Part 7 (1/2)
”Yeah, but those were short sprints, and this is for five days straight.”
Eve stood up and took a couple of steps into the Clanrye. She closed her eyes as she wiggled her toes in the cool water.
”That's better.”
Eve opened her eyes then glanced back toward the others before switching to a whisper. ”It is going to be a long trip, Max. My feet will be killing me by the time we get there. I'll make it though, if for no other reason than to irritate Tyco.”
Max grinned then nodded at her shoes sitting on the bank. ”I am surprised you wore those.”
Max seldom saw Eve wearing shoes back home. The thick, tough skin on her feet provided natural protection for everyday walking. She also had a thin, silky layer of fur on both the top and bottom of them, providing extra padding. Unfortunately for him, the fur also made her footsteps deadly quiet.
Eve crossed her arms. ”I figured the trail would be really rocky. I didn't want to chance cutting my foot; however, the trail is worn enough that I really don't need them. In fact, they're making things worse.”
”Well, we can fix that.” Max picked up Eve's shoes. ”I'll pack them on Starlight for now.”
Max put the shoes in one of the saddlebags. Opening a different bag, he dug out their food. He returned in time to see Spook climb out of Eve's pocket and run down her arm where she had cupped water in her hands. Spook perched on Eve's wrist where she delicately drank the water.
Max shook his head, laughing. ”You're very strange, you know.”
”Yep, I know.”
When the little mouse finished, Eve and Max sat down together. He divided the food and gave Eve her share along with Spook's cheese. They had barely finished when Tyco signaled for everyone to mount up and be on their way.
Two hours of daylight still remained when they arrived at the next camp. Smaller than the first, the entire camp was encompa.s.sed by a six-foot high stone wall. There stood another segment of wall that started out several feet away from the rest and ran out ten yards into the center of the Clanyre River. The trail led directly to an opening in the wall.
After pa.s.sing through the entrance, a short stone overhang along the north side of the wall offered at least some protection from the sun and the occasional rain. On the south side stood a small guardhouse and hitching post for horses. A stack of wood prepared for a fire sat just off-center of the camp. The trail continued out a second opening on the west side. Max guessed the entire camp measured no more than seventy yards in diameter.
The group stopped by the overhang, the diggers and acolyte going a little farther down from the rest of them.
Max slid off Starlight and began unpacking for the night like the others. ”Not much here.”
Tyco looked up from laying out his bedroll. ”This is a way point. Travelers spend the night then move on. Only the guards stay for any length of time.”
Max looked around the camp. ”I only see one guard. What if bandits attack?”
Tyco gave a short laugh. ”Don't worry Max, there are three more in the guardhouse. That's plenty to handle most anything a bunch of untrained bandits can come up with. Any attack organized enough to be a threat will cause enough stir beforehand that the first camp would be able to send help. Farther in, where help is scarcer, you'll see twice as many.”
Tyco finished unpacking. ”Now, I would recommend refres.h.i.+ng yourself in the river. The Clanrye slips underground not much further west from here. This will be the last chance you get until we reach Moenia. Be sure to come back before dark; however, just in case.”
A dip in the river sounded pretty good to Max. He turned to look for Eve only to see her already heading out the east side of the camp with Mr. Penna. Max ran after them, catching them short of the river's edge.
”Gee, thanks for waiting.”
Eve grinned. ”Sure, no problem. Well, see ya.”
Eve turned and walked away leaving Max confused.
”What? See ya? Where are you going?”
Max started to follow her, but Mr. Penna grabbed hold of his arm.
”Sorry Maxwell, you cannot go with her. Do you see the wall stretching into the river? It is ladies only on the other side.”
Max had noted the separate segment of wall running into the river earlier. His face reddened.
”Oh.”
Mr. Penna let go of Max's arm. ”Come, let us get cleaned up a bit. It will be four days before we have another chance.”
Max followed Mr. Penna as he removed his outer clothes and waded into the river. The coolness of the water felt great after the day's long ride. Mr. Penna, always thinking ahead, handed Max a bar of soap. As refres.h.i.+ng as the bath was, Max kept worrying about Eve. She still had a lot of work to do on her swimming. To make matters worse, she did not return before they finished. Max started to wade over to the wall but was stopped once again by Mr. Penna.
”I am sure she is fine Maxwell. We saw the acolyte go over there ahead of us.”
”But we don't know anything about her.”
”Aside from us, Evangeline will not find a safer place to be than with the Children of the Immortals. So, it is back to camp with us.”
The two gathered their things and headed back for the camp, Max looking over his shoulder the whole way.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
Eve left Mr. Penna and Max at the water's edge and headed for the other side of the dividing wall. She couldn't wait to feel the cool water on her toes again. She was used to the soft earth and gra.s.sy plains of Swift.w.a.ter, not the hard, rocky surface of the trail they traveled now. Her tough feet would adjust, but it would take a little time. Until then, she would have to take extra care of them.
Eve walked around the edge of the wall. Ten feet farther, next to the water, stood the acolyte. Her robe lay on the ground as she worked on removing the rest of her clothing. Eve, like Max, was curious about the woman. Now she could at least see the acolyte's features. Her hair was blond, ending right below her shoulder blades. She had a rounded face that carried only the slightest tan. She was slender and fit with fair skin. Eve guessed the woman to be in her early twenties.
Eve, not wanting to be caught staring, walked to the river where she let Spook out before removing her own clothes. Laying them in a pile, she carefully inched into the water, staying close to the wall for support. She stopped when the water reached her knees. A little scared, she very slowly sat down. After a few minutes she began to relax, enjoying the soothing water. A moment later she had an odd sensation of being watched. Turning her head to the right, she saw the acolyte looking back at her with an open mouth.
Eve's face flushed. ”I...is something wrong?”
The woman shook her head as if clearing it. ”I'm sorry; I just didn't expect to see you go out into the water.”
Eve had known people would make fun of her fear of the water. That was why she had asked Max to help her learn to swim. Embarra.s.sed, she took hold of the tip of her tail in both hands.
”I can go farther out. Well,” Eve lowered her head, ”when Max is with me, I can.”
The woman waved her hands ”No. No. I wasn't trying to make fun of you. It's that I have never seen a lacarnian, and I know several, step into the water before. It really surprised me to see you sitting down that far out.”
The red faded from Eve's face. ”I've worked really hard to get over my fear. When Max is with me I can go all they way to my chin, but this is as far as I could go by myself.”
”Is Max the boy that was with you?”
Eve let go of her tail and smiled. ”Yep.”
”And he is actually helping you?”