She mocked relief, upping her humor to lighten the moment. “Whew! Good. Cause I don’t want any more drama right now.”
He paused before he spoke so she could enjoy herself for one more moment. When her grin faded, he stepped closer. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about Tim being lost. You are not to blame for him staying out to sea and getting swept down the coast and getting stranded in a river valley.”
“I know, I know. The crewmen shot first. It was their fault.”
“No, it was mine.”
“Revel, that’s ridiculous—”
He touched her arm to stop her protest. “It’s the truth.”
Her gaze bore deep into his. “Tim didn’t row ashore because he heard their gunfire.”
“Their gunfire was because of my mistake.”
“What?”
“We were training with our new crossbows. Connor was teaching us to shoot against the wind. That was when you and the three men with you came walking out of the shallows. I couldn’t see how many of you there were, or even that you were a woman. Then, it all happened so fast.”
Her arm stiffened beneath his hand, but she didn’t move away, so he kept talking. “The five of us were spread out behind the trees. Connor noticed that the two men who were dragging your boat onto the beach had weapons. He told us to take aim but hold our fire. I’m not sure if I was scared and unsteady or if I wanted to stop what looked like an invasion or if I thought anything at all. I just shot.
“Your crewmen immediately fired their guns, so we all shot too. I’m not sure who killed the crewmen—Levi or Everett or Nicholas—but I know my second bolt hit Micah. I killed him. I started the firefight. I’m the reason Tim didn’t come ashore and you were shot and your friends were killed. See, Bailey, it’s not your fault or the crewmen. It’s mine.”
She yanked her arm away from him and stepped back. The fire reflecting in her eyes narrowed with her anger.
Every ounce of trust between them was dissolving. He had to do something. “Bailey, please listen.”
She stabbed the air with a finger, her voice full of rage. “You lied to me. All of this time you let me believe the crewmen were to blame.”
“Let me explain.” He reached for her again, his hands aching to connect with her.
She took another step back. “Don’t come near me.”
He was losing her and fast. The pit that guilt had eaten in his chest now burned with regret. “I’m sorry, Bailey.”
With a disgusted shake of her head, she turned on her heel and marched toward the campfire. All he could do was stare at her silhouette and mumble with what air he had left. “I’m truly sorry, Bailey.”
Chapter Eight
Through the foggy mist, a gentle flow of water called to Bailey from beyond the thick deciduous bushes and a smattering of coniferous trees. Levi walked ahead of the group, cutting a narrow path through the brush with his machete. His blade’s noise overpowered the river’s peaceful hum. He and Connor had their crossbows and quivers strapped on, ready to defend the group against anything that moved.
Bailey tried not to wonder which one of the men had shot her the night she came to the Land, but whenever she saw their weapons, the thought always surfaced. She looked away from them as she led Gee slowly behind Connor, who was walking both his horse and Levi’s between the broken limbs and leafless vines.
Like the rest of the men, Revel’s crossbow had been strapped to his back since they broke camp this morning and rode down to the valley below where Tim’s flare had appeared last night. Revel walked Blaze closely behind Bailey and Gee. Too close. Every time she looked back to check on Sophia, she had to see Revel’s miserable face.
How many times had Coach told her never to let her guard down?
She should have stuck to her first impression of Revel—a suspenders-wearing, shell-shocked plow boy. Somehow since then, she’d taken his old-fashioned manners personally and believed him when he said he cared about her. She’d opened herself to him in friendship during all of those long talks and lonely nights. And all he’d truly cared about was easing his conscience for killing Micah. Hadn’t she learned long ago not to get attached to anyone?
A branch snapped loudly behind her. She reflexively glanced back. Her eyes met Revel’s. The remorse in them was still as thick as the morning fog. She quickly looked away—not to punish him but to disconnect herself from his problem.
He had been right when he said it wasn’t her fault Tim got lost. But it also wasn’t her fault Revel couldn’t hold his fire. Or tell the truth. Not that he’d ever denied shooting Micah. She’d never asked because she’d put it behind her. Tried to, at least.
Putting the past behind her was the only way she had survived this long in this mean of a world.
So maybe Revel’s world wasn’t so mean. Part of what drew her to him was his gentleness. That gentleness was probably what had made the firefight on the beach so hard for him to get over.
Here she was close to finally reaching Tim, and Revel had to dump his guilt on her. She knew what it was like to strike too soon, so she shouldn’t hold Micah’s death against Revel. Still, she was upset with him. It was his immaturity that irked her. Long ago, when she’d talked about the crewmen firing first, Revel should have taken responsibility for his mistake.
Now he had. Now that she considered him a friend. Well, that was her mistake, and she would take responsibility for it. From now on, Revel was simply another stranger in the Land, trying to keep a clear conscience. He only came on this trip to save a man he’d almost killed.
Revel Roberts wasn’t her friend. His guilt wasn’t her problem. He was just a man repaying his debt. That simple.
She would put this too behind her and do what she came out here to do. Revel’s personal drama wasn’t going to distract her from rescuing Tim. She drew a long, full breath and focused on the win. This wasn’t a martial arts tournament, but it was a fight. And she could smell victory.
She pictured her beloved professor and probable father standing on the other side of the river with his arms open and a wide smile, sunlight gleaming off the bald upper third of his head. In truth, the clouds blocked the morning rays and he might be too weak to stand. Still, she held on to the positive image.
Her pulse steadied as she drew the two-way radio out of her coat pocket for the ninetieth time this morning. “Tim? Tim, are you there?”
No response.
“Tim, if you can hear me, we are cutting a path to the river bank now. Tim?”
Why hadn’t he answered all morning?
She stepped over a clump of jutting tree roots and glanced back to make sure the others saw it so they wouldn’t trip. Revel stepped over the roots and in turn pointed them out to Sophia. No matter how loudly Bailey’s lingering childish nature told her to forget about Revel and their friendship and to latch on to the first opportunity she had to reject him, her spirit knew better.
She’d come to the Land to make connections. It was time to grow up, to live in the truth, and to accept the people God put in her life. All people made mistakes.
Revel may have been the first to shoot an arrow that night, but the crewmen had marched onto the beach with their guns drawn, eager for battle. The angst she’d felt when she begged them to holster their weapons matched the dread she felt now as the dark mountain hovered ahead.
No, the firefight was not Revel’s fault, nor was Micah’s death or Tim’s ordeal. Revel had lived a sheltered life in the Land and she’d brought trouble to his shores. She needed to extend the same grace to him that she’d been given so many times since coming here.
The swish of Levi’s blade paused and Connor raised a fist, signaling the rest of the group to hold their position. The two men spoke quietly, then Connor walked back to her. “Wait here. Levi found the bank, but we need to check its stability before we move forward. Pass it back to the others.”
Bailey’s insides churned, not with anticipation for crossing the river but because she was ruining
her relationship with Revel. She shimmied between Gee and a hacked tree limb to talk to him. “Connor says to wait here while they check the bank.”
He nodded then walked the few yards back to Sophia, who in turn relayed the message to Everett behind her.
Bailey stayed by Revel’s horse. Blaze turned his long head toward her and she petted the white stripe on his face. As soon as she touched the horse, Revel stepped close to her. He opened his lips but didn’t speak.
If she were him, she wouldn’t know what to say either. Since Tim told them to be quiet once they neared the river, she kept her volume low. “Revel, I’m sorry about everything.”
“No, Bailey, I’m—”
She raised a hand, stopping him. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I reacted badly last night. And this morning too. This isn’t your fault. None of it. I was there at the beach that night. I know what happened. You aren’t to blame.”
The pain in his expression eased, but sadness remained. “Neither are you.”
“And that’s the point. We both feel awful about what happened, but I made it worse by getting angry with you. I was just really worried about Tim and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you.”
She recalled his words on the ship deck the other night and offered as much of a smile as she could muster. “Can our friendship withstand even this?”
He touched her shoulder, then trailed his hand all the way down to her wrist and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yes, even this.”
A piercing shriek broke the momentary peace. It resonated from the other side of the river and startled her and the horses. The sudden high-pitched sound wasn’t a human scream. The fog swirled away from their movement, and Sophia yelped in fear.
After a few seconds, Connor and Levi reappeared through the mist ahead of the group.
“What was that?” Bailey asked when neither man said a word.
Connor put his finger to his lips for her to be quiet. He looked behind her at Revel and Everett, who was now standing protectively beside Sophia. He waved for everyone to reverse down the path the way they came.
Bailey watched how Revel handled Blaze and did the same to get Gee to calmly back up the whole distance. As soon as they were in the clear, she let her horse face the others and they huddled in a tight circle.
Sophia’s usually rosy cheeks were blanched. “What was that sound?”
Everyone looked to Levi for the answer since he’d been the closest to the river. His breath came heavily as he wiped his machete blade on his boot heel. “Some type of animal, I guess.”
Everett flipped his hair off his forehead with a quick jerk. “It didn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard.”
Strange animal sounds or no, Bailey wanted to run down the path toward the river. “We have to get Tim out of there.”
Revel put a gentle hand on her back but looked at Connor. “It might have been a jackrabbit. I’ve heard them scream when being taken by a falcon.” He squinted at the path they had just abandoned. “Could you determine where the sound originated?”
Levi answered, “Across the river.”
Revel lifted his chin at the path. “Did the bank look solid enough for the horses?”
Connor gave Levi a confirming check then nodded. “It’s stable and has an easy slope.” He looked at Bailey and then Sophia. “Are you ladies certain you want to go on with us?”
Bailey almost laughed, then realized he wasn’t asking her because he doubted her fortitude. He was including her for Sophia’s sake. The four men could find Tim with or without her, and even though every cell in her body wanted to be there when they did, she had to consider this shaking young woman who had volunteered to give up her life for her.
She stood close to Sophia, whose color had yet to return. “I’ll stay here with you, if you’re too scared to go on.”
Everett already had his crossbow in hand. “No, I’ll stay here with her. You need to find Tim.” He pointed at Bailey’s coat pocket. “Besides, you have a way to communicate with him.”
She looked at Sophia. “Is that all right with you?”
Sophia managed a rigid nod, and immediately Connor fired off commands. “Sophia, have your medical supplies ready for when we return—gray leaf vapor and whatever you think Tim might need. Everett, stay here and guard Sophia. Levi, you’re with me.” Connor’s face snapped toward Revel and he pointed at Bailey. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
While the four of them lined up their horses to walk the path again, Connor said to Bailey, “Keep your two-way on and the volume low.”
She adjusted the knobs accordingly, hoping Tim’s voice would come over the speaker soon. “Okay, it’s on.”
“Good. Let’s do this.”
* * *
Revel held Blaze’s rope with one hand and reached back to check his crossbow with the other. He scanned the bare branches, the damp ground, and the overcast sky for traces of whatever had made that terrifying noise but saw nothing. His blood pumped swiftly, warming his collar and cuffs. If anything swooped, jumped, ran, or swung at Bailey, he would shoot a bolt through it before it could touch her.
Levi led the way through his machete-hacked path and turned north at the natural clearing by the river. Last in line, Revel tried to see around Bailey and Connor and their horses for what was ahead but only glimpsed leafless brush and long horse tails. He’d have to wait until he and Blaze reached the river bank to see the area for himself.
Bailey’s horse shuffled a few nervous steps to the side as she cleared the brush. Finally, Revel could see what they were facing. The dark river wasn’t as wide as the Land’s main waterway, but its flow rushed past the gradually slopping bank as if hurrying out of the mountains. He lifted his head to the steep rise of earth towering on the other side of the river.
If he were that water, he’d hurry away from here too.
Mist rose from the river’s joyless center, making it difficult to discern its depth. He looked to the north where the river emerged from around the mountain’s mossy side. The water slowed and swirled as it passed a spread of boulders upstream and then gained momentum as it flowed by him, rushing south where it would soon meet the estuary where Tim had floated into the Land’s territory.
Revel hadn’t felt such heavy emotions as he did over Tim’s situation since Charlie’s suicide at the inn. Yet, in all that he felt for Tim—guilt, fear, regret—he hadn’t felt sorry for him until now. Under the weight of the cold mist and cloud cover, a swell of loneliness shadowed the river, enlarging the pit in his stomach. And poor Tim had been lost out here for weeks.
Across the river, the sandy bank eased away from the water before the ground turned to moss-strewn dirt. Beyond it, sparse foliage dotted the rocky climb of the bleak mountainside. If Tim was somewhere along that bank, it shouldn’t be hard to find him.
Revel met Connor, Levi, and Bailey where they’d stopped at a wider clearing a few paces upstream. Levi sheathed his knife. With it hanging from his belt and the crossbow strapped to his back, he looked like he was prepared for battle.
Bailey stood beside Gee, petting the horse’s neck with one hand and biting her nails on the other. Revel wished she had stayed with Sophia and Everett on the other side of the brush where it would be safer.
Connor planted his feet wide and pointed to the north. He kept his voice quiet. “This is where Tim’s flare appeared last night. We should be close to his campsite. Let’s ride along the bank on this side of the river as far as we can. Watch the bank on the other side for any signs of Tim. Keep alert. Remember what he said about staying quiet.”
Connor mounted his tall black horse and led the way with Levi following close behind him. Bailey hopped onto Gee and followed Levi. Since the clearing was wide enough, Revel wanted to ride beside Bailey, but he could protect her better if he stayed behind. Everyone remained silent while they rode cautiously along the muddy bank.
Though no one was behind Revel, the skin on his
back prickled like he was being watched. He checked over his shoulder and didn’t see anybody. It was probably his imagination after a lifetime of hearing folklore about the mountains and then that piercing sound when they first approached the river. He hoped his explanation of a scared rabbit put Bailey at peace, but the more he replayed that scream in his mind, the less he could liken it to anything he’d ever heard.
He glanced back once more then scanned the opposite river bank. Maybe Tim was watching them from the brush, too ill to call out for their help. The thick shadows of the mountain’s crags could easily hide a man. Higher up the mountain, some of the depressions in the mountain looked deep enough to be caves. Each shadow he studied seemed to glare back.
“There!” Connor said at half volume, pointing across the river ahead. “That’s the jet canopy.”
An oblong dirt-covered slab of something glass-like jutted from the mossy area between the river bank and the mountain’s boulders. Beside the dirty dome that Connor called a jet canopy, a small yellow boat was tied to a branch. Drag marks scarred the mud from the river to the boat.
Connor stopped his horse and signaled for everybody to come closer. Even the horses stayed quiet as he whispered his orders. “We will cross here. Tim said the water should be shallow enough for the horses to walk. I’ll go first. Stay quiet. Revel, stay beside Bailey.” He ended the command with a look, as if reminding Revel that Bailey probably wouldn’t ask for help no matter how bad it got.
As if he needed that reminder.
Connor directed his horse into the river first, using the careful and calm authority they all relied upon. Levi’s horse pranced right in, accustomed to crossing the streams and creeks back home.
Revel kept Blaze close enough to Gee that his boot touched Bailey’s shoe. When she looked over at him, he said, “Trust Gee. She knows to follow the other horses. If it gets deep enough, she will swim. Just hang on.”
Bailey nodded in acceptance, but her eyes were saucer-wide. “I got it.”
Uncharted Destiny (The Uncharted Series Book 7) Page 10