Chapter 9 #2
“Is she?” the first one muttered. “I’d say the reason we aren’t all in pieces out there is because of those three.”
I had to agree with him. I had done nothing in the fight against the Hulgrim.
All I’d done was save someone’s leg. Maybe their life.
Now I was dragging them through the density of the trees in the hope that the Drift Wolves didn’t follow us and stayed distracted with the recent deaths of the two Hulgrim.
I pulled my hood lower, keeping my eyes on the ground in front of me. I searched for animal tracks in the woods. Every now and then, snow from the branches above would fall, either wiping out any tracks or making us even colder.
As gray became black, I kept them moving. When the captain asked me if we could have a torch, I said no.
I could see in this light. Most of the people from Crystallese had excellent night vision. We lived in a land where it was determined to be dark and gloomy.
As true night fell, I pulled the moonstones from my pack. I turned to the two chatterboxes behind me, who seemed to think that just being a few feet in front of them meant I couldn’t hear them.
“Lose them, and I’ll cut something of yours off,” I warned as I passed them one. “Take one, pass the others back. Same warning.”
The one nearest me nodded, and I turned back.
I used the light of the precious stone to guide me. I’d been given them as payment once — five stones that, to me, were worth more than simple gold. They gave me light when it was darkest. And right now, I needed a way out of this darkness.
We walked for most of the night. I ignored the mumbles of protest, the sighs, the yawns, and the whimpers from the injured.
I kept my ears attuned to the sounds around us. Beyond us. No predators yet, and I needed that luck to hold.
“Can you hear us?” the soldier behind me asked.
“The whole forest can hear you,” I grumbled back.
“Do you want some of our food?”
I hesitated and then turned. The one nearest me had a strip of dried beef and held it out to me.
“You’d give me this?”
He nodded. “We have enough for now.”
It was the for now part that I worried about. But it didn’t stop me from reaching out and taking the thin strip from him.
“Thanks.”
I resumed walking. The dried beef was tough and chewy. It kept me occupied as I followed the trail.
In the deepest part of the night, when the sky was at its darkest, I led the group out of the forest.
“You can catch your breath,” I said quietly. I walked back to the stretcher. “How is he?”
“Asleep,” Gralen told me. “Lucky bastard hasn’t woken.” He saw my look. “He’s still breathing.”
“They say sleep’s the best healer.” I moved to the horse, the one I liked the best. “As we get closer to Skallfen, one of you will be able to ride and keep him across the horse.”
“Nah.” Baxley walked forward. “We can tie the litter to the saddle,” he pointed at the straps. “Let the horse pull him.”
“If the horse spooks, it’ll trample him.” I looked between the litter and the horse.
“If the horse spooks when he’s draped over it like a kill, he’s off it and trampled anyway.”
That was a reasonable argument. “I have no experience with that,” I said, turning to the captain.
He gave a tired smile. “We do.” He pointed at the two men. “You know what to do.”
It seemed they all did, except me. While they fixed the litter as Baxley wanted, the others took the opportunity to eat some snow or some of their rations.
I kept my eye on the dark behind us.
“You don’t want to rest a moment?” Baxley asked, coming to stand beside me.
“No time,” I told him honestly. “We need to keep moving.”
“How long?” he said in that quiet way of his.
“We should reach Skallfen's gates by midmorning.” He didn’t reply, but I saw his head bob once.
We stood together, him watching the soldiers and me watching the land.
“Would he really have left him behind?” I asked quietly. It hadn't been able to shake it since Nicco said it, long before the fire burned low.
Baxley nodded. “Anything that slows us down is expendable.”
Well, that was sobering.
“What’s the rush?” I asked. “The land at the Frozen Mountains hasn’t moved since the gods froze it, so it isn’t going anywhere.”
He smiled briefly. “I know that.”
I turned to him. “Why now? Why do Darysian soldiers need to go there now, at the most dangerous time of the season?”
Baxley grinned fully. “Three days and now is the first time you ask?” He glanced down at me. “Is it normal for you to accept a job and not ask why?”
I almost protested, and then I realized it was normal for me. “The why isn’t usually important,” I answered.
“Then why ask now?”
He moved away before I could reply or ask any more questions, like why they were willing to risk their lives to go.
I hesitated.
None of this made sense. Why was I here? For ten gold pieces? Was I so easily bought?
I turned and watched them all. Only Larana was a female, and she wasn’t Verei Kahn. Whatever this was, it didn’t feel “normal.”
And I’d been forced straight into it.
I looked away, gripping my cloak tighter. Ten gold. That was what I kept telling myself this was all about.
The farther north we traveled, the less I believed it.
“Ten gold’s no use to you dead,” I muttered.