SpringFire by Terie Garrison Page A

unremarkably. I wasn’t sure if I thought that was an omen of good things ahead or otherwise. The road was easy enough to follow as it carved a wide path clear of the surrounding woods. It was a new experience for me, traveling by foot but not having to carry a heavy pack. I could get used to this, I thought, watching Dyster being led by Shandry. I’d tried to speak to the pony, but he turned out not to be very talkative.
    All morning, Traz marched well ahead of us, twirling his staff endlessly—before him, above his head, to one side, then the other. It made me dizzy watching. I wanted to tell him to stop, but what harm could there be in it? Besides, it would just ruin his fun to no good purpose.
    Around midday, we stopped for lunch. As I’d noticed before when traveling by foot, the simple food tasted better than expected, as if the exertion of the outdoor exercise improved the flavor. Or maybe just the appetite. But the day was cold, and we didn’t stop for long.
    Shandry cast an eye at the sky above the mountaintops ahead of us. “I don’t like the look of those clouds rolling in,” she said.
    I looked where she pointed to see a dark bank of clouds. “Maybe we should’ve waited, not left so soon.” I didn’t like the idea of traveling in a storm.
    She shook her head. “No point in that, really. It’s early Spring and there will be storms. Can’t do anything about it except wait a few months. And I’m thinking waiting wasn’t really an option, was it?”
    “No,” I said, shaking my head at the thought of not doing anything at all for Xyla. “Not an option.” I gritted my teeth. We’d just have to deal with whatever the weather threw at us.
    The breeze began to pick up. A gust caught Traz’s staff mid-twirl and blew it out of his grasp. He let out an almost pained cry when it struck the ground, as if he could feel the impact himself. I was going to have to talk to him about this strange obsession he’d developed.
    We caught up with him as he brushed the staff off. “Maybe it’s time to give it a rest,” I said. “You’ve been thrashing that thing around all day. If you keep it up much longer, your arms might fall off.”
    He started to object, then caught my eye and grinned. “You’re probably right, Mother.”
    Well before dark, Shandry insisted on finding a place to camp for the night. “This time of year,” she said, “and this high up, storms can blow in fast. We want to be sure we’re in a good place before dark.”
    “You think it’s going to rain tonight?” Traz asked.
    “I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t. Feels like it might even snow. We’ll want to find someplace sheltered.”
    So even though it was still at least an hour before nightfall, we started looking for a likely spot. The road went through a small clearing that had a huge boulder along one side. If we positioned ourselves in the lee of the boulder, we would escape the worst of the wind.
    “No,” Traz said, his voice full of certainty. “There’s something better a little farther along.”
    Shandry gave him a sharp look. “How do you know that?” I wondered exactly the same thing myself.
    “I dunno,” Traz said with a shrug. “I just do. It’s that way.” He pointed the staff away from the road, a little to the north.
    Shandry sniffed. “Well, I don’t know this part of the mountains well, but I’m sure I know them better than you do. And I say we stay here and make camp now.”
    Both of them looked at me, obviously expecting me to cast the deciding vote. What should I do? Shandry was right that Traz couldn’t possibly know the terrain around here, but experience had taught me to trust him. I frowned.
    “I don’t know, Traz. This seems like a good spot. If it turns out you’re wrong, we might not have time to get back here.”
    He gave me a look as if I’d just slapped him across the face. “But … but … ” he spluttered. “Oh, fine. Side with her.” He whirled around and stomped off in the