They'd headed east, away from the Highlands when they left Goodwin. Not the best direction, as this would make her eventual escape more difficult since she would have to travel until she found familiar ground, but not impossible.
The real challenge would be freeing the others. If their captors continued to keep them separated, it make planning difficult.
The sun was sinking behind the mountains when Darius decided to make camp for the night.
Damon dismounted and then lifted Shea to the ground. A youth ran up and confiscated the horse's reins and led the beast off to be hobbled with the others. Shea stretched, glad to be on firm ground as she worked the kinks out of her back and shook out one leg after another. They were cramped from having to stay in one position all day.
Done with her stretches, she looked up to find Damon watching her.
"What?"
He shook his head. "Not one escape attempt? I'm a little disappointed."
Shea gave him her most innocent look. He snorted and took her elbow to escort her to a tree, forcing her down beside it.
"I have to see Darius. Stay here."
Shea waited until he was on the other side of the clearing before looking around. Mostly the men just ignored her, going about their tasks of setting up the camp for the night. They gave her a wide berth. She was alone in the shade of the old stooped tree.
The same couldn't be said for her companions as they made their way wearily into camp. Their shirts were stained with sweat, and their skin streaked with dust the horses had kicked up during the journey.
She leaned forward and rolled to her feet as the men were led to a copse of trees. Witt was the only one to look her way before being shoved along by a Trateri with shoulder length, greasy brown hair.
Witt and the others were forced into seated positions and their hands bound before the Trateri warrior tied them to a tree with another rope.
A guard stationed himself nearby as the rest peeled off to help with camp setup.
Shea stayed where she was for several minutes, keeping an eye out for anyone paying her attention. No one seemed to notice as she took a few steps towards her companions.
Good. Before she could talk herself out of it, she strode confidently, looking neither left nor right, to where the men were tied.
Their guard straightened from his slouch against a tree, looking like he wanted to stop her, but also like he didn't know if he should. Shea took advantage of that and nodded at him before plopping herself down between Dane and Witt's tree. She stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back on her palms.
They watched the well-executed dance as the warriors erected tents, started a fire, and prepared the site for the night.
"Have a nice ride?" Dane asked, breaking the silence.
Shea looked out of the corner of her eye at the guard. He had settled back into his slouch when he saw she just intended to talk but watched her intently. She figured she only had a few minutes before the Trateri separated them.
"Very nice. I got to watch the countryside go by while having a chatterbox yap at me all day. And you? Did you enjoy your stroll?"
"Oh yes. Being forced to walk miles with these warriors threatening every few minutes to cut off my legs since I obviously wasn't using them efficiently was great fun."
Shea allowed herself a small smile at this tart response.
"If you two are done comparing notes, perhaps we should get down to business," Witt said crossly.
The humor in Dane's eyes faded as he looked at her grimly. "Do you have a plan?"
"Working on it."
The mood turned heavy as they absorbed her response. Shea always had a plan. It might not be a good one, but she usually had something.
"You should escape."
Shea rolled her eyes to him and gave him a look.
"He's right, girl," Witt agreed. "Leave us and run. I know you've already worked out your exit. We're just holding you back. So go."
Shea exhaled loudly. She had worked out her exit, but she wasn't going to leave them. A pathfinder didn't abandon her charges. Not if they were still alive.
Besides, her maps were still in her saddle bags. It wouldn't be a good thing if they fell into Trateri hands. They contained details on the safest routes past the Bearan Fault. Granted it was in code, but a good cryptographer would be able to decipher them given enough time.
Even if she was willing to break her vows as a pathfinder, she couldn't leave those maps behind or the entire Highlands would pay the price.
She couldn't let the boys know that, though. Dane and Witt wouldn't say anything, but Paul and the others wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut. They'd use the maps as a bargaining chip for their freedom. No doubt about it.
"Can't do that."
"Shea-"
"No," she said forcefully. She lowered her voice so only they could hear. "I'm not going to do that. At least not yet. I don't see a way to get us all out. Right now they're watching us too closely to make any sort of attempt. But I figure once we get to their main camp that'll change. There'll be too many people, and they'll eventually be lulled into believing we have no intention of escaping. We'll probably be separated again."
Hopefully, the maps would remain undiscovered until then. So far, they'd left her saddle bags alone.
She looked at Dane and Witt, making sure they knew she was serious. "That's why if you see your chance, you take it. Don't try to rescue me. Don't come back for me." The look on her face silenced any disagreement they might have had. "You do that, and I promise to do the same. Once there, if I see my chance, I'll take it."
Witt nodded. They'd never make it if each tried to save the other. But if they focused on their opportunity, the odds increased greatly.
Seeing Damon standing with his hands on his hips looking at the tree where he left her, she knew she didn't have much time left. She rose to a crouch in front of Dane and gave him a hug before doing the same with Witt.
She patted Witt on the calf, slipping her knife into his boot as she drew away. The blade was one of two she kept on her person at all times. Damon hadn't taken the time to search her when he picked her up. Probably thought because she was female she was harmless. His ignorance; her gain.
Witt's eyes were unreadable as they held hers for a long moment, knowing the risk she'd just taken. She smiled at him, the grin lighting up her face like a ray of sunshine after a cloudy day. Then it was gone. A twinkle still lingered as if inviting him to share a private joke. His lips tilted up at the corners.
She was yanked to her feet and hauled off.
"She was hugging them. Search their hands to see if she slipped them anything." Damon tossed over his shoulder as he marched her back to her tree. He sat her down and started wrapping rope around her wrists. "I thought I told you to stay here."
Shea watched him work silently.
"Well?"
She lifted an eyebrow. "I assumed ‘here' meant inside camp."
A vein pulsed in his forehead as he tried to stare her down. He took a deep breath and the tension in his body just fell away.
"You knew what I meant." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Why were you over there?"
She shrugged.
"Why?"
She sighed loudly. "Saying goodbye."
"What makes you think you won't see them again?"
She snorted. "I don't know where we're going, but from your talk it sounds like there'll be a lot of people. As it's unlikely you'll keep us together, I thought I'd say my goodbyes while I still could."
"Uh huh," Damon said skeptically, raising both eyebrows.
She met his eyes steadfastly, not wanting him to assume deception if she avoided his gaze.
"Did you know people are twice as likely to hold your eyes if they're lying? Otherwise they tend to avoid direct eye contact."
She frowned. Wasn't avoiding a person's eyes a sign of deception?
He gave an abrupt laugh. He didn't believe her story at all. "Guess Fallon and Darius were telling the truth. You have a little bit of fire in you after all." He took the rope, wrapped it around the tree and then looped it around her chest. He repeated this several times before tying it off. "I'll have to keep a closer eye on you for the rest of our journey. Wouldn't want you to slip away before you meet Fallon again."
Great. She could hardly wait.
Chapter Six
Shea's breath caught as they crested a ridge and a sprawling encampment came into view.
A vast number of tents clustered together, concealing the land with their mixed shades of tan, gray and white. The less frequent vibrant red, blue and greens stood out in stark contrast.
There weren't hundreds of warriors down there. There were thousands. This wasn't the small number of men she had assumed they would find.
No way was this a raiding party that would eventually make their way back to their own lands. This was a full scale invasion force.
The Lowlands were lost. It was just a matter of time.