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“That will be difficult considering she can fly.”

Chapter20

Evening crickets chirped in bunches of wildflowers and thick grasses. In the absence of the bustle of bartering and crowded streets, the pleasant sound of lake water lapped against the shore. To stay out of sight, they jogged along the lake’s edge. Layala’s calves and thighs burned against the resistance of the dark golden sand. Lifting a hand against the setting sun’s harsh light reflecting off the water, she spotted boats with white sails bobbing in the lake not far off, and men and elves alike carried goods along the docks. No sign of soldiers anywhere. If Mathekis or any of the pale ones were close enough to sense her use of magic earlier, they weren’t here yet.

After running for a few minutes, the stables at the end of Braxentown came into view. Thane crouched behind a huge gray rock and waved for her to follow. Layala dropped beside him and risked a look. The stablemaster they’d seen earlier whistled while he pushed a wheelbarrow along a path around the back. A horse whinnied loudly, and the grasses and trees swished in the breeze. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, she asked, “Do you see something?”

“No, but I need to make certain there’s no enemy waiting to ambush us.” He pulled the hood of his cloak up. “I’ll go alone to be safe. Wait for my signal.” He plucked Tif out of his hood and set her on the ground beside Layala.

“Oh, I’m only good enough to go on covert missions when Layala isn’t around?” Tif folded her arms and stuck out her lower lip.

Thane grunted. “Keep up the attitude and you can walk from now on.” He slipped away with the ease and grace of an eagle.

“You’ve certainly gotten much braver when it comes to Thane. Maybe a little too much,” Layala said with a half-smile. “Before, you would barely let him see you.”

“Yes, well as it turns out, he doesn’t want to squish me under his boot as I once thought.” She brushed some crumbs off her bosom. “Most of the time anyway.”

Whispering voices and the quiet clank of metal drifted from somewhere close. Of course Tifapine began whistling and bouncing on her toes, until Layala popped her in the back of the head and put a finger to her lips. After a hiccup, Tif slapped a hand over her mouth and ducked lower into the grass. Layala slowly rose from her crouch, gripping the rough surface of the stone. Her gaze swept across the land; the road was empty. People roamed the streets of the town below, but they were too far off to be the source of the chatter. Like a ghost hand passed through her, she whirled around.

She gasped, slapping a hand to her chest, and sagged against the rock. “You scared the piss out of me. And thank the Maker you’re alive and well. Aldrich said he held you captive.”

Piper, Fennan and Aunt Evalyn stood with confused looks. “You saw Aldrich? Is he—dead?” Fennan asked with some trepidation.

Thankfully the swollen purple eye Piper once had was down to minor yellowish bruising now. Fennan’s arm was no longer in a sling, and he seemed to move it easily.

“No, he got away. But Thane—” She thought “butchered” was the appropriate word, but said, “killed over a dozen Palenor soldiers including an elf named Katmor. He spoke about being on a War Council.”

“Tenebris is going to be furious at that,” Piper folded her arms. “Katmor was one of his closest allies.”

“Even I know who Katmor is, and over a dozen soldiers?” Aunt Evalyn clutched the twine of dried berries around her neck. “This isn’t good.”

Fennan’s wary cinnamon eyes glanced at the road. “We saw you and Thane run out of Kail’s place. It was too easy to follow your footprints in the sand, so we should probably go.”

Piper watched the nearby road warily. “Where are the others? We heard there was a brawl there. What happened?”

“Thane got pissy when a human man asked me to dance and wouldn’t let it go.”

“The whole place is trashed.” Tif emerged from behind the rock. “I started singing to soothe the rebels down, but it didn’t work too well. Oh, then the dragon lady showed up.”

“Varlett is here too?” Piper and Fennan said at once.

“Dragon lady?” Aunt Evalyn said nervously.

“She was here,” Layala groaned. “Now I’m afraid she’s after our only chance of finding out what we need, and I have no idea how we’ll get there first. Thane went to check the stables.” She waved for them to follow as she started off. “Let’s go.”

Layala found Thane and the other Ravens inside the stables, saddling their horses, chatting away as if she hadn’t been waiting for his signal. She rolled her eyes, and she shoved the huge door aside. “Evening.”

Thane turned on a heel with a grin. “Laya, I was just about to come to get you.”

“Uh-huh.” She put a hand on her hip and the others stepped up behind her.

“Oh, good,” Thane said. “We’re all here.”

The stable master came out of a nearby door with a yellowed scroll in hand. He brushed his hand over it, creating a dust cloud. “Afraid I haven’t had much use of it since I never leave, but here it is.”

He tugged on a latch and a wooden table came away from the wall, where he unrolled and smoothed out the scroll. Layala and the others circled around a map of Adalon. The edges had been chewed on by mice and there were several stains, but it was legible. With his pointer finger Thane pressed on Braxentown. “We’re here and we must get all the way over to Calladira in three days at most.”

“That’s not possible,” Leif said, rubbing his chin. “It’s at least seven days’ ride and that’s if we could take the main road, which we can’t. We’re looking at ten days minimum.”