Escana (13 page)

The
man set his pole down on the bank of the river and cautiously
ventured in-land, crouching low with what in any other situation
would have seemed like an absurd approximation of stealth.

Jakob
made his way to the edge of the clearing, he knew it was a matter of
time before the man discovered the body and he intended to be in the
right position when he did.

His
heart in his mouth, he stepped out into the open and began creeping
toward him. The stranger seemed completely unaware of his impending
doom.

He
matched the man's heavy breathing, masking his own and using the
loudness of it to hide all sounds of his approach.

His
target let out a wail, he'd finally spotted the body. Jakob cursed
inwardly for not dumping the limbs into the hole as soon as he had
cut them off. Everything lay out there for all to see should they
come across it and there was nothing he could do about it. Except
kill this innocent.

He
was almost within striking distance as he raised the blade and tried
not to think about what he was doing.

Something
was wrong. There was no voice or any positive feeling whatsoever
about this action. He wasn't following any instruction or impulse
beyond the entirely selfless need to save himself. This wasn't part
of the greater scheme of things, he wasn't meant to kill this man.

Hesitating,
he let out the slightest of breaths. The man spun round in shock and
saw his death staring back at him.

Jakob
drove the knife down.

T
he
waterfall pounded in her ears, leaving her feeling strangely
light-headed. She was too tired to cope with this now, too tired to
talk to Jakob about it. Assuming he ever came back.

A
faint urge tugged at her as she watched it tumble down, as if the
tumult was beckoning her to join it. She was truly alone now. Her
thoughts floated down the cliff to ward off a chill that seemed
indelibly etched. She couldn't tell if it was her mind wandering or
the blood loss causing it, nor did she care.

Solomon
had been her father's right hand man in all matters, worming his way
into every aspect of their lives like a second son. She had to give
him his dues, he hoodwinked everyone with his false ethic and
ingratiating charisma. That didn't change the transformation she
witnessed when they were alone.

She
grimaced inwardly at the thought of having to deal with Solomon's
disappearance, of whether she would have to conjure up sufficient
grief so as to be left in peace. Or would that come of its own accord
in the aftermath? She somehow doubted she'd ever be able to go back
now, not after his death. Not that there was much left to go back to,
her father was well-meaning but hopelessly distant and swift to
anger. Long had she pondered it in the dark hours, of escape with
Solomon and a life free of his presence, yet now that it had been
delivered to her there was no relief.

She
didn't know how long had passed when she finally heard footsteps
approach. Jakob came into the light, his arms caked in mud and his
face speaking of pain he was trying to keep hidden. He kept it locked
down for the time being to his credit, if poorly concealed.

'No
one must know you were here. You need to forget everything about me,'
he said, staring intently at her.

'I
can't just leave you like this.' She didn't need this conversation
right now.

He
stopped mid-step, pausing as if he was trying to comprehend her
words, figure a response. 'You have to, someone discovered the
remains as I was returning. I'm not killing anyone else. You need to
leave, it's the only way you'll be safe.' As if by example, he left
her on that.

She
scrambled after him but he was fast. Her whole world was spiralling
out of control and something inside her knew she couldn't let him get
away.

As
soon as he rounded the corner and felt he was out of her sight, he
had broken into a sprint. She limped after him as best she could and
caught sight of him scrambling down the cliff face toward the fall.
She followed him then as a precaution but knew that his mind was
elsewhere. He leapt straight through the water and vanished from
sight. She shook her head, was this all a dream? Would she wake to
Solomon's form sprawled out beside her? No, something about the
sickening feeling in her gut assured her this was reality.

She
made her way at a painstaking clamber to the very tip of the cliff,
her weary legs seeming to take an eternity and eventually allowing
her to lean out dangerously far to see where he had gone. Her
attempts were to no avail, he had vanished into the spray beyond her
sight.

She
heard a faint sound from behind the roar of the fall, he had dove
through the watery curtain and somehow he was gasping for breath on
the other side. She took the risk and pushed her head through it.
There was a deep pool within jumping distance of the cliff, somehow
she would have to emulate Jakob and leap through the curtain and land
in it. She watched him recover himself and look for the first
handhold to start scaling the cliff face. It looked like a very
painful climb towards what appeared to be the lip of a cave. He
hauled himself over it and staggered out of sight, completely
oblivious to her observation.

Ella
stared intently at the back of his head as he slept but couldn't find
any rest herself. It had been an exhausting climb to trace his steps
into the cave yet she had managed it at her own agonisingly slow
pace. She had lost all track of time and thought in this small
section of the cave she had uncovered. His breathing was irregular, a
series of short, sharp breaths occasionally giving way to the longer
and more measured ones of a deep sleep. She lay poised for his
reaction upon waking but it appeared that he would sleep through most
of the night. She felt him take another deep breath and turn to face
her in an almost nonchalant manner. She had been wrong, he was waking
this time.

'Why
are you here?' he murmured, a smile touching his lips as his
consciousness gradually returned. Ella looked at him blankly, she
wasn't expecting this. 'I couldn't leave you like that, so I followed
you.'

Jakob's
brows furrowed at that.

'That's
not what you usually say.' He put his arm around her, 'You're meant
to... oh shit!' His arm shot back as if it had touched hot coals and
he scrambled off the cold floor.

'Jakob?'
She peered up at him, he stood shaking his head, looking stricken
with guilt and confusion.

'I
thought you were someone else. What are you doing here?' he finally
responded.

Ella
raised herself painfully onto her elbows. 'I told you, I couldn't
leave you, not after what you've done for me.'

She
hoped against hope that he would buy that.

He
crouched back down into a sitting position, cradling his head in his
hands.

He
retched then, as if the import of what had happened had finally
reached him. 'God...'

On
impulse she edged toward him and sat beside him, placing her arms
around his shaking shoulders. She saw where this was going now,
somehow as if in response to that the words came to her.

'Jakob
he was going to kill me, I told you, you did the right thing. Even if
you think nobody else will believe you. Or me for that matter.' She
gently squeezed his shoulder, looking to reassure him somehow.

'Don't touch me,' he gasped. To
his apparent relief, she removed her arm. 'I need some space, just
give me some space.'

She
watched him steadily gain mastery over himself for a time, then felt
herself drifting away again.

'Ella?

She
looked back at him, as if seeing him for the first time. His red eyes
were still there but the barriers had returned.

'I
asked you what you're going to do now,' he repeated.

'I
don't know. Sorry,' she said, responding on impulse.

'Well
you can't really go back now, I just took a look outside and it's
nearing dawn. If he goes missing and you come back without him
they're going to suspect you.'

She
hadn't realised that he had left the cave at all. Her faculties
returned and the options were frightening. She shook the remnants of
detachment from her mind. She needed to stay focused, this was her
only chance.

'What
are you going to do?' she asked.

Jakob
shrugged. 'I have to leave, I don't know where, but I have to go.'

'I'm
coming with you,' she said immediately, seeing the same faint hint of
the fear she had witnessed last night when she had found him.

'I
can't let you do that,' he said, struggling to maintain his
composure.

Ella
shrugged. 'You saved my life, the least I can do is try and save
yours in return.'

'I
don't understand.'

She
adjusted the shirt she had stolen off him to cover the makeshift
bandages he was staring at, now it was time to explain what she had
been thinking about all night. 'People will assume that I've gone off
somewhere with Solomon for a while, and Jimmy told me that you
disappear for days at a time.'

She
saw him trying to interject at the mention of the innkeeper's son but
cut him off, she knew she had to be forceful here. 'You don't
understand, you don't have a say in this. I'm going to follow you and
if you slip away from me I'm going to keep wandering until I'm caught
and killed for confessing my crime of helping you murder Solomon for
me. Understand?'

Jakob
grabbed for her, she let out a measured hiss of pain and he guiltily
let go, seemingly forgetting what she'd just suffered. 'Why are you
trying to blackmail my conscience? Why are you doing this for me? Why
are you even here?'

Ella
smiled cheerlessly. 'You don't understand Jakob. The life I led back
there isn't worth returning to even if I could. I needed a way out
and you've given me one. It's not up to you whether I take it or
not.'

She
stiffly lowered herself down onto the floor again and turned her back
to him. The conversation was at an end. She had her way out now, for
what little it was worth.

H
e
spat on the gravel path in disgust. Fifteen days of sweet fuck all
didn't sit well with him no matter how nice the weather had been.

'What
in the blue hells are we doing out here?' he moaned again at Lucas.
He knew the leader of this merry fucking band was in a foul mood but
he couldn't help but complain.

Lucas
turned on him. 'Last time I looked I was the one giving orders here,
so we're out here cos I says we are.'

He
knew that was a weak excuse at best. 'We're out here because there's
profit in it, no other fucking reason.'

The
murmurs of agreement from the men behind Ruben bolstered his
confidence, he knew he wasn't alone in feeling this way. 'I don't see
no profit, do you Lucas?'

The
bandit leader shrugged. 'We're not enough men to take out one of the
armoured trade wagons, the folks on foot will show up eventually,
it's just been a dry spell is all.'

His
explanation didn't seem abate the continued grumblings behind him, he
knew time was running out and the men would go their own way should
he not deliver soon.

As
if on queue, the rain started pelting down out of nowhere, The six
men behind him groaned as one and sought cover in the trees to either
side of the path.

Ruben
hunkered down in the dead leaves and much to his chagrin discovered
that Lucas had joined him. He refused to acknowledge the man, there
was no point starting a fight in such close quarters, they could be
stuck here for the night if the rain didn't subside.

'I'm
getting very tired of you, boy,' Lucas finally said between gritted
teeth, once again asserting his seniority. 'I lead here, I call the
shots. If you don't like it you can piss off back to where we found
you. Don't even think of trying to cross me.'

Ruben
said nothing, the deadly serious tone of his 'leader' brooked no
argument and now was a terrible time to get into a confrontation,
even if it looked like there was no pay to be lost in doing so.

They
sat in tense silence then, both watching the rain strike the road to
while away the dull hours.

He
turned painfully toward Lucas after a time, rubbing the pins and
needles out of his calf. He shaped to say something but was silenced
by an upturned hand.

'Quiet,'
Lucas hissed, pointing at the road.

A
single set of light leather shoes walked across the path silently,
coming to a halt right beneath their gaze. Ruben stared at them and
held his breath, an odd feeling of trepidation rising in his gut.

Lucas
signalled furiously to the men on the opposite side of the road, then
stood and started clapping his hands. 'Well done you, figuring out
we'd camped on the side of the road in the pouring rain, which one of
this sorry lot gave it away?'