This brought even more laughs from the crowd.
Kai ignored the comments, he was too busy trying to get to his feet. After several unsuccessful attempts, Kai managed to get to his feet and finally found the bar countertop. Balancing himself with the countertop, Kai raised his other hand and pointed a finger at Britt. “I think you may have been correct, good sir. It is time to retire for the evening.” Kai turned, stumbling his way to the door of the pub.
“Good decision,” mumbled Britt as he watched Kai slowly zigzag his way towards the door. Every day was the same with Kai, he would wake up hung over and start looking for work, if no one in the village had a chore for him to do, he would head out into the forest. He would stay out there until he found some game to trade for food and drink. Then he would spend the rest of the day or night, depending on how long it took him to earn enough coin, getting drunk. Britt had not seen a stretch of more than a day where Kai had finished it by crawling back to his hut in the woods falling down drunk.
“Make sure you make it all the way back to your hovel tonight,” yelled out Tom Shepard, “If you pass out on the path again, I may just let my wagon run over you.”
“Ah, leave him be, Tom,” said Alder Tatum, the village blacksmith. “He is harmless, and, drunk or not, he is handy to have around.”
Another villager from the back of the bar agreed, “He is pretty handy, when is the last time anyone here had to go hunting? Just give Kai a few coppers for drinks and he out hunts anyone in the village.”
Tom stiffened his back. “He’s a damned drunk and a scoundrel, I don’t trust him.” Tom would say more, but Alder was the most respected man in the village, and to argue with him would serve no purpose.
Britt bit his tongue. He knew why Tom hated Kai. Tom was the only villager Kai wouldn’t ask for work. Tom owned the local stable and had a small ranch where he raised horses. Britt also knew the reason Kai wouldn’t work for Tom was the way Tom treated his animals. Tom broke horses rough and treated them rougher. Kai never intentionally mentioned his feelings about Tom to anyone, but once when Kai had been particularly drunk, Britt had asked him about it, and all Kai had snorted before falling asleep at his table was, “Damned brute anyways. A man who treats his animals like that is no one I’d work for.”
Britt felt sorry for Kai. The man was pleasant and harmless. Kai had stumbled into the town one day looking to go south, but his horse had come up lame and he had no money for another. He sold the horse to Tom and then went and got even drunker than he had been when he walked into town. When the money for the horse ran out, Kai started working for villagers. That had been seven years ago, Britt thought to himself. A seven-year drunk. Britt knew that Kai, for whatever reason, was drowning his pain away. An ex-soldier himself, Britt had seen many like Kai, warriors who couldn’t deal with their internal demons and turned to drinking to deal with the pain.
Everyone in town knew Kai as the village drunk, or as the village hunter when they were being kind. All thought he was harmless, but Britt knew better. Kai was a big strong man, and if his fighting was as good as his hunting, he was a fine warrior. A warrior masking his pain with drink, if Kai ever stopped drinking, whatever was eating at his soul might come to the surface and the bubbly, friendly, happy drunk would become something else. Britt would rather keep Kai drunk and happy then find out what he would be like sober and angry.
…
Kai stumbled his way through the dark. He could find his home in the forest easy enough, the old sod cabin had been built long before Kai had come to the small village. While hunting one day, Kai had found the rundown sod hut. Replacing the roof had taken some work, but when he was done, Kai had a nice, and cozy little place to stay. True to form, Tom had snidely called it a hovel, but the truth was, the sod cabin was always clean, and on the really cold winter nights, no one was as warm as Kai. The thick sod walls, kept the heat in and the cold out.
“And there she was, the sun, the stars, so bright and hot, silly, silly me….” mumbled Kai, half singing a tune as he stumbled home. Once he made it home, Kai stripped and fell into bed, another day gone, but the pain in his heart was still there. Maybe tomorrow it would be gone. Maybe tomorrow….
5
ON THE THIRD DAY AFTER Raven had snuck off into the night with Isabella, Queen Amelia was sitting in throne room tending to affairs when three travelers from the kingdom of Kosal arrived. The herald announced Prince Erik Ramsey. The man strode into the throne room with a wide arrogant smile.
Amelia swore under her breath. It was too damned soon! She’d hoped Raven would have a full week at the earliest to make her escape without pursuit.
“Queen Amelia, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” said Prince Erik.
“Hello, Prince Erik, I wish I could say the same. What brings you here? The harvest moons are weeks away,” said Queen Amelia, her tone cool and neutral despite the intense dislike she felt for the despicable prince.
“I thought it best that I come ahead of time and meet my new bride. I’m not particularly fond of the idea of waiting for the wedding night for introductions.”
“I’m afraid you’ve come a long way for nothing then, Prince Erik. Isabella isn’t here right now. I sent her to her cousin’s for a week. Isabella needs to spend time with her friends while she can.”
Prince Erik’s smiled disappeared. “With only a few weeks left before the wedding, it seems strange to be sending the bride away.”
“Prince Erik, an eleven-year-old child visiting her cousin is not strange. What is strange is that my husband allowed himself to be convinced to agree to this disgusting arrangement. If I can spare her from even one moment of your company by sending her away, then I’ve done her a great service.”
Prince Erik scowled, his face turned red in anger and embarrassment. “I’d heard rumors that you were quite the bitch, now get this through your thick female skull. King Byrne rules these lands now, not you. It’s his word that matters, and I have it under good authority he thinks very highly of this marriage. When your daughter and I are married, you need not concern yourself with her thoughts or of saving her from me. I’ll be sure to see that I take extra time with her to make up for any lost moments that you’ve caused. Now, if you’ll kindly direct me to her cousin’s home I shall be visiting my bride.”
Queen Amelia smiled, her cool icy stare locked on Prince Erik. “I will gladly direct you to her cousin’s house, she might still be there. Head south past the palace walls. Keep going until you reach a villa with a dark red roof.”
“Now was that so difficult?” said Prince Erik. “Now what do you mean by still there?”
“Oh, did I not mention that after visiting her cousin to say goodbye, I had her sent away. I’m afraid you’ll have to find a new bride. Isabella is going on a long journey and won’t be available for your wedding plans. Perhaps your father can buy you a new bride, maybe one of age this time.”
“This is outrageous! You will not get away with this, Queen Amelia,” said Prince Erik, his eyes darkening and his face turning red, before turning and storming out of the throne room.
Queen Amelia sighed as she watched Prince Erik leaving. It had not been wise to provoke the snake, but he was such a pompous ass. She could only hope that Raven and Eron were making good time and taking Isabella far away. Once they made it to Droll, Isabella would be beyond the reach of Erik, but there was a long distance to travel before they’d arrive. It was now a race to get Isabella to safety. Queen Amelia prayed to the gods that they made it.
6
“WHY IS IT CALLED THE VALLEY OF TEARS?” asked Isabella as she rode beside Raven.
Raven smiled, she enjoyed answering Isabella’s questions. An inquisitive mind was a good thing for a future queen. The Valley of Tears, the topic of Isabella’s query, was a narrow long valley between mountain ranges that effectively split the Isle of Seron into three sections, the northwestern lands of Kosal, the kingdom of Prozia which encompassed the middle and north eastern lands, a
nd then beyond the Valley of Tears, Southern Seron. “Years ago, the powerful kingdom of Mara had once tried to take the north. The armies of Kosal and Prozia combined and met their southern foe in the Valley of Tears. There, in that sorrowful valley, a great battle was fought, with thousands of lives lost on both sides. The legend was, that the King of Mara was so saddened by the lost lives that he shed tears of blood on the battlefield before retreating back to the south. Others say that the name of the valley comes from the widows who would travel to the valley to pay respects to lost husbands,” said Raven.
“That’s a sad story,” said Isabella.
“Yes, many stories of the great battles are sad. Even in victory there is sadness for the ones lost,” said Raven as she thought about the valley and their path. The main path from Prozia to the south was through the Valley of Tears. Raven chose not to take this path for two reasons. First, the valley was connected by a mountain pass to Kosal. It was one of the two passes that connected Prozia to Kosal. If King Ramsey or his son learned of their escape, it was likely that troops from Kosal would try blocking the way south through the valley. Also, the valley was home to several farms and homesteads. Raven didn’t want to risk anyone seeing them. So after four days’ travel south, they turned east into the mountains. They would take the much less traveled mountain passes. So far, the weather had been good and they’d made good time.
As the sun started to drop, Raven spotted a small grove of elm that had plenty of dead trees scattered among the living trees.
The grove would make an excellent camp spot for the night. Protection from the wind and plenty of fuel for a fire. Raven stopped her horse and turned to Eron and Isabella. “We’ll make camp here. Eron see to the animals. Isabella and I will look to making a fire.” Raven stepped down from her mount and handed the reins to Eron. She then waited for Isabella to do the same. “Come, Isabella, we’ll gather wood. You grab moss and dry twigs while I find some bigger branches.”
Isabella nodded and followed Raven.
Raven was glad Isabella was a seasoned traveler despite her young years. Before her father’s death, the king had taken Queen Amelia and young Isabella to the corners of the kingdom. King Colton Medina had not been a “sit back on your throne” type. He knew every corner of his kingdom and knew all the village leaders and royal families within it. And Queen Amelia had enjoyed horseback riding, so the family never bothered with a royal carriage. They all were excellent horsemen and Isabella was no different. While the mundane tasks of gathering firewood and building camp were not things the royal child was used to, she quickly adapted. Raven was proud of the girl. She never complained and did as she was asked.
Isabella turned to Raven once she had her armful of small twigs and bark for fire starters, “Raven, have you ever met Erik Ramsey?”
“Of course,” said Raven. “Prince Ramsey has been to Prozia many times. And I’ve accompanied your mother to the kingdom of Kosal on several occasions.”
“What is he like?” asked Isabella. “My older girlfriends tell me he is very handsome. I think some of them would be happy to be his wife.”
Raven’s eyes narrowed and the vein in her forehead pulsed at the very thought of young girls calling Erik Ramsey handsome. “They are fools to think that. Yes, he is handsome, but he is a very shallow man. He uses women as play toys to be discarded when he is done with them. He also likes to manipulate married women into his bed. When you’re of age, find yourself a man worthy of your affection, not one that is pretty and shallow.”
Isabella smiled at Raven, “Can a man worthy of my affections be pretty?”
Raven laughed, Isabella was still so young and innocent. “Possibly. But let’s wait a few years before we worry about that. Let’s get a fire started and worry about something more important like filling our bellies.”
“Can Eron make us some pan bread? I like his pan bread.”
Raven chuckled. She was glad the child enjoyed Eron’s cooking. Her own culinary skills were questionable at best. It was much better for everyone if Eron did the cooking. “I believe that can be arranged.”
Eron had finished unsaddling and tethering the horses and was approaching them.
Raven turned to the older warrior. “What say you, Eron, is pan bread on tonight’s menu?”
Eron tussled Isabella’s hair. “I suppose I could whip up some. If Raven goes and tries knocking down a few of those grouse we saw earlier, we’d have some fresh meat to go with the bread. Deer steaks would also go well with bread.”
Raven looked at Isabella. “I’ll see what I can do. Can you start the fire yourself?”
Isabella smiled and nodded, “Yes. I’ve done it before.”
“Okay, I’ll see about the birds and with luck, a deer. It wouldn’t hurt to have some fresh meat.”
7
RAVEN LOOKED NERVOUSLY AT THE DARK and foreboding sky. They had passed the summit of the mountain pass and were on their way down the mountain, but the path was narrow and treacherous in places. Raven wanted to get down the mountain as quickly as possible. A storm was coming and the sooner they got to safe ground the better. They were now traveling single file, Eron was leading the way, with Isabella in the middle and Raven bringing up the rear. If any pursuit came from behind, she would stay and fight them off while Eron and Isabella escaped.
While the northern slope of the mountain had been a more gradual slope with a long winding path through the forested mountain, the southern slope was steeper and rockier. Great cliffs of sheer rock lined both sides of the trail. On the northern slope, the trail had been wide and easy to follow. Here, it was barely more than a goat trail at times. Sure it was wide enough for a cart, but only if one took the time to clear away the loose boulders and chunks of rocks that fell onto the path. Their mounts were sturdy, sure-footed animals well used to traveling mountains, yet Raven was worried. Anything could happen in the high mountain trails. Wild beasts, rock slides, storms, any and all could create havoc for them.
As they came around a bend in the trail, Raven spotted another traveler leading a mule down the mountain pass. Raven watched the traveler with suspicion. The traveler was moving at a slow and methodical pace, seemingly unworried by the coming storm. It would not be long before they overtook the stranger and would need to go past him. Raven could see a spot ahead where the trail widened. That would be where they’d catch the stranger.
Eron had also seen the stranger and stopped, allowing Raven to catch up to him so they could discuss the situation. “What do you want to do?” asked Eron.
“Take your time, Eron. See where the trail widens ahead? Don’t catch up to him until then, but keep your eyes open.”
The sound of thunder in the distance rumbled in the background. Eron looked to the skies. “I want to get down as fast as possible. This is going to be a big storm.”
Raven agreed, but haste brought its own dangers. Raven took a look at Isabella to see how she was doing, but the girl looked calm and was not overly frightened by the stormy skies and ominous thunder. Raven approved. Queen Amelia had raised a brave girl. “Let’s get going.”
Eron gave his horse a gentle nudge with the heels of his boots and the beast started back down the path.
As they grew closer to the stranger walking his mule, Raven examined him. The man was wearing a hooded brown cloak, making it difficult to tell much about him from behind. The man was slightly hunched over and had a slow gait, indicating an older traveler.
Eron waited until the man was on the wider section of the path before bellowing a hello.
The stranger turned his head and looked behind him to see them. He seemed to nod then pull his mule off to the side so that they could pass.
Eron slowly rode his horse past the stranger. The Isabella followed.
As Isabella rode past the man, the old man reached out and grabbed the reins of Isabella’s horse.
Raven’s brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. The old man grabbing the reins meant trouble.
At
that moment arrows flew down from above them. Raven watched Eron get struck twice, one arrow to the chest and another higher through his neck. Raven cried out, but there was nothing she could do to save Eron as he fell over the edge of the cliff, his body filled with arrows. More arrows flew. One flew past her head and another struck her horse in the shoulder. The animal reared in pain and lost its footing. It stumbled to the side of the path and over. It went crashing down the slope of the cliff with Raven still on her!
As they fell down the cliff, Raven removed her boots from the stirrups and pushed herself free of the falling horse. Raven knew that the beast would crush her if it rolled over top of her on its way to the bottom. Raven slammed into the rocks of the cliff and started tumbling down the mountain. The rocky cliff was not vertical, but it was still a steep slope that made stopping impossible. Raven tumbled and crashed down until she landed against a flat outcropping of ground. Her head struck hard and she was knocked unconscious.
…
Rain drops against her face finally woke Raven. She groaned in pain. What had happened? Then it hit her, they’d been attacked. Eron was dead. What happened to Isabella? Raven picked herself up off the ground. Her head was pounding and her body was equally sore from the hard fall, but it seemed she hadn’t broken any bones. Raven went to the edge of the platform of rock and peered down the mountain. Several hundred feet lower she could see the body of her horse. The poor animal had not been lucky enough to land on the outcropping of rock.
Raven began carefully making her way up the side of the mountain. The rain was coming down hard and made the rocks slippery and even more dangerous than normal. Very deliberately, Raven would find a place for a foot and then push herself up until she could find solid pieces of rock to hold onto as she climbed.
As Raven lifted herself back onto mountain trail she looked around. The only thing she could see was the body of Eron. Isabella and her kidnappers were long gone. Raven looked up and down the trail. She couldn’t see any sign of movement. Raven swore in frustration, she should have done more, and now Eron, a warrior she’d known for years, was dead. She needed to start looking for Isabella, yet she was reluctant to leave Eron that way. He was a fine warrior, and friend—he did not deserve to become crow bait. Raven went to his body. She removed his knife and from a hidden pocket in his tunic, a small pack of coins she’d given him to hold. Raven then pulled his lifeless body to the widest spot on the mountain path. The spot was littered with fallen rock from the cliffs above. Raven cleared a spot against the rock wall and then placed Eron there. She then covered his body with rocks. It wasn’t much of a burial, but Eron wouldn’t have cared. Satisfied that the crows and other carrion wouldn’t easily get to his body, Raven looked up and down the mountain trail. She didn’t know which way the attackers had gone. She decided to follow the path down the mountain.
Sisera's Gift (Dragonblood Sagas Book 2) Page 3
