These Broken Hands

Chapter 9

It was the unexpected appearance of a Shiera at the shop first. Then going beyond the town limits when he had barely ever been to the other side by himself. What had he been thinking? What had driven him to break a Shiera out of the holding?

Even now it still felt like it happened to someone else. Shiera were feared by some, hated by most. The people he traveled with now were probably the only ones who were fascinated by them.

The fact that there were humans who knew about the sacred place of the Shiera was enough to worry him. What were they planning to do when they arrived? As his thoughts started to conjure up more and more worries, he spotted the light of a fire a few yards off the path. Was it Kyunho?

If they ran into Kyunho and Erol there was likely to be quite a scene. He had to think they reached the village already. The sun had set while he distracted himself with his musings.As Yuin looked back up into the shimmering night sky the caravan was suddenly haulted and was almost thrown from the roof.

The voices of two men came from the front.

"Keep your hands where we can see them. My friend Raug here is a good shot."

Yuin crawled to the edge of the roof and peered over it. Mujjok sat with his hands up as a man stood nearby with a bow at the ready. He heard the back of the caravan being opened. "Ah, carrying a good load here, aren't you?" he said loud enough for Mujjok to hear. "Women, food, blankets, kindling. We found the motherload here Raug!" He laughed and Yuin felt his stomach lurch at the sound of his voice.

With little more thought than keeping the rogue from his sister, Yuin stood to his full height on the roof. Remaining unseen, he jumped down on top of the rogue in back, knocking him out. The women gasped but were relieved when they realized who it was.

"We're taking it all," the rogue called Raug said with a smirk. "Get down slowly and take ten steps back that way." He motioned to the right with a jerk of his head. "I'll plunge this arrow into your heart before you can draw a blade."

"Yikes, I got it," Mujjok replied as he got down from the seat.

Yuin snuck around the opposite side and peeked around the horses to see the rogue's back turned to him. He moved as quietly as he could but the crunch of the snow gave him away and the rogue quickly spun around releasing his arrow where Yuin stood only a moment ago. Yuin ran around the horses and grabbed at the man as he stumbled backward reloading his bow. He was able to shoot it again before Yuin reached him and nicked his neck as Yuin moved out of the way.

As he grabbed for another arrow, Mujjok stepped on his hand. "Look at you, being all grown up and knocking down a couple of bandits. What did you do with the other one?"

"Is now really the time?" Yuin growled. Screams coming from behind him startled him and he ran for the back of the caravan again. Mahmi stood over the body of the first rogue breathing heavily. The hilt of a knife protruded from his chest.

"Are you okay?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Rogues, bandits. They usually head for the mountains during the cold season for shelter," she said as if reciting a passage of text.

Mujjok walked up on the other side. He looked at the other rogue and sighed heavily. "Well, there's a lot more where that came from. It will only get worse the closer we get to the mountain." He looked inside for Aela who sat in the farthest corner of the caravan. "Are you alright?" She nodded quickly.

"You two are going to have to stay on guard from now on," Mahmi said. "They may have been part of a larger group."

Mujjok went back to the reigns and they moved on. Yuin took a dark colored blanket to the roof and sat up once again. Things just kept getting more and more interesting. He touched the small bandage on his neck where the arrow had missed its mark.

The thought that he might have actually been killed that night had not sunk in until he saw the rogue lying lifeless in the snow. It was lucky for him that Mujjok had been there to stop him.

He was not a killer and he had no intention to become one.

"Your hands are made to protect and nurture and build. They are not instruments of death but life," he recited aloud. His father always knew what to say. Yuin could not help feeling guilty at the fact that it was his fault that they were not able to go back to him. He could use some wise words right about now.

"Whose words are those?" Mujjok had been listening.

"My father's."

"He sounds like he was a good man. I cannot agree with what he said though. You're young now, but you will find out one day that in order to protect and build something you will have to tear down a few bricks. It's a lot to ask but I'm gonna need your help to protect the girls and that means you have to be willing to do whatever is necessary to keep them safe. If that means killing, are you gonna be able to do it?"

Yuin shook his head. "Why are you going to the mountain? Is it really to find Shiera or is there something else you are not telling us?"

Mujjok smiled to himself. "It's just as we said. We want to see if it's true. Humans and Shiera can't exist together because we've driven them away. They were once believed to be cursed from past lives of misfortune or the parents were cursed for some evil deed they had done. Some say that they can resemble ordinary people. It's kind of weird, you know?"

An image of the little Shiera children playing about the village flickered in Yuin's mind. A smile came to his lips then it vanished just as quickly. It could not be helped. "We were traveling with two Shiera when we separated and you found us. They were also going to the mountain for the same reason. There is a Shiera village located on the path and it guards the entrance to the sacred place, you can't just walk in. If anything you're not going to find what you're looking for. They may be willing to kill you before sparing a moment to exchange words."

Mujjok stopped the caravan and climbed up to where Yuin sat. "Wait, wait, wait! Did you just say you were traveling with Shiera? Real Shiera? You know it to be true?"

"Yes, I had seen them change right in front of me," Yuin replied.

"Change?! What do you mean change?"

"They can change their forms like shapeshifters but it is only one animal. One was a tiger and the other a wolf."

Mujjok could not contain his laughter at that point. The release of that information led to many confessions on Yuin's part. He had to tell everything.