“Who is he?”
“No. Speaking his name could draw undue attention. I don’t know what his reach is or where he is.”
The expectant look he gave her told Terrwyn it was her turn to offer information. “Our court magician tracked the transport spell to the Lonely Tower. That’s where w—I’ve been heading.”
Zel’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a dangerous spot, even for someone familiar with these lands. You’re certain?”
She shrugged. “Eldwin wouldn’t lie, not about something like that. It’s not like we could verify it any other way.”
He nodded. “Not having anyone who knows this area, I’m surprised you made it this far. Are you sure you don’t want my help?”
Terrwyn met Zel’s look steadily and weighed the pros and cons. Not that there were many of the latter. She supposed, with the way he appeared out of nowhere, he could have killed her any time he wanted. He could have left her to the snake-woman as well. She had no real reason not to trust him and every reason to want his help.
“I would be grateful for your help.” She offered him a half bow. “And you have my thanks for saving me twice now. I don’t think I ever thanked you.”
He grinned. “You didn’t, but you were a little distracted both times so I can’t blame you. And I’m glad. Two heads are better than one.”
She smiled faintly at that, more relieved than she would tell him to have someone else with her. She hadn’t known how she was going to get any sleep without someone to stand watch. “If you’d like, you can ride the gelding there,” she said, pointing at Michme’s horse and feeling her stomach twist a bit at the thought of the man. But there was nothing she could do. He was dead.
“Thanks.” He headed towards the horse.
Terrwyn turned to her own mount and wondered what the rest of the day was going to be like.
Chapter Ten: Knowing
After riding through lunch in silence, Zel moved up beside Terrwyn. “You said you’re a knight, right? I can’t say I’ve had many dealings with knights before now.”
She shrugged. “If you don’t spend much time at a court, you wouldn’t. Most knights either work at the palace, are attached to the court, or are on assignments from the king. A few older ones with families might more or less retire to their lands for a time or permanently.”
“What kind of assignments does your king give you?”
“Depends on where the need is. I’ve joined hunt parties for wolves, boars and other animals troubling villages, helped deal with pirates, and was chosen to head up Aricia’s bodyguards. I know others have escorted dignitaries, been sent as guards to our ambassadors, and participated in tournaments at home and abroad.”
“The king chose you to guard the princess? He must have great faith in you.”
“It wasn’t the king who chose me. It was Aricia. It’s tradition for the princes and princesses to choose their own guards, though they can be overruled by the king or queen if they choose. She...” Terrwyn had to swallow around the lump in her throat. “She took a chance on me when everyone else told her to choose someone more experienced. I know she had a bunch of reasons for choosing me, she’s only told me a few, but she put her faith in me and I couldn’t give her any less than my best. Except I failed.”
Zel’s eyebrows rose at the bitterness in her words. “It’s not as if anyone else was able to do anything, correct? And you’re the only one going to rescue your princess. Seems to me you’re still doing your duty.”
“I’m her chief bodyguard. I should have been able to stop him.”
He snorted. “He uses a power you’ve never seen and had the help of a powerful mage. He came out of nowhere with no warning. Is there anyone else who could have done better than you, could have stopped this?”
Terrwyn grimaced. “We don’t know. All we know is I failed to protect her.”
“You’re far too hard on yourself. Thinking about the what-ifs, beating yourself up about what you couldn’t do, heaping the blame on yourself, all of that will drag you down and keep you from doing what you must,” he said, voice going hard in a way that made her look at him.
“Do you have experience with something similar?”
He looked at her for a moment, eyes like stone. “Yes, and I’d prefer to leave it there.”
She frowned, but let it drop. He was helping her after all. “Where are you from?”
Zel’s shoulders drained of tension and he swept his hand towards the southeast. “Far that way, from a village you’ll never have heard of.”
“How do you know I won’t? My family is very involved with trade. You’d be surprised at what I know.”
He chuckled. “I say that because most people in our country couldn’t have told you that our village exists, and if they’d ever heard of it, couldn’t have told you where it is. We’re pretty private.”
“So someone in your village sent you after this man, to kill him?”
Zel eyed her then nodded. “Similar to you, I was tasked with protecting something. He wanted it, and killed some of our people to get it. He ran off and I was sent after him.”
Terrwyn digested that, reflecting on the possibility that saving Aricia could take more time than she thought. “Four years is a long time. Won’t your family be worried?”
“It’s only my sister and me. She knows I have to do this, but I would like to finish this sooner rather than later so I can see her again. She’s got to be mostly grown by now. But until I kill him, I can’t go back.”
“At all?”
“Those are our traditions.”
They rode quietly for a time, the mood having turned heavy, both wrapped up in thoughts of their respective duties. It was a while later that Terrwyn looked ahead, eyes on the hill looming in front of them. It was too steep for her to risk the horses on it, though it seemed mostly covered in grass. Her gaze flicked from one side to the other, trying to judge which way would be better. She supposed it didn’t much matter, they were going to have to go around, but thought she should at least ask Zel’s opinion. Especially since the sun was just beginning to colour the sky for the coming night.
“Which way?” She jerked her chin towards the hill in front of them.
He glanced at her, then turned his attention to the grassy slope. He cocked his head one way then turned it towards the other side, as if studying the angles of the hill. “That way.” He nodded to the right.
She frowned at the certainty in his voice, but as she had no preference and no reason to protest, she nudged her mare in that direction. The view didn’t change much, the same rolling hills that occasionally got lower or higher. Green grass with the occasional patch of trees or small wood and no sign of anyone or anything else. Not that Terrwyn was going to trust that again. She’d learned her lesson.
“There,” Zel said, pointing at something directly across from the massive mound they were just reaching the middle of.
She leaned forward to get a better look. In another of the bigger hills was a small, dark opening. Even from a distance, she could clearly see there was a cave of some sort. If they were lucky and it was empty, it would make a defensive camp, one hopefully not frequented by monsters.
Terrwyn shook her head and looked at Zel. It was like he’d known that they wouldn’t have been able to spot it if they’d gone the other way. “How did you know?”
He only grinned at her. “It’s a secret.”
Chapter Eleven: Creatures
Terrwyn had to admit Zelek was good company. He might not be too open about himself, but he had a never-ending supply of amusing stories from his travels. The one about the naked man in the tree almost had her falling off her horse, she’d been laughing so hard. And she hadn’t thought she’d be able to laugh until after she’d saved Aricia. Like he knew how much her stomach was twisted
and shoulders knotted from emotion, Zel focused on keeping things light between them.
That and actually being able to sleep without worrying about something sneaking up on her had improved her mood considerably. Even her turn at watch hadn’t been bad with only a single direction to keep an eye on. She was going to keep her eyes open for more caves, especially if they could find one big enough for the horses this time.
The sun was directly overhead and they were riding in a comfortable silence along a relatively flat area, only a small hill to their right interrupting the smooth expanse. Ahead was a tumble of boulders that seemed to have come from nowhere, while farther behind the rocks was a stand of trees as the land went back to its gentle rolls.
They were barely halfway to the boulders when Zel held his hand up. Terrwyn turned to ask what was up, but he shook his head. He sat still for a few moments before he jerked his head towards the hill rising ahead of them and to the right. Frowning, she followed him around to it.
Once on the other side of the swell, he reined up again. Terrwyn urged her mare forward until she was beside him. He leaned close to her, voice quiet as his gaze was on what lay ahead. “Th—I think there’s something behind those rocks,” he whispered. “We’re going to want to deal with whatever it is so we don’t have to worry about it tracking us back to the camp we make tonight.”
Her frown deepened though she kept her voice low. “How do you know?”
He grimaced. “It’s complicated and not something I can explain. Do you trust me? Trust that I know what I’m talking about here?”
Terrwyn couldn’t deny he was far better at navigating the Wild Lands than she was. He’d saved her twice and had offered her his help, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt. “I’m going to want an explanation eventually.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Do you want to lead the way, or should I?”
Zel visibly hesitated. Then he sighed. “You should lead. You’re better equipped.” He nodded at the leather hybrid armour she wore. “And your sword has a longer reach than my knives.”
“Then I’m going to charge in. Both our horses are war-trained, but the packhorse isn’t, so you’ll need to hang back so she doesn’t get too spooked. We don’t want her trying to bolt. Unless charging will be dangerous?”
He shook his head. “You’re far better trained for this situation than I am. My people are more into hit-and-run tactics. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Terrwyn moved up, reflexively checking her sword, and inhaled deeply. On her exhale, she kicked her mare into a slow canter, aimed at where she knew the boulders were on the other side of the hill. She held the reins one-handed, her other hand on the hilt of her sword as they pounded around the rise and were back on the flatter ground.
She thought she heard some kind of faint screeching noise but ignored it. She was too intent on what lay ahead, stare narrowed as she approached the cluster of boulders from an angle. Terrwyn was almost on top of them when she caught sight of what Zel had been worried about.
Mottled grey, with three eyes each of varying sizes, their large pointed teeth left little imagination as to what they ate. Terrwyn had never seen creatures like them, with their three clawed hands, but from the way the quartet turned towards her and snarled, she knew they were dangerous. She raised her sword as her mare cantered towards them.
At the last second the creatures jumped out of the way, hissing. Terrwyn slashed out at the nearest one, scoring a long cut in its neck that spurted blue. She turned her mare and let her come trotting back towards them at a slower speed.
They tried to swarm her, but her mare was quick to lash out with her forelegs, catching one of the creatures on the head and smashing it into the ground. Blue blood and white brain matter splattered the grass as the harsh metallic scent of it rose around them. Terrwyn focused on using a rising cut on the monster trying to get under her mare. Her sword bit deep into its chest as she dragged the blade upwards. It stumbled backwards, screeching loudly.
Her mare twisted, lashing out in a vicious low kick at the remaining creature, and she had to shift to keep her seat. She glanced over to see the grey thing go flying through the air to land in a crumpled heap a few feet away. Terrwyn turned her attention back to the one she had wounded.
It tried to run but moved in the direction Zelek was coming from. Before it realized its mistake, Zel’s mount rose up and delivered a crushing blow to the creature’s head, almost unseating him. He had to hang on with both hands until his gelding settled back to all four hooves.
Terrwyn gently urged her mare towards him, keeping a wary eye out for any more monsters, her blood up. “You all right?”
He looked at her, smiling faintly. “I should be asking you that, though I don’t feel like I need to. Your work speaks for itself. You’re really quite exceptional, especially with a sword in your hand.”
She flushed and turned away. “We should keep going,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t notice the colour of her cheeks. “There could be more of those things in the area or something else. And the bodies will probably attract some kind of scavenger. I can only imagine what that’ll be out here.”
Terrwyn thought she heard a smothered chuckle, but when Zel spoke, his voice was neutral. “Lead the way.”
Having her mare fall back into the fast walk they’d been keeping up most of the day, Terrwyn cursed herself for blushing. She might rarely get compliments, but to react like that when he was talking about her sword skills... Other knights had admired her work with a blade, but there was something about the way Zel spoke...
She shook herself. She was letting herself lose focus. Terrwyn couldn’t afford to be distracted, even by someone like Zel. She had work to do, the most important job she’d ever have to do, and failure just wasn’t an option.
Chapter Twelve: Storm
Terrwyn glanced up at the sky and grimaced. The clouds were getting darker, and with the way the wind had picked up, she knew a storm was coming. She shifted her gaze over to Zelek, who was looking up at the sky as well. He turned and met her eyes, his expression mirroring hers. They didn’t need words to understand being out in the open would end with both of them completely miserable.
“We’ll have to find some kind of shelter as soon as we can. We’re really going to want a place big enough for the horses as well. They could spook if we get lightning, and I don’t like the idea of leaving them out in the rain in the first place.” She scanned the area for a good spot to camp.
He nodded. When she glanced back, she saw him cocking his head, eyes closed. After a few moments he opened them. Catching her gaze on him, he only shrugged. Terrwyn frowned. Zel was doing something odd again, and she wanted to know what it was.
But they had more immediate concerns to deal with first. She squeezed her mare into a faster walk, hoping they could come across a decent place quickly. Maybe an overhang, or a thick stand of trees, though they would have to check for more of those giant cats like the one that had attacked her. There had to be somewhere they could wait out the storm.
“This way,” Zel said, jerking his head to the left.
Terrwyn frowned. “Why that way?”
“Because we’ll have better luck. Trust me.”
She couldn’t deny he’d been right about the monsters, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could just take the things he said on faith. If they were successful in finding shelter in this direction then she was going to have a bunch of questions. Questions she wasn’t going to let him get out of answering this time.
They rode for several minutes as the wind got stronger, grabbing at Terrwyn’s coat and Zelek’s hair. She looked up and winced at the dark grey and blue clouds brewing above them. Any second they’d open up and dump them with water.
“There.” He pointed at the
rocky hill that lay ahead, this one sporting a wide-mouthed cave.
As much as she wanted to demand he tell her how he’d known it was there, they didn’t have time to waste. “Go on ahead and clear it out if you can,” she told him, gesturing towards the stand of trees that lay farther to their left. “I’m going to try and gather some wood. It could get cold.”
“Don’t take too long.”
Terrwyn nodded and urged her horse into a canter, not slowing until she was at the edge of the trees. There wasn’t much underbrush and she could see through them, so she felt safe enough to dismount without worrying about anything dropping down on her. Though Terrwyn did keep an eye on the sky to be on the safe side.
With her mount’s reins wrapped around one hand, she started grabbing all the dead, dry pieces she could find and piling them together. There wasn’t much, but she was lucky enough that there were ash trees in the stand. Using the small hand ax she kept on her back for just this kind of reason, she cut off branches and chopped up what was fallen and green until she had a decent supply.
All the while she couldn’t help the way her mind kept going around and around about Zel. He had a way of knowing things, of getting information he shouldn’t have. He’d said he was a bit familiar with the Wild Lands, but this was going far beyond that. Only someone who knew the whole place like the back of their hand could keep finding caves the way he did. She hadn’t seen any in all the time she’d been in the Wild Lands before she ran into him.
It worried her more than she liked to admit. He’d said not to trust appearances here, that danger was everywhere. Certainly he’d saved her twice now, but what if it was all part of some deeper game he was playing? What if he were connected to the dark man who’d taken Aricia? He said he was hunting him, but what if he intended to join him rather than kill him? What if he was luring her into a trap?
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