Escape From Riddler's Pass (2 page)

 

Everything about the forest outside of Mir reminded Jesse of home. The familiar sounds, the wind rustling the branches, the distant river, and the sight of the same trees he had seen nearly every day of his life made him feel safe. Even the smell, like moss and wet clay, was comforting.

He took a deep breath. “Doesn't it make you feel like life is almost back to normal?”

Rae, walking silently in front of him, didn't turn around. “Almost,” she muttered. “Except for the fact that we're traveling in the dark after curfew, we're exhausted from a trek through the desert, and we're creeping through the trees, trying not to be seen by Patrol members who would kill us on sight.”

She paused to sweep aside a low-hanging branch. Jesse ducked to avoid being hit in the face as it snapped back. “Other than those small details, you're exactly right, Jesse.”

Well. Someone could use a little sleep
. Jesse began to wonder if his great idea had been so great after all.

He had spent a half hour of arguing to convince Silas to continue on after dark. Ever the practical one, Silas had insisted that they spend the night in the forest and continue on to Kayne's cabin at dawn. He had even set up the tents. “I will not allow you to endanger our lives,” he had said several times.

After the fifth time, Jesse had unleashed his last argument. “Our lives? What about Parvel's? He is in danger, and he doesn't even know it!”

It was true. Back in the desert, they had learned the Youth Guard, the elite fighting force for the king, really had been created to kill the strongest, most talented young people in the kingdom of Amarias. They were the biggest threat to King Selen's throne, and that was why Jesse, Silas, and Rae were now fleeing for their lives from Captain Demetri and his Patrol.

“It's our fault that Captain Demetri knows where Parvel is staying,” Jesse had continued. “We have to get to him before the captain does. How can you stop a mile outside of town?”

Silas had still grumbled his share of doubts and warnings, but in the end had helped Rae and Jesse take down their camp. Now Silas was leading the way, using his sharp vision to guide them through the dark, while making as little noise as possible.

For a moment, Jesse didn't worry about the possibility of being discovered. Instead, he thought about home: seeing Kayne and Parvel again, eating a real meal, and sleeping in a bed instead of on rocks.

The change would be welcome. He, Rae, and Silas had traveled through miles of desert, battling heat, eating stale food, and sleeping on the hard ground. Before that they had been lost, buried, imprisoned, and nearly executed. Jesse was sore and tired and, though he would never admit it to Silas or Rae, homesick.

The trees blocked out almost all of the moonlight, deepening the darkness of the night. They were able to cross the Dell River bridge easily without being seen. No Patrol were stationed there, and all the three had to worry about was staying away from the group of travelers camped by the road. For once, the darkness was their ally.

Of course, Jesse had another reason for wanting to approach Kayne's shack at night. He didn't want anyone in Mir to see him and tell Uncle Tristan his runaway nephew had returned to the village. They might beat him for leaving, then drag him back to the inn to wash the supper dishes. Jesse would not go back to that life again.

Now, in the quiet of the night, everything felt right somehow. Jesse hadn't felt that way since before his parents had disappeared. Even though he knew they were headed for Kayne's rundown cabin, not his parents' farm, Jesse felt like he was going home.

Not even Rae's blunt pessimism could sour Jesse's mood. He said cheerfully, “We'll get there soon enough.”

They passed the part of the river where the largest fish liked to swim. Next was the huge kambria tree, good for climbing, and the hollow where Jesse and Eli had spent many summer afternoons sword fighting with sticks.

Eli
. The memory of his friend made Jesse wince. His childhood friend, now sixteen, a year older than Jesse, was on another squad in the Youth Guard. Where he was or what mission he was trying to accomplish, Jesse didn't know. But he knew one thing: Captain Demetri had made it clear the king was not just trying to kill Jesse's squad. His goal was to eliminate every Youth Guard member.

Worrying won't do any good
, Jesse reminded himself, pushing the thought away. Parvel would tell him to pray, but, except for a few desperate moments during their mission, Jesse refused to have anything to do with that.
Eli can take care of himself
.

Soon they reached the worn leaves and stamped-down dirt that was the only path to Kayne's house. He didn't have many visitors, and he liked it that way.

Years ago, Kayne had moved away from the town. Whenever Jesse asked him why, he would get a strange look on his face and say, “Had to. These days, trees are better neighbors than people. Mark my words, boy, there's evil growing here in Amarias. Can't get away from it outright, but I do what I can.”

Jesse had never known quite what to think of that. Now, after all he had learned about the king, it made more sense.
I wonder if Kayne suspected all along
.

Before darting out into the small clearing, Silas paused at the edge of the trees, peering into the darkness. Jesse was glad Silas was being cautious. Rae, with her dark hair and effortless movements, blended in perfectly with the night, but Silas' pale blond hair shone in the moonlight, and Jesse's limp made it hard for him to move quietly.
Not that anyone is watching. They wouldn't be…would they? No one wants to be caught outside after curfew.

“Here,” Jesse said, pointing to Kayne's home like Silas might not have noticed it. The old shack, sagging and groaning in the breeze, looked less than welcoming, but Jesse knew better. He wanted to get inside. The woods felt darker and more dangerous all of a sudden.

Silas started to enter the clearing, then stopped. “Did you hear something?” he asked, staring straight ahead.

Jesse froze and let the soft background noises of the forest fill his ears, the noises he had heard all his life. Silas was right. Something was different. It wasn't a sound, though.

“No,” Jesse said slowly. “But I wonder….” He turned around. There was no one there. Nothing moved in the trees except a wing-tipped owl, landing silently on a nearby branch and staring at them.
No one is watching us—at least, no one human
.

Still, Jesse was relieved when Silas nodded and led them out of the trees. The forest wasn't safe; Jesse was sure of that. He remembered the mysterious man who had shot Parvel. Silas thought he was a member of the Rebellion, a group sworn to fight against the king. He was dead, killed by Silas' arrow, but Jesse knew the Rebellion had many members.

What if another one returned to find the rest of us?
Jesse shook his head at his thoughts.
It can't be. The Rebellion didn't know we would return at all, much less when.

They had reached the shadowy building, and Jesse knocked cautiously on the door.

No answer. Jesse's heart began to beat faster, and he pictured the inside of the cabin, ransacked by Rebellion members who had dragged Kayne and Parvel away. Maybe the Patrol found out Kayne had helped Jesse run away and had taken him to prison. Or maybe….

No
, Jesse corrected himself.
Kayne is old, and we must have wakened him from sleep. He'll come.

Sure enough, after what felt like an unbearable wait, Jesse heard the sound of shuffling feet, faint through the thin wood of the door. “Who's there?” the familiar raspy voice barked. “I don't have much kindness for those who interrupt the few hours of sleep an old man can get.”

Jesse grinned to himself.
Yes. It's Kayne
.

Instead of answering, Jesse opened the door. Kayne stood in the doorway, holding a candle in one hand and a knife in the other, raised high and ready to strike.

“Kayne,” Jesse blurted, before the old man could use the weapon. “It's me, Jesse.”

Kayne lowered the knife briefly, then stepped closer, prodding the candle at Jesse's face. “Why, so it is!” he exclaimed, a hint of a smile creasing his wrinkled face. “Ought to have known, it being after curfew and all. Seems you get night confused with day fairly often, boy.”

“Where did you get the knife?” Rae asked, glancing at it with a frown of disapproval, most likely for the crude craftsmanship of the blade. The law of Amarias had forbidden peasants to own weapons. Kayne was no friend of the king, yet Jesse was surprised that he had a hidden knife.

“Made it myself,” Kayne said grimly, all trace of laughter gone from his face. “Didn't mean to frighten you, but….”

“Never mind that,” Jesse interrupted. “Where's Parvel?”

Kayne looked away. Then he looked up, and there was something dark and painful in his eyes. “Jesse, Parvel is gone.”

Silas and Rae immediately started firing questions at Kayne, like a barrage of arrows. “Quiet, you fools!” Kayne interrupted sharply. “Would you bring the whole village into the woods?” He motioned them inside.

Although he knew he must have moved, Jesse didn't remember entering Kayne's cabin, placing the packs of supplies down or sitting at the table. All he could do was stare in confusion.

The room still looked the same, welcoming and warm with its tapered candles and carefully crafted furniture. Even the smell, dirt and bark mixed with bittersweet tea, brought back good memories. But something felt terribly wrong.

Rae was the first one to break the silence. “Tell us what happened to him,” she commanded. “If he's not here, then where is he?”

Kayne eased into one of the chairs, his ordinary blustering manner gone. “I kept Parvel in my own room all day, out of sight of anyone who might pass by. Not that anyone did, mind you. It was as quiet as ever out here, even quieter with you gone, Jesse.”

As far as Jesse knew, he was the only one who ever came to the rundown cabin, taking a few minutes in between chores at the inn to visit the old man. For a moment, Jesse wondered what it would be like to lead a life as lonely as Kayne's.
Having Parvel around must have done him good.

“I checked on him every hour, changed the poultice, brought him food. A good patient he was. Never complained, even on bad days. He seemed to get better all the time. Even stopped that muttering of his.” Kayne shuddered. “That was the worst of it, especially in the middle of the night.” He looked up at them. “Then he disappeared.”

“When?” Silas demanded. “When was this?”

Kayne seemed to think carefully about this. “Five days ago. Since Parvel was doing well, I let him sleep through the night without checking on him. That morning, when I went in….”

His voice died off. Rae cleared her throat. “What did you find when you went into the room?”

Jesse glared at her. “Can't you see that he's upset?”

“I can speak for myself, thank you,” Kayne shot back. He turned to Rae. “Outside of the room, nothing was out of place. But when I opened the door, Parvel wasn't in his bed.”

Gone.
Just like that, their squad captain had disappeared.
But how? And why?

“At first I thought he might be getting a drink at the well, or something like that.”

“Parvel wouldn't be so foolish,” Silas said.

“I didn't think so,” Kayne said. “I'd warned him enough. But just a few days before, he'd been a raving lunatic. Never know what those raving lunatics are going to do. I searched everywhere I could think. Didn't find a thing.”

“That's all?” Silas asked in disbelief when Kayne stopped talking. Jesse noticed he hadn't touched his food either.

“No,” Kayne said, shaking his head. “I went back to the room again—I don't know—maybe thinking he was hiding under the bed. I noticed the sheets were all on the floor, like there had been some kind of struggle. And there was blood.”

Jesse couldn't stop himself from gasping.

“How much?” Silas asked, keeping his eyes fixed on Kayne.

“Not a lot.” Coming from Kayne, who was the village doctor and had seen buckets of blood in his day, that wasn't very comforting. “I don't think Parvel was killed, and that's not just me being hopeful.”

From the look on his face, Jesse knew that Silas desperately wanted to believe him. “Why?”

“Because,” Kayne continued, “whoever took Parvel left this behind.” He handed Silas a small object.

Jesse and Rae leaned across the table to look at it. It was a gray rock, with flecks of white speckled through it. In the very center was a carving of the king's medallion, marked through with a vicious, deep X. In the half-darkness of the room, it glowed with a strange white light.