the place where the stranger disappeared but stopped at the edge of the shadows. After a few seconds, they returned to her, their armor clinking with each movement.
"Did he threaten you?" the first asked.
"No...Yes, I suppose." She frowned. "Who was he?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads. "We've never seen him."
"I didn't recognize him, but it's too dark to be sure." The second soldier stretched his arm towards the town. "I think it best if you stay inside."
She glanced again at the trees where the stranger vanished. Who was the strange man? Where had he come from? Why didn't he want her to complete her mission of mercy?
How did he know about her journey?
He might have told her if the soldiers hadn't interfered.
What about her fruit?
* * *
The next day—the day she hoped to continue her journey—clouds moved in and dropped their rain. Selina watched from her room at the small inn with Beth. Where had the stranger disappeared?
"You're thinking about him again."
"Who?"
"The man from last night. What did he do?"
Selina shrugged and stepped away from the window. The encounter affected her more than she expected and far more than she admitted to Beth last night, or even to herself. "Nothing. He made it clear that I shouldn't go any further. He didn't put a hand on me, if that's what you wanted to know."
"Then forget it, and forget him. You're putting credit in his words, when you don't plan to heed them anyway."
Selina sat down on the bed, her mind on the evening before. She couldn't get the man's face out of her head. He ran before giving her an explanation. The lack of closure to the discussion left her needing to know more.
But if he wasn't from Breach's Pass, she might not see him again. The guards hadn't bothered to pursue him, but at least they acknowledged his presence. She wasn't crazy.
A knock on the door yanked her from her restlessness.
Beth crossed the room and opened the door. "Yes?"
A young boy a head shorter than Beth licked his lips, his hands wringing around something. "Ah...I—" His eyes widened when he met Selina's gaze. When her mark first appeared, such reactions startled her; now she ignored it. "I was sent to find you, Na'Y'dom . It's your driver."
Selina's blood ran cold. "Reen?"
"H—H—He's—"
Before the boy finished, Selina rushed past him. "Where is he?"
"The livery."
At least he could spit something out without trouble.
She hurried through the inn, pulling her scarf over her head as she ran. Her feet carried her out the door, across the wet stones and puddles in the street. Water soaked through her thin shoes, chilling her from the bottom up while the drenching rain soaked her head and shoulders. She ignored the cold, focusing instead on finding the old carriage driver and healing any number of fatal injuries she imagined.
The moment she flung the livery door open, she hesitated. The fragrance of freshly-cut hay helped mask the fouler odors of animals.
After the initial bang of the door, all fell quiet. Nothing appeared wrong. Cropes, the waist-high animals known for the best milk, chewed their hay in their pen. Her carriage was at the back of the livery among the straw bundles, unmarred from her view.
She stepped in and let the door slam shut behind her. Her heart raced. If the stranger hurt Reen— "Reen? Reen, where—"
"Here, Miss!" He stepped around a pile of hay into sight, his gray hair disheveled under the cap, but his shirt and vest bore a streak of mud.
She sighed, relieved to see him but confused by what she saw, or didn't see. "The boy; he made it sound urgent, that something happened to you."
Reen pulled off his hat and scratched the bare top of his head, a hint of a smile lifting his cheeks. "Bit a fear of a lashing, I s'pose," he mumbled. When he looked up and replaced his cap, his smile faded. "Not his fault though."
When he took a limping step towards her, Selina rushed to his side. That limp was new.
The door creaked and
"Did he threaten you?" the first asked.
"No...Yes, I suppose." She frowned. "Who was he?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads. "We've never seen him."
"I didn't recognize him, but it's too dark to be sure." The second soldier stretched his arm towards the town. "I think it best if you stay inside."
She glanced again at the trees where the stranger vanished. Who was the strange man? Where had he come from? Why didn't he want her to complete her mission of mercy?
How did he know about her journey?
He might have told her if the soldiers hadn't interfered.
What about her fruit?
* * *
The next day—the day she hoped to continue her journey—clouds moved in and dropped their rain. Selina watched from her room at the small inn with Beth. Where had the stranger disappeared?
"You're thinking about him again."
"Who?"
"The man from last night. What did he do?"
Selina shrugged and stepped away from the window. The encounter affected her more than she expected and far more than she admitted to Beth last night, or even to herself. "Nothing. He made it clear that I shouldn't go any further. He didn't put a hand on me, if that's what you wanted to know."
"Then forget it, and forget him. You're putting credit in his words, when you don't plan to heed them anyway."
Selina sat down on the bed, her mind on the evening before. She couldn't get the man's face out of her head. He ran before giving her an explanation. The lack of closure to the discussion left her needing to know more.
But if he wasn't from Breach's Pass, she might not see him again. The guards hadn't bothered to pursue him, but at least they acknowledged his presence. She wasn't crazy.
A knock on the door yanked her from her restlessness.
Beth crossed the room and opened the door. "Yes?"
A young boy a head shorter than Beth licked his lips, his hands wringing around something. "Ah...I—" His eyes widened when he met Selina's gaze. When her mark first appeared, such reactions startled her; now she ignored it. "I was sent to find you, Na'Y'dom . It's your driver."
Selina's blood ran cold. "Reen?"
"H—H—He's—"
Before the boy finished, Selina rushed past him. "Where is he?"
"The livery."
At least he could spit something out without trouble.
She hurried through the inn, pulling her scarf over her head as she ran. Her feet carried her out the door, across the wet stones and puddles in the street. Water soaked through her thin shoes, chilling her from the bottom up while the drenching rain soaked her head and shoulders. She ignored the cold, focusing instead on finding the old carriage driver and healing any number of fatal injuries she imagined.
The moment she flung the livery door open, she hesitated. The fragrance of freshly-cut hay helped mask the fouler odors of animals.
After the initial bang of the door, all fell quiet. Nothing appeared wrong. Cropes, the waist-high animals known for the best milk, chewed their hay in their pen. Her carriage was at the back of the livery among the straw bundles, unmarred from her view.
She stepped in and let the door slam shut behind her. Her heart raced. If the stranger hurt Reen— "Reen? Reen, where—"
"Here, Miss!" He stepped around a pile of hay into sight, his gray hair disheveled under the cap, but his shirt and vest bore a streak of mud.
She sighed, relieved to see him but confused by what she saw, or didn't see. "The boy; he made it sound urgent, that something happened to you."
Reen pulled off his hat and scratched the bare top of his head, a hint of a smile lifting his cheeks. "Bit a fear of a lashing, I s'pose," he mumbled. When he looked up and replaced his cap, his smile faded. "Not his fault though."
When he took a limping step towards her, Selina rushed to his side. That limp was new.
The door creaked and
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