Tarashana Rachel Neumeier (top 10 motivational books TXT) 📖

“This explains some things we have seen,” Raga said soberly. “We saw Iro inGeiro fighting them, Ryo. There were too many. We could not help him.” He stopped, not certain how to finish. There was no good way to finish that kind of story.

I began to say that I understood, but Arayo said before I could, “We left him to fight alone. There were too many, and nothing to gain from facing them.” He touched his chest, over his heart. “Aras needs us to come to him. We both felt that—we still feel it. That was not the place to make a stand.”

He spoke in a level, calm tone, as befits a young warrior and the son of a warleader, but he looked at my face too. I could tell he was not certain he had done the right thing.

I said, “This was a hard choice, but sometimes there are no right actions and one must make a hard choice. When that kind of decision must be made, then you must make it. I was not there, but I think every other choice at that moment was probably worse. If the gods are extraordinarily generous, then we may have time to consider the matter at greater length at a later time, but for now, set everything that happened in the past.” I paused for long enough to show I thought the subject was closed.

Then I said firmly, “We will go on again now, as quickly as we can. I am very, very glad that Aras found you and that I have found you, but everything is dangerous.” I longed to sit down for some time, until I could become accustomed to the knowledge that my younger brother still lived and was not dead, not lost. But even if no enemies came at our backs, we did not have time to linger in that way. The urgency of the tie had become more intense even in these few moments.

I beckoned to Lalani. “I will go in front, and Lalani behind me. Then Raga, then you, Arayo, will come last. Watch behind us and to either side.” If we had no choice but to fight, I would do my best to get a sword for my brother as quickly as I could, though the curving Saa’arii weapons would be different from the swords Ugaro used. I added, “We think perhaps Lalani may be able to help Inhejeriel with the kind of sorcery that might win victory for our peoples and leave our enemies wailing in defeat, so if we must fight, try to protect her.”

“Yes,” both the young men agreed, accepting this order.

We went on. Though I listened as carefully as I could, for some time I heard nothing but the wind, and, very distant, the ring of sword against sword. That sound echoed so that I could not tell whether it came from above or below, but I feared perhaps both. I could not hear Etta singing, and realized I had not heard her voice for some time. I prayed to the gods that she was not dead.

Then an eagle passed through the sky, so near that I heard the stiff whisper of the air through his wings. I heard that sound and saw his shadow hurtle across the face of the cliff before I saw him, but then he came clear to my sight. Where a living eagle has feathers that are bronze and copper and black, this one seemed a bird made of air and ice and moonlight and the night wind. He was so big that at first I thought he was a female eagle, because they are bigger than the males, but the black tips on some of his feathers showed me otherwise. He was bigger than any male eagle I had ever seen or ever heard described. His wingspan was wider than the whole span of my arms.

The eagle tilted his wings and swept up and away, and around. He cried out harshly, the cry an eagle makes when he challenges a rival. He rose high, then stooped hard and fast at a place below us, but not too far below. He did not strike prey, only drove a fierce line through the sky, then wheeled away again.

I said, “There are enemies there.”

Arayo nodded. He had understood the eagle’s actions in the same way I had. “They probably know we are here.”

“They may,” I agreed. “We will go fast, as fast as we can.” Turning again, I began to make my way forward again, careless of noise now. Difficult though the path had become, I drew my sword. The eagle slid past, rising steeply. Nothing of his actions suggested to me that an enemy was close above us.

“Aras—” Lalani began.

I said, “Yes, I know.” We all knew. The urgency of the tie had once again become something close to desperation, so strong that it was all I could do not to rush up the mountain at my best speed. But if the shadow warriors came up behind us and we were not set properly to meet them, none of us would live to reach the high peak, though I thought now we must be very close.

I said, “Lalani, go past me. Go as fast as you can. Call out if you meet enemies, but if you find no impossible obstacles before you, then do not stop. Do not wait.”

If there were enemies ahead of us, and she came upon them with no one to protect her, then I might be sending her to her death. But I hoped for better. Aras still lived. He must have set himself in a very good position or he would have been killed long since. I hoped that if Lalani could come to him, he could protect he.

She was hesitating to do as