“Like that’s all we do here,” Shira had grunted.
Needless to say, the king’s actions didn’t speak well for his future plans.
He had already taken Lishorani and Adis Ador. His next targets were clearly across the Granite Sea: Cillian and its neighbor to the west, Eseth. Mariah shuddered. Oh, there were other lands further away, but it didn’t take much to figure out where the king would go first. In the letter Mariah had sent home just the day before, she had found the news about Adis Ador difficult to write. Even harder to write had been her suggestion that her friends spread the news as wide as possible. Could Wakely get news to the queen? Did she already know? Although Mariah hadn’t heard about the end of the war until she had reached Grof, news was certainly spreading through Cillian by now. Surely, Cenessa had been one of the first to know.
Mariah shook her head. She had done the right thing in telling her friends, in asking them to make sure. Meeting Shira’s eyes again briefly, she sighed and turned away from the bed and the map.
“Maybe this was a horrible idea. At least the Eaglespire part … It’s not that important. It’s selfish really.”
“’Course it’s not. If I was like you and hadn’t known where my folks had been all this time, I’d have gone crazy as a fish that flopped onto a fisherman’s trawler. You need to know. But I’m not too keen to get to Eaglespire through the pass, not after the last time we traveled through. For all I know, they’ve posted our likenesses up at the soldiers’ camp.”
On their last trip, Xae’s eagerness to find out what had happened to his own family had almost gotten them arrested by a group of soldiers that had camped with them in the pass. Only quick legs and Shira’s knowledge of the mountains had gotten them to safety, but they had certainly been noticed and noted.
Those soldiers, Captain Odrin, Lieutenant Zirana, and their merry band, had been headed straight to Kilgereen. If not for their orders, they might have stayed in those mountains to hunt the trio down. Mariah swallowed. That had been months ago. The group had probably moved on from Kilgereen by now. The chances of running into them on the road were slim. Unfortunately, that didn’t help Mariah feel any better.
She took a deep breath. “All right. The Crumbling Road it is.” The name had startled Mariah the first time she had heard it. Shira had reassured her that the road was not crumbling at all, but that someone long ago had named it for the foothills it ran between, whose boulders often looked like crumbled edges falling off the mountains above. She and Shira would use it to travel to Kilgereen before they turned north toward the village she had been born in. Her chest tightened. Nearly eight years. It had been nearly eight years since she had fled Eaglespire, leaving her parents behind as she fled for her life, her freedom.
It was time to find out what had become of them.
Shira was silent as she rolled up the map and tucked it in among the papers in her already bulging pack. Rose had insisted on copying all of them before they left.
In case we go missing? Mariah wondered. In case we don’t send word? The possibilities twisted her insides.
“And after Eaglespire?” Shira asked, her voice unusually subdued.
“We need to go to Direstrand, but first … I was wondering …” Mariah met Shira’s brown eyes, hedging.
“What, lady? Spit it out.”
“Laikos. I want to go to Laikos.”
A string of uncharacteristic curse words blew out of the innkeeper’s daughter as she turned to pace the small room.
“Ruby—” Mariah said.
“I know, I know. I want to know she’s okay too.”
“Maybe she could help us. She helped us with Xae.”
Shira spun to face Mariah, her brow furrowed. “Let’s get one thing straight before you go getting romantic ideas all in your head. That girl helped us because she was under orders. That is the only reason why. Even if she wanted to help us, she couldn’t. She’s omega.”
“What does that even mean?” Despite their days with the girl, Mariah still didn’t understand it. Yes, she had seen that the two alphas of the pack, Loleon and Ember, held complete sway over the family of wolf Ceo San. She had gotten the idea that they had lived in the woods for a very long time. Ruby had been reluctant to go “inside” at all, she was so used to living in the forest.
Shira tried to answer. “With wolves”—she started pacing again—“ya see, that pack has forgotten what it’s like to be human, they’ve lived as animals for so long. The omegas are the lowest of the low. Ruby’s expendable, there for the amusement of the rest of ’em. That’s her job, and she knows it. If they were just wolves, it might not be so bad, but they’re men, too, the worst kind.”
A cold sweat broke out over Mariah’s skin. The girl, more than ten years her junior, had been so thin, almost starved, and she had barely spoken, especially during the early part of their journey out of the forest, through Kannuk and beyond. But there had been something in her eyes. A single-minded purpose as she helped them on their way toward the drudge camp where her uncle Faylan, another wolf Ceo San, was being held as well. But she had become their friend too, had, without question, joined Mariah in burying Cam’s body in the woods after Shira had killed him in self-defense. And she had been essential in helping Shira deal with the binding that Ruby’s father had laid upon her to rescue or kill Faylan.
It had not been Shira’s first binding, and Mariah knew her friend did not want to return to that place. She had confessed to Mariah later that the wolves’ magic felt oily, wrong in her veins, that it had seemed as if Loleon were hovering over her, watching her, pushing her to find Faylan over everything else, as long as it had held. But despite her father’s sway, his influence over both of them, Ruby had manipulated that binding, convincing Shira she was doing everything she could for Faylan while still putting the rescue of the children first.
“I’ll go alone then,” Mariah said. “We’ll split up, and I’ll meet you in Direstrand.”
Shira whirled on her. “We’ll do no such thing! Can we see how things go first? In Eaglespire, I mean. Decide later?”
The desire to see Ruby again, to go back to the forest and learn her fate, pulled at Mariah. She wasn’t exactly sure why, and because of that, she nodded. She wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being led around blindly either, even if it was just by her own instincts. And after her conversation with Gwyn, after learning that dreams from Old Cat Eyes had led the old woman to find and help Mariah all those years ago, she had become very suspicious of those “instincts.” What if Old Cat Eyes—she didn’t know which one, but she was pretty sure he was one of the Althamir—well, what if he or one of the other gods was influencing her to go? Or was the wolves’ binding, which she seemed to have been immune to, somehow pulling at her after all? The thought made her shiver.
She nodded sharply at Shira. “All right. We’ll decide after Eaglespire.”
And with that, their plan was in place.
Chapter Six
Ice and Snow
It would take them well over a week just to reach Kilgereen on the Crumbling Road. The path ran through the rough, rocky southern foothills of the Highlands. Then, depending on the weather, they would need to travel at least another couple of days to reach Eaglespire. Indeed, a light snow had started to fall before they’d even left the inn behind.
In an effort not to draw any more attention than necessary, they’d slowly stowed things away in the shed behind the Hideaway over a period of days. Then, they’d left at dawn, going out the back door after bidding farewell to Shira’s parents in the kitchen.
The goodbyes had lasted longer than Mariah was comfortable with. Had Shira always been so hesitant to separate from her parents? Hadn’t she bragged to Mariah about all of the times she’d traveled on her own to Glenley? But this morning, she had acted as if she were reluctant to leave them behind, as if it were the first time. Of course, she was a
grown woman, but Mariah thought it had more to do with the present circumstances, her experiences on their last journey, and the ever-growing presence of the guard.
In an effort to soothe Shira, her mother had promised her several times over that she would be vigilant and watchful, especially of the guard and of strangers. Even if Shira sent them.
Through the awkward encounter, Mariah had stood next to the back door, leaning against the wall with her hands folded in front of her.
Grelem had hugged Shira with his long, gangly arms. “Promise me, Ma,” Shira said again over his head.
Mariah sighed, earning a glare from her friend. The boy came to stand beside her, and she put an arm around his shoulders as they shared a questioning look. When Shira turned back to her mother, the two onlookers shared a grin.
“Ma, one more thing—”
“Shira Adalba Caden, enough is enough.” Rose’s hands went to her hips. Jahl, busy at the stove, said nothing, but his back stiffened at her tone. “I’ll have you know your father and I were seeing each other through much worse situations before you were even old enough to remember. Besides, I should be worryin’ about you, not the other way ’round. Now, stop keepin’ Mari waitin’ and get on your way before the snow’s too deep for you to walk in.”
“Yes, Ma,” Shira replied, sounding like a petulant teenager. Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. “I’m sorry. Just got a bad feelin’, ya know. Like I need to go but that I should stay all at the same time.”
Mariah’s grin faded as she heard the desperation in her friend’s tone.
Rose’s eyes softened, and she hugged Shira one more time. “It’s just jitters, girl. We’ll be fine. Really, we will. We’ve got Grelem to guard us, right, boy?”
He smiled hugely and nodded, moving to stand between her and Jahl.
Mariah had to tug on Shira’s hand, but the two women finally made it out the door and gathered their things from the shed. Then, Shira, more subdued than usual, led Mariah into the woods and onto a well-worn trail that would connect them to the road that led to Jadenmere a few miles out of the village.
The trees provided a little shelter from the snow, but the air was bitingly cold. Fortunately, Rose had been able to help Mariah acquire some better winter gear, including a fur-lined cloak and boots. She pulled the cloak tight over her coat as she walked.
Her new bow and quiver were strapped across her back along with a new short sword at her waist, a match to Shira’s own. She found herself wishing it were her father’s knife instead, the one she had lost when she had been captured and thrown into Rothgar’s dungeon. She’d likely never see that one again, but just in strapping the new sword on that morning, sliding it into the scabbard on her belt—one that actually fit instead of having to be looped around her body twice—she had found herself comparing its craftmanship to her father’s. It had come up lacking, of course, but she supposed it would still do the job better than nothing.
“Maybe you were right,” Shira suddenly muttered after a long silence. She stared up at the tiny flakes of snow drifting down through the dark needles over their heads. She kept walking, though, avoiding Mariah’s gaze.
“What do you mean?” Mariah asked when she didn’t elaborate.
“You could have flown all the way to Eaglespire, in what, a couple of hours? We could have met up later, in Direstrand. It’s not too late for me to go back,” she finished.
So you can hover over your parents more? This time, Mariah kept her sigh to herself. “We discussed this, Shira. Neither one of us should be alone in this. What if one of us gets hurt?” Or heaven forbid, captured. “Besides, I couldn’t fly anywhere in this weather.”
Shira didn’t answer. Instead, she continued on, putting one boot in front of the other a little more heavily until they reached the road.
* * *
Mariah kicked at the snow in front of her as she walked and not in a playful way. The hard-packed road beneath jarred through her boot and up through the back of her leg.
“Should I scout again?” It hadn’t even been two hours since she had last done so, but Shira grunted in the affirmative, so without another word, Mariah headed off the road to an isolated spot two hills over before letting the hawk take her. Although she had gotten used to carrying everything since they had begun their journey twelve days ago, the weight change was liberating. Her hawk form was so light, it felt as though she might get carried away on the breeze.
She screeched in greeting as she passed over the road again, but Shira didn’t even look up. Everything had been fine until the day they’d left. Shira had been her usual jolly self until they’d stepped out of the inn and left her parents behind. Mariah still didn’t know what had changed. She certainly hadn’t been like this on their first journey together, and they had just been getting to know each other then.
Over the course of the first few days of their journey, the snow had continued to fall gently, stopping only after it was halfway to Mariah’s knees. It had definitely added a couple of days to their journey already.
That shouldn’t have been a problem, but instead of the constantly chatty companion Mariah was used to from their last journey, her friend had turned introspective and impatient, always up at the crack of dawn and insisting that they travel until dark was fully upon them. If they had been traveling during the long, hot days of summer, it would have been even more exhausting, but as it was, Mariah’s nose and the tips of her ears, even with her scarf and cloak, felt as if they were permanently frozen.
Despite her fear of the soldiers who might be in the city, Mariah had found herself looking forward to their stopover in Kilgereen. The thought of warming her toes in front of a fire and having a nice, hot mug of tea in her hands had gotten her through many a mile, but at the last minute, Shira had balked.
“We should just go around,” she’d said when they came to the intersection with the North Road, staring resolutely down the crossing. The Crumbling Road continued on over the southernmost of the Ternion bridges to the west and into Kilgereen. Despite the weather and its snowy banks, the wide waters of Chagan’s Run flowed under the bridge and rumbled southward undeterred. “Goin’ into the city means travelin’ an extra half-day west before headin’ north. We’ll just camp off the North Road and get going first thing in the mornin’. No reason to go into the city. No reason at all.”
Mariah wanted to argue. Her legs, which felt as if they had been twisted and wrung out like wet laundry, wanted to argue. Her back, weighed down by her supplies and weapons, wanted to argue. Despite her anxiety about her parents’ fate, setting foot on the North Road again could wait for them to have a hot meal and a warm bed for a night or two. Yes, Shira was surprisingly adept at finding crevices and caves along the foothills for them to sleep in. They’d yet to spend a night in the open. That should have been comforting to Mariah as she was used to sleeping in a cave, but the climate in Cillian was warmer. It had never seemed to get quite so bitterly cold, especially at night. So, she stared at the dark waters of the river for a few moments, concentrating on its never-ending flow toward the Granite Sea. She had grown up near that river, had gathered water for the smithy every morning from one of its smaller tributaries. She let the sound of the water soothe her so that all she had said to Shira was, “Shouldn’t we restock our supplies?”
They were becoming dangerously low, and that was after the short and meagerly successful hunting trips she made every morning as the sun rose.
“Do it in Eaglespire,” Shira had muttered, turning her back to Mariah and her eyes back to the road.
Mariah’s beak clenched tightly. That had been this morning. She had tried to argue more, quite fruitlessly, as Shira had started trekking northward before Mariah had even finished.
So, today, she had offered to scout several times, although there really was no need for it. Although it wasn’t nonexistent, traffic on the roads surrounding Kil
gereen was apparently sparse this time of year. Mariah guessed that there wasn’t much trade when nothing was growing. They hadn’t even seen many soldiers. Mariah’s instincts had been to get off the road when they passed until Shira had pointed out that their tracks through the snow would be more suspicious than a couple of people passing with their cloaks pulled low to keep warm.
As Mariah circled in the cloudy sky, always keeping within sight of her friend, she could still see the rough, crowded hodgepodge of buildings to the south that marked the borders of Kilgereen.
To the far north, she spotted the smudge that was last of the three Ternion bridges wedged over the river in the Gattan Gorge. There, the road and the river wove through a low gap in the Highlands. From Mariah’s perspective, it looked as if a giant axe had hewn the mountains themselves in half, leaving steep, rocky palisades on either side with just barely enough room for the water to squeeze through.
Jahl had told the two women that the gorge would be the most treacherous part of their journey. Once they crossed the river, the road would be narrow, with a steep drop on one side and a cliff face on the other. For Shira, shifting would not be an option, with no trees or caves to hide her transition. Although the pass was wide enough for wagons to pass over, if the road was icy, a slip too close to the edge could be fatal. She was starting to believe that they should have waited for spring after all. She had let her impatience get the better of her.
Revelation of the Dragon Page 7
