Pathfinder's Way(48)

He turned and left.

Darius leaned his head against his hand as he watched him go. "It is  interesting that he knew of the assassination attempt so soon after. It  makes one wonder where he came by the information considering my men  were under orders not to share news of the attempt with anyone."

Fallon stared after his half-brother, his face lost in thought. "It does make one wonder. Keep an eye on him just in case."

Darius lifted his head and gave Fallon a penetrating stare, "You think he might be involved?"

"It would not be the first time a close family member has plotted against a Warlord."

Darius nodded, knowing that was how Fallon's grandfather lost his life.

"As you will."





"Hot food, showers, maybe even a clean change of clothes." Buck leaned his head back and rolled his eyes in imagined bliss.

"I can practically taste the stew already," Eamon said, smacking his lips.         

     



 

Shea snorted as she steered her horse onto safer ground. Every time they  returned to the main camp all they wanted to talk about was what they  would do first.

Assigned to a supply party tasked with gathering the monthly tithes, the  three had just finished guiding their charges to the three villages on  their route. Now they were heading back to the main Trateri camp, also  known as home.

Despite the bitching that had followed their orders, they'd rather  enjoyed their time on what scouts considered light duty. Though the  terrain was still rough, the villages rarely put up any fight and every  one of them was clearly marked on a map. It was easier than a lot of the  mapping missions they drew, but it was also considered bitch work since  there was little to no glory to be had.

"This time you're getting a shower if I have to throw you in myself," Buck groused at Shea.

She stuck her tongue out at him. He was only half joking. Though she  ensured she stayed as clean as possible, the others had begun to notice  that when it came time to bath or whip out their dicks to take a piss,  Shea was always conspicuously absent. She found ways to take care of  business later when no one was around. She'd been doing it so long that  for the most part they chalked up her shyness to a Lowlander thing. They  were beginning to push, though. The Trateri didn't have the same body  consciousness that Lowlanders did and often bathed in open showers or in  streams.

"I'm in no hurry to get a look at your damn dicks," Shea told him.

"But they're such fine dicks, Shane."

"Fine they may be, but I prefer a little privacy in my bath."

"Why? Do you need a little alone time to jack off? You know if you use  your hand too much it'll just make what's between your legs fall off."

"I think you might want to take your own advice, Buck. Maybe there's a  nice village girl somewhere out there who can give your nether regions a  bit of attention." Eamon grinned.

Buck's nose wrinkled in disgust, and his mouth pursed as if it had just  bitten into something sour. "A Lowlander girl? Impossible. I'd break her  in half. These Lowlanders are just too frail. If she got anywhere near  my cock, she'd faint dead away."

"Wow," Shea said shaking her head in disbelief. "That's quite an ego you have there."

"It's the truth. Lowlanders have twigs between their legs." He shot her a  sly grin. "Why else would you be afraid to shower with us?"

"That's it," Shea said dryly. "That's the reason right there."

The past month and a half had been an eye opening experience for Shea as  she settled into the team. On the Hawkvale's recommendation, Eamon had  been given his own scouting team and made Shea his permanent second. She  thought that might cause problems with new members who were older and  thought they had more experience, but Buck was quick to set any newbie  straight. He did that by beating them to a pulp the first time they  challenged her authority. She reinforced it by ensuring that person got  all the worst jobs like digging the trenches for waste.

For reasons that were a mystery even to her, she hadn't escaped after  that first mission but had instead guided her team back to the base  camp.

Every night Shea had promised herself she would leave, but she put off  her escape night after night as they got closer to camp. That last night  she'd risen with every intention of leaving, but Eamon had woken as  well, making it impossible to sneak off. She pretended that she needed  to do a perimeter check. By the time Eamon settled into sleep, Buck was  up and ready for his watch. The night continued like that until dawn  arrived, and her chance was gone.

Now, nearly a month and a half later she was still with them. Every time  she thought about slipping away and heading home something stopped her.  Camaraderie and companionship bound her to them more effectively than  Fallon's chains.

Besides, what better place to hide out than under her enemy's very nose?  After her escape no one would ever think she would be dumb enough to  return. If they were still searching for her, they'd focus on the roads  to the north. Maybe even return to Goodwin of Ria to see if she went  there. No, she felt pretty safe masquerading as a boy in Fallon's own  army.

"When will we get there?" Cale, the expedition leader for the supply  train, barked as he rode up beside them. Shea remembered him from  Goodwin of Ria and was grateful he didn't recognize her. He hadn't given  her a good feeling in the last meeting. He was well on his way to  providing an even worse one on this encounter.

He had a sharp beak for a nose and very pronounced eyebrows. He wasn't  soft, none of the Trateri were, but he was softer than the soldiers Shea  was used to seeing, lacking that chiseled edge of lethality most  carried. The only thing that saved him was the scar on his neck and his  well-muscled body. Despite that scar, he would be considered handsome by  most. For Shea, he seemed too put together. Despite being on the trail,  he spent an hour every morning attending to his appearance.         

     



 

"We were supposed to arrive hours ago," he said.

Buck rolled his eyes where Cale couldn't see him and mouthed the last  sentence mockingly. Shea bit her lip and looked down trying to contain  the smile threatening to break out. The man said something similar every  time they got close to a village. They had come to expect it and could  practically repeat the conversation verbatim now.

"We're closer to camp than you think. Probably just a day or two more," Eamon said.

Cale looked up at the ridgeline and sniffed. He'd already made the  argument that they should just go over it and was shot down by Eamon  courtesy of Shea. It was one of the reasons the trip was taking longer  than expected. They had to detour around several hills to find land that  could support a wagon.

Despite Cale's expectations, it wouldn't have been faster to go over.  The climb would take just as long because of the steep grade. Their  breaks would have to double, and they'd most likely have had to leave  the wagons and horses behind as the steepness meant they wouldn't be  able to make the climb.

"Is there anything else?" Eamon tilted his head expectantly when Cale didn't move.

"I plan to bring your insubordination and general bad attitude to the attention of your superiors," Cale said vehemently.

"In that case, you'll want to make sure your concerns are sent directly  to Mathias. He's the one who deals with issues of this nature. If you  give it to Thomas or William, they'll forget all about it as soon as  you're gone," Buck told him helpfully.

"You think this is funny?" Cale's lips twisted angrily. "I've heard  about you three and that your captain doesn't think much of you. After I  get done with you, you won't be fit to wear the green. Maybe they'll  even put you on the frontlines with the rest of the throwaways."

"Sir, I'll thank you not to threaten my men." Eamon's eyes had gone  flinty. "I am the scout master for this expedition, and you agreed upon  this route. If you have a problem, I will not stop you from raising your  concerns with my superiors, but you will not speak to my men like that  again." His lips parted in a nasty smile. "They don't like that, you  see. Shane, there, has delicate feelings and when he's out of sorts he  makes mistakes. Don't you, boy."

Shea startled and did her best to appear delicate, lowering her eyes before nodding slightly.

Buck said seriously, or as seriously as he could with his lips  twitching. "You never want your scout upset, sir. They might lead you  into a jagger nest or a revenant's den."

Cale gave them a look of disdain before pulling hard on his reins and  riding back the way he'd come. Not many chanced pissing their scouts off  for exactly the reasons Buck just explained. Out here in the wilderness  there were few rules and it was terrifyingly simple to get away with  murder. Beasts were so prevalent that either scenario would be plausible  and unquestioned. Cale wasn't all that intelligent to threaten them out  in the open.