Shea nodded and rolled the map up beforesticking it in her pack. “No, they don’t. A day or two atmost.”
“How long would the detour take?”
Shea quirked her mouth and shook her headslightly. “Depending on the trail sign, anywhere from a couplehours to half a day.”
“You’re the pathfinder so we’ll follow yourlead.”
Witt stood and walked to his pack where hefinished arranging the last of his supplies.
“I am the pathfinder.”
All that meant was that if she made the wrongdecision, she would be the one with blood on her hands. Shescrubbed a hand over her face and turned to the other two as theysettled their packs on their backs. The long barrel of a boomerstuck up over Dane’s head from where it was attached to his pack.Witt’s weapons consisted of two short swords on either hip.
Looked like everybody was ready.
“Pathfinder.”
Shea turned to see Elder Zrakovi watching hersourly. Taller than her by a few inches, he was a burly man whosemuscle was just beginning to turn to fat with age. She knew it mustbother him to have his son’s fate resting in the hands of a womanhe’d done his best to get rid of since she arrived.
“I trust that, despite our differences,you’ll do your job and bring my son back.”
She nodded shortly. The gate was raised justhigh enough for her group to walk under it.
“Don’t screw this up,” Zrakovi said as shepassed under the gate.
She raised a hand in acknowledgement andadjusted her pack one last time before lengthening her stride tocatch up with the other two.
There was one thing the elders had gottenright. Shea’s presence here was a punishment. But, it wasn’t themwho was being punished.
Chapter Two
Shea quickly took the lead and set apunishing pace as the other two fell in single file behind her,Witt bringing up the rear. They had a lot of ground to cover beforenightfall. It would take the rest of the day to reach the stretchof cliffs that marked the Highland border.
Reaching them would be a test of the group’sstamina and endurance. In essence, it would be a gut check. Doable,but not fun.
The cliffs, often referred to as Bearan’sFault, spanned nearly the entire border. Most of it so steep it wasas if a god had lifted the Highlands up onto a shelf, setting themabove their neighbors. They were the reason people calledeverything above the cliffs the Highlands.
Not exactly original, but descriptive.
Approaching them always felt like walking offthe edge of the world.
Located on the most southwestern edge of theHighlands, Birdon Leaf claimed some of the only habitable land in amountainous territory pitted with ravines, steep hills and granitemonoliths. To live up here, one had to be stubborn. And maybe alittle crazy.
Not many had the sheer bone headedness tosettle out here on the edge.
Food was scarce and company even more so.Unless you could do for yourself, well, it didn’t get done. Peoplehere were independent, hard headed and convinced that the only wayto do something was the way their grandfather’s grandfather haddone it. As a result, they didn’t welcome strangers. Even ones theyasked to be here, like Shea.
The first leg of the journey was easy enough.They were lucky Birdon Leaf was situated on rolling hills. To thenorth was a pair of mountain ranges so high that snow covered thetops nine out of the twelve months. To the west, deep ravines bitinto the land, creating a spidery network of valleys and ridgesthroughout the Highlands.
One of the reasons pathfinders existed wasbecause it was so easy to get lost up here. It was as if the landitself didn’t take kindly to outsiders and tried to push out any itsensed didn’t belong here.
People’s sense of direction tended to goscrewy and the distances played mean mind games. Sometimes youtraveled further than you intended, and other times it was as ifyou’d barely moved.
There was a crash, and Dane rocketed pastShea’s narrow perch. He grunted as he caught himself on aparticularly hard boulder.
“Is there no other way besides falling downthese infernal hills?” he growled. “No, you can’t even call themthat since they’re nearly as steep as the cliffs.”
“Going down a cliff would be easier,” Wittsaid as he slid past, snagging an exposed tree root before he couldcareen out of control. “At least then, we could simply secure arope to something and slide down.”
