After [A Journey of the Twins Novel] (15 page)

"It'll be dark soon. We need to find shelter,” Shyanne said.

"We may not have an option. We may have to stay out in the open tonight. I don't see any place to hole up in."

"What about over there?” Shyanne stood up in the stirrups and pointed to her right. “I think there might be a trail leading in that direction."

"We can check it out."

She directed Jack toward the gap seen in the boulders; Drayco followed on foot. The group made their way carefully down the rocky incline to the bottom where they found a trail wide enough to allow the horse to move freely. A smaller path branched off toward an enclosed area big enough to hold them for the night. They entered just as the huge, orange ball ducked under the distant horizon.

The enclosure had tall, smooth walls that reached well above Drayco's head. There was only one way in or out. They set up camp by the glow of the rising moon. No fire was started tonight to reduce the likelihood of being spotted by anything or anyone passing through the area. Shyanne removed the saddle from Jack and gave him some grain and water.

"I'll have to hobble him tonight. I don't want him to wander off looking for greener pastures. Get it?” Shyanne smiled as she glanced at the walls of stone, then at her brother.

Drayco shook his head. “Only you could think of something that lousy at a time like this."

Shyanne shrugged her shoulders and tried to give her best innocent look; she failed. They both chuckled quietly.

"We'll have to stand watch tonight. Without having proper shelter, we are open for attack.” Drayco returned the conversation to the seriousness of the situation. “I'll take the first watch. In three hours, I'll wake you to take over."

They shared a meal of bread and dried meat. Afterwards, Shyanne removed her sword and laid it on the ground beside her. She pulled her blanket up over her shoulders to ward off the coolness of the night air. Supporting her head with her arm, she looked at her brother standing tall in the moonlight.

"Drayco, do you think we will find them tomorrow?"

"It depends on how much of a head start they had on us. I hope Joseph's weakened condition will make him need to rest often."

"Are we going to be able to find the tracks again?” A huge yawn escaped after the question.

"If we follow the same direction, I think so. He veered very little from the northwest path he was taking."

He realized Shyanne had fallen asleep when he heard the soft sound of snoring. Drayco looked down at her and smiled. He loved his sister more than anything else in this post virus world. Unfortunately, things were different. Time, and their lengthy separation, had seen to that. No matter how much she tried to hide it, the fear she felt for him shone in her eyes when he moved too close unexpectedly.

Drayco walked to the entrance of their camp and leaned his back against the cold stone. He crossed his arms in front of him and looked up at the night sky. Thick, billowy clouds were rolling in rapidly from a southeastern direction.

"I hope it doesn't rain until we figure out the right direction to go,” he muttered under his breath.

A chill ran up his back. He wasn't sure if the cold stone behind him or a premonition he had yet to understand caused it. Returning to the blanket, he plucked it from the ground and threw it over his shoulders. Without a fire, the night was cold. He started to pace back and forth to warm himself; his breath looked like little patches of fog with each exhale. Jack watched him from the other side of the campsite, eyes glistening in the moonlight.

Drayco paced to stay warm for most of his watch. His thoughts were on the missing trio, and on the Boss. He wondered what had led the cat to go away with a stranger, and hoped that nothing else would get in their way to prevent them from going to the town called Grandfield. The information they needed on the person who sought his sister, the Boss, was there.

He was about to wake Shyanne for her part of the watch when the ground under his feet started to vibrate. Jack looked toward the entrance of their campsite, ears pointed forward, listening. The sound of hooves thundering across the ground at breakneck speed echoed throughout the rocks. Drayco ran to the entrance and hid behind a boulder to see who was foolish enough to go so fast in the darkness. The thunderous sound drew closer. He could just make out the sound of voices shouting over the noise.

"...Caused lots of trouble ... want to get ... to enjoy killing ... going to be killed if you don't slow down..."

A blur of horses ran past the rock where Drayco hid. The words “caused trouble” and “killing” still rang in his ears. “I bet they were talking about Joseph and Drizzle."

He ran back to Shyanne and grabbed her shoulder to wake her. He had to jump back quickly to avoid being sliced in half by her blade.

"Don't do that, Drayco,” she hissed as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “I could have killed you."

"We have to go—now. A pair of riders just went past and I think they were talking about Drizzle and Joseph. They were heading northwest in a really big hurry."

"Isn't that the direction the others went?"

"Yep.” He started to shove things into his pack as fast as he could.

"I'll get Jack ready.” She leaped to her feet and saddled the horse in record time. She had a thousand questions, but knew now was not the time to ask them.

In less time than it took to get dressed, the twins were on horseback, heading in the same direction as the unknown riders. Their speed was at a much safer pace.

"What did you hear?"

"Something about causing trouble.” Drayco kept the killing part to himself.

"That's probably our pair,” Shyanne responded.

The surrounding landscape continued to be rocky and sparse of growth. Broken and gnarled trees grew sporadically; angled in whichever direction the wind blew them. The moon's soft light made it easier for the twins to see the path before them. The dark clouds Drayco observed during his watch had moved on without giving a single drop of moisture to relieve the parched land.

For the most part, the path stayed in a northwestwardly direction. No others branched from it. Finally, after what felt like many long and tortuous hours, the towering wall of rock lessened in height. A faint yellow glow became visible on the horizon. If the twins hadn't known better, they would have thought sunrise was close.

"Could that be their camp?” Shyanne asked.

"It is in the right direction. If it is their camp, we'll have to be cautious from here on out. They'll probably have outer perimeter guards posted."

Another alcove was discovered between them and the glow ahead as they wove through the various rocks and boulders. The entrance was similar to the one they'd recently vacated, one way in and out. Drayco suggested they leave Jack inside. Shyanne led the horse into the area and put some grain out for him. The alcove was about the same size as the stall shared with Bravaro back at the ravaged town they had left only yesterday.

"Stay here, Jack. We'll be back soon,” she whispered as she squeezed the big neck tight.

He ignored her completely and continued to eat the grain. She laughed softly at his single-mindedness.

Shyanne noticed some broken bushes that reminded her of tumbleweeds trapped in the alcove. The twins used them to block the way out before moving quietly toward the camp. They had gone about a mile when the silhouette of a guard was seen standing on top of a boulder. The man leaned against his sword, half-asleep. He was oblivious of the twins near him.

Drayco pointed to himself, then circled his arm in a wide pattern. Shyanne nodded her head in understanding. The dark man disappeared into the shadows. She was unable to trace any noise from his passage. The guard was still there, but he had assumed a sitting position instead of standing. She crouched low and started to move closer to the man, as well.

She was about twenty paces away when she heard a shout. It was close. Too close. She crouched lower into the shadows and noticed another man standing on the boulder directly behind her. Her heart raced; it felt like it was going to come out of her throat. She held her breath, hoping she hadn't been seen. When no alarms sounded, she relaxed and started to breathe again.

"Whatcha doin', Brent? Ya sleep'n at yer post again?"

"Naw, I'm just sittin'. I got tired and wanted to rest."

"Best not let Ruben sees ya doing that. He'll make sure ya never do it again.” The man moved away. He added before leaving, “I'll send someone to relieve ya in about two hours."

"I'll be here,” Brent grumbled softly so the departing man could not hear.

That's what you think,
Shyanne thought.

Brent rose to a standing position with a groan. After a few minutes, she heard the coo of a night bird off to the right and knew it was Drayco. Shyanne hesitated only a second before she untied the leather straps on her shirt to show some cleavage and boldly walked toward Brent, swaying her hips seductively. She knew this wasn't part of her brother's plan, but distraction was needed if he was to sneak up on this man unnoticed.

Brent straightened up and shouted, “You there. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I came to be with you, Brent.” Her voice had a soft, silky edge to it.

"Who sent you?” He looked around, no doubt trying to find the culprit of the practical joke. His attention returned almost immediately to the beautiful woman walking toward him.

"No one, Brent. I'm here because I like you, and I want to get to know you better."

"How come I ain't seen you before?"

"I've been here. Maybe you weren't looking.” She reached Brent and put her arms over his shoulders, pulling him close.

He couldn't believe this was happening. The beautiful women usually went for the good-looking muscular guys, not the ones who were too skinny and had missing teeth, like him. To have one want him this badly was too much to resist. Brent started to kiss her neck. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her butt. His sword lay on the ground, forgotten.

Shyanne saw her brother appear over the edge of the rock. He eased up behind Brent and tapped him several times on his back. The sentry jumped and glanced over his shoulder, thinking he was in trouble. Instead of Ruben standing there, he saw Drayco.

"Who are you?” he demanded.

Before Brent could recover from his surprise, Drayco threw an arm around his neck and covered his mouth to prevent him from yelling out a warning. Shyanne punched him in the stomach. The sentry collapsed in her brother's arms, gasping for a breath. Drayco continued to keep his hand over Brent's mouth as he lowered him to the ground. Shyanne squatted down in front of him, her face close to his, deadly intent thick in her tone when she spoke.

"We require some information, Brent, and you're going to give it to us. Understand?” Brent's eyes became as large as saucers; he nodded his head yes. “Now, we're going to get down from here and talk. If you make one false move, my brother here will break your neck. Got it?” Again, Brent nodded his head yes.

The trio slid from the top of the rock to the ground below. Drayco kept a firm grip on the man during the move to prevent him from escaping or shouting out.

They walked a short distance from the watch post and hid behind a group of rocks varying in size from as small as a box to as big as a two story building. Drayco removed the hand covering Brent's mouth and forced the prisoner into a sitting position. The dark man crouched behind him, gripping the thin upper arms tight.

"Don't make a sound unless it's to answer a question,” Drayco warned.

Shyanne faced Brent and asked, “Have you heard about a man traveling with a big cat in this area?"

"Please don't hurt me. I haven't done anything to you,” Brent pleaded. “I won't tell the others. I'll just turn my back and pretend I never saw you."

"Shut up, you wimp of a man.” Drayco squeezed the thin arms hard enough to cause the skin over the bones to shift beneath his grip.

Brent yelped then shut his mouth tight in remembrance of the warning given earlier. He wanted to alert the others about these intruders, but also wanted to save his own hide.

Shyanne brought his attention back by grabbing his chin with her hand. She leaned very close and asked again, “Have you heard of a man traveling in the company of a big cat? I will not repeat myself."

Her soft blue eyes seemed to be made of ice as she glared into his. Brent gulped hard, causing his protruding Adam's apple to go up and down. He carefully nodded his head yes.

Shyanne's heart skipped a beat. She kept her facial expression blank, though, not wanting either man to see her reaction. Drayco saw the flash in her eyes and remained silent. He was pretty sure he knew the reason for it.

"Have either of them been hurt?"

Again, Brent nodded his head yes.

"Are they dead?” The question made her heart ache, but she knew she had to ask it.

He shook his head no. He tried to say something. Shyanne's grip on his chin muffled the words. She let go and sat back.

"We caught the pair sneaking up on the camp. They gave us a humdinger of a fight, and that cat killed five of our people before we were able to put an arrow into it.” Shyanne tensed with his last statement.

"The man swung his sword around screaming like a banshee the whole time. Kept yell'n somethin about killin’ his family and friends and what not. We hit him on the back of the head after we got a lucky break. The only reason they didn't get killed right away was because of Ruben. He said the cat looked a lot like the one traveling with the girl we're look'n for."

Shyanne inhaled sharply. Drayco shot her a stern look. She recovered her composure quickly, but not before Brent noticed it.

"Who is this Ruben fellow, and why does he want the girl?” Drayco asked.

This must be the girl Ruben's after,
Brent thought. Aloud he said, “He's our leader. He brought us together and showed us how to do the kind of jobs no one else wanted, and to make us lots of money."

"What kind of jobs?"

Brent smiled wickedly. “Why ... hunting and killing, of course."