The Lords of Valdeon (38 page)

"What shall I tell this interested party? He does not know the exact island in the Grey Cliff Isles yet, but that could change soon and we could lose out on our payday."

"You forget the other interested party. He is a powerful ranger. The money will have to be very good in order for me to risk double-crossing him. Let me think on these things. In the meantime, tell this benefactor our answer is yes."

The two men dropped down under the docks once more. Their voices faded in the darkness. Seth hesitated. He desperately wanted to follow Sandor to his hiding place. The desire to uncover his true identity was overwhelming his reason. He had to get back to the farm and tell Leo about what he'd heard. They were about to be visited by unwanted guests.

Seth stood and headed back toward the storage area where he'd left his friends. He walked up the steps and stopped abruptly. Riley and Beatrice were still wrapped together, lips pressed in a kiss. He put a hand over his mouth to hide a smile and cleared his throat loudly.

"They've gone."

Riley pulled gently away from Beatrice’s lips at last. "Poor little Honey Bee. You’re trembling. We need to get her home, Seth. She's been frightened out of her senses. You mustn't tell anyone what happened here today. Promise?"

"Yes, Riley." She put her cheek against his shoulder. "Father would be very angry."

"I can understand." Riley stared down the steps at the memory of the strangers.

Seth shook his head, watching the happy face of Beatrice McFadden as she snuggled against her hero. Once again, Riley Logan had missed the point.

Chapter Thirty-Two

A bubbling mixture of green slime simmered slowly over the low flame. Riley leaned over the pot and took a sniff. Gagging, he turned his face away. It was almost worse than mucking out Bluebell's stall. Almost.

"It smells terrible."

Dante hurried to the stove, eyes sparkling. He leaned his white grizzled head over the pot and took a deep sniff of the green mixture. Slapping his hands together, Dante nodded in appreciation.

"Good work, Curl Top! You’ll make a fine healer or at least an apothecary when I’m done with you."

Dante dipped a finger in and tasted the mix. The Valdeonian motioned him to do the same. Riley stuck his little finger in the mixture and put the hot liquid to his mouth before he lost his nerve. It tasted sweet, like meadow grass with the tang of wildflower petals.

"That little bit of sour tells you when this concoction is ready. We just add some ground barley to make paste, and you have an ointment that will keep a wound from festering."

Yesterday they'd made a powder that reduced fevers from trees. Earlier this morning he had helped Dante make bandages and tourniquets out of old fabric. Now he was learning how to heal wounds.

"Are you expecting an invasion, Dante?"

"I am expecting to give these things to that overworked doctor of yours. And to teach you a thing or two. Any objections?"

Riley shook his head. "No, sir. I suppose I didn’t expect to be doing things like this when Leo hired me off my dad’s farm. I’m not complaining, mind you."

"I hired you, and for my own reasons. Now, go knead that mix I have in the bowl."

Riley pounced over to the large bowl on the counter by the kitchen window. He was still learning his boundaries with Dante. The old man was as prickly as a thistle. He had to admit he was growing fond of listening to the Valdeonian man’s teachings. They were interesting, and Riley was surprised at how much he remembered them from day to day.

He looked over at the bandages they had made. Would it be so farfetched if he were to become a healer? His dad and brothers would think he had gone off his head, but Riley didn’t care. He’d see how this played out.

"And what is this for, Dante?" Riley asked, deciding to get in the man’s good graces again.

"It’s for supper. And at the pace you’re going, it will be done about sunup tomorrow."

Riley bit back a comment and looked out the small kitchen window. Seth and Leo were walking in from the fields. They were deep in conversation about something. Riley shrugged. It really didn’t matter what the subject was, Seth was always eager to listen to anything the Valdeonian had to say. A little too eager.

He rubbed his chin with the side of his arm and kneaded the bread dough harder, watching their easy conversation. It was true Leo had saved Riley’s life, but that didn’t mean they could trust him without question. His claims about Anne McCloud hiding her son away from his father didn't set well with Riley. She'd been an uncommonly kind woman. Such a thing was too cruel for her gentle soul.

"They look so much alike," he muttered.

"What’s that?" Dante huffed from the stove. His self-proclaimed teacher joined Riley by the window. "That they do, Curl Top."

Dante lifted the bread dough out of the bowl. Practiced hands twisted it into a rope-shaped loaf and set it on the window sill to rise. The loaf joined other tantalizing cakes and pastries Dante had prepared that morning.

"You’re a better cook than my mum."

"Oh yes?" Dante snorted.

"Aye. But, I’ll deny I said it if you tell her."

They both chuckled. Mrs. Logan had marched to the McPherson farm after she'd found out Leo hired Riley. She was furious with her husband and wanted Riley back, but Leo had managed to convince Mrs. Logan her son would be treated well. It was only after Dante bribed her with a Valdeonian pastry that she finally relented.

"It’s time for you to practice the sword with Leo."

Outside in the farmyard, Seth began to stretch, holding his blade straight ahead. Riley grinned. If someone had told him a year ago that Seth McCloud could use a sword as well as anyone on the island, he would have called them a liar.

"I don’t think I’ll ever be as good as Seth."

Riley didn’t really mind. He was just happy to be included in the lessons. It wasn’t as if he would ever use the sword. Muskets were better for fighting off Amity raiders.

"You can’t compare yourself to Seth, Curl Top. He is meant for a different fate than you are, though your paths will be bound."

"Riley Logan! Must I wait all evening?" Leo's call thundered from the barn.

He exchanged a knowing look with Dante. Leo had been growling at everyone for days. He didn't know the man well, but his surly mood seemed out of place for the charming man who'd won over his mum. Riley pulled off the apron before Seth could see him in it and raced out to the barn.

Leo helped him into a heavy leather vest with gloves to match. Seth had managed to put his own gear on without any help. His tall frame twisted and stretched to adjust the leather. Heavy work on the farm had given Seth strong muscles and a hard torso. He seemed so different, calmer and more confident. Seth had been lost before Leo had arrived. Now Riley’s best friend spoke about his future with growing excitement and hope.

"Tonight we use steel, my pupils. You wear the leather for protection."

Seth gave Riley a reassuring wink. He had already fought the wooden dummy with a real sword, but it was Riley’s first time using steel.

Leo handed Riley the hilt. "It will only bite you if you let your defenses down."

"Seth and I will show you first."

Leo's tall frame remained perfectly straight as he moved to the center of the barn. He pulled his sword and flourished it elegantly in the air before them. Taking his stance, he motioned for Seth to strike.

"Shouldn’t you put on the safety vest, Leo?" Seth lowered his weapon.

"Do you think you have advanced far enough to wound me, boy?"

Leo turned flashing eyes upon Seth. Riley stepped back a little, watching the two men. What had happened in the field today? Seth practically worshiped his father. He hung on his every word. It didn't seem possible he could have offended Leo in some way.

"Strike me."

Seth lifted his weapon and came at Leo's chest with a fast thrust of the blade. The Valdeonian warrior dropped to the ground and spun with his leg outstretched. The leg swept Seth off his feet and onto his back before he could complete the thrust. Leo came out of the spin in an upright position. He rested the sword by his side.

Riley held his breath as the tension grew heavy in the barn. Seth looked up slowly from the ground, his eyes flashing with amber. A thin trickle of blood dripped from his lip. Riley hurried over and helped his friend to his feet.

"Cold water is what you’ll need, Seth."

Riley pushed him out the barn door toward the farmhouse, before real blows were thrown. It was growing dark, and the fog was beginning to creep toward them. A warm glow from the kitchen's window promised good food and the comfort of a warm bed. Too bad they had to get through the evening before he could lay his head upon his pillow.

"Did he cut you on purpose?"

"I must have bitten it."

Anger, hurt, and confusion were in Seth's eyes. His face remained calm, but Riley knew him better than anyone. He knew how much Leo's attack had hurt. Seth turned away.

"Did something happen today in the fields to make him angry, Seth?"

His friend wouldn’t look at him. "No. He has been this way since…I should be getting to Paddy’s. It’s my turn to tend bar."

Seth pushed his leather vest and gloves into Riley's arms. Then he ran up the path and disappeared into the fog. Riley spun toward the barn and marched in through the doors. He threw Seth’s leathers down on top of a bale of hay and began removing his own.

Leo was standing with the naked sword in hand, eyeing it casually as he extended its tip toward the hay. The warrior had the same calm, unemotional expression he’d worn when he’d killed the two Amity raiders.

"The lesson is ended, it seems." Leo swung the tip in short swipes across the hay. "He must learn to overcome childish slights."

"Childish slights? You should take your own advice, sir. Seth meant no slight to your wounded pride."

He took a step back when those amber-flecked eyes turned angrily upon him. It was dangerous to provoke a man like Leo, but Riley didn’t care just then. Seth wouldn't tell Leo how much his slight had hurt him. It wasn't his way.

"Seth looks up to you, Leo. He needs you. What he doesn’t need is you slapping him down. He gets enough of that at home with his uncle."

Riley walked out of the barn before Leo had a chance to respond with a sword in his belly. Moving at a good pace toward the farmhouse, he didn't stop until he reached the door. Swinging it open with a hard shove, it slammed against an unlucky chair and shuddered back toward the jamb. Dante jumped and turned from the pot he was stirring.

"You can’t be done already? I haven’t finished the meal yet."

"It will be just you and Leo tonight. Thank you for everything you've shown me. Tell Leo I’ll get the money he paid for my labor back from Dad." Riley pulled his cloak from the peg by the door.

"That won’t be necessary."

Leo stood in the doorway. His sword was sheathed at his side. The warrior's manner was calm and cold again, as if Riley's words hadn't affected him at all. He regarded Riley with probing eyes.

"I won’t keep money I haven’t earned. You certainly don’t expect me to stay if Seth does not."

"What’s this?"

Dante turned a puzzled face from Riley to Leo. His impatient gaze finally rested upon the Valdeonian. Some unspoken agreement passed between them. Well, their reasons for wanting him on the farm were no longer Riley's business. He fastened the clasp on his cloak and started toward the door. Leo still blocked his way.

"Let me pass. Seth will need his real friend to talk to after his false one has stabbed him in the back."

Leo grabbed the front of Riley’s cloak. "He has gone then?"

Riley folded his arms across his chest. "What did you expect after the way you’ve been growling for the past few days?"

"You don’t understand." Leo towered over him with those intense, angry eyes. "Tell me where he has gone, boy!"

Shaking his head, he pulled his cloak from Leo’s fists. "I'll not let you harass him anymore tonight."

"It’s near week’s end. He should be on his way to Paddy’s by now."

Dante tossed Leo his long, ash-colored cloak. The hem slapped Riley on the cheek as it flew past his head. Leo wrapped the cloak about him and stepped back out into the darkness. Dante shoved Riley to the side and closed the door.

"You'll help me with this elixir until Leo returns."

Dante took supper off the stove and began to bang pots about. He'd never seen the old man mistreat his kitchen equipment. Riley folded his arms and leaned against the table. Dante was in a mood, and Riley didn't fancy listening to him grouse all evening. He moved to the kitchen window, looking out into the darkness. Leo was disappearing up the path to follow Seth, no doubt. Riley gave a last look at Dante’s back and tiptoed to the kitchen door. He quietly turned the knob. He was out the door and down the porch steps without a sound.

Leo stopped at the top of the hill and pulled on his hood. If Riley hadn't been looking right at the man, he wouldn’t know Leo was there. A slight shimmer against the gray of the fog told him Leo had moved toward town. He pulled the hood low to cover his face and followed, keeping close to the trees.

The Main Row waited at the end of their path. Leo’s cloak pressed flat against the wall of stone lining the row. His attention was firmly fixed on the signpost for Main and Farm Rows across the way. Seth was there, lighting his lamp. Riley threw himself on the damp ground when Seth turned around.

Something hard jabbed into his side. The hilt of his sword poked out from under his cloak. He'd forgotten to take it off. Enduring the discomfort, he held his breath as Seth lifted the lamp and stared out into the darkness in their direction. The moments ticked by until Seth shrugged. He turned and headed down the path toward Paddy’s. Riley struggled to his feet and noticed with a curse Leo had disappeared. No matter. He knew exactly where the Valdeonian was headed.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Riley crawled through the dried grass on the roadside a fair distance behind Seth. Down the row to the left were the bright lights of the airship port. Thick fog blanketed the ground beneath, giving the allusion of disembodied fire. Several large rock fire pits lined the row on either side of the port. The militia had them burning bright to guide landing ships in harsh weather. Unfortunately, they hadn't been placed all the way to Paddy's. He'd have to stumble in the dark as he followed Seth's lantern.