Thief (Brotherhood of the Throne Book 1) (26 page)

“It belonged to her mother.” Thorold ignored Fridrick’s sharp intake of breath. “It’s the piece that started me down this road. I never would have begun collecting these old weapons if it hadn’t been for that knife. It’s key, I know it. But how did she know where to find it?

“You must find out more about the Brotherhood,” Thorold said to Fridrick. “I will take care of Feiren Rowse.” A few words spoken at the right time, in the right ears, and good Captain Rowse’s reputation would suffer. And he would get his own man appointed as Captain of the Kingsguard. He would not tolerate Feiren Rowse much longer.

seventeen

The sounds of movement outside the door woke Brenna up. She winced when she sat up. Her back was stiff and her legs ached. Nothing in the room looked out of place, so she relaxed back into the mattress. Kane was sprawled on the floor beside the bed. She could hear his steady breathing underneath the sounds of the inn coming to life. After a few moments, she gave up on getting any more sleep.

“By the Brothers …” Brenna said as she eased her legs onto the floor. The muscles of her thighs stretched and she stifled a grunt of pain. This had to get better. She could hardly move. Every muscle in her body ached. As quietly as she could, she dressed and left the room in search of breakfast.

Downstairs, the common room was empty so she poked her head through the kitchen door. A serving girl sorted out tea and food and a few minutes later she navigated the stairs back to the room with a heavy tray. Moving around had helped loosen up her aching muscles and she was able to open the door and shove the tray through it without dropping anything. When she looked up, a rumpled Kane was pulling on his shirt.

“You’ve brought breakfast?” He took the tray from her and she closed the door. “Thank you.” He set the tray down, picked up the pot and poured the tea.

“You’re welcome,” she said. “You slept in.” She grabbed a steaming mug and a warm roll. She bit into the roll and sighed as she savored the combination of sharp cheese and warm bread. “I thought military men all rose with the sun.” Although she was glad he’d still been asleep. It would have been awkward to try to dress with him awake.

“Before the sun, actually,” Kane said. “I was awake when you got up. I preferred to let you get breakfast.”

“Such a gentleman,” she said. “What if I hadn’t brought anything back for you?” He’d pretended to be asleep? Maybe Kane was feeling odd about this too.

“But you did,” Kane said. He took a swallow of tea and then a bite of his roll.

“Maybe next time I won’t,” Brenna said. She popped the last of her own roll into her mouth.

“I’ll have to get breakfast next time, then,” he said. “How are you feeling today? Are you ready to ride?”

Brenna rolled her tight shoulders and winced. “I’ll do,” she said. “Thank the gods I had a bath and used the salve.” She turned to put her knife into her pack.

“Here.” Kane dropped a worn leather belt into her hand. “I think you should wear your knife now that we’re out of Kingsreach. This should fit you.”

Brenna’s other knife, the one Feiren had given her, had been taken by Thorold’s men.  Since then she’d been carrying her mother’s knife in her pack. She threaded the leather belt through her knife’s sheath and strapped it around her waist. This was the first time she’d ever worn her mother’s knife - the weight of it on her hip felt natural, as though it belonged there, and the knife
purred
.

“Good, now you’ll be able to defend this.” He held out a purse to her.

She took it from him and hefted it - it was heavy. “You’re not giving me all of it?” There was quite a lot of money in the purse. Kane trusted her, a thief, with it.

“Just half,” Kane said. “In case we get separated. And I want your promise that if that happens, you’ll continue on to Aruntun. You should be safe enough there. Since we didn’t know where you would head, Dasid sent messages to the Brotherhood in all parts of Soule. We don’t have many contacts in Aruntun, but there are enough members there you should be able to find them eventually. Especially since you can identify old steel.”

Brenna nodded and placed the purse inside her shirt. She had another one, her own, wrapped to her leg inside her boot. No doubt more coin would be useful, especially if she and Kane did get separated. And she expected they would take their own paths eventually. Despite what he’d told her yesterday, she couldn’t imagine him following her around for very long.

Brenna touched her knife to take a quick look for old steel. Except for what she and Kane carried, there was none in immediate area but she could sense old steel out there, as though she was the center of a web and the strands connected her and her knife to all old steel weapons. A few of the strands seemed familiar. Without thinking, she followed one she thought was Dasid.

“What are you doing?” Kane asked.

Brenna snapped back to her surroundings to find Kane staring at her intently, hand on his sword.

“Just now, what were you doing?” he repeated.

“I was just … I don’t know, exactly. I was sensing old steel and then I saw Dasid, well, not Dasid exactly, but …” Brenna didn’t think she could describe it to him. She wasn’t even sure what
she’d
felt, just then.

“I could feel it, through my sword. And it
was
Dasid. I could sense him too,” Kane said. He paced the small room.

“It’s as if all old steel is somehow connected to me and my knife. My mother’s knife,” she said. “The first time I did this was when I had this knife.”

“The day you were caught. It
was
you.” Kane stopped in front of her. “I thought I heard you call my name, and then when I heard that Thorold had you ...”

Brenna nodded slowly. “I did feel you, through the knife. Maybe I called your name. I know I wanted you to know where I was.” She glanced down at her knife again, this time in wonder.

“When we have some time we need to see what else you can do,” Kane said. “It could be important. But for now, let’s go. We have a long way to go today. I want to spend the night in Fallad.”

Brenna grabbed her pack and headed for the door. She didn’t need to be told twice. She’d feel much better once they were out of Duke Thorold’s lands.

By midafternoon her legs were in agony and her buttocks felt bruised. They’d eaten travel rations for their midday meal - hard biscuits, dried meat and a few berries Kane had found when they’d stopped. Brenna had barely managed to get herself back up on Blaze after that. Now she didn’t think she’d be able to walk the next time she dismounted. But she’d had an uncomfortable feeling all afternoon, so she’d pushed herself. She hoped it was just general uneasiness at being in Comack and had nothing to do with her abilities as a Seer.

Kane said it was a little over two hours to the Falladian border. He’d been continuously scouting the road, both in front and behind and had given her lessons on how to canter and gallop her horse. They’d alternated between walking and cantering for the last few hours. It was even harder on her body, but she wanted,
needed,
to get out of Comack.

Kane trotted up beside her.

“Here’s where we get off the road,” he said.

“Are we being followed?” She glanced around nervously. In the city, she’d know what to do, but here she must rely completely on Kane. She felt helpless and she hated feeling that way.

“I haven’t seen any signs, but I don’t like where we are,” Kane said. “The land is getting so flat that soon we’ll be visible from a long way off. I’d rather be in the trees before it gets to that point.” He pointed to a distant copse of trees that ran parallel to the road. “We’ll need to go straight through the fields to get to it, but the river should be just beyond the trees. I’ll stay back and try to cover our trail. You can dismount and start walking. The corn here is tall enough to hide us from a distance.”

Kane dismounted and Brenna followed suit. Her legs buckled as she slid off Blaze and she grabbed onto the saddle. The horse turned one eye her way and snorted, as if to reprimand her. She took a few hesitant steps and picked a path through the corn, leaning heavily on Blaze’s shoulder as she walked. After a few paces her legs started to feel like hers again. Kane caught up to her when she was halfway to the trees.

“I tried to leave a false trail or two,” he said. “And I did my best to cover where we entered the field.”

Brenna nodded and made room for him to slip past with Runner. In front, Kane trampled a path through the corn and they traveled faster.

When they reached the trees, Brenna sighed with relief. There was about an hour left before dusk. Kane handed Runner’s lead to her and he climbed part way up a sturdy pine tree.

“I don’t see anyone behind us,” he said. He dropped to the ground “Time to mount up.” 

Kane boosted her back into the saddle and she sucked in a breath. He sent her a worried look.

“Let’s just go,” she said. Brothers, but she didn’t think she’d ever get used to this.

Kane led them through the gloom underneath the trees - a mix of maple and pine along with a sprinkling of birch. The underbrush of soft grasses and ferns was lush and green and the horses’ hooves sank into it soundlessly. After a few minutes, Brenna heard a rumbling in the distance.

“It’s the Silverdale,” Kane said. “I was pretty sure this wooded area would meet up with the river. We’ll cross into Fallad soon.”

They were almost at the river when Brenna heard a noise behind them. Before she had a chance to turn around, Kane slapped the rump of her horse and it leaped forward.

“Run!” Kane shouted.

She grabbed her saddle and held on tight. They crashed past tree limbs and jumped over roots and tangled bushes. She leaned over Blaze’s neck and prayed to Jik for protection, her voice lost in the horse’s streaming mane. She turned when she heard the sounds of a rider close behind. It was Kane, his sword in one hand. Behind him, and to the left, were two riders. She felt Blaze falter slightly. There, a third rider was coming up on her right.

“Keep going!” Kane yelled and he wheeled his horse around.

A branch snagged at her hair and she hunched over Blaze’s neck. She heard a thump and a sickening scream of pain and she prayed that it hadn’t been Kane.

The third rider was still gaining on her. Brenna grabbed her knife - power surged through her body as her knife blazed to life. Instinctively, she
called
to the old steel. Her knife crackled with energy and she felt Kane’s sword flare in answer. She could feel him, through the old steel - he was alive, for now.

Brenna’s pursuer was joined by another, but they both shied away when she waved her blazing knife at them. She rode blindly through the woods, the two riders right behind. She could no longer hear Kane but a quick check through her knife told her he was still alive. Other old steel was even closer, but it was wrong, discordant.

Suddenly the three of them broke through the trees and onto the riverbank. Blaze slipped on the softer soil, but Brenna clung to the horse and stayed on. For another quarter hour, Blaze kept ahead of their pursuers but even Brenna, unskilled with horses as she was, felt the poor beast falter underneath her.

She pulled up on the reins and Blaze wheezed to a stop, flecks of white speckling her neck. Brenna slid to the ground. She wasn’t sure she could stand, but she had no choice. Blaze was spent and she wasn’t going to be taken alive. She tried to contact Kane through the old steel. Get here soon, she prayed.

She gripped Blaze’s saddle for support and held her knife out in front of her. The two riders slowly edged their horses towards her. She let her knife flare even brighter and one of the men stopped. The other one kept coming. Then she recognized him.

“If it isn’t Thorold’s lackey,” Brenna said. “Barton is it?” Brenna kept Blaze between her and the second rider.

His sword snicked from its scabbard, glinting in the light from her knife. “Come with me little girl, and you won’t be hurt,” Barton said. He nudged his horse closer.

“You don’t understand your master if you think that,” Brenna said. She checked for Kane through her knife. He was still too far away. “I know what Thorold has planned for me. He’ll try to use me. If he can’t, he’ll kill me. That doesn’t sound like I won’t be hurt.”

Now that they were still, she could better sense Barton’s sword. It was old steel, but different in some way - discordant and somehow
wrong
. And it hadn’t lit up like her knife and Kane’s sword. She
reached
towards it, and gasped. The sense of wrongness intensified and Brenna clutched at Blaze’s saddle to stay upright. She blocked herself from his sword.

“You won’t take me alive, you know,” she said. “I’ve been an indentured servant to Duke Thorold before. I won’t do it again.”

“I think we can take one little girl with a knife,” Barton drawled. His horse took a step towards her and Barton waved the second man in as well.

Brenna leaned against Blaze and reached into her pack. “I’m a witch and a healer. Do you think I didn’t prepare something, just in case?” She held up a small jar. “It’s a very potent poison, in powder form. Just a small amount can kill instantly. Once the wind catches it, who knows how far it will travel?” She smiled as she saw both men rein in their mounts. “As I said, you won’t take me alive.” Let them decide if she was bluffing. She checked for Kane - he was almost here. 

A branch snapped and Kane rode into view. His sword still shone, although there were dark stains along the length of it.

“Well, Barton,” Kane said. “We meet again. And it looks like the roles are reversed - last time I was the captain.” Kane circled his horse around the other two riders, his sword pointed at Barton.

“I see your witch has given you a fancy toy.” Barton kept his eyes on Kane’s sword.