Undestined: Fight your Fate

Chapter Ten: Whispers of War, Pt. 1

The one good thing about the ambush, Silay thought to herself, was that it had meant no more horses. Not that they weren’t convenient. It was just that the hours of riding they had done each day had left her sore in muscles she hadn’t known she had. But now she was grateful for the horse, as each jolting step brought them closer to Sojan. Not that she had ever thought she would be grateful to return to that city. Silay gave a small smile, which turned into a bigger grin when Riya caught her eye.

“How are you doing?”

Riya returned the smile. “Much better now, thanks to you.” She touched her throat where the collar had been.

Edo glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks to me as well, I believe.”

“Yes.” Riya nodded. “You did good.”

It had taken several tries, but by using his own blood to create a route for Silay’s to follow, Edo had essentially tricked Wrigcyn’s spell into accepting Silay’s blood as the key. Once the collar was off of Riya, they hadn’t wasted any time getting on the road for Sojan. But now the sun was setting, and the horses were clearly tired. Finally, Praesi called a halt.

“Let’s get off the road and see if we can’t find a good campsite for the night.”

Following her lead, Silay and the others dismounted and led their horses down into the woods edging the road. Praesi led them down a faint path to a clearing near a small stream. Exchanging a glance, she and the other guard left their horses in the care of Edo then quickly circled the surrounding area.

Praesi returned to the group. “All clear. I say we camp here, if no one has any objections?”

“Looks good to me!” Talis had been riding behind each of the others in turn, since there hadn’t been a horse for him. Praesi glared at him, and he immediately fell silent.

“Is it all right with everyone else?” There were nods all around. “Good. Edo, set the wards. Jarlen, Talis, look after the horses. I’ll go down to the stream to get water. Everyone else, tents and fire.” More nods and several spoken ‘yeses’. Silay noted with interest that Praesi gave orders in a way that assumed they would be obeyed, and therefore they were.

The clearing very quickly became a small, yet busy, camp as everyone set about their assigned task. Silay was surprised to realize how long it had been since she had been around this many people. Soon, there was a meal cooking over the fire. Dinner was eaten mostly in silence. It seemed everyone was as tired as Silay felt. Before long, the fire had burned down for the night, a watch rotation had been agreed on, and everyone except for Edo, who had first watch, went to sleep.

***

Silay had drawn the last watch, so she was alone to watch the first hints of dawn reach across the sky. She sat still, enjoying the silence. If anyone had told her time to herself would become rare before this whole unquest had started, she would have laughed at them. Now she had learned to treasure any small moment she had alone. It was a nice change from her life back home. 

Her thoughts were broken by a movement near the fire at the center of the small camp. It was Edo, and it looked like he was making tea. He caught Silay’s eye and gave a small nod in greeting. Silay nodded back, then turned away to continue watching the sunrise. A few minutes later, Edo joined her, a mug in his hand.

“Coffee?” He held the mug out to Silay.

Silay sniffed the contents and wrinkled her nose. “It looks like black sludge. How can you drink that?”

“I don’t drink it for how it looks.” Both their voices were low so they wouldn’t wake the others.

“No thanks. I’ll just wait and make tea in little bit.”