Pathfinder's Way (8 page)

When he’d first seen the hood yanked back to
reveal her disheveled hair and wide eyes that were equal parts
scared and annoyed, he’d felt his entire attention zero in on her.
This tiny figure had darted past several huge men to take the
execution platform like one of the warrior goddesses his
grandmother had spoken of when he was a boy.

She should have been the last thing he
noticed, and yet she’d been the only thing he could see.

“I have to say, I’ve never seen anyone scale
a cliff quite that way,” Darius said, walking up to steady the
horse as Fallon dismounted.

A tall man with high cheekbones and a broad
nose, Darius always seemed to find amusement in life. Even in
battle with enemies attacking from all sides, his eyes would
crinkle at the corners while a fierce grin stretched across his
face. His blue eyes were very noticeable with his dark skin that
was tanned even darker by the sun. It was his horse Fallon had
appropriated to race after the woman.

“I told you she was tricky.” Wilhelm ambled
up to them with his head tilted back to eye the cliff face with
mild bemusement. He’d seen many flee before the Trateri, but never
up a cliff.

“That’s what makes it interesting,” Darius
returned. He patted his horse’s neck and fed him a slice of an
apple before checking over the saddle and reins.

“Indeed,” Fallon said softly. It had been a
long time since he’d found anything besides battle interesting.
Especially a woman. His gaze sharpened on Wilhelm. “Take several
men to her friends’ hiding place and retrieve them. She’ll go back
for them. Catch her if you can, but I don’t want her harmed.”

Wilhelm gave a slight smile and spun on his
heel gesturing for five men to follow him. Without another word, he
swung onto a horse and rode down the canyon, leaving the others to
trail behind.

“Did you get what you needed?” Darius asked,
changing the subject and clapping Fallon on the back.

Fallon glanced at his friend “Yes, but it
wasn’t the answer I wanted.”

“Oh?”

“The Trateri will be able to take the
Lowlands easy enough, but from the information we gathered, there
is no easy way to breach the Highlands. Every route we found
involved a climb. It’d be near impossible to get the horses up
there, and there’s no easy way to get a large army, equipped with
supplies and weapons into position without destroying the element
of surprise.”

Silence fell between the two, broken only by
the sound of a horse’s whinny. Fallon stared off into the distance,
lost in thought as Darius studied him.

“We’ll have to limit our plans to the
Lowlands. For now.” Fallon’s head turned slowly to Darius,
anticipation burning in his eyes. “Prepare your men. Our army
marches on the Lowlands shortly.”

A loud whoop escaped Darius as he lunged
forward to clasp Fallon in a tight hug. For nearly twenty years,
they had planned for this day. They had sworn the moment they
became friends at the age of ten they would lead the clans to
create an empire spanning across the continent.

“I’m at your side every step of the way,”
Darius declared, clasping Fallon on the shoulder.

“I never doubted it,” Fallon told him. “Come.
Let’s find Wilhelm, and you can tell me what the Clan Heads have
been plotting in my absence.”

Darius gestured for one of his warriors to
dismount and give his horse to Fallon. They mounted and headed in
the direction Wilhelm had taken. It wasn’t long before they pulled
their horses to a stop as Wilhelm and his men met them coming from
the opposite direction

“My lord, they’re gone,” Wilhelm said without
preamble. “We found no track. It looks like they just
disappeared.”

There was a moment of stunned silence at this
news, and then Darius gave a bark of laughter.

“It appears you’ve found an entire clan of
ghosts,” he told Fallon.

“I’m beginning to think you’re right,” Fallon
said, shaking his head and spurring his horse in the direction
Wilhelm had come. He wanted to see this for himself.

Wilhelm hadn’t lied. The other four were
gone. The hidey hole hid nothing but dirt and a few small
rocks.

Darius’ men spread out to see if there were
any other places for the four to hide but had so far turned up
nothing. The strangers had disappeared into thin air.

Fallon gave a considering look at the canyon
walls, wondering if they had done as the woman had and simply
scaled them. He shook his head. No. One had been too injured to
make that climb, and since he wasn’t there, they would have taken
him with them.

It was a mystery that teased at his brain.
Besides thinking up new strategies for battle, life had gotten
slightly boring of late. If the woman, Shea, had wanted to make him
lose interest in her, she should have simply surrendered. Now, she
presented a challenge. Prey to be hunted.

He turned his horse and kicked it into a
trot, trusting the others to follow.

“Should we keep searching?” Wilhelm
asked.

After giving Fallon a long considering look,
Darius answered, “No. She’s his to find now.”

Darius clicked to his horse, breaking into a
canter and quickly catching up to Fallon. He pulled lightly on the
reins to slow his horse to a walk.

“What do you want to do about the
village?”

“We don’t have time to deal with them
now.”

“And later?” Darius asked already knowing the
answer.

“Burn it.”

From her hiding place atop the cliff, Shea
watched Fallon and his men ride away. When they were gone, she
found a path down to the canyon and ran to the hiding place. Like
Fallon and his men, she found nothing. Unlike them, she was
prepared for that.

Witt would have moved the group as soon as
the last villager passed. That had been the plan all along. It was
why she had drawn the strangers along with her rather than leaving
them behind.

She didn’t need help distracting the
villagers, but the strangers had set off every instinct she had.
She hadn’t wanted to chance revealing the way into the
Highlands.

Witt would have known this and acted
accordingly in case something had gone wrong on her end. Now, she
just had to get back to the rendezvous point.

Worry niggled at her at the thought of them
trying to make their way through the Badlands without a guide.
Firmly, she pushed it down. Witt was a smart man with experience
out in the wilds. He would know to stick to the edge and work his
way back to the Highlands from there.

Either way, there was nothing she could do
about it. The others were long gone. All she could do now was
follow them and hope she didn’t run into any trouble along the
way.

Seven Months Later

“We’ve already told you our terms,” Dane
argued. “If you’re unwilling to meet them, we have nothing left to
discuss. We’re done here.”

Shea fought a yawn as an old man voiced sharp
disagreement. Propping her head on her hand, she attempted to feign
some interest in the proceedings. It wasn’t easy. Her jaw cracked
as the yawn she’d been containing escaped.

Would this meeting never end?

“Let’s not be hasty,” the white-haired man’s
voice cut through the chatter.

His face had an agelessness to it, making it
impossible for Shea to guess exactly how old he was. Although the
hair suggested age, his skin was smooth and free of wrinkles. His
eyes hinted at a sharp mind. “I’m sure we can come to an agreement.
There’s no need to go home empty handed.”

Zrakovi would have a shit fit if they came
back without securing the trade route with Goodwin of Ria. It had
taken their group nearly two months to reach the Lowland town.

They’d been here ten days already and had
accomplished exactly nothing. It was frustrating and made zero
sense. Goodwin of Ria was the one to initiate the talks in the
first place. They’d sent an emissary to Birdon Leaf with the clear
goal of establishing trade between the two villages. Only now, it
seemed Goodwin of Ria no longer had any interest in the deal.

The idea of a trade route was a good one. Or
it would be if both parties agreed to the terms.

Birdon Leaf would benefit from the wheat that
Goodwin grew, while Goodwin would gain access to the tali root and
jixy oil the Highlanders harvested from the cliffs near their
village.

Tali root, which could be used as a food or
textile, would help the town expand its weaving capability to offer
more luxury items to the southern cities. Because the root only
grew in the higher altitudes of the Highlands, the town elders were
rabid to get their hands on it. The jixy oil would give the
townspeople access to a more reliable fuel for lanterns and other
heating sources.

For the villagers of Birdon Leaf, the wheat
and a few other goods would help keep them fed when the tali wasn’t
in season.

That was the idea anyway, but since their
arrival the people of Goodwin had been argumentative and unwilling
to compromise.

She didn’t understand why she had to be
present for these tedious meetings. It wasn’t like she had anything
to add. She didn’t set the terms, and more importantly, this wasn’t
part of her duties.

Being outside the village perimeter enjoying
the slight chill of spring as the land began to ripen with life was
preferable to sitting in this tiny chamber filled with stuffy old
men.

“We’ve already agreed on these terms,” Dane
reiterated. “You should know as you were the ones to propose
them.”

“Things have changed since our emissary
visited your village,” a man said crossly.

Shea thought his name started with an R.
Robert? No, she didn’t think that was it. Maybe Richard?

Clad in fine garments with intricate
embroidery running along every hem, he had slicked his black hair
away from his clean shaven face, showing his strong bone structure
to its best advantage. When he’d shaken Shea’s hand, she’d been
amazed at how smooth his skin was. Softer than a child’s, his hands
had probably never seen a day of manual labor.

His two companions were attired similarly,
though the man on his left had applied some type of powder to his
face to cover the age spots. Nothing could hide that beak of a
nose, though.

Life in the Lowlands must be easier.
Highlanders just didn’t have that much time to invest in their
appearance. Everyday clothes didn’t have the fine level of detail
that every one of these men’s garments showcased. Shea had attended
these meetings for the past ten days, and every day each man had
worn something different and equally fine.

She counted herself lucky when she had one
nice outfit in her wardrobe. Mostly, her clothes were made of
serviceable leather or tali root. None of it had embroidery or
fancy cuts and weaves.

Shea was willing to bet these men had seen
very little hardship in their lives.

Dane pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’ve
been saying that for days now. We’ve offered several alternatives,
and you still can’t make up your minds. The terms are fair and
benefit both of us.”

“We disagree.” The hawk nose man slapped his
hands on the table.

“I don’t care if you disagree. Perhaps one of
the other villages will be more appreciative of the trade you
scorn.”

Shea perked up at that news. Perhaps the end
to this whole tedious visit was in sight.

“Gentlemen, please,” the white haired elder
interrupted. “Let’s not make hasty decisions. Perhaps we should
call it quits for the day and meet again tomorrow when we’ve had a
chance to rest and consider what has been said.”

No, not again. Tomorrow would lead to the
next day and then the day after that. She couldn’t take much more
of this.

They were stalling. She knew it. They knew
it.

All she wanted was for this to be over so she
could gather her team and head home. That or for Dane to release
her from the tedious boredom of having to listen to these men drone
on and on about nothing important.

Dane’s arms relaxed from across his chest,
and he nodded once. Shea drooped. Looked like they were going to be
here at least another day.

The men murmured polite goodbyes as they
stood. Dane and the rest of the group from Birdon Leaf filed out of
the room.

Shea trailed behind absently listening as the
other three discussed how to spend the rest of the day now that
discussions had been derailed. Again.

The door closed firmly. Shea glanced back at
it. None of the elders had joined them, which meant they had all
remained behind. Perhaps to discuss how they should handle
negotiations tomorrow?

Shea would have thought it would be more
beneficial to do that with all parties concerned, but what did she
know. She was a simple guide.

Lost in thought, she trailed further and
further behind her group, losing sight of the rest before she knew
it. Oh well. She doubted they’d notice she was missing.

Time to herself had become a luxury since
reaching Goodwin, as Dane thought it would be useful to have her
sit in on the discussions. She hadn’t minded at first. Ten days
later, she did.

Shea wandered in the opposite direction of
her lodging, enjoying the feel of the sun warming her face and the
slight bite of a stray breeze. It brought with it the fresh smell
of damp and earth.

It would likely rain during the night. She
could smell it in the air. It didn’t feel like it would be a heavy
rain, just enough to soak the ground.

Her feet whispered across the cobblestone
streets as she found her way to the market. Stopping at a stall,
she bought a piece of fruit and carried it with her as she headed
to the well maintained decorative wall framing the square.

Hopping up onto the waist high barrier, she
settled onto the cool stone and turned her attention to
people-watching before biting into the peach. She wiped her chin as
a little bit of juice escaped and then licked the small trickle of
liquid off her wrist, savoring the rare treat.