doors away. Promise you’ll call out if you see anything.’
I nodded, and he dashed back to his room. I began to collect my gear, and met him in the hall a few minutes later.
We crept down the back stairway and out to the stable. In silence we saddled our horses and led them out into the rear lane. The sound of their clopping hooves was shockingly loud in the still night air. Why was it that everything seemed louder in the dark? Every deep shadow was the harming about to leap out at us. I took a tighter grip on my crossbow.
Once we’d skirted the block and found the mainthoroughfare we mounted our horses and beat a hasty retreat from Ercan, probably the most horrid place in all Pergamia.
I steeled myself for another sleepless night.
FIVE
F ive hours later I was nearly falling out of the saddle with fatigue, but we didn’t dare stop. If Rodden was right and the harming had guessed who I was, then others might be after us, too. The thought of what would happen to me if I was captured kept me awake. Publicly executed in Lharmell, no doubt, at some grisly ceremony, with assorted tortures visited on myself, Rodden, Leap and Griffin immediately preceding.
Just before dawn, Rodden dismounted and we led the horses off the road and into some dense scrub. I sat on the leaf litter and stretched out my sore legs. Rodden fell into a cross-legged position beside me, hands over his face. The fight had taken its toll on him, and he looked pale and exhausted.
‘Does doing your out-of-body thing usually make you this tired?’ I asked.
He shook his head. ‘I’m fine.’
But I didn’t believe him. ‘That harming might have been following us all the way from Xallentaria,’ I said.
‘I shouldn’t think so. He would have made a move before now. We must have picked him up somewhere in Ercan. That town is infested with rotten creatures. I wouldn’t be surprised if Captain Vermin let the harmings have the run of the place.’
I played the events of the night over in my head: being pinned to the bed, then the sudden shaft of light illuminating the room. ‘How did you know? I couldn’t even get a scream out.’
Rodden glanced at me, his eyes grey in the dim pre-dawn light. ‘I wasn’t asleep. All of a sudden I couldn’t feel you any more, and I knew something was wrong.’ He was silent for a moment before adding, ‘Sorry I was such an ass over dinner.’
I raised my eyebrows. An apology? I wondered if he could be running a temperature. ‘It’s all right. I’m used to it by now.’ I saw that blood had dripped from his nose all the way down his chin. ‘You’ve got blood on your face.’ I scrabbled in my pack forsomething to clean him up with. ‘Did you manage to injure the harming?’ I asked.
‘No. It wasn’t much of a fight, really. He was more shocked than anything else, and that’s why he left so quickly. He was much stronger than me.’
My pack seemed strangely empty. Then I remembered why and I flung my bag away from me. ‘Damn and blast and pox! I left my spare clothes at the inn. I washed them myself, you know.’ See? Princess washing her own clothes. Not a snob after all.
‘We’ll buy you some new ones in Jefsgord.’
‘How far away is it?’
‘A day and a half.’
‘What’s between here and there?’
‘Not a lot. Wilderness mostly.’
‘Oh, terrific.’ Empty wilderness. I had hoped we would be on the boat later in the day. I pictured harmings behind every bush, us being ambushed on a lonely road. My eyes were gritty and sore from exhaustion; I wouldn’t be much good at fighting off an attack if it came to it. But I didn’t want to sleep. What if the harmings found us?
‘We should get some sleep. It’s been too long,’ Rodden said.
I must have looked stricken, as he said, ‘You sleep. I’ll stay awake.’
We’d always left Leap and Griffin on guard while we slept, but that didn’t feel safe enough right now. ‘Really? You haven’t rested either.’
He reached for my
I nodded, and he dashed back to his room. I began to collect my gear, and met him in the hall a few minutes later.
We crept down the back stairway and out to the stable. In silence we saddled our horses and led them out into the rear lane. The sound of their clopping hooves was shockingly loud in the still night air. Why was it that everything seemed louder in the dark? Every deep shadow was the harming about to leap out at us. I took a tighter grip on my crossbow.
Once we’d skirted the block and found the mainthoroughfare we mounted our horses and beat a hasty retreat from Ercan, probably the most horrid place in all Pergamia.
I steeled myself for another sleepless night.
FIVE
F ive hours later I was nearly falling out of the saddle with fatigue, but we didn’t dare stop. If Rodden was right and the harming had guessed who I was, then others might be after us, too. The thought of what would happen to me if I was captured kept me awake. Publicly executed in Lharmell, no doubt, at some grisly ceremony, with assorted tortures visited on myself, Rodden, Leap and Griffin immediately preceding.
Just before dawn, Rodden dismounted and we led the horses off the road and into some dense scrub. I sat on the leaf litter and stretched out my sore legs. Rodden fell into a cross-legged position beside me, hands over his face. The fight had taken its toll on him, and he looked pale and exhausted.
‘Does doing your out-of-body thing usually make you this tired?’ I asked.
He shook his head. ‘I’m fine.’
But I didn’t believe him. ‘That harming might have been following us all the way from Xallentaria,’ I said.
‘I shouldn’t think so. He would have made a move before now. We must have picked him up somewhere in Ercan. That town is infested with rotten creatures. I wouldn’t be surprised if Captain Vermin let the harmings have the run of the place.’
I played the events of the night over in my head: being pinned to the bed, then the sudden shaft of light illuminating the room. ‘How did you know? I couldn’t even get a scream out.’
Rodden glanced at me, his eyes grey in the dim pre-dawn light. ‘I wasn’t asleep. All of a sudden I couldn’t feel you any more, and I knew something was wrong.’ He was silent for a moment before adding, ‘Sorry I was such an ass over dinner.’
I raised my eyebrows. An apology? I wondered if he could be running a temperature. ‘It’s all right. I’m used to it by now.’ I saw that blood had dripped from his nose all the way down his chin. ‘You’ve got blood on your face.’ I scrabbled in my pack forsomething to clean him up with. ‘Did you manage to injure the harming?’ I asked.
‘No. It wasn’t much of a fight, really. He was more shocked than anything else, and that’s why he left so quickly. He was much stronger than me.’
My pack seemed strangely empty. Then I remembered why and I flung my bag away from me. ‘Damn and blast and pox! I left my spare clothes at the inn. I washed them myself, you know.’ See? Princess washing her own clothes. Not a snob after all.
‘We’ll buy you some new ones in Jefsgord.’
‘How far away is it?’
‘A day and a half.’
‘What’s between here and there?’
‘Not a lot. Wilderness mostly.’
‘Oh, terrific.’ Empty wilderness. I had hoped we would be on the boat later in the day. I pictured harmings behind every bush, us being ambushed on a lonely road. My eyes were gritty and sore from exhaustion; I wouldn’t be much good at fighting off an attack if it came to it. But I didn’t want to sleep. What if the harmings found us?
‘We should get some sleep. It’s been too long,’ Rodden said.
I must have looked stricken, as he said, ‘You sleep. I’ll stay awake.’
We’d always left Leap and Griffin on guard while we slept, but that didn’t feel safe enough right now. ‘Really? You haven’t rested either.’
He reached for my
Similar Books
