"Then we don't have any time to waste chatting." Darius raised his voice. "Move out, maximum pace."
The Trateri wasted no time, mounting up and falling into line like the well-trained warriors they were. The idle chatter and normal banter that characterized their exchanges were gone as the rest picked up on the tension riding the air. Hands dropped to weapons, loosening the ties for easy access as their eyes scanned the horizon and hills around them.
Steep ridges rose on one side with rolling hills on the other. Now that Eva thought about it, she realized how vulnerable they were. Before this trip she'd never had cause to think about choke points and ambushes. Now she was seeing trouble everywhere she looked.
The Anateri and Caden closed in around her, their eyes narrowed as they kept watch.
"Eva, what is it?" Jason called as he rejoined them.
"Trouble," she said.
Was there really any other answer?
Jason expression was vexed. "What kind?"
"The bad kind," Jane said. "If you can talk you can ride faster."
Chastened, Jason fell silent, bending forward as he melded with the horse, letting it do it have its head as he hung on for the ride.
A good thing too, because the pace picked up, with Reece and the other scouts at the lead riding as if revenants were nipping at their heels. The rest of the Trateri followed suit. Those who were able-bodied supported the wounded. At the back of the pack were the litters and the wagon Darius had re-purposed to carry those too wounded to ride.
It clattered and swayed, belching black smoke and sounding like a pack of beasts as the throwaways driving it asked for more speed.
"Just ahead," Caden shouted over the pounding of the hoofbeats.
Eva felt hope surge as she spotted stone towers not far in the distance. The city wasn't like the ones of her homeland, which were vast, she'd heard. Things of beauty built where beasts were nothing but myths. This was humble and austere, much like the land that had given birth to it.
Built from stone, it blended with the subtle grays of the mountains beyond.
Eva didn't care. It had the most important thing; a sturdy rock wall surrounding it to keep out troublesome beasts. A single incline and a small stretch on the plateau were all that separated them from safety.
A cry went up behind them.
"Mist," was shouted down the line.
Eva chanced a glance behind her, her hair flying, the ends stinging her face. Two hundred feet behind the last straggler, a wall of pure white with patches of gray stretched to the sky. Primal fear filled her at the sight. She'd grown up on bedtime stories about the mist. She knew on an instinctual level that getting caught in it would be bad.
"Ride, Eva," Caden called. "Just ride."
She turned around as the fox poked his head above her shoulder, observing the mist. He yipped before using her shoulder as a springboard and leaping to the ground.
"No! Wait! Come back." She tried to catch the fox, nearly losing her seat in the process.
She went to pull back on the reins, not wanting her small friend to be lost. Caden grabbed them.
"No time." He didn't release the reins, spurring his horse faster and drawing Caia with him. Her stride lengthened to keep up as sweat flecked her coat.
Eva chanced one last glance behind her as the fox bounded toward the mist. She'd never heard of animals surviving the mist, so had no idea what effect it would have on him. He didn't seem worried as he raced into its depths, which were now only a hundred feet behind the wagon.
"Be safe," she whispered.
The gates of the city were open wide, welcoming the first wave of riders as they entered at a dead gallop. Reece pulled up, waiting outside as the Trateri thundered by. His worried gaze was on the mist as it steadily gained on the rear of their caravan.
He kicked his horse in the sides, guiding it toward them as he raced in their direction.
"Is it supposed to do that?" Jason shouted, looking over his shoulder.
They watched the mist as it snaked over the ground, rushing faster and faster. Eva caught sight of Ajari running along the ridge above as Sebastian danced along the mist’s leading edge, dipping in and out with wild abandon before swerving to dive back in. Deep, so deep, she wasn't sure what she was seeing was even real, Eva caught sight of flickers of orange and red as if fire was trying to escape the foggy depths.
