Tinker's War (The Tinkerer's Daughter Book 2) by Jamie Sedgwick Page B

and with him on horseback, we wouldn’t have been able to match his pace by running through the trees. That left us only two choices: travel as a group on foot, or on horseback.
    As it turned out, we couldn’t even manage that much. We spent a short amount of time trying to capture the horses but it quickly became apparent that we weren’t going to succeed. They had been trained to fear strangers, and to return to their group if they became separated from their riders. After several failed attempts at wrangling one of the creatures, we gave up in disgust and gathered our supplies to leave.
    We headed directly east, hoping to evade the Vangar scouts and make our way into the Blackrock mountains as quickly as possible. Our plan worked. We passed through the foothills unmolested, and by dawn we were traveling southward along the steep mountainsides. Tam served as our guide, quickly locating deer trails and passable terrain that allowed us to travel faster than we might have otherwise. Still, traveling through the untamed wilderness was wearing, and Robie had pushed himself to his limits. When we stopped to rest at noon, he leaned up against the mossy stump of a tree and immediately fell asleep. When Tam heard him snoring, he snorted.
    “Some warrior you have there,” he said. “Not only are humans stupid, they can’t even go two or three days without sleep, or they fall down on the trail.”
    “Yet when I needed him, he stayed with me instead of slinking through the shadows like a skunk,” I snapped.
    Tam rolled his eyes, but had nothing more to say. He left a few minutes later to go scout out the hills ahead. I took advantage of the time to prepare a meal. I made a small fire and heated some of the provisions we’d saved from Corsan’s wagon. As I stared into the flames I thought of General Corsan and the memories suddenly washed over me in a flood. Turbulent emotions rose up within me, overwhelming my senses. I felt the sharp pain of loss, and a gnawing emptiness threatening to consume me. I wasn’t prepared for the grief yet, but it was there and it would not be denied. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
    I reflected on the time I had spent with Corsan in the past; of the long walks and conversations we’d had over the years. I thought of the stories he had told me about my father and their friendship, and more tears came. I leaned forward, head pressed to my knees, weeping into my skirts.
    I lose everyone, I thought. My father and then my mother, and now the general. I hardly dared even hope that Tinker was still alive. Perhaps I was cursed. After all, what connected all of these people, if not me? Was it possible that they’d still be alive if I hadn’t come into their lives?
    I had no answer, of course, except for the understanding that my entire life had been defined by loss. I was deeply afraid for those I loved, not just because of the bad luck that seemed to follow me, but also for the pain I would suffer in their absence. What about Tinker? Would he be next to die? Had he died already? Robie? How many others would I have to lose?
    I brushed the tears away and poked at the coals with a stick, telling myself that everything would be all right. That was what Corsan would have said. He’d have told me to toughen up, to do what it took to survive and quietly plan my revenge. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the heart for revenge. I felt as if something inside of me had broken and it might never heal. I couldn’t bear the thought of a world without Tinker, but in light of the general’s death, I had to face that possibility. For all I knew, Tinker might already be dead.
    And if he was? Then what? Could I go on, knowing that everyone I’d ever cared about had died? Did I have the strength to persevere? At that moment, I couldn’t even find a reason to try. I had already come so close to losing everything. I didn’t know if I could take one more death.
    As I stared into the embers, I reached deep down inside