Dawn saw them through the Festival Gate. Liam walked Bandit, with Katin at his side, the better to keep a low profile. The gate guards paid them no mind, mixed in as they were with all the other morning traffic, and Liam breathed a sigh of relief once they were through.
Liam mounted Bandit and lifted Katin up. She still wore the same blue dress, which was not split for riding, so she sat sidesaddle before Liam, arms wrapped around his torso, head resting on his shoulder. She’d been quiet since they awoke, letting him lead the way. He thought she’d have been more excited about her escape, but her eyes stayed wary.
As they passed from Callaston’s outlying farms into the countryside proper, Liam tried to lighten her mood with a jest, but Katin shook her head. “There is no mirth to be had now. We are hunted.”
Liam started and looked around. There was no one else in sight, save a man driving a wagon on the road ahead of them, but he was alone and harmless. “No… ah, I assume you mean the royals.”
“Taya will not simply curse her luck now that I am gone. She’s as determined as her brother, and a good deal more clever. She will send knives after us.”
Liam bent forward and kissed her temple. “I will not let them hurt you.”
Katin twisted to glare up at him. “Am I to be reassured by pointless bravado? They will send armies against us, not one man at a time for you to duel. We will be overrun! Amira is the one who can kill with her mind, not me.”
Why was she being so hostile? “I only said that I will not let them hurt you,” Liam said lightly. “They might kill me and hurt you anyway.”
She jabbed her elbow into his side, making him grunt. “You might find this funny, but I do not.”
Liam shrugged. “The world abuses us all, and we can laugh or cry. I know which one I wish to spend my life doing.”
Katin ignored him, and they rode in silence for a while until Bandit started to snap his teeth. Liam got down and gave the stallion an apple. He let Katin ride while he walked alongside. He had good boots; she had only the thin slippers Taya had given her, and it would do them no good to ruin her feet before they reached Hedenham.
It’s the best place to go, Liam decided. Aside from his time in the royal army, he’d lived his whole life in Hedenham. They could get help from Calys, or others—Liam rejected out of hand the idea of going to his father for help—and maybe discover whether Dardan had returned in their absence. It had been the better part of a month since Foxhill Keep; if Amira really did have this power that Katin said she did, then maybe she’d been able to keep herself and Dardan alive.
Liam was vaguely unsettled by the possibility that Edon had taken his army to Hedenham. All the gossip had said that he was going to Vasland, but what if they were wrong? Taking Katin right back into Edon’s hands would be a nightmare.
———
They had to go off the main road to a little village called Petherton to find an inn cheap enough for the funds they had left. The room they got was somehow even more cramped than the Sailor’s Delight in Callaston had been. At least here the innkeeper was friendly, although when Liam lied that he and Katin were a married couple, the man pointedly asked where their rings were. Liam cribbed from Pater’s story, and said they were saving every copper for a farm.
The bed in their room would fit them both, if just barely. That first night in Callaston, he’d been so exhausted he hadn’t even thought about the fact that he was lying in bed with the woman he’d been chasing for months. Would she give in, if he asked? But he couldn’t. He hadn’t rescued her from Edon just so that he could turn right around and use her like any common whore. She’s quite the uncommon whore, he thought, then immediately regretted it.
It would be better—safer—if he simply slept on the floor. So he gallantly offered her the bed. “After what you’ve been through, you deserve a decent night’s sleep.”
“I didn’t lack for comfort. Taya’s bed was bigger than this room,” Katin pointed out. “Even if I did have to share it with her.”
“Oh. Well, I’m used to sleeping rough.” He spread out his bedroll on the floor.
Katin stared at him for a moment, then blew out the lamp. They lay in silence for a while. Liam heard Katin’s breathing slow, but it took him longer to fall asleep. Where had he acquired such honor?
In the morning he took her to a cobbler. “You’ll need boots to make it to Hedenham, or you’ll ruin your feet.”
“I’ll make you eat these boots if we end up needing the coin more,” she warned him. The only boots they could afford were thin and seemed unsturdy, but would have to do until they reached Calys.
Their funds thus depleted, the next few nights were spent on Liam’s bedroll in the woods. He again offered her the bedding, saying the ground would be good enough for him, but Katin stared him down and said they needed to share warmth. It was well into fall now, and the nights grew colder, so he gave in. She has to convince me that we should share the bedroll? Something really is wrong with me.
They soon passed into Hedenham County and found the crossroads at Harron’s Dell. The townsfolk there said that Edon’s army had turned northwest, along the Caswick road. Liam felt a palpable relief. They’d asked about Edon’s army in each village they passed and had been met with angry mutters. Apparently Edon had been camping his men in whatever field they were passing by at sundown, trampling crops and upsetting livestock.
“What lies up the Caswick road?” Katin asked as they walked on that afternoon. They’d ridden the morning, and Liam wanted to give Bandit some rest.
“Caswick County, for starters. Then the road runs along the Black Dells through Witchdale, and into Cold Hills County and the Black Mountains. It seems Edon really is going to fight the Vaslanders.”
Katin was holding his hand, and he felt her grip tighten. “With that power of his… If he uses it against them…”
Liam snorted. “Edon used his power against his own people. Vaslanders are less than animals to him.”
He meant to elaborate on that, but he heard a rhythm building, and looked back to see a lone rider cantering along toward them. There was no one else in sight on the road, fore or back. As the rider closed, Liam could see a glint of armor under his cloak. He was only one man, and they were two, but Katin had no weapon…
Liam loosened his sword in its scabbard and discreetly checked his dagger as the rider approached. But he sped past, causing Bandit to shy back a little. Katin watched the rider go by with searching eyes.
Liam had begun to relax when the man pulled up short and turned to trot back toward them. He hadn’t reached for any weapon, but Liam now noticed that he wore silvered plate pauldrons over mail, and a black cloak. It could just be a coincidence…
The rider came to a halt before them. No, Liam was certain now, and his stomach tightened. The crest emblazoned on the man’s pauldrons, a sword lain across balance scales, was unmistakable. This was a Warden of Aendavar.
“Ho there,” the Warden called.
“Good afternoon, sir Warden,” Liam replied. The Warden blocked the road ahead of them, making Liam and Katin come to a stop. Bandit halted as well, eyeing the Warden’s own horse. Pray that this Warden is on his own business, and not sent by Princess Taya, Liam thought. Wardens occupied many roles; sometimes they were attached to army garrisons, as sort of spiritual warriors in residence. Other times they acted as roving constables, helping hunt down criminals and brigands. Or escapees.
“What are your names?” the Warden demanded. It was not posed rudely, but the man’s natural tone dripped with hostility.
“Will White, and this is my wife, Rose.” Katin curtseyed, keeping her eyes down.
“Rose White,” the Warden snorted. “Well.” And he stared at them for what seemed quite a long time.
Liam ducked his head. “Might I have your name, sir? I recognize your device, but…”
The Warden’s dark eyes penetrated deep. If he turned his gaze on the rocks, they’d divulge their secrets in seconds. “I am Jack Penrose, War
den of Aendavar.” And he turned and rode off north toward Hedenham, perhaps a mite faster than before.
Neither Liam nor Katin moved until the man was out of sight past a bend in the road. Katin had been holding in her breath and nearly gasped for air. “That was close.”
Liam waved it away. “Some Wardens are just suspicious by nature.”
Katin shook her head. “We should get off the road. What if Taya sent him?”
“If he wanted to arrest us, he would have. Let’s just get going.”
———
When the setting sun illuminated a growing cloud of dust ahead of them, Liam began to feel uneasy. The road dipped here, giving them a view across a shallow valley.
Katin saw it too. “Is that…? It’s getting closer.” Her breath caught. “Where’s the garrison in Hedenham?”
Liam gritted his teeth. Damn it, she was right. “A few more miles up the road.”
Katin let out a strangled cry. “He went to get help. Soldiers. We have to hide!”
Liam leapt onto Bandit and put a hand down for Katin. “Save the I-told-you-so for later. Come on!”
He put his boots into Bandit’s flanks harder than he ever had, and turned the horse off the road. The stallion bucked a little, but seemed to sense his riders’ urgency and followed Liam’s guiding hand. There was no time to try to obscure their tracks.
“Where can we hide?” Katin asked, clinging to Liam’s back as they bounced across the hard ground. “You must know the land around here.”
“Not well. This is all unsettled land for a few miles.” The foliage here was mostly short tussock grass, with a few stands of poplars and blackleaf scattered about. Not much cover. Unless… Ahead he spied a wide ridge, with a thick line of trees along its high crest. The face of the ridge was sheer, but it looked familiar. He’d been here before, perhaps on a hunting trip with Asmus and Dardan. Wasn’t there a way up the ridge?
They found it, a narrow track wending between rock faces, a gap shattered by some ancient force, or just the grind of time. At the top, Liam dismounted to give Bandit a minute’s rest. He stared back out over the grasses below.
The dust cloud came closer.
“Damn,” Liam muttered, watching tiny silver dots bob across the pale yellow grass, soldiers following their obvious hoofprints. He wondered which one was Warden Penrose. “They found our trail.”
“Then let’s not sit here waiting for them,” Katin snapped, and they rode on.
Towering clouds loomed above, their tops still orange in the setting sun. North along the ridge, rocks were piled high in a jagged fortification. Liam began to wonder.
“What?” Katin followed his gaze. “What’s in there?”
He grinned. “Rock. And no hoofprints.”
They couldn’t hide in the rocks; the Warden had probably gathered a score of men to hunt them down. They’d be found if they didn’t keep moving, even in the darkness… although if Bandit tired too soon, they’d be caught anyway.
The rocks were treacherous, the broken scree shifting under Bandit’s hooves. Liam and Katin dismounted and walked the horse; he’d do them no good if he slipped and broke a leg, tumbling them to the ground to break their own necks.
Dark had fallen by the time they emerged out the other side. The tall clouds had gone by with no rain, leaving a clear, starry, moonless sky.
“Now what?” Katin hissed in the dark. “I can barely see.”
Neither could Liam, but he knew where they were now. There were some farms not far north, and just to the east… “This ridge backs on a long slope. There’s an estate beyond it. One of the barons. Now be quiet. I have to concentrate.”
He couldn’t see Katin’s expression in the dark, and prayed she wouldn’t become angry with him. We have no choice. She’ll have to understand that.
Down the slope they went. There were no trees here, just the ubiquitous tussock grass, but in the night they might miss a sinkhole or snake pit. Liam felt an itch and looked back. Little orange dots swarmed in the blackness beneath the tenebrous sky. He hoped they were confounded by the rocks, and still trying to pick up the trail.
He forced his gaze ahead. And suddenly a speck of light in the distance caught his eye. A hearthfire, perhaps.
Katin saw it too, and gasped, but Liam shushed her. Sound carried here. Only when the wild grass underfoot gave way to a spongy, manicured lawn did he speak. “Say nothing. I will do all the talking.”
Katin gave his hand one last, tired squeeze. Liam glanced back one more time. He saw orange lights bobbing, maybe larger than before. Closer.
When he knocked on the door of the manor house, the loudness of it made him wince. A light glowed softly through a curtained window. Someone was home, that was certain. Would they answer to strangers in the middle of the night?
The curtain twitched aside and a shape was momentarily silhouetted against the light. Whoever it was let the curtain fall and came to the door. It clicked open a hair. “Yes?” came a man’s voice still drowsy from sleep.
“I must speak with your master,” Liam said as quietly as he could. “It’s a matter of some urgency.”
The man looked at him. “Is that… Liam? Liam Howard? By the Caretaker, what are you doing here?” The door crept open a hand further. Liam recognized Alvin, the house major. Not a man he knew well; they had no particular love or hate for one another.
“Please, if you can let us in, I will explain.” He glanced back. They’d come around the side of the house, and could not see their pursuers; for all he knew the Warden was mere minutes away.
Alvin hesitated, then swung the door wide open. “Wait in the sitting room. You remember the way. Keep quiet.” He looked out past them. “I’ll stable your horse.”
“Give him an apple or you might regret it,” Liam said as lightly as he could, as he led Katin in past the major. She curtseyed quickly. Alvin eyed her with no small wariness, but went out, shutting the door behind him.
Liam led Katin to the sitting room. When he sat on the couch, he was suddenly overcome by fatigue, and feared he might fall asleep where he sat. Katin clutched his arm tightly, keeping him awake. A single hand-lamp burned in the corner of the room. If the hearthfire was the light they’d seen earlier, it had since been banked for the night.
Katin seemed as tired as Liam felt, but she leaned in close. “Liam, where are we? Whose house is this?”
“If the baron’s not here, it doesn’t matter.”
Her eyes flashed a warning. “Liam—”
He shushed her and waited. A minute later, he heard the front door open and shut, and Alvin came back in, tightening his robe around him. Liam forced himself to stand once more. “I cannot thank you enough. Is the baron home?”
“Yes, and I must go wake him.”
“Please, we don’t mean to disturb him. Can it wait until morning?”
Alvin’s eyes narrowed. The man was young for a house major, perhaps a few years past Liam’s age. But canny enough to smell trouble. They’d only met a few times, when Liam came with Dardan on some visit or another. “I suggest you stay here.” He left, slippers whisking on the carpet, and Liam sat again.
Now Katin outright glared at Liam. “Tell me whose house this is.”
He said nothing. She’ll find out in a moment anyway. Better to tell her than for her to meet the man face to face unprepared. But he couldn’t say it. Instead he looked into her dark eyes. “Please trust me. It will be all right.”
Her fingernails dug into his hand. She made to object, but he darted forward and kissed her. She was startled, and when he drew back her mouth hung open.
Footsteps echoed down the hall. Liam stood, his knees shaking. He drew Katin up as well, and she held tight to his hand.
“…in the name of the malevolent black spirits does he want?” came a voice. Two men came around the corner: Alvin, followed by a shorter, younger, pudgier man, wearing a silk nightrobe and an expression of distaste.
Liam bowed deeply and Katin curts
eyed just as low. “Baron Parvis, please excuse our late intrusion.”
By the time he straightened, he could feel waves of fury coming off Katin. She nearly shook. He could not look her in the eye. She’ll forgive me. I had no choice.
Baron Parvis Stanton planted his feet and stared. “I’ll admit this is not your usual mode of arrival. Though I suppose it makes sense that you arrive without your master.”
Liam’s heart fell. “Pardon me, m’lord, but does that mean Lord Dardan has not returned to Hedenham?”
“Not that I’ve heard, but that’s for later. What on earth do you think you’re doing, showing up in the middle of the night like this? And who is this?” His eyes shifted to Katin. Then he snapped at Alvin, “Bring up the hearth, it’s cold.”
The house major nodded and began laying new wood on the hearth at once. Liam cleared his throat. “This is Katin Berisha, vala to Lady Amira Estaile, Lord Dardan’s betrothed.”
Parvis made to ask something, but a horse whinnied outside. Liam froze, and Katin gasped and clutched his arm. Someone spoke, barking instructions. The Warden. He thought he recognized that brusque voice.
The baron’s head swiveled to the hallway. “Now what—is this your doing?”
“M’lord, please—please do not tell them we came in here. I will explain everything, I swear it by Sacrifice and Courage and Terror, but please do not surrender us.”
“Who is out there? Tell me quick and true or by the Caretaker I’ll let whoever it is have the both of you.”
“A Warden, sent by Taya Relindos to hunt us, and likely a detachment of men from the garrison.” He held his breath.
Parvis glared. “Oh, is that all? And here I was, thinking it might be someone dangerous. Wait here,” he said, and went out. Alvin stopped his preparations with the fire and darted after his master.
“Baron Parvis?” Katin hissed. “He’s the one who raped that farmgirl—”
“Quiet!” Liam snapped at her. “Count Asmus found him innocent, and anyway what choice do we have?” He pulled from her grasp and stalked to the doorway.
“What are you doing?” Katin hissed at him. He shushed her and listened.
The front door creaked open again. “Yes?” came Alvin’s voice.
The Warden answered, that memorable iron gruffness. “Good evening. We’re looking for a man and a woman who came this way—”
“What’s the meaning of this, trampling a man’s yard at midnight?” Parvis snapped. “Who in the—ah, a Warden I see. Well? A man tries to sleep.”
“My apologies for intruding, sir,” Warden Penrose said, though Liam had never heard someone less apologetic. “We are tracking a man and a woman ahorse who may have come this way. This is the nearest shelter.”
A pause. “The only man and woman here are me and the lady upstairs, and Wrath take you if she wakes up. The baroness will not be pleased if her sleep is interrupted.”
“Ah—forgive me,” the Warden said, sounding not at all contrite. A long silence ensued. Liam’s heartbeat echoed in his ears. Finally there came a rustling sound, as of parchment being unfolded. The Warden said, “If you see a man and woman fitting this description, or with the names shown here, alert the army garrison, or the local magistrate and constables at once. M’lord,” he added grudgingly.
“Yes, yes, be on the lookout. Off with you, before the baroness wakes.” The door snicked shut on the Warden’s farewell. “Watch that they leave,” Parvis said quietly to Alvin.
Liam’s gut unclenched. They were safe, for the moment. He wondered about the “baroness” upstairs. Parvis hadn’t gotten married, had he? Was there really even a woman up there? It wasn’t unlikely, knowing the baron.
He tiptoed back to where Katin stood. She gripped her skirt with white knuckles. “They’ve gone,” he said to her. Katin said nothing, and turned her head away, jaw set tight.
Baron Parvis came back. Liam fancied he could see a halo of muted rancor surrounding the man. “Tired and in the dark of night is no setting for the discussion we must have. Alvin will show you to the servants’ bunks. We will speak in the morning.” He swept out, slippers whispering on the wooden floor of the hall, leaving Liam to wonder whether they were really any safer than before.
CHAPTER 23
DARDAN
The Queen of Mages Page 26
