Guardian of the God - God's Appearance - Part 2 Chapter 3 - The Hawk and the Hound

  Guardian of the God

-

God's Appearance

(Book 5 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)

 

Author: Uehashi Nahoko

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

 

  Part 2 - Beasts Fleeing Hunting Dogs

Chapter 3 - The Hawk and the Hound

     Sufar cut through the heavens as a hawk in flight. He had raised his maro hawk, Shau, since he was a hatchling; their bond allowed Sufar to attach his soul to Shau's. He gazed down at the vast expanse of the earth below with the acute eyes of a predator.

    Establishing the soul link between him and Shau was still somewhat difficult, despite decades of practice. Sufar always felt a little dizzy and nauseated at first because the world that Shau saw was very different from his own. He could see much farther distances as a hawk and the colors of everything he was familiar with were entirely different. The colors he saw as a hawk were unique and vivid; most had no names in human languages.

    Sufar also had far more sophisticated methods of focusing his vision as a hawk. While flying, his eyes would automatically focus in on moving objects and animals below. He could see things as large as a herd of grazing deer and as small as a tiny solitary squirrel in clear detail from his high vantage point.

    Sound, smell, touch, hearing—every sense that humans had was heightened as a hawk. Bonding his soul to his first hawk at the age of sixteen had shocked Sufar to the core of himself. So this was how hawks experienced the world! It was the first time he'd truly understood that the world he interpreted with his own senses was so incredibly varied and different. His perceptions as his ordinary self were limited. The world contained such a richness of perspective that he would never live long enough to experience it all.

    Sufar became familiar with many other animal perspectives over the years as well, not just hawks. The world of dogs was dominated by their sense of smell, so colors tended to be more faded and washed-out. He found the eyes of a dog much harder to acclimate to than the eyes of one of his hawks.

    Out of all the animals he'd shared a soul bond with over the years, Shau was by far the most comfortable and familiar. He'd raised many hawks over the course of his life, but Shau's essential nature was unusually basic: he wanted to hunt, and kill, and eat. All hawks were like this to a certain degree, but Shau approached his desires with single-minded determination. This quality made it very easy for Sufar to command Shau's movements. Shau understood the need for hunting on a fundamental level. Prey had to be hunted before it could be eaten.

    The wind blew strongly beneath his wings. Wind created pathways in the sky similar to how water created currents in the ocean. Shau understood the shift in the wind's direction instinctively; he glided between the air currents with perfect ease. Shau could see best in full sunlight, so Sufar sent him after Balsa and Asra at dawn the night after they'd fled from the inn. Sufar's two apprentices, Mark and Kahal, discovered the place where Balsa had separated from Shihana's horse relatively quickly. Mark and Kahal told Sufar where Balsa had left the road before he'd created his soul bond with Shau. Based on that information, Sufar considered it likely that Balsa intended to enter the mountains through the lower forests.

    Sufar chose to fly above the mountains as he continued his search. Two people traveling through the mountains wouldn’t leave too much of a trail, assuming their pursuers even knew where to look for them. Sufar's high perspective gave him a wide field of view, but one hawk wasn’t capable of searching an entire mountain range alone.

    Fortunately, Mark and Kahal were excellent trackers. They were able to follow almost any trail based on very faint traces. In addition to himself and his apprentices, Sufar had the assistance of Shihana, who could bind her soul to many kinds of small animals. The four of them were all Kashal, hunting dogs of Rota. What they sought, they found.

 

 

    Sufar spotted Mark along the side of a road just off a main thoroughfare that led into a town. The side road crossed a small marsh that was deep enough to require a bridge. As Sufar's enhanced eyes focused on Mark, he saw him stooping over the bridge investigating horse tracks. The horse Balsa had stolen was Shihana's favorite, so Mark could easily distinguish that horse's trail from that of other horses.

    "Hm. Looks like she fled into the river," Mark muttered.

    Sufar descended into the trees. Mark heard the flapping of wings and quickly looked up. He extended his leather-gloved arm so that Sufar could land.

    "Kahal and I split up a while ago," Mark said. "The horse tracks continue for a while, so Kahal went to mark that trail. I noticed that the horse's tracks got lighter here—the horse started carrying less weight. I suspect the woman jumped off the horse into the river."

    Sufar vocalized a low note in the hawk's throat to indicate his understanding, then launched himself off Mark's arm into the air. Balsa had allowed the horse to run ahead before erasing all traces of where she'd gone next in the river. That's how it seemed, at least, and the uncertainty about which direction she'd chosen had caused Mark and Kahal to split up. Sufar had underestimated Balsa. She was smarter than he'd given her credit for.

    If Sufar assumed that Balsa got off the horse sometime in the night and carried the girl, how far could she have gone? The water of the river was very cold at this time of year. She'd probably traveled through it as fast as she could in order to keep warm. She was wounded, but Sufar had seen how she could move; he didn't think her injury would slow her down much. She'd probably traveled a fair distance during the night.

    Sufar flew in circles above the trees near the river. He was glad it was autumn. If it was summertime, Balsa and Asra would be completely covered by a thick cover of green leaves. Many of the trees below Sufar had already lost their leaves, so the ground was visible in some places.

    Sufar used his hawk eyes to focus in on points of interest across the landscape. Like a hunter stalking prey, he searched for particular signs—large moving shadows or signs of human passage such as footprints or fire. But he discovered no trace of Balsa and Asra. He did his best to remain patient. Some hunts required painstaking effort and care. If he wasn’t the kind of person that couldn't concentrate for long periods of time, he wouldn't be Kashal.

    Shau became unbearably hungry—and he shared the hawk's hunger with him. Shau began rejecting his commands in favor of finding food for himself. The hawk stopped looking for people and focused on the movements of small game moving around on the forest floor.

    Shau's diversion toward finding food proved fortunate. He hovered over a flock of small birds and fixed his hungry gaze on them. The birds sent up a cry and scattered. At the same moment, Sufar caught a glimpse of something white out of the corner of his eye.

    He'd seen someone's face—not clearly; it was possible that the person was looking down. He tried to direct Shau's eyes toward the face he'd seen, and after some effort he was successful. The face was Asra's. Balsa was also on the forest floor near her, wrapped in oiled paper and sitting against the trunk of a large tree. Neither of them had looked up until the small flock of birds scattered.

    Balsa was looking directly at Shau.

    Sufar knew they had to hurry now. Balsa would be moving soon. He didn't know if he should continue to keep an eye on her personally or if he should set Mark on her trail while he was still within easy flight range of them both. It seemed that Balsa was used to evading pursuers. She would probably create at least one false trail. The best course of action seemed to be to track her without interruption.

    As soon as Sufar made this decision, he flew up higher to avoid the wary twittering of the smaller birds in the trees below him. When he was high enough so that he'd be difficult to see from the ground, he started flying in slow circles while keeping his eyes on the patch of forest where Balsa and Asra were. He caught a glimpse of Balsa carrying Asra. The sleeping medicine he'd given Asra probably hadn't worn off yet.

    Sufar flew toward Balsa, remaining high up so he wouldn't be spotted. He paused in the air at the edge of a clump of trees and waited for Balsa and Asra to reappear.

    They didn't. No matter how long Sufar waited, Balsa did not emerge from the trees. He knew that he was faster than most people's running speed while flying, so Balsa shouldn't be able to outpace him in these woods.

    Sufar's heart raced with anxiety. Had he truly lost sight of them somehow? Impossible. He widened the scope of Shau's visual field and searched desperately for signs of movement. He saw only birds and small rodents. Shau's hunger increased the longer Sufar searched. Sufar wouldn't be able to fly with him much longer. He did what he could to pacify Shau temporarily and continued looking for Balsa.

    She's a very cautious woman.

    Sufar's own stomach ached with hunger. Shau's body became difficult to move. Sufar was at his limit. He let go of his compulsion on Shau and allowed him to hunt. He felt, somewhat distantly, Shau's speed and precision as he clawed smaller birds out of the air and devoured them whole. As Shau ate, Sufar tried to figure out how he could have lost Balsa and Asra's trail. He wished now that he'd doubled back to let Mark know where he'd seen them. He could really use someone's help on the ground.

    Now that he'd lost them, he had no choice but to return to Mark and the others and share what information he had. He knew Balsa was carrying Asra. Mark would be able to track them over land.

    After Shau's stomach was satisfied, Sufar reasserted his control over the hawk and directed Shau back to Mark's location. He wasn't far from the bridge where Sufar had last seen him. Mark paced along the bank of the river, clearly searching for tracks.

    When Mark caught sight of Shau, he called out to him in a tone of exasperation: "Master, this woman's used to being followed. She walked along the stones at the bottom of the riverbed. She left almost no tracks. It's going to take a long time to catch her, at this rate."

    Sufar used Shau's throat to make two short caws.

    Mark's face lit up. "You found them! Guide me, master."

    Sufar had Shau fly high again. Mark ran after him along the line of the river. Sufar turned abruptly away from the river into the mountains, sending out a high, shrill call so that Mark wouldn't miss the turn. Mark left the river and found himself knee-deep in strong-smelling grass. He tried to wade through the grass and keep moving, but the grass came back together as soon as he spread it apart; he had to tamp it down in order to make any progress.

    Did the woman know the properties of this grass and choose this place to leave the river deliberately? Mark wondered. If so, she was not to be taken lightly. If not for Sufar's eyes, Mark doubted that they would ever have been able to find her in the rocky, obstructed terrain of the mountains. There were too many convenient places for her to hide.

    The previous night, Sufar had told Mark and Kahal that the woman worked as a bodyguard. Her work experience likely contributed to her skill in evading the Kashal.

    Mark heard Shau's shrill hunting cry above him. He needed to hurry. Mark extricated himself from the tall grass and started climbing up a rocky hill. At the very top of the hill was a clear open space surrounded by trees. The clearing was warmer than the riverbed; the trees blocked out most of the cold autumn wind. It struck Mark as a good place to sleep outdoors in this season.

    Mark thoroughly inspected the clearing. Most traces of the woman and girl's passage had been erased or concealed, but Mark had no doubt that someone had slept in this clearing last night. Shau flew in tight circles above him, indicating that Mark had reached the right place.

    "I guess we'll need to track them on foot from here," Mark muttered. Shau flew off to find Kahal and guide him to this spot, leaving Mark alone to continue the search. Mark crouched down and examined the area in minute detail, taking in small sections of the clearing at a time.

    At the edge of a grassy patch, Mark discovered one footprint that was almost clear. It was directly beneath a large pine tree; if the print was below almost any other kind of tree the fallen leaves would have covered it up. The needles of the pine tree were so long and thick that Mark couldn't see the sky above it at all. Some of the moss growing on the tree's enormous roots had been rubbed off recently. This was the place where Balsa and the girl had slept.

    I've got you now.

    Mark smiled. This was only the first step in catching them, but he was excited. He unfurled a strip of white cloth and set it down as a marker for Kahal to find. He pounded an iron stake into the ground and tied the cloth to it so it wouldn't blow away.

    As Mark traveled, the sun moved steadily across the sky. The quality of the light on the forest floor became bright enough for him to see well around noon. Mark rummaged around in his pack for food and ate as he walked, slowly but surely following Balsa and Asra's trail. Balsa rarely left clear tracks. She'd left enough for Mark to follow—just—but there were times when he had to pause and examine the ground thoroughly to figure out which way she'd gone.

    Mark could tell a lot about Balsa based on the faint traces she'd left behind. Her footprints were uniform in size, shape, and placement, indicating a steady pace. She was clearly carrying the girl; he saw no child's footprints anywhere. Mark expected the woman's footprints to be even deeper than they were because of her added burden, but then he understood at least one reason why she'd decided to move this way. It was probably easier for her to erase all signs of her own passage than it was to stop and conceal the girl's tracks as well. She moved unexpectedly quickly. It seemed like she was used to navigating in the mountains. She definitely knew that she was being followed.

    The yellow light of late afternoon slanted through the trees. Mark started to think that it would be hard to catch her before sunset. She'd been carrying a child all this time and was wounded; she must need rest. It would be harder for her to keep going in the dark. She'd gotten a head start with the horse the previous night, but all of the Kashal had been pursuing her relentlessly since then. She must be tired; Mark was exhausted. He felt the start of a buzzing headache at the back of his skull.

    The woman he was tracking had a reputation as a short spear wielder, but she'd been able to knock out Shihana in a single hit without using her weapon. No one the Kashal had ever tracked had been able to slow Shihana so effectively before. When Mark had discovered Shihana's unconscious body, he hadn't believed his eyes. He'd been certain at that moment that Shihana must have a lookalike or a twin.

    If he continued to chase after the spear wielder until he tired himself completely out, Mark expected that the encounter would go badly for him. He had confidence in himself as a warrior; the straight tempering line on his sword was not there just for decoration. He was also a magic weaver and had learned several disciplines and techniques from Sufar. But he also knew that he was no match for Shihana. The woman he was chasing might have taken Shihana by surprise, but she'd still defeated her. Mark couldn't be too cautious here.

    Sufar would also be able to make use of Shau's eyes again tomorrow, after he'd rested and recovered. The magic weaving technique used to bind his soul to the hawk's was very effective, but also physically draining; its main disadvantage was that it could not be used for long periods of time. If Mark rested here and waited for Sufar's support tomorrow, he should be able to cut down the distance between himself and his quarries in no time. Kahal would also be fast on his heels tomorrow; he'd probably discovered the sign Mark left beneath the pine tree by now and was hurrying after him.

    A little before the sun set, Mark ceased his search and set up camp for the night. He didn't know how much distance still separated him from the spear wielder and the girl, so he didn't make a fire. It was best if they didn't sense his presence.

    Mark awoke a little before dawn the next morning to the sound of footsteps. The shadow of Kahal loomed over him. He carried his shortbow strapped to his back. The weapon lacked the same range and piercing strength as a longbow, but it was easier to carry and conceal while traveling in the woods. It was also much faster to fire.

    "You caught up fast," Mark said.

    Kahal grinned. The two of them put their heads together and whispered about what they'd learned. Kahal ate rations from his belt pouch while unfolding a large and detailed map of the area. The two of them marked their path from the previous day on the map, then looked up at one another.

    "She's running parallel to the western road," Mark said.

    "Looks like she means to come out of hiding on the road, somewhere around here," Kahal said, pointing to a place on the map. "She's not from Rota. Staying in the mountains with a child would be difficult, especially with winter coming. She'll head for a town, or perhaps a city. Maybe she'll go to New Yogo—we'd be at a disadvantage there."

    Mark pointed to the town of Shirogai on the map. "Shirogai is close to here. It's a large town along the Western Imperial Highway that connects to Kosenkyo, the capital of New Yogo, our own capital, and the capital of Sangal. It's a giant crossroads. No matter where she's headed, it makes sense for her to stop there first."

    Light danced in the depths of Kahal's eyes. He took a sip of water, then said, "We should hurry. I'd like to send them to the next world before they reach Shirogai."

    Mark packed up the map and started walking behind Kahal. He frowned as he stared at Kahal's back. Kahal was the sort of man that derived immense satisfaction from completing a hunt. Mark tended to prefer the chase. Killing a woman and child in cold blood was beyond him; he needed a good reason to do such a thing. He had a good reason, so he wouldn't hesitate when the time came, but he wasn't like Kahal. He took no joy in killing.

    Mark and Kahal parted, each going a different way in the dim light of the early morning. They moved in a semicircle, searching for tracks. They picked up the trail and got the lay of the land where they stood. They didn't want to run into any surprises.

 

 

    Around sunset, the tracks Mark and Kahal were following suddenly became deeper and fresher. They were getting close. The day was just about to end. Some soft light still filtered to the ground from the treetops, but the forest floor was almost entirely shrouded in darkness. They'd have to look for a place to camp soon.

    Mark halted suddenly. They'd only just found the fresh tracks. The immediate area was muddy and bare of most vegetation. There was probably a marsh nearby. He smelled water. The ground was so wet that it was almost muddy slush.

    It was impossible to erase tracks made in such an area. The trail that Mark and Kahal were following now was the clearest it had been for the entire chase. He glanced back at his own footprints, which were slowly filling with water. They would disappear in the mud eventually, though that would take time.

    But not much time. If Mark had to guess, he'd say that the tracks they were following now were less than half an hour old. They would catch up soon. Mark steeled himself for the encounter.

    He picked up the pace as he followed the footprints. The light was rapidly failing, but he could still see well enough to follow the trail and he had no desire to stop now. Kahal was still some distance behind him as he passed out of the muddy marshland into a grassy field.

    The trail became a bit more difficult to follow. Right when Mark felt like giving up for the night, an enormous tree loomed up in the half-dark on his left side. From the roots of the tree, something small and shiny reflected the last light of the sun. Mark parted the tall grass surrounding the tree and got down on his knees to take a closer look.

    The shiny stuff was scraps of oiled paper. But why would those be here? He saw no other signs of a woman and child. Mark felt a growing premonition of unease and got to his feet. As he stood up, something hard hit him in the base of his skull. Mark blinked, saw stars, and collapsed like a log on the roots of the tree. He rolled over so that his face landed in the mud, then lost consciousness.

    Kahal approached the tree from the east, a little behind Mark. He heard the squelch of something hitting the ground with force and crouched down behind a tree. He identified the shadow of someone holding a staff—or perhaps a spear—standing above Mark on the ground.

    It's her!

    Kahal was always excited when he was permitted to kill what he tracked. Finding this woman at last made him so overstimulated that he trembled all over. Had she killed Mark? Maybe. The idea strengthened his resolve. He felt a brief, cautious twinge of nervousness, but he ignored it. He spread his arms and started moving through the tall grass, making a sound like a gust of wind cutting across the plain. He crossed the grassland and entered a clump of bushes where he concealed himself in the gathering dark.

    Kahal loosened his bow on his back. He was ready.

 

 

    Balsa considered it likely that she and Asra had been followed from the moment of their flight. She could disguise herself and Asra in the crowd at Shirogai; the problem was the road leading into the town. The road wouldn't provide any cover for them and Balsa's footprints would be easy to follow on the flat ground. Their pursuers were magic weavers; she didn't know what they might be capable of. Not knowing worried her more than anything.

    When she first stepped out onto the muddy ground near the marsh, she realized she wouldn't be able to hide her tracks almost immediately. She decided to use this opportunity to set a trap. She had the element of surprise in her favor. They were chasing her, coming fast, so with any luck at all they'd fall right into it.

    Balsa set down Asra in a sheltered grove of trees and told her about what she was planning for the trap. The mud would make their tracks very clear, so their pursuers were probably coming right for them now. They'd been chasing Balsa and Asra for two days and were probably tired; seeing the trail suddenly become so clear would be exciting—maybe exciting enough for them to barrel blindly forward without checking their surroundings.

    Balsa found a tree a little ways away from the muddy marsh and scattered scraps of oiled paper around its roots to catch the light of the setting sun—and hopefully the attention of their pursuers. She crouched down behind the tree and waited.

    She expected that whoever was following them would stop to make camp when it was full dark. The sun set completely as Balsa waited. She was just about to return to Asra to make camp herself when she saw the shadow of someone approaching the tree.

    They moved silently; their stance was wary. Balsa was concerned about the growing darkness. If they failed to notice the paper scraps by the tree, they'd sidestep her trap.

    Balsa watched the figure turn toward her and begin his slow approach toward the tree. While he was distracted by the paper, Balsa snaked around the tree and got behind him, then knocked him out with her spear.

    She was certain that there were at least two, and possibly as many as four, pursuers. Where were the others? She saw no one.

    The grass surrounding the trees near her rustled loudly even though there was no wind. The trees around her moved in suddenly and extended their branches around her, trapping her within a small area. The grass at her feet wound around her legs and tried unsuccessfully to trip her.

    Balsa was fairly sure that the trees and the grass were illusions, but she didn't know how to restore her ordinary sight like Tanda had done with Shihana's illusion of fire. Balsa stood still with her spear in front of her, cleared her mind, and focused on her breathing. She felt dizzy. Her forehead was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. She tightened her grip on herself and prepared for the coming attack.

    Something burst through the trees, moving fast. Balsa's body moved reflexively away from it at the same instant that her spear came up and deflected an arrow. Balsa identified the direction the arrow came from, but she didn't have much time before the archer fired again.

    She heard the next arrow before she saw it. It pierced the     ground at her feet and was rapidly followed by another. Balsa narrowly dodged the third shot, but lost her footing on the muddy ground. She kicked the earth beneath her feet and sprang back up.

    The third arrow had grazed her forehead. The wound stung as she got to her feet; blood dripped into her left eye.

    Another arrow. Balsa crouched down low to avoid it, then threw her spear hard in the direction of the archer. Another arrow grazed her left shoulder as her spear left her hand. An instant later, Balsa heard her spear make contact with something solid.

    Someone groaned from a behind a clump of bushes in front of her. Balsa crawled toward the sound and discovered the archer. Her spear had gone straight into his right arm. He'd tried to move and avoid it; the result was a long gash that extended all the way up his arm. He was curled around himself in pain and didn’t notice her approach. Balsa gave him a solid roundhouse kick to the head, causing his forehead to slam into his own shin where he laid curled in on himself. His eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out.

    Balsa used her spear to cut the man's bowstring. She crouched down and laid him out flat, being careful not to move his head much. She adjusted his clenched jaw so that he wouldn't bite his tongue. Then she turned her attention to her own injured shoulder.

    Balsa probed the fresh wound on her shoulder for depth and found it to be quite shallow, though still bleeding. She unwound a long piece of twine from around her wrist, put one end of the twine between her teeth, and wound the twine around her shoulder above the injury. She pulled the twine tight, then tied the two ends together to make a tourniquet.

    She heard a twig snap and looked up. Asra stood in front of her. She'd heard the fighting and couldn't stand to stay hidden any longer.

    "It's all right now," Balsa said. "I defeated them. You can come out."

    Asra approached the unconscious man with his face in the mud near the tree and flipped him over. He groaned softly when she moved him. He'd probably come to soon. It was full dark now, so even when he did regain consciousness it would be impossible for him to follow them effectively for a while.

    Balsa walked toward Asra. Her fresh arrow wounds smarted at every step. Asra was shaking. Balsa could clearly see the anxiety on her chalk-white face.

    "Did you kill them?" Asra whispered.

    Balsa put her hand on Asra's shoulder. "No, I didn't." Balsa tentatively reached out and took Asra's hand in hers. Asra smelled her blood and sweat. He breathing was ragged. It was dark and Asra couldn't really see, but it seemed to her like Balsa was crying.

    Asra hesitated, then asked, "Are you hurt?"

    "I'm fine," Balsa said quietly. "They barely scratched me."

    Scratches weren't a good reason to cry. But she was crying. Asra was sure of it.

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