Part 31 (1/2)
”So what are you doing out here?” Jiron asks as he takes the offered food. He keeps a constant lookout for any approaching soldiers, but it looks like for the moment they may have lost them.
Her expression turns grim as she says, ”Surviving. I used to live in Mountainside before the soldiers came. Fortunately I was out hunting in the mountains when they showed up and was spared the ravages they inflicted on my family and friends.”
”That's too bad about your family,” James says.
”Yes. I miss them dearly but we can't live in the past,” she says wistfully. ”Now I stay up here where they can't find me. Been doing alright so far, though I hope they get pushed back into the Empire so I can go home. If there's even a home to return to.”
”We were just through there and it looks like most of it is still standing,” explains Jiron. ”Some of the buildings were burned down by the fire, but most of them appeared in good condition.”
”Strange thing about that fire,” she says. ”It just started up out of nothing. I was in the forest that day and there wasn't any lightning or such to spark it. Though I heard a whole lot of soldiers got burnt in it. That was good news.”
Jiron glances at James who just shakes his head. He doesn't want her to know more about them than is absolutely necessary. ”So you just stay in the woods?” he asks. ”How are you able to manage?”
Giving him an annoyed expression, she asks in reply, ”What? Do you think I'm some helpless little girl who can't take care of herself?”
”We'll, no,” he replies. ”It's just that...”
”It's just that I'm a girl,” she finishes for him. ”If I were a man, would you even ask such a question?”
Face reddening, he looks to Jiron for help but finds him smiling, enjoying the predicament he's gotten himself into. ”No, it's not that at all. Where I come from, women are considered equal to men in all things. What I was getting at was that the soldiers might've discovered you, or something.”
”I don't let them 'discover' me,” she informs him. She gets up and says, ”I think it's time to go.” Without even waiting for a reply, she moves out through the woods at a quick pace. James and Jiron have to scramble to catch up with her.
James glances to Jiron who only gives him an amused smile.
That night when they stop for the night, James is about ready to die. The pace she kept the rest of the day had been unrelenting. No stops and he had to practically run in order to keep up with her. When she announced here is where they would be spending the night, he just collapses.
Coming over to him, she asks, ”Tired?”
Nodding, he says breathlessly, ”Yeah. Not used to so much climbing. Plus the air is thinner up here.”
”The sun's going to be down soon and we don't have time to rest,” she tells him. ”You need to collect enough firewood to last through the night while I get dinner.” While stringing her bow, she adds, ”It gets very cold up here when the sun's down.” Once her bow is ready, she moves away from him and disappears in the trees.
Jiron comes over and gives him a hand up. He looks to where she disappeared in the trees and says, ”I like her.”
James gives him a grin and says, ”You like all the girls.”
Shaking his head, he says, ”Not like that. But we better get busy if we'll have a fire going and enough wood collected before she returns.”
Groaning, James gets his already stiffening legs moving again as he begins gathering small branches and sticks. When he has an armful, he returns and deposits it in camp where Jiron goes about lighting a fire. Four more trips are required before Jiron determines they have enough to last through the night.
About that time, she returns with two small animals and proceeds to clean and dress them for the fire.
While she's doing that, James asks her, ”You never even told us your name.”
She looks up from the rabbits and says, ”Aleya.”
Jiron comes over to her and says, ”I'm Jiron.”
A quick nod and then she returns her attention back to the animals.
Jiron just stands there not sure what to do, a simple nod was not the reply he expected. There's just something about her that both annoys and attracts him. Finally realizing he'd been standing there like an idiot, he goes over and sits near James across the fire from her.
”How much further is this fortress?” James asks her.
”Another two days,” she replies. She points to an imposing ridge to the west and says, ”We should reach that ridge by tomorrow night. It's all downhill from there on.”
A deep valley separates them and their destination. The ridge is quite high and steep, higher in fact than where they sit now. James looks at the prospect of trying to climb it with trepidation.
She notices how his face has fallen as he stares out across the valley. ”Don't worry,” she tells him with a rea.s.suring smile, ”it's not going to be that bad. There's an old stairway that was cut into the ridge a long time ago which leads all the way to the top.”
”A stairway?” Jiron asks.
”A series of steps that wind their way up to the top,” she explains. ”From there you can see the Fortress of Kern nestled in the hills below, which sits at Cardri's southern border. An old road leads down from the top of the ridge and comes out somewhere near Kern. Never actually had the occasion to cross the ridge before. From there you two can go on your way.”
”What about you?” Jiron asks.
”I'll go back to where you found me,” she replies. ”Not much else for me now.” Having finished dressing the animals, she impales them upon sticks and hands them to Jiron and James. ”You boys can do the cooking, if you don't mind.”
”No, we don't mind,” Jiron says as he takes the sticks from her and hands one to James.
James takes the stick and tries to hide the amused grin that's threatening to spread across his face. Jiron seemed just a little too eager to do as she requested, not to mention the speed with which he'd gotten up from where he'd been sitting once he knew she needed something. Even if that something was taking the animals from her for roasting.
As the flames begin licking the carca.s.ses and the fat drips with a sizzle to their ravenous heat, she eyes them speculatively. ”Just what does the Empire want with you guys anyway?” she asks.
”What do you mean?” James asks her with a sidelong glance to Jiron.
”That was no mere patrol that chased us up into the mountains,” she explains. ”They had already gone past, but then returned and entered the trees just where you happened to be. How do you explain that?”
”Just a lucky guess?” stammers James.
The look she gives him says she doesn't believe it was 'a lucky guess'. ”They knew right where you were,” she continues.
”They did, didn't they?” says James suddenly thinking. If the warrior priest is using the same technique with a mirror or other magical device to keep track of us, we're in serious trouble. If the warrior priest is using the same technique with a mirror or other magical device to keep track of us, we're in serious trouble. He glances to Jiron and can tell he's having the same thought. He glances to Jiron and can tell he's having the same thought.
”Now, come on,” she demands. ”What's going on?”
James pauses as he considers what, if anything, she deserves to know. ”It's true, the Empire wants us in a bad way. We've recently spent some time deep within its borders and caused some trouble.”
Jiron chuckles and adds, ”You got that right.”
”You see, a friend of ours had been captured during the fall of the City of Light and we went to retrieve him,” James explains. ”Ended up killing a few soldiers and destroyed some buildings. Now we have a mage or something behind us who's trying to prevent us from reaching Cardri.”
”I see,” she says.
They watch her for awhile to see what, if any, her reaction may be to what he had just said. After sitting quietly in contemplation for several minutes, she glances to Jiron and says, ”You better turn that, it's starting to blacken.”