As we got our horses moving down the trail again, Daven asked, "So, do we need to come up with a rabbit for your friend?"
I smiled at him and said "Ah, you understood that part?"
He shrugged. "Wasn't hard."
I shook my head. "No, Ru-Rahl still owes me several rabbits and squirrels. He'll deduct the price of today's bargain from that tally. I'm not sure how much credit I still have with him, but I have no doubt that he knows exactly."
"How'd you get to be on such good terms with an arbolenx?" Sulana asked.
"The healer we're on the way to see introduced me to them. This band has lived near humans for a long time and even trades with the people of Dunver occasionally. I got into the habit of leaving rabbits and squirrels for them when I travel through here. Ru-Rahl appreciates it, but I think it annoys him that I keep increasing his debt to me. I'm sure that's why he let me know he was around. He probably recognized you and knew we might need to know what he'd seen. It also gave him an opportunity to reduce his debt."
"You're a man of surprising talents, 'Zhalan,'" Sulana teased.
Daven looked over his shoulder at me and frowned, but didn't say anything. I understood that his job was to protect Sulana, but his attitude toward me was puzzling. Eventually, I was going to have to figure out the nature of the relationship between those two.
***
At last, we reached a small clearing where I suggested we stop. "This spot is just outside the Ward's influence," I informed Sulana. She looked around the clearing and nodded her agreement. I was curious to find out what she intended to do about getting through the Ward.
The clearing was at a confluence of trails. One trail continued to the northwest deeper into the mountains. A second narrower trail left the clearing toward the northeast. I mentioned that the second trail would take us to the healer's cottage, and Barek confirmed that was the way they had gone the previous night.
A stream flowed out of the trees and created a small pool at the western edge of the clearing. The water burbled as it tumbled down the last few rocks into the pond, the steady flow indicating that the water would be fresh if we decided to let the horses drink. The ground was covered with grass that would grow to shoulder height in summer, but it was just getting started. The horses lowered their heads to tear at the tender new blades.
Sulana dismounted and walked a few paces away from the group. Daven slid down from his horse to stand nearby. Talon and Barek stayed mounted, watching the paths leading into and out of the clearing.
I watched from my saddle as Sulana took out a leather pouch and removed a small glass rod attached to a chain. I dismounted and joined her and Daven to get a better look.
The glass rod was about the size of Sulana's smallest finger. It was clear with rounded ends, and had a twist to it with a swirl of blue along its length. The sun sparkled off the glass and lit up the blue swirl, which appeared to form lettering of some kind. "Pretty," I commented.
"Yes. Pretty and functional," she said with a distant tone. The chain attached to the glass rod had a ring on the other end. Sulana slipped the ring over her middle finger and let the glass rod dangle.
"What does it do?" I asked.
"It seeks," she replied, and held up her other hand to stop my next question. "Hold on for a moment while I concentrate on making it work."
She said something quietly and stared at the glass rod. I knew when she activated it, because it gave off a high-pitched tone. But it continued to just dangle and turn on the end of the chain. Sulana frowned and stared at it a bit longer. The rod continued to dangle and turn. It didn't seem to be reacting to her efforts in the way she wanted.
While Sulana worked, Daven stepped a little closer to me and watched me carefully. He seemed relaxed, but had one hand casually resting on his sword pommel. I wondered why he would suddenly perceive me as a threat of some kind, so I resisted the urge to step closer to Sulana for a better look at what she was doing.
She finally growled something in frustration and the rod went silent. She slid the ring off of her finger. "This is very strange," she said. "It's still not working."
"What is it supposed to do?" I asked.
"It is supposed to point the way to the item the thieves stole," she replied, stuffing the rod back into the pouch and putting it away.
"Didn't the noise mean it was working?"
Sulana stopped abruptly and stared intently at me. "You heard it?"
Her reaction surprised me. Uncertainty crept into my voice. "It started whining when you dangled it and spoke to it. Don't you hear it when you use it?" I looked at each of the others. "Doesn't everyone hear it?" But Daven, Talon, and Barek shook their heads, staring at me with unreadable expressions.
"I don't hear it. I see it," Sulana answered. "It glows a bit when activated and brightens when it finds what it seeks." She looked at me thoughtfully, her head tilted in an appraising manner.
This was news to me. I had assumed that everyone heard sorcery when it was used nearby and that most chose to ignore it, as they did with virtually everything else related to sorcery. This was the first time in my life that I had encountered someone who was willing to speak about sorcery openly.
"But what does it mean?" I asked Sulana.
"It means you are a Sensitive," she answered. "You're sensitive to vaetric manifestations." I looked at her in confusion. She clarified, "The workings of sorcery. Some people hear manifestations, some see them, and others smell them. A rare few even feel them as vibrations."
Then she shook her head and strode over to her horse to remount. "Well, let's go find this Ward and see what we're dealing with."
I felt as confused as ever, but this was obviously not the time to pursue the matter further. Daven and I followed Sulana's lead and got back on our horses as well. Thinking about Daven's behavior while Sulana had been using the device, I turned to him and asked, "Why the sudden protectiveness earlier?"
He narrowed his eyes at me and said, "Sulana is somewhat vulnerable while working that device. And sorcery can cause unpredictable reactions in nearby observers."
I nodded and responded, "I've seen that first hand. On the occasions when magic has been worked nearby, I've seen grown men shudder in fear or tremble with rage. It's no wonder sorcerers seldom take to the field with our soldiers. They might be run through by their own men."
"Exactly," Sulana broke in. "But I gather you don't have those reactions?"
"No. Being around sorcery has never bothered me, although you have to be careful who hears you say that. I normally pretend to be holding my reactions in check like everyone else."
Sulana gave me another appraising look, but said nothing. She turned her horse and moved toward the trail to the healer's home. We left the clearing and entered the forest in single file again. Barek continued to lead.
After about five minutes of riding, I started to feel uncomfortable, like I was being watched by unseen and malevolent eyes. As the feeling quickly grew, I knew we must be entering the Ward.
My sense of unease increased. The sound of something large crashing through the forest came from just ahead and to our right. I scanned the area, but the vegetation showed no sign of disturbance. I couldn't tell what was making the noise, but it seemed larger than a bear. If it was a mountain troll, we'd have a hard time trying to fight it on this narrow trail. I had a strong desire to return to the clearing where there was room to maneuver.
We continued forward, and a threatening roar arose from the forest all around us. It started as a low rumble and steadily increased in volume as we advanced. I looked around and my senses screamed that we were on the wrong trail, although intellectually, I knew that wasn't true. My instincts told me that we should go back to the clearing and take another path; that all this danger was for nothing. I felt that every step we took forward was moving us farther away from the man we were trying to find. My rational mind struggled to maintain focus, but I was rapidly losing the battle against the emotional turmoil and inst
inctive urges imposed by the Ward.
Suddenly, the overwhelming sense of danger and futility faded, and I found myself back in the small clearing where we'd stopped earlier. Sulana's team was there as well. We were all looking around trying to get our bearings. I was relieved to be out of the Ward, but disturbed by the fact that I couldn't remember making the decision to turn around.
"That's a strong Ward," Sulana stated with a bemused smile. "Definitely a bubble."
I remembered how she had said earlier that a Ward could be like a bubble or a lantern. She seemed to have decided that Meghan's Ward was a bubble, so most of its force was along the outside edge. "How do we get through it?" I asked.
"It will be harder than I thought, but I'm sure we can do it," she said confidently. "I don't have anything that can negate the Ward, but I have a device that should shield us from the worst of it. We just need to penetrate the edge of the bubble." She leaned back in her saddle and reached into one of her saddle bags. After a bit of rummaging, she pulled out a leather case the size of a large book. She untied the flap and folded the case open to reveal a series of small pockets. She extracted a glass disk from one of the pockets. The disk was about the size and shape of a good skipping stone, and it had purple spots in it. She slipped the disk into a more convenient belt pocket and returned the case to her saddlebag.
"Okay, here's the plan," she said, looking around at us. "When we first start to feel uncomfortable again, I'll activate the Veil." She patted the pocket that held the device, and continued, "then, we'll run the horses through the Ward. Concentrate only on following the horse in front of you. Barek," she said turning to him, "I want you to focus on nothing other than following the trail." Barek nodded his understanding.
"We should get through the Ward quickly, and once we're on the other side, we'll be fine," she assured us.
We headed back up the trail toward the Ward. Moving this direction still felt wrong to me, which hinted at the power of the Ward and its residual effect on my mind. As soon as the sensation of malevolence started to rise again, Sulana palmed the Veil and called out, "Okay, let's go!" We all kicked our horses into a gallop.
I focused on Sulana's back and concentrated on thinking only of staying close to her. It was difficult. The roaring sound and the crashing noises started up again. This time the crashing was heading through the forest directly toward us. We were going to be ambushed and have to fight our way out. Meanwhile, the thief was getting away in the other direction!
Before the sense of panic fully took hold of me, it suddenly eased off. The forest seemed to blur a little and the crashing noise sounded less threatening. It was more like something was pacing us alongside the trail. Sulana's Veil gave off a low-pitched hum, and whatever it was doing helped me push aside the sense of going the wrong way. I remembered that I needed to just keep moving and follow her. The competing spells of the Ward and the Veil gave our charge a slow-motion, almost dreamlike, feeling.
As before, the Ward's effects suddenly dropped from my mind. I shook my head to clear it and looked up to see Sulana returning the Veil to her case. She turned to me and smiled. "That worked nicely," she said. All I could do was nod.
I looked around to find that we were at the edge of a large clearing. The trail we came in on disappeared into the forest behind us. The healer's familiar squat cottage sat atop a long rise before us, backed up against the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. Smoke curled out of the chimney and faded into the sky. It all seemed so incongruently peaceful after our wild ride down the trail.
That's when I noticed the horse quietly cropping grass at the side of the cabin. It wore a stained saddle and a set of saddle bags. The reins trailed to the ground, giving the horse the freedom to wander as it wished.
What concerned me was that Meghan didn't own a horse.
***
Barek started to ride forward. "Wait," I told him. He stopped to look at me questioningly. I pointed up the hill. "That's not the healer's horse."
Barek leaned out of his saddle and looked at the ground for a moment. He turned to Sulana and said "These tracks match the ones we were following yesterday."
"Good. I think we finally found our thief," Sulana said. She narrowed her eyes and observed the cabin carefully. "He may use the healer as a hostage. We'll have to do this carefully." She swung down from her saddle and armed her crossbow.
The cabin's windows were shuttered, which wasn't a surprise given that the morning air was still cool. I figured that if we circled around the base of the hill and approached the cabin from the side, we would be able to get close and still have cover. Sulana apparently had the same thought.
Her expression was serious and her voice determined as she gave us her orders. "Stay with the horses," she said to me. "Talon, you and Barek approach from the left. Daven and I will go right." Everyone nodded their understanding.
I was reluctant to stay behind. I didn't want Meghan to get hurt, but I knew I was still just along for the ride on this mission. I would have to trust that Sulana's team would do what they could to protect Meghan. Still, I itched to sneak forward with the others.
Ducking low and staying near the tree line, both teams quickly moved toward the cabin. They didn't even make it half way before the front door opened. Talon and Barek melted back into the trees, while Sulana and Daven hit the dirt. Sulana aimed her crossbow at the open doorway.
Meghan stepped out of the cabin with her hands held up and her palms facing us so we could see that she was unarmed. She wore a long tan linen dress with the sleeves rolled up above her elbows. The front of her dress was covered by a white apron that was stained with blood, and her long grey hair was tightly restrained behind her. Her clear voice called out to us, "You can come forward. The man you seek is in no condition to fight you."
Sulana stared at Meghan for a moment. There was no way to tell if she was telling the truth or if the thief stood right behind her with a knife at her back.
Meghan stepped forward a few paces and added, "If you want to see him before he dies, you'd best hurry up."
Sulana turned to Daven and said something. He shrugged, and they both rose to their feet. Sulana kept her crossbow aimed at the open doorway and Daven drew his sword. "Please step away from the doorway, ma'am," Sulana called out.
Meghan stepped to the side of the doorway as Sulana and Daven approached. Talon and Barek emerged from the trees and quickly loped up to the cabin. They both moved stealthily around to the back with their swords drawn.
From my position at the bottom of the hill, I could see Meghan sigh and cross her arms. I was certain then that she was telling the truth, but I understood that Sulana's team couldn't take any chances.
Sulana stayed back several paces from the doorway with her crossbow aimed straight into the opening. It was hard to see inside the cabin because outside it was brightly sunny, and the shuttered windows put the interior into heavy shadow. Daven ran to the far side of the door and waited there.
Sulana nodded her head, and Daven ducked low and slipped into the cabin. A few moments later, Daven appeared at the doorway and waved Sulana in. He had sheathed his sword. Sulana called out that the way was clear and walked in. Meghan slowly followed them into her home.
I took that as my cue to move forward with the horses. I left them to graze along with the thief's horse and walked up to the cabin doorway just as Talon and Barek moved into guard positions at the front and side of the cabin.
The healer's cabin was small but well made. It had a course of river stone along the bottom quarter of the outside wall, and the rest was constructed of log. The cabin had a cedar shingle roof, and many of the shingles were covered with a light green coating of moss. A few along the edge of the roof were broken off or showing signs of rot. The whole roof would need to be replaced soon.
I stepped through the doorway and into the cabin where the odor of healing herbs hung thick in the air. I stood just inside the threshold for a few seconds while my eyes adjusted to t
he darkness of the candle-lit interior. Daven stood with his back to the fireplace, warming his hands behind him. "In there," he said, tilting his head toward an open doorway to the bedroom beyond.
I passed a wall of shelves that was filled with numerous jars and pots containing the herbs and concoctions of Meghan's trade. I stopped just inside the doorway to the small bedroom. Inside the room, Sulana was leaning over an unconscious man who was bandaged across the chest. Bright red blood soaked through the bandage. I'd seen enough battle wounds to know that this man wouldn't be around long.
"Last night, I was surprised to hear a horse wander up to my home, and when I went out to investigate, this man fell out of the saddle at my feet without saying a word," Meghan explained to Sulana. "I was able to rouse him enough to walk him inside. He had a bolt through his chest," she said, looking at the crossbow in Sulana's hand and raising an eyebrow. "Your handiwork, I suppose?"
Sulana nodded. "Yes, but I didn't realize I'd hit him. Last night's darkness and rain hid the fact that he was bleeding." She lightly touched the man's shoulder. His eyelids fluttered briefly, but he didn't open them. His breathing was shallow and rattling. "I wish you hadn't run," she spoke softly to him.
The man on the bed shivered and Meghan pulled a blanket up over his chest and arms. "I did what I could, but his wound is beyond my skill. He's lost a lot of blood and the bolt punctured his lung," she said.
So this was Donal, the man I was hired to find. I didn't look forward to telling Raleb about his partner's current condition. Especially since his condition would probably get a lot worse real soon. Donal was much older than Raleb. His thinning hair was turning grey and he had the roundness of someone who more often gave orders than exercised them. His face had the pallor of extreme pain and his brow was beaded with perspiration. Every breath was labored.
Sulana turned to Meghan. "Where are this man's belongings? He and his partner are wanted men. They stole something of value that my team was sent to recover."
The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled Page 5
