Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series (40 page)

Wylon returned to leaning against the crate and looked over his shoulder towards Shim. “The people that put up the bounty are not to be crossed, or it will be us doing the screaming. The bounty is very specific. Do what it takes to subdue them, and then do nothing else to them.”

Heather watched the three men with scorn clearly showing in her face. “I don't care how much gold they are offering you. You've got the wrong people.”

Wylon smiled at her, and pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. “Let's see. Five thousand gold pieces for Aaron Imes, a human male fighter, and” he glanced at the still unconscious Aaron, “What do you know, but he fits the physical description that I was given. Next, we have five thousand gold pieces for Mikela Shaltin, a human female of average height, pale skin, and black hair.” He paused and glanced at Heather, “And Heather Elt, long dark hair and average height. Supposed to be an excellent woodsman.” He set the paper on the crate beside him, “Are you denying that you are the three that they are looking for?”

Heather swallowed hard; obviously they were the three that Wylon had just described. But who was looking for them and why? “I admit that does sound like us, but who put that reward out?”

Wylon smiled again, “I don't know. My contact in Falda met me several days ago on the road and passed me this reward information, and how to get in touch with the people offering this reward. He also said that all he knew about these people was that they were not to be crossed, and I have learned over the years to trust his advice.”

Heather's head was swimming again, and the pain was threatening to make her blackout.

Wylon picked the paper back up off of the crate, “What I really want to know is where your friends are?”

“Friends? What friends?” This time it was Mikela that had spoken.

“Well, let's see.” The old man studied the piece of paper in his hands, and then started reading from it. “There's Derek Aldanon, Del-Atock A'banani, Enstorion, Enton Dale, Trestus Obiah, Philip Connell, and Kara Elba, all of them are also worth five thousand gold pieces. But the big prize is Flaranthlas Eldanari, because, you see, he is worth twenty thousand gold pieces.”

The room was seriously starting to swim in front of Heather now. Who knew that they had gone south? Did someone know that they were after the sword? But who could afford to offer that kind of money for them? Could it be the church?

Wylon folded the paper and put it back in his pocket. “Perhaps, we could make a deal. You tell me where I can find the rest of those people on the list, and I could let the three of you go.” He wet his lips, watching them. “What do you say?”

“I say to the abyss with you!” Mikela spat at them.

Shim moved towards her, his face dark with anger, but Wylon was faster and he grabbed the big man's arm. “I said do not touch them for any reason. Is that clear?” He spoke quietly, but with murderous authority.

Shim swallowed, “Yes sir.”

Wylon turned his head to Jefflem, “Is that clear?”

In answer, Jefflem turned and stalked out of the tent.

Looking back at Shim, Wylon released the other man's arm, “Put a guard in front of this tent and another behind it. I don't want them escaping, and I don't want Jefflem sneaking in. Do you understand?”

Shim nodded quickly. “And if Jefflem tries to get in?”

Wylon shrugged, “Do whatever it takes, but do not let the boy touch any of them.” Shim looked like he wanted to ask a question, but was afraid. Wylon just smiled. “Kill the boy if you have to, if he hurts any of these three, then we'll all burn, and neither of us wants that.”

Shim nodded solemnly, “Are we waiting here, then? I mean to turn the prisoners over.”

Wylon shook his head, “No. There are too many city guards around Falda, so we'll continue on south.” He nodded at the three prisoners, “These three will travel in the back of a wagon. I want them tied tight and gagged. Put a guard in the wagon with them and have him loosen the gag occasionally, and give them water.”

Shim nodded, “Yes sir.”

Flare woke with a start, not sure what had disturbed his slumber. He sat up in the early morning chill and glanced at the sky. It must be less than an hour to sunrise, he thought, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced over to where Atock was sitting, as it was his turn to be on guard duty. Atock was leaning against a tree, near the edge of the small clearing where they had made camp, his head slumped forward on his chest, while he was breathing slow and steady. Surprise and annoyance flooded over Flare. They had maintained a guard every night for the last nine days; even though Leela had insisted it was unnecessary. None of them really trusted the wildling woman, but Atock and Philip had been the most vocal in their distrust. Yet, apparently that had not stopped Atock from falling asleep while on guard duty. Rising, Flare determined that this would not be a guard duty that Atock soon forgot.

He had only taken two steps toward Atock, his brow furrowed in anger, when a soft voice called over to him. “He won't wake, at least not until I release him.”

Flare turned to the edge of the clearing that was in the darkest shadows, and could barely make out Leela sitting at the base of a tree. His hand slid down and rested on his sword hilt, but he didn't draw it, not yet. He took several slow steps toward the wildling, “What do you mean until you release him?”

“Do not worry. I do not mean you or them any harm. I simply wish to talk with you, and I don't want them to hear.” She rose and moved out of the shadows, the moonlight was enough to light up her face, strangely, she was smiling. “I would imagine that you would also not want them to hear our conversation.”

Confused, Flare studied the woman as she approached, “And why is that?”

Leela stopped several feet from him, “Because unlike them, I know what you are about.”

An involuntarily fear made Flare's stomach tighten up. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, afraid that he already knew the answer.

“Flare, Do not be afraid of me, because I am like you.” She moved over and sat down near the fire, motioning as she did so for him to join her. He did so reluctantly. “I am a wildling, called to serve the forest and nature, but until recently, there haven't been any like me for several thousand years. I, and my companions, are a new thing. But in truth, we are an old thing come again. Like you, the world has not seen one like me for thousands of years.”

The fear now seemed to be completely gone, “You really know what I am?” Flare asked. “And you're not afraid of me?”

Leela laughed, it was a carefree laugh that spoke of limitless peace. “No. Nor should you fear me.”

“But the Kelcer prophecy calls me a murderer and destroyer, the like of which this world has never seen. He says that I will bathe in the blood of the innocent, and my name will be a curse until the end of time.”

Leela, still smiling, reached forward and put a hand on Flare's arm. “I do not know what Kelcer knew, I haven't seen what he saw. But I have traveled with you for more than a week, and the person I have seen is surely not a vile murderer. The people of Dal-Arium have feared me, and those like me, without any reason. I think that people fear your coming without any reason.” He opened his mouth to speak, but Leela talked right over him, “Oh, I know that Kelcer made some pretty nasty predications, but that's the problem with interrupting prophecy, you never really know what the prophet meant until it's happened.”

Flare shook his head, “It seems pretty obvious to me; kind of hard to misinterpret those lines about murder and destruction.”

“Really? Well, how about the lines in the Kelcer prophecy that mention healing the wounds of babes, and the sick alike. Didn't he call you the hope of the innocent?”

Flare nodded, “Yes, but right before, he said that I would kill the innocent.”

Leela nodded, “That's my point. You don't know what he meant, so you have to simply know yourself. I can see you being the hope of the innocents, but I can't see you slaying them.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Flare asked.

“Well, I wanted you to know what I saw in you. Surely, there aren't many that you can discuss this with?”

He shook his head, smiling ruefully. “No, not many.” He paused for a moment, “Thank you for the encouragement.”

“You are quite welcome. It's a shame that I will not see you after today.”

“What? What do you mean?” Flare asked, a little afraid that the woman would be leaving them in this strange forest.

Leela didn't seem bothered by the urgency in his voice, “We have come far enough to the south. Today, you can safely leave the forest and travel the highway again.”

“You're sure? Soldiers on horseback could have easily beaten us this far south.”

“They could have, but they have not. They have not gone farther south than the highway fork. You will be safe.”

Relief and a small sense of loss settled on Flare. The relief was that they could start traveling the highway again, and leave the forest, that alone would speed up the trip. The loss was that Leela would not be going with them anymore. He had found himself liking the woman, and it helped to have someone around who you felt you could talk to.

Shortly after sunrise, Flare roused Atock and Philip. Atock had been completely at a loss as to why he had fallen asleep while on guard duty, but Flare lied and pretended that he had relieved him near sunrise. “Don't you remember me telling you to get some sleep?” Even though Atock had not remembered, it had soothed his injured pride.

Both Atock and Philip had perked up when they heard that Leela would be leaving them, and they would be returning to the highway. Neither had liked traveling in the forest, and they both had openly mistrusted the wildling woman. A quick breakfast was followed by some quick packing, and then it seemed like a short walk and they were standing on the edge of the forest. The highway stretching out to the southwest, and somewhere out there, was Helum.

They took their leave of Leela on the edge of the forest, she nodded at Atock and Philip's words of thanks, but she seemed focused in on Flare. “Be careful,” she said simply.

Flare smiled warmly, “I will, and you too. Don't get too near Dal-Arium. Okay?”

She nodded, “We'll meet again, I think.”

Surprised, Flare opened his mouth to speak, but Leela turned and silently disappeared back into the forest.

Several moments later, slowly riding their horses along the highway, Philip said, “It sure feels great to be back on a horse. I was getting so tired of having to lead it through the trees and bushes.”

Flare was a little irritated with Atock and Philip. He hadn't understood their deep mistrust of Leela, and had been annoyed with their joy at seeing her go. However, he too found the feeling of the saddle exhilarating, and returned the smiles of the other two.

“Flare, how are we doing on our schedule?” Atock asked.

“Fine. We're not supposed to be in Helum for another two weeks. We should make it in plenty of time.”

“So the detour through the forest didn't slow us down, then?” Philip asked.

Flare closed his eyes, enjoying the early morning sun on his face. “Oh, it slowed us down some, but we were way ahead of our schedule anyway, and now were just a little ahead.”

“I hope the others are doing as well.” Atock said quietly, effectively ruining the mood for all of them.

Chapter 17

Derek reluctantly kicked dirt over the coals of their campfire. The eastern sky was a beautiful pink, and it wouldn't be too long before the sun was fully up. It was time to get moving, but he still hated to put out the fire, especially when it was so cold. Pulling his cloak tighter at the neck, he knew it wouldn't be too long before he would probably be taking it back off. Once the sun was up, riding along in full sunlight would warm them, but that still seemed like forever and a half away.

He glanced around at his companions. Enstorion had been his normal quiet self, pretty much right from the beginning of this journey. Every now and then, he would make a suggestion, or interject an unexpected comment, always taking the other guardians by surprise when he did so. But for the most part, he remained aloof, that's not to say that he didn't do his portion of the chores around camp, he just remained distant as he did his duties. Still, Enstorion had done what was expected of him, and Derek had no complaints.

Trestus had been the major source of worry at the beginning of the trip, but their time with the entertainers had completely changed the young man's attitude. Perhaps it was all of the attention of the young women, or perhaps it was getting out of Telur that had so lifted his spirits. Whatever it was, Derek was pleased to see the smiling Trestus, laughing and joking.

Derek's glance moved past Trestus and settled on Kara. Unlike the other three, she was still sitting on a log, on the opposite side of where the fire had been. Ever since they had snuck away from the entertainers, she had slid further and further into quiet depression. Now, she only spoke in response to the questions of others, and then only grudgingly. He hadn't told Trestus and Enstorion about the enchanted bracelet, but they knew something had happened. Trestus had even questioned him about it, but Derek had refused to betray her secret. Things had to change, but he was unable to think of a way to bring Kara out of her melancholy.