That is one thing we have in common, atleast.
“Don’t be silly.” Tariel smiled at him as she reached up. Goosebumps raced across his flesh as her delicate fingers briefly traced his jawline. “I think your flame-red hair makes you look quitefearsome.”
The three of them made their way to the stables, Tariel’s magic muffling their footfalls so well that Calrain didn’t hear so much as a crunch when he stepped on a patch of pebbled ground. The stables were a third of the size of Castle Tyrook’s, but still more than enough for them—they found ten horses waiting, much to Riann’s obviousdelight.
“These are beautiful animals,” Riann whispered as he inspected them. The horses whickered and snorted beneath his hand, but he seemed to be a natural, and soothed them quickly. “These four are plow horses,” he said, indicating a quartet of identical steeds toward the front, “and these two back here are war horses. Very expensive breeds,” he added, stroking the midnight snout of one of theanimals.
“The rest of these are older,” Tariel observed, scratching behind the ears of an off-white mare. “They will not be much good in a chase. We should leave these, and take theothers.”
“All six of them?” Riannasked.
“Yes,” Calrain agreed, catching on to Tariel’s plan. “If we take all the good horses, then the guards will have a difficult time pursuingus.”
“Exactly.” Tariel beamed athim.
The sound of footsteps outside gave them pause, and Calrain froze as two stable boys entered the stable, holding a lantern aloft. The soft glow illuminated their frightened faces, and Calrain relaxed when he remembered that to them, he was a fearsomewarlord.
“What are you doing in here?” one of the boys squeaked. He was likely the braver of the two, but even so, he could barely get the wordsout.
Calrain stepped forward, giving them a menacing glare as he towered over them. “We are taking these horses with us, along with your master’s bride,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice. “A beautiful woman like this belongs in the WesternIslands.”
He grabbed them by the throats before they could utter another sound and began to squeeze. Looking over at Tariel, he jerked his head, and her eyes lit with understanding. Quickly, she waved a hand, and the boys instantly passedout.
“Good idea,” she said as they lay the boys down in the hay, tucked safely out of the way. “When they come to, they will only remember a Western sea lord choking the life out of them, and not a mage using her magic to put them tosleep.”
“That was some quick thinking,” Riann said, clapping Calrain on the back. “Now let’s getgoing.”
The three of them worked quickly, saddling the two war steeds and one of the plow horses, and loading the rest up with fodder. Calrain wished they could get to the larder and raid it—it would be nice to have extra food stores—but they couldn’t risk being spotted by the guards, or gods forbid, Lord Sowellhimself.
“All right,” Tariel said after she’d run her hands down the last of the horse’s legs. “No one should be able to hear their hoof beats now.” She gently took two of the bridles and led the horses forward. “Let’sgo.”
Quietly, they guided the animals out of the stables and away from the property, using the light of the small oil lamp the stable boys had brought to guide their way. Calrain worried that one of the guards would see the light. But no one came to investigate, and they made it safely back to the road, where they mountedup.
“This oil lamp is too unstable,” Tariel said. She ordered Riann to snuff out the light, and for a few moments, they were in totaldarkness.
Calrain was about to ask Tariel what she was doing when a soft white light drifted up from her palm. It hovered directly in front of them, just bright enough to illuminate the path for a few paces without drawing attention at any longdistance.
Riann grinned, his white teeth flashing in the darkness. “Is there anything you can’tdo?”
Tariel chuckled. “It is not as easy as it looks. I imagine I’ll hit a limit sooner or later,” shesaid.
Not too soon, I hope,Calrain thought as they started forward. Their journey had just begun, and with the fiercest witch hunter in Fjordland’s history soon to come after them, he was not quite ready for their luck to runout.
16
The first hourof their ride was filled with tension—an anxiety that knotted Tariel’s shoulders and curled her spine inward. While she refused to show outward fear—she was the leader, after all, and needed to set an example—Calrain’s and Riann’s remarks about Sir Jerrold had her worried. She hoped that they could reach the Carlissian border before the witch hunter caught up to them, but in her heart, she knew they would run into trouble before then. The journey had gone smoothly so far, but such luck rarely lastedforever.
But after traveling for a while, Tariel’s anxiety gradually faded away. The steady rhythm of the horse moving beneath her was soothing, and she was lulled toward sleep, her exhaustion rising. More than once, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from falling asleep. She had used quite a bit of magic today, and though her powers had grown significantly, it was stilltiring.
At least I have Calrain and Riann with me,she thought, glancing fondly at her men. Through the bond, she could feel their emotions—they were both elated and fearful, and not at all tired like she was. She used their high emotions to strengthen herself, keeping her eyes on the road ahead and the soft light from winkingout.
She could not blame them for their fear—they were striking out into the dangerous unknown, and had destroyed any chance of returning to their homes—but she was glad they were excited. She had worried, initially, that after making love to her, and getting what they’d finally wanted from her, their ardor would wane, and they would have misgivings about coming along. But the bond had eradicated these notions—their feelings for her were as strong as ever, and the intimacy between them had increased her fondness aswell.
“Here we are,” Riann said as they finally came to a crossroads. Tariel waved her hand, and the ball of light rose high enough to illuminate the road signs. “Now we must decide which way togo.”
They fell silent as Tariel read the signs. They would not go northwest, as real sea lords would do, and besides, she had dropped that disguise long ago to conserve her strength. Neither could they go east, to Varland. It was the closest port city, but too small for foreigners to hide in for long, and few ships traveled to and from theEmpire.
“Our only real choices,” Calrain said, “are to go southeast to Kalsing, or south, straight to the Carlissian border, as we’d originallyplanned.”
