by Avril Sabine
“Them or us,” she muttered under her breath and aimed at one of the soldiers well away from Wardell and Carson. She caught him in the shoulder. He turned to see where the bolt had come from and changed the direction of his attack. Shadow fumbled for another bolt and quickly reloaded her crossbow. The next one hit him in the leg. The soldier staggered but kept coming.
A wave of panic washed over her and she dropped the next bolt she tried to load. “Them or us,” she reminded herself. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she grabbed another bolt. She took aim and caught him in the throat this time. Shadow closed her eyes at the sight of the blood and let her breath out through her mouth. “Them or us. Them or us,” she muttered.
Shadow opened her eyes again to see Roper and Perrun had joined Wardell and Carson on the trail their swords slashing at the soldiers. Shadow gasped as she saw a cut high on Carson’s left arm. She aimed at another soldier. This one she caught high in the chest and he looked down at the bolt in shock, dropping the sword he swung. Hoping he was dealt with, Shadow readied her crossbow and looked for another soldier to aim at. A sound behind her made her turn and she saw a soldier with a long curved dagger trying to creep up on her.
Shadow screamed in surprise. The man rushed towards her. The crossbow Shadow had readied came up and she blindingly pointed it at him. She hit the man in the right shoulder. He barely paused in his rush towards her. Then somehow Wardell was in front of her. His sword sliced into the man. Blood sprayed everywhere and Shadow clapped her hand over her mouth.
Them or us, she silently reminded herself.
“Pull yourself together, girl,” Wardell grumbled.
Shadow’s eyes flew to Wardell. They widened in surprise.
“I’m not an idiot,” Wardell muttered. “Now, stay out of trouble.”
Then he was gone. Avoiding looking at the man on the ground, Shadow readied her crossbow with trembling fingers and turned to face the fight on the trail. She saw Wardell move in near Carson. He spoke and then Carson nodded. Carson ran towards the tree where Shadow hid. Wardell blocked the soldier who would have followed.
Carson grabbed Shadow’s arm as he burst into the forest. “Get on your horse,” he ordered. A piercing whistle and his horse trotted towards him. Carson sheathed his sword and swung onto his horse. “Come!”
Shadow mounted her horse. Carson leaned over his and kicked it forward. She did the same, holding on tight as her horse followed Carson’s. Branches whipped past her and snow fell on them in great lumps. Her surroundings blurred. They burst from the forest and onto the trail, the sound of fighting left behind, but still Carson urged his horse on. The sounds were muffled by the snow on the ground. Finally Carson slowed his horse to a walk and Shadow willingly did the same.
Carson looked over at her. “Whose blood?”
“Not mine.”
Carson nodded.
“We left the men behind,” Shadow accused.
“We have a mission to complete,” Carson snapped. “They know what’s expected of them.”
Shadow followed him silently for a while. When the trail widened, she moved up beside him. Looking over, she was startled to see the cut on his arm was wet. “You’re bleeding!”
Carson glanced down at it. Pulling his horse to a stop, he rummaged in his saddlebags and tore a strip off the tunic he found. He handed the strip to Shadow. “Bind it.”
Shadow’s lips thinned, but she did as she was ordered. Before she could lean away from him, Carson grabbed one of her hands. She looked up at him.
“I heard you scream earlier. Nothing happened?”
“What would it matter?” Shadow snapped.
“Wardell was closest. I sent him,” Carson said.
Shadow sighed. “I want to go home.” Sometimes.
“To your father?”
Shadow closed her eyes for a second and sighed. “Maybe not.” But then where else could she go? Where would she fit in? The adrenaline that had coursed through her earlier had evaporated, leaving her slightly drained. Maybe Carson was right. Maybe the army was where she belonged. At least she had moments were she felt alive, where every action counted and every second was important.
Carson smiled. “Come. We’ve got a fortress to invade.”
Shadow smiled at him and sat back in her saddle when Carson released her hand. And he called her tenacious.
Chapter Eighteen
They travelled less than an hour before reaching the edge of the forest. Shadow looked across the wide open area between them and the fortress. It was exactly as she had seen in her vision, even down to the archers on guard.
“Now what?” Shadow asked.
Carson shook his head. He looked around. “Anything magic hid?”
“No.”
“At least that’s a start,” Carson said.
“How are we going to cross that?” Shadow pointed towards the open space still between them and their goal.
“Come.” Carson turned his horse to follow the edge of the forest.
“Great.” Shadow reluctantly followed. She was beginning to get sick of hearing that word.
When they were nearly half way around to the other side of the fortress, Carson stopped and dismounted. He cleared some snow from the ground near a tree so his horse could find the meagre frostbitten grass. Shadow did the same.
She watched as Carson pulled a white cloak from his saddlebags. This was much thinner than the one Carson had given her to wear.
“I don’t suppose you’ve got a second one of those?” Shadow asked.
Carson shook his head and drew the cloak around him. It trailed on the ground. He pulled up the hood, took a few more items from his saddlebags and put them into his belt pouch. “Grab some food,” Carson said, his back to her. “Leave your cloak with your horse.”
Shadow frowned but did as she was ordered. “Now what?” Shivering, she crossed her arms over her chest to try and fight back the cold, but it didn’t help.
Carson turned to look at her and grinned. “Now for some cuddling.”
“What?” Shadow stomped after him as he made his way to the edge of the forest. Cuddling. Sure. Like that was going to happen. Or if it did, he’d soon pull away like every other time. “Be serious.”
“I am.” Carson lay in the snow on his stomach. “Lay along my back under the cloak. Make sure the cloak completely covers us.”
“No way!” Shadow backed away from him as she realised his plan. “It’s too far.”
“That was an order. You have two options. Follow orders or be left behind.”
There was steel in his voice and Shadow knew he was serious. She looked across the open area they had to cover. It seemed an extremely long distance. She stared at Carson lying in the snow. Unless you were right on top of him, you couldn’t tell he was there. She took a deep calming breath and slowly let it out. Them or us, she reminded herself, and they’ve got my brother. Shadow felt the anger build again. There was no room for fear when the anger was there.
Lowering herself to the ground Shadow shivered as the snow chilled her body. She lifted the cloak and wriggled under to lie along the length of Carson’s back, rearranging the cloak to cover them. Her legs hung between his and she held onto his shoulders. She only hoped he had the strength to get them to the fortress. Chin ups and push ups had seemed effortless to him. She had no idea if this would be more difficult.
“Ready?” Carson asked.
“And if I’m not?” Shadow replied.
“Too bad. Hold on and stay still.”
Carson started to manoeuvre forward, using his arms to pull them, pushing with his feet. It was slow going. Every inch seemed to take forever.
“We should have waited for dark.” Shadow’s cheek rested on Carson’s back.
He didn’t answer.
“Surely we could have waited until dark. It’ll be nearly dark when we get there,” Shadow tried again.
“Shut up,” Carson muttered.
“Humph.” Shadow hung on. The
warmth of Carson’s back seeped through her, finally warming her body. She watched his shoulder bunch and relax as he pulled them along. Then a bright patch on the snow caught her attention.
“Stop! You’re bleeding on the snow,” Shadow hissed.
“How bad?” Carson asked.
Shadow peered carefully behind them. There was no blood. She looked along the side of Carson. There was a bright red spot near his hip and one just past his shoulder. As she watched, another one fell onto the white snow.
“Well?” Carson asked impatiently.
“You’ve probably torn it open again or something,” Shadow said.
“Have we left a trail?” Carson asked.
“Not yet. Just three places under the cloak,” Shadow said.
“Cover them. Then bind my cut better,” Carson said.
“With what?” Shadow said as she covered two of the bloodstains with snow. There was no point in covering the third, as Carson’s blood still dripped onto it.
“Be creative,” Carson grumbled.
Shadow frowned. She thought of the binding she’d wrapped around her breasts before leaving home. Sighing, she started to wriggle so she could get to it.
“What are you doing?” Carson growled.
“Being creative,” Shadow snapped.
“Be careful.”
Shadow managed to pull the binding out from the neck of her tunic. She looked at the thin cloth and frowned again. The blood would soak through it too quickly.
“We haven’t got all day,” Carson complained.
Shadow’s hand went to the worn felt hat she wore. Taking it off, she folded it twice. Happy with the thickness, she held it against Carson’s arm. “Lift up a little,” Shadow said as she tried to bind his arm. Carson shifted and she was able to wrap the wound. “That should hold.” Shadow covered the bloodstained snow with clean snow.
“Let’s hope,” Carson said. “Are you ready?”
Shadow wriggled into place and took hold of Carson’s shoulders. When Carson breathed in sharply, Shadow asked, “Are you all right?”
“Stay still,” he muttered before he moved again.
“Humph!” Shadow snorted irritably. She lay her head on his back and watched his shoulder as it bunched and relaxed. Her feet felt cold where they dragged through the snow, the leather of her boots not thick enough to keep them warm. Her legs were cold too, the rest of her warm. She snuggled in a little closer and her eyes closed as she got comfortable.
“Damn it! Stay still,” Carson hissed.
“Fine,” Shadow muttered.
They covered the rest of the ground in silence.
When they reached the wall of the fortress, Carson stopped. “Get off. Stay close to the wall.”
Shadow wriggled off Carson’s back and leaned up against the wall. The cold air made her shiver. Carson pulled off the white cloak and gave it to Shadow to wrap around her. It was too long for her to wear it properly.
“What now?” Shadow asked.
“Shh.” Carson looked around. “See anything?”
Shadow glanced around. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “The snow there has a bit of glitter to it.”
Carson quickly dug the snow away from the place Shadow pointed at.
“There’s a door in the wall,” Shadow said.
“Can you see the lock yet?” Carson asked.
Shadow shook her head. A moment later, she said, “Now I can.”
“Good.” Carson reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a small cloth bag. “Put a couple of pinches of this onto the lock.”
“What is it?” Shadow asked.
“You’re going to have to stop with all the questions if you want to make a career of the army.”
Shadow opened the bag and pulled out a pinch of the powder that seemed to cling to her fingers and wiped it against the lock. “I don’t want to make a career of the army. I’m going to live in a quiet little town where nothing ever happens,” Shadow said automatically. She wiped another pinch against the lock. “It doesn’t look sticky. It looks as dry as dirt until you try to pick it up.” She peered into the bag.
Carson took the bag from her and tucked it into his belt pouch. “Clean your fingers off in the snow.” As soon as Shadow had cleaned her fingers, Carson said, “Look away. Stand so your back’s to the lock.”
“Why?” Shadow asked as she stood in the place Carson wanted her in. He moved to stand beside her.
Putting an arm around her shoulders, Carson said, “Don’t you dare look back.” He muttered a couple of words under his breath. There was a pop behind them and Carson dropped his arm and turned around.
“What was that?” Shadow asked when she turned to see the magic spell had been broken and the lock was a streak of melted metal down the front of the door.
“Never mind.” Carson swung the door open, his sword in his hand.
“Why couldn’t I look?” Shadow asked.
“Because it’d temporarily blind you.”
“What would happen if I hadn’t cleaned it off my fingers?”
“Extreme pain. It wouldn’t mark you. It only melts metal. Now shut up. How can I listen for guards if you don’t shut up? And to think I encouraged you to talk.”
Shadow stepped inside with Carson and glanced around in the completely black corridor. Very little light penetrated the darkness and what did, barely made it a foot inside.
Carson unwrapped the bulky bandage around his arm. He dropped the bloody felt hat onto the floor and held out the material to Shadow. “Rebind it for me.” When Shadow took the material, Carson asked, “Where’d it come from?”
Shadow was glad it was dark enough Carson couldn’t see the blush staining her cheeks. “From around my chest,” she mumbled.
Carson chuckled. “You’re nothing if not resourceful.” As soon as Shadow finished, Carson shut the door behind them.
Shadow jumped slightly. “It’s pitch black. I can’t see anything.”
“Any magic?”
“No.”
“Good,” Carson started to move forward.
“We’ll trip over and break our necks.”
“Shut. Up.” Carson drew the words out through clenched teeth.
“I can’t find you,” Shadow whispered.
She felt a hand on her face and nearly screeched until she realised it must be Carson. His hand dropped to her shoulder and then travelled along her arm. Shadow shivered, and not from the cold.
“Hold onto my belt.” Carson took her hand and placed it there.
Shadow’s fingers tightened around the leather and she moved forward as Carson did. Shortly, they turned a corner. Shadow breathed a sigh of relief when she could see more clearly. Part way along the stone corridor magic glowed on the wall. This soft glow was enough to give Shadow some light to see by.
Chapter Nineteen
“There’s magic ahead. I can see a bit better now,” Shadow said. “Do you want me to go ahead?”
“Careful,” Carson warned.
“There’s nothing here.”
“What’s magic hid?”
“I don’t know. I’m not close enough. I can’t see how far this corridor goes. There doesn’t seem to be any doors or passages leading off it,” Shadow said as they walked towards the glow.
“Are we at it yet?” Carson asked.
“Nearly. It looks like a passageway.” Shadow took a few more steps and stopped. She took a step into the corridor and yelped as Carson slammed her against the corridor wall. A sudden hiss passed by and several thuds sounded against the wall from the trap she’d set off. “That… I… arrows,” Shadow stuttered.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Carson growled before his lips descended on hers. “I told you to be careful.” The words were said against her lips before he pulled back slightly.
Shadow stared up at Carson. Dazed. “Why?”
Carson pushed away from the wall. “Enough questions.”
Shadow grabbed his arm. “Why?”
Car
son remained silent. He blindly reached out to her and his hand found her shoulder. His fingers lightly skimmed her skin until they reached the back of her head and he drew her close. “Twice in one day I’ve feared for your life. Do you know how much effort it took to send Wardell and not go myself when you screamed?”
Shadow shook her head, his fingers still threaded through her hair.
“I’ve been trained to put duty first. I’ve never before come so close to forgetting that training.”
Shadow hesitantly reached out to press her hand against his chest, his heartbeat rapid under her palm. “Captain-” she broke off when he smiled.
“Captain? Really? Isn’t that a bit formal for someone you’ve just kissed?”
Shadow grinned even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “Carson-”
This time his lips interrupted her. Shadow’s hand was crushed between them, the other going around his waist. All sense of cold vanished as she lost herself in the kiss. She clung to him when he tried to pull away.
“You’re a distraction. Even as a boy. I couldn’t figure you out. Nothing added up. You couldn’t completely hide yourself and flashes of you came through. Especially your tenacity. I’ve always admired that about you.” Carson’s arms tightened on her before he let her go. “We need to find everyone before the guards realise we’re here.” He looked back into the corridor they’d come from. “What’s out there?”
“Nothing. I can’t see anything from here. Just empty corridors.” Shadow watched Carson, knowing he couldn’t see her. In the dark his face was less guarded. He put out his hand before he stepped towards her, trying to find his way. Shadow took his hand.
Carson reached forward with his other hand, his sword having been sheathed not long after they’d entered the dark corridors. He ran his fingers through her jagged hair. “How long was it?”
“Why?”
Carson sighed. “Come. Back to the main corridor.” He turned and moved cautiously forward, one hand still held Shadow’s the other outstretched to prevent himself from running into a wall.
“To my waist,” Shadow said softly.
Carson paused and looked back at her, a slight smile, his words soft. “Grow it again.” He turned and moved along the corridor.