Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web - Volume 1 (31 page)

After another brief meal and a few more hours of sleep, they moved on underneath a canopy of clouds. The Fox Moon, now past full, had risen in the east, and the larger Bear Moon, still a few days from full, lingered higher in the west. Both glowing orbs cast their gentle light above the cloud cover, guiding the travelers cautiously along the water’s edge. But after a few hours had passed, the Bear Moon set in the west. And before the break of dawn, the Fox Moon also deserted the night sky, dipping behind the distant mountains as the landscape succumbed to darkness. Sleep again called to Nicholas and Leo, so they took shelter in the grass and slept for a few hours until the lemony face of the sun again graced the eastern sky.

After they had traveled a few hours in the morning, Leo finally spoke the words he had been thinking during the night. The horses trotted on at a slower clip, noticeably more tired than when they had begun their journey.

“This is our third day of traveling,” he said flatly, his eyes ahead on the terrain. A few breaks in the clouds allowed a splash of sunshine upon the dark water and the waves of grass. “We’re getting low on food, and the horses are–”

“I know what you’re going to say, Leo.
How much longer can we go on
?” Nicholas pushed off the hood of his coat as a cool breeze brushed through his hair. “I was thinking that, too.”

“The Trent Hills are nearly upon us, and we’re quite a ways from Boros. I never expected us to go this far,” Leo admitted. “I never expected we would have to.”

“Me either.” Nicholas gazed up at the struggling sun trying to find its way out of the clouds. “Ivy may already be on that ship Sims talked about, but I don’t want to think it or believe it.”

“I know.”

He glanced at his friend, wanting advice and direction. As much as he had endured since fleeing Kanesbury, Nicholas had never once felt the guilt and anguish that now tormented him as he reluctantly entertained thoughts of abandoning their search. Maybe it was a task too big for them to handle alone. He said as much to Leo, feeling awful for putting such thoughts into words.

“Let’s give it until morning,” Leo said. “If we don’t find Ivy, well, maybe we can come back again better prepared.”

“But if she was taken to the Northern Isles, we’re sunk. I can’t imagine what might happen to her there.”

A chill ran through Leo when he heard the despair in Nicholas’ voice. He didn’t know what to do, but maybe others would.

“We do have one arrow left in our quiver,” he said. Nicholas glanced at him with questioning eyes. “Our friendship with a princess. Maybe Megan can convince her grandfather to launch a rescue effort.” He immediately saw the doubt scrawled upon Nicholas’ face. “It’s just a thought.”

“I’m sure one of the last things on the King of Arrondale’s mind is the problems of two commoners like us,” he replied with a grim laugh. “He’d boot us out of the Citadel for sure, not that we’d even get a chance to see him in the first place.”

“I suppose you’re right. The lack of sleep is getting to me.”

“Me too.” Nicholas loosened his grip on the reins, wanting so much to plop down in the grass and sleep the day away. But they continued on in bouts of silence as the day slowly progressed and the clouds began to break, neither knowing, yet dreading, what decision the morning would bring.

They stopped at noontime for a brief meal and then treated themselves to an apple each that Castella had provided. Leo took two additional pieces of the fruit and fed them to the horses who were much appreciative of the juicy, sweet snack. After a short rest, they faced the drudgery of the bleak seaside terrain once again. For two hours they progressed in subdued silence, each wondering where tomorrow would find them. The grass to their left stood particularly tall, swaying in unison along a stretch of shore less rocky than usual. The Trent Hills rose gracefully against a slate gray sky less than ten miles away in the west.

A few more hours passed as twilight gently enveloped the shoreline and the clouds began to break. The sun prepared to dip behind the mountains as the Bear Moon climbed high in the east. Nicholas was lost in thought, his eyes to the ground ahead of him. Leo glanced out across the sea in the last light. A repetitive string of small waves washed hypnotically onto shore. As he took a deep breath of salty air to clear his mind, he thought he noticed an object upon the water several miles down shore. He gently reined his horse to a halt and gazed unblinkingly at the spot not far off the water’s edge. Then he saw a flash of light upon the shoreline in the same vicinity. When Nicholas finally realized that he was riding alone, he turned around and saw Leo sitting statue-like upon his horse.

“Why’d you stop?” He turned his horse and sauntered over to him. “See something?”

“Take a look,” Leo said, pointing. “Way down shore just off the water’s edge. Looks like a ship. And I see firelight, too.” He glanced at Nicholas. “Somebody has come ashore.” Upon closer scrutiny, Nicholas arrived at the same conclusion, suggesting they bolt the remaining miles to rescue Ivy. “Not so fast,” Leo cautioned. “We don’t know how many are down there or what kind of armaments they carry.”

“I know,” he said, coming to his senses. “I’m talking faster than I can think. We have to approach in secret. And on foot.”

Leo agreed. “The sun will set shortly, so we’ll have the cover of night. I suggest we ride along as close to the grass as we can for another mile or two, then abandon our horses. We’ll trek the final mile or so through the grass so we won’t be spotted and then wait for full darkness.”

Nicholas took a deep breath, now wide awake as his heart beat steadily. “And then?”

“Then we make our move,” Leo replied. “But don’t ask me what that is just yet.”

Swiftly and steadily they traveled nearly two miles along the grass as the sun slipped behind the mountains. The darkness deepened as the smell of wood smoke drifted from the west. They finally dismounted and led their horses into the tall grass.

“Stay here,” Leo said, petting his steed before he removed two more apples from the food bag, one for each horse. “We’ll be back soon. Wish us luck.”

“And if luck fails, a sharp dagger is a good substitute,” Nicholas said, unpacking a small knife still in its sheath that Castella had packed away in a blanket roll tied to his saddle. He attached the knife to his belt, his heart pounding and his senses sharp, determined to fight anyone who might get in his way. “I’m certain Castella tucked one away for you, too.”

“She did,” he replied, finding his own knife and arming himself. “Now let’s see who we’re dealing with.” Leo indicated that they should hike westward through the grass, keeping inside the vegetation until they determined how many people were on shore.

The last mile proved difficult. The deepening darkness concealed them and the constant sea breeze muffled any sounds they made rustling through the brittle grass. They felt as if they were fighting their way through a dense forest. As they moved parallel to the shore, they monitored the bright flames of the bonfires through the grass to keep them on track. When at last arriving near the encampment, the two plopped down to rest.

“I counted five tents,” Leo said, gazing through the grass and studying the glow of firelight dancing off the sides of the round structures. “Almost as many bonfires, too.”

Nicholas inched closer for a better view. “Doesn’t look like a whole lot of people,” he whispered. “Less than twenty.” He noticed a few men bundled up in coarse, long brown coats, some wandering along the shore while others warmed themselves near the fires.

“Maybe others are on board the ship,” Leo said. “Or in the tents.”

“We have to get near the edge of the grass to really see what’s going on. The tents are obstructing our view.”

Leo agreed, pointing west. “All right. We’ll continue forward. Then we’ll veer right toward the shore and away from the bonfires. It’s darker there and we’ll get a more direct view.”

Nicholas led the way, circling around to the far side of the encampment. Several minutes later they were able to crawl up to the edge of the grass line, now looking east and concealed in complete darkness except for splashes of moonlight that occasionally peeked out of the still breaking clouds. From this vantage point they clearly saw a ship resting upon the water. Three rowboats had been pulled onto shore. Five round tents were pitched in a line along the edge of the grass, and the roar of four crackling bonfires saturated the cool night air. Gathered around the largest fire nearest the water were five individuals, three similarly dressed as the other men walking along shore, the tallest of them unshaven and smoking a pipe. As he seemed to be doing all the talking, Nicholas and Leo assumed he was in charge. What intrigued them most were the other two people near the fire, one, a thin yet formidable looking woman and the other a short man with a goatee. All were immersed in deep discussion.

Leo nudged Nicholas and pointed to an area beyond the last tent. There stood a small covered cart, and the two horses that pulled it now roamed freely near the grass.

“Those two shorter people by the fire must be the ones who took Ivy from the root cellar,” he said, recalling what Sims had told them.

“But where is
she
?” Nicholas muttered, clutching a handful of grass. He studied the area like a hawk, hoping for a glimpse of Ivy. Most of the soldiers were standing by the fires, either eating or engaged in conversation, while a few others roamed about on patrol. But there was no sign of Ivy. One man stood alone near the middle tent, pacing near the entrance in apparent boredom. Nicholas sighed, wondering if Ivy might already be on the ship, when it suddenly hit him. He pointed to the man.

Leo shrugged. “What about him?” he whispered.

“He’s the only person on shore near one of the tents,” Nicholas said. “Nobody is anywhere near the other ones. Why?”

Leo grinned. “He’s guarding Ivy!”

“Has to be!” Nicholas wanted to rush to her at once.

Leo calmed him down, telling Nicholas that they had to approach the rescue logically. If Ivy was inside the tent, how would they get her out? And if she wasn’t, what would be their next step? Nicholas thought for a moment, realizing that it would be impossible to sneak past the man guarding the entrance since he was in plain view of everyone else on shore. Slowly a smile crept across his face.

“Maynard always told me there was more than one way to shoe a horse,” he said, quickly explaining his idea to Leo. “Stay here and keep watch while I go to work. If there’s any trouble, let me know.”

“Be careful,” he said as Nicholas scrambled through the grass, making his way back behind the line of tents.

Nicholas stayed hidden in the grass until he was directly behind the center tent and then slowly crawled toward it, concealed in shadows. When he poked his head through the stalks into the open air, the back wall of the tent was only an arm’s length away. He carefully touched the coarse material, feeling along the bottom seam. It was tight to the ground and Nicholas knew he wouldn’t be able to lift it to look inside. He traced his fingers along the seam in both directions, hearing the muffled voices of those upon shore. Though he was well concealed if he remained behind the tent, he felt as if he were being watched. Then he found it.

To his left, a wooden stake had been driven into the hard ground. A short length of rope attached to the bottom of the tent was fastened to it. Another stake was to his right. Nicholas removed his dagger, carefully cutting through the two pieces of rope, certain the sea breezes and crackling bonfires would muffle any noise he might make. But in his mind, every sinew of rope he cut seemed to snap like a twig, alerting the enemy of his presence. In a short time though, he severed both ropes and carefully raised the bottom of the tenting. It would lift only high enough to allow Nicholas to slide beneath it while lying on his back. He did so, holding his breath as he sneaked inside.

A faint light flickered upon the cold dirt as Nicholas peered within. Bundles of animal pelts had been tossed about, and a single wooden support pole anchored into the dirt rose to a vented ceiling. A few lit candles, each attached to a metal holder fastened to the pole, shed a gentle glow upon the sides of the tent. He turned his head to get a better view of one section when he suddenly felt a hand placed across his mouth from the opposite side. He reflexively grabbed at the individual’s wrist, his eyelids snapping wide open. But an instant later he loosened his grip, grinning underneath the hand that touched his lips.

“
Shhh
,” Ivy whispered, smiling at her rescuer. “And don’t get up. I’m not sure if the light in here is strong enough to reflect our shadows upon the side of the tent.”

“I didn’t notice
your
shadow,” he softly said. “The light from the bonfires is much brighter and there’s a little moonlight, so I think it’s safe. But I’ll stay down here anyway.” He smiled again, captivated by Ivy’s composure during such a difficult time. “How are you feeling? Are you hurt? Are you hungry? Are you ready to leave?”

She gently caressed her fingertips across his cheek. “I’m not hurt or hungry, Nicholas, but I’m definitely ready to leave. I tried to get out the back way after I untied myself, but couldn’t lift the stakes out of the ground.”

Ivy beamed joyfully in the candlelight knowing that Nicholas had come after her. How he had found her and what obstacles he had overcome to do so, she couldn’t imagine. He could tell her all about it another time when they were free, but right now she savored the moment, feeling so close to this young man she had met only four evenings ago, believing he would have gone to the ends of the world to save her.