Free Visions by James C. Glass Page B

She remained there most of the day, eyes closed and chin tilted upwards, living with her teacher in his dreams.
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    Maki gathered his few possessions into a fur bag fitted with carrying sling. He had made a sling for the Hinchai weapon, and draped it across his chest. Han and Dorald each assembled a bag containing foot coverings, dried meat and pemmican for the long quick-march. Patience at a minimum, Maki ordered the two others to leave ahead of him, Dorald taking the Hinchai axe, Han packing a spear and three slings, both prepared for war and the destruction of any Hinchai they might encounter during their search for Hidaig’s band.
    The time for passive talk and meek surrender to Hinchai encroachment had come to an end with the coming of a Tenanken warrior king named Maki, he thought. Maki left the cavern near sunset and descended quickly to the valley, looking back only once to see his mother standing on a ledge, one arm outstretched in the gesture of being with him on his journey. Dorald and Han were waiting for him at the tree line bordering the Hinchai settlement nearest the canyon. A light was on in the big cabin, and two Hinchai, one a female, were there on a porch. As he watched, Maki felt something dark and dangerous probe his mind. Dorald growled, and Han tugged at Maki’s arm, urging him to move on. A massive figure moved out into the porch light, staring in their direction. It was Pegre. Pegre and his Hinchai mate. So this was their dwelling place.
    Maki made a promise to himself. Soon, I will return and destroy you both.
    They walked all night, stopping only once to smash and tear at the big Hinchai machines that tore down trees and gouged the earth. In the morning they nibbled some dry meat, then covered themselves with fallen boughs and slept within a tight circle of forest boulders during the day. Sleep was difficult, Dorald tossing and turning, and giving off an odor that made Maki’s eyes water. At dusk they began walking again, Maki stopping once to send out a vision of the caverns, and feeling nothing in return. Hidaig’s band had truly left the area, but in what direction?
    There were no signs, yet Maki felt compelled to move southward and trust his instincts. They moved more slowly the second night, because now there were scattered lights in the hills, the number of Hinchai settlements steadily increasing, and barking dogs sensing them at some distance. As night progressed it became even more dangerous as the lights flickered off, because there was no moon, and once they came out of the trees to find themselves nearly on the front porch of a Hinchai cabin, facing a large, shaggy animal. But the animal took one look at them, whimpered, and crawled under the porch while they retreated back into the trees. This far from the caverns, Maki wanted no Hinchai encounters until he had found Hidaig’s band. Once again he stopped, and send out a vision. Where were they?
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    He found them on the morning of the fourth day.
    “I hear something,” said Dorald, his head cocked to one side. They had moved out after a short pause before sunrise, a light wind rustling the branches of surrounding trees.
    “It’s the wind,” said Maki. “Keep moving.”
    “No it’s not. Listen!”
    They stood still. There was a wind sound, all right, but it did not come from nearby, and seemed to fade in and out. “This way,” said Maki, and they followed the sound through the forest as it grew louder. Suddenly they were standing at a shear drop-off of a hundred paces, looking down at a river cascading over rocks. Across the river there was scree, and a wide boulder field leading to cliffs towering halfway up the sky, far above their heads. The cliff walls were rotted and full of holes, crisscrossed with networks of chimneys and shelves and crumbling at their base. On the near side of the river was a rutted road running parallel to it, and they had no sooner glanced down when a heavily-laden cart