled forward. They abruptly let go of the Trican's flank and dropped to the ground.

  I turned my head forward to see what had provoked such a reaction. The entire herd had come to us. Not just the female's herd, but all the Tricans of the valley. They were strung out in a long unbroken line running at full tilt with horns down. Sand kicked up behind them forming a wall of dust 50 feet into the air. It was a beautiful sight.

  My head turned back to see the rest of the Sabers, numbering almost two hundred, running in the opposite direction. They weren't going to make it.

  The battle line before us opened and the horned host swept along past us at a full gallop. Tired Sabers dodged left and right to miss being trampled or gored, but the tight-pressed line of Tricans didn't falter in its intent to destroy all. Each of the Tricans held its place in the line as they swept back and forth with their projecting horns in search of a target, even as they trod other Sabers underneath, into the sand.

  The big female came to a lumbering halt, her sides heaving for breath. Somehow I found myself suddenly sitting on her back instead of standing and absentmindedly I patted her back. It was doubtful that she felt my touch, but I had to show my appreciation in some way.

  She was all cut up from where sharp claws had managed to penetrate, but she was young and with rest she would recover. The herd was coming back to us.

  I continued to sit, feeling quite done in by everything. I saw Kuri then. He was riding a big bull, which diverted from the herd to come towards us.

  Kuri stood there at the frill above the horns and regarded me somberly for a moment before a smile broke free, "I believe we have accomplished the goal that we set out to do a year ago. I think you're ready for the next and final step of your training."

  Trepidation for what that next step would be rose sharply within me, "And what would that be?"

  "Civilization and in particular, the art of diplomacy."

  I could've laughed out loud then, "You had me scared there for a moment, Kuri! I was expecting a new level of death-defying import."

  My good humor faded quickly away though at the somberness reflected in my teacher's face. What had I said wrong?

  What could be so hard about diplomacy?

  Kuri's ride drew close and Kuri broke the somberness of the moment by saying, "Do not be deceived by appearances Benaiah. The fight today, indeed this whole past year, has been a battle ever before you. You've always been able to see, feel, or even sense it and then respond to the threat, but it is different in the realms of man. There, nothing is certain and almost everything you see is a lie, where in nature the weak die off against superior foes, in the realms of man the weak kill the strong by stealth and subterfuge."

  "The evil inside can be hid in the form of a friend, who will stab you in the back when you least expect it. Men and women are ever deceptive in revealing their true intentions. To them you would appear as naïve, an open scroll to exploit. You have much to learn Benaiah. There is a way to talk that does not give away too much and yet speaks only that which is true. There is a way to evaluate the truthfulness and motives of others and yet still remain friendly. There is a way to avoid the pitfalls of those weaknesses common to mankind by which many are snared and pulled down to a place of everlasting torment."

  "No, Benaiah, this coming year you have as much, if not more, to learn than you did these past two years put together."