The Icebound Land

29

E VANLYN HAD NO IDEA HOW LONG THEY HAD BEEN STUMBLING up the snow-covered path. The pony trudged, head down and uncomplaining, with Will swaying uncertainly on its back, moaning quietly. Evanlyn herself continued to stagger mindlessly, her feet squeaking and crunching on the new-fallen dry snow underfoot.

Finally, she knew she could go no farther. She stumbled to a halt and looked for a place to shelter for what remained of the night.

The prevailing north wind over the previous days had piled the snow thickly against the windward side of the pines, leaving a corresponding deep trough in their lee. The lower branches of the bigger trees spread out above these hollows, creating a sheltered space below the surface of the snow. Not only would they find shelter from the weather as the snow continued to fall, the deep hole would conceal them from the casual glance of passersby on the path.

It was by no means an ideal hiding place, but it was the best available. Evanlyn led the pony off the track, looking for one of the larger trees, set three or four rows back from the path.

Almost at once, she sank waist-deep in the snow. But she struggled forward, leading the pony behind her in the path she made. It took almost the last reserves of her strength, but she finally stumbled into a deep hollow behind a tree. The pony hesitated, then followed her. Will at least had the presence of mind to lean down over the pony's neck to avoid being swept out of the saddle by the huge, snow-laden overhanging branches of the pine.

The space under the tree was surprisingly large and there was plenty of room for the three of them. With their combined body heat in the more or less enclosed space, it was also nowhere near as cold as she had thought it might be. It was still bitterly cold, mind you, but not life-threatening. She helped Will down from the pony's back and motioned for him to sit. He sprawled, shivering, his back against the rough bark of the tree, while she searched the pack and found two thick wool blankets. She draped them around his shoulders, then sat beside him and pulled the rough wool around herself as well. She took one of his hands in hers and rubbed his fingers. They felt like ice.

She smiled at him in encouragement.

"We'll be fine now," she told him, "just fine."

He looked at her and, for a moment, she thought he had understood her. But she realized he was simply reacting to the sound of her voice.

As soon as he seemed to have warmed up a little, and his shivering had died down to an occasional spasm, she unwrapped herself and stood to loosen the pony's pack saddle. The animal grunted and snorted in relief as the straps loosened around its belly, then slowly settled to its knees to lie down in the shelter.

Perhaps, in this snow-covered land, horses were trained to do this. She had no idea. But the reclining pony offered a warm resting spot for her and Will. She dragged the unresisting boy away from the bole of the tree and resettled him, leaning back against the warm belly of the horse. Then, wrapping herself in the blankets again, she nestled close to him. The horse's body heat was bliss. She could feel it in the small of her back and, for the first time in hours, she felt warm. Her head drooped against Will's shoulder and she slept.

Outside, the heavy flakes of snow continued to tumble down from the low clouds.

Within thirty minutes, all sign of their passage through the deep snow was obliterated.

The news that two of the slaves had gone took some time to be relayed to Erak the following morning.

That was hardly surprising, as such an event wasn't considered important enough to bother one of the senior Jarls. In fact, it was only after one of the kitchen slaves recalled that Evanlyn had spent the previous few days bemoaning her assignment to his household that Borsa, who had been informed of the girl's disappearance, thought to mention it to him.

As it was, he only mentioned the fact in passing, as he saw the bearded ship's captain leaving the dining hall after a late breakfast.

"That damn girl of yours has gone," he muttered, brushing past Erak. As hilfmann, of course, Borsa had been informed of the slave's disappearance as soon as the kitchen steward had discovered it. It was the hilfmann's job to deal with such administrative hiccups, after all.

Erak looked at him blankly. "Girl of mine?"

Borsa waved a hand impatiently. "The Araluen you brought in. The one you were going to have for a servant. Apparently, she's run off."

Erak frowned. He felt it was logical for him to look a little annoyed about such a turn of events.

"Where to?" he asked, and Borsa replied with an irritated shrug.

"Who knows? There's nowhere to run to and the snow was falling like a blanket last night. There are no signs of tracks anywhere."

And, at that piece of news, Erak breathed an inner sigh of relief.

That part of his plan had succeeded, at any rate. His next words, however, belied the sense of satisfaction that he hid deep inside.

"Well, find her!" he snapped irritably. "I didn't haul her all the way across the Stormwhite so you could lose her!"

And he turned on his heel and strode away. He was, after all, a senior jarl and a war leader. Borsa might well be the hilfmann and Ragnak's senior administrator, but in a battle-oriented society such as this, Erak outranked him by a significant margin.

Borsa glared after his retreating back and cursed. But he did it quietly. Not only was he aware of their comparative ranks, he also knew that it was an unwise man who would insult the Jarl to his face-or to his back as the case might be. Erak had been known to lay about him with his battleax on the slightest of provocations.

The thought of Erak's voyage from Araluen with the girl brought the other slave to his mind-the boy who had been a Ranger apprentice.

He had heard that the girl had been asking about him in the past few days. Now, swinging his heavy fur cloak around him, he headed for the door and the quarters of the yard slaves.

Wrinkling his nose against the stink of unwashed bodies, Borsa stood in the doorway of the yard slaves' barracks and surveyed the cringing Committeeman in front of him.

"You didn't see him go?" he asked incredulously. The slave shook his head, keeping his eyes cast down. His manner showed his guilt.

Borsa was sure he had heard or seen the other slave escaping and had done nothing about it. He shook his head angrily and turned to the guard beside him.

"Have him flogged," he said briefly, and turned back to the main Lodge building.

It was barely an hour later that the report came in of the missing skiff. The end of the painter, cut with a knife, told its own story.

Two missing slaves, one missing boat. The conclusion was obvious.

Bleakly, Borsa thought about the chances of surviving in the Stormwhite at this time of year in an open boat-particularly close to the coast. For, contrary to the way it might seem, the fugitives would have a better chance of survival in the open sea. Close to the coast, and driven by the prevailing winds and heavy waves, it would be a miracle if they weren't smashed along the rocky coast before they had gone ten kilometers.

"Good riddance," he muttered, and sent word that the patrols sent to search the mountain paths to the north should be recalled.

Later that day, Erak overheard two slaves talking in muted tones about the two Araluens who had stolen a boat and tried to escape.

Around noon, the search parties returned from the mountains. The men were obviously grateful to be in from the deep snow and the biting wind that had sprung up shortly after dawn.

His heart lifted. At least now the fugitives would be safe until spring.

As long as they managed to find the mountain cabin, he thought soberly, and didn't freeze to death in the attempt.