Lord, surely that’s not your will. Surely you don’t want his life taken so needlessly.
Grief welled up in her throat at such a thought. Was there any way she could stop this? She’d already made her belief in his innocence clear. Speaking again now wouldn’t stop the search party being gathered.
Maybe it would be better to try to protect Levi. Could she find him and get him to the cave safely? She would have to leave right away to get there before the rest of the group left. With all the commotion, it was possible they may not discover she’d gone. She could take a few extra supplies, maybe a knife, too, for he’d need that for hunting and cutting wood. She should have thought to send it with him the first time. A hatchet would be easier to cut wood, but the handle on theirs had just broken and she’d not had a chance to have it repaired. She should also tuck her meat knife into her own moccasin, just in case she needed it.
If she could get Levi to the cave, she could give him medicine for his wound, then circle around the long way back to the village to avoid those out looking. Her pulse thundered through her. That might work.
Quickly, she filled the last pack with dried fruit and closed up the three bags, then stood and carried them over to herfather. “This is food for everyone going out. Can you please take them with you?”
Papa glanced at the satchels and nodded, then returned his attention to lacing the sheath for his knife onto his belt.
Good. She focused now on a bag for Levi. Grabbing a fur blanket, she rolled it tightly, then tucked it in one of the only satchels she had left. Was it wrong that she aided both sides? Serving was her role here. She nurtured and cared for people, feeding and nursing when those around her had need. Could they really expect her to turn a blind eye when a man suffered unjustly? She’d simply be feeding and nursing him as she would anyone else.
After adding two more blankets, she moved to her medicinals and gathered the pouches that might be needed—a salve for healing wounds and two kinds of blood purifiers that could be steeped into a tea. When Evan had been shot with Brielle’s potion-covered arrows, he’d experienced a stomach illness the following day. Audrey had never been sure whether it was a random ailment or an effect of the tonic, but if she worked to purify Levi’s blood immediately, maybe he would be spared the same experience. Or at least not be afflicted so severely. Evan had been weak as a babe for days afterward.
Once she’d gathered everything she could think of, including one of her extra meat knives, a small kettle and cup, and needle and thread for stitching wounds, she glanced at Papa. He’d begun layering on the underclothes he wore when he went outside in the winter. He seemed intent on his own preparations, so it might be best not to draw attention to her leaving. And he would also be looking for his coat soon—the one she’d sent with Levi. Better she be gone before she had to explain its absence.
Slipping the satchel over her shoulder, she opened the door and stepped outside.
A cold breeze wrapped around her as she retraced her earlier steps, being careful to walk in existing footprints the entire way. Thankfully, no one seemed to be in the courtyard at the moment, except some children at the far end. The men must all be readying for the search, their women helping them.
She barely breathed until she stepped through the gate to exit the village walls. She didn’t dare glance toward where a guard should be perched at the peephole from the guardhouse. She just turned and strode toward the woods.
As soon as she stepped into the shadow of the trees, she broke into a run. She didn’t worry as much about stepping in existing footprints now, only avoided the patches of snow that would make her tracks obvious.
Her breaths came thick and heavy the longer she ran, and a cramp bit into her side. She enjoyed regular walks to gather herbs and berries in their seasons, but she rarely ran at a pace like this. She hadn’t trained as Brielle had for such a moment.
But the thought of Levi lying injured on the mountain drove her forward.
When she reached the far edge of the trees, an expanse of unbroken snow stretched out over the meadow before her. She scanned the right, then the left, for tracks. A faint line of darker snow lay to the left, and a glance at the ground beside her showed prints following the tree line in that direction.
She did the same.
When she stepped away from the woods into the tracks that must have been made by Brielle and the others, shemoved into a run again. As she neared the mountain, she lifted her gaze to scan the slope. So many boulders littered the surface, offering hundreds of places a man could hide.
As soon as she stepped up on the stone, she lifted her voice in a half-whisper, half-call. “Levi, are you here? I’ve come to help you get to the cave. Monsieur Masters?” She’d begun thinking of him by his Christian name in her mind, but she shouldn’t speak that aloud.
No return call sounded, so she pressed on, scampering over the stone in the most likely path around the mountain. It was impossible to know where the others had traveled before, since the stone showed no tracks.
As she went, she peered around every rock she passed. “Monsieur Masters? Are you here? I’ve come to help you get to safety. It’s Audrey Moreau.”
She kept her voice just loud enough that he would hear if he was nearby, but not so piercing that it would ring across the open area. How much time did she have left before the searchers came? Five minutes? Ten?
She had to move faster.
With fear pressing her forward, she trekked a quarter of the way around the slope, moving higher up the mountain as the terrain required her to.
“Levi Masters.” She called a little louder this time. If he was asleep, perhaps hearing his given name would prod him awake.
A sound tickled her ear, bringing her up short. Was that the groan of a man or merely a trick of the wind?
She scanned around her, first downhill, then up. There were several large stones he might have hidden behind. Moving as quickly as she could, she started up the slope first.
“Levi?” She circled all three rocks that seemed likely hiding places, then moved down the mountain. “Levi Masters, it’s Audrey Moreau. I’ve come to help you get to safety.”
If Brielle or one of the other searchers heard her say those words, or knew she was out on this mission of mercy, there was no telling what would happen. Her heart hammered faster at the thought.
Then another groan stilled her. She paused mid-step to scan the area. He might be behind any of these boulders.
