now I have to rely on my enemy?’
She laughed. ‘Yes, Loethar. I think you do. And until I hear from him you remain my prisoner.’
‘If I give you my word that I will not harm you and won’t try to escape, will you agree to unbind me so I don’t feel like an animal? Perhaps I can actually be of some help.’
She considered this, staring at him. He returned the gaze steadily. Finally, Elka nodded. ‘Gavriel will kill me but I’m going to trust you, Loethar. I do believe you are a man of your word.’
‘Indeed. I am Valisar, after all.’
She snorted with derision. ‘That has no effect on me.’
‘Then I give you my promise as a man who owes you the debt of his life.’
‘Now that means something to me.’ Producing a blade from the sheath at her hip, she cut his bonds. ‘Are you ready to travel? We might as well keep moving while you have some strength.’
‘I’ll move until I drop. Where are we going?’
‘Home. I can keep you safe in the mountains.’
‘Indulge me, Elka.’
‘You have a better plan,’ she said. ‘Yes, of course you do.’
He shrugged, though it obviously hurt him to do so. ‘Will you hear it before you dismiss it? I will not risk your life, that I promise. And we will go to the mountains directly after.’
She stared at him for a few moments, weighing him up. ‘Tell me on our way to Francham. Wherever we’re going we’ll need horses and medicine. Let’s go.’
Roddy clung to Ravan gleefully, his breath whipped away by the speed at which they were running. They were already approaching the forest and he knew they would be into the trees in a few heartbeats. Ravan began to slow. He didn’t even sound breathless when he spoke.
‘We are close now. I’ll set you down in a moment.’ He turned his head and Roddy could see his friend was smiling. ‘You can catch your breath.’
‘How about you?’
‘I feel perfectly normal. Not even slightly hard of breath.’ Ravan laughed. ‘Onwards we go!’
Gavriel and Leo were sitting in a comfortable silence. Dusk had closed on the forest and though the birds had fallen quiet the crickets were just beginning to exercise their legs. Leo had found a decent spread of cold food. Neither of them considered it a good idea to light a fire just in case any of Stracker’s warriors were still straggling in and around the region.
They had talked for hours about Gavriel’s life in the mountains and Leo’s growing up in the forest. Inevitably the conversation had run to talk of the old days, of them trapped in the ingress of the palace and life on the run. Now they’d fallen into a comfortable silence, enjoying the summer’s mild evening.
And so it was with some shock that Gavriel heard the sound just when he had announced he would be turning in for the night. ‘Someone’s approaching,’ he said, leaping to his feet and reaching for his bow.
‘I heard. It’s not one of the men,’ Leo replied, quietly picking up his own weapon, belching as he did so.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I feel a bit ill. I’ll get over it. I probably just miss Lily’s food.’
They instinctively separated and began widening their distance from each other, circling closer to the person they could hear approaching. Gavriel nodded at Leo and ducked behind a large tree, his arrow already nocked. He could still see into the clearing but he’d be invisible to anyone who wasn’t aware he was there.
‘Who comes?’ Leo demanded.
‘Friends,’ came the response. It sounded like a child’s voice.
Behind the tree Gavriel frowned and although he didn’t step out, he did release the tension on his bow. Finding this camp was hard enough for a tracker so whoever was coming was either very determined or knew the way in.
‘Stop!’ he heard Leo say. ‘Name yourselves.’
Gavriel peeped around the tree trunk and could just vaguely make out two shapes, a tall person — a man — and then a shorter figure next to him. A boy?
‘I am called Roddy and this is Ravan,’ said the younger one.
Leo nodded. ‘You call yourselves friends but I don’t know you.’
‘You know Ravan.’
‘Does Ravan not have a voice?’ Leo asked.
‘Yes,’ the man replied. ‘He does.’
‘I don’t recognise it. I don’t recognise either of you. Step into the light or I will order the men who have you encircled to fill you with arrows. We don’t take kindly to strangers here.’
‘Please,’ Roddy said, and Gavriel could hear fear in his voice. ‘We come alone. There’s just the two of us. And Ravan will explain. You are King Leonel, aren’t you?’
Gavriel let go of all tension on the bow and stepped around from the tree fully. He noticed that the man called Ravan saw his movement immediately. Sharp eyes, he thought.
‘You should be careful what you claim,’ Leo said but Gavriel could hear the shock in it. He saw the king rub his eyes. ‘Come into the light of the lantern.’
Gavriel circled behind the pair as they approached Leo. The man registered his presence again, turning once and nodding. Gavriel was impressed by both his keen sense of his surrounds and his composure. He was impressive: tall, strong-looking and with a set of his jaw that looked as though he was used to making his own decisions. His hair was dark, loose to his shoulders and even in this low light seemed to gleam. And though he was clean-shaven and dressed in simple black garb Gavriel’s sense of him was that he was anything but uncomplicated. Even silent his presence was commanding and vaguely reminiscent of someone. He couldn’t place who or why. He frowned again, deeper this time.
‘How did you find this camp?’ he asked.
‘Ravan knows the way,’ the boy answered.
‘Who are you, Ravan?’ Leo asked. Though his tone was pointed, Gavriel thought he looked a little distracted. Was Leo sweating?
Gavriel came around to face the strangers, his weapon by his side.
The man bowed. It was elegant, at the same time humble. His companion followed, far clumsier in his execution. The boy looked unsteady as though slightly drunk.
‘My name is Ravan,’ the man began, ‘but I am known to you under another name. One that will shock. I would ask for your indulgence to hear out our tale.’ He glanced at the boy, who nodded vaguely.
Gavriel’s eyes narrowed. The man was deferring to the boy?
Leo did not miss the glance either. ‘Do you take your orders from a child, Ravan?’
The man smiled but there was no conceit in it. ‘Roddy has a better grasp on the world of men for the time being. He and I are close travelling companions. And we are friends. I trust his judgement.’
‘Over and above your own? How odd.’
Ravan gave a shrug. ‘We share our thoughts.’
‘Stranger and stranger,’ Gavriel remarked. ‘Let me search them first,’ he said to Leo.
Leo nodded, looking pale in the torchlight.
Both raised their arms without having to be asked. Gavriel could see neither had a weapon but he went through the motions to ensure