Elf Sight (8 page)

Shadow moved away, Gwyn following. When she stood in the middle of the clearing she slowly turned and looked for the glow of magic. Nothing. She faced Gwyn. He was a bulky man with sandy brown hair, a scruffy beard and pale blue eyes. He carried no sword, only his crossbow and a dagger at his waist.

“It’s all clear,” Shadow said.

“We’d better tell the Captain,” Gwyn said gruffly.

Shadow nodded and looked around for Carson. She found him near the tunnel exit. When she reached his side, he turned to see who it was.

“Well?” Carson asked.

“All clear.”

Carson nodded and turned back to the tunnel exit. It was blocked. He looked at the boulders thoughtfully.

“If we stick around and clear the pass they’ll notice the men are missing,” Clem said.

Carson nodded, still staring at the boulders.

“We’ll make camp in the foothills and wait for you,” one of the soldiers called from behind the boulders.

“Come on, Captain, we can’t stick around here forever,” Clem argued.

“He’s right, Captain,” Gwyn said. “We’ll find another way out on the way back. We don’t have time now.”

“But there’s only seven of us,” Shadow exclaimed.

Carson looked over at her. “Can you move these boulders?” Shadow shook her head. “Then we have to leave them there.” He spoke louder. “If we don’t meet up with you in four weeks, make your way to the castle and let them know.”

“Yes, Captain,” came a chorus of voices.

Carson turned away. “Let’s move!”

“What about food?” Perrun asked.

“Keep an eye out for game. The man that makes the kill gets the biggest portion,” Carson promised.

“Great. Now I’m going to starve,” Shadow muttered.

Carson grinned at her when the soldiers had gone on ahead of them. “I didn’t mention anything about what portion is due a woman.”

“Hush.” Shadow glanced over at the soldiers who had reached their horses. “I thought you didn’t want them to know.”

Carson’s grin widened in answer as he picked up his pace and caught up with his men.

Once mounted, they rode through the forest, the snow becoming thicker the further they went. Between the men they caught three hares that were on the thin side, and when they finally stopped for the night, Wardell was sent grumbling for firewood.

Shadow cleaned the hares while the rest of the men set up camp. With no packhorse, they only had what they carried on their horses. Saddlebags with some food and personal gear and their bedding rolled up and tied behind their saddle.

After the hares had been cooked and shared out, Shadow inched closer to the fire. Now the sun had gone, the clothes she wore weren’t warm enough, even with the thicker tunic she’d brought with her.

“Here.”

Shadow looked up from the bone she gnawed on to find Carson standing beside her holding out a cloak. She frowned.

“Can’t have you freezing to death on us. No one else can see through magic.” Carson dropped the cloak around her shoulders.

“Thank you.” The heavy woollen cloak enveloped her and she touched the soft material with her clean hand. The material was unlike any she had ever felt before. Never had she worn such a fine garment. It seemed more expensive than what a simple army captain could afford. Shadow looked up to ask Carson about it, but he’d already walked away. She remembered her and Irlan’s earlier suspicions about Carson, but they didn’t seem right. There was something he was hiding and she wished she could figure it out.

Shadow turned back to her food, but looked up when she felt eyes on her. Wardell glared at her. Shadow hurriedly lowered her eyes. She wished anyone other than Wardell had come through the pass. He had never been friendly to her and Irlan, ever since he’d been reprimanded for not bringing them to the general. Her dinner finished, Shadow threw the bone into the fire and moved away to wipe her hands clean in the snow. Rubbing her chilled hands against her clothes, she buried them in the cloak as she pulled it close. About to go back to the fire, she noticed Carson.

No one stood with the same proud stance. He looked out among the trees, his back to Shadow and the fire. Shadow moved towards him and she saw him tense and then relax.

“Go back to the fire, Shadow.” Carson didn’t even turn around.

“How did you know it was me?” Shadow stood beside him.

“Your walk.”

“My walk?”

“The rhythm and lightness of your step.” Carson looked down at her.

Shadow couldn’t make out his features in the darkness, but she was certain he was grinning at her. “Why are you a captain?” she asked abruptly.

Carson turned away again. “Are you trying to insinuate something?”

“What do you mean?” Shadow asked.

“I didn’t inherit the position or buy it,” Carson said.

“I didn’t say you did.”

“Then what did you mean?”

Shadow sighed. “Exactly what I asked. How did you come to be a captain when you’re so young? Did you save the King or something?”

Carson chuckled softly. “Or something.”

“Can’t you answer a simple question?” Shadow asked in frustration.

“All right. I’ve been a part of the army since I was five.”

“Five! That’s terrible.”

“Not really, and I didn’t say that was all to my life. It was only a part of it. Until I was fifteen. Then it was most of my life.”

“Didn’t your family want you?” Shadow asked. At Carson’s chuckle, Shadow grumbled, “That was a serious question.”

“I know. And yes, my family do want me. I see a great deal of them. It was my choice. Let’s just say I’m a second son and the eldest inherits nearly everything. I chose to find my own path, to make my own way.”

“Why can’t you inherit anything?”

“I won’t be left with nothing. The bulk of the estate goes to the eldest. I’ve known it since birth. It’s the way it is.”

“It seems unfair,” Shadow said.

“It’s always been that way in our family. There’s a good reason for it.”

“What?”

“That’s a story far too complicated for a freezing cold night like this,” Carson said lightly.

“It’s not like there’s anything else to do.”

“You’re a plucky thing. You’ve surprised me. Most of the women I know would be in tears long before now,” Carson said.

“I’m not much for tears. They don’t help.”

Carson chuckled.

“Do you think they’re fine?” Shadow asked wistfully, thinking of Irlan.

“Your brother?”

“All of them. The General, the soldiers, my brother.”

“I don’t know, Shadow. I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Carson said.

Silence fell. “What are we looking for?”

More silence.

“Does anyone other than you know what we’re looking for?” Shadow looked up at Carson and wished there was more light so she could see him better.

“The General.”

“Well, that doesn’t help. What happens if you get taken too? Or killed? Who else will be able to lead?”

“A man.” Carson bent towards her so his mouth was near her ear.

“What?”

“Shh. We’re going after a man.”

“What man?” Shadow lowered her voice. She wanted to step closer to Carson, but held herself still.

“The prince.”

“The what?” Shadow shrieked as she pulled back to look at Carson. She still couldn’t see his expression in the dark. She opened her mouth again but felt Carson clamp his hand over it, his other pressed against her back so she couldn’t move away.

“Quiet!” He hissed in her ear. “Are you going to be quiet now?”

Shadow nodded. The hand remained on her mouth and she wondered if she could bite his hand to make him remove it. Before she could make the attempt, it fell away from her mouth, but the other hand stayed against her back, warmth seeping into her.

“No one’s to know. The King’s frantic. He’s been given three months to sign away his kingdom in exchange for his first born. We’re running out of time. The King can’t give in and he knows this,” Carson said.

“He’s going to let his son die?” Shadow demanded.

“Yes. Why do you think we’re trying to get him back? He sent out four companies to find him.”

“He sent you?” Shadow asked.

“Not exactly. I volunteered.”

“Why?”

“This is the sort of thing that turns Captains into Generals.” Carson let her go.

Shadow frowned. She was beginning to know Carson. His tone of voice. The way he could reply to a question without really answering it. “What’s the real reason?”

Carson stood quietly beside her. “He’s been a brother to me.”

“I can understand that reasoning.”

“I know.” Carson dropped his arm across her shoulder. “We’ll do our best to find your brother too.”

They stood there in silence until the next soldier came to take over guard duty. Shadow reluctantly returned to camp, wishing she could have stood there all night with Carson’s arm around her shoulders, the warmth of him sinking into her as their breath frosted the air in front of them. She’d even ignored the urge to ask for another training lesson so she could remain at his side longer. It was too cold to train, anyway.

“Time to rise,” Carson called out early the next morning.

Shadow poked her nose out of her bedding and quickly hid back under the covers. She shivered. It was barely light and flakes of snow had started to fall.

“You too.” Carson gave Shadow a nudge with his boot.

Shadow groaned and quickly hopped out of her blankets before she changed her mind. She shook her boots then pulled them on, tugged the cloak close and rolled up her bedding. That done she looked around for Carson, urgently needing to relive herself.

He was talking to Perrun, but when he saw her coming towards him, he moved away from Perrun with a last word and glanced towards the trees. At a nod from Shadow, he headed for them, Shadow close behind. Once she’d finished and began to head back to the camp, Carson took hold of her arm to halt her.

“What?” Shadow looked up into his serious expression. She hoped he wasn’t going to tell her she needed to continue with her exercises. It was freezing.

Carson reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a bundle of material. He placed it in Shadow’s hands. “Open it.”

Shadow looked at him curiously for a minute. There were snowflakes in his black hair and his brown eyes held her gaze when she looked into them. He smiled slightly and glanced at her hands. Shadow dropped her gaze and unwrapped the bundle. It was a painting of a man. It was about three inches wide and six inches tall. The man was standing sideways, his black hair tied at the nape of his neck resting on his blue tunic, which looked like velvet. His eyes were brown, his nose was straight, his lips only a shade off being too thin and his jaw square. Shadow frowned at the image, trying to figure out why he seemed familiar. “Who is it?”

“The one we talked of last night,” Carson said.

“Oh.”

Carson took the painting from her and wrapped it up again, slipping it into his belt pouch. “If I don’t make it, the task is yours.”

Shadow held up her hands and stepped from him. “Oh no!” She shook her head. “I can’t be responsible for that. I’m a tavern keeper’s daughter.”

“No, you’re the daughter of Gil Morgan, one of the most heroic men in the country.”

“Our country must be in pretty bad shape then,” Shadow muttered.

Carson smiled. “He endured a lot. Now don’t change the subject. You will rescue the prince if something happens to me.”

“I can’t.”

Carson grabbed a hold of her hands to stop her from retreating. “You have to.”

“Why me?” Shadow asked in a small voice.

“Because you’ll go after your brother. They’re in the same fortress.”

Shadow looked worried. “What if I can’t do it?” What she really wanted to ask was what if she couldn’t go on alone? What if she couldn’t go on without him? The thought of something happening to him made fear race through her.

Carson pulled her close and stared down at her. “You’re the one who stands the greatest chance of getting them out.”

“Why?” Shadow asked softly.

“Because you have elf sight. The rest of us have about as much chance as a deer in an open paddock with a hundred hunters surrounding it.”

“I’m scared.”

Carson wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. He pushed her head against his chest and she heard his voice rumble from inside him as he spoke. “We’ll look out for you as long as possible. If we’re no longer there, you’ll manage. You have plenty of courage, and you’re tenacious.”

“Even though I’m a woman who doesn’t belong in the army?” Shadow couldn’t help asking.

With a chuckle, he pulled back to look down at her. “You might make a soldier yet.”

“I don’t want to be a soldier. I want to get my brother back and find somewhere quiet where I can live my own life,” Shadow protested half-heartedly. The words sounded false even to her. How could she return to a quiet life after all she’d seen? Would it bore her senseless?

“Really?” Carson ran his fingers along her cheekbone. “I saw you yesterday when you got over your initial shock. I actually think this life is starting to suit you.”

Shadow stared up at him, her lips slightly parted. She was torn between denying his words and rising onto her toes to press her lips against his, but she couldn’t find the words for the first or the courage for the second. Instead she shook her head.

Carson’s fingers trailed to her chin and tilted her head up slightly. His thumb ran across her lips, warm in the chill air. “You came alive. I watched you.”

She felt alive now and wished she had the courage to do something about it. She rose slightly onto her toes.

Carson smiled down at her and pulled away. He steadied her with a hand, then let his arms fall to his side. “Come. We’d better start moving.” He turned away.

Shadow felt cold and rejected. She glared at his back. If he wasn’t interested, he shouldn’t have stared at her like that. Or caressed her face. She watched him move away.

Carson glanced over his shoulder. “Come.”

Grumbling, Shadow followed Carson back to camp and found Roper waiting with her horse saddled and ready to go. Shadow glanced around the camp and saw all the soldiers waited for them. Embarrassment flared.

“The area’s clear,” Carson said. “Mount up. If you want anything to eat today you’d better look for game.”

Relieved by Carson’s comment, Shadow swung herself onto her horse. She fell in line behind him and quickly looked around to make sure his comment of the area being all clear was correct.

By midday, Shadow’s stomach felt like it was plastered against her spine. It had long since stopped grumbling. All she had was melted snow to drink out of her leather canteen. Taking another swallow of water, she hung it back on her saddle and looked around again. Smiling, she moved her horse forward to come alongside Carson, all the time readying her crossbow.

Carson turned towards her, his hand going towards his own crossbow. He stopped as Shadow shook her head and took the crossbow she handed him.

“Food.” Shadow pointed to a deer ahead and to the right.

Carson held up a hand to halt as he brought his horse to a stop. He quickly aimed and shot at the deer. While he was doing this, Shadow had readied his crossbow. The deer staggered and leapt forward. Shadow took her crossbow from Carson and handed him his own. He urged his horse forward.

“Follow!” Carson called.

All the men had their own crossbows ready and raced after the deer. They were hungry since the bit of dried food in their saddlebags was being saved for that night in case they didn’t catch anything.

The deer was slowing and the soldiers gained on it. Roper shot at it, but missed. All of a sudden, the deer veered to the right and started to come back towards them.