Jon Sprunk - Shadow's master

Aemon nodded. A little taller than his brother and blond-haired, he walked with a bit of a limp. “It ain't worth it, Mal.”

Malig shrugged as he looked over his collection. “Caim walks around with one.”

Caim tugged his gloves on tighter. Malig wasn't happy unless he was bitching, and Dray wasn't much better. Aemon was the only one of them with a dram of sense.

“How many dead?” Caim asked.

“All three of those sheep-lovers,” Dray said, referring to the other caravan guards.

“Two drovers, too,” Aemon added. “And Teromich is shook up.”

At the forefront of the halted caravan, Teromich talked to one of his men while looking back at Caim. The other teamsters were busy seeing to their animals. From behind one of the wagons came the harsh squeal of a horse being put down.

Malig laughed. It was an ugly sound. “He's just afraid we'll squeeze him for more silver now that we're the only thing standing between him and a cold grave.”

“We should,” Dray said. “It would serve him right.”

“And he wants to get back on the trail without laying the bodies to rest,” Aemon said. It was clear from his tone that the blond Eregoth didn't hold with this idea.

Caim scanned the cliffs above the pass. What little he knew of the Drakstags he'd learned from Kas, from stories about his days as a soldier in the empire's crusade against the northern wastes. The stories, full of battles and casualties, were exciting to a young boy, especially since Kas had served under Caim's father, Baron Du'Vartha. Now Caim wished the old man had been more forthcoming. He didn't see anyone above, but that meant nothing. Without his shadow spies, he never would have spotted the Suetes coming. As he started to glance away, he caught a hint of movement high up on the rocks. When he looked back, it was gone.

“Fine,” he said. “Go tell our boss to get moving.”

Malig and Dray walked back up the line of wagons, swapping brags about their fighting prowess, but Aemon hung back. He leaned on his spear. Blood stained the shaft nearly to its midpoint. “More trouble?”

“I don't know.” Caim looked ahead, beyond the mountain peaks to something he couldn't see, but felt pushing at the back of his skull. “Keep your eyes open.”

“Aye. That's one thing about you, Caim. Things are never boring when you're around.”

As Aemon went to rejoin the caravan, Caim found his horse. While he gathered up the reins and checked the saddle's cinch strap, a soft tickle caressed the back of his neck.

“Hey there, cutie,” she whispered in his ear. “Can you give a girl a ride?”

Kit was wearing a short lapis dress. A painfully short dress, fitted so tight it left nothing to the imagination.

“That depends,” Caim said under his breath. “Which way you headed?”

Kit laid her head on his shoulder. “Anywhere with you. Surprise me.”

“You like surprises?” Caim held up his bleeding wrist. “That ambush was a nice one.”

“Oh!” Kit spun around him to get a better look at the wound. “That looks painful. Why haven't you bandaged it up yet?”

“I've been busy staying alive. You couldn't warn me they were coming?”

Her fine eyebrows almost touched above the slim bridge of her nose. “I did!”

“When was that exactly?”

“Three nights ago. Don't you remember? You were sitting with Aemon by the fire, eating something disgusting with beans in it, and I told you there were wolves in these mountains.”

He stared at her. “Wolves? You call that a warning?”

Kit walked her fingers up his chest. Her ethereal touch went right through his clothes as if he weren't wearing any. The top of her head barely came up to his chin, even though her feet levitated several inches off the ground. Her long, silver hair bounced as she moved, but never in response to the wind. “I thought you'd know what I meant. Brigands. Wolves.”

“Dammit, Kit. People died.”

She stuck out her bottom lip. “You didn't. You're fine. Just a little cut on the hand. You'll be-”

“You should have told me they were coming, Kit.”

“Well, you've been acting all-” She waved her hands above her head. “Moody. I thought you'd enjoy a little excitement. And anyway, you've got your little pets to keep you apprised.”

He put his foot into a stirrup and climbed into the saddle. “Any more surprises waiting ahead for us?”

“No. You aren't angry, are you?”

“I'll get over it.”

Kit rose up to hover beside him. “You know, Caim, you don't look so good. And I know you haven't been sleeping well. Something's been bothering you since…”

He knew what she meant. Since Liovard and the encounter with the witch. Something had changed in him that night. He couldn't say what it was, but he felt different, like he was a stranger in his own skin. “It's just a cold,” he replied. “I've been thinking, though, about what's ahead.”

“I told you. No more surprises.”

“No, I mean about…” Caim looked to make sure no one was nearby. “What my mother said to you.”

She floated back a couple feet. “What about it?”

“I want to hear it again.”

“I told you. I don't remember much. I was all mixed up after being chased through the Barrier. I only talked to her for a moment, and then I was catapulted across the sky.”

Horses whinnied as the first wagons pulled away. Dray and Malig rode in the vanguard. Aemon was about halfway back where the rest of the drivers were getting situated. “Her words. Tell me again. It might be important.”

“It was mostly about how much she loved you and wanted to know if you were all right. That's all I remember.”

“You told me more before.”

“I was confused.” She huffed. “I don't want to talk about it, okay? You always get upset.”

He started to curse, but stopped himself. “I won't this time. Did she say anything about a place called Erebus?”

Kit batted a stray lock of hair from her eyes. “She didn't speak. Not exactly. It was more like pictures and feelings. Like I was dreaming it.”

“You said you talked to her.” He swung his horse around closer. “That it was real.”

“It was real, but it's just hard to explain. I could try to go back. Maybe find her again.”

“No.” Caim chewed on his lip. The pulling in his head nagged at him all the time. North, always north. It was most of the reason he couldn't sleep. That, and his dreams, which were getting worse. “This thing in my head. I think it's coming from her.”

Kit came up beside him. Her eyes had turned deeper purple, which meant she was serious. Or pissed off. “It could be. Or maybe not.”

Caim gritted his teeth. Why did she have to make everything so damned difficult? “You said she was a powerful sorceress, right?”

“She was,” Kit agreed. “But when I was talking to her, or thinking to her, to put it more accurately…I don't know. I got the impression she wanted you to stay away.”

“That's what she wanted? Or what you want?”

Kit crossed her arms. “Why else didn't she just tell me to fetch you?”

Caim looked into the steel-gray sky. It was going to snow again. “I don't know. But I mean to find out.”

She lifted her chin toward the departing Eregoths. “And how do you think they'll take it? They don't have any idea what you're planning.”

“They can do what they like.”

Kit sidled up to his shoulder, tickling his skin through his cloak, jacket, and three layers of shirts. “What about me?”

“I'd appreciate it if you went and sniffed out any more surprises along the way before some mountain man puts a knife through my chest.”

“Maybe I will.” She smiled, a little smirk like she didn't think he could imagine the thoughts in her head. “After you say it.”