Chapter 2
Theo crepta little deeper under the bush, and at last he could see most of the camp.
He had followed the cart tracks to a road, and guessing the abductors wouldn’t be headed south, deeper into Cervantes territory, where they would be surrounded by angry warriors, Theo had turned north, toward the Grimwalt border.
Hours later, long after dusk, the sight of a campfire glow off the road, and cart tracks digging into soft soil toward a small copse, had elated him.
He had left his horse near the road and ventured toward the camp on foot, finding a bush to take cover in while he sized up the situation.
The fire was dancing merrily, but the whole scene was eerily quiet. Bodies lay around the fire, and at first his heart jerked in his chest at their stillness, but after a moment he noticed the few who were facing his way were were trussed up tight, with gags around their mouths. Some lay with their backs to him, but now his panic had cleared, he could see the bindings around their arms and hands, legs and feet.
All four were accounted for.
Ricardo, Jonquil, Genevieve, and Viviane.
He felt the first easing of the fear he’d been fighting since he’d come across their empty camp.
They were alive and he had eyes on them.
He could work with those circumstances.
He drew in a deep breath of relief.
Then he studied the camp layout.
The children were placed around the fire in a curiously equidistant manner, as if the person who had laid them down had measured the distance between each one to make sure it was exactly the same.
That worried Theo.
It smacked of spell work or a disturbed mind.
The cart that he’d been following was parked off to the side, the horse hobbled and left to graze.
There was no sign of the driver.
He had been operating under the assumption there was more than one person involved in the abduction, because while his students were only thirteen, they were Cervantes warriors in training, and no one would find them easy prey.
But the way they were laid out brought the possibility of spell work into things, and he conceded a powerful spell caster could have managed it alone.
He also sensed a trap. He could almost hear someone whispering, ‘Here they are, come and get them.’
He slowly backed out of the bush and rose to his feet, moving to the right, using the bushes and trees as cover as he circled the camp.
When he came level with the horse and cart, there was still no sign of anyone but the children, so he moved closer, keeping deep in the shadows.
The cart was roughly made, constructed with planks of wood that were barely sanded down. He hoped the dark stains he could see on the bottom were from water damage, not blood.
“You’re big. That’s unfortunate.”
Theo turned quickly, lifting his sword as he spun.
The man who’d spoken flinched back at his speed, and they stared at each other as the fire crackled and the horse moved away a few steps, tail swishing.
The man hadn’t been behind him moments before. Theo would have sworn it.
But he had heard there were spelled items, usually cloaks or pieces of clothing, that could hide a person—make them invisible.
He had walked past this man and not realized it.
The thought sat in his gut like rancid stew.
“You’re fast. I didn’t expect someone of your size to move so quickly.” The man who spoke was thin and of medium height—old and white-haired. His eyes looked a little rheumy in the flickering light of the fire.
He was also unarmed.
“Why did you take my students?” Theo asked.
“Your students?” The man took a step back, and something in the movement told Theo he was injured. “That’s interesting.” He tilted his head to the side. “You also glow a little, like they do. I’m intrigued.” The man turned his head, his hand going to a bag sitting on his hip, and as soon as he dropped his gaze, Theo moved, leaping forward, sword swinging, making sure to keep it turned so that he would hit this strange man with the flat of the blade, rather than its sharp edge.
He understood it would be better to have him for questioning than dead.
The man shied away, catching sight of the attack in his peripheral vision, and threw himself to the ground with a shriek.
“No!”
He threw what he’d drawn from his bag at Theo, and Theo felt the touch of something cold, that stung him where it touched his face and the hands he’d raised.
He brought the sword down, although the change in angle meant what he’d meant to be a broadside hit turned into a slice.
He heard the man screaming as the world spun around him and he fell. As he hit the ground he realized he couldn’t get air into his lungs.
He fought to suck in a breath, and the first trickle of air was like fire scorching his throat, it was so painful, but he pushed through to draw in more, aware he was lying helplessly on the ground, gasping like a fish out of water.
He caught movement, saw the man stagger to his feet, hand at his side, smeared in red. “You cut me. You cut me.” He moved to the cart and came back, standing right beside Theo’s head. “You’re too big and dangerous for me to handle in your current form.”
He leaned down and pushed something circular over Theo’s head. He was breathing heavily, and this close, Theo could see he was gray-faced. Then the rope or whatever it was he’d pulled over Theo’s head tightened around his neck, and his world went dark.