by Kya Lind
The hackles on the back of Traven’s neck stood up. Something was wrong up ahead. He quickly nudged Barn into a nearby crevice and dismounting, led him around a sharp bend. He ducked under Barn and wiggled his body along Barn’s side in a tight space until he was standing at Barn’s tail. The kid had twisted around in his seat on the back of Barn, and peered down at Traven with apprehension evident in the tense leg under Traven’s hand. Traven motioned for him to be silent. They waited. Nothing happened. Traven listened intently; maybe it had been the wind, or his imagination. He shook his head. Even if he could not see the danger, he never ignored his perceptions. They had saved him more than once. He stroke a hand down Barn’ hind quarter. Traven hated their position. Barn was facing the wrong way for a quick escape. Traven could not risk backing him out and turning him around now. He waited as the minutes passed. They stood wedged in a dark crevice. It was hard to make out the end of the corridor they had been traveling. The kid started fidgeting, and dug noisily around in the saddlebag. Traven tightened the hand on the kid’s leg indicating that he must sit still. Traven comforted himself with the knowledge that the darkness and the rocks hid them from easy view. Slowly, Traven became aware of the sounds that meant someone approached. He moved to stand behind Barn so that if needed he could draw his sword. Distantly, they heard the jingle of reins, and the quiet tread of hooves. Within several minutes, the muffled noise was joined by the low rumble of voices. Traven waited holding his breath. The noises and the voices grew louder. Traven looked back at the kid. He could barely make out more than his shape in the dim light. The kid sat frozen. Barn shook silently.
Suddenly, four horses rounded the corner. Their shapes taking form as they moved along the corridor toward them. Barn perked up his head at the sound of other horses. The kid leaned forward and secured the reins so that they would not jangle when Barn tried to turn his head. The party of riders rode single file by their hiding spot a little less than five lengths away. Traven released a pent up breath. The four riders were big solid looking shapes. The thought flicked across his mind that the men might know the way through the mountain maze to the tower. One of the men stopped his horse short and looked directly at the place they stood. The others continued talking and looked back at him casually. Traven stared at the man searching the shadows. The kid turned around on his perch on Barn’s back and unexpectedly leaned down and wrapped his fingers in Traven’s hair and pulled hard. Traven swallowed the yelp that rose to his lips, and looked up into the kid’s dark face breaking eye contact with their visitor. The man who had been searching the shadows shrugged and nudged his horse on. The four riders disappeared around the opposite bend and moved on. Their voices and movements became fainter as the endless minutes rolled by. When all was silent again, Traven hissed at the kid, “If you ever do something like that again, I am going to paddle your backside. You won’t be able to sit down for a fortnight. Do you hear me?” he demanded his voice filled with fury. He slid down Barn’s side to his head, and urged Barn to back out of the tight space. He remounted and they continued on their way, away from the heart of the mountains, away from the other riders.
Chapter 15
Night found them again at the edge of the massive shadow mountains. An owl in a nearby tree hooted a lonely song filling the night air with echoing sadness. Traven picked a concealed corner and made camp. The kid started collecting sticks, but Traven caught his attention and told him not to bother. After a cold meal of dried meat and biscuits, Traven sent the kid to sleep, and sit himself up to watch. As the night crept on, Traven waited impatiently for the morning. As soon as the sun lightened the sky, Traven kicked the kid on the boots and they quickly set out again. Traven was frustrated beyond measure. He did not know the way to the tower and he did not know what to do about it. The whole country was after them. He couldn’t risk exposing their presence to anyone, but they needed a guide. His nerves were rubbed raw. His instincts told him someone was following them. He looked around again. Nothing. But he could feel the icy certainty that there was someone there. Traven nudged Barn forward. The clop, clop, clop, of Barn’s hooves ringing against the stone floor of the valley caused Traven to grimace with each sound.
After an hour, Traven pulled Barn to a stop. He listened intently. He could not see anyone on the path behind them, but he knew someone was there. Traven turned Barn all the way around. His eyes were drawn to a rocky passage that he had not noticed before. The path led from the valley floor where they stood up a ridge on the side of the rock face. Traven made a decision and nudged Barn toward the ledge. Whoever was coming was almost upon them. Barn steadily climbed the rock ledge away from the valley floor. The ledge was about one length wide and rose from the valley floor up around the mountain base before disappearing around a curve in the distance. Traven held Barn’s reins tightly and urged the big horse forward. Barn, sure footed because of his mountain horse heritage, climbed the ledge with steady determination. Traven felt the kid shifting positions nervously as they climbed higher on the outcrop. Gripping the reins tighter, Traven’s heart pounded in his chest. He felt cornered. He tried to breath in and out to relax his muscles, but the need to fight or run was great. Traven swore under his breath, and urged the warhorse faster as they continued on the narrow track. Traven made a face as he realized that whoever was following them must have taken the ledge also. Had his need for a detour been a mistake? He mind scramble with the possibility of the dangers that lay ahead and the dangers that lay behind. What if the ledge ended, and Barn could not turn around? What if they were trapped, forty lengths above the valley floor? Traven’s chest felt tight. His breathing was more labored than Barn’s.
The trail wove around the mountain edge and disappeared around another curve. So far, it did not seem to be ending. Barn trudged on. Traven checked the scene below him. He couldn’t detect any movement in the valley below. Traven cursed again. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. Whoever was following them was still there. He shook his head and nudged Barn on.
After two hours, the trail wound its way around a curve and then seemed to backtrack at a higher level. Traven was sure now that they were being followed. He could barely make out the shape of four horses and riders in the gathering darkness below them.
The kid gasped at the panoramic view that appeared before them. Traven, drawn from his intense worry, jerked his head up at the sound. Before them lay the great peaks of the Shadow Mountains, and in the distance they could see the steep walls of a fortress built into the mountain itself. Barn stopped walking. Traven tried to judge the distance between the Tower and their present location. The tower appeared to be, but a thumbnail size on the face of the far remote peak. It was hard to judge the distance between here and there, as he had no idea how big the tower really was. Traven next tried to see a path through the maze of mountains, but the nearest ones blocked the view. Traven struggled to find any hint of the route as the late afternoon sun dropped lower in the sky. Sunlight now kissed only the tops of the peaks, announcing that sunset was not far off. Traven’s sense of danger increased with dread of the approaching darkness. He prodded Barn forward, studying the scene intently until they rounded another bend and the view was lost.
Traven rolled his sore, stiff shoulder and adjusted his seat. Now he knew in which direction the tower lay, but that didn’t help much. He heaved a sigh, the cold air smoking from his mouth. Night in the mountains was falling and they were following a narrow shelf around a mountain, being tracked by several riders. Not a position he would have chosen. He shrugged he shoulders. Not that he felt he had had many choices since he discovered that someone had stolen his horse.
Around the next twist, Barn stopped suddenly. Before him in the dimming light was a gap in the ledge about one length wide. The ledge had fallen away at some point. Traven frowned. He inspected the ledge on this side. It still appeared solid. He scrutinized the ledge on the other side. It appeared solid also. He ranted silently at their bad luck. The gap was just wide enough tha
t Traven didn’t think he could jump it himself, and he knew the kid couldn’t. He knew the riders were gaining on them. They couldn’t go back. Traven considered setting up an ambush and waiting for those who followed to catch up. His gut told him this was not a good idea. He looked over the side. The drop was a good two hundred lengths, not a way out. They had to go forward. Traven had jumped obstacles on Barn before. He knew that Barn could easily jump this gap. Traven judged the gap to be only one running stride for the horse. Problem was there was no room to allow him to get a running start.
Traven nudged Barn backward; Barn protested, rolling his eyes, and stomping his feet. Suddenly, the kid understood what was about to happen. The kid squeaked in protest and tightened his arms around Traven waist as the captain tilted forward in the stirrups and kicked Barn into action. The big horse gathered his weight onto his haunches and sprang forward. In one quick stride, the horse sprinted into a full run and jumped the gap. As he landed on the other side, the ground shook as Barn steadied himself. All three of them heaved a sigh of relief. A split second later the ground shifted and started falling away. The ledge began crumbling from the impact of a large horse and its riders. Barn scrambled to right himself, pawing at the shifting rock. Traven threw himself forward almost straight over the clamoring horse’s head standing up in the stirrups. He shifted his weight trying to help the horse regain his footing. As Traven shifted he felt the kid lose his grip on his waist. The kid started sliding quickly toward the rear of the horse. In a split second Traven swung his left arm back, the teenager grabbed it at the same time hooking his foot in the saddlebags, and pushed shifting their entire weight forward, Barn scrambled to his feet and righted himself as sure as a mountain goat. Barn trotted several more lengths forward and stopped on solid ground. The boy slid from where he dangled on the horse’s left side wrapped around Traven’s arm to the solid ground of the ledge. He crumpled into a heap on the ledge and sat motionlessly. His head pulled down into his big coat. The whole event had taken less than a minute. Traven dismounted and hugged the big red horse. He looked up at the kid who appeared rattled, but not any worse for the wear. Then he noticed that the saddle bags were gone. He looked around and then over the side of the ledge. He could not see them. Traven was too overjoyed to be alive to cry over their loss now. He pulled the shaky kid to his feet and they quickly remounted and resumed their track on the ledge. The farther they rode, the less Traven sensed danger. He shook his head; that gap was too wide now to consider crossing it. Their pursuers could not follow them now. They would have to backtrack the entire length of the ledge. Probably, they would have to walk their horses backward for quite a ways before they could turn them around. Traven smirked at the situation they faced. That should slow them down.
The outcrop they were on wound its way around and down. After several hours, they reached the valley floor again. Traven heaved a sigh of relief and thought about kissing the ground. This was not a day he wished to repeat. The shadows in the valley were so dark that he knew they could not go on. He wished they had been able to get farther away from the exit ledge, but they would have to wait until morning. They found a sheltered nook, and settled in for the night. Traven slumped in a heap, the adrenalin rush having worn off some time ago.
Reya slumped beside him. Traven’s shape was barely visible in the deep darkness surrounding them. She was still shaking from the terror of the day. She had never been so afraid in her life. And now her silver was gone, and so was the food, and the supplies and even the bedrolls. Everything, they had nothing. Nothing. Nothing to protect them, expect his sword. They were going to die. She clenched her hands together. They still shook so badly. She was shaking all over. Traven wrapped his arm around her shoulders hugging her to his side. Reya stiffened, but then recognized he was just comforting a young kid. Reya relaxed into his side, accepting his comfort. She needed a hug. They had almost died on that ledge. Her body quaked. Traven patted her on the arm in the darkness, and “Go to sleep, now. We are safe. We will figure this out in the morning.”
He hugged her again. Reya knew she could never close her eyes again. This was she last thought as exhaustion overtook her.
Traven looked over his shoulder. Was somebody back there? The shadows swirled around him. The darkness was thick enough to choke the breathe from his lungs. Fear gripped his chest. Shadows loomed ominously. Traven shifted his gaze. From the corner of his eye, he saw something. He walked toward it. As he approached it, he recognized the door, Lady Beth’s door. He stopped before the door and stared at it. He needed to talk to her. He needed to explain. He needed to see her, to just speak to her. He wanted . . . . he reached out and turned the knob. It turned easily in his hand. Startled Traven paused for a second to consider his actions. Then he opened the door. The room on the other side was dark, but Traven could make out he was in a bedroom. The drapes waved in a slight breeze coming through the open balcony doors. The room was cold. Traven breathed in. The room smelled like Lady Beth, roses and vanilla. He smiled.
Suddenly, she plowed into his chest shoving him back through the doorway, and into the dark shadowed world on his side of the door. They both stumbled; Traven steadied her with his hands on her waist.
She breathed up into his face, her breath crystallizing in the air. “What do you think you are doing?” She demanded; her voice filled with terror and surprise.
Traven wrapped his arms around her to comfort her and to warm her up. She was so cold to his touch. Surprisingly, she didn’t push him away immediately as he had expected her to.
“How did you get in?” she demanded.
Traven shrugged, “I needed to talk to you.”
“Oh, no, this cannot be.” Reya clutched at his shirt. A sob escaped her lips and she dropped her head forward until it rested on his chest. “I cannot be here it is too dangerous. You must not open that door,” she wailed.
Traven tilted her head back and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, “Shhh” he soothed. She melted into his arms, “I needed to talk to you. We are lost in the mountains. I do not know which way to go. We are being followed and now we have no supplies. I must take us back to town. But this will be dangerous with the Royal guards, the Kingdom guards and whoever the four are who follow us. I do not know what you want me to do about this situation. If we stay in the mountains, we will starve or freeze to death.” He paused in his explanation to hug her to himself. “I have tried, but I don’t know what the next step should be.”
Reya ducked her head against his chest. “I don’t know. I’m so sorry. I forced you into this tragedy. I fear all is lost.” A shudder shook through her body.
Traven raised her head again, and gently kissed her on the mouth. His actions shocked both of them. Reya gasped and Traven took advantage of this slip of control to deepen the kiss. Reya kissed him back for several seconds, before turning her head away from him. He kissed her cheek and across to her ear. He had wanted to do this since he had laid eyes on her.
She stiffened in his arms, but still did not push him away. “Captain Traven, you cannot continue to carry on in such a forward manner,” she said, still breathless from his kiss.
Traven chuckled softly in her ear and replied with what she had told him before, “People are not responsible for their unconscious actions if approached in a sleep state.”
She twisted away from him. “Captain, you must stop. And you must not come through this door again. Please.” Her eyes implored him to promise.
“I will not come through the door again, if you answer when I knock.” He inclined his head in a formal gesture.
She started to protest, but he shook his head, “I cannot do this without knowing what you wish me to do.”
She looked at the door and then jerked her eyes from the opening to Traven. “Do what you think is best. I do not have any answers,” Her voice cracked; her despair showing through.
Traven gathered her in his arms again, His arms enveloping her in his strength. She trembled. Traven sighed i
nto her hair. “I swear I will do my best.” She nodded against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Is your shoulder better?”
“I think I hurt it again when the horse lost his footing.”
Reya’s mind recounted the incident that afternoon. She remembered him reaching back and gripping her as she slid toward her death. A shudder racked her body again. His arms tightened around her comfortingly.
She frowned; he talked about the whole thing like it was only a little thing. Was he joking? Then she realized that he was doing the same thing that Sir Talone did. He was trying to protect her. He did not want to upset her with the details. She stared up into his beautiful eyes. She did not want to be responsible for this decision, but she knew he needed her permission. “Go to town,” she said.
His sigh told her that he was relieved with her decision.
“I must go,” Reya reluctantly untangled herself from Traven’s arms. He slowly released her. “Do not come through this door,” she repeated.
Traven softly whispered, “Take care, Lady Beth.”
The door closed, but remained solid. Traven turned the knob. It turned easily. He didn’t open it again. Traven felt comforted by the fact that she could not lock him out.
