Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series (36 page)

“Good evening, Master Elridge.”

He nodded and smiled at Heather, “Good evening. If I remember correctly, you will be leaving us at Falda. Is that still your plan?” He moved in near the fire and sat down on the end of a small log, opposite Aaron. Shim squatted down on the opposite side of the fire and started poking it with a stick.

Heather glanced at Aaron, clearing her throat before she spoke. “Uh, yes sir. We will be leaving you first thing tomorrow morning. Is there a problem?”

Wylon smiled at her, “No, of course not. I just wanted to come by and say good-bye.” Heather smiled and started to speak, but Wylon kept talking. “And of course, I wanted to apologize again for my nephew's actions.”

Heather clinched her jaws as she spoke, “I thank you, sir, but, you have no need to apologize for another man's mistakes.”

Wylon sighed, “I know, but he is young. He will of course mature.” He leaned closer to Heather, “And I will make sure that he learned his lesson.”

Heather moved closer to the old man, “I hope that he does learn from his mistake.” She nodded over at Shim, who was still squatting quietly on the other side of the fire. “If he hadn't been here, your nephew would be dead now.”

Wylon's features hardened, “Well, It's a good thing that Shim was here. Isn't it?”

Heather didn't shrink back from the old man. “I guess that depends on your point of view.”

Wylon came to his feet, quickly, and he didn't meet Heather's gaze as he walked away. “Well, good luck on your journey.” His tone implied anything but good wishes. With that, he walked quickly from their camp.

Shim grinned as he too rose to his feet. “I'm not used to seeing anyone stare the old man down.”

Heather stared at the dark where Wylon had disappeared into the darkness. “I didn't mean to insult him.”

Shim shook his head, “You didn't. I'm sure that he won't be thinking about it tomorrow, so don't worry about it.”

Several hours later, the noise in the camp had finally quieted down and the campfires were burning low. Heather sat in the growing darkness, near their tent, and away from their fire. Mikela and Aaron were lying down, although he had refused resting until Heather had ordered him. She shook her head; Aaron had actually tried to insist that she and Mikela be the ones to rest first. She yawned, and for one short moment she actually wished that she had let that arrogant man stand guard.

The quiet feel of the camp settled over her and seemed to seep into her very bones. She could only hear sounds of the night now, with an occasional popping of a fire.

Taking a deep breath, Heather pulled open the flap of the tent and tapped on Aaron's leg. He immediately sat up, denoting that he had not, in fact, been asleep. Aaron nudged Mikela, and she too woke up, although a bit more slowly than he had.

Heather leaned close in to the opening of the tent. “Everything's quiet. Let's go.”

Aaron and Mikela quickly pulled on their boots and cloaks, and then grabbing their packs, they slid out of the tent. Aaron also carried Heather's pack in addition to his own. He started to hand her pack over, but she shook her head.

“No. I want you to carry it for a while.” Aaron nodded, and Heather moved closer to him and Mikela. “I'm going to meet you at the horses. I want you to wait ten minutes, and then as quietly as you can, you head to the picket lines.”

“Where are you going?” Aaron whispered.

“I'm going to check the placement of the sentries. I don't trust Wylon. If he wanted to cause problems for us, and he suspected that we might leave early, then he might change the guard's rotation.”

Aaron and Mikela were quiet for a moment and then Mikela spoke, “You're not trying to get back at Jefflem. Are you?”

“What?” In her confusion, she actually spoke louder than she had intended.

“Are you going after the boy?” Aaron asked, motioning for Heather to keep her voice down.

The confusion was quickly being replaced by anger, “Now you see here...” she started to say, but Mikela spoke right over her.

“That would not be very smart, you know. If you hurt that boy badly enough, or Adel forbid, if you killed him, there's no way that Wylon would stop hunting you.”

“Yeah and how would Flare like it if you showed up with a bunch of angry wagon drivers on your tail?” Aaron asked.

Even in the darkness, both women could clearly see the smile on Aaron's face.

Sighing, Heather pushed the anger away. “I have no intention of searching out that boy ever again. As I already told you, I intend to check on the guards. I don't know about you, but I do not want to stumble across one of these drunken guards just because we didn't take the time to check.”

The anger started trying to swell again, when she noticed Mikela and Aaron exchanging looks. She was about to remind them who was in charge, but was spared from having to do that when Aaron nodded.

“All right, but be careful.”

Heather slipped out into the darkness, moving without a sound. How dare those two question her intentions? Had she done anything to make them think that she was rash? And why hadn't she told them twenty minutes instead of ten? If she had said twenty minutes, then she would have had enough time to find Jefflem and cut his throat. And why hadn't she thought about going after the boy herself?

Their tent had been on the edge of the caravan camp, and that had suited Heather just fine. It made her sneaking away from the main camp much easier. The main camp was in a circle in a field just off of the road, and the horses were picketed on one end of the field with an open gap between the camp and the horses. Their camp was on the edge of the field farthest from the road, so the best route to the horses was to go into the edge of the forest and circle around to where the horses were kept.

Reaching the edge of the forest was simple, and she made it quickly. Moving quietly through the bushes and small trees that were all around the edge of the field, she took a circuitous route toward the picket line. She moved quietly, as she had been taught since she was a little girl. No sound came from her steps, and her breathing was inaudible. She moved from shadow to shadow, pausing as she did so to make sure there wasn't any movement around her. Even with the constant pausing, she still made good time and soon found herself coming up on the picket line where their horses were tied. The horses were quiet, with the occasional stomp of a hoof.

There was a short open space where the shadows would not provide any cover, and she knelt down in the shadows, peering around. There wasn't much light, as the moon was behind the clouds, but the open space was more lit than the surrounding bushes and shrubs, and she didn't want to take any chances. Cocking her head first to the left, and then to the right, she listened for any sound and watched for any movement that would give away a person's location. Nothing, not a sound or movement. She started to rise to proceed, but something stopped her. Something didn't seem right. Lowering herself back to her kneeling position, she observed the open space again. It was too quiet. Where were the night sounds? Several muted minutes passed, and she was about to rise again, when a snort off to her right confirmed her fears.

Someone was watching the picket lines, and while that was normal, the sentries had not been in this location before tonight. Why were they guarding the horses from the edge of the forest? Coincidence? She seriously doubted it. Was Wylon waiting for them to try and leave early? She hadn't really thought the old man would try and stop them from leaving, but now she was starting to worry. If he wanted to stop them, what was he planning on doing? How long till Aaron and Mikela came through here? Would they stumble out at any minute? Her heart seemed to be pounding, and she quietly got up and started moving slowly back the way she had come; hoping that Aaron and Mikela would not be early. Worrying less about silence now, and more about speed, she winced several times at the small noises that she made, but she kept going.

Aaron and Mikela sat side by side near the coals of their small fire, trying to warm themselves in the cold of the night. Tired though he was, Aaron was glad to be leaving the caravan. They had been good travel companions, well, except for that Jefflem boy. The caravan itself had gotten them safely to Falda, despite all the political turmoil of northern Aramonia. And if not for Jefflem, they could have left in the light of day, instead of sneaking away in the dark. Still though, he was glad they were getting started. Something just hadn't seemed right lately, and it was making him nervous.

Mikela's head bobbed and she jerked back erect. She stretched and stood up, crossing her arms as she did so. “Isn't it about time?”

Aaron nodded and stood, “Yeah. Let's go.” They both got down and crawled back into the tent, closing the flap behind them. Just in case anyone was watching their camp, they wanted to disguise their escape as best as they could. Moving silently to the back of the tent, he pulled up the peg that was holding down the edge of the canvas. This was the same place that Heather had gone out, and Aaron had already placed their packs at the back of the tent. Lifting the flap, he motioned Mikela to go first. It took several moments before he realized that she couldn't see him motioning her, “You first,” he said quietly.

Mikela moved toward Aaron and slid past him back out into the cool night air. The grass was slick with the cold, and she quickly pushed herself up, wanting to be off the cold ground. Aaron was quickly beside her, and they picked up their packs and started toward the edge of the forest. They ran low toward the ground, bent over, and were quickly covered by the trees and bushes of the forest.

They stopped moving and looked back toward the camp. They knelt down and waited and watched for any sign that someone had seen them leaving the camp.

Aaron waited nervously, dreading seeing any movement or a cry, but nothing happened. No one had noticed them.

Mikela glanced over at him, and Aaron smiled back at her. “Mikela, follow me, and try to step where I do. Go as quietly as possible.”

She punched his arm above the elbow, although not overly hard. “Don't tell me to be quiet! I know enough to know that. You just worry about yourself.”

He had been about to stand up when she had punched him, and he had frozen there, half standing. Looking down on her, he shook his head and frowned. If he lived to be a thousand, he would never understand women! “Just stay close and don't get lost.” He moved quickly as Mikela tried to hit him again. Luckily for him, she missed.

They moved quickly through the trees, and while they were no where near as quiet as Heather had been, Aaron was still somewhat impressed. Looking around at the field where the camp was, he couldn't quite see where they were in relation to the horse pickets. “Let's move over to the edge and get our bearings.”

Mikela followed Aaron over to the edge of the field, sure that all of this sneaking around was completely unnecessary. Heather had been a little jumpy since the incident with Jefflem, although Mikela certainly understood why. And Aaron was being over-protective of both women, and she smiled at the thought. His attempt at chivalry was heart warming.

Aaron looked out over the field, and leaned in close to Mikela. “Okay. We're close to the horses, just another couple of hundred yards to where we need to exit the forest.”

Mikela didn't answer, but silently followed Aaron back into the trees. She almost walked into his back, when he stopped suddenly. He dropped into a crouch, and pulled her down by her arm. “What is it?” She asked.

“Quiet!” Aaron leaned closer. “There is someone out there. Moving quickly towards us.”

A bush blocked her view, and Mikela rose up a little ways to peer over it, Aaron was peeking out from the left side of the bush.

“I think it's Heather.” Mikela said after a moment.

“Come on. Let's see what's up.”

Mikela grabbed his arm, “Aaron! There's someone else out there. I can see other forms moving...”

Aaron didn't let her finish, but was already moving forward in a rush.

Heather was almost running back through the woods now, the noise no longer her primary fear. One thought kept running through her mind. She had to get to Aaron and Mikela.

In the distance, she saw shapes moving and almost fell as she skidded to a stop. Whoever the figures were, they were moving quickly towards her. Her hand fell to her knife and she frantically looked around for a place to hide.

“Heather! Look out!” A voice she recognized as Aaron's called out. Then a blinding pain exploded inside her head and she knew no more.

Aaron cursed and drew his sword as he ran towards Heather. His shout had been too late, and Heather and been hit hard from behind. He hadn't seen who had done it, but the shape was big.

He could hear Mikela calling him even as she chased after him. He didn't even listen to Mikela's words. His reason was gone, all he could think of was that someone had attacked Heather, and she needed him.

Heather had collapsed just a little ahead of him. He sprinted past a tree, towards the spot where she still lay on the ground. He never made it. Something heavy fell on him, pushing him to the ground. Twisting frantically, he tried to regain his feet, and that was when he realized he was trapped in a net. Knowing there was no time, Aaron pulled his knife from its sheath and slashed at the net.