“Now?” Eva glanced around. Shouts and a battle noises emanated from the northwest. “Captain Drisana is going to be retreating soon. And once that happens—”
“Those ambushers won’t remain in place. Just tell me where he is. Please!”
She stared at me. “I’ll take you. Come on.”
We followed the others until we reached the forest, then the girl turned west, back toward the fighting and traveling just a few feet inside the woods. She moved with a quick confidence. But best of all, her passage was quiet.
I wished I could say the same about my heart. It thudded so loud, it drowned out the yells and clangs of metal nearby. Suppressing all hope, I focused on keeping close to Eva. It was quite possible she was mistaken about Kerrick. And to believe anything else at this time would be setting myself up for a crushing disappointment.
Eva paused. I searched the surrounding area for any soldiers. The high fence of the POW camp showed through the thinning trees. Dark forms raced along the outside of it. Drisana must have signaled the retreat.
“He was here,” Eva said. “Then he turned the same color as the forest.”
Only Kerrick could camouflage himself like that. Despite my best efforts, hope surged. “He probably left. This is a dangerous spot.”
“No, he was sick or something. He was lying on the ground.”
Oh, no. I touched a nearby bush, seeking the tingle of his magic. Nothing. Don’t panic. Kerrick might be unconscious and in need of my help. He couldn’t have gone far. Remembering how I found him before, I drew in a deep breath. Damp earth, the scent of fallen leaves, and smoke from the fires burning in the soldiers’ camp all laced the air. No spring sunshine.
I considered. If he was injured, he’d go farther into the forest. Crawling on my hands and knees, I searched the ground, exploring with my hands.
“Uh, Healer Avry...” Eva said.
“Go. Before you’re—”
“Are you insane?” Loren asked. Quain and Flea stood next to him. The fierce expressions on their faces meant they’d carry me from the woods if they had to.
“If Kerrick’s here, he’s safer than you. Come on!” Loren grabbed my elbow, hauling me to my feet.
“No.” I yanked my arm from his grasp and stumbled back. An invisible hand wrapped around my ankle.
“Avry?” asked a bush.
I squealed with pure joy and crouched down, finding Kerrick. Arms snaked around my back as he pulled me close. The rest of the world disappeared as I clung to him, breathing in his scent, feeling his chest move. Bliss.
“Avry,” he sighed.
“Where did she go?” Flea asked.
“Flea’s here?” Kerrick released me, but I stayed next to him as he moved into a sitting position.
His magic buzzed through me and his camouflage disappeared. The monkeys and Flea beamed at him.
Kerrick frowned. “Get out of here before the blockade—”
The unmistakable ruckus of an army on the move exploded around us.
“Too late,” Eva said. She balanced on the balls of her feet as if ready to bolt.
Kerrick pushed up the sleeves of his arms. “Grab on, gentlemen.” He grasped my hand with his. “Eva, you, too.”
The others huddled around him, touching his arms. Kerrick’s magic stopped and we all blended in with the forest. Strange.
“Cool,” Quain said.
“Quiet,” Kerrick whispered. “They’re coming.”
With Kerrick in the middle, we drew in close together, making our group as small as possible for six people. No one moved.
Soon, soldiers passed us. A few quite close, and one man headed directly toward us. We braced for impact, but he stumbled, tripping on a vine and missing us by inches. In fact, many of the soldiers who ventured too close to us had problems with that pesky vine.
As we sat there for over an hour, I learned a few things. Kerrick didn’t use his magic on that vine or our camouflage, which was the opposite of how it worked in the past. And after the fight in the manor house, we were in serious need of a bath. Except Eva, who smelled like roses and kept unnaturally still the entire time.
A million questions for Kerrick bubbled up my throat, but I held them for later. When we escaped this situation, he’d have some serious explaining to do. Funny, I hadn’t thought if we escaped. Guess my outlook was rather optimistic. Hard not to be when I held Kerrick’s hand.
After another hour or so, Kerrick said, “Most of them have moved east. We can sneak north.”
We stood and stretched, unkinking stiff muscles. The blood had dried on my clothes. Kerrick had let go of my hand. He no longer blended in with the forest, but lines of strain etched his gaunt face. Thinner and paler than I’d ever seen him, Kerrick wiped a hand over the stubble on his chin.
I laced my fingers in his, feeling his magic again. Sharing my energy with him, I beamed at him. He flashed me a smile in response.
What a night. All that work and we didn’t rescue Estrid. I glanced at the POW camp. So close.
Flea noticed the direction of my gaze. “How much time do we have until they come back?” he asked Kerrick.
“The woods are crowded with patrols. Any one of them could return. Why?” he asked.
“Estrid’s in the POW camp. We could get her out before—”
“Too risky,” I interrupted. “I’m sure the camp is well guarded.”
Flea grinned. “It is, but we left a back door.”
“Oh, yeah,” Quain said. “Prince Ryne said it might come in handy someday.”
“Back door?” I asked.
“An escape route,” Loren explained. “When we hid inside during Tohon’s encirclement, we used a hidden exit to come and go without being seen.”
“How long would it take?” Kerrick asked.
“Not long to get inside the fence, but the complex has five or six buildings.”
Kerrick considered. “We have two hours until dawn. You have one hour to find Estrid, and then you have to return regardless.”
“Are you coming?” Loren asked.
“No, I’ll stay here and ensure no one sets up an ambush,” Kerrick said.
Eva offered to stay with Kerrick. “Probably safer with you guys than trying to rendezvous with the captain right now.”
Quain huffed. “You don’t know us very well.”
I hesitated. The desire to remain with Kerrick warred with the need to rescue Estrid. Duty won.
“Don’t go anywhere,” I ordered Kerrick, stabbing a finger at the ground.
“I won’t,” he said, but a haunted look clouded his eyes.
“Promise?”
“Oh, yes.” He leaned in and kissed me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.
“Uh...Avry, time’s running out,” Loren said.
Breaking away, I gazed at Kerrick. “I’ll be back.”
He smiled. “You’d better.”
I joined the others.
“Our door leads right into the training ring. So we’ll check the converted stables first, then the smaller buildings,” Loren instructed. “We’re only saving Estrid. Most of the guards should be by the front entrance, but the first sign of unfriendlies, we retreat. Understood?”
Nodding, I found it interesting how Loren had stepped up to take the lead on this mission. He went first, followed by Quain, Flea, and finally me. We crept to the complex. Built of large barn doors tied to thick posts, the solid fenc
e loomed over us. Keeping to the fence’s shadow, we traveled a few yards to the west.
When Loren signaled a halt, Quain pulled a thin metal pick from his pocket. He ran the edge of the pick along small cracks in the wood. Then he hooked the pick into a divot and pulled a three-foot-high panel away from the fence. Ah, the back door.
“Clever,” I whispered to Flea.
“Remember when the POWs escaped and Prince Ryne’s men helped fix the fence?” Flea asked.
“They added this then?”
“Yup.”
Wow. Ryne had really been thinking ahead.
Loren shushed us and climbed through the opening. Quain gestured for Flea and me to go next. He entered last, closing the door behind him. We stepped on the soft dirt of the training ring. No longer used for horses, this area had been the exercise yard for the POWs when Estrid had been in charge. The roof overhead blocked most of the moonlight.
After pausing to let our eyes adjust to the darkness, Loren continued. To me, the guys resembled darker blobs against the blackness. I wondered how we would find Estrid without light.
Before entering into the main stable area, Loren dug in the loose dirt off to the left. A faint metallic jingle sounded. Then he reached up along the wall and this time a clang rang out. Quain passed me, joining Loren. He muttered and cursed under his breath. Eventually a small yellow glow filled a bull’s-eye lantern. Loren slid the shutter until only a thin beam of light pierced the darkness.
They’d left a back door and an escape kit. Handy. We crept into what had once been stables. Now the stalls all had metal bars and thick locks. As Loren swept the light over one empty cell after another, I considered. Why would Cellina bother to lock up people who couldn’t move? Who needed no care?
I caught up to Loren. “She’s not here. Is there a storage shed inside the complex?”
He glanced at Quain and Flea.
“There’s that hay barn,” Flea said. “There wasn’t anything inside it except a couple straw bales.”
“Show us,” Loren said.
Flea took point and we stayed close behind him. He slipped from the stables. Loren closed the lantern, hiding the light. We scanned the area for any guards before crossing the open space between buildings. A creepy sensation raised the hairs on my arms as I imagined hidden gazes watching us.
Leading us to the smaller barn, Flea paused outside the entrance. Was another ambush waiting for us? He pulled on the door. The hinges squeaked. We hunched over as if under attack.
“Sissies,” Quain said as if he hadn’t flinched, as well. He entered first.
We filed in around him.
Loren moved the lantern’s slide, letting the light out. “Bingo.”
Prone forms lay on the bales and were piled on the floor. They appeared to have been tossed without care. They all wore yellow POW jumpsuits. We spread out, searching the bodies for Estrid. Except Flea. He stood near the door, almost pressing against it. His arms were wrapped around his stomach and he had a panicked look on his pale face.
“Found her,” Loren said.
Estrid had been placed on a stack of bales near the back.
Loren waved Flea over. “Come on, Flea, we’re running out of time.”
“I...” Flea swallowed. “Can you bring her over here?”
“Why?” Loren asked.
“He’s going to be sick if he gets too close,” I said, moving to join Loren. “Quain, we need your muscles.”
Stepping on a few of the others, the three of us managed to carry Estrid to Flea. With a queasy grimace, Flea crouched next to her. He touched her forehead then spun to heave, spilling the contents of his stomach in a wet plop. I placed my hand on the back of his sweaty neck, sending him energy. After a few moments, he stopped.
“What—” Estrid started.
“We’ll explain everything later,” Loren said. He helped her to stand.
“Who—”
I turned so she could see my face.
“Oh, Avry.” She glanced around. “My staff?”
“No time,” Loren said. “Let’s go.”
With Estrid in the middle, we retraced our steps back to the stables and out the back door. Estrid tsked over the hidden exit, but otherwise remained quiet. Impressive. My anxiety increased as we entered the forest. Would Kerrick still be here?
We returned to the location we’d left Kerrick and Eva. Sounds of moving soldiers filled the forest around us, but that wasn’t why I panicked. Kerrick had disappeared again.
“Now what?” Quain asked.
Loren scanned the forest. “North?”
“You asking or telling,” Quain said to Loren.
“Kerrick said north,” I said before they could launch into an argument. “We go north.” And hope we’d find Kerrick and Eva on the way.
This time, I took point, moving slowly to compensate for Estrid’s noisy inexperience. Dawn’s rays helped with our progress, but the sunlight reflected off of Estrid’s bright yellow jumpsuit. I worried the garish color would make her visible for miles. Digging into my pack, I removed my cloak and gave it to Estrid. The gray color didn’t clash as much against the browns, reds and yellows of the forest. That thought led right to Kerrick as all my thoughts had since we rescued Estrid. Had his eyes changed color with the season? Where was he?
After a few hours of dodging patrols, Loren asked, “Where are we going?”
Good question. If we turned to the northeast, we could reach Ryne’s headquarters. If we went east, we could rendezvous with the others and return to the infirmary. But without Kerrick’s forest magic, I’d no idea how many of Cellina’s troops were between us and either destination.
“I’m open to suggestions,” I said to Loren.
He glanced at Flea. “I think we should find a safe spot to rest.”
A good idea, except I didn’t know where we would be safe. I considered my options. A cave? Perfect if we could find one. The trees? I gazed into the canopy. No low limbs and the coverage would be thin. A cluster of Lilys? They would keep any sane person away. I pulled off my pack and found the Lily map.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“North of Zabin,” Quain said.
“Really, Quain? Do you think that’s helpful?” I snapped, then regretted my irritation. “Sorry. Any idea how far north?”
“Six miles,” Eva said, surprising us all.
Just like his namesake, Flea jumped a foot.
“Where’s Kerrick?” I asked.
“He should be here soon.”
“Why didn’t you wait for us?”
Eva frowned at my harsh tone. “A patrol came through and we had to move. Since then we’ve been clearing a path for you.”
“And you couldn’t tell us this?” I demanded.
She put her hands on her hips. “We didn’t have time to come back and tell you what you should have figured out on your own.” Eva gestured to the surrounding forest. “Why else would there only be a few patrols around?”
I bit back my reply. With all my other worries, I hadn’t thought about the ease of our travel.
“I’m sorry, Avry,” Kerrick said into the silence. “I know I promised to stay, but we had the opportunity to lead the enemy on a merry chase, enticing them farther away from you.” Lines of exhaustion marked his face. He all but swayed on his feet.
My anger dissipated. “We need to find a safe place to rest. Any ideas?”
Kerrick smiled. “There’s a cave nearby.�
��
I groaned. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
Nearby to Kerrick didn’t match my definition of nearby. We hiked four miles to the northeast. I held his hand and shared my energy with him. His magic vibrated up my arm with a pleasant tingle. He squeezed my fingers in gratitude, which alarmed me. Normally, he’d have shaken off my efforts, claiming he didn’t wish to sap my strength.
He must have depleted his energy luring the enemy patrols away. Guilt over my earlier anger surfaced. Even though he had a legitimate reason, I still felt...bereft.
We reached the cave system by midafternoon. Kerrick and Eva collected firewood while we gathered stones to build a fire pit. Flea supervised. He’d refused my offer to help him during the trip and had plopped onto the ground as soon as we arrived. Estrid sat next to him. She huddled under my cloak. I studied her expression for a moment. She hadn’t said anything all day and I worried she might be in shock.
After we arranged the pit to Loren’s liking, Eva entered carrying an armload of kindling. “There’s another pile of thicker logs just outside.” Eva dropped the thin branches into the pit.
“Hey!” Loren pulled them out. “You can’t just dump them there.”
“Why not?” she asked, confused.
“He has a whole system,” Quain explained. “Each branch must be in its proper place to construct a pyramid, which is the optimal configuration for wood-burning perfection.”
“I don’t hear you complaining when you’re warming your fat a—” Loren glanced at Eva “—rear end.”
“It’s not fat, it’s all muscle,” Quain said.
As they argued, I retrieved the bigger pile, noting another one had been stacked next to it. I scanned the woods, searching for Kerrick.
Eva joined me and scooped it up. “Are they always like that?” she asked.
“Yes. Another friend of ours nicknamed them the monkeys.”
“Fitting.” She returned to the cave.
I waited, but Kerrick must have gone for another armload of wood. Inside, flames stretched toward the ceiling, merrily consuming Loren’s pyramid. Quain joked with Flea and it almost seemed like old times. Kerrick was no longer missing and we just needed to find our lost Poppa Bear.
Taste of Darkness Page 13