Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2) (20 page)

"No wonder no one wants to attack Bradford," Tamzin said as she stared up at the mountain. "And that explains why no one wants to visit, either."

Will didn't hear her words. All he could think about was how was he going to get 1500 men and 50 carts up that mountain without attracting attention. It would be a long journey, indeed.

"What do we do?" Garrett asked, with Seraphina at his side. Tamzin had come out of the wagon and stood next to Will, as he inspected the mountain. She glared at Seraphina briefly before she returned her attentions to the mountain.

"We can't bring the wagons full of men up this mountain. The horses will be unable to handle the weight of the men up this steep. We will have to leave the wagons behind, and everyone will walk. I will help the men push up the cart with the supplies," Will ordered before he began to take off his armor.

"You should keep it on," Tamzin stopped him by placing her hand on his shoulder. "I know it adds extra weight, but we don't know what's in the woods or on this mountain."

"You're right," Will said, though he grumbled at the thought of the excess weight on his shoulders. "You can't walk this distance."

"It's not right that I sit on a cart while these men walk and push the carts up the mountain," Tamzin answered as she watched the grim faces on the men's faces. They were unsure they could complete this task. "There has to be an easier way up. How on earth could they trade with this as their main road?"

"Well, you can't ride a horse either, so you must sit on the cart. You're too far along to do long bouts of walking, especially a walk this strenuous," Will responded as he stared up the mountain. He felt anxiety sit in the pit of his stomach and gnaw at him before he turned to look at his men. "We are leaving the majority of the wagons behind. Unhinge the horses and everyone walks. We are pushing the carts with the supplies up the mountain. Someone will need to lead the horse first and then some men will push. When we reach a plateau, we will switch," Will ordered as he took Tamzin's hand. "Sit on the medicine cart with Jacque. I want him to monitor you."

"There's nothing to monitor," Tamzin said with a slight eye roll. "I am fine, Will."

"You had cramping. I don't want to exacerbate your condition," Will said as he gently took her arm in his hand. "I'm worried enough. Please just sit on the wagon."

"Okay," Tamzin said with a slight smile. "I love you," she said as she reached down to his belt and brought him closer.

"I love you, too," Will said as he kissed her lightly. Her lips were chapped and Will felt his tongue swipe across her bottom lip before they pulled away. "I worry about you when you're like this."

"This is the first time I've been like this!" Tamzin laughed as he helped her onto the wagon. "And when I have our second, third, and fourth child? Will you still be like this?"

"You want four children?" Will asked with slight surprise. "So that means we get to lie together at least four more times?" He teased.

"Well, I would like five," Tamzin said with a devious smile. "So we get to lie together at least five more times."

"How Southerners live like that, I will never know," Will said as he secured her in the wagon. "Jacque?"

Jacque had been standing with Seraphina. It was then that Will realized that Tamzin and Seraphina would have to spend some time together on the same cart. He heard Tamzin huff behind him as Will helped Jacque and then Seraphina into the cart. Tamzin pursed her lips into a thin grimace as Seraphina sat across from her and Jacque next to Tamzin. Jacque looked exhausted, with circles under his eyes and his skin was thin and white, with the veins evident just beneath his skin.

"Are you well, Jacque?" Tamzin concerned voice rang out as Will braced against the wagon with Garrett and few other men before they began to push. Will felt the strain in his legs and lower back as he and the men pushed up the uneven dirt path on the mountain. The air was different; it was thinner and colder than the humid thickness at the base of the mountain. Will's feet began to ache and he longed for his Northern boots, over the unsupportive sandals of the South. He gritted his teeth together so hard that he felt the intense pressure in his temples and down into his jaw.

"Is this a good time to talk?" Garrett asked as he pushed alongside Will.

"Is there anything to talk about?" Will asked as he and the men continued to grunt as they pushed the wagon up the mountain.

"You saw the spears in that village," Garrett said as his fingers tightened on the end of the wagon to keep a better grip. "There's only one person we know who has used spears."

"We can't have this conversation out in the open," Will said as he stopped pushing. The men followed his lead and Will stared at their sweat covered and panting faces. They couldn't have been more than halfway up the mountain. The twists and turns made him contort his body into odd positions and his sides ached just as intensely as his legs and arms. "I need undeniable proof. Finding some spears at a battle site isn't enough."

"I know that," Garrett said with irritation as he leaned against the side of the wagon. "I will find you the evidence you need."

"Thank you," Will replied curtly. He was still unsure of Garrett's intentions but didn't express these sentiments to anyone but Tamzin. He was just starting to regain control of his breathing when he heard Rolf's exasperated voice.

"We're pushing wagons up a mountain? Your leadership is certainly one of a kind," Rolf said gruffly, with sweat pouring down his face. "It's extremely hot and this is what we're doing?"

"What would you suggest we do?" Will replied before he stood up straight. "We need to get these supplies up the mountain, along with our horses. If you saw another route, it's your fault you didn't speak up."

"Why don't the Bradfords know we're coming?" Rolf asked as he and the Roth archers began to approach them. "We could be walking all the way there and up this mountain and could they turn us away?"

"It is a possibility," Will began before he heard the groans of the men. "But I'm his family. As long as I'm alive, Aidan Bradford has to honor the agreement he made with my father when he married my mother."

"Your mother's dead, so why would he honor some agreement?"

"Don't you dare talk about my mother in that tone," Will growled as he approached Rolf with anger in his eyes and venom in his voice.

"Stop, both of you," Garrett said as he stood between the two feuding men. "We're wasting time and energy on fighting. You," Garrett said as he looked to Rolf, "promised to leave Will alone if he beat you in the Tournament. He did, and now you need to listen to him. He is royalty and your superior."

"Do you always defend your superiors so enthusiastically?" Rolf mocked, though he took a step back from Will. "If the Bradfords don't take us in, then what do we do?"

"They will let us in," Will insisted, though he had been trying to think of a plan b since they left Roth the night before. They couldn't hide out in the woods, and he supposed they could return to Roth, but that didn't seem like a viable option. "I will make them let us in."

"Yes, fight our host. That will end very well," Rolf said sarcastically as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What kind of leader are you?"

"You will talk to me with respect..." Will gritted his teeth.

"Why? Because your father is a King? You think you deserve respect because of who your father is? You should be the leader just because?" Rolf asked as he continued to raise his voice in anger. "You're going to be a terrible King."

"Will?" Tamzin groaned behind them, which interrupted their fight. "My stomach hurts."

"It's the stress," Jacque said as he placed his hand on her back and tried to make her sit back down. "Arguing amongst yourself is not going to get us to the top of this mountain and a potential enemy seeing discord won't help either."

"The Bradfords aren't an enemy," Will said weakly. How could he say that about complete strangers but the same couldn't be said about his own father? Will bit his tongue. "And Jacque is right. We need to stop fighting for the sake my wife and how it could be perceived to an enemy. I know I am not the best leader, but I am all we have right now. If the Bradfords don't allow us to stay, I will figure something out."

The men didn't say anything to Will's remarks and the silence was nearly unbearable. The silence spoke more than words could; none of these men thought Will could lead them to safety. Did they think his countless battle wins were a fluke or luck? Will turned around to see Tamzin, who was having her hand held by both Seraphina and Jacque. She kept her eyes closed and she took deep breaths before she exhaled slowly. Will was surprised to see Tamzin's hand tucked so firmly in Seraphina's, but her pain made her blind to who was her friend and who wasn't.

In the flurry of activity, something caught Will's eye. They were on a plateau on the mountain and against the side of the mountain was an opening. It was jagged and rough, with a green growth on the outside. Inside, it was extremely dark, but Will could see the end of the opening, where there was light again. Will inspected the opening and found it to be narrow, but enough to get through with the carts and the men with the horses. The problem was that Will had no idea what was at the end of the tunnel. He gripped the sword at his hip.

"I know what you're thinking," Tamzin said as she came to stand behind Will. Will turned around abruptly, where he reached forward and held her arm and placed his hand on her hip to steady her.

"You shouldn't be standing," Will said as the hand on her arm drifted down to rest on the other hip. Gripping her, he brought her closer to stand against him, her stomach pressed against his.

"You don't know what's down there. It could be a trap," Tamzin whispered through a wince. Will's eyes softened as he took in her pained expression before he pressed a kiss to her brow. Her forehead had a thin sheen of sweat.

"Or it could lead us to help," Will said as he tucked her into his side as he walked her back to the wagon. "Does anyone have any experience in trade with the Bradfords?"

"It doesn't seem likely anyone trades with them," a Northern soldier spoke up as he leaned against the wheel of Tamzin's wagon. "If you take us down that road in the middle of the mountain, you will lead us to salvation or death. There is no in-between."

"As he has such a great track record," Rolf shouted from his place. "We need to turn back."

"We can't turn back. There is no place to turn back to," Will said with frustration as he looked back to the opening. "Someone went out of their way to hide this opening. The moss isn't growing over it, it was placed there."

"So what do we do?" Garrett asked before he unsheathed his sword.

"We're taking this route," Will ordered as he unsheathed his sword as well. "Archers will be in the front and back. The wagons of supplies will go in the middle. I will lead and take the most risk, as a sign of good faith."

"Or proof of how dumb you are," Rolf replied before Will blitzed him and grabbed him by his tunic.

"We're done playing this game," Will growled as he shoved Rolf into the rough terrain of the mountain. "You can question my decisions, but know that I make all of them. You're more than welcome to leave. I don't cater to Southern boys who pretend they're men." Will heard the chuckle of the Northerners and felt pride swell in his chest. "If anyone has anything else to say, now is the time. If not, I am leaving you behind." Will reached out and took the reins of the horse that was attached to Tamzin's cart and began to lead the horse and the cart into the narrow passageway. Some of the archers hustled forward and took their place in front of Will, with their bows resting at their side as the pushed forward.

Will was never one to be claustrophobic, but the passageway invoked strong feelings of paranoia from him. He wondered if the rocks above them would collapse and cave them in if the wagon scraped the sides of the passageway too roughly? Or if his enemy was waiting on the other side to kill them all? But what worried Will the most (if everything else worked out) was how his mother's family would be. Isabelle was a loving figure, but she went out of her way to be present in his life. Will wouldn't have known the names of his grandparents if it weren't for his history lessons, or about his uncle if it weren't for gossip. This wasn't going to be a long lost family reunion; it was going to be a plea for help and if Will hadn't learned it from his father, he knew that being a family didn't mean that they would help him.

The ground was painful to walk on. It was a dirt road, but fallen tiny rocks poked in the bottom of his heel and Will winced. The sandal was so thin that it felt like he was walking barefoot. Will tried to listen for signs of life at the end of the passageway, but all he could hear was the sound of the wagon wheels crunching against the rocks. He prayed the strength of the wheels held out until the end of their journey.

The end of the road was approaching and Will tightened his grip on his sword when he saw the archers in front of him come to a halt. Quickly, they recoiled from something took massive steps back. Soon, the archer in front of Will had his back almost pressed into Will. It was then that Will saw. Men with spears came into the opening and pushed them back. They wore gold plated armor, which was intricately designed, and helmets to obstruct their faces.

"Who goes there?" the closest man barked as Will pushed the archer aside and approached him. The man may have worn gold, but every man could be killed. Will was calculating his possible moves as he stood near the man, but not close enough for the spear to reach out and impale him.

"We are friends," Will began until a second man came into the entrance. He didn't wear any armor, but he was young. He couldn't have been more than thirty, with extremely dark hair and shining blue eyes. He was pale, but not nearly as pale as Will, and he was slightly shorter. When he saw Will, his lips curled into a smile.

"Well, no one can deny you look just like your father, but I see quite a bit of your mother in you, too. You must be Will Thurston," the man smiled as he lowered his hand to the man next to him. "These are the Northerners. They are, indeed, our friends."