Her Knight's Quest: A Warriors of the Mist Novel (26 page)

Time dragged on. They’d left the abbey only a short time ago, but the distance traveled was far greater than the length of trail they’d walked. No matter what happened next, her heart told her that her life behind cloistered walls had come to an end. The horses stirred restlessly, no doubt as anxious as she was to be moving. Being caught here on the hillside, neither up nor down, was unsettling.

One of the shadows down the trail moved. Her breath caught in her throat until she recognized Duncan leading a horse behind him. He quickly stripped the saddle and bridle off the horse and dumped them behind a thick clump of brush. When Duncan was finished, he slapped the animal on the rump, but the horse stubbornly stayed right where it was.

“Fine. Stay or go. It matters not to me.”

She hid a smile at the disgust in Duncan’s voice as he started the march on down the hillside, picking up the pace as he led his own horse and Sarra’s past the animal. Lavinia passed by next, trying not to laugh when the big gray fell in behind the packhorse.

Maybe the animal had the right of it. He’d lost his own herd, so welcome or not, he joined their small band. Wasn’t that what both she and Sarra had done when they came to live with the sisters after losing their real families?

Now that family was gone, too, at least for now. She studied Duncan’s broad shoulders as he led the way down the trail and realized that she didn’t feel abandoned this time. Yes, her life was changing yet again, and the future was unpredictable.

But for right now, Duncan was with her, and that was enough. As long as he stood beside her, she could face whatever tomorrow would bring. At that reassuring thought, she trudged on down the hillside, cocooned in the shadows and chill of the night air.

Chapter 27

S
igil swung down off his weary mount’s back, glad to be done riding for the day. Murdoch had been driving both men and beasts hard for two days, stopping only to rest the horses. There wasn’t a single part of Sigil that didn’t hurt, but soldiers didn’t complain about such things.

Well, actually they did, but right now he was too tired to bother. He unsaddled his horse and then walked the exhausted animal until it cooled down. Afterward, they both drank their fill of cool, clear water from a small stream.

Murdoch had ridden on ahead to scout the trail for a short distance, but Sigil expected him back soon. Neither of them would stay awake much later than sundown, so he gathered up an armload of dried wood to start a fire.

They’d been surviving on cold rations ever since leaving the keep behind, but earlier Shadow had brought down a small deer and offered it to Murdoch. To keep up this pace and still have strength left to fight, they needed something more substantial than dried fruit and a few bites of cheese.

Sigil had never expected to be grateful to a mountain cat. But then, nothing had been normal since he’d awakened in Lady Merewen’s keep with no memory of his past and an uncertain future.

The first tendrils of smoke were snaking skyward when Murdoch finally reappeared, looking as tired as Sigil felt. He didn’t bother trying to strike up a conversation, concentrating instead on feeding more kindling to the fire and slowly coaxing the flames to life.

About the time he had the deer on a makeshift spit and was turning it, Murdoch dropped down a log on the other side of the fire.

“See anything?”

The big man shook his head. “No sign of anyone in the area. No fresh tracks on the trail in either direction.”

“I guess that’s good.”

A movement in the brush behind Murdoch had Sigil reaching for his weapon. Before he could draw it, Shadow stepped out of the bushes. It wasn’t the first time she’d managed to startle him. She stared across at him, her mouth open in a cat grin that flaunted her fangs.

“Cursed animal!”

Her owner chuckled and gave her a good scratching under her chin. “Be nice. She’s the reason we can both sleep tonight instead of standing guard.”

That much was true, but it didn’t mean Sigil trusted the beast. “Who’s going to protect us from her?”

But even as he spoke, he tossed Shadow a large piece of raw meat he’d held back for her. After all, a hunter deserved to be rewarded for her labors. Shadow picked up her dinner with great delicacy and disappeared back into the bushes.

He’d also put tea on to steep. After handing a cup to Murdoch, he poured one for himself. The liquid was hot enough to scald, but it cleared the trail dust from his throat.

“How much farther, do you think?”

Murdoch sat staring into the fire, his big hands wrapped around his mug. “Less than another day if the map was accurate.”

He glanced over his shoulder in the direction Shadow had taken before murmuring, “It’s at times like these that it would be nice to have one of the birds for my avatar. There’s an advantage to being able to see through their eyes when you need to scout an area.”

For the first time all day, Sigil laughed. “Are you afraid of hurting that cat’s feelings?”

Murdoch looked embarrassed. “Not afraid exactly. But considering she provided dinner for us, I didn’t want to sound ungrateful. Besides, we’ll need her if we run into the duke’s men out here.”

There was that. Sigil shoved another few pieces of wood into the fire and turned the meat. When he looked up, Murdoch was watching him.

“What?”

“Does any of this area look familiar to you?”

“I wish it did, but it’s all strange to me.”

He rocked back on his heels to stare at the dark outlines of the surrounding hills. “You’d think I would recognize something if I served in this area.”

“So nothing is coming back to you?”

“Not yet.” Sigil hated the note of pity in Murdoch’s voice. He picked up a rock and threw it as far as he could.

“How can I know some things and not others? I know I’m a soldier and how to defend myself. I can do everyday things like riding a horse or cooking dinner over an open fire. But no matter how hard I try to remember, there’s still a gaping hole in my mind where
I
used to be. Everything there is simply gone as if it had been cut out with a knife.”

“Mayhap you are trying too hard or—” Murdoch hesitated briefly as if searching for the right words. “Or maybe you don’t want to remember.”

Enough was enough. Sigil surged to his feet, glaring down at his companion. “That’s not true! By the gods, do you think I fear facing judgment at the hands of your captain? That I’m a coward?”

Murdoch remained seated, his pale eyes glittering up at Sigil. “I may not know your real name, Sigil, or what drove you to serve a bastard like Duke Keirthan, but you are no coward. If I had to guess, I think your former master did something to your mind. From what Lady Alina and Lady Merewen remember of that night, there was a flash like lightning when the sword penetrated that talisman you wore. Something like that would be enough to jangle anyone’s memories.”

His calm assessment soothed Sigil’s temper. “Perhaps you are right. Let’s eat and get some sleep. According to the map, we’re close to the main road to the capital city. If so, we could encounter one of the duke’s patrols at any time now.”

He carved up the meat and passed Murdoch his share. Shadow slipped back into camp, watching every move Sigil made. Finally, he broke off a chunk of his own dinner and tossed it to the cat. It wasn’t that he liked her any better, but as Murdoch said, she was standing guard so they could sleep.

As he carried the food scraps some distance from their camp, a cloud drifted in front of the moon overhead, leaving him in total darkness. How appropriate.

He listened to the night: the whisper of the breeze, the scurry of small feet in the underbrush, and the call of a hawk. All normal, but there was something else out there.

Something that made his skin crawl, an itch that was almost familiar to him. A memory dancing back out of reach. Something to do with pain and death and power.

He knew that much to be true. The cloud moved on, and once again the world was bathed in the cold light of the moon. A shiver ran right up his spine, as if pure evil had cast its eye in his direction as it hunted for its prey.

If Murdoch’s friend was out there somewhere, he was in grave danger, the kind that one man wouldn’t stand a chance against. He would need help, maybe more than two men and a mountain cat could provide, but they were the only hope he had. If they didn’t reach Duncan soon, he feared Murdoch would lose one of his own.

Sigil took off running back toward camp, yelling Murdoch’s name. So much for a night’s sleep.

*  *  *

Duncan hated to push his two charges so hard, but his instincts had been screaming at him all night and well into the day that it was imperative they keep going. Kiva had returned with a terse note from Gideon that he was sending Murdoch to meet them. Until then, the three of them were on their own.

Duncan slowed his horse to let Lavinia catch up. From the way she sat slumped in the saddle, a good breeze would knock her off her horse’s back. He’d been riding with Sarra asleep in his arms for the past two hours or more.

“We’ll stop when we reach the edge of those trees up ahead. If I remember correctly, there’s a stream and good grazing for the horses.”

Lavinia sat up straighter and looked around. “Good. I’m not worried about myself, but you have to be exhausted, too. It can’t be easy riding with her like that.”

No, it wasn’t, and he’d worried about what would happen if they did run into trouble with him encumbered with the sleeping child. He said the only thing he could.

“It’s not much farther.”

But he felt every step the horse took, aching from the lack of sleep and hours upon hours of maintaining a constant vigil while his two charges dozed in the saddle.

Even when they did reach the campsite, his day wouldn’t be over. There was wood to gather, a fire to start, a meal to prepare. The list was endless. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this exhausted. Even though the Damned frequently fought long and hard, it usually didn’t leave him in such bad shape.

“Duncan!”

The exasperated note in Lavinia’s voice jerked him out of his reverie. “What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t you mean to stop at the water’s edge?”

He looked behind him to find he’d ridden straight through the stream and kept right on going. Cursing himself for a fool, he wheeled his horse back around. Mistakes like that could get all of them killed.

“I’m sorry.”

“No apologies necessary,” Lavinia said as she dismounted. “I’m surprised either one of us is able to think at all. Let me fix a place for Sarra to sleep, and then I’ll take her from you.”

When she had the bedroll spread out, she held up her arms to take Sarra. The little girl barely stirred as Lavinia gently lowered her to the ground and tugged a blanket up over her.

Duncan hoped his legs would support him as he swung down out of the saddle. He’d lost feeling in them hours ago. “Loosen the cinches, but don’t unsaddle the horses.”

Lavinia didn’t ask why, but her worried look made it clear that she understood. They both knew Keirthan wouldn’t have taken another defeat without planning an immediate retaliation. He could only hope that Josup had gotten the other sisters away from the abbey without mishap.

“After I rest for a few minutes, I could try scrying if you think it would help.”

It was tempting. He planned to send Kiva out scouting, but the owl could cover only so much territory. Duncan also needed the bird to watch over them while they slept.

“Let’s wait until after we eat before deciding. I’ll gather wood and draw water while you lay out the food. We can have a fire, but keep it small. Enough to heat water and our dinner. After that, we’ll need to douse it.”

Their safety depended on not drawing any unnecessary attention to themselves. The three of them would eat, sleep a little, and then leave once the moon was high enough to light the trail for them.

He headed into the woods to look for deadfall limbs. As he walked, he prayed to the goddess that he would be able to get Sarra and Lavinia to safety. Death was stalking them. He knew it in his warrior’s soul.

After gathering an armload of wood, he returned to their campsite. Lavinia had been busy, too. Two more bedrolls were spread out on the ground, one on each side of Sarra’s. He understood why, but he couldn’t help but wish that he could hold Lavinia in his arms while they slept.

She looked up just as he stepped out of the trees. “If you’ll set the wood down here, I’ll get the fire started.”

She’d already gathered some small twigs and dried grass into a pile. But rather than using a flint to spark a flame, she held her hands palm down over the kindling. As soon as she started murmuring under her breath, a small whiff of smoke rose slowly in the air. When she repeated the same words again, louder this time, flames appeared. She continued chanting as she began feeding larger pieces of wood to the flames. In half the time it would’ve taken him, she had the fire blazing. She smiled as she set two pots near the flames to heat. For the moment, there was nothing more to be done.

“I watered the horses, including your friend there.”

He shot the stray horse a disgusted look. “I can’t believe he is still tagging along with us.”

Lavinia laughed. “I think he likes you.”

Duncan didn’t want to honor that remark with a response, but he couldn’t resist Lavinia when she was in a teasing mood. “Then he’ll have to earn his keep. No more light duty. I’ll put your saddle on him before we leave.”

“Why not ride him yourself?”

“Because he and Sarra’s mount haven’t been ridden as hard as my horse or yours. I want you both on the freshest mounts we have if we come under attack. If that happens, you take Sarra and run fast and hard. Don’t look back.”

“But what about you? Won’t you be with us?”

He changed the subject rather than answer. “The food should be hot by now. Why don’t you wake Sarra while I serve us? The sooner we eat, the sooner we can all get some sleep.”

The darkness that settled over them as they ate had little to do with the sun going down.

*  *  *

“Duncan, wake up. It’s Sarra.”

He opened his eyes to find Lavinia hovering over him, her pretty face stark with worry.

“What about her?”

Then he realized the little girl’s bed was empty. He jerked upright and looked around their camp.

“Where did she go?”

Lavinia pointed over toward where he’d picketed the horses. Sarra was standing nose to nose with the dappled gray. What was going on? Duncan left his bedroll behind and slowly made his way toward the horses, trying not to spook them. One wrong step was all it would take for Sarra to get seriously hurt.

As he drew closer, he could hear her talking. Actually, not her, but that same adult voice she used when speaking her prophecies. He paused to listen.