down the road before I waved it to a stop. The horses were wheezing, trembling, and perilously close to permanent damage, but to say I was worried for their health would be a lie. If I thought running them any further would make us any safer, I would not have hesitated to kill them in their traces. If my desperate calculations were correct, however, the sounds of rattling wheels would soon be heard by fleeing Westerners on the road behind us. We could only go around the corner, let the carriage rattle to a stop, and pray neither of the chargers made a sound.
Minutes refused to drag themselves by, they would just stagger down the road like bleeding survivors of the conflict. The Lady and the Priestess descended from the carriage and meandered back and forth without any real purpose. The rest of us waited tensely listening to the fleeting sounds of battle near the road behind us as Kingsmen soldiers caught up with wounded invaders. I walked amongst the boys, abused legs tightening at every moment of rest.
“I’m worried about the horses. They need water.” ( That one’s Godwin I needed reminding) whispered, “They’re thirsty, and I’m anxious that they might be hurt.”
I patted Godwin on the shoulder as I moved past him, rubbing my thighs hard enough my hands began to ache. Aelia turned an eye to me she meant to be frosty, but was thawing in a way that exposed her fear. She faked a cough to collect herself, but failed. She leaned close and hissed at me, “We must continue.”
I nodded, pitching my voice just as softly, “I appreciate your concern, Lady. Gather whatever you absolutely need. I’ll tell the boys we are moving out light. We’ll grab food and––“
The Lady looked as if I had slapped her, “No! We must keep the carriage.”
I stuttered to a stop for a moment. Gelia had no problem with summoning winter from within her and from over the Lady’s shoulder the old woman’s eyes flayed me alive. I ignored her and tried sanity again, “I advise against it, but we can take the time to have the boys pack up heavy packs from the luggage, and we will continue on foot with whatever we can carry. We will make the oak chest a priority but—“
The Lady had recovered her dignity, but none of her intelligence, “No! We must keep the carriage.”
Something bitter cackled from inside the Fog. When given the choice between a good idea and a bad idea, a noble infallibly reached over your shoulder to find the catastrophically worse idea . I stared at her, catching glimpses of secrets flitting behind her eyes, but I swallowed my arguments, “I will—“
“You will what, Crow?” The lady asked, turning the boys’ name for me into an insult.
“I will range ahead to find the horses water,” I said, picture perfect but wholly affected indignation drawing me up straight, “lest they die in their harnesses.”
She flushed, eyes tracking over my face for any trace of duplicity. I simply brushed past her, and motioned Theo over. I put my palm against the back of his neck and pulled his head close to mine. I whispered orders to him that he probably didn’t need: be alert, protect the lady, be prepared to fight or run. Then Gelia approached me and handed me two folded leather buckets. I accepted them and licked my lips, “Thank you Reverend Sister.”
She did not sneer, her words did it for her, “How wise is it to have the Lady’s most skilled defender leave her?”
I took a deep breath, swallowing the bile that I yearned to spit into her face. When I spoke, I was amazed how calm and level my voice was, “If thirty barbarians come up this road, my blade will make no difference to the outcome. On the other hand out in the woods, I’m the only one that can disappear if I wander into a knot of Westerners.” I fixed her with a deadly serious stare, “But if you
Minutes refused to drag themselves by, they would just stagger down the road like bleeding survivors of the conflict. The Lady and the Priestess descended from the carriage and meandered back and forth without any real purpose. The rest of us waited tensely listening to the fleeting sounds of battle near the road behind us as Kingsmen soldiers caught up with wounded invaders. I walked amongst the boys, abused legs tightening at every moment of rest.
“I’m worried about the horses. They need water.” ( That one’s Godwin I needed reminding) whispered, “They’re thirsty, and I’m anxious that they might be hurt.”
I patted Godwin on the shoulder as I moved past him, rubbing my thighs hard enough my hands began to ache. Aelia turned an eye to me she meant to be frosty, but was thawing in a way that exposed her fear. She faked a cough to collect herself, but failed. She leaned close and hissed at me, “We must continue.”
I nodded, pitching my voice just as softly, “I appreciate your concern, Lady. Gather whatever you absolutely need. I’ll tell the boys we are moving out light. We’ll grab food and––“
The Lady looked as if I had slapped her, “No! We must keep the carriage.”
I stuttered to a stop for a moment. Gelia had no problem with summoning winter from within her and from over the Lady’s shoulder the old woman’s eyes flayed me alive. I ignored her and tried sanity again, “I advise against it, but we can take the time to have the boys pack up heavy packs from the luggage, and we will continue on foot with whatever we can carry. We will make the oak chest a priority but—“
The Lady had recovered her dignity, but none of her intelligence, “No! We must keep the carriage.”
Something bitter cackled from inside the Fog. When given the choice between a good idea and a bad idea, a noble infallibly reached over your shoulder to find the catastrophically worse idea . I stared at her, catching glimpses of secrets flitting behind her eyes, but I swallowed my arguments, “I will—“
“You will what, Crow?” The lady asked, turning the boys’ name for me into an insult.
“I will range ahead to find the horses water,” I said, picture perfect but wholly affected indignation drawing me up straight, “lest they die in their harnesses.”
She flushed, eyes tracking over my face for any trace of duplicity. I simply brushed past her, and motioned Theo over. I put my palm against the back of his neck and pulled his head close to mine. I whispered orders to him that he probably didn’t need: be alert, protect the lady, be prepared to fight or run. Then Gelia approached me and handed me two folded leather buckets. I accepted them and licked my lips, “Thank you Reverend Sister.”
She did not sneer, her words did it for her, “How wise is it to have the Lady’s most skilled defender leave her?”
I took a deep breath, swallowing the bile that I yearned to spit into her face. When I spoke, I was amazed how calm and level my voice was, “If thirty barbarians come up this road, my blade will make no difference to the outcome. On the other hand out in the woods, I’m the only one that can disappear if I wander into a knot of Westerners.” I fixed her with a deadly serious stare, “But if you
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