The Brotherhood: Blood by Kody Boye Page B

or anything could be watching him. An animal, a bandit, a werecreature, perhaps even a Marsh Walker, an amphibious creature known not so far north but for travelling long distances to hunt prey—practically anything could be watching him within this forest at this given time. To think that he’d only thought of all the troubles a man could run into while alone just a few hours ago seemed to only solidify the notion that he would not be safe until he broke out through the northern road that eventually led to the capital itself.
    “And here I am,” he laughed, “doing just what my father told me not to.”
    So far away from the group and beneath the oppressing shriek of the rain, no one would hear him scream.
    Shaking his head, he pulled his cloak tighter around his body and ran his hand along the horse’s neck, sliding his fingers through the slick hair beneath his fingertips and giving her but a moment’s notice before making her take off into a fevered push.
    He continued on for the next long while without feeling any sort of dread or worry. Observing the forest, taking into account the creatures of the night which played or hunted upon another and allowing his eyes to stray to the road in front of him, he watched a pair of raccoons run across the road and heard an owl hooting in the woods in front of him. Things seemed fine—even peaceful, considering the light of his current situation—but it wasn’t until that moment, when taking into consideration his situation and how tired he was, that he realized something was horribly, horribly wrong.
    Odin pulled his horse to a stop.
    For a moment, he couldn’t discern just what it was he felt. A short moment later, however, the realization came to a stunning climax.
    No.
    It took less than a breath’s worth of time for him to realize they were being watched.
    Beneath his weight, and beneath the oppressing tide of nature, Gainea shifted her body to and fro while waiting for Odin’s next command and snorted, as if disapproving of the situation or the fact that there seemed to be a horrible omen hovering in the air. In response to this, Odin placed a hand against her neck and gently tapped her sides with his heels, urging her forward in but a moment’s notice.
    “It’s all right,” he whispered. “Just keep going.”
    The horse shook her head, grunted, then stopped and pawed at the mud.
    “No,” he said again. “Keep going.”
    This time, she didn’t budge at all.
    Frustrated, uneasy and afraid, Odin kicked her sides and tugged her reins so her head would pull back and toward him, but no matter what he did he couldn’t seem to make her to move. Even a simple whisper of words, those of which normally calmed her nerves and made her move forward, did nothing to erase the fear that must have currently laced her heart.
    It’s all right, he thought, sighing. She’s just having a moment.
    He waited, stroking her neck with his freezing hand, and watched the woods around them, trying to imagine just what could possibly be watching them from beneath the thicket of trees or even from the heights of the lingering branches. It was said that werewolves still existed in these parts—that, regardless of the great hunt that had once taken place, a few managed to exist—but if they happened to be watching them he couldn’t be sure. Even if he could know, he didn’t necessarily want to, but that was beside the point.
    Slowly, but assuredly, Gainea began to take her first few steps up the road since pausing in midstride.
    Odin sighed.
    Directly before them, he considered the reality of his situation and began to grow uneasy at the fact that, soon, they would have to stop, if only because both he and his mount needed rest.
    After taking a moment to deliberate on his situation, Odin turned Gainea off the beaten path and began to follow a range of rocks that was bound to lead to a cave at some point.
    Please, he thought, leading her deeper into the woods. Give me a cave—a