Chapter 13

Rex backed away from the strange men. The whole team backed away to form a line against the oncoming strangers. The closer they got, the more clearly Sheena saw them. They stood just as tall as Fawks, but their dark hair and skin gave them an evil appearance.

They wore the same curious clothing, with sleeveless shirts and knee-length pants. Their bare shoulders and arms bulged with massive muscles, and they padded through the forest on bare feet.

They wore the same diagonal bucklers with an ornate medallion decorating the center of each man's chest, but these strangers wore swords hanging at their sides. They marched with their hands on their sword hilts, ready for action.

They arrayed themselves in one long rank in front of the team. When they all got into position, one tall man drew his sword from its scabbard and pointed its tip at Fawks. He bellowed at the top of his voice to make the whole forest ring. “Retreat, Ulasso! Retreat, or die.”

Black-blue patterns whirled under his skin. They looked like tattoos, but they rose and fell with the timber of his voice. They swirled over his cheeks and forehead and trailed down his neck into his shirt. They covered his arms and twined down his legs.

The same patterns rippled under the skin of every man in that line. The dark patterns gave these men a sinister appearance, but Sheena noticed different colors on each man. No two were alike. They marked each man with a curious stamp, like fingerprint whorls.

Jasmine spoke up first. “We are the Allies research team on our way to Assan Keep. We are guests of Clan Assan, and we call on the patriarch for sanctuary. This man helped us find our way through the forest when we were lost and in danger.”

The stranger slashed the air with his sword. “We are Clan Assan, and this Ulasso is our blood enemy. No one can approach our Keep with him in their company. Turn your backs on him now, or die a bloody death along with him.”

“What about us? How can we find our way to the Keep without him?”

“We will take you there. He cannot take another step closer to our Keep without losing his head. Come over to us. We will protect you and see you safely to your destination.”

Jasmine turned to Fawks. “I'm sorry about this, Fawks. We have no idea if these men really are Clan Assan, but if they are...”

Fawks swept the ranks with flashing eyes. “They are Clan Assan.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm sure. I know every single one of them. Don't apologize. Go with them. You'll be safe.”

“What about you? Will you be safe?”

“I'm going home. They won't bother me.”

Jasmine pressed his hand. “Thank you for everything, Fawks. We won't forget you.”

He shook her hand and smiled at everyone, but he wouldn't look at Sheena. She could only watch with an aching heart as he retreated into the trees and disappeared out of her life forever.

The man with the sword bellowed louder than ever. “Come now, if you want to come.”

Jasmine stood at Sheena's side and watched Fawks out of sight. She let out a heavy sigh. “I hate to let him go like that, after everything he did for us. Well, I guess it can't be helped.” She followed the others on their way through the trees to join the Assans.

Jasmine had to come back and tug Sheena's sleeve. “We're going now, Sheena. Don't stay out here. He's gone.”

Sheena pressed her lips together. She couldn't wait any longer. She spun on her heel and hurried after her friends. She couldn't think about Fawks anymore. He was gone. She had her chance at wild happiness and untamed joy, and she threw it away.

She should have gone with him when she had the chance. She should have flown away on the dragon's back to the underground desert city. She should have thrown all the rules to the wind and floated aloft on updrafts of desire and belonging. Now she would never find that again. She certainly wouldn't find it with the Allies.

The Assans broke up their line and led the way through the trees toward the mountain Keep. The farther they left Fawks behind, the more they relaxed. The man with the sword chatted to Jasmine. “I'm sorry to frighten you and your people, but the Ulasso are our most dangerous enemy. We can't allow them anywhere near our Keep, and we destroy them whenever we can find them.”

“He seemed nice enough. He did everything for us. We never would have survived without him.”

“He's gone now, so you have nothing to fear from him or anything else. My name is Warku Assan. My father sent me to bring you in. We had no idea where you were until you got into our territory. We would have brought you in long ago, but it took us days to find you.”

“Thank you for coming for us, Warku. My name is Jasmine Forsythe. I'm Commanding Officer of this team.”

Warku bowed. “Our Clan looks forward to making you welcome. We have the Keep prepared to receive you.”

“I'm sure we're all ready to spend some time in comfort and safety. These last few days camping rough have taken their toll on all of us.”

Sheena listened to his deep rumbling voice. If she closed her eyes and didn't look at Warku's dark face, she could imagine it was Fawks' voice. She could imagine his clear, white skin, his pale hair and glittering blue eyes. She would never see them again.

“What can you tell us about the Ulasso?”

“They keep to themselves in their deserts. None of the other Clans will have anything to do with them, and for good reason. They are blood-thirsty and ruthless. I'm surprised that Ulasso didn't cut your throats, one by one, in the middle of the night.”

Jasmine shivered. “I'll admit I didn't like him when he first showed up. We all felt something unpleasant about him, and none of us ever really trusted him, even when he did so much to help us. We all help him at arm's length.”

“You should have stayed where you were, rather than rely on him for help. We would have found you eventually.”

“Thank you. Now that you mention it, I agree we would have been better off if we had stayed with our shuttle.”

Sheena broke in on their conversation. “We would have starved. Fawks fed us on the meat of the morlock he killed.”

"We should have killed him when we had the chance."

"But he didn't do anything wrong."

"We can't let an incursion into our territory go unchallenged. If one of them comes around and gets away with no consequence, the others will start flooding in. There will be no stopping them."

"Are you sure you don't have them all wrong? Maybe they have some other reason for coming here."

“Forget the Ulasso,” Warku told her. “He can't hurt you, now that we're here. Look, there's the Keep.”

No one said anything else. The spirit of happy adventure that animated the group before departed along with Fawks. They hung close together and wouldn't go near the Assans. The dark shapes moving under their skin gave them a demonic look.

Every step through that forest caused Sheena devastating pain. How could she walk away from Fawks to throw in her lot with these horrible men? He was pure and clean and holy. These men were dark and crude and ferocious.

Warku broke out of the trees onto a vast plain. It spread out in front of the mountain pocked with holes. From that distance, they could see people moving in and out of the holes. A group of people stood in one big open entrance into the Keep. The sun shone on their clothes and refracted prisms of color through the clear air.

“There's the patriarch and matriarch. They've come out to welcome you.”

“Who are those people with them?”

“There's my older brother and some of my cousins. Everyone is excited about your visit.”

Warku stepped forward, and the team joined him to begin the last leg of their long journey. Now the real business of studying the Krataks could begin, and with the dark forest behind them and the Keep in sight, they hurried on their way.

At that moment, a shiny object streaked across the sky. It left a trail of cloud in its wake and soared down over the plain to land in front of the Keep.

Warku drew back. “What is that?”

Jasmine motioned him forward. “There's nothing to worry about. It's a rocket shuttle. The Allies must have sent it to search for us.”

The shuttle touched down, and the silver door in its hull opened. The ramp touched the ground, and a tall woman with long blonde hair stepped out. Her blue uniform cut crisp and straight around her shoulders. It was General Duncan.