Xae looked at her and rolled his eyes. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
She shrieked at him.
His smile, although weak, returned, and he got up to fetch her water.
“You realize what a long shot this is, don’t you?” Shira said in a low voice. “He’ll be lucky if he ends up a slave like them and not dead like his father.”
Mariah’s vocalization was muffled this time, but Shira took its meaning.
“I know you’re protective of him. Just wanted to make sure you weren’t blind as well. Let me think. You might not regret meeting me after all.”
* * *
When they left the clearing and headed back to the road, Shira carried two of the packs and Xae carried one. At his insistence, Mariah had hopped onto his arm and then up onto his shoulder. Both of her companions had suggested that she stay in bird form at least until their midday meal to give her shoulder time to rest. When they stopped again, she could shift and drink more of the herbs, and Shira could adjust her sling.
The sky was pale gray, and a light misty rain fell, cooling them as they walked. Mariah was grateful for her feathers, which didn’t seem to absorb the wet. There were so many things she wasn’t yet used to about her new forms, full human and full hawk, but this particular attribute was a good thing.
The road was clear again, with no traffic coming out of the mountains. It climbed steadily upward, and Mariah could hear Xae’s breath become more labored. He ignored it and asked why they hadn’t seen anyone. “It’s a little creepy how quiet this road is.”
Mariah didn’t agree at all. It was peaceful, but of course, he’d grown up in the city. Magnus had told her that people practically lived on top of one another in the city.
“The road comes together with another one ahead,” Shira said. “Most people coming down out of the Highlands there take the road to Kilgereen.” She didn’t seem much affected by the climb. Perhaps she was used to it. “Not many toward Grof. We’ll see more folk once we pass the split.”
“How long have we got before we get there?” Xae asked.
“A couple of hours at most.”
“Maybe Mari should shift back soon. Unless people walking around with hawks on their shoulders are a common thing around here.”
Mariah nipped at his ear playfully, and he grinned, putting a protective hand over it. They all agreed that she would change before the road merged with the one from Kilgereen.
* * *
After a short midmorning break, the three Ceo San were back on the road, all wearing their human forms. Mariah’s arm was securely wrapped in its white sling, and she was even carrying her own pack over her good shoulder. She felt much more refreshed after the morning’s rest.
“Once we hit the main road, I don’t know how many times we’ll have to talk openly,” Shira said a short time later. “I don’t know if what you’re doing is such a good idea, but—”
“We have no choice!” Xae interrupted hotly. “I can’t leave the girls in the hands of that—”
“But,” Shira continued over him, “I’ll help as long as I can. When I travel, I watch. I listen. I learn. I know things that might help ya. Let me explain. Please.”
Xae nodded, grimacing.
It turned out that Shira was a good spy, just as she had been at the inn. Mariah wondered if it was because people assumed by her manner that she was just a daft fisher girl. She had many useful bits of information that might help them out in their quest. Unfortunately, as Mariah might have guessed, she didn’t know where the girls were being kept, although she had some guesses as to where they could find out.
“Maybe we won’t have to go directly into Glenley after all,” Mariah said. “That might be safer.”
Xae was quiet in response, his lips pursed.
“What is it?”
“I know she’s probably in Rothgar’s dungeon, but I want to know what happened to my mother.”
Mariah’s chest tightened in sympathy. Xae hadn’t really brought her up much before, but she could see the pain in his eyes. He knew that there wasn’t anything he could do to save her, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to try.
“We’ll see. We’ve still got a long way to go. I’m sorry I’ve slowed us down so much. We could have already been—”
He shook his head. “It’s okay. You were right. I need you. I could never do this alone. I’d probably already be dead or hopelessly lost without you and your plans.”
She put a hand on his arm and tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Shira, are you sure we can’t try that shortcut through … Laikos, was it? Xae really—”
Shira stopped in the middle of the road and stared at them. “You don’t understand. A shortcut won’t do you no good if it kills you.”
Mariah stared at her, speechless. The unmistakable rattle of wagon wheels sent her spinning back around.
About fifty yards ahead, the road forked, one arm heading north and another heading southwest. Just past it, a wagon rumbled toward them. After a brief glance at one another, the trio resumed walking, and the wagon’s weathered driver nodded as he took the fork toward Kilgereen.
As Shira had predicted, their days of lonely travel were over. They would have to be more careful now.
CHAPTER 18
THE KING’S DOMAIN
Their journey that day grew increasingly arduous as they aimed toward the highest point on the road. Once they reached Brywann Pass, their progress would be mostly downhill. Shira told Mariah that if they made camp near the pass or just beyond it, they might be able to hit flat land by evening the next day. In three days’ time, they could be in Kannuk. If she could convince Shira to go through Laikos, maybe sooner.
The road up and through the pass was hard-packed dirt with markings from the frequent traffic of horse hooves and wagon wheels. They reached its highest point in the late afternoon. The road there was just wide enough for one wagon to pass as it curved along the ever steepening sides of the mountain.
As the three travelers moved up onto a grassy spot between bleached boulders and watched a wagon pass, Mariah felt a great sense of relief that they were walking and wished again that they could fly, well, at least the two of them. For riders, one wrong pull of the reins, and their horse and wagon would be dragged down hundreds of feet onto the rocky slope below.
Trees littered the mountain face in front of them beyond patches of green grass and clumps of dark red flowers. The peaks of other mountains, higher and covered in snow, were visible to the east and south. The sun moved toward the horizon as the road started to finally slope downward.
The path widened, but the trees narrowed, forming a wide, dark tunnel as the three descended toward the plains below.
After they had traveled about a hundred yards through the gently sloping passage, Mariah spotted a wide, rough trail moving off into the trees to their right.
“We should make camp,” she said and started toward the path.
Shira grabbed her arm and shook her head. “Not there. Let’s keep going. I know a place a little farther on.”
“If we go much farther, we won’t be able to see at all,” Xae put in.
At that moment, around a bend in the road ahead of them, half a dozen figures on horseback came into view. Their black clothing blended into the growing shadows, but the gold of their breastplates and helmets reflected the small beams of yellow and pink light coming in through the trees from the west.
Mariah stopped breathing. Shira pushed her gently forward out of the way of the trail. Xae stood on the other side of the trail as the Varidian soldiers, four men and two women, passed between them.
“Good evening to ya,” Shira said, sounding as if she was greeting guests at the inn.
One of the men pulled up on his horse’s reins, stopping the massive animal. He had dark skin and friendly brown eyes. “You folk should find shelter soon. Night is almost upon us. Of course, you’re welcome to our fire.�
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Mariah continued to stare, but the man’s attention was on Shira.
“Oh, you’re most generous, sir, but I’ve traveled this road many times, and I have a favorite spot not too far down the road, perfect for a little band such as ours. A fine night to you.”
“Captain,” said one of his companions, a stocky woman with a sharp nose and narrow eyes, “this is bear country. This little group”—she looked down at them as though she couldn’t fathom them even being able to boil water on their own—”would undoubtedly be safer within our camp, especially since seein’ that one of them’s maimed.”
“I’m not—” Mariah wanted to retort that they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, that they didn’t need help from their sort, but Shira elbowed her, and she clamped her mouth shut, reminding herself that to the soldiers, they were just two women and a young boy, vulnerable and unable to protect themselves. If the soldiers believed they were anything more, things would be over for them.
“Of course, lieutenant,” the captain responded. “Your words are wise as always.” He looked back, settling his gaze on Mariah. Perhaps as the oldest, he considered her the leader of their group. Maybe she was. “I must insist, Lady …”
“Mari,” she stammered, “it’s Mari.”
“Lady Mari. Why face a cold night on the mountain and risk the attention of the unpredictable wildlife—I hear there are bears in these parts—when you can enjoy the protection of my men and the comfort of the warm fire.”
She glanced to Shira and Xae. Shira gave a brief nod, but Xae remained stone still, staring at his boots.
Turning back to the captain, Mariah struggled with the right words. A formality was needed that she just did not possess.
When Shira did not offer up the words for her, she settled for “Yes, yes. Of course.”
The captain beamed. “Then follow.” He and the lieutenant turned down the climbing side path as the light continued to fail. The remaining soldiers waited for the three of them to start moving and then brought up the rear in pairs.
It was a short walk, no more than ten minutes, before the sloping trail leveled off and the trees opened before them into a glade. Away from its edges, grass gave way to rutted dirt, the imprints of wagon wheels and many feet, both horse and human, shadows in its pocked surface.
To one side, a stone ring ten feet across surrounded the cold remains of a fire that had been obviously lit and relit dozens of times.
No wonder Shira hadn’t wanted to travel on this path. It was clearly an established campsite for the king’s troops.
Without a word, most of the soldiers dismounted and began to tend to their horses and pull out their supplies.
The lieutenant who had spoken to the captain, however, handed her horse off to another soldier and approached them. She was shorter than Mariah, but the younger woman still felt the urge to sink in on herself and hide. The soldier’s eyes scrutinized her and her companions before she spoke.
“I’m Lieutenant Zirana. Captain Odrin would want me to tell you to come to me if you need anything.” Mariah schooled her face, trying not to look at the soldier like a wide-eyed child. “You can settle anywhere you like, but I recommend getting as close to the fire as you can. You’ll stay warm, and bears don’t like the fire. Neither do the other predators out here. ‘Cept us, of course.” Her sudden grin was feral, and Mariah took a step back, but the lieutenant just chuckled and walked off back toward the ring of stones. There were already the beginnings of a fire crackling away at one edge and spreading toward the middle.
Shira grabbed Mariah by the elbow and started to lead her away. After about ten feet, she suddenly stopped and looked back. Xae was still standing where they had just been, staring at the lieutenant’s back. The flickering flames reflected in his eyes, and Mariah wondered which of her current companions was actually the feral one, at least at the moment.
“Xae,” she hissed in as low a voice as she could manage. “Xae!”
One of the warriors, who had turned away from his tethered animal with its saddle on his shoulder, grinned at the boy. “Whatsa matter, kid? Never seen a horse before?” He winked, and it seemed to break Xae out of his trance.
The boy smiled oddly at the man before joining Mariah and Shira.
They chose a spot about 10 yards from the fire, with enough space between them and the group of soldiers to give them a small measure of privacy.
As Mariah took a seat on the ground, Shira asked her, “How’s the arm?”
“It’s okay. It’s a little sore but not as bad as last night.” She rubbed her shoulder.
“I think we have enough water to mix you up another packet.”
Mariah shook her head. “No, let’s save it. I’ll be okay until tomorrow. We can find more water then.”
Shira considered her for a moment and then shook her own head. “If you say so.”
Xae sat on the ground next to Mariah, uncomfortably close. “What if they know something? What if they know who took my sisters? Or maybe at least where they take the prisoners?” His voice was low and urgent.
“Shh,” Shira hissed. “Another time, boy.”
His gaze snapped up at her, the fire in his eyes once again. Then, suddenly, the black orbs widened, and he smiled at Shira. “You could do it. You’re scary. You could make them talk. You could make them tell me.”
He started to scramble to his feet, but in a move like lightning, Mariah grabbed the hem of his tunic with her good hand and pulled him back to the ground. “What are you doing, Xae? Are you trying to get us killed? We can’t find them if we’re dead.”
Shira, her breathing heavy, sat down on the ground across from them. “I was hoping you were smarter than that.” She glared at Xae.
“Don’t talk to him that way,” Mariah snarled. “You’re the one who said we should come down here with them.” She nodded in the direction of the black-armored troops, who were now chuckling and talking with each other, making no effort to keep their own voices down.
Mariah noticed that Lieutenant Zirana kept looking over at them, her eyes keen. Mariah’s heart sped up. In an army where Ceo San were enslaved and forced to serve, how was one to know who was human and who was not? What if Zirana was a Ceo San? Xae said that the king brainwashed them. Every word Mariah and her companions said might be audible to someone like that, even from across the camp.
“I was just trying to act like anyone normal would. We need to keep our heads down.” Her gaze was directed back at Xae.
“We should just go to sleep,” Mariah said. “The sooner we do, the sooner morning will come.”
“Whatever,” Shira muttered. “I shoulda just left you at Jadenmere. If I had known you didn’t have any brains in your head, I would have.” With that, she got up, took her pack about fifteen feet closer to the trees surrounding their camp, and began preparing for sleep.
Mariah stared at her for a few moments before turning back to Xae. He was still staring at the soldiers as if he could extract information from them with his eyes. “You know, she’s right. We have to be smarter if we’re to survive.” She wanted to say more, but the fear that she would be heard won out, and she hoped that Xae understood how serious things were.
After a moment, the boy nodded, and he too moved a few feet off.
With his men settled on the ground around the fire, eating some kind of hard biscuits, Odrin approached Mariah, smiling. “Everything okay here?”
She nodded, her reply caught in her throat.
“Do you folks have enough supplies? None of you are eating.” He squatted down so they were eye to eye.
She nodded again and managed, “Yes, sir. We’re all just tired. It’s been a long day, walking up the mountain.”
“Ah, of course. You’re probably not used to it. Not even sure why you’d want to with that kind of injury. What happened?”
“I … I fell off a dock.” After I flew across the sea as a bird. She
bit down on her lip, praying to Gwyn’s gods that she hadn’t said it aloud.
“Lucky you didn’t drown,” he said before pointing to a small trail off to one side of the clearing. “Latrine’s down that way.” Mariah had already seen half of the soldiers head in that direction. “As soon as my men have cleared out, you and yours are welcome to it.”
“Thank you, sir.” She nodded again. He gave her a casual little salute, putting two fingers to the opposite shoulder, before rising and moving away to circle the camp. He was too nice. She wasn’t prepared for Rothgar’s soldiers to be anything but brutal.
“He’s probably first on watch,” Shira said in her ear.
Mariah twisted her fist into her cloak to keep herself from jumping. “What are you …?”
The other woman nodded toward the trail the captain had indicated. “I didn’t think you’d want to go alone, especially with your arm.”
And especially with our ‘company.’ “Thank you,” Mariah said stiffly, allowing Shira to help her to her feet. They waited until they were sure the trail was clear before they started forward. “I’m sorry, by the way. I didn’t mean what I said. It’s just that Xae …”
“I know. I’m sorry, too.” She looked back over her shoulder. “We shouldn’t leave him for long. Considering how he left things … at home, this is not the best place for him.”
* * *
Later, the darkness now complete above and around the little camp, Mariah settled on the ground, her back to the fire. Her companions had gathered close again and were no more than a half a dozen feet from her. The royal troops had started to bed down, although the captain was still up and moving about, monitoring the perimeter of the camp.
As Mariah started to doze, the spot between her shoulder blades itched, and images of her wings sprouting out of her back hit her square between the eyes. Gasping, she sat up, twisting around, looking back. Only her cloak and empty air.
She grabbed her shoulder to settle its throbbing, and she felt eyes on her. The captain was watching her.
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