“And you?”
Witt glanced up from where he sat changingout his socks. “I’ll last.”
They weren’t the only ones feeling thejourney. Shea was starting to feel a little fatigue herself. A deepburn had taken up residence in her thighs, and her shirt stuck toher skin under her jacket. Her pack’s straps had made her shouldersone throbbing ache, and her upper back was tight. The pace wouldfall a little as the afternoon deepened and exhaustion took hold.They would be more prone to accidents.
“We’re approaching where I saw red backactivity a few weeks ago. I don’t want to take a detour, but if Ithink we’re getting too close, we will. I want as much land betweenus and them by nightfall. If we’re lucky and don’t have to veer toofar from this path, we’ll be close to the Lowlands when we stop forthe night.”
“Typical woman. Afraid of the dark? Everymoment we have is precious. We should keep going even after dark.”Dane said, shrugging into his pack. “If time’s as tight as you say,we can’t stop for beauty sleep.”
“Can you see in the dark? Because I can’t. Ifwe try, we risk someone getting hurt or killed in a fall. ReachingCam and James would be impossible then. Taking the night to restalso means we can recoup some energy before reaching thevillage.”
Holding Dane’s gaze with her own, Shea waiteduntil he nodded grudgingly before she turned her back and setout.
Witt paused by Dane as he followed her downthe hill. “Perhaps you shouldn’t do any more thinking. It reallydoesn’t suit you.”
“Everyone know the plan?” Shea asked.
The three of them crouched between twobuildings on Edgecomb’s perimeter.
Aside from the unrelenting pace they’dadopted to reach the village, the journey so far had beenunremarkable. They’d sailed through red back territory with noproblem and made camp at the top of the Bearan cliffs, thendescended before dawn the next morning.
Some scouting had confirmed the villagersheld James and Cam. They were to be executed that afternoon, whichwas why Shea and the other two were huddled close, hoping to avoidnotice as they plotted their next move.
Like Birdon Leaf, the buildings in Edgecombwere built from wood. Unlike their village, no outer wall protectedEdgecomb’s inhabitants, forcing the villagers to rely on thenatural landscape to deter would be intruders.
A large herd of cattle were kept for tradeand as food supply. As a result, a large number of horses werestabled in a fenced field right outside of town. Shea couldn’t helpbeing a bit envious of the ease of transportation the horsesrepresented. They were a scarce resource in the Highlands as theywere next to useless in the gorges or on the mountain passes.
“Dane, I want you on one of the roofsoverlooking the town square.” Shea turned to Witt. “Do you thinkyou can create a large enough distraction so I can get themfree?”
He nodded.
“Good, I’ll leave that to you then.”
“What about you?” Dane asked. “Where will yoube?”
Shea brushed her hands down her pants.“Someone has to cut those two idiots loose.”
Dane frowned and looked down. “Perhaps youshould be on the roof then.”
“Can’t. My aim’s not as good as yours.” Sheabusied herself adjusting a cloak she’d stolen from one of thehouses. She pulled the hood over her head. Hopefully, the cloak’sanonymity would get her close to the execution platform withoutdrawing notice from the inhabitants. “Once things get started justmake sure you pick off anybody between me and the platform withyour boomer. I’m not going to have time to wrestle my way up there.Oh, and don’t shoot me in the confusion. When I get James and Camloose, get off the roof. They’ll come after you pretty quick oncethings start happening. If we get separated for any reason, meetback at the rendezvous point.”
The three gave each other a long look. Itsurprised Shea when neither argued with her. She’d expected them toprotest much more than they had.
Without another word, the two set off ontheir tasks. Shea watched them go.
Please don’t let them get cold feet. The planrequired each of them to do their part. She took a deep breath,releasing it slowly. She would need a miracle to pull this off. Shestill couldn’t believe she’d agreed to this. Why had she decided tostick her neck out? Especially since they’d blame her if anythingwent wrong. If things did go right, everybody else would take thecredit. She couldn’t win. She knew that, but she couldn’t stopherself from trying. It wasn’t in her to walk away. She didn’t wantany more deaths on her conscience.
Shea walked to the edge of the building andpeeked around the corner. She was counting on the locals being soexcited about the impending bloodshed that they wouldn’t notice anextra body among them.
She sauntered confidently past house afterhouse, trying to look like she belonged. People had a tendency tosee what they expected. A stranger walking through town while theyprepared to execute two outsiders would fall under the realm ofunexpected. After all, nobody was that crazy.
With her hood up, she hoped the villagerswould simply assume she was one of the herders just in from thefield for the execution.
As she moved towards the center of thevillage, butterflies took wing in her stomach. They’d never coveredlast ditch rescues in pathfinder training.
A man exited a building in front of her,pausing at the sight of her.
She froze and sucked in a sharp breath.Please. Just keep moving. No need to start a conversation.
