Bone Magic (5 page)

She snatched
the cup from his hand, burned her fingers, and nearly dropped it.
Finally she got it by the handle, curling the fingers of her other
hand around the cup, close enough to feel the radiating heat. She
wanted desperately to gulp the hot tea, but she knew she would
scald herself, so she made herself wait.

Tam squatted
across the fire from her, his face long. "Don't worry about it,"
she told him. "We'll get more tea."

He nodded, not
cheering up one whit.

Tira cocked an
eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?"

The corners of
his mouth sagged down. "I don't know." He sounded miserable. "I
tried my best, I swear. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"What?" Tira
shook her head, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't
want me to come with you, but I thought I would show you. I was
going to do everything right, and make you glad I came." He stared
at his feet. "I couldn't keep up with you in the river. I wanted to
help you, but I didn't know where you went, and I was worried about
the pony. So I headed for the bank, and then I looked for you, but
the brush is so thick and I didn't know what to do. So I made a
fire and I waited." It seemed to take a great effort for him to
meet her eyes. "It was all I could think of to do."

Tira laughed,
and he flinched. She made herself squash the laugh. The boy was
honestly convinced that he had let her down! He stared at the
ground, shamefaced, and she smiled.

"Tam."

He didn't look
up, and she reached across the fire and prodded his knee. "Tam,
when I got out of the river, I would've murdered my own grandmother
for a hot fire and a cup of tea." She paused to take a sip, gasping
as she burned her tongue. "You were brilliant."

He looked up,
his face a mask of doubt and misery.

"Look," she
said, lifting the cup to hide her grin. "I don't really like you. I
can't be bothered to tell lies to make you feel better." His
eyebrows rose a bit, and she continued. "I've made a lot of
mistakes in the last few days, but the smartest thing I've done
since leaving Raven Crossing is letting you come with me."

It was late in
the day before they resumed their journey. Their clothes were still
damp, and so were the saddle blankets, so they walked, to keep
themselves warm and to keep the animals from being chafed. They
found a footpath that ran parallel to the river, and followed it
upstream. They broke through the trees, Tira saw the road ahead,
and a gravelly voice said, "I told you! Here they are."

Men stepped out
of the trees beside the ferry station. The ostler was there, and
his two friends from the dice game, and the crew of the ferry and a
couple of other men as well. Every one of them was armed, mostly
with cudgels or barrel staves, and their expressions were ugly as
they advanced.

Tira didn't
waste any time talking, just sprang into Daisy's saddle. The mule
sensed her fear and broke into a gallop, and the pony ran to keep
up, not waiting for Tam to get fully into the saddle. He had his
left foot in the stirrup, his right foot making frantic leaps as he
clung to the pommel in front of him for dear life. He swung his leg
up, nearly falling as the pony swerved to avoid a pothole. He got a
leg over the pony’s back, clung for a moment, then heaved himself
forward and into the saddle.

A barrel stave
sailed past Tira's shoulder, and she flinched, then risked a look
back. The ostler was no more than two steps behind Daisy's flashing
hooves, the others close behind him. As she watched, though, men at
the back began to fall away, recognizing the hopelessness of the
pursuit.

The ostler
seemed determined to catch them, but he was not a fit man. He had
an ample belly that sloshed from side to side as he ran, and twenty
running steps had turned his face bright red. As she watched, he
grimaced, clapped a hand to his side, and slowed to a stumbling
walk.

Tira started to
grin, then gritted her teeth as she felt the saddle shift beneath
her. She clamped her knees to Daisy's sides and squeezed for all
she was worth, but after thirty yards or so the saddle slid
sideways and she felt herself begin to fall. She got an arm up to
protect the side of her head and landed hard, tucking her legs in
and tumbling along the road.

She came to her
feet as quickly as she could. The wind was knocked out of her, but
she tried not to let it show as she scooped up the saddle and
saddle blanket and slung them over her shoulder. Daisy had stopped
almost immediately. Tira grabbed her reins and started to run.

The nearest men
were standing in a knot twenty or thirty yards behind her. They
started running when they saw she was dismounted, but most of them
were already out of breath. Tira gritted her teeth and ran for all
she was worth. Her torso was a massive knot of pain, her lungs
fighting to take in air, but she forced herself to take thirty
running steps. By that time she was lightheaded with lack of
oxygen, black spots swimming before her eyes. She stumbled to a
stop and looked back.

Her pursuers
had stopped before she did. They stared at her, clearly puzzled,
wondering if she was toying with them. She smirked at them, wanting
them to think it was a game. She was able to breathe now, and she
was far more fit than they were. In a few moments she would be able
to outrun them, even burdened with the saddle.

"You better not
come back to Mirk's Ferry!" the ostler shouted. "We'll teach you a
thing or two about thieving!"

Tira didn't
answer, just gave him a wave as she swung the blanket and saddle
over Daisy's back. She set off at a brisk walk, watching the saddle
to make sure it didn't fall. The men from Mirk's Ferry glared after
her, but they didn't follow.

The shadows
were growing long when Tira heard the squeak of wood against wood
coming from the road up ahead. She stopped Daisy, took out her bow,
and strung it.

"What is it?"
Tam asked.

"You hear that
squeak?"

He nodded.

"It sounds like
an ungreased axle to me." When he stared at her without
comprehension, she added, "On a wagon."

His eyes went
wide. "You think it's them?"

"Maybe. I…"

He didn't
listen to the rest. He swung himself into the saddle, booted the
pony in the ribs, and took off down the road at a gallop, one hand
reaching behind him to take his axe out from under his bedroll.

"Tam!" She
swore, then shot a frustrated glare at Daisy and started
running.

The road rose
ahead of her, then descended. She could hear sounds of chaos from
the far side, shouting voices and the clash of steel on steel. She
ran to the top of the rise and stopped.

Tam was
standing in his stirrups, his axe in one hand and the pony's reins
in the other. He was facing a rough-dressed man on horseback. The
man had a sword in his hand, and he and Tam were moving in tight
circles, weapons raised, waiting for a chance to strike.

There was a
small wagon, more of a cart really, with covered sides and a seat
at the front. A huge man in red leather was on the seat, a sword in
his hand. When the circling horses came close he swung at Tam's
back. He missed, then sprang to the ground and charged into the
fray.

Tam saw him in
the nick of time and twisted in the saddle, swinging his axe. The
man on horseback saw his chance and lifted his sword high, ready
for a killing blow.

Tira's arrow
caught him just under the armpit, one of the few places a man with
a breastplate and helmet was vulnerable. This man wore no armor
that Tira could see, but habits learned on a battlefield were hard
to break. He dropped the sword and toppled sideways, landing in the
dirt with one foot still caught in his stirrup.

The man in red
shot a frightened glance at Tira, then darted around the front of
the cart. Tira had an arrow nocked and ready, waiting for him to
show himself.

Tam's pony,
frightened by the violence and the smell of blood, was making
pathetic attempts to buck him off. Tira could hear him cursing the
animal as he fought for control. The big man, meanwhile, was edging
along the side of the wagon. Tira didn't want to kill him if she
could help it, and she watched, wishing he would just run away.

Just as the
pony stopped bucking, the man stepped forward and pulled the back
of the cart open in one quick motion. A little girl came leaping
out, and he caught her in mid-air. His arm went around her throat,
and he knelt in the dirt, holding her in front of him as a
shield.

A small boy
stuck his head out of the cart, looked both ways, then sprang to
the ground and took off running for the trees. Tira could see a
third child inside, hugging the floor of the cart, peering out
without moving.

The big man
held his sword across the little girl's body. He was panting and
wild-eyed, and he shouted, "Stay back! Get back, or I'll kill
her."

Tam was out of
the saddle, axe in hand, and he froze, looking at Tira for
guidance. She froze as well.

"Walk away,"
the man shouted. "Walk away, or this brat is dead."

Tira looked at
the girl, wishing she would sink her teeth into the man's arm. Not
that he would feel much through that red leather sleeve. The girl,
though, was rigid with terror, staring at Tira with eyes the size
of saucers. She was a pretty child in a dress of homespun cloth,
her hair lank and greasy and sticking up in clumps.

Leaving her
with the man in red was clearly out of the question. Tira weighed
her options, and thought about aiming for the little girl's heart.
If she got the shot just right, she would bury the arrow in the
man's arm where it crossed the girl's chest. But the arrow might
punch right through and kill her, and if her aim was a couple of
inches high or low, the girl was dead for sure.

The man had one
knee exposed, but the last thing Tira wanted to do was make him
angry while preventing him from running away. She switched her gaze
to his face. She could put an arrow between his eyes, but it would
mean missing the girl's head by a hair's breadth. She decided to
aim for his right eye instead. It gave her more margin for
error.

"Last chance!"
the man yelled, pressing the sword tighter against the girl's body.
"Get out of here, or…"

Tira took a
deep breath, drew the arrow back, and let fly. She saw his eyes
widen as the arrow flashed toward him. His head snapped to the
side, he let out a bellow of pain, the girl screamed, and Tam
exploded into motion.

In the instant
it took for Tira to draw and nock another arrow, everything
changed. The axe landed in the dirt as Tam flung himself onto the
man's sword arm. Tam pulled the sword back with one hand and
dragged the child to safety with the other hand. The big man
lurched to his feet, clapping one hand to a bleeding gash along the
side of his face, and took off at a stumbling run for the trees.
Tira released the tension on her bowstring, letting him go.

The children
were dirty, hungry, and frightened, but unhurt. Sari was the one
who had been used for a shield. Lina only came out of the cart when
she saw Tam with Sari in his arms. Mikail came out of the trees and
rejoined them ten or fifteen minutes later.

The children
were unhurt. The two men had been no rougher than necessary, and
the children had been in the back of the cart almost constantly
since they were captured. They had no idea why they had been
kidnapped.

There was only
one injury in the group. Tam had grabbed the man's sword blade with
his bare hand, and he had a shallow cut across his palm. Tira
bandaged it with a strip from the dead man's shirttail.

They left the
dead man lying in the ditch. Tira stripped off his sword belt and
went through his pockets, taking a few coins. There was a letter,
folded and unfolded so many times that it was almost falling apart,
the ink fading to where it was almost illegible. The writing was
delicate and feminine, and there was a lock of golden hair tied in
a ribbon. Tira didn't read it, just stuffed it back into his
pocket. She hated knowing things about the people she killed. They
always came back to haunt her dreams, and details only made it
worse.

"We need to
move," said Tira. "I don't want to be here if that man comes
back."

Tam nodded.
"Which way?"

It was a good
question. They couldn't very well go back to Mirk's Ferry. "I guess
we go forward," she said. "There has to be a bridge or a ford
eventually."

There was a
mule hitched to the cart. They tied Daisy and the pony to the back
of the cart. Tam drove the cart, while Tira commandeered the
captured horse. Nothing would persuade the children to get back
inside the cart once they were out, so the girls crowded onto the
seat beside Tam while Mikail walked. When he got tired he rode
Tam's pony.

The forest
ended, and for a time they rode through prosperous farmland. Tam
and the children gaped at everything they saw, from stones silos to
spotted cattle. A fortified keep on a hilltop had them staring back
over their shoulders until it was lost from sight.

For two days
they followed the river, camping in pastures. The river was always
to their right, wide and fast, the far bank a solid mass of
unbroken forest. There were no boats and no bridges. Every village
had a wall around it, and the farm houses all were built like tiny
fortresses with stone walls and stout doors and narrow windows.

One afternoon,
a garrulous young farm boy walked with them for a couple of miles,
chatting. Tira asked him where the nearest bridge was.

"Bridge? I
don't know. Maybe at Willan's Crossing? Only I heard it was overrun
by goblins. That's the closest bridge, though. It's up the road a
piece."