Garreth lowered the knife slightly, but still had a tight grip on it. Melenthia had said that Kevaan didn’t get back in time to help her, so she fled on her own, without anyone knowing. This stranger, the same one who questioned Bale earlier, seemed sincere. Even Bale said he suspected no malice in him. But this was Melenthia, and he swore he wouldn’t betray her. Just as he was going to answer, the door to the kitchen opened and Conor came through. He was clearly upset. His fists were clenched and his jaw was tight. He went to his father, and before he realized Alek was even there, he blurted,
“Father, we passed through the gate just fine until a stranger and two men-at-arms, who passed us going the opposite direction, questioned the gate guards. He pointed us out, father. They started to come after us. We were far enough passed the gate for a bit of a head start, but I had to put Melenthia on her horse and make her go. They would’ve been able to catch us in the wagon. When they reached me, I thought they were going to kill me, but the leader just looked at me. I felt like he was looking right through me. I was so afraid I couldn’t even move. I couldn’t see his face under his hood, but his eyes were red and they glowed, father. He looked at me for a long time, then left me and went after Melenthia. They’ll catch her, father, we have to do something.”
“My God, a wraith,” Alek gasped.
Garreth grabbed his son and hugged him, rubbing his head to soothe him. Alek reached across the counter and grabbed Garreth’s arm. “Please. If you are her friend and you know where she’s gone, please tell me. I have to find her. She’s in more danger than even I suspected.”
“What?”
“The thing your son saw, that was a wraith.”
“What’s a wraith?”
“It’s a creature that no living being hopes to ever meet. He’s dead, but not so. The only way he could cross over from the beyond was if it was called. If Fallon was the one who called it, then he controls it. If that’s true, then he’s more dangerous than anyone would have suspected. Please, Garreth, if you love her, tell me where she’s gone.”
He let go of the knife and looked at Alek, fear in his eyes, still hugging his son. “She was going to head west, go through the woods and cross over the Xanthe into Isamar. She was hoping to get there where no one would know her. If she’s being followed, do you think she would still keep to the plan?”
“If Kevaan has taught her well, then yes, I think she would stick to her plan. She would try to outrun them and get to Isamar. If she could reach the Xanthe and get across ahead of them, she would be safe. A wraith will not cross over water. But a wraith is also power driven and does what it’s bidden to do. If he wants to catch her, he will. She won’t be able to outrun it forever.”
“Then you better hurry. Please, save her.”
“She already has quite a head start, but I will do everything in my power to do so.” He got up from the bar and headed toward the door. He turned back to Garreth. “I left my horse at the far end of town. I’ll lose precious time if I go back for him. Do you have one I could borrow? It would do to have one that is fresh anyway.”
“Yes, we have several in the stables.” He turned to Conor. “Go, saddle the warrior horse. There are two bags in there filled with fresh supplies, too. They belong to a patron, but I’ll explain. Go!”
Alek tossed the bag of gold to Garreth, and he caught it. “Give him that. I think that’ll be explanation enough.”
“Thank you.”
“You can thank me when I have Melenthia safely in hand. Send a message with the fastest rider you can find to His Highness at Lachlan Castle. Tell him that I’m on her trail. Tell him that I’ll send word when we reach Drydon Keep. But tell the messenger to be careful. Give it to no one but the Prince, and if he’s caught, tell him to destroy it.”
“It will be done.”
He left Garreth standing at the bar and flew out the door.
***
Melenthia walked for the rest of that afternoon and into the evening. When the first signs of dusk were upon her she was sore and tired. She practically dragged her feet, trying to stay upright, her head throbbing with every step. The bleeding had stopped but she could feel the crustiness of it dried on the rag tied around her head. She had eaten a few forest berries and had stopped several times for a drink in a wayward stream, but she knew she was going to need to stop, and soon. She thought she was on the Isamar side of the Xanthe. Garreth had made arrangements for her to get across the river on the ferry, the fee paid, but she had found her own way across. Certainly not in the way she would have chosen however.
She continued to follow the path she had found, but so far it led nowhere. She had never been to Isamar, from what she could remember, but she knew that there were not many towns there, and the ones they had, were spread out, away from each other, across many leagues of sand. She knew there was a small town, just across the border from Aaralyn, but she had no idea if she was anywhere near it. The forest here was still so dense. The Dark Woods crossed over the border into Isamar, but only for a league or two. After that it was sand as far as the eye could see. No vegetation, just scrub and dust.
As the hour passed she began to smell smoke, but the density of the trees hid her view from it. The darkness was setting in now, and she had only the limited moonlight, the clouds covering most of it, to show her way between the tall trees. The shadows were thick and she jumped at them every now and then before realizing it was only a stump or an odd shaped snag.
She used her nose to guide her, making her way between the trees, the path now all but gone. She started to hear sounds now, the far off nickering of horses and the echo of a fire crackling. She hoped that it wasn’t Fallon’s camp she was walking into but knew she had to take a chance. Her head and body needed attention. She had felt woozy for several hours, knowing that it was from blood loss and lack of food, and knew she had to get help. As she got further into the trees, she could finally see a small light dancing in the distance, the smell of the wood burning stronger. She walked toward it, using it as a guide, and eventually came to a spot where she could see the campsite.
It was small, one bedroll and a small fire burning a few feet from it. She could clearly hear horses somewhere off to her left, but could not see them. She knew it wasn’t Fallon’s camp, for if it was, there would be several tents and the sounds of multiple horses. He never rode anywhere without an armed escort. This could very well be bandits or criminals trying to hide their numbers. She smelled something cooking, and it smelled so good her stomach reeled from hunger at the whiff of it. She looked around but saw no one, so she crept into the camp and went to the pot on the fire. She leaned over and inhaled deeply. It smelled like some kind of stew, maybe rabbit or pheasant, and her mouth started to water. She looked around again to make sure no one was sneaking up behind her. She grabbed the spoon that was resting on the pot, ladled up some food and stuck it in her mouth. She burned her tongue but she didn’t care. It tasted so good she almost started to shovel it in, but knew she had to take it slow, so as not make herself sick.
She got about four spoonfuls down her throat before she heard footsteps coming toward the campsite, the dry needles crunching under foot. She didn’t have her knife or her sword, so she had no way to defend herself, and she was so weak she doubted she could fist fight someone, or worse, many. She turned back toward the way she had come but not before being seen. A man came through the shadows of the trees and saw her. He took a couple of quick steps toward her, and she bolted. She jumped over a fallen log and headed off into the trees, hoping to lose whomever was behind her in the darkness. No such luck. An arm swung in from behind and pulled her off her feet. The man backed up and went into the light of the campsite again. Melenthia kicked and squirmed, trying with all her might to loosen the grip of her captor. She elbowed him in the groin, and he humphed and loosened his grip just enough. She slipped from out of his grasp and slid to the forest floor. She was up and running again before he could recover fully. She ran as fast as she co
uld but tripped over a root and fell face first into the dirt. She was dazed for a moment, then shook it off and got up. She was dizzy, and her ankle hurt from tripping. She was not fast enough to get away. The stranger grabbed her from behind again and dragged her kicking and squirming back to the campsite.
“Enough! Stop your thrashing around or so help me I’ll hurt you.”
“I won’t go with you. I won’t let you take me to him alive.”
“Well, you’re alive right now, which is a good thing. I cannot take back a corpse. Someone would be very put out if I let you get killed.”
The firelight illuminated the campsite but it was hidden mostly in shadow. She could make out his outline, but not much detail. She wondered if it was because of the dark or because she was delirious. She flailed around some more and managed to hit him square in the face. He rubbed his free hand over his chin where she had clocked him and squeezed tighter with the arm holding her.
“You’ll stay put and get some rest. That head wound is nasty and needs attention. However, I should cut off your hand for stealing.”
“I didn’t steal anything,” she said, squirming more. The more she wiggled, the tighter his grip became. She was starting to feel suffocated.
“You stole my food. If I let you, you may have stolen my horse, or my pack, who knows.”
“I merely wanted a bite.”
“Should I let you go then?”
She thought about that. She had to convince him that she would not steal anything and would behave, or he may just crush her to death.
“I’m sorry I ate your dinner without asking. If you let me go, I promise I won’t be any trouble.”
His grip loosened from around her waist, and he gently set her on the ground. She made her move. She reached across him and pulled his sword from out of its scabbard and lifted it to his neck.
He crossed his arms over his chest, obviously amused. “If you’re going to kill me, go ahead, but I assure you there are worse things out there than me.”
“I don’t want to kill you, but I can’t let you keep me detained. I must be on my way.”
She looked up at him, and he said nothing, just stared at her. She felt a wave of dizziness overtake her, and she teetered on her feet. She dropped the sword on the ground and tried to keep herself from passing out. She threw up, then blackness overtook her.
***
When she opened her eyes again, it was still dark. She still felt sick to her stomach, and her eyes didn’t want to cooperate and focus. She was still dizzy, and her head was pounding. She touched her head wound. It had been sewn and had clean dressings. The man who had her was lying a few feet from her, in front of the fire, which was still putting off heat, but not blazing. His eyes were closed; she could hear a rhythmic breathing coming from him. He was asleep. It was now or never. She got on her hands and knees and started to crawl across the campsite, hoping that would be quieter than walking. She got just passed him and thought she would make it, but a hand snaked out and grabbed her foot.
“Going somewhere?”
She started to kick at him. That was the last straw. He was tired and sore from riding so long, he just wanted a rest. He’d had enough. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she needed to behave. He grabbed her by the waist again and set her roughly down on the ground. She reeled again and retched.
“If you don’t calm yourself, you’re going to do more damage to your body than you have already sustained.”
“I don’t care!”
“Well I do. I made a promise and will stick to it.”
He pulled out some cords from his cloak pocket and proceeded to tie up her feet. The campsite was spinning, and her heart was racing. She felt sick, tired and cold. She was still damp from her swim in the river, and all she wanted was for her head to stop throbbing. She watched him tie her legs, then the whole world started spinning, and she passed out again.
CHAPTER 13
When she opened her eyes again and tried to move, a stabbing pain shot through her head and traveled all the way down to her eyeballs. She groaned, then was still again, trying to make the throbbing subside. It was now day. The sun had just risen above the horizon with the muted light that hinted of very early morning. She tried to look around at her surroundings, hoping to remember where she was and what had happened. She remembered being chased and jumping into the river. The throbbing in her head was from the cut she obtained from hitting her head on the rock. But that was all she remembered.
She was in a campsite. There was a bedroll off to the side that looked recently slept in, and a fire crackled a few feet in front of her, a pot with deliciously smelling food cooked on top of it. She could hear the nickering of horses somewhere to her left, then noticed her sword, leaning up against a log, off to her right. She could hear its whisper from where she sat, almost as if it were admonishing her for abandoning it. She told it that soon they would never again be parted and the humming stopped. She thought she could crawl over and get it, to cut through the bindings, but her feet were tied as well as her hands. She cursed under her breath. She had gotten so far, then got sloppy. Over what? A warm meal and fresh supplies. She should’ve stayed hidden, then she wouldn’t be in this predicament.
She tried moving, but the pain stabbed behind her eyes again, and she was bound too tight to get very far. She gave up and stopped moving. She was just breathing deeply in and out, to dull the throbbing in her head, when she heard a sound behind her. Footsteps. Heavy ones. She closed her eyes again, pretending to be asleep, and waited for whomever was there to show himself. When she heard the footsteps pass, she opened her eyes just slightly, to see his features now that it was light.
He came out from the trees, strolling into the campsite, carrying an armful of kindling. He dropped the pile next to the fire, broke a couple of the thin sticks in half and threw them on the flames. The fire crackled again, and a spray of sparks flew into the air on the light morning breeze. The smoke from it hit her nostrils, along with the smell of food as he stirred whatever was in the pot. She watched him stir the contents and heard her stomach growl. He sat down on a log. She was starting to recall the events that led to this. They were fuzzy, but they would become clear soon enough she was sure.
“Hungry are we?”
She opened her eyes large now and looked in his direction. He was staring at her. He was tall, around six foot two, if she were to guess, with long blond hair that was tied in a tail down his back. He had a beard the same color of his hair, and it was trimmed neatly. He had broad shoulders and large arms, the muscles bulging from under his sleeves. He wore simple riding clothes; sleeveless leather hauberk laced down the front over linen shirt, wool riding pants. When he moved she could see the bulkiness of mail ripple underneath his shirt. He wore tall black boots and had a sword sheathed in leather on his hip. The same one, she remembered, that she threatened him with last night. He had hazel eyes which watched her, but he said nothing else. She decided it was time to get out of here.
“Why have you tied me up? You have no right to hold me.”
“You were trespassing on my campsite, remember? I wasn’t going to have you stealing from me and get away.”
“I wasn’t going to steal anything. I was just hungry.”
“I don’t know, my horse is quite valuable.”
“I have my own horse,” She realized at that moment that she had left hers behind when she jumped into the river. “At least I did.”
“Yes, and now you don’t and mine would fetch a hefty price in any town.” He had found her horse, and it was tied alongside his, but he wanted to rile her a bit, to see just how feisty she really was.
“I was not going to steal your horse. I simply wanted to share the warmth of your fire and perhaps get a bite to eat. I would’ve caused no harm and would’ve been on my way promptly.”
“These woods are full of wolves and bandits. I couldn’t be sure of anything.”
“Well now that you know that I am neither, release me
and I will leave you be.”
“Mmm, well I’m afraid I can’t do that. See I’ve been looking for you for awhile and was about to give up, when you fell right into my lap. I must say, Princess, you have given me the run around indeed.”
She snapped her head to look at him, and in doing so, felt dizzy from the pain of her wound. She breathed in deep to settle her again queasy stomach, then looked more intently at him.
“You know who I am?”
“Cutting your hair and dressing like a man was a valiant attempt, but anyone looking close enough would have seen right through your disguise. Your eyes give you away.”
She admonished herself for stupidly thinking no one would ever notice. “It worked so far.”
“True, but if your eyes hadn’t given you away, your sword soon would. Everybody knows Tanith, the sword from the prophecy, when they see it.”
“Tanith?”
“Yes, your sword, given to you by the elves. You are the only human to have been given a gift and a blessing by the Elvin Elders in a millennia. Your sword is Elvin steel but your particular one is recognizable by anyone who knows their history.”
“I know who gave it to me, but I don’t know why I was given it.”
“Oh, no one knows that for sure, but there are rumors that you and it are part of a prophecy. Either way, I assure you, there was a reason. Flashing it around like that might’ve given you away. It’s a good thing I found it, and you, before someone else did.”
“I lost my knife as well.”
“Yes, I suppose that did put you at quite a disadvantage. Even so, it’s not wise to announce to the world that you are out here, especially when there are people looking for you.”
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