CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE #3
Deckard tried to reassure himself that all was well. They might have gotten caught up . . . Doing what? It was a village. There wouldn’t be sights to see or special wares to peruse. They should have returned, which meant something was wrong.
Subconsciously, Deckard shut Hewitt out, the ghost disappearing without a trace.
While Ethenn beat Thom a second time in a row, Deckard moved for his horse. “Loxley,” he called.
Ethenn turned, alert.
“We’re going to Dunneshead,” he ordered.
The whole troop stared at him in surprise.
“Jonn,” Ilain said warily. “That’s—”
“It’s been too long,” he interrupted, clasping his cloak around his neck.
He unbuckled his sword belt, slipping the scabbard free.
Carrying weapons in Wauld without a written permit was a crime punishable by flogging and months in a labor camp.
He could only carry concealed weapons into this fight. “Something’s wrong.”
Though Ilain’s expression dropped, her eyes wide with worry, she shook her head. “You—you don’t know that.”
Deckard met her gaze. “Yes,” he said, “I do.”
Thom and Rafferty stood around them while Ethenn strapped his own hidden blades on his person, leaving behind his bow and quiver. His hatchet landed with a thunk in the band on his belt. While less inconspicuous, he could claim its use was for chopping wood alone.
Deckard’s sudden declaration had sent a charge through the camp. They all wore haunted expressions. They’d been in this situation before when the five of them went to save Evylin and Auden in the Water Keep.
Thom stepped up, setting a hand on Deckard’s arm. “You don’t seriously plan to go in with just you and Ethenn, do you?” he said.
“We can’t take a large party,” Deckard said.
“That’s ridiculous,” Thom retorted. “What if it’s an ambush? What if there are too many of them? Two people aren’t a rescue party.”
Deckard pulled away from his brother’s grip.
“What if you’re right?” he returned. “What if this is an ambush? What if we all go in there and find that Blount has them? We’ll be giving him the opportunity to take all three of our Relics and eliminate everyone opposing his attempt to gain the others. ”
Deckard shook his head. “We can’t risk that. Ethenn and I will find Evylin and Auden while you and Rafferty protect Ilain, taking her to the next stop. If we don’t meet you there, then it’s up to you to get the rest of the Relics and take them to the Alliance.”
Thom glared at him, lips parted incredulously. “Are you insane? You can’t do this—”
“Captain Deckard,” he said, voice sharp like an officer’s.
His brother’s shoulders instantly drew back.
Deckard held his fierce stare, then placed a hand on his shoulder. “I need you to protect Ilain and the Relics. This is not a request; it is an order. Do you understand?”
Thom’s jaw tightened in the way it used to when they were young. For a heartbeat, Deckard tensed, his mind flashing back to their childhood. Should they have been ten years younger, he would have expected his brother to lash out with his fists.
Now, Thom leaned in, words hissing out between clenched teeth as he said, “I want to help.”
“And this is how you help,” Deckard insisted.
“No,” Thom spat, grabbing a fistful of Deckard’s coat. “I want to help you find her.”
Deckard saw the possessive flare in his brother’s eyes with those words. It was the same look he’d seen when Thom declared that he would do whatever it took to protect Evylin. And Deckard’s chest seared with anger now as it had then.
Deckard shoved Thom back, breaking his hold, and reminded him, “She’s not your wife.”
Before his brother could respond, Deckard turned. “Ilain, what is the next stop?”
The woman’s eyes flickered from brother to brother. “Dunbar. Twenty-two miles southeast.”
Deckard swung up onto his horse, Ethenn following his lead. “Take Thom and Rafferty there,” he instructed the Mage. “We’ll find them and meet you as soon as we can.”
“Colonel,” Rafferty said, hurrying over. He raised a hand, a Relic hanging from his grasp. “Take this with you.”
Deckard stared down at the dull amethyst. Night, like his magic.
Did Rafferty know, or was it just a coincidence?
The Relic would help. Though Deckard had yet to access his magic, if danger arose, surely he could with a Relic in hand.
But then Deckard had used magic when he’d summoned Hewitt.
And he knew, with or without the Relic, he would find Evylin and bring her back safely, no matter what.
It was too dangerous a risk. If Blount had captured them . . .
Deckard’s jaw grew tense at the thought. If Blount had captured them, Deckard would need to be stronger than the Night Mage.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Deckard swept the Relic from Rafferty’s grasp. He tugged open his collar, working the beaming amethyst pendant under his coat. Its cold metal sent an eerie calm sweeping across his skin.
Ilain watched, her chin raised in question, but she didn’t speak.
Deckard took it as all the approval he needed. Then he met Thom’s angered glare. “Keep her safe,” he charged.
Without waiting for a reply, Deckard dug his heels into his horse’s flank. He and Ethenn tore out of the forest, riding straight and fast toward Dunneshead.