by Avril Sabine
“I’m fine,” she said in as deep a voice as possible, her words little more than a whisper.
“Thank you.” Irlan appeared at her side. “I’ve got him now.”
When Irlan took her other arm, Shadow gratefully pulled away from Carson who nodded sharply and then moved off. She watched him cross the clearing.
“Are you crazy?” Irlan hissed.
“You didn’t stick around,” Shadow hissed back. “And it wasn’t like I asked for his help. You can let me go now.”
“I’ll unsaddle your horse,” Irlan offered.
“I can do it.” Shadow snatched the reins from Irlan.
“You’re drawing attention. Let me deal with the horse. It’s not like you ride every day like I do.” Irlan tried to pull the reins from her.
She refused to let them go. “I know even you must feel sore after this amount of riding.”
“Shut up Shadow, and quit drawing attention to yourself.”
Shadow breathed out heavily and let go of the reins. Irlan led the horse away and she turned in the opposite direction. Seeing Carson under a tree watching her, she froze. She wondered what he had made of their whispered argument.
“Hey kid,” a soldier said behind Shadow. She spun quickly and then had to stop a groan at the effort the movement took. “General wants you to collect firewood.”
Irlan returned to her side the moment the soldier stopped near her. “I’ll help him.”
The soldier shook his head. “General wants you to groom horses. He said to tell you everyone pulls their weight.”
When Irlan would have continued to argue, Shadow shook her head and moved away. Collecting firewood was a job even little children could do. The soldiers would wonder if she refused to collect it. Even though she would have preferred to collapse in a heap and not move she forced herself to search the densely treed area for deadfall. It didn’t take her long to collect enough firewood and pile it beside the campfire before she found a quiet place to relax. The tree trunk she leaned against was hidden by bushes and felt as comfortable to her aching body as a feather mattress. Exhausted from the long hours of riding, she fell asleep.
Low voices woke her. She looked around, trying to see where they came from in the last of the day’s light. She couldn’t see them for the trees, nor could she recognise the voices since she could barely hear them. About to rise to her feet, she froze as the occasional word became clear.
“No one yet… King… who’d suspect… anything… crown… mages… elf sight… careful.”
“Dinner!” The word rang out through the camp and cut off the whispered conversation.
Shadow huddled against the base of the tree she leaned on and stayed deathly still. The words had made no sense, but alarm bells rang in her head at the snippets she had caught. Was Irlan right? Did Carson have a hidden agenda? She didn’t want to know. She wanted to stay out of any possible trouble. Escaping the tavern was meant to save them, not put them in more danger. When she thought it was safe, she crept around the outside of the camp, staying in the trees. When she felt she was far enough away from where the conversation had been held, she walked into the camp and lined up for dinner.
“Where’ve you been?” Irlan demanded as they found a place to eat.
Shadow shook her head. She couldn’t mention what she’d heard. That’d be completely insane. And what had she heard anyway? Nothing really.
“Don’t give me the silent treatment. I was worried something had happened to you.”
“I shouldn’t talk. Who knows who’s listening.” Shadow couldn’t stop thinking of the bits of conversation she’d heard. They made her food sit heavy in her stomach.
“No wandering off on your own again. Anything could happen.”
Shadow nodded. She wasn’t going to argue that order. She didn’t want to put herself in the path of any more secret conversations. She didn’t have a death wish.
Chapter Five
The following week passed in a blur. Shadow was too tired to even want to talk to her brother half the time. Although, towards the end of the week, she managed to last till after dinner before dropping off to sleep.
Each day they rose at dawn, packed, ate and moved out. The midday meal was eaten on horseback and they rode until the light started to fade from the sky. While the soldiers set up camp, Irlan brushed horses and Shadow collected firewood. On this particular evening, when Shadow dropped another bundle of wood by the fire, she glanced at the map the General and Captain pored over. As the General spoke, his finger traced a line on the map. Shadow stared at the map. When Carson looked up at her, she hurried away. She still didn’t know if she should trust him. And why did they need a captain and a general for such a small group of soldiers?
“You’ve got to look at the map and tell them it’s been changed by magic,” Shadow told Irlan, who still brushed the horses.
“I can’t do that. They’ll want to know where the path is,” Irlan argued.
Shadow squatted in the dirt and drew in the path they followed, then the path magic had made disappear. “Tell them if they let you have some parchment and ink you’ll do an accurate copy.”
“How am I meant to do that?”
“I’ll do it if you can get them to leave you alone,” Shadow said. “Oh hurry. It looks like they’re finishing up.”
Irlan leapt to his feet and hurried over to the fire. He reached them just before the last bit of map was rolled up. “Wait!” He reached out towards the map, but Carson was there between him and his goal.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Carson demanded.
“I thought I saw something on the map. Magic,” Irlan said. Carson stepped back and Farnell unrolled the map. “Yes! It’s definitely been changed by magic. Look, here’s the path you see. This is the path I see.” He ran his finger across the map. He glanced up at Shadow who had come to stand with them and she gave the slightest of nods.
Farnell rose to his feet and ran his fingers through his close cropped hair. He spat out a few curse words before turning back to Irlan. “I want you to fix the map.”
“I can draw you a new one,” Irlan suggested.
Farnell shook his head. “Fix this one. Draw in the line where it should be.”
Irlan glanced towards Shadow and this time she shook her head. “It can’t be done. I’d have to start with fresh parchment. This one’s been changed too much. The magic would interfere with the drawing.”
Shadow almost grinned at her brother. She had to admire the way he could sometimes come up with excuses on the spur of the moment. She guessed it came from regularly trying to outwit their Pa and his many rules.
“How do we know you’re not leading us off the path? It was convenient you turned up when you did. Are you certain this moment isn’t what you’ve been waiting for the whole time? A way to throw us off course.” Carson watched Irlan carefully.
Shadow held her breath.
Irlan shrugged. “I guess you don’t. But I’d have to be mad to risk my brother and myself. Your problem, but I’d like to get to this pass you want me to find before winter. How long till we get near the mountains?”
“You’ve made your point,” Farnell snapped. He turned to Carson. “Organise parchment and ink for him. He can do it in my tent. I don’t want the whole company wondering what’s going on.”
Irlan and Shadow were left by the fire. “I wonder what that meant,” Irlan whispered to his sister. “They changed their minds so suddenly.”
Shadow grinned. “The path’s meant to be climbing through mountains now. And you didn’t show them the path quite right either. I hope they don’t remember where your finger traced since you did it so quickly.”
“This is tougher than I thought it’d be,” Irlan said with a sigh.
Shadow was tempted to point out it was his own fault. She looked over towards the General’s tent and saw Carson beckon them. “Come on, it looks like the Captain’s trying to get our attention.”
* * *
“Do you think it was done by someone here or before they left the capital city?” Shadow asked.
Irlan shrugged. “I wouldn’t think it was someone here. They’re all great fellows.” Irlan had taken to joining the games of chance played by the soldiers of an evening.
“That doesn’t mean anything. A person can have two faces.” Shadow couldn’t help thinking about the whispered conversation she’d heard.
Irlan was about to argue when Carson came into the tent. “Is it ready?”
“Ready enough.” Irlan moved back from the table so Carson could have a look at the two maps.
“Mmm, very close, but it slowly veers off, mostly at the end. I guess you’re more useful to have around than we thought you’d be.” Carson looked at Irlan thoughtfully before he rolled up the two maps. “Wait here.” He strode out of the tent.
“What do you make of that?” Irlan asked.
Shadow shook her head. “I wouldn’t have a clue. He was definitely thinking about something though.”
“That’s what I thought. Hope it was something good,” Irlan said.
Shadow shrugged. “I don’t know. You don’t think they were planning on ditching us without pay, do you?”
“They better not. Elf sight’s worth more than the two gold coins we’ve got so far.”
A soldier stepped through the tent’s entrance. “The General wants to see you. Immediately.” He held the tent flap back for them.
Irlan and Shadow shared a quick look before they hurried outside. It was never good to keep the General waiting. Farnell and Carson were seated near the campfire. None of the other soldiers were near them.
“Sir?” Irlan asked.
“Sit down.” Farnell gestured to the ground in front of him.
Irlan sat cross-legged in the dust, Shadow beside and slightly behind him. They waited as Farnell stared at them in a silence that dragged out. Irlan began to fidget and sensing he was about to speak Shadow nudged his thigh with her knee. His lips tightened. She didn’t know what the General waited for, but she was sure there was a reason for his lengthy silence. Had he figured out their deception? Did he wait for them to confess? Several more minutes passed before the General chose to speak.
“We’re willing to pay you the same fee as the tavern owner if you stay with us the entire journey.”
“Would you pay us more of the fee each week?” Irlan asked.
“As soon as we’re through the pass we’ll increase it to five gold a week,” Farnell said.
Shadow nudged Irlan. When he glanced at her she glared back. “The same price,” he mouthed the words at her.
Her look was dagger sharp. Her eyes screamed no. Come on Irlan, say no, say no, she repeated the words over and over in her head, trying to get the message to him.
Irlan turned to the General. “How much further away is the end of the journey from the pass?”
“Not much further,” Carson answered.
“My brother and I can’t fight. If there’s fighting and we got caught in it, we’d die,” Irlan said.
Shadow sat angrily beside him. She wanted to hit him. She wanted to yell at him not to be a greedy fool. But she couldn’t afford to draw attention to herself. Instead, she fumed, her head tilted forward so her hat shielded her expression.
“I’ll see you’re trained,” Farnell said.
“How long is it to the pass?” Irlan asked.
“About another six weeks. Plenty of time to pick up some skills with a sword,” Farnell said. “Come on, lad. We don’t have all day. Make up your mind.”
“We’ll come with you to the end,” Irlan said.
“Then we’d better find someone to train you and your brother.” Farnell rose to his feet.
“I’m going to kill you before we get to the pass,” Shadow hissed at Irlan as they followed Farnell.
Irlan’s grin made Shadow grind her teeth in frustration. Her hands clenched into fists and she had to force herself not to hit her brother. It was close.
Chapter Six
The next day, instead of relaxing by the fire where the soldiers played games of chance after a long day in the saddle, Irlan and Shadow were shown the basics of sword fighting by Morell. He was a man of few words, broad shouldered and used his sword like he was in a dance.
Shadow watched the move Morell made and tried to mimic it. The sword was heavy and after half an hour of imperfect copying her arms were beginning to tremble. Someone kicked at the inside of her right foot and she spun to see Carson behind her.
“Widen your stance. You’ll lose your balance and fall on your face.”
“The weight of the sword will probably do that to me anyway,” Shadow muttered, then held her breath as she recalled she wasn’t meant to speak.
Carson laughed softly. “Maybe we should give you a dagger instead.”
Or shoot me with a bow and put me out of my misery. She barely managed to keep the words to herself. She lowered her sword, resting the point in the ground. “This is ridiculous. I can’t do it.”
“You need to practice. Build up some muscle, kid.” Carson took the sword from her and stepped back. He checked the balance and then waved Morell forward, the sword held up.
Shadow watched the two men attack each other. Their moves were lightning fast, the sound of their blades ringing in the clearing. She watched in fascination as they moved, an intricate dance. She had thought Morell surprisingly graceful. Beside Carson, he looked clumsy. She was mesmerised by his movements, her breath catching several times when it looked like Morell might get past his defences. Then Morell’s sword lay in the dirt and behind her she heard men call out to Carson and coins change hands.
Carson clapped a hand on Morell’s shoulder and turned towards Shadow. She watched him walk towards her, glad of her hat. She took the sword he held out and nearly dropped it.
“It might be best to build up your arm muscles before we try and teach you how to use this. How old are you, kid?”
Shadow’s heart stopped momentarily. How old? She wouldn’t have a clue what age to tell him. She certainly couldn’t say seventeen. “How do you build up arm muscles?”
Carson grinned and reached out to rest his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll show you tomorrow. Better get some sleep, kid. We don’t want you falling off your horse because you’re too tired to stay awake tomorrow.”
Shadow watched as he strode to the campfire. Just what she needed to hear. More work. First they expected her to collect firewood each day, then learn to use a sword and now Carson wanted her to build up her arm muscles. She was beginning to wish she’d lifted the kegs of ale at the tavern instead of rolling them, but she’d never imagined she’d end up in the army. She shot a daggered look towards her brother, even though she knew he couldn’t see it in the flickering torchlight with her hat shading her eyes.
“Shadow! Get that sword out of the dirt. Hold it up now,” Morell snapped.
Shadow lifted the blade and widened her stance as she gritted her teeth. Every muscle in her arm protested, but she wasn’t about to argue. Carson might have told her it was time for bed, but Morell obviously had other plans.
By the time she was finally allowed to quit for the night, Shadow could barely put one foot in front of the other. She felt hot, sweaty and her arms ached worse than her legs had the first day of riding. Instead of heading to her bedroll, she decided a quick wash in the stream near the campsite might help. About to step out of the tree line, she stopped when she saw someone already crouched at the stream.
His head came up and he reached for the dagger on the ground beside him, spinning to face the trees. Carson stood shirtless, water droplets glinting in the moonlight. “Step
out of the trees.”
Shadow forced herself forward and watched as Carson relaxed and tucked his dagger into his boot. He beckoned her forward and she hesitantly walked across the rock strewn ground to stop in front of him. She flinched as his hand came up.
Carson knocked her hat to the ground. “The sun’s down, kid.”
“Shadow.”
“Didn’t I send you to bed already? Kid.”
Shadow stared at Carson’s boots, wishing she could pick up her hat and put it on. She felt exposed. What did he see when he looked at her? She glanced up quickly, his face patches of light and dark, then dropped her eyes again.
“Well?”
Head still bowed she said softly, “We practised some more.”
“I didn’t think you were that determined to learn how to use a sword.”
She wasn’t, but Morell had been. Why couldn’t Carson leave her be? What did he want? Her arms ached, her back ached, even her legs ached. She wanted to go to bed.
“Kid.” The silence stretched out. “Look at me when I speak to you.”
Shadow slowly raised her eyes. She got as far as his chest, the water droplets nearly gone. She swallowed hard as the silence stretched out again. Her gaze reached his chin, then his lips. There was no smile, but they also weren’t pressed together in a tight line like they were when he was angry. Her gaze finally met his eyes.
Carson reached out and pressed his hand against her shoulder. “Meet a man’s eyes when you talk to him, and straighten up. We’ll make a man of you yet.”
Shadow’s mouth went dry and all she could do was nod.
Carson stared at her a moment longer. “How old are you?”
Her mind went blank. She should have figured this out. She tried to remember how old Irlan had been when he’d been her height, but she couldn’t think.