The Burning Bridge

17

"F OLLOW THEM? A RE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" H ORACE stared at the small, determined figure, unable to believe what he was hearing. Will didn't say anything, so Horace tried again.

"Will, we've just spent half an hour hiding behind a bush hoping those things wouldn't see us. Now you want to follow them and give them another chance?"

Will glanced around to make sure that Evanlyn was still out of earshot. He didn't want to alarm the girl unnecessarily.

"Keep your voice down," he warned Horace, and his friend spoke more softly, but nonetheless vehemently.

"Why?" he asked. "What can we possibly gain by following them?"

Will shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. Frankly, the idea of following the Wargals was already frightening him. He could feel his pulse rate was running higher than normal. They were terrifying creatures, and obviously totally devoid of any feelings of mercy or pity, as the fate of the prisoner had shown. Still, he could see that this was an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted.

"Look," he said quietly. "Halt always told me that knowing why your enemy is doing something is just as important as knowing what he's doing. Sometimes more important, in fact."

Horace shook his head stubbornly. "I don't get it," he said. To him this idea of Will's was a crazy, irresponsible and terrifyingly dangerous impulse. To be truthful, Will wasn't absolutely sure that he was right either. But Gilan's parting words about not showing uncertainty rang in his ears, and his instincts, honed by Halt's training, told him this was an opportunity he shouldn't miss.

"We know that the Wargals are capturing Celtic miners and carrying them off," he said. "And we know Morgarath doesn't do anything without a reason. This might be a chance to find out what he's up to."

Horace shrugged. "He wants slaves," he said, and Will shook his head quickly.

"But why? And why only miners? Evanlyn said they were only interested in the miners. Why? Can't you see?" he appealed to the bigger boy. "This could be important. Halt says that wars often turn on the smallest piece of information."

Horace pursed his lips, thinking over what Will had said. Finally, he nodded slowly.

"Okay," he agreed. "I guess you may be right." Horace wasn't a fast thinker, or an original one. But he was methodical and, in his own way, logical. Will had instinctively seen the necessity for following the Wargals. Horace had to work his way through it. Now that he had, he could see Will wasn't acting on some wild, adventurous impulse. He trusted the Ranger apprentice's line of reasoning. "Well, if we're going to follow them, we'd better get moving," he added, and Will looked at him in surprise, shaking his head.

"We?" he said. "Who said anything about 'we'? I plan to follow them alone. Your job is to get Evanlyn back safely."

"Says who?" asked the bigger boy, with some belligerence. "My job, as it was explained to me by Gilan, was to stay with you and keep you out of trouble."

"Well, I'm changing your orders," Will told him. But this time Horace laughed.

"So who died and left you the boss?" he scoffed. "You can't change my orders. Gilan gave me those orders and he outranks you."

"And what about the girl?" Will challenged him. For a moment, Horace was stuck for an answer.

"We'll give her food and supplies and the pack horse," he said. "She can make her own way back."

"That's very gallant of you," Will said sarcastically. Horace merely shook his head again, refusing to be baited into an argument on that score.

"You're the one who said this is so darned important," he replied. "Well, I'm afraid I think you're right. So Evanlyn will simply have to take her chances, just like us. We're close to the border now anyway and one more night's riding will see her out of Celtica."

In truth, Horace didn't like the thought of leaving Evanlyn to her own devices. He'd grown genuinely fond of the girl. She was bright and amusing and good company. But his time in Battleschool had given him a strong sense of duty, and personal feelings came second.

Will tried one more time. "I can move a lot faster without you," he pointed out, but Horace cut him off immediately.

"So what? We won't need speed if we're following the Wargals. We've got horses. We'll have no trouble keeping up with them, particularly as they have to drag those prisoners along." He found he was rather enjoying the experience of arguing with Will and coming up with winning points. Maybe, he decided, spending time with Rangers had done him more good than he'd realized.

"Besides, what if we find out something really important? And what if you want to keep following them and we still have to get a message back to the Baron? If there are two of us, we can split up. I can take a message back while you keep following the Wargals."

Will considered the idea. Horace had a point, he had to concede. It would make sense to have someone else along with him, now that he thought about it.

"All right," he said finally. "But we're going to have to tell Evanlyn."

"Tell me what?" the girl asked. Unnoticed by either of them, she'd approached to within a few meters of where they had been standing, arguing in lowered voices. The two boys now looked guiltily at each other.

"Uh:Will had this idea, you see:" Horace began, then stopped, looking at Will to see if his friend was going to continue. But, as it turned out, there was no need.

"You're planning to follow the Wargals," the girl said flatly, and the two apprentices exchanged looks before Will answered.

"You were listening?" he accused her. She shook her head.

"No. It's the obvious thing to do, isn't it? This is our chance to find out what they're up to and why they're kidnapping the miners."

For the second time in a few minutes, Will found himself picking up on the use of the plural. "Our chance?" he asked her. "What exactly do you mean by 'our' chance?"

Evanlyn shrugged. "Obviously, if you two are following them, I'm coming along with you. You're not leaving me out here on my own in the middle of nowhere."

"But:" Horace began, and she turned to look calmly at him. "These are Wargals," he said.

"I had gathered that."

Horace cast a hopeless glance at Will. The apprentice Ranger shrugged, so Horace tried again. "It'll be dangerous. And you:"

He hesitated. He didn't want to remind her of her fear of the Wargals, and the reasons for it. Evanlyn realized his predicament and she smiled wanly at him.

"Look, I'm scared of those things," she said. "But I assume you're planning to follow them, not join up with them."

"That was the general idea," Will said, and she turned her level gaze on him.

"Well, with the noise they make, we shouldn't have to get too close to them," she told him. "And besides, this might be a chance to spoil whatever plans they have. I think I'd enjoy that."

Will regarded her with a new respect. She had every reason to fear the Wargals, more than he or Horace. Yet she was willing to put that fear aside in order to strike a blow against Morgarath.

"You're sure?" he said finally, and she shook her head.

"No. I'm not sure at all. I feel decidedly queasy at the prospect of getting within earshot of those things again. But equally, I don't like the idea of being abandoned here on my own."

"We weren't abandoning you:" Horace began, and she turned back to him.

"Then what would you call it?" she asked him, smiling faintly to take the sting out of her words. He hesitated.

"Abandoning you, I guess," he admitted.

"Exactly," she said. "So, given the choice of running into another group of Wargals, or more bandits, or following some Wargals with you two, I'll choose the latter."

"We're only a day from the border," Will pointed out to her. "Once you're across that, you'll be relatively safe."

But she shook her head decisively.

"I feel more secure with you two," she said. "Besides, it might be handy for you to have someone else along. It'll be one more person to keep watch at night. That means you'll get more sleep."

"That's the first sensible reason I've heard for her coming along so far," said Horace. Like Will, he realized that she'd made her mind up. And both boys somehow knew that when Evanlyn did that, there was no way on earth they were going to make her change it. She grinned at him.

"Well," she said, "are we going to stand here all day nattering? Those Wargals aren't getting any closer while we're doing it."

And, turning on her heel, she led the way to where the horses were tethered.