“Okay,” said Isabella. She turned back towards the camp.
“Where you going?” asked Sisera.
“To get my horse, and supplies.”
“Oh, good idea. I’ll help.”
“No, you better not. The horses will freak out once they smell or see you. Better that you stay back for a while.”
“Oh,” said Sisera.
Isabella could hear the disappointment in Sisera’s voice. “Thank you for saving me. I’ve been trying to figure out how to escape for days. How did you find me?”
“I have a cave nearby. I sensed you coming. I’ve been watching from a distance. Once I realized you were a captive, I decided I needed to rescue you. You are Dragonblood, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I have the mark,” said Isabella.
“I thought so. You smell different than other humans, and you have an aura about you that makes me want to be near you.”
“Well, I’m glad you decided to help me. Sisera, why did it hurt so much when you showed up.?”
“Go get your horse and supplies. We’ll talk about that come sun up. Which way do you want to go?”
Isabella thought about it. She couldn’t go home. To the west was Eric Ramsey, and her captors had been taking her east, to someone else. She still needed to go south. “I want to go back to the mountain pass where they ambushed us. I need to know if Raven is alive or not.”
“Watch the sky. I’ll fly ahead so you know which way to go,” said Sisera.
“Okay.” Isabella turned and ran back to the camp. The hobbled horses all were nervously jostling around, ears twitching, nostrils flaring. They had not seen Sisera, but they could smell the burnt flesh of Toby and Ollie. Isabella unhobbled the horses of the men. She slapped them on the rump to send them running. She kept her own mount and pack horse tethered. She spoke softly, rubbing them both until they calmed down. She put the supplies Raven had brought, plus those of the men on the packhorse. She then carefully mounted her own horse while holding her torch. Riding in the black of night was not something she wanted to do. But getting far away from Juelz before he woke was necessary. The torch provided enough light to see, and when she looked up in the sky she could see a dark shadow blocking the stars. Isabella pointed her horse in the direction Sisera was flying and started off. She had to know what happened to Raven. She shivered, as she thought about what she might find.
12
RAVEN RELUCANTLY CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN. It wasn’t so much the heights that made her nervous, as it was her guide. Kai from all reports was a drunk. Spending a good portion of everyday drinking at the Winking Pig. Britt Wistol, the bar owner had even warned her that about his drinking. “A good man and an excellent ranger, but he drinks his demons away. Normally I send a canteen of whiskey in his supplies, but I put water in this time. I would make sure you’re a good distance from town before you make your first camp. When he finds out he has no alcohol, he may want to head back. But if he decides to sober up to help you, a better man you won’t find.”
Raven thought that Britt was overly enthusiastic in his praise for the drunk, but she was desperate. If Kai was the best that the village of Shelby had to offer, then she’d have to trust him. But that didn’t make her as uncomfortable as climbing a nearly sheer mountain tied to a man whose body was probably half pickled from the amount of alcohol he drank on a regular basis. It was a nerve racking endeavor, putting your trust in someone against your better instincts.
With great care, Raven watched Kai climb the mountain. She had to admit he chose his footholds with care, and despite the fact they were almost to the top, he had not made one misstep. For a drunkard, the man moved well. Raven also had no choice but to notice that he had strong legs and firm buttocks. Being a drunk didn’t hinder his physical conditioning too much it seemed.
When they reached the peak, Raven looked back. It was a magnificent view. She could see for miles, up and down the valley and over the smaller nearby mountains to the mountains beyond. To the east, between mountains, she could see the sea.
“It’s a glorious view,” said Kai. The man seemed to be reading her mind.
“Yes. It’s a beautiful country.” Raven turned to look at the northern slope. Thankfully, as Kai had promised, it was a much more gradual slope and they would be easily able to walk down. She untied the rope and handed it back to Kai. “How long until we reach the trail?”
“Not long, but it could take much longer to find tracks. I’m hoping that the meadow will give us answers.”
“Let’s get moving then.”
“Give me a moment to catch my breath,” said Kai.
Raven smiled to herself. His conditioning did need some work after all.
After a few minutes, Kai took the lead once more. Using their downwards momentum, they were able to almost run without using too much exertion. It made going down the mountain far quicker than the journey up. Before long they were at the trail. Raven recognized it, she’d been here only days ago. She looked to the trail hoping to see signs of tracks. But the hard granite surface revealed nothing to her. She looked to Kai, who was kneeling beside the trail, studying the ground.
“Nothing has come up or down here since the rains,” said Kai. “But that means little. They could have made it a long way before it stopped raining. We keep going.”
“How can you tell?” asked Raven.
“Rain settles dirt. Even hard ground like this will leave indications of travel. Scuffed rocks, imprints in the ground, it all tells a tale. Look to your right, see those scuffs? Something crossed the path there. If you look closely you’ll see the marks are too narrow to have been a horse, most likely a deer. If we were hunting, we could follow its trail. It’ll be easier as we get into the meadow and softer ground.”
Raven nodded, drunkard or not, the man had a skill. She’d not noticed the scuffs until he pointed them out. Her comfort level with having him as her guide was increasing as they traveled.
Kai stood and started walking again. “We’ll have to walk now. I can’t track and run, not on this ground.”
As they walked, Raven thought about Isabella. The child was smart, she wouldn’t do anything foolish like try to escape her captors until she saw an opening that promised a reasonable degree of success. However, that gave Raven little comfort as they would still need to track her down and as it stood, they had no idea where the kidnappers had taken Isabella. All they knew at this point was that they had not gone southwest.
When the trail dropped down into the meadow, Raven watched Kai closely. He didn’t slow down or stop, he just started walking a wide zigzag pattern just as he’d done earlier when they’d gone to the west. The rains had made the ground soft. Raven could feel it under her feet, and when she looked back she could see the imprints of her feet. Occasionally they crossed the trail of wildlife, more deer tracks, a rabbit, and those of a large bear. Raven looked around nervously after spotting the bear tracks. Bears were not always a danger, but if one happened between a mother and her cubs, or came too close to one before being noticed, the results could be incredibly dangerous.
The high mountain meadow was small and they were rapidly coming to the end of it. Afterward the trail started down a long slope of mountain into the next valley below. Raven said nothing, but she knew Kai had not found any tracks yet. Had the kidnappers and Isabella made it through the meadow before the rains ended? Or had they even come this way? Her frustration was starting to build, but she knew that her own tracking skills were far too inadequate to point her in the right direction. She’d have to keep following Kai and hope he found sign of the kidnappers.
As the trail down narrowed and started toward the next valley, Kai stopped. He pointed far down the valley to a spot on the trail. “Riders coming up the mountain.”
The horses and riders were still far down in the valley and much too far away to distinguish faces, but Raven knew the colors of the riders. “King Ramsey’s colors.”
“Yes,” said Kai. “And if they are
coming towards us, it means they don’t have Isabella. How many other enemies does the child have?”
“She’s the only daughter of the queen of the richest kingdom in the north,” replied Raven.
“Right, so any number of enemies could have her.”
Raven ignored the comment, it went without saying that the potential number of enemies that would kidnap a princess was long. What Raven feared most was that if it wasn’t Eric Ramsey that had her, it was someone who knew her secret. There were plenty who would kill the child if they knew she was Dragonblood. Raven wasn’t going to share that secret with a stranger, so she just focused on trying to find the girl. “What now?” she asked.
“We can assume that if Ramsey’s men don’t have her she is not to the west. Since there is no sign of tracks on the northern side of the mountain, we can narrow our search quite a bit. We head back to the ambush site and follow the trail down until we find where they went east.”
Raven groaned, “Back over the mountain?”
Kai shook his head. “No, it will be dark soon. I wouldn’t try going down the mountain face in the dark. We go back up the trail and camp just short of the summit. Come morning we start again.”
“What of the riders?”
“They will have to make camp as well. We’ll have half a day, maybe a day head start on them.”
Raven swore under her breath. Enemies ahead of her, and enemies behind. She hoped Kai was as good with a bow as he was at tracking. They were outnumbered and alone.
…
They stopped just short of the tree line. The summit was less than a mile away, but dark was upon them and the trail was more treacherous now. Above the tree line it was windy and cold, less than ideal for making camp.
“Get to sleep as quickly as you can,” said Kai. “We’ll leave before dawn. We’ll use torches to travel until dawn.”
Raven watched as Kai went through the pack and grabbed one of the canteens. He took a drink and spit it out. “Water? What in the hell?”
“Sorry,” said Raven. “Britt made that decision. He said you’d be pissed that it’s not whiskey, but I need you sober. He said you’d understand … eventually.”
“Damn that man,” said Kai. “I haven’t gone without drink in years. I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Perhaps you just haven’t had good enough reason to go without. Think of Isabella, she is alone, a little girl, captured by bandits and has other enemies riding to find her. She needs your help Kai. I need your help.”
Kai threw the offending canteen to the ground, running his hands through his thick hair. “What kind of bartender allows his best customer to sober up?”
Raven said nothing, she knew that to continue the conversation would likely direct Kai’s wrath at her. Instead she worked on making camp. She gathered wood for a fire and laid out her bedding. It was going to be a long night.
13
IT WAS MIDMORNING BEFORE ISABELLA REALIZED why Sisera wanted to wait until daylight before discussing what had happened. Isabella had looked down at her hands and noticed they were different. Her skin had changed. It was creamier colored, but also in spots it was scaled. She had dragon-skin!
The scales were small and gold and purple colored. The scales didn’t cover her entire skin but seemed to be in patches. Isabella ran her fingers over the scales, they were slightly raised compared to the rest of her skin, but felt just as soft. She pulled her shirt out so she could look down her body. Scales covered her chest and belly button. Letting go of her shirt, she felt her neck and face. She could feel scales along her neck and small patches on her face as well.
Dragonskin was not unheard of. Among the historical notes on dragons that her mother’s family had kept over the years was mention of the phenomenon. It was said that some Dragonblood had skin so hard, they didn’t need armor. Isabella pulled out her dagger, one that been hidden among the supplies, and slowly brought the blade against the scales on her arm. The skin did not break. Curious, Isabella tried again, this time on a section of skin with no scales. Again the knife didn’t cut her skin. Even her normal looking skin was now difficult to cut!
Isabella laughed out loud. For years she’d been learning about dragons and Dragonblood. She’d been terrified of what might become of her if she ever bonded with a dragon. Now, she was excited. The amount of pain she’d felt during the change hadn’t been that bad. It was a small price to pay. when compared to what she’d received in return. Isabella wondered if she would gain other dragon magic.
…
By noon, Isabella was tired and needed a break. She’d been riding all night and morning and needed to stop. Riding through a long narrow valley, Isabella spotted a meandering creek. She decided that was a perfect spot to stop and stretch. The horses would have plenty of grass to eat, fresh water to drink, while she stretched and took a walk.
Tethering the horses in the grass within reach of the creek, Isabella took some dried meat from her supplies and started walking down wind of the horses. If Sisera joined her, she wanted to be far enough down wind that the horses wouldn’t be spooked by the presence of a dragon. She found a dead birch tree that was perfect to lie down and stretch out on. She barely had time to sit before she felt the presence of Sisera. Without looking, Isabella spoke to the dragon. “Hello, Sisera.”
“Hello, Isabella, are you okay? I worried when you stopped riding.”
“I’m fine, but I am tired. It’s been a long night and morning and I need some rest. I just want to shut my eyes for a while and stretch out.”
“Oh, did you want me to leave you alone?” asked Sisera.
“No, I wanted to talk to you. I just didn’t realize how much I wanted to close my eyes. You don’t mind if I keep them closed while we talk, do you?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Good. Did you see that I now have scales?”
“Yes, I did. I was going to tell you last night, but I didn’t want you getting upset. I thought it best to let you see them for yourself. I think you look very pretty now. You’d look better with wings and more scales, but I guess you weren’t lucky enough.”
Isabella smiled to herself.
14
IT WAS ALMOST BY ACCIDENT THAT KAI found the sign. He had moved off of the trail behind a tree to relieve himself when he noticed the hoof print. After finishing his business, he called Raven over and pointed out the track. “Let’s see where this goes.” Kai’s head pounded, and his mouth was dry, he desperately wanted a drink. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone this long without one. But Raven and the child were depending on him. He couldn’t help them if he was drunk. Kai ignored his body’s cravings and focused on the task at hand.
Raven said nothing, but Kai could tell she was relieved that they had found something, even if was only a single hoof print. She had been nervously looking back over her shoulder all morning, worried Prince Ramsey would show up.
Kai knew better. Even on horseback the prince’s horde of warriors would be scouting for a path. Once they were a few minutes from the mountain path, Kai stopped and studied the tracks. Four horses, this was the right set of tracks. Satisfied that they now had a trail to follow, Kai broke a branch off of a nearby cedar tree. “Wait here,” he said to Raven.
Kai jogged back to the mountain and back up the trail a hundred yards. He then started sweeping the mountain path with the branch. A good tracker would’ve been able to see slight marks in the hard rock path that marked their trail, but after he was done with the branch it was if they had disappeared. The prince and his men would need hours to find where they left the trail, if they could at all. Kai studied his work and when he was convinced that the evidence of their passing was gone he jumped from the path to a rock and then again down the hill. He pushed a few leaves over the original hoof mark that caught his attention, then made his way back to Raven. She was sitting on the ground in a meditation pose when he returned.
“Prince Erik’s trackers will have a hard time finding us
now. We’ll likely gain a day on them, if not more.” The claim of a day’s gain depended more on the quality of the trackers than anything else and if the prince had borrowed members of the dragon’s tail then even less of a gain could be had. The brigade had some of the best rangers in the world, ones who would, with time, figure out what Kai had done.
Now that they had the kidnappers trail, they could move fast. Four horses made plenty of marks, and now that they were in the trees, and away from the bare rock of the mountain, it was an easy trail to follow. Kai could pick up his pace. He smiled despite his fatigue. He could easily see the tracks, even at a run. He started to jog. The running took his mind away from the pain. He’d been without alcohol for over twenty-four hours now. His body was protesting. He looked down at his hand. It was shaking. His head was starting to pound. His mouth was dry. He wanted a drink so bad! Kai pushed the thought out of his mind, focusing on the task at hand. He would help save the princess from that dung sniffing prince. Then he’d worry about getting himself a drink, a very big cold drink.
The trail was going east towards the sea, but also was starting to turn back north. Kai wondered if one of Isabella’s own people had been her kidnapper.
…
As they went farther into the woods, travel became slower. The only consolation was the kidnapper’s horses would be even slower winding through the maze of young maples and elm saplings that had sprung up. Judging, by the size of the young trees they were weaving their way through, Kai guessed that a fire had ravaged these very lands ten or more years ago. The saplings were thick enough to be more bothersome to a horse than bothersome to a man on foot. Broken, saplings made tracking easy, and made passage easier through the immature forest for Kai and Raven.
Late that afternoon, Kai and Raven left the wooded area, stepping out into a wide, open valley. As they stepped out of the woods into the open fields, Kai stopped to take his bearings and examine the landscape. A movement caught Kai’s notice. He looked across the valley. In the distance he could make out two horses. One with rider, and the other with packs. Because of the hooded cloak the rider was wearing, he couldn’t see what the rider looked like, but the size of the rider seemed right. Kai took a deep breath, surely the gods weren’t this kind? “Raven, look across the valley.”
Sisera's Gift (Dragonblood Sagas Book 2) Page 6