Eliska woke up first the next morning, went hunting for the group’s breakfast, and had another biturong on the spit by the time the men woke up. She didn’t want them to eat all the food before they left on their journey.

“How do you feel this morning, my dear?” Wesh asked. “Do you still feel strong enough to travel?”

“Yes, I feel fine. I don’t want us to stay here any longer than we have to just because of…..”

She broke off when he put his hand on her head again. She stiffened that someone was touching her this much, but she didn’t protest.

She already knew he wouldn’t find anything. She didn’t ask how he healed her from the river’s Darkness. It must have cost him a lot if it took three days.

The wild girl didn’t make her appearance while the group ate. “Maybe she found another source of supply,” Rien suggested.

“Maybe she found someone else to follow,” Vidal suggested.

“Maybe she only stuck around until she saw that Eliska fully recovered,” Wesh finished. “Now she sees that Eliska is fine, so the girl left.”

Eliska surveyed the surrounding woods. She couldn’t decide if she was happy or not about the girl being gone.

It might be kind of nice to have another girl around. Eliska wouldn’t have chosen an insane, wild creature with black goo all over her as the most ideal companion, but anything was better than nothing.

She pushed that thought away. That wild girl was no companion. She couldn’t even hold a conversation.

The party finished eating and headed up the valleys at a right angle to the direction Wesh had been going four days ago. Eliska cringed when she thought about the men waiting that long just for her to get back on her feet.

The party hiked half the day before Niyazi turned around. “There she is. She’s following us.”

Everyone stopped and stared at the wild girl hovering in the trees at a distance behind the group.

“What the hell does she want now?” Rien muttered.

“It can’t be food,” Omer pointed out. “She missed breakfast.”

“She isn’t bothering anyone.” Yvan turned away and started walking again. “Leave her alone.”

“Hey!” Rien yelled after him. “How much longer do we have to put up with this?”

“I don’t see her attacking you,” Yvan replied over his shoulder. “If she poses a threat to your life, then we’ll talk about doing something about it.”

Rien muttered a string of curses, but he made sure to do it quietly so the Watch Commander didn’t hear him—not that Yvan didn’t already know Rien’s opinion.

The others set off heading north again. Eliska checked over her shoulder every now and then. The wild girl stayed the same distance behind them.

When the group stopped, she stopped. When the group started forward again, she started forward to keep pace with them.

Eliska wasn’t the only one who kept looking. She didn’t understand Rien’s pathological aversion to everything bizarre and out-of-the-ordinary about the Coil, but the wild girl’s presence was starting to unnerve Eliska, too.

What if the girl did turn out to be dangerous? She would have done something by now if she had been.

Was she following the group on the Voyant’s behalf? Why not attack if that was the case—if all these other attacks really came from the Voyant?

Wouldn’t the girl conceal her presence to hide the fact that the Voyant was surveilling the Watch? That would have been better than coming right out in the open where the Watchmen could see her.

The group stopped by a different stream at noon. The wild girl halted a few dozen yards away and didn’t come any closer, not even to get water.

“She’s a tough old bird. I’ll give her that much,” Niyazi remarked. “She’s holding up better than we are.”

Eliska checked her diagram of the Island on her Coil projection. “We’ve gone far enough north. We can start cutting westward again.”

“What’s out there?” Yann asked.

“We’re leaving the stream system behind and heading back into the open grassland.” She revolved a blown-up diagram of the Ancestral Empire in her palm. “There’s another river twenty miles due west of here. We can head for that.”

“Is it a Dark river or a regular one?” Barsali asked.

She smiled at him. “It’s a normal one. No Darkness this time.”

He looked away. “Let’s keep it that way.”

She studied her diagram a little more closely. “Wesh is right. That one is the only Dark river in this Island, but it’s growing in strength. It will start to fork and fracture soon. Then it will tear the Island apart.”

Yvan stood up. “Let’s get past it, then.”

Eliska cast one last glance at the wild girl. Would she split off, now that the group was turning in a different direction? Eliska didn’t believe that.

The wild girl would keep hanging around to haunt the group. Maybe that’s why Rien didn’t like her. Maybe she represented something he’d rather forget.

The group climbed out of the hills, crossed a few more streams, and entered the grasslands. The flat countryside made traveling easier.

The party walked single file. Whoever walked in front trampled the grass and made it easier for everyone walking behind him.

The flat, featureless landscape lulled Eliska back into a mindless daze—or maybe her recent experiences made her dull and slow.

She followed whoever happened to be in front of her at the time. She didn’t have to look where she was going.

She woke up real quick when Wesh, Yvan, Omer, and Barsali all stopped walking. The others gathered around.

Silence fell over the group when they saw a single person crossing the countryside in front of them.

A ridge of swells divided this part of the grassland from whatever lay beyond it—probably more grasslands.

This figure walked perpendicular to the group’s route. The stranger headed east and south—toward the Dark river. The figure would have crossed their path if everyone kept going in the same direction.

Rien shifted his hand to his weapon and hissed through his teeth. “Barbarians!”

“That’s impossible,” Wesh countered. “Barbarians don’t travel alone.”

“What is he doing out here, then?” Yvan frowned at the figure. “He doesn’t look like the same kind of Barbarian.”

“He isn’t.” Eliska started forward to intercept the guy.

He saw her coming and stopped on top of the swell to wait for her. He turned to face the group and she got a much better look at him as she got closer.

He wore unmistakable Barbarian clothing, but his black leather pants, black leather vest, and the leather gauntlets laced around his forearms didn’t have any spikes or studs.

He didn’t shave his head or arrange his hair in spikes sticking up. He had dirty blonde hair that hung down his back in tiny braids that had matted into dreadlocks.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

His vest lay open to reveal countless tattoos covering his muscular arms, chest, and stomach. The designs even crawled up the side of his neck and disappeared on his back under the armholes of his vest.

He stood taller than Barsali and twice as bulky, but not as tall as the Barbarians who attacked the Watch the first time.

Everything about this man had matured except his face. He still had the boyish freshness of youth despite his size.

He carried a massive battle axe slung across his back. A huge, spiked club hung from a thong on the right side of his belt. A machete-like blade hung on his left side with a leather strap anchoring it above his knee.

He wore a collection of crude decorations such as beads, shells, and colored stones dangling from different parts of his hair and clothing. He wore no other jewelry—not the fancy metal jewelry like the stolen loot most Barbarians wore.

He stood perfectly still with a neutral expression and he didn’t react when Eliska hustled up to him panting from the climb.

The grass rustled when the Watchmen stopped behind her back. Were they drawing their weapons on this man?

She opened her mouth more than once trying to decide what to say. “Um….hello…..” she began.

The stranger bent over from the waist and bowed once before he straightened up. He shot a flinty glance behind her. She could just imagine what he was seeing back there.

“Um…..” she began again. “I’m Eliska….and these men belong to the…..”

“If you think you’re going to attack us, you can forget about it,” Rien blurted out. “Keep moving and don’t even think about coming near us again.”

Eliska spun around to confront the Watch. “He’s not a Barbarian—not that kind.”

“Of course he is,” Omer countered. “Look at him.”

“He’s a Servant,” Eliska told him. “They wander alone in service to humanity. They’re healers and holy men….”

“Like hell,” Rien snarled. “A Barbarian is a Barbarian.”

“The Servants are different. They don’t cut their hair and they take a vow of silence and service.” She turned around to face the guy. “Show them.”

He went through a slow, lengthy process of taking off his axe, laying it aside, and then removing three leather bags hanging across his body.

He stacked everything on the grass and pulled off his vest. He looked even bigger without it. A carpet of complicated tattoos covered the deep indentations of his muscles.

He left his club and his blade hanging from his belt. He could have squashed every man of the Watch in seconds with either weapon.

“Do you see this?” Eliska pointed to the center of his chest and traced the pattern to both sides. “All the Servants get this design when they take their vow. He’s a priest-wanderer with powerful healing magic. He’s forsaken the Barbarian way to dedicate himself to service and healing of all humanity. They have strict rules only to use their magic and any violence to defend their own lives and the lives of others. There’s no way he could belong to the group that attacked you earlier.”

“He sure looks like a Barbarian,” Neils remarked. “Who cares what his hair looks like? Look at his weapons.”

“His mission is to defend the helpless, heal the sick and injured, and to serve anyone who needs help. He can help us.” She turned around to face the guy. “Please excuse them. They’ve never been out in the Coil before. They don’t understand.”

He shut his eyes and bowed his head once before he went back to scrutinizing everyone with hard, piercing blue eyes.

“What’s wrong with him?” Niyazi asked. “Why doesn’t he speak for himself?”

“I told you. He’s taken a vow of silence.”

“Then what good is he to us?” Omer asked. “He can’t help us if he can’t tell us when danger is coming.”

“Who the hell cares if he talks or not?” Rien interjected. “We don’t need any Barbarian anywhere near us.”

Rien rushed the stranger before anyone realized what he going to do. Neils and Yann both lunged for him to stop him, but Rien charged too fast.

He had drawn both his blades while Eliska talked to the Barbarian Servant. Now Rien raised both weapons to strike.

He would have hacked the Barbarian to the ground, but Eliska dove in front of him.

She sidestepped between Rien and the Barbarian, turned her back to the stranger, and grabbed her staff in both hands.

She thrust the long edge of the shaft at Rien and nailed him hard with a brutal thump of magic. She hit him square in the chest and sent him flying backward. He landed on his back on the ground and didn’t move again.

Vidal and Omer rushed over to him, but they didn’t pick him up. Eliska stayed where she was fighting down rising fury.

She heard her voice shaking in spite of her best efforts to control herself. “If any of you raises a finger against this man again, I swear I’ll kill you,” she snarled. “I told you he can help us. He’s one of the few people in the whole Coil who can help us. If you can’t accept help from him, you don’t deserve to live out here.”

She forced herself to stop talking before she said something she really regretted. Her whole body trembled with rage.

The man behind her didn’t move or speak. He never once made a move to touch his weapons.

Omer squatted down and touched Rien’s shoulder. That movement snapped Eliska back to reality. She might have overreacted and hit Rien too hard.

All the Watchmen got out of her way when she walked forward, planted the end of her staff on Rien’s chest, and healed the injuries she just inflicted on him. She didn’t stop until she knew he’d be okay—as soon as he regained consciousness.

None of the Watchmen said a word until she finished. She took a deep shuddering breath to steady herself before she returned to the Barbarian.

“Please accept my apologies,” she blurted out. “I’m very sorry about that on behalf of everyone here. He doesn’t understand. The Barbarians attacked this party a few days ago—and these men have been stranded in the Coil ever since Darklings destroyed their town.” She pointed to the south in the direction he’d been going. “You don’t want to go there. There’s a Dark river there that might enchant you…..and the Barbarians are laying in ambush on a road to the east.”

He bowed his head, flattened his hands together in front of his chest, and closed his eyes again.

She took one last steadying breath. “These men belong to the Black Watch. We think someone is hunting for us to kill them.”

The Barbarian’s head shot up. “The Black Watch?” he repeated in a deep voice. “They are Servants.”

“Yes!” She pointed at him. “Yes, they are. We lost a bunch of their brother Watchmen defending their town and now someone is coming after them. We don’t know why. Whoever it is keeps sending Darklings after us and we think the same person hired the Barbarians to hunt these men down.”

He bowed his head and shut his eyes again. “I will serve.”

“You will?!” she gasped. “Oh, thank you so much! You don’t know how grateful I am.” She thrust out her hand. “I’m Eliska…..”

He didn’t shake her hand. He only bowed again. “I am Anríq.”

She realized a second too late that she was still standing there with her hand outstretched. She shook it and put it down. “Sorry. I forgot.”

He bowed again.

“You forgot what?” Yvan asked behind her.

“The Servants take a vow not to touch anyone unless it’s in service or healing. It was my mistake.” She turned back to the Barbarian and waved to the men behind her. “This is Yvan Dilnao, Commander of the Watch. This is Wesh, a wizard of the Guardian Templars. This is Barsali Brun, Omer Veco, Neils Surette, Niyazi Trahan, Vidal Rom, and this is the Watch Commander’s son, Yann. That over there is Rien Dugas.”

Anríq bowed to them all, but as usual, he didn’t speak.

“I don’t know about this, Eliska,” Yvan murmured. “What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not wrong. Ask Wesh if you don’t believe me.”

Everyone turned to Wesh. He frowned and scratched his chin while he scrutinized Anríq. “I’ve heard of the Servants, but I’ve never dealt with any of them before.”

“I have.” Eliska felt herself starting to lose her temper again. She spun around and did her best to straighten her expression when she faced Anríq. “I’m so sorry for their rudeness. They don’t know.”

“How do we know he is who you claim he is?” Omer asked. “He could turn on us.”

“You have my word that he is who I claim he is,” she countered. “He’s a magic-user and a warrior who is offering to help us. None of us can afford to turn away someone like this—not when he’s actually willing to put his life on the line to help us. Use your heads.” She turned back to Anríq. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive them.”

He compressed his hands, shut his eyes, and bowed to her and to everyone else.

Just then, Rien started to stir. Omer and Niyazi helped him to his feet.

He glared at Anríq. “Get the hell away from my friends,” Rien snarled.

“If he walks away, I’m leaving, too,” Eliska snapped. “This man is our best chance of survival out here—your best chance of survival. You’re all suicidal if you turn him away—and you won’t deserve my help, either. Either you accept him or we part ways right now.”

“You don’t have to do that, Eliska,” Yvan told her.

“Yes, I do—and if any of you has half a brain, you’ll listen to me and realize what a priceless gift I’m giving you—and he’s giving you. He doesn’t have to help you. He doesn’t have to throw himself in front of a murderous wizard who wants to kill all of you. What the hell is wrong with all of you all of a sudden?”

The others shuffled their feet.

Anríq broke the tension by bending over, picking up his vest, and putting it back on. He went through the same slow, methodical process in reverse of hanging his bags across his body and then slinging his axe behind his back.

He straightened up and turned to face the group. Eliska saw exactly what he was trying to tell them.

He could walk away right now. He didn’t need any of them. Leaving would cost him nothing.

They needed him. They needed him real bad.

She took a step toward him, and before she thought to stop herself, she took hold of his wrist and tugged him forward. “The sun will be going down soon. Come and make camp with us—please. We have some food. You can share it. Please. We want you to.”

He didn’t react to her touching him. He didn’t pull away.

He allowed her to draw him forward even though there was nowhere nearby for anyone to camp.

Wesh stepped in. “You said there was a river farther west, Eliska. We can go there.”

The group set off again in silence. Anríq went with them.

Rien kept glaring at him over his shoulder. Anríq showed no sign of seeing Rein.

The other Watchmen fell in line. Eliska stayed next to Anríq even though she had to forge her own path through the grass.

She had to walk twice as fast to keep up with his long legs. He slowed down to make it easier for her.

She spent the trip telling him the whole story about how she wound up in Middleborough fighting the Darklings, how the Watch Commander arrested her, Mael, and Wesh for breaching the barricade, and how the group got stranded together.

She sensed the others listening when she told all about the Darklings following them through the Layers and then how she overheard the Barbarians talking in the tavern.

Anríq listened to everything in silence and didn’t answer.

“And then just a few days ago, we came upon that Dark river,” she finished. “It entranced me and I fell in. A wild girl pulled me out and it took three days for me to recover. We don’t know who the…..”

A shriek cut her off. Everyone stopped and turned around. The wild girl hunkered in the long grass behind the group.

Rien sighed. “And here I thought we finally got rid of her.”

“That’s her,” Eliska told Anríq. “Do you know her? Do you recognize her?”

He squinted across the landscape and shook his head.

Then the group turned away and kept filing west one behind the other.

End of Chapter 24.