“A hundred at least,” Sath said as he pulled his mount around and spurred her up the slope. Gwaynn and Krys followed without a word.
“We must warn the others,” the old man said. “If they’re tracking us as I believe, they may find the trail to the cabin and we will have to abandon it as well.”
Gwaynn said nothing, just continued to think.
“We should send someone out to try and make contact with the group heading this way from Colchester,” Krys suggested and both Gwaynn and Sath agreed. It would be a good precaution so that the newly arriving men wouldn’t blunder into a strong enemy force. Gwaynn wondered why they hadn’t thought of it earlier and it added to his unease. What else were they missing?
They turned together and followed the tracks left by Hahn and the others, each hoping that the Deutzani would turn lazy and follow the obvious trail left by the fleeing string of horses and bypass the much fainter trail heading toward the cabin, the herd, and the Hawsers. They spurred ahead wanting to get to the next vantage point as quickly as possible. The others in their group, including the Speaker Zebo Sorbello, would be waiting for them there.
It took them nearly twenty minutes of hard uphill riding to reach the rendezvous point. Sath immediately spurred over to Jeffery Gaston, a young man in his mid twenties. He had short black hair, with a sharp pointed beard to match. He was fond of his facial hair and kept it very well trimmed. Sath rode directly to Gaston and ordered him to head west through the mountains and make contact with the men heading their way. After a quick nod and salute to Gwaynn, Gaston started off.
Their current position was not nearly as advantageous as the overhang below. The trail up was narrow so visibility through the trees was poor. They would only be able to spot pursuit about a half a mile out, and then they would only be able to see those coming directly toward their position. Any other columns would be completely hidden from view. To cover their flanks, Sath sent another small party a quarter of a mile to the west where they waited under ‘the nose,’ which was a large outcropping of granite shaped much like an old man’s bulbous nose. And though the nose was visible, the face was missing, hidden somewhere in the hillside. Both groups waited for five long minutes, all hoping that perhaps the soldiers had given up the chase, but then the first of the column appeared. Gwaynn glanced briefly at Sath and saw the dismay in the older man’s face when it was clear that the enemy column was continuing the hunt. The old Weapons Master clearly did not wish this confrontation but it was a development that Gwaynn was not nearly as adverse to.
Van rode toward them as fast as he dared through the forest of trees. He stopped and looked down the hill and immediately saw the soldiers below. “There’s another column heading south toward the cabin,” he said almost shyly. Gwaynn wondered if Van was feeling odd about reporting on his own countrymen. Gwaynn was at a loss as what to do now and looked to Sath for answers. His heart told him to break off and move south to support Samantha and the Hawsers but they only had fifteen men with them at the moment. Bock was already on his way to the cabin and another six were at ‘the nose’ guarding their flanks.
Sath studied the young Prince intently and as if reading the young man’s thoughts said. “We need to leave them. Rue will scatter the herd and head into the mountains. He knows this territory better than anyone. They should be able to give the Deutzani the slip easily enough.”
Gwaynn frowned; everything was spinning out of control. The enemy was not following the plan.
“If we head toward them, this column will follow,” Sath said, explaining his reasons before Gwaynn had a chance to object. “And we run the risk of being completely surrounded.”
Gwaynn nodded but said nothing at first, then turned back to Van.
“Fetch the others at the nose and have them meet us along that ridge line,” he instructed and pointed up the hill to the west. “We will not wait longer than fifteen minutes. If you miss us head west and try to avoid the Zani.”
“You’re going to leave her?” Van asked.
Gwaynn stared at him, surprised. Why would he ask it that way?
“If we go to them,” Sath answered for Gwaynn. “We’d undoubtedly put Samantha in greater danger. Rue and Bock will see to her. Rue knows what to do, and where to go.”
Van continued to stare at Gwaynn with such harsh disbelief that Gwaynn lowered his eyes. “Get going,” he ordered. Van pulled his horse around violently and spurred off, then Gwaynn and the rest of the group immediately turned and angled to the west, quickly climbing higher and higher up into the foothills.
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Olney spotted the smoke first, rising like an approaching storm in the clear blue sky and quickly showed his father, who frowned and grabbed a hold of his wife’s hand. They were still mourning their son and now they’d lost their home as well.
“Just a house,” Rue said stoically. “We can rebuild it.” Carmen nodded but she could not hide the glint of tears in her eyes.
Samantha put her hand on the women’s shoulder. Carmen patted her hand then turned to her husband.
“We need to go,” she said and Rue agreed, but they were prepared. He always expected the worst and was surprised that trouble had not found them sooner. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. He was Massi, and it chafed his soul to have his homeland occupied. Their horses were already saddled and their supplies packed and ready to be loaded on four packhorses. The herd of extra horses was grazing peacefully in the fields until Rue and Olney mounted and began to round them up. The men were guiding the animals out of a makeshift gate when Samantha heard the sound of horse hooves on the trail heading up toward them.
“Rue!” she yelled and began to fumble with her bow. She was not able to notch an arrow before the approaching rider cleared the nearest trees and charged rapidly in her direction. It took several terrifying seconds before she recognized Lonogan Bock.
“It’s Lonogan,” she yelled, relieved but also deeply disappointed that it was not Gwaynn. Though at times she shied from the young Prince, she only felt truly safe in his presence. She’d spent the last few days up at the cabin and was unaware that Lonogan was back from Cape. She spurred Bull forward to meet the man and though she didn’t know him well, she was very happy to see him.
“Gwaynn?” she asked when they were close enough to speak.
“With the others, trying to lead the Zani off to the west,” he answered and something in his manner calmed Samantha. He stopped only for a moment then rode on until he was next to Rue. Samantha turned Bull and followed.
“You’re off then?” Bock asked.
Rue nodded. “If Sath and Gwaynn succeed it won’t matter much if we move the herd farther into the mountains. We’ll take them to Pine Valley, it has a steep narrow entrance, but it is wide and lush near the bottom. The horses should stay put once we get them below, but it won’t be easy getting them out again.”
Bock could only nod. He didn’t know of Pine Valley but respected Rue’s knowledge of the mountainous country.
“After we’ve rid ourselves of the horses we should be able to keep out of reach of the soldiers. They’ll be slower in large groups and won’t know the country,” Rue added.
“Alright,” Bock said. “Let’s get them moving, and don’t worry about any stragglers. If any break out too far let them go, we don’t have time to wrestle with the more cantankerous of the lot.”
They started almost immediately; Samantha on the right side with Carmen, Olney watched the left with Rue, and Lonogan brought up the rear. The trail they followed was wide and easy in the beginning, but soon narrowed and grew steep, which made it much more difficult to control the herd. It was about all Samantha could do just to stay in the saddle as they climbed up the steep hills. At times she was forced to lie down on her stomach, her face in Bull’s scratchy mane, to avoid low branches. Of course, Bull’s size was a detriment on the thickly forested hillside. Carmen, whose horse was much smaller, had an easier time of it and moved ahead. Samantha was sure the
y lost a few horses from their side but she had no way of knowing how many since she could only keep an eye on the animals closest to her.
After nearly three hours of hard climbing they reached the summit of a large hill and the trees opened a bit and in some places the sky was visible through the thinning canopy. Samantha suspected there’d been a fire in the area within the past few years which would account for the lack of tall trees, but any evidence of it had long since been erased by the new growth. Once out in the relative open she looked about. The herd was spread out over a large area now. She could see Carmen up ahead about a quarter of a mile, but Olney was not in sight and though she could hear Lonogan and Rue behind her, they were both hidden from view.
The trail along the ridgeline was much easier to navigate and within a quarter of an hour they managed to pull the herd together and were once again within sight of one another. They carried on for nearly two more hours, occasionally traveling downhill before heading up again. Mostly they traveled up, and always to the southeast. Finally they moved up to the very foot of the mountains and rode along a game trail that led them significantly higher than the surrounding hills. And when they came upon a wide-open ledge that overlooked the lower hills, Samantha could not help but stop and gaze out at the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Down below her were the tip tops of many trees, which soared out of the hills far below. She was surprised to see that at this elevation there were even some white dotted clouds hanging in the air below them. Beyond the hills she could even see the seemingly endless flat expanse of the Plateau. It reminded her of the view from the Scar and she shivered, but was still gazing down at the trees when Rue rode up and joined her.
“No sign of them yet,” he asked, apparently oblivious to the beauty surrounding them. “They’ll be coming along the line there,” he added, pointing to a trail below and to the left.
Samantha nodded as Bock rode to a stop on the far side of Rue.
“We’re close,” Rue told him. “The valley entrance is just another half a mile or so along this trail. The path drops sharply down. It’s steep enough that the horses shouldn’t attempt to climb out on their own, at least not while there’s good grazing.”
“How large is it?” Lonogan asked.
Rue shrugged. “Not big, maybe five square miles all told. The Snake River Falls drops out of the west side and runs along the southern cliffs, so the horses will have plenty of water.”
“Only one way in and out?” Samantha asked.
Rue nodded. “For horses anyway. You can climb the rocks around the falls easily enough, but that’s the only other way out of the valley. With luck the Deutzani will miss the entrance all together.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Bock answered. “Samantha, I’d like you to stay here and watch our back trail,” he told her then turned to Rue. “How long will we have if she spots them along the ridge?”
Rue frowned. “Not long, maybe three quarters of an hour but once they follow us into the valley we’ll have them.”
“In the valley!” Samantha exclaimed. She did not much like the thought of being trapped with no way out.
Rue nodded. “If they try to go around we’ll lose ‘em for sure. To the east is a gorge that’s impassible unless they move nearly all the way back down the mountain. It’ll take them two, maybe three days to get back up to the falls. The western side is even worse, they’d have to drop and circumvent Mount Cuirass and that’s more like a full week’s delay.”
“But what about Bull?” she asked, not liking the idea of leaving him behind, “and what if they try to follow us up the falls.”
Both Rue and Bock smiled at that.
“We can discourage them from climbing easily enough,” Rue answered, hawked and spat a thick glob of snot onto a nearby spider web, which was draped between two bushes.
“Bull will be fine,” Bock put in. He knew how she felt. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of leaving Alice behind either. She was a good mount, plus he wasn’t looking forward to crossing these mountains on foot. There could be other Deutzani patrols in the area, and on foot they wouldn’t be easy to avoid, but he chose to keep his worries to himself for the time being. “He’ll be fat, lazy and happy when we’re able to return and fetch him.”
They stayed for another moment longer and then without another word the two men headed down the game trail after the last of the horses. Samantha sat quietly looking out over the expanse of Massi. She fidgeted then patted Bull on the neck and started to say something to the horse, but then her eyes watered and the tears came, at first gently, then suddenly she was crying hard. She was crying for Bull, for Wake, and for her lost life with her family. She missed her sisters terribly.
She cried for nearly ten minutes until abruptly her tears dried up, turning off like a brief summer rain. She wiped her eyes and climbed down from Bull’s back. She let him search for young sprouts on his own and walked the short distance out onto the rock overhang. She moved carefully to the edge, peered down at the top of the pines growing from below and then sat dangling her legs over the vast open expanse. She stared out at the trail down on the lower ridgeline, but thankfully it remained empty and then she raised her face to the sun. The heat felt good when paired with the sporadic cool breeze that brushed against her bare skin. Filled with nervous energy, she grabbed a pebble and tossed it over the edge, following its path as far as she could. She reached for another but paused before throwing it, because there below on the far path, was a group of Deutzani soldiers. They were riding hard and following directly on their trail. She waited, counting, as they continued to move through her field of view. Finally the line of soldiers ended. She counted around fifty, but couldn’t be sure of the exact amount…too many in any case.
When they were passed she stood and quickly ran to Bull, struggled up onto his back, then spurred him down the trail in search of the others.
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The day of riding through the southern hills of Massi was the longest of Gwaynn’s life. He chafed against the decision to run and leave those he cared about to their own devices. That it was the right decision gave him no peace of mind, and he continuously fought the urge to reverse course and head southeast through the mountains, toward Samantha.
By the late afternoon, Gwaynn and his group had out distanced the larger, slower group of Deutzani by such a degree that pursuit could no longer be detected. No one doubted however, that the enemy was still behind them and still coming; following along the trail purposefully left behind for them. They wanted to be followed and made little effort to hide their passage. It was a sound plan, to lead this group of enemy soldiers away from the others, but Gwaynn’s instincts still screamed loudly that he was moving the wrong direction.
They continued on until the light began to ebb then stopped when it became too dangerous to ride safely. They camped, fireless on a steep hillside, though no one slept very well, and Gwaynn hardly at all. His mind toyed with any number of possibilities for Samantha and the Fultans, most of them too horrible to describe, and Van’s sullen attitude toward him did nothing to help. Krys, who for the most part, could sleep anywhere, suddenly sat up late in the middle of night. He wasn’t surprised to find his friend wide awake and leaning against a small pine.
“She’ll be fine,” he said softly. “She ran clear across the country with an Executioner after her, ordinary soldiers should be child’s play.”
Gwaynn smiled, though in the dark Krys was not aware of it. “I failed Gwynn…and Mille…and now Samantha. It should be easy for me by now,” he whispered back, his tone thick with guilt.
“None of it was your fault,” Krys argued and worried about his friend’s attitude.
“I made the decisions. I created the reality,” Gwaynn answered, then scooted across the pine needles and dropped down to lie on his side. “If I’d have chosen differently would they all be better off?”
Krys had no answer to that, but after a moment longer he whispered. “They made decisions also.�
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For some reason this eased Gwaynn’s mind and he actually dozed for a bit. When he woke once more, Krys was snoring softly by his side. Gwaynn turned onto his back and stared up through the canopy. He could make out a few bright stars and thought of Elise. He smiled…at least he’d not failed her.
He was still awake when the sky began to grow light in the east. He rose, greeted Marcum, who was on watch, then moved to the side of the speaker, Zebo Sorbello. Gwaynn was sure the fat man was the only one who’d slept well, since his gentle snoring was a constant throughout the entire night.
Gwaynn nudged the man, who did not wake, so Gwaynn nudged him again. Zebo came awake with a snort.
“Wha…what?” the man sputtered and then sat up rubbing his face. “I was with a princess,” he said with a frown. “She was treating me very kindly,” he added with a lurid grin.
“Not my sister I hope,” Gwaynn answered and Zebo jerked and turned solemn. Gwaynn smiled, and the big man broke out into a large, loud laugh, waking several of those around him.
“Zebo…I have need of your services,” Gwaynn began, and the jovial man before him nodded.
“Of course Sire,” he agreed.
“I would like you to contact High Zarina Aleecia,” Gwaynn began, ignoring the shocked expression on the Speaker’s face. “I need a Traveler.”
“A Traveler?” Zebo answered in disbelief. “You want me to contact the High Zarina?”
“If you please,” Gwaynn answered, breathing deeply to control his impatience.
“Of course, Sire. When would you like me to make contact?”
“Now would be a good time.”
“Now! But Sire it’s not yet light,” Zebo stammered.
“Now please,” Gwaynn repeated. “The Zarina will understand.”
Assassin of the Heart: Book Two: The Temple Islands Series Page 8
