Elf Sight (14 page)

It seemed like minutes since she’d closed her eyes before Carson leaned over her and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. Shadow opened her eyes and looked up at him. She smiled sleepily. He returned her smile. She reached up and cupped Carson’s cheek with her hand, sliding it around to the back of his neck to pull him closer.

“Get up,” Gil growled softly from beside them.

Carson grinned then brushed his lips across hers before he slowly pulled away from her and rose to his feet.

Shadow sat up and saw her brother drag himself from his bedding. As soon as she rose, Carson draped his cloak around her shoulders.

“Go eat. I’ll pack your bedding,” Carson said softly.

When they were ready to leave, Carson, Gil and Farnell walked with them as they moved away from the camp. They had a horse each except for Perrun who was too ill to ride alone. He rode in front of Gwyn.

Carson hugged Shadow close. “Take care,” he whispered against her ear.

“You too.” Shadow turned her head so their lips met. Carson’s arms tightened around her.

“Hurry up,” Irlan complained. “It’s freezing standing around here.”

Carson’s arms dropped from her and he pulled a battered item from where it was tucked into his belt and handed it to Shadow. She smiled when she saw it was her felt hat. Looking the worse for wear, but no longer bloody. She pulled it on as she turned towards Farnell. “Sir,” a sharp nod accompanying her word. Then she turned to her Pa. She hesitated then threw her arms around him. “Take care of him for me.”

Gil didn’t pretend ignorance. “You’re wasting your time.”

Shadow pulled back and looked her Pa in the eye. “But you will, won’t you?”

“If you stay at the castle till I come for you. I don’t want to have to track you halfway across the country again.”

“Deal.” Shadow mounted her horse and looked back at Carson. He smiled at her. Shadow smiled weakly before she turned away and urged her horse forward.

“He’ll be fine,” Thornton said when they were far enough away no one would hear them. He wore clothes that several soldiers had given him since his own had been unsalvageable. Even the clothes of a lowly soldier couldn’t take away the air of authority that seemed to surround him.

“I hope so.”

“He’s faced worse odds and made it through. Why do you think he was made a captain so young?” Thornton asked.

“I don’t know. He never told me.”

“Don’t look at me like that. You’ll have to ask Carson. I’m not telling tales he might make me regret telling,” Thornton protested.

They kept their horses at a fast pace most of the time, determined to get Perrun to a healer as soon as possible. Thornton took the lead, as he knew where they were headed. Just before midday, they entered a small town. They tied their horses up at the wooden hitching post in front of the tavern and Thornton and Gwyn carried Perrun to the healer’s.

As soon as she saw him, she ushered them inside. She laid her hands on Perrun’s leg. “I don’t know if I can save it,” she warned.

“Do the best you can.” Thornton grabbed a handful of coins out of his belt pouch and placed them on a table. “If the treatment costs are higher than that, send to the castle. His name is Perrun and he’s a soldier in Prince Carson’s personal army. He’ll be extremely grateful if you save the man.”

“Of course. I’ll do the best I can,” the healer gushed, her eyes drawn to the coins on the table. “Now out. I can’t treat him with you lot hovering.”

Thornton nodded and made his way to the front door. He opened it and gestured towards Shadow. “My lady.”

Shadow smiled and started to step through the door. She hurriedly stepped back inside and pushed the door shut. “Six soldiers. Magic hid. One of them’s Clem.”

“That lying, cheating-” Gwyn started for the door.

“Forget it.” Thornton put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. “We’ve got to get away from here.” He turned to the healer. “Is there a back door?”

She nodded and showed them into the narrow alley that ran behind her house.

They hurried along and paused at the corner. Shadow peered around the building, her gaze scanning the area. Anger and fear swirled through her. “It’s safe. For now.” They ran to the next building and made their way along until they were behind the tavern.

Thornton opened the door and a woman busy stirring a pot that bubbled over the fire looked up at them.

“Get out! What do you think you’re doing bursting in here?” The woman came at them, flapping her tea towel.

“Good woman, we need your assistance.” Coins appeared in Thornton’s hand and instantly disappeared into the woman’s.

“Well, why didn’t you say?” The woman was suddenly all smiles and a friendly manner. “What do you need?”

“We’re trying to avoid some men. Might we check to see if they’re in your tavern before we proceed?” Thornton asked.

“My, aren’t we a fancy one?” the woman asked. “Wouldn’t be able to tell it by your clothes, but you sure do talk a treat.”

Thornton nodded, his smile still in place.

“Well, go ahead.” The woman waved towards the door that led into the main room of the tavern.

Thornton looked at Shadow who moved forward and peeked through the door. Not seeing the men, she opened the door further and had a better look. Crowded tables, stained timber floors, a barman wiping up a spill on the long bar and several barmaids expertly avoiding the patrons. A wave of homesickness hit her, quickly followed by relief she no longer served in a tavern every day.

“All clear,” Shadow said.

“Thank you, good woman,” Thornton said before he followed Shadow and the other three men. Thornton turned to Shadow. “Check outside for me?”

Shadow nodded and made her way to one of the grimy windows. Gennie would never have tolerated that in her tavern. She ran a finger across the glass before she looked at the road that passed in front of the tavern. Their horses were still tied to the hitching post, cobblestones with struggling weeds ran down the main street and in clusters here and there people talked. Everything looked normal other than the glow of magic hid soldiers in several strategic places. Shadow turned to Thornton who came to stand beside her. “They’re waiting. And they’ve got crossbows.”

Thornton nodded. His attention was drawn to a large shout not far from them. One of the men seated at the table stood and raised a large tankard and downed it in a single gulp. A cheer went up from the rest of the table. Some coins were thrown on the table and the man gathered them up and pocketed them.

“I think I know what to do. Tell me exactly where the men are.” Once Shadow had described their positions, Thornton said, “Let me know the moment one of them moves. All of you wait here.”

Shadow watched as Thornton charmed the men at the table, several cheers erupting at the end of his tale.

“He’s smooth,” Gwyn said from beside her. “Too flighty to be king though.”

Shadow looked at him. “He doesn’t want to be king.”

“Neither of them does. But Carson’d make the better king. And I’m not saying that because he’s my captain. He’s got what it takes to be king. He’ll always put his people first.”

Thornton strode over to them and rubbed his hands together with a grin. “All taken care of. Now it’s time to watch the entertainment. Pick a window. This should be delightful.”

Shadow turned back to the window and exclaimed, “There’s a man stealing stuff from our saddlebags, even with all those people wandering around.”

“Relax,” Thornton said. “He’s just making it look like that. He’s checking our gear hasn’t been tampered with.”

“Oh. That’s a good idea,” Shadow said.

The man looked around before he tucked his hand inside his tunic and hurried inside the tavern. He made his way to Thornton and his empty hand came out of his tunic once he was inside. “Second horse from the entrance. Loose girth. Whoever rides that one’ll be under it in no time.”

“Thank you, good man.” Thornton threw some coins towards the man. He caught them in mid air before he returned to his table, which was nearly empty of the men who’d sat there earlier. “Now for the second act.”

“That’s my horse,” Shadow said.

Thornton nodded. “Yes. You’ll have to ride with me until we get far enough away to tighten the girth. Keep your eyes open. When they’re all occupied let me know. Tell us run.”

Shadow nodded and turned back to her window in time to see a brawl break out in the street. Another three men joined the two who had started it and men went bouncing all over the street. Shadow watched as the magic hid men moved out of the way. Soon all of them had been disturbed. “Run.”

The five of them sprinted for the door. They each headed for their own horse. Once Shadow had the reins of her horse, she allowed Thornton to swing her up behind him. They urged their horses into a gallop and quickly left the town behind. When Shadow said she couldn’t see any soldiers behind them, they stopped long enough for her to tighten her girth and mount her own horse.

By mid afternoon, and a whole day of riding, Gwyn demanded, “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the castle.”

“How observant of you,” Thornton said lightly.

“Thornton.” There was both a warning and an order in Shadow’s tone.

“To see a friend.”

“What sort of friend?” Iain demanded suspiciously.

“Relax,” Thornton said easily. “A wizard who has a portal tower that’ll take us to the capital. We’ll be across Relthon in an instant.”

“To Crell?” Iain’s voice still held a hint of suspicion.

“That’s the only capital city Relthon has,” Thornton said.

“Then why couldn’t the captain use it?” Gwyn demanded.

“Because the wizard can only send eight at a time. That means we’ll have to leave most of the horses behind,” Thornton said.

“No guess who’ll be walking,” Iain grumbled.

“We’ll all walk,” Shadow said firmly. “If there isn’t enough horses for all of us, no one rides.”

“So harsh,” Thornton said lightly.

“It won’t hurt you. How much further is your friend?” Shadow asked.

“We won’t get there until late afternoon. We’ll stop for something to eat soon, but not for too long. Not while those soldiers are on the loose,” Thornton said.

“Did Carson know about this plan?” Shadow asked.

Thornton nodded.

“Then why didn’t he tell me?” Shadow demanded.

“Because he knew you’d argue,” Thornton said. When Shadow remained quiet, he asked. “Was he right?”

Shadow shrugged.

“Of course he was right,” Irlan said.

“And so she should. It ain’t right us getting back to the capital like that and the captain and the rest of the men stuck out there,” Gwyn complained.

“He uses the portal towers too sometimes,” Thornton said irritably. “No need to act like I’m the only one who does.”

They all fell silent until Thornton called a halt for them to eat and rest. Tired, Shadow leaned up against a tree trunk as she nibbled on a handful of dried fruit and nuts. Her eyes closed and the sound of Irlan and Gwyn talking faded. She relaxed as she noticed the sounds of birds, wishing she could pull out her bedroll and stretch out for an hour. The food eaten, her hand dropped to her side and she sighed heavily, not wanting to move. An insect landed on her hand and she opened her eyes to see what it was. A glimmer from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned to see Clem sneaking up on Thornton, magic hid, sword drawn, still a good distance from him.

A glance around showed crossbows trained on them, the men remaining amongst the trees. Shadow’s heart raced as she tried to think what to do. The insect crawled across her hand and with her eyes hidden by her hat Shadow glanced towards Clem. The distance between him and Thornton was slowly growing smaller.

Making sure her voice was high pitched and sounded panicked, Shadow called out loudly. “There’s a snake slithering over my hand. Someone get it for me.” She watched as Clem froze and looked towards her. She hoped her face was shaded enough from her hat that he couldn’t tell she could see him.

Irlan rose to his feet. “What kind of snake?”

“I don’t know. I can’t bring myself to move. What if it bites me? I can’t see anything past my hat.” Shadow watched as Clem took a single step forward then stared at her again.

Irlan shook his head. “Baby.” He started towards her.

“Thornton? Can you help me? I don’t trust Irlan not to get me bitten.”

Thornton laughed softly, but rose to his feet and strode towards her, Irlan at his side. He stood above her. “Shadow-”

“Don’t tell me what type it is. I don’t want to know. Just get rid of it.” She motioned them closer with her hand that rested in the grass.

“Shadow I don’t-” Irlan began.

“Shut up, Irlan. I don’t want to hear it. Help me with this situation.” Shadow could see Clem had changed direction and now headed towards them. He took a step at a time, pausing to check Shadow still hadn’t seen him before he took another cautious step.

Thornton crouched beside her, tugging Irlan down to join him, before he whispered, “What’s really the problem?”

Shadow spoke in barely a whisper. “Clem is sneaking up behind you and the rest are hidden in the trees with crossbows. I can see all of them so unless they’ve gathered more since we outran them, there’s none behind me. Is there any cover there?”

Thornton glanced past Shadow. “Plenty of trees and bushes.” He raised his voice. “The snake looks like it wants to strike. Gwyn, Iain, get behind and distract it.” He lowered his voice again. “How close is Clem?”

Shadow’s gaze slid past Thornton. “If they don’t hurry, he’ll soon be close enough to see there’s no snake. I can’t even get to my weapons without alerting him.”

Thornton’s hand closest to her slid inside his boot and withdrew a slim blade. He turned it so the fingers of her right hand could reach the handle. Her fingers tightened around it and she held it close to her leg to hide it.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Shadow. Get to safety. Irlan, you get Gwyn, I’ll take Iain. They’re nearly in place.”

“What about our gear. And horses?” Shadow glanced again towards Clem. Only another few steps and he’d be able to see her hand.

“We can walk.” Thornton raised his head. “Don’t come any closer. You’re upsetting the snake.” He lowered his gaze to Shadow. “Count of three.”

She nodded slightly.

“One, two, three.” Thornton dived past her and Irlan did the same on the other side.

Instead of joining them, Shadow leapt forward, her knife aimed at Clem. She struck out at him, dodging as he recovered from his surprise and swung at her. As she dodged, she dropped to the ground to hear a thunk in the tree behind her.

“Shadow!”

Ignoring Thornton’s bellow, she rolled as Clem attacked again, pushed herself from the ground and threw herself into the shrub in front of her. She eyed the distance between her and her crossbow. A check at where the magic hid men were showed it was impossible. Clem’s sword slashed at the shrub hiding her and she darted from it, aiming for the next one. She couldn’t keep dodging forever, and she noticed the men were starting to move towards her hidden companions.

When Clem attacked the shrub she hid in, instead of running, Shadow dodged to the side and struck out at him. She came in under his raised arm, slicing at it as she slid behind him. She felt exposed as she dashed for another shrub, holding her breath until she was amongst the leaves and twigs, cringing at the sound of bolts hitting trees. But one of them was no longer magic hid. Only five more to wound.

Clem came at her again. She grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it into his face. She ran as he cursed and rubbed at his eyes, stumbling in her direction. She had to do something. The other men were intent on quietly crossing the clearing to attack her companions. Their backs were to her. A quick, sharp intake of breath and she dashed into the clearing. One man turned as she grabbed her crossbow and bolts and continued for cover. She felt the rush of the bolt as it barely missed her face. Shadow slid to the ground and pressed her back against a tree as she tried to slow her breathing, her fingers trembling as she readied her crossbow.

The clearing was quiet. She’d have to look and see where they were. Her cheek could still feel the cold rush of metal and it took all her willpower to rise on one knee and turn towards the clearing. None of them looked towards her. They had nearly reached their destination.

Heart in her throat, Shadow took aim. She fired at one of the soldiers and ignored his cry of pain as she readied a bolt and wounded another. She was forced to turn away and shield herself with the tree as the first man she’d wounded shot at her. Another glance showed Gwyn dash behind a tree.

“Stay back. There’s three more.” Shadow called out. She heard footsteps run towards her tree and knew it was time to move. Without looking, she ran, dodging trees and shrubs. Behind her she could hear her pursuer. She angled her direction, not wanting to get too far from the clearing. Ahead of her, Gwyn rose from dense shrubs, a crossbow aimed behind her. Shadow dived towards the side, rolling as she landed in the rock strewn grass. A cry of pain sounded as she spun to face her pursuer and watched as he crashed forward, a bolt protruding from his chest. She darted forward and checked he was dead.

Gwyn ran to her side. “Where are the rest of them?”

Shadow turned towards the clearing. “I don’t know.” She ran, stopping only when she reached the edge. She quickly aimed at one of the magic hid men and shot him. Before he could turn, Gwyn finished him off. Not hesitating, Shadow shot at the next man, surprised when he crashed to the ground. The last magic hid man ran for cover. Shadow raced after him.

“Shadow!”

She didn’t glance towards Thornton. “One left hidden. He’s trying to get away.” She didn’t stop. Ahead she could hear the man. If he got away he could easily circle back. And Clem was still out there somewhere. She tried to shoot the man with her crossbow, but she missed. Not even close. The man went to ground.

Shadow slid behind a tree, expecting him to fire. Nothing. Crouching low, she inched forward, listening for sound. All was quiet. Not even the birds were singing. Behind her she heard her name called by Irlan and Thornton. She hoped they didn’t follow.

A noise ahead made her freeze. She turned slightly. There it was again. Like a branch cracking. She hurried forward. A glimpse of movement amongst the trees drew her attention. He crouched low like her. Hooking her crossbow over her shoulder, Shadow pulled out her dagger and ran towards the man who rose to meet her. He parried her attack with his crossbow, leapt back, dropped it and pulled out his own dagger. They circled each other. Shadow watched him warily, his bearded face expressionless.

The attack was swift when it came and Shadow barely managed to dodge. She had no chance against this man. He was far more experienced. Behind her she could still hear her name being called.

“Here!” She lunged at the man but he seemed to slide away from her effortlessly. She nearly stumbled over a berry bush as he attacked her. The thorns scraped her hand.

“Shadow!”

She didn’t need to turn to know Thornton was nearly with them and he couldn’t see the man who looked towards him. A trickle of blood ran down her hand and Shadow glanced at the berry bush again. She grabbed hold of a long thin stem, and slashed at it with her dagger. She struck out at the man and blood trickled down his face from the jagged scratches.

Thornton raced towards him, pulling his sword to attack. Shadow jumped back, barely missing the berry bush. She watched as the two men fought, Thornton far more skilled than his opponent. A sound drew her attention, and she turned to see Clem aim a crossbow at Thornton. She threw herself across the short distance, crashing into Clem, the dagger still clutched tightly in her hand. She pulled her hand back and plunged it into him, her mouth falling open at the ease with which it sunk into his stomach. Warm blood gushed over her hand as startled eyes met hers.

This man had caused the death of those who had trusted him. Might cause Perrun to lose his leg. She pressed harder with her knife then pulled it out. “Loyalty would have been cheaper. It wouldn’t have cost you your life.”

Clem’s hand pressed against his stomach. “You don’t understand.”

Shadow pushed away from him. “I understand all I need to.” She looked over her shoulder when she heard footsteps. It was Thornton.

He came to a stop beside her and stared down at Clem. “I hope you found the time to spend your blood money. You won’t be able to take it where you’re going.”

Clem tried to speak, but doubled up in pain instead. More blood flowed from the wound. “End it. Please.”

“You don’t deserve it.” Thornton stared at him a moment longer then swung his sword.

Shadow looked away at the last second, but she still heard the sound as the weapon was driven into Clem’s body. She stood still, waiting for the usual rush of nausea to follow. It didn’t. All she felt was a grim satisfaction that they’d caught the traitor.

Thornton’s arm dropped on her shoulders. “Let’s get cleaned up. We’re going to arrive later than I expected.”