Chapter 29 Aleksis
29
Aleksis
Was it because she had her amber owl back? Could such a small thing make such a difference? Or was this the quality he’d seen in her on that first day, when she stepped out in front of a crowd to put all her focus on that terrified horse, work out what was wrong, and somehow fix it? Back at Heartwood people seemed to think she was odd, awkward. What he’d seen was a leader in the making. She could be an asset to his cause. But she still didn’t trust him and might not do so even when she heard his story.
For a while that fine, courageous person had lost herself, and no wonder. What she’d been through was enough to shatter the strongest. But now he saw her again. Saw what the future might hold, with her on the team.
Foolish, to entertain such thoughts. Why would she ever want to help him? As soon Heartwood was free of the Ruler’s men she’d go back there, settle into her solitary life, be at peace. Marry Lukas, perhaps. Though now there was a rift between them that would be hard to mend. Lukas was doing everything he could to avoid speaking to her. He wasn’t saying much to anyone. Aleksis had seen the expression on Karolis’s face when he tended to those injuries, and knew they were bad. An inflamed burn. Bruises everywhere. The goatherd had good reason to be out of sorts. And although Stasya kept herself busy, she often looked as if she were holding back tears.
His mind was too much occupied with this. He had a plan, she was cooperating with it so far, and there was no point in trying to predict the future. He’d get his team to the forest, he’d make sure Elisabeta’s men didn’t track them down, they’d reach the lake and Stasya would guide them on from there. They’d reach a place that felt safe enough, and he would tell her the story. And then they would go on. To the Hermit, or as close to it as they needed to. If there was anything he believed from the old tales, it was that the place held secrets. A person might say it held magic. Maybe not the magic those ancient storytellers believed in, with spells and transformations. But there were other kinds of magic. The magic of the sun rising in the east every morning. The magic of the stars appearing in the night sky. The magic of finding something lost.
—
Stasya had been right about waiting. After two nights Lukas was able to ride on his own, and they moved on. When they were riding, Flip accompanied them as a bird. By night she returned to dog form, keeping Stasya warm when they sheltered in their makeshift camps. Aleksis was never quite sure if the changing was something Flip did on her own or if Stasya was in control. Right now, it was convenient for everyone. The dog was too short-legged to keep pace with the group, and he could not imagine balancing Flip on a horse while riding.
He wondered if the creature thought like a dog, or a bird, or more like a human. He wondered if Flip was to be trusted. Might she be used as a messenger, able to fly ahead and bring back vital information? He couldn’t ask Stasya about this. It would only increase her suspicion of his motives. It doesn’t matter what she thinks of you , he told himself sharply. Her approval is not required. Only her agreement. And he reminded himself that although he was no longer the Ruler’s senior adviser, he now had a far more important job to do. He must direct all his skills to achieving the goal. He could not afford to be distracted.
—
Not every night could be spent in the shelter of a safe house. The Ruler’s men would be seeking them out. Some of those places presented too high a risk, not only to his team, but also to those ready to provide safe haven. This must not descend into a bloodbath.
His companions were practised at making camp quickly and efficiently, with minimal light and noise. They were good at finding concealed spots that suited the purpose: under the shallow overhang of a rock formation or in a hollow defended by thorn bushes. There came an evening when they reached what seemed a suitable spot, a derelict building by a burial ground, where oddly shifting shadows suggested the presence of ghosts, or would do if a person believed in such things. But Flip did not like that place. In dog form, with her ears laid back and her eyes wide, she stood rooted to the spot, whining. Stasya dismounted, picked her up, tucked the little one into the hood of her cloak, and scrambled back to the saddle unaided. So much for his doubts about transporting a dog on horseback. They rode on in silence and made camp later in a nearby woodland.
Everyone was edgy. To reach the point where Aleksis planned to enter the forest, they would need to skirt close to the village of Sweetwater, where folk might recognise Stasya or Lukas. With the Commander and his men still in the general area there was a possibility of running into someone who would alert him to their presence. If Rihard got word that Stasya was travelling with them, disaster might follow. Aleksis had a plan for that possibility, but he shrank from needing to use it. He would have to convince Rihard that they were in fact following instructions from the Ruler and hope the Commander would sanction their expedition without insisting they take some of his own men with them.
Ideally they’d be seen by nobody, but that was unlikely. Going by night might arouse particular suspicion, should someone happen to be outside after dark as they rode past. So, one cover story for Rihard’s men and perhaps another for the local folk. But if Elisabeta had acted promptly, word might already have reached Rihard that they’d left Dragon’s Keep and who was in their party. Rihard’s men might have told the locals to keep a look out.
Silent. Quick. Invisible. But there were problems with that. They’d have to stop at the last safe house to get the horses settled and to catch some rest before they headed on into the forest. And they needed to know how things stood in Heartwood. What was the situation of the folk there? Had Rihard made further advances toward the Hermit, maybe as far as the lake they intended to pass? And, although Lukas was sunk in grim silence much of the time, Aleksis thought he might want to know if his people were safe and well, or as well as they could be under the circumstances. If the goatherd could be assured of that, he’d be less likely to take some unpredictable action and put them all at risk.
They talked about the options around their fire, a small one adequate for boiling water but insufficient to keep all of them warm enough. It came naturally now to speak in something just above a whisper, though it seemed they were alone save for an owl that contributed a sombre call now and then.
‘We can’t send anyone right into Heartwood,’ Matiss said. ‘We’re all known to someone there, either the Commander’s men or the locals. What we need is a general picture, how much damage has been done since we left, are folk going about their daily business as usual, and so on. We need to see without being seen. That’s the challenge.’
Aleksis waited for Stasya to offer the services of Flip, but she did not speak. ‘You’re the giant among us, Matiss,’ he said. ‘Too easy to spot.’
‘And you’re the indispensable leader,’ said Pavel with a smile. ‘Not you either.’
‘I could go—’ Stasya began.
‘No. You’ve got a job ahead that nobody else can do. Besides, think what might happen if you were seen.’
She gave Aleksis a look. ‘The same sort of thing that would happen to any of us. If you’re the leader, that’s your choice. Whoever takes this on takes on the risk.’
Karolis and Pavel both spoke at once, then halted, looking at each other. Perhaps both had been intending to volunteer, but Stasya spoke next, surprising them.
‘I have a suggestion. My cottage should be empty. I can’t see anyone choosing to stay there in my absence; the local people are wary of the place. One of you could shelter there. From just a bit further along the hillside you can get a good view. You’d need to be careful to stay under the forest edge, out of sight, and not stay too long. And … if Pavel goes, he should wear a hat. His hair makes him easier to spot.’
They all looked at Pavel, whose head of honey-gold hair did indeed mark him out.
‘I’ll shave your head if you want,’ suggested Karolis, lifting a brow.
‘With that blunt thing of Matiss’s? No, thank you. The hat will do. What do you say, Aleks? We’d need to arrange a meeting place, somewhere I can find you afterwards. And I’d have to go in on foot. Could be slow.’
‘It’s too high a risk for the small amount of information we’d get out of it, Pavel. And you’d be unlikely to spot anyone you recognised without being seen yourself.’
‘I could get a general idea of how things stand there. Without that, we might head into the forest and walk straight into Rihard’s men coming the other way. Some of those men are our friends; we’ve worked alongside them. Just imagine it. A pitched battle against our own. On those narrow pathways. It doesn’t bear thinking about.’
Aleksis was reminded how young Pavel was: a year or two Lukas’s senior, at most. He was reminded that being a leader brought the kind of challenges no man wants to face. ‘We have to leave the horses at the safe house before any of us enters the forest. It’s closer to Sweetwater than is ideal, but they can accommodate animals. We’d wait there for you. Their farmland borders the forest. I think you could make your way to Heartwood settlement in a day and a half on foot, possibly less. But I’m far from sure it’s worth the risk involved.’ He’d have to ask her. ‘Stasya, may I have a word with you in private?’
When they were camped out in the open, a private talk meant walking a certain distance from the fire and hoping the others couldn’t overhear. They went to the spot where their horses, hobbled, stood quietly under the spreading limbs of a beech. Flip came with them, trotting along at Stasya’s heels. At her approach, the horses shifted, suddenly restless.
‘Don’t answer this if you don’t want to,’ Aleksis said. ‘Can Flip carry messages when she’s in bird form? Can she pass on information to you in some way?’ It was too dark for him to read Stasya’s expression. He knew he was treading on perilous ground.
‘You’re asking if she could be sent to Heartwood instead of Pavel? Or are you trying to get me to admit to some kind of witchcraft?’
That felt like a slap in the face. ‘Do you really need to ask me that? Don’t we know each other well enough now for such a question to be plainly ridiculous?’
‘What, the idea that I might be using magic, or the idea that you might accuse me of something punishable by death?’
‘One moment you’re acting as part of the team, and the next you’re speaking to me as if I were …’ As if I were Rihard. Or Elisabeta. He ordered himself to stop talking; to draw breath. To remember why he was here and not at court doing his job. ‘I’m not accusing you of anything. I mean you no harm, Stasya, I swear it. I’m asking because I think maybe Flip can help us, and all I want to know is whether that’s possible, and whether you – and she – would be prepared to do it.’
She was silent for a little. ‘You’re asking me to talk about something nobody else knows. It’s hard for me to trust anyone with this, Aleks.’
It was the first time she had used this form of his name. She had an almost uncanny ability to remind him that beneath the court adviser, the Ruler’s trusted confidant, the leader, there was … just a man. An ordinary man, as prone to weakness and self-doubt as any other. A man who sometimes longed for everything to be as it had been when he was ten years old, before his world changed. ‘I did say you need not answer.’
Stasya heaved a sigh. ‘The answer is yes and no. She can be asked to bring back information, but … only the simplest, the kind of thing you could explain in pictures. And she can’t take a message to someone else. Only to me. Not in words. It’s more … thoughts and feelings. A dog can’t speak human language, and a woman can’t speak the tongue of dogs. Or birds.’
Although he could barely see her in the night, Aleksis knew her eyes were turned on him. He felt it all through his body. A gaze of such intensity could only be met by another of the same. He squared his shoulders and drew a deep breath. ‘I promise I won’t pass this information on to anyone else. So, you’re saying she could be sent to do this particular job, but perhaps what we need to know is too complex? Or you have other reasons for not wanting to ask this of her?’
‘It’s more that she doesn’t want to do it. I can feel that. She doesn’t want to go back without me. She’s afraid.’
‘And that tells you … what? That none of us should go?’
Stasya did not answer straightaway. She bent to gather Flip up. ‘She can’t explain. It doesn’t work that way. But her mind is full of things that could go wrong. Death. Loss. Disaster. She wants to stay with me. And I know I’m not the right person to go to Heartwood.’
A polite cough alerted them to the presence of Matiss, standing a discreet distance away, his tall form silhouetted by the fire. ‘Tea’s brewed. And then you should both get some sleep, whatever the decision is.’
‘What do you think, Matiss?’ Aleksis kept his voice down, wanting only his old friend’s opinion. Matiss made safe choices, not reckless ones. He was a steady companion; a reliable adviser. And Stasya trusted him.
‘We can’t guess the situation with Rihard, but up till the time we left Dragon’s Keep there was no mention of his being withdrawn by the Ruler. Pavel would have known if she’d set that in motion; word spreads quickly among the guards. In the morning, whatever we decide, we must move on to the farm and settle the horses in. We should leave early, at very first light. The fellow who lives there won’t talk out of turn, I know that. Even so, he should be given as little information as possible. If Pavel’s going to do this, we should part ways before we reach that place. We give him supplies and a good cover story; we take his horse to the farm along with ours. The farmer never sees him.’
‘How do we explain the extra horse?’ Stasya asked.
‘We don’t,’ Aleksis said. ‘The less explanation the better. The folk in our safe houses know, in a general way, what this endeavour is all about. They believe in our cause. They understand why we don’t give them a lot of detail.’
‘Tea,’ said Matiss. ‘It’s late. And Lukas is sitting over there half asleep but trying to keep his eye on you two. If he’s to ride again tomorrow, he needs rest. Aleks, I think you can trust Pavel with this. He’s eager to help. He knows the risk.’