Brian McClellan - Forsworn

“You’ve not yet asked why we’re holding you here.” Nikslaus said calmly.

Erika felt a cold sweat break out on her brow. “I assumed you had a good reason. You are the king’s servant, after all.” Her voice trembled.

“Indeed. I am going to let you go now, but be warned, my lady. I will be watching you. And if you decide to play this game with me again, I will present your head to the king.” Blue fire sprouted from the fingers of Nikslaus’ runed gloves, dancing like candles in the wind. He drummed his fingers on the side of the carriage, leaving black burns.

“I don’t know what you are accusing me of.”

“I think you do.” Nikslaus climbed out of the carriage, leaving Erika alone with the sound of her own pounding heart.

The sound of hooves retreated, but Erika could see from her window that Nikslaus’ men were still searching the surrounding fields and up and down the road. Dominik, holding his wounded arm stiffly, appeared at the window. “My lady, are you all right?”

“You did well,” she answered with a nod. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. We can’t risk….”

Erika said a silent prayer for Norrine. “I know. Take us inside the city.”

Norrine tumbled to the bottom of the deep ditch that ran alongside the road into Budwiel.

She was less than a dozen paces from where she’d left the carriage and was already coated in mud. The walls of the ditch blocked her vision of the road and the carriage and everything but the sky above and, further on, the torches of Budwiel’s main gate. But there was nowhere to hide. Water came up to her ankles and the walls were too steep for her to climb back out. The Longdogs wouldn’t be sloppy this time. Norrine remembered Santiole’s warning not to trust to luck after the Longdogs had failed to find her back at the Leora manor. Now Santiole was dead and Norrine wondered if she would soon join her.

She could hear hoofbeats and angry voices shouting.

They would find her, and they would kill her. Like they’d killed Phille. Like they’d killed Santiole.

Nothing to do but run, a hunted animal near the end of the chase.

She slipped and stumbled as she went, trying not to catch herself on the slick ditch walls so as not to leave any sign of her passage. By now they would have caught up to Erika’s carriage. They would be searching Erika, and they would then search along the road.

They were going to find her. It wasn’t a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’ Budwiel’s gates seemed impossibly far away, looking up into the night, the flickering torches atop the wall taunting her. Norrine felt tears running down her face. Mud and water squelched in her boots and covered her from head to toe. The clothes Erika had given her.

If Norrine didn’t escape, Erika wouldn’t either. Norrine had to escape. Not just for herself or for Phille and Santiole’s sacrifices, but for Erika.

How much further? Mud stung her eyes. She stumbled forward, blindly, trying not to make a sound.

Rough hands snatched her under the shoulders and lifted her from the ditch. She flailed about in her panic, trying to reach into her pocket for her penknife. She had to get away. She couldn’t do this to herself, or to Erika.

She had gotten them both killed.

Erika’s carriage arrived at the gates a few moments after Duke Nikslaus had left. Dominik pulled up just inside the gate and Erika took the stone steps to the top of the wall, ignoring a curious look from a blue-coated Adran soldier.

Nikslaus’ men were still out there. They searched in a circular pattern, working their way out, and the ditches were being examined once again. If they found Norrine now…. Erika didn’t want to think about it. She was safe enough in Adro, but her grandfather would suffer for it.

Erika was joined a moment later by the captain of the wall guard. She turned toward him, noting that he was alone. Perhaps she wasn’t as safe as she thought.

“Something wrong with my papers, captain?” she asked in Adran.

“Not at all, Lady Erika.” He settled with his elbows on the wall and watched Nikslaus’ searchers. “You have any trouble out there? We were about to send a company to investigate.”

“That wouldn’t have ended well,” Erika answered. “They were mage hunters. Best not to start an international incident on Kez lands.”

“Ah,” the captain said, eyeing her for a moment. “For the best, then. I’m glad you made it here safely. Could you have your man pull around to the side of the gate house, please? I have a package for you.”

“Excuse me?” What was this? Something else? Another trap?

“You best be on your way, I think. And someone has left you a gift at the gate. Pick it up on your way out.”

Something about her presence-or more likely the presence of the Longdogs just outside the gate-had the captain nervous.

“I will, thank you.” Erika glanced once more at the searchers and climbed back down the wall. She gave instructions for Dominik to pull around to the side of the gate house. They sat waiting for several minutes before the captain appeared at her carriage window.

“There you are,” the captain said, opening the door. It took a moment for Erika to realize the captain wasn’t talking to her. Norrine stepped into the carriage and settled into the seat across from Erika. Her jacket was gone, replaced by an old Adran military coat. The scarf that had covered her powder mage brand was also gone.

“She was a bit muddy when she came in,” the captain said. “We cleaned up her boots the best we could, but her jacket was a total loss.”

Erika struggled with words. “Thank you,” she said.

“Don’t thank me,” the captain replied. “Thank Captain Tamas. He comes around every few months with new boots and a bottle of port for each of us here on Budwiel’s wall. In return, we keep a lookout for…special…kinds of runaways. We’re glad to be of some service, my lady.” He tipped his hat and stepped away, closing the door.

“Are you all right?” Erika immediately asked Norrine. “Did they hurt you?”

Norrine shook her head. “They were very kind,” she said.

“How did you make it to the gates?”

“I did jump in the ditch, but I thought I should get away. I started along the bottom. There was a lot of water, so I shouldn’t have left any tracks. The soldiers on the wall saw me approach and came out and got me.”

Erika nodded. Very kind of them indeed. Powder mages might be legal in Adro, but they weren’t exactly welcomed either. Who was this Captain Tamas? And why did he care about Kez powder mages?

It was a mystery that would have to wait until another day. She felt her exhaustion overwhelming the adrenaline that had kept her going since she left grandfather’s manor. She sank against the wall of the carriage and nodded off, dreaming of a warm bed.

Voices brought Erika awake again. Voices and light. A panic set into her instantly, and she sat bolt upright, one hand searching for her sword.

The sword was gone, fueling her desperation. Her eyelids seemed impossibly heavy and her body sluggish as she sought desperately for a weapon. Strong hands took her by the shoulder and a voice called to her. She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all, before realization set in.

“Father?” she asked.

She shook violently, and the hands kept their grip until she was able to calm down. Lord Pensbrook, her father, eventually stepped away from her and she took the chance to look around. She was in the sitting room of the family’s Budwiel townhouse. Father stood beside her, wearing only his pajamas. He was a tall man with a broad chest and a neatly trimmed, black goatee.

“It’s me, my dear,” father said, taking her by the hand. “You’re safe.” The corners of his eyes wrinkled in concern.