Bone Hunters would be too busy chasing Tajin to notice her for the time she was outside the wagon.
Peri slipped quietly from the wagon and made her way stealthily to the next wagon, dodging a guard. She started to peer into the wagon but froze as the sound of a throaty snore emerged. Peri grimaced, shaking her head, and moved on to another wagon.
Nobody would trade over the border for something as basic as dried meat, but on a road like this, where hunting would be impossible, a caravan this large would have to have a supply wagon. And that wouldn’t be warded, not when the wards would have to be reset every time somebody wanted a piece of cheese or a skin of wine. After considerable searching Peri found the wagon she was looking for; an old man, probably the cook, was sleeping under it, but she was still able to carefully withdraw enough food for a day or two, a skin of water, and a smaller skin of brandy. Retreating with her booty, Peri nearly collided with a guard, and she huddled against the wagon, heart pounding, for several minutes before she dared move again.
Guilty as a thief, she thought amusedly, then humor fled. Oh, Mahdha, forgive me, I AM a thief. A common thief hiding in a caravan and stealing food. For a moment she shook with self-disgust. Not only was she consorting with a Sarkond; now she’d fallen to thievery. How could she ever raise her head in Bregond again?
Peri’s guilt, however, did not stop her from finding the caravan’s handler and the kit he kept for tending the horses, and liberating some of what she found there.
Is it true theft to steal from outlaws? Would any man or woman in Bregond condemn me for taking what I needed from Sarkonds? Well, yes, they would, at least if they knew it was to feed and tend another Sarkond. But I need him to get home alive.
Atheris was still asleep or unconscious when Peri slipped back into the wagon with her loot, and she saw no reason to try to wake him. She couldn’t tend his wound in the darkness, and she wouldn’t have dared light a lamp even if she’d stolen one, which she hadn’t. If he was hungry or thirsty, he could eat and drink just as easily later. Peri herself swallowed a little water, but exhaustion won out over hunger for her, too, and she curled up as warmly as she could on the hard wagon boards. Tomorrow they’d decide whether it might be safer to abandon the caravan and cross the Barrier on foot or stay with the wagon and wait for the merchants to cross—Peri had her doubts about the wisdom of that; it was always possible that it was the Bregondish merchants who came into Sarkond instead. Tomorrow she’d find out exactly who these Bone Hunters were and why they’d hunted Atheris even into Bregond. Tomorrow she’d decide what she needed to do about Atheris once they crossed the Barrier. Tomorrow she’d ...
Chapter Two
Peri woke, panicking, to a hand clasped firmly over her mouth, a Sarkond leaning over her. Reflexively she reached for her dagger, preparing for combat—
“Hush,” Atheris said, his face almost touching hers. “Stay quiet. We have a problem. Several problems, actually.”
Atheris. Bone Hunters. The Barrier. Sarkond. The caravan. Memory returned in a rush and Peri held still, breathing heavily, until Atheris cautiously withdrew his hand. The wagon was jolting under her and Peri remembered the deep ruts in the road.
“What problems?” she whispered, despite the jolting and squeaking of the wagon.
“The blood spell on the wagon is intact,” Atheris murmured, “but the spell hiding us from the guards is gone.”
“WHAT?” Peri hissed as loud as she dared. “What do you mean, it’s gone? How could that happen?”
“That,” Atheris said softly, “is another problem. We have left the area of the Veil. The road, and the caravan, must have turned north hours ago to have gotten so far. I only woke a short time ago myself and felt that the spell was gone. I can no longer even feel the
Peri slipped quietly from the wagon and made her way stealthily to the next wagon, dodging a guard. She started to peer into the wagon but froze as the sound of a throaty snore emerged. Peri grimaced, shaking her head, and moved on to another wagon.
Nobody would trade over the border for something as basic as dried meat, but on a road like this, where hunting would be impossible, a caravan this large would have to have a supply wagon. And that wouldn’t be warded, not when the wards would have to be reset every time somebody wanted a piece of cheese or a skin of wine. After considerable searching Peri found the wagon she was looking for; an old man, probably the cook, was sleeping under it, but she was still able to carefully withdraw enough food for a day or two, a skin of water, and a smaller skin of brandy. Retreating with her booty, Peri nearly collided with a guard, and she huddled against the wagon, heart pounding, for several minutes before she dared move again.
Guilty as a thief, she thought amusedly, then humor fled. Oh, Mahdha, forgive me, I AM a thief. A common thief hiding in a caravan and stealing food. For a moment she shook with self-disgust. Not only was she consorting with a Sarkond; now she’d fallen to thievery. How could she ever raise her head in Bregond again?
Peri’s guilt, however, did not stop her from finding the caravan’s handler and the kit he kept for tending the horses, and liberating some of what she found there.
Is it true theft to steal from outlaws? Would any man or woman in Bregond condemn me for taking what I needed from Sarkonds? Well, yes, they would, at least if they knew it was to feed and tend another Sarkond. But I need him to get home alive.
Atheris was still asleep or unconscious when Peri slipped back into the wagon with her loot, and she saw no reason to try to wake him. She couldn’t tend his wound in the darkness, and she wouldn’t have dared light a lamp even if she’d stolen one, which she hadn’t. If he was hungry or thirsty, he could eat and drink just as easily later. Peri herself swallowed a little water, but exhaustion won out over hunger for her, too, and she curled up as warmly as she could on the hard wagon boards. Tomorrow they’d decide whether it might be safer to abandon the caravan and cross the Barrier on foot or stay with the wagon and wait for the merchants to cross—Peri had her doubts about the wisdom of that; it was always possible that it was the Bregondish merchants who came into Sarkond instead. Tomorrow she’d find out exactly who these Bone Hunters were and why they’d hunted Atheris even into Bregond. Tomorrow she’d decide what she needed to do about Atheris once they crossed the Barrier. Tomorrow she’d ...
Chapter Two
Peri woke, panicking, to a hand clasped firmly over her mouth, a Sarkond leaning over her. Reflexively she reached for her dagger, preparing for combat—
“Hush,” Atheris said, his face almost touching hers. “Stay quiet. We have a problem. Several problems, actually.”
Atheris. Bone Hunters. The Barrier. Sarkond. The caravan. Memory returned in a rush and Peri held still, breathing heavily, until Atheris cautiously withdrew his hand. The wagon was jolting under her and Peri remembered the deep ruts in the road.
“What problems?” she whispered, despite the jolting and squeaking of the wagon.
“The blood spell on the wagon is intact,” Atheris murmured, “but the spell hiding us from the guards is gone.”
“WHAT?” Peri hissed as loud as she dared. “What do you mean, it’s gone? How could that happen?”
“That,” Atheris said softly, “is another problem. We have left the area of the Veil. The road, and the caravan, must have turned north hours ago to have gotten so far. I only woke a short time ago myself and felt that the spell was gone. I can no longer even feel the
Similar Books
