Traitor's Moon

44 PUSHING ON

Seregil heard the first telltale sounds of pursuit just before dawn. At first it was only the distant tinkle of dislodged stones that could have been nothing more than a large animal on an early hunt. Sound traveled in this rocky country, however, and he soon made out the occasional scrape of boots over stone, then the echo of voices. Judging by the amount of noise they were making, they were searching blind, not realizing how close they were to their quarry.

He couldn't see them yet but knew it would be impossible to get the horses away without being heard. With Alec wounded, fighting was not an attractive option, especially since he couldn't tell how many men there were. What he didn't hear were more horses.

Crawling over to Alec, Seregil gently covered his friend's mouth. Alec came awake silently.

"How's the leg?"

Alec flexed it and grimaced. "Stiff."

"Company's on the way. I'd rather run than fight, if you can ride."

"Just help me up into the saddle."

Grabbing the blankets and sen'gai, Seregil wrapped his free arm around Alec's waist and helped him down to the horses. He could feel the younger man wince with every step, but

Alec made no complaint. By the time Seregil had mounted his own horse, Alec had his bow and quiver slung ready over his shoulders.

By now they could both hear snatches of their pursuers' conversation.

"Go!" Seregil ordered.

Alec kicked his horse into a gallop and sprang away. Close behind, Seregil hazarded a backward look and made out a few dark shapes down the trail, men on foot.

They got away clean, but soon had to slow down again. As Nyal had warned, the trail skirted precipices and in places was just wide enough for a single horse to pass. Fresh blood was seeping through Alec's trouser leg, but there was no time to stop.

They left their pursuers behind but kept a sharp eye out for another ambush ahead. By the time they reached the summit, just before midday, both were tense and sweating. From here, the land fell away sharply, affording them a clear view of the patched and rumpled sweep of Gedre fai'thast and the pale expanse of sea beyond.

"I'd better have a look at that leg before we go on," Seregil said, dismounting. "Can you get down?"

Alec leaned heavily on his saddlebow, breathing raggedly. "If I do, I may not be able to get back on."

"Stay there, then." Seregil found the flask of painkiller in Alec's saddlebag. Pressing that and the last of the bread into his hands, Seregil set about cutting away the bandage Nyal had put on.

"You're lucky," he muttered, rinsing away the crusted blood. "It's just seeping. The wound seems to be closing up on its own."

He tore strips from his shirt and bound the leg up again.

"How much longer?" Alec asked, finishing off the bread as Seregil worked.

"By late afternoon, if we don't meet any more trouble along the way." Seregil scanned the distant coast, searching for a familiar bend in the shoreline and finding it. "That's where we're headed. This trail of Nyal's has brought us out closer than mine would have."

He squinted at the horizon, wondering if Korathan's vessels were faster than he'd guessed, or if the following wind blew stronger—

Alec shifted his leg in the stirrup, looking worried again. "I know Riagil is a friend of your family, and I like the man, but he's also the Akhendi's ally. What if he's looking for us, too?"

Seregil had been avoiding that thought all morning, remembering instead that first bittersweet night in Aurenen, when he'd stood with Riagil in the moon garden, sharing good memories of the past. "We'll keep out of sight as much as we can."

Thero glanced up from the scroll he'd been reading, then threw it aside and jumped to his feet. Klia's eyes were open.

"My lady, you're awake!" he exclaimed, bending anxiously over her. "Can you hear me?"

Klia stared dully at the ceiling, giving no sign that she understood.

O Illior, let this be a sign for the better and not the worse! he prayed, and sent a summoning to Mydri.

Coming down out of the mountains, Seregil and Alec avoided the roads and skirted well clear of the scattered villages.

Shadows were lengthening toward nightfall by the time they came within sight of the sea again. Chancing the road at last, Seregil led the way to the edge of a little fishing village called Halfmoon Cove. The locals had always done a thriving trade with smugglers, including a good many Bokthersans, and didn't bother the boats hidden in the surrounding forest. Seregil hoped that things hadn't changed too much in his absence.

Abandoning their exhausted horses, they made their way into the woods, looking for trails Seregil recalled from childhood. Alec was limping badly but refused Seregil's supporting arm in favor of a makeshift walking stick.

Aurenfaie might change little in fifty years, but forests did. Familiar as certain stretches of ground felt beneath his feet, Seregil couldn't seem to locate any specific landmarks.

"We're lost again, aren't we?" Alec groaned as they came to a stop in what had turned out to be a blind gully.

"It's been a long time," Seregil admitted, wiping the sweat from his eyes. He could hear the sigh of the sea in the distance and struck out in that direction, praying that something came to hand. He was about to admit defeat when they stumbled across not one but two little boats hidden beneath a blowdown. They had been stored upside down, with masts and sails lashed to the thwarts below. Choosing the stronger-looking of the two, they dragged it through the trees to the water's edge and set about rigging it to sail.

Alec knew little of boats or sailing but followed instruction readily enough. Stepping the mast, Seregil wedged it solid and sorted out the single sail. It was a simple craft, the same sort that had greeted them when they sailed into Gedre harbor. Even so, it was tricky, securing everything by the glow of a lightstone.

When it was ready, they hauled it out into the water and poled it away from the shore to deeper water with Alec's stick.

"Let's see how much I remember," Seregil said, settling at the tiller. Alec hauled the sail up and it caught the breeze, bellying out with a musty creak. The little craft came around nicely and plunged forward, cutting a V-shaped path across the smooth surface of the cove.

"We did it!" Alec laughed, collapsing in the bow.

"Not yet, we haven't." Seregil scanned the dark expanse of sea spread out before them, wondering if Korathan would follow the usual sea-lanes and turn up where he was expected. They had no food and only enough water for a day or two if they drank sparingly. The only thing they had in abundance was time, and that would hang heavy on them indeed if they didn't spot Skalan sails by tomorrow night.