Harry found himself quite taken aback by the woman caught in their trap. He was surprised that the wild contraption that Zoe had thrown together had worked, but even more surprised at the woman who they caught. He had been expecting some kind of wild game, or some poor farmer who had come to see who was trespassing on their farm. The woman was clearly none of those things, and so Harry was especially cautious.
“Oh, merciful Magnada, no. Not you.” She had said. Does that mean that she wasn’t looking for them? Then why even sneak up on them in the first place? A soft footstep and a cracking branch turned his attention toward Bridget who had come over to investigate as well. She still seemed distant, but focused on their now prisoner, which was a marked improvement for her.
“You all need to get out of here. Now!” The woman, or courtesan, or spy, or whatever she was, said to them.
“Not even going to demand to be let go?” Harry asked.
“I’ll be fine, but you absolutely cannot be here right now.”
“Why?” Harry was growing less suspicious and more worried. If she was sent here to find us, she wouldn’t tell us to leave, would she? Unless there is a trap for us out there. But then why not just come and get us? He decided he was being paranoid and foolish and dismissed that line of thought.
“I’m being tracked.” She said, in a huff as she attempted to undo the knot that held her up. She fell limp again looking for all the world like a butcher’s next meal. “Why are you still here? Go! Get out of here!” She practically shouted those last words.
“Are they still alive?” A small voice said. Harry turned to see that the voice was Bridget’s. She hadn’t uttered a single word in over a week, and the shock of hearing her voice again was greater than he expected. He took his hand off his sword handle, unsure of when he had grabbed it.
The hanging woman started to speak but couldn’t seem to form words, trying several times to start only to cut herself off. She looked hard at Bridget and sighed. “No. They were buried four days ago.” Harry thought he saw her glare soften for a moment, but only for a moment. When he looked again, only her hard icy stare remained. Bridget seemed to wither at her words, but there was something new in her eyes, even as they dropped to the floor. He wanted to move closer to her, to hold her and tell her… something, anything, to comfort her; but his instincts warned him that the spy was right; it was time for them to move, and move quickly.
He drew his sword and moved to the base of the trap, cutting away the rope in two easy cuts. A grunt and thud made him realize that he probably should have warned the girl first before cutting her free. Luckily it seemed that Zoe had realized his intention and had moved to catch the spy, or tried to anyway, as they were now both picking themselves off the ground and rubbing at tender spots on their arms and ribs.
Harry helped the woman to her feet. “What is your name?” He asked
“Katsumi. But we don’t have time for this.” She said, exasperation plain in her tone. “I’m going to go north, you all should head west and make for the Meja border.”
“Why don’t you come with us?”
“Because they are tracking me. If I go with you, you’ll never get away.”
Harry frowned at her. He had been preparing for this moment for days now. Whatever hope he had of all of them making it out together vanished, but he needed to keep Bridget safe no matter what. “As you say.” He said. “Zoe, I need you to go with her.”
“What?” he heard one of them say, “Why?” another said. He couldn’t tell which one asked which.
“We need a second trail. They will come for us if they find ours, so I need you to use her trail as cover for us.” Harry continued.
“I’m trying to get away from you all!” Katsumi protested, but Harry ignored her and started getting one of their horses ready to run.
“Your choice then. Either come with us and help protect the princess, or lead them away and continue running in whatever direction you were going.” He tossed a saddle bag onto the brown stallion. The horse wasn’t his, but he had begun calling him Morgan, mostly because it was the only name that Zoe hadn’t mocked.
Katsumi ground her teeth in a snarl, and just turned to run. Well, so much for that plan. He had just finished getting Bridget onto Morgan, when he heard the crows; hundreds cawing from the south and scattering in the sky. Less than a mile away. That’s very not good. “Zoe! Time to go!” He shouted.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Zoe had already mounted her horse, a black mare she called Twinkle Toes; women can be so confusing. He climbed into Morgan’s saddle behind Bridget, grabbed the reins and kicked him into a half gallop, following after Katsumi. They caught up to her quickly, but slower than Harry would have expected. She’s quick. Katsumi then leaped high up and grabbed onto Zoe and pulled herself onto the back of her horse. And limber too. Then he turned sharply and headed west. Zoe continued on, reaching to break branches and kicking bushes as she went. Hopefully they could get away fast enough, but Harry wasn’t about to wait around and find out. Zoe would have to save herself; all that mattered was getting Bridget to Meja alive.
**********
Iwan rode at the front of the scouting party, twenty five of his fastest riders with him. On either side of him were two woodsmen he had hired weeks ago for this eventuality. To his left rode Helga, strong and large even by male standards. Her hide leather armor was a well worn brown, but otherwise well cared for. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a long braid which extended down past her shoulders. She carried a spear strapped to her back, which pinned her hair down and kept it from flying out whenever they rode hard. Everything about this woman radiated experience and lethality.
The man to his right was much the same in demeanor, but little alike by looks. Martin appeared spindly under a heavy black riding cloak, with an impressive bow strapped to his back. Hooked nose and furrowed eyebrows gave the impression of a hawk on the hunt. He carried a few knives and a dagger on his waist belt, and pouches full of something that he refused to show to anyone. Were it not for Helga’s wariness around the man, Iwan might have taken him for an amateur. Iwan suspected that many people underestimated this man, and just as many died for it.
“Her pace is slowing.” Martin said. “Fatigue should be setting in by now.”
Iwan nodded, and Martin led the group through the trees. Iwan thought back to how she had gotten away, the very stones and earth seeming to aid her. How was he going to contain her? Clearly she had no interest in diplomacy, and probably had every intention of brute forcing her way to rescue her brother. Perhaps Kiichi will have to convince her, but I can’t ask him to do that. He thought back to the tree they had found while trailing her, broken through and felled by “an extremely strong and concentrated impact.” If he wasn’t careful, she could easily kill him before he ever convinced her of helping. He shuddered at the thought.
“Do you smell that?” Helga said, drawing Iwan out of his thoughts. Iwan sniffed at the air, but couldn’t discern anything useful; the scent of horse overpowered everything. She continued, “that’s the smell of campfire smoke. We’re close.” Iwan felt his heart race a little faster. The thrill of the hunt was a strong thing, even if he had never learned how to hunt on his own; he couldn’t help but smile a little.
True to her word, Martin led them into a clearing of sorts where a campsite lay, coals still glowing a warm orange. Food and tools still lay in bundles and a waterskin lay abandoned in the middle of everything. Hoof prints could be seen dancing around the fire pit before finally taking off to the north.
Iwan was still taking in the scene when Martin approached. “It appears that your woman encountered a group here who were coming from the south east. A small party, two horses, and two or three people.” Who would possibly be out here this time of year? The rainy season is hardly the time for camping and wilderness travel. “They seemed to have caught her in some sort of trap before releasing her and following her north.”
“Why would they trap her and then release her?” Iwan mused, more to himself than to the others. Martin simply shrugged, while Helga dismounted and was sifting through the bags of belongings left behind. Why go north at all? Her home is west of here in the Meja Forests. Iwan sank deeper into his thoughts, going over possible ways of coercing Katsumi to help him finally put an end to Durvinna’s woes, but he might have made a miscalculation in using her brother as bait. Ideally I wouldn’t need her, but the boy is simply too young and can’t even control his powers.
“Sir!” A voice called. Iwan looked up to see Helga approaching, holding a tiara of fine gold in one hand. It had moonstones attached to dangle much like earrings, creating a rainbow of colors as they caught the light. Iwan’s stomach tightened and his breath caught.
“Where did you get that?” He said, stupidly, knowing full well where it came from.
“It was among the belongings here.” Helga said, teeth bared in a wolfish grin. “It isn’t often that we find both the bird and the nest in the same hunt.”
“Let’s move!” Iwan barked.
Ahead, Martin was waving them down. He had the trail. Excellent! I will have to be sure to compensate these hunters when we get back. But Martin didn’t signal them onward, he was signaling a halt. Iwan reined in his horse irritably. I can’t let them get away! Not now!
“What is it? Why have we stopped?” Iwan demanded.
“The trail ahead is strange. It’s obvious and straight, but there is only one set of horse tracks leading north.” Martin said.
Helga nodded and pulled her horse forward next to Martin’s. They both surveyed the trees for several long moments, which to Iwan felt like an hour. Then both hunters abruptly turned their heads and faced west, before looking back to each other and nodding. Martin headed off to pick up the new trail, while Helga turned back to Iwan and the rest of the party. “We must split up from here. One horse fled up north while the other runs west,” She said. “It is likely that the northern trail is a distraction, being as obvious and reckless as it is.”
Iwan nodded his understanding. “Deimon!” He called. “Bring the honor guard and follow me.” He turned his head and shouted, “The rest of you, follow Martin up north. Remember to capture and not kill.” One resounding “Yes, sir,” later and they were off and away. Time to put an end to the royal bloodline.