A Crown in The Mist: Book 2

Chapter 2

The ship ferried them to The Twin Peaks. The blue sails hung limp in the wind, docking north of Mistfall. The Sisters had kept their end of the bargain. The vessel stopping once it reached its destination, the phantom wind that carried the sails across the sea ceased.

"We travel by land now," Hunter announced. "The ship will not move further than this point. Its mistresses will call it back and I recommend we not be on board when that happens."

The salt from the sea laced the air. Standing back as Hunter and Gavin scanned the shore. For what, she didn't know. But she went through her own scan. The tome was still with her. Tal had seen her with it, but the amber eyed woman had only given her a curious look. Even now she watched her with a close eye.

"We will secure mounts to take us to Mistfall." Gavin said, dropping down to the shallow waters. He landed with a splash. Looking over the railing she saw him smiling up at her. Tal stood leaning over the railing, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Do you expect me to dive in after you, Gavin?"

"C'mon Talora. Afraid of a little water?"

He flashed her a beaming smile before continuing after Hunter who had already wadded through the water. No, wadded would be the wrong word. Cut through the water and stood on the sandy beach, droplets of water falling from his leathers. His hair had curled at the edges from the salt water. He raised a hand to shake the last few drops of water from his onyx hair and turned back to see what was holding them up. His eyes first went to Gavin, standing in the waist deep water with his hands spread out and then to Talora who stood leaning over the railing. But when they settled on her, a hoard of minute actions held her in place.

His brows pinched, his eyes narrows, his mouth morphed into a sneer, and then...he turned away.

"I beseech you, my fair lady, please grace these shores with your beauty!"

"Ha! I'm no 'fair' lady, Gavin." Talora called back before gripping the edge of the railing and beginning her descent down the rope ladder. "Let's get going, Dawn. Like Hunter said, you don't want to be abroad the Sisters' vessel when they call it back."

"Stay here and try not to get into any trouble."

Gavin departed with those words of encouragement and hurried after Hunter, who had disappeared behind the jagged rocks that separated the beach from the lands beyond.

After a few scarce words shared between her and Tal, they began setting up camp. Dawn silently worked alongside Tal who instructed her to collect dried wood and kindling for the fire they would need soon. The longer the worked in silence, the more Dawn grew tense. Did Tal know what the tome was? Had Hunter told her and Gavin what happened with Arnoldus?

"One good thing about travelling with Hunter is that he thinks of everything." Tal said suddenly. She waved at her to follow and moving to the tall rocks she trailed her finger along the surface of one of the largest rocks. She appeared to be looking for something. Looking up at the monolith, Dawn arched a brow in question.

"When he left us here, he knew we would have all that we needed." She grunted and pulled on a loose edge. A rectangular stone fell to the ground and Tal reached into the small opening. She withdrew a dust covered parcel and untied the strings before tossing a bundle of navy fabric to her.

"Here, change into this." She turned to look into the opening and added, "There is still some canvas in here, so we can perch a tent near camp if we are staying the night."

Dawn looked at the navy clothes in her hands, the reinforced fabric and leather weren't the kind used in common clothing.

"What is that?" She said, nodding to the hollow rock that held a cache of supplies.