Bone Magic (19 page)

After that, all
she had to do was pick up the necromancer's trail. She frowned as
she built a campfire. How WAS she going to find that wretched
woman? It felt strange not to have Tam on hand to talk to. He would
have ideas, too. The boy was remarkably clear-headed.

It felt strange
to be alone. She'd been on the road for over two months with only
Daisy for company by the time she'd ridden into Raven Crossing for
the first time, but Tam had grown on her quickly. Her little
campsite was unexpectedly lonely.

A sound at the
edge of hearing made her look up. The horse was staring at the
road, ears pricked forward, and Tira's fingers twitched, looking
for the bow she no longer had. She really needed to replace it.

Instead, she
dropped a hand to the hilt of her sword and stepped to the edge of
the trees. There could be all sorts of innocent, harmless
travellers on this lonely stretch of road. But the goblins who'd
been driven from Aronia had to be somewhere, and the necromancer
she was hunting might be hunting her in turn.

She slipped
behind a tree, watched the clearing, and waited.

Somewhere out
of sight a horse nickered, and Tira's horse nickered in reply. Tira
heard the clop of hooves on the road. It wasn't goblins, then.

A horse
appeared. The horseman stopped, surveyed the clearing, and said,
"You can come out. I promise not to hurt you."

Tira stepped
out from behind her tree. "Hello, Tam."

"Hello," he
said solemnly, then broke into a grin. "I was afraid I wouldn't
find you."

"It took you
long enough," she said. "I was expecting you by lunch."

"Really?"

"No," she
admitted, "but I'm glad you came to your senses."

He blushed a
little bit, and tried to hide it by turning away and swinging down
from the saddle. Tira fought an urge to run over and throw an arm
across his shoulders. She was delighted to see him, happier than
she ever would have expected, but she made herself say, "Tam? Are
you sure you're making the right decision? You'll live a lot longer
if you stay in Raven Crossing."

Tam turned to
face her, grinning self-consciously. "Yes, I'm sure." His eyes
widened in mock astonishment. "You wouldn't believe how much work
they expect me to do!" He chuckled, then looked at his feet for a
moment. At last he met her eyes. "It really is a village, isn't
it?" he said softly. "Raven Crossing. I thought it was so big." He
shook his head. "I'd swear it shrank while we were away."

Tira
laughed.

"I don't belong
there," he said. "Not any more. The things that need to be done,
back home? Anyone can do it. Harvest. Rebuilding the temple." He
leaned over, reaching under his horse to undo the cinch straps.
"But the things you're doing. Hunting a necromancer. Not everyone
can do that."

He
straightened, pulled the saddle from the horse's back, and lugged
it over to set it beside hers on the log. "I'm all right as a
farmer," he said. "No better than anyone else. But the other
things? The things we've been doing since we met? Maybe I'm good at
that."

The look he
gave her was a bit uncertain. She nodded. "Yes, Tam. You're good at
it."

He smiled,
turning a bit pink again. "That's settled, then," he said. "What's
the plan?"

"Tonight we
camp," she said. "You cook." She gestured at her half-built
fire.

"Tomorrow, we
hunt."

Thanks for reading.
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Tira and Tam's
adventures continue in
Girl in the
Shadows
, available now.