“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
I gestured to the townsfolk, then to Arlen, who was still slumped against me. “They are becoming ill from the jarring movements. We need to let them rest.”
He shook his head quickly. “Those who are ill can ride on a stallion,” he suggested. “It happened on occasion during transporting tributes that they got sick from the journey. The open air helps. We cannot rest. At the top of the next ridge, I saw a fire near the main road. A group of knights is camped for the night nearby. We need to go now if we wish to get ahead of them.”
Cursing under my breath, I carefully scooped Arlen off the ground and onto Ghaevek’s back. Currently, we had nightfall to hide our movements, as well as our speed, but with a wagon, we were slower than usual and not as stealthy. We would need to use whatever advantage we could to remain unnoticed. Otherwise, we were facing a chase, and we would have to abandon the wagon entirely if that came to pass. Items could be replaced. It was the people we needed to protect first and foremost.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ARLEN
Switching to riding with Tyos helped with the nausea. My body didn’t appreciate the continued jostling at first, but the cooler wind on my face, and the ability to see every approaching dip and change in our direction helped quite a bit. I still clung tightly to Tyos’s arms, and I knew my legs would be sore from riding such a large horse at this pace for an extended time, but it was better than being in that wagon.
When we slowed, I looked around with a frown. They said we would be riding hard until we crossed the border into Al Nuzem. I didn’t think we’d done that yet, at least there had been no check points or major natural changes that would make me think we were in the desert country. It was too dark to see far, but surely I would have noticed sand stretching out before us. All I could see was black.
Tyos’s brother, Dras, appeared at our side, his words little more than a murmur in the barbarian language. Tyos nodded, his grip around me tightening ever so slightly in a hug before he slid off his horse and helped me down. I looked at himquestioningly, barely seeing his profile in the dark. I wasn’t sure how the barbarians could see where they were going, I couldn’t see a thing, but they moved with confidence and when they spoke, there wasn’t a hint of fear or uncertainty in their voices.
“We will walk for a short time,” Dras explained to the group, keeping his voice low. “There are knights farther up the road. If we wish to remain unseen, we will cross in small groups and return to the wagon once it is safe.”
“How?” someone hissed. “It’s pitch black!”
Several others shushed them, which was almost louder than the person’s demanding whisper.
Dras spoke again, still as patient as he always was. “We will guide you in small groups. You will hold each other, move where we guide you, and wait once we have crossed safely. It is either this or risk a chase. If it comes to that, we will have to abandon the wagon and your belongings. This way is better.”
I considered asking to carry my bag, it wasn’t very large and I was quite attached to the things inside, but I didn’t get a chance before people were helped out of the wagon and ushered together in a group. Melanie bumped into me, latching onto my arm, and only relaxed when her husband joined us, standing close enough that I could almost see him against the starlit sky.
“No noise,” another barbarian murmured to the group. I couldn’t tell who it was, it was too dark, but their tone was firm. “Noise is dangerous. No speaking until we are safely away.”
In small groups of two or three, two of the five barbarians with us began guiding people across a path I hadn’t seen before we got close to it. I held out from crossing too soon, not wishing to be separated from Tyos, but seeing people disappear into the darkness made my stomach clench uncomfortably, and my heart hammer so loudly in my ears, I thought everyone around me might be able to hear it. Every sound made was unbearably loud,and I was terrified one wrong move would leave us running for our lives if the knights discovered us.
“Your turn, velren. Take hold of the others. It is safe,” Tyos encouraged, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered to me.
Clutching Melanie’s hand a little tighter, I shuffled forward, wincing at just how loud my feet were on the loose stones as we stepped onto the main road. Every breath felt as loud as a wind storm and the crunch of our footsteps was surely loud enough for the knights to hear it. When I tripped over a groove in the road and nearly slipped, a gasp escaped me that felt as loud as a shout. We all froze, waiting, until Tyos urged us forward again, squeezing my hand to reassure me as we continued moving.
When we moved from the road to grass, the difference was immediate and a great relief. The crunch went silent, the grass muffling our movements so that they could be confused easily with the wind rustling.
Tyos led us to where the others were waiting, pressing a kiss to my temple and whispering an almost silent “good job,” into my ear before heading back to retrieve the horses and wagon. I almost didn't want to let him go, going back felt unsafe, but he moved with confidence and grace, something I couldn’t pull off even in broad daylight, so I figured he was comfortable in the dark and could handle it.
The group of us under the barbarians’ protection stood silently, pressed together tightly without saying a word while we waited for our rescuers to return. I held my breath as shadowy figures crossed the road one by one. Horses without their riders who seemed to know where to go and how to move a lot quieter than I had. Then the wagon that somehow moved almost silently, without a single squeak or rattle of wood or metal. They must have done something to it because it hadn’t moved that silently before. A few barbarians moved with the wagon, swordsout as they came into sight, and ushered us inside the wagon once it was safely off the main path. I went willingly, despite worrying about another rough ride, and sat near the opening at the back, watching as the last of the barbarians’ shadows crossed the path, doing something to the ground I didn’t understand. They didn’t say a word, only mounted their horses once they were off the path and continued forward, this time at a much more sedate pace than before, probably to not draw attention to us by making sound.
“Stay quiet,” Dras whispered, moving his horse close to the opening of the wagon. “We will be out of range of the knight’s awareness soon.”
He said that, but it felt like it took an age to move through the trees and get far enough away that everyone could relax. We moved so slowly, I could probably walk beside the wagon and easily keep up if I could see properly. But I didn’t complain. If it meant we stayed safe, I wouldn’t speak a word until we crossed into Al Nuzem.
The barbarians allowed those of us that struggled in the wagon to move back to the horses if we wished, though it was late enough that most tried to sleep instead of riding. I went with Tyos since the rocking was already making me feel sick, and I preferred riding with him, but wrapped in his arms with a fur around me that he insisted I use, I got comfortable enough to fall asleep for at least a little while.
When I woke, the sky was starting to turn grey, giving me enough light to see by. I was surprised to see such a vast change in our surroundings. Gone were the rolling hills and plains as far as the eye could see, as well as the dense forests that werebarely spacious enough for a wagon to pass through. Instead, we seemed to be on a rocky mountain pass of sorts, though it didn’t look used enough for me to think we needed to worry about check points. The mountains weren’t so steep to make me uncomfortable, but they were tall enough that we could only see the path in front and behind, which was a little disconcerting.
Our pace was sedate, likely to allow everyone inside the wagon to sleep, and the barbarians were on guard, but not tense or anything. Just alert for anything that might occur while we were on such a dangerous road with nowhere to flee if trouble arrived. When I finally wriggled enough to look up at Tyos, he glanced down at me with a small smile before returning his attention to our surroundings, ever watchful like the big protective barbarian he was.
Looking around, I did a doubletake when I noticed one barbarian riding backward on his horse. When Tyos noticed me staring, he chuckled, not looking away from our surroundings as he explained, “Faldar watch our back so no ambushed. He young and good rider.”
“Is there a chance of being ambushed?” I asked, suddenly worried. It was a relief when Tyos shook his head.
“Very small.” He pointed up toward the sky, where a hawk like the one he’d introduced me to flew overhead, watching over us from the sky. “Talvok alert when danger. No danger. You are safe.”
He said it so confidently, I chose to believe him, relaxing in his arms and watching as the sky turned shades of pink as the sun rose somewhere on the other side of the mountain where we couldn’t see it. Only after we left the pass could I finally see our surroundings. I gasped, sitting forward with wide eyes.