Cornerstone (22 page)

“
Do you believe him, that he won't honor our alliance if someone happens to her? I thought they needed this as much as we do?”

“
I do.”
I wouldn't put it past the bastard to have concocted this himself,
he thought. But that wasn't a sentiment he was willing to voice. If it were true…well, he didn't want to think of the implications if it were found to be true. There would be time for that later.

“
Are you going to send someone to look for her?” Terin asked.

“
No, I'm going to go myself. I should have gone from the beginning.” Very quietly, he added, “By The Three, Terin, I will protect her.” Now that he'd made a decision, he felt a little better. He still had the daunting task ahead of him of finding her, but it at least felt good to know he'd be out there looking, rather than anxiously waiting for news.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The Lesser Evil

Garith tentatively opened his eyes. The light was so bright that it hurt to look around. Slowly, things came into focus. He realized he was staring up at snow clouds that had turned all of the sky into a gray haze. Leaning up on his elbows, he looked to see if anyone was nearby. “Ow,” he said aloud, bringing one of his hands up to the back of his head. His fingers found a rough lump where something had hit him.
What happened?
He tried to think. All he could remember was that he'd been hitching the packhorses to his own mount when someone had hit him from behind.
But who, and why?
looked around for the horses, still trying to bring his head out of the fog that had clouded over it. They were not far away, trying to graze on little patches of brown grass. All except for…Emariya's filly.
Oh, no
. “Emariya!” He dashed toward the path leading to the cave.

He stopped short at the base of the slope. Jessa, her flame-red hair billowing behind her, crouched forward over something on the ground, sobbing. “Please don't let it be Riya,” he prayed as he ran toward her. Relief—immediately followed by guilt—flooded through him. He recognized the shoes reaching out from under the cloak. “Jessa.” He gently touched her shoulder. Rink's tiny form was still.

She turned to look at him, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy. She had a bit of dried blood in her hair. She'd covered the boy with a fur blanket. “I don't know how to help him,” she whispered, pleading. “They took Emariya, and I don't know how to help him!”

Garith pulled her to him as she sobbed, her body shaking uncontrollably. He wasn't feeling very calm, himself. Pulling back to look at her, he asked, “Did you see who they were? Or which way they went?”

Jessa shook her head. “No. Someone hit me from behind. When I woke up, Emariya and her horse were gone, and I could hear horses in the distance. I started to search, and then I found Rink…” Tears started to well up in her eyes again. “I haven't seen Khane, either—not that I've really looked. I didn't want to leave him…” Her eyes glanced down at Rink laying at her feet. He hadn't moved since Garith had found them.

“
How is he?” Garith knelt down beside the boy.

“
I think it's pretty bad. He's got a deep cut in his shoulder. If Emariya were here, she'd know how to help him.”

“
But she’s not. Jessa, you'll have to do,” Garith encouraged her.

“
What about you? You know as much as I do about tending to wounds.”

“
Perhaps, but I'm going after Riya.” Inside, his thoughts were churning. He wanted to be off at once, but he had to make sure Jessa was settled first.

“
You can't leave me here alone!”

Garith shook his head. “Jessa, think. Rink is in no shape to travel, and we can't just leave him here. So, I'm sorry, but you two will have to stay here together until I can send help. Jessa, it's the only way,” he told her, trying to be patient. He understood she was afraid, but they were wasting time.

Slowly, Jessa nodded. She didn't look happy at the prospect, but he knew she would agree. She would never leave Rink behind, and she was just as worried about Emariya as he was. The only thing keeping him remotely calm was the fact that whoever it was had taken her and left the rest of them behind. If they had just wanted to hurt her, they would have done so and then been on their way. “Can you help me get him into the cave?” Jessa asked.

Working together, they managed to move the boy into the shelter of the cave, taking care not to jostle him any more than necessary. Garith fetched Emariya's herb pack and brought it to Jessa. She rummaged through it and pulled out what they thought was the herb that Emariya had used on the fevered trader. She set it in a small flask of water to try to infuse it. They didn't have any wood for a fire, so she couldn't boil a tea.

“
I'm going to hitch the horses on the other side of the slope. If I leave them where they are, they would lead someone right to you.”

“
But if someone passes by, maybe they could help.”

“
If someone passes by, they won't be doing so innocently. People aren't out traveling right now without a very good reason,” he told her. “Now listen, if he recovers enough to travel and help hasn't come, or if he doesn't make it…” He saw the determined set of her eyes, and suspected she was not going to accept that as a possibility. “Well, when you are able to travel, if help hasn't come, head north along the valley until you get back to Addie's. Stay there until one of us comes for you.”

“
Where will you go?” Jessa still looked unsure. “We don't even know in which direction they took her.”

“
No, but we can be reasonably sure they took her alive. There must be a reason that out of all of us they only took her—or her and Khane. Either they want to prevent her from reaching the castle, they want to ensure she reaches the castle, or they want to ransom her to Prince Ahlen or Lord Warren.”

“
You heard what Khane said: Rees Hendel wouldn't be happy to find out about her, either, so it could have been someone from Sheas.”

“
Maybe, but I don't think so. I don't think Sheas could have sent people this far, this quickly.” Garith said.

Jessa nodded. “That's true.”

“
Castle Ahlen is closest. I figure if the prince didn't arrange it, a ransom demand will come there, or some word will be sent. At the very least, he should be able to help.”

“
And if he did arrange it?” Jessa asked.

“
Then that may be where they are taking her. Best to check.” He paused before adding, “And… I'll kill him.” It seemed like ages ago that he'd been on the bank of the fjord, wondering if he'd be able to kill a man if it came down to it. This was the second time in as many days that someone had attacked Emariya. And it was the second time in as many days that he had known without a doubt that if it came to it, he could.

***

Footsteps moved closer outside her tent. She shimmied a bit, trying to sit more upright before anyone could come in. It was the third man —one who had been waiting with Khane. He was the smallest of the three, as well as the quietest. She looked him defiantly in the eye. He couldn't have been much older than her—twenties, maybe. He was usually the one who brought her food. From the way he looked at her, she thought he was uncomfortable with having her bound. She'd caught him looking at her ropes a few times. Her hands were still bound above her head. She offered him half a smile. “What’s your name?”

“
Leil,” he answered gruffly. “Eat.” He held rice cakes to her lips, followed by a flask of water.

“
Why are you doing this, Leil?” She had been trying to figure out the answer to that question from the moment she'd been taken. Leil wouldn't meet her eyes. “If it’s for money, I can get you money—you don't need to do this,” she pleaded.

Leil didn't answer. Instead, he started to rise to leave the tent. Emariya didn't want to be alone anymore. It was agony. Every time they left, they took the lantern with them, leaving her in near total darkness, alone, with her shoulders burning from the strain of being bound up so tightly. “Please just tell me what you want!” she screamed at him. “By The Three, please. If you are going to kill me, just do it already; don't leave me here like this!” The rage came and went, but when it came, it consumed her, turning her rabid with fury. She kept thinking about the way Rink had been lying motionless at the bottom of the hill. When the rage abandoned her, she drowned in sorrow until it returned. Her guilt was ever-present. If she hadn't brought Rink along… Ultimately, she was responsible for him. He'd died protecting her. These bastards had better hope they killed her, because given half a chance, she didn't know what she would do to them.

Ignoring her outburst, Leil left. He came back a few hours later with another meal. She tried again. “I'm sorry I screamed at you.” She hung her head, as if in shame.

“
S’all right,” he mumbled as he brought the water to her lips. “You should try and sleep; we've a long ride tomorrow.” Without another word, he left again.

Ride
, she thought.
So they are taking me somewhere, then. But where? And why?
Emariya didn't think they were Separatists. She hadn't recognized the men as anyone she had seen in Russell's camp, and she suspected Russell would have had her killed, not abducted. But who, then? They had specifically taken her, and had left Jessa and Rink, suggesting that they had come for her intentionally. But they had also taken Khane. That was a large piece of the puzzle she couldn't figure out. Why would they take her and Khane and leave the other two? Maybe she'd be able to ask him when they headed out in the morning. So far, they had kept them separate.

The next morning dawned cold, but clear. For now the snow seemed to be holding off. Leil came into her tent and put a piece of linen over her eyes that reeked of manure and sweat. Finally, he untied her arms. Weak with fatigue, they dropped limply to her sides. She tried to stretch them, but found that she could only move the right one. Trying to move the left sent waves of excruciating pain through her entire shoulder and up into her neck. Leil—or at least she assumed it was Leil—retied her hands. This time, they had a few inches of rope between them. Another rope ran from the rope between her hands, behind her, and around her waist. She couldn't get her hand high enough to yank the blindfold off, but at least she could move more than she had been able to before. Once they were ready, they loaded her onto her horse and then they were off.

It was extremely disorienting being on horseback without the use of her eyes. She nearly lost her balance and fell several times. After wondering for most of the morning if Khane was still with them, she finally assumed that he must be. If they were going to leave him behind. she imagined they would have left him back with the others, though she couldn’t be sure. She'd overheard the other three men talking several times, but Khane hadn't said a word.

Based on where the slight warmth of the sun caressed her cheek, she thought they might be heading north. If so, they could be heading for the pass or farther into Thalmas. It did, however, rule Sheas out. She wondered if her friends were also heading toward the pass. She was relatively sure that Jessa would have woken after a few hours. Her handmaiden would likely be sore, but she didn't look like she'd been injured badly, just knocked out. Rink, on the other hand…Emariya didn't think he would ever wake again. Hopefully Garith had fared better than Rink.

She was so exhausted when they finally stopped that she stumbled forward against Leil when he helped her dismount. An agonized gasp of pain escaped when her injured shoulder landed against his chest. Reflexively, she tried to bring her other hand up to cradle it, but couldn't because of the ropes. His gloved hands helped her catch her balance, and she heard Khane ask, “Is she all right? I warned you what would happen if you hurt her!”

“
She's fine! No one's touched her,” the man who had stabbed Rink answered.

So Khane was not only still there, but was threatening them on her behalf. She was grateful, but confused. Why had they blindfolded her, but not him?

Leil pulled her cloak aside. She cringed away from his touch. He might be the gentlest of the three, but she didn't want any of their grubby fingers on her. “I'm just trying to look at your shoulder, that's all,” he whispered to her. His fingers pressed against her again. She could tell he was trying to be gentle, but as he inspected her arm, the littlest touch sent flaming waves of pain rolling down her arm. “Her shoulder's swollen,” he announced.

“
And?” asked The Bear. She would have hated him the most, except that he hadn't been the one who attacked Rink. Still, she was pretty sure that The Three had a special place on the other side for all of them.

“
Our orders were clear: she was not to be harmed. That was the deal,” Leil said quietly.

The Bear seemed to be in charge. “Fine. Don't bind her arms up, but leave her wrists as they are.” She felt his hairy fingers clutching at her beneath her chin. His voice was dripping with menace as he growled at her, “And if you try to run, I'll break your legs.”

She nodded, swallowing back a lump of protest in her throat. She'd play by their rules. For now. If she understood what she’d heard correctly, they were opposed to blatantly hurting her. She might be able to find a way to use that to free herself.