Pathfinder's Way(53)

For a moment, Shea forgot her concerns and smiled at Clark's antics. He  looked his age as he buzzed from the excitement of meeting one of his  heroes. She was glad for him.

Charles had turned to study the board. "I think we need another board  and maybe a couple more journals. I can make this bigger and better.  Maybe we can give those journals to a person from every scout team. What  do you think?"

He didn't wait for her response, moving as fast as his limp would let  him, presumably to track down pens and journals, leaving Shea standing  there by herself.

She looked over her shoulder at the board, letting herself feel a small  sense of accomplishment. Clark and Charles deserved the credit, but it  made her feel good that she'd had some part in this no matter how small.  Perhaps her time here had done some good after all. A little worried  that this might make their jobs easier in conquering the Broken Lands,  but for the most part she felt good.

She stepped out of the canopy's shade. This excursion had taken time  that she didn't really have, and though it had been a welcome  distraction, she needed to figure out what she was going to do about the  conversation she'd overheard. Until then, she needed to get back to  work on preparing to be sent back out.

Procuring supplies didn't take long, and soon, she joined her party back at the corrals to prepare for their journey.

"You know what this is about?" Shea asked Buck as she made short work of  saddling her horse. She cinched the last buckle tight and patted the  beast on the neck. It stamped one foot and shifted but held still as she  secured a sleep roll on the back of the saddle.

"No idea." Buck hurried through his preparations so he could start on  Eamon's horse. "Whatever it is has the higher ups walking on hot coals  though. My friends in the Stray Wind Troop said the heads are at each  other's throats."         

     



 

The Stray Wind Troop from what Shea had been able to gather was made up  of, for lack of a better word, spies. Its members belonged primarily to  Horse Clan but Snake and Lion Clan were always trying to get its men in  there. Word around the campfire said the Stray's were all over the army,  listening for plots against Fallon and doing his bidding. If they were  involved, it wasn't good.

"Here comes, Eamon," Phillip warned. His watchful gaze was even more  intent than usual, and his features were tense. He didn't look like he  was willing to share whatever was bothering him.

"Good, you're ready." Eamon shooed Buck away and made short work of  preparing his horse. "Sorry we're leaving so soon, but we have a  mission."

"Eamon, can I speak to you?" Shea asked. She didn't want to reveal her knowledge in front of the others.

"Not now. We need to get moving."

"It's kind of important, and I think it might pertain to the mission at hand."

"What is it?" Eamon asked impatiently, his hands making quick work of readying his horse.

Shea's response was cut off when another man shouted from the entrance  of a tent. "Scout master, get a move on. You needed to be on the trail  yesterday."

"Alright, alright. We're going. Keep your pants on," Eamon yelled back.  To Shea, he said, "This'll have to wait. People are acting like the sky  is about to fall. We need to get moving."

Shea tried to protest, but Eamon had already swung onto his horse.

"All of the scouts are on this mission it seems," Buck said.

"Doesn't matter what they're doing; we just need to follow our orders. Are you guys ready?"

Her chance missed, she nodded with the others.

"Good. Then let's head out, I'll tell you more when we're underway."

"Are there any others joining us?" Shea asked.

"We'll be traveling alone, but if we find what we're looking for, we can  call for help with this." He held up a long, slender black tube with  red painted on the bottom of it.

Buck whistled, impressed. Even Phillip raised an eyebrow.

Shea looked from man to man. "What is it?"

"It's a beast."

"That?" It wasn't very impressive, or alive for that matter.

"You probably wouldn't know about it as they grow on the plains, but  when you light a match at the bottom, the animal inside starts to glow.  When it gets hot enough, it'll erupt from its shell to shoot into the  sky. We use them to send messages or to warn of attack back home." Eamon  handled it carefully as he set it back in his bag.

"They're getting scarce the further into the Lowlands we push," Buck  told her as he mounted, "so only commanders and above are allowed to use  them. Whatever we're looking for must be pretty damn important."

"It's a who, not a what," Eamon said. "Whoever he is, I hope someone finds him alive or blood will spill."

On those grim words, Eamon set his heels into his mount's sides and  burst into a gallop. The rest of them followed quickly. Together, they  rode out of camp, the sentries letting them go without the typical  challenge.

As they rode, Shea heard hoof beats off to the side and looked over to  find another group of four pounding through the brush, keeping pace with  them before peeling off in their own direction.

Shea set her eyes forward watching the scenery pass as she leaned low  over her horse's neck and felt hair from its mane brush her lips as they  moved as one through the hills.

She'd have to find a time to bring up her concerns on the trail.

Though she was disappointed to leave the comforts of camp so soon after  arriving, a part of her thrilled at being back in the wilderness,  feeling the freedom of the open skies and the deep serenity the sight of  towering mountains and sharply dipping hills provided. For all the  danger inherent in this land, it fed a portion of Shea's soul that  always felt slightly empty when she was behind high walls of canvas or  stone.





Chapter Fifteen





Though night had fallen several hours ago, Shea's group passed three  other scouting parties. From the focus on both Eamon and Phillip's  faces, Shea figured they wouldn't be stopping until they found whoever  they were looking for.

A whisper of sound, like that of something brushing against rock,  reached Shea. Her hand dropped to her hip where her short sword was  buckled as she scanned her surroundings. It was dark but the moon was  out, not quite as full as it had been when they encountered the  frostlings, but there was enough light to see by.
         

     



 
Eamon stepped out of the gloom, raising a hand and nodding at her. She  relaxed and murmured a soft ‘hello' as he joined her where she perched  at the edge of a cliff.

"Anything?" he asked her.

How much did she tell him?

"No."

"Damn." He settled into a crouch beside her. "I'm beginning to think they sent us on a wild goose chase."

Pretty much. The map was wrong, which meant they were searching in the wrong place. She'd bet her life on it.

The group had found nothing and were nearly through the area they'd been  given to cover. As no fire lights had shot into the sky, they assumed  no one else had met with success either.

Should she tell him about what she'd overheard? Would he believe her? As  time ticked by, it got harder and harder to tell him. He'd have  questions about why she hadn't said something sooner. He'd be right to  be suspicious. She should have made him listen back in camp.

Shea went back to staring at the mountain silhouettes, whose hulking  forms blocked the stars and were only a few shades darker than the rest  of the night. Little specks of firelight winked in and out in the valley  below as men combed the land.

"Maybe not," Shea said slowly as an idea occurred to her. She could  point them in the right direction without revealing how she knew what  she knew. "I need you to light a torch."

Used to the way her mind worked, Eamon didn't ask questions and busied  himself with creating light to see by. Shea pulled out the map and  flattened it on the rock between them, taking the torch from him and  leaning the light as close as she dared to the parchment.

"Careful, Shane. I'm not sure how happy they'll be if you set their map on fire."

She was quiet as she studied the markings. Not all of it was wrong. That  would raise too many suspicions from scouts who'd traveled the area.  Just parts of it, and she was pretty sure she knew which parts.

"What're you two doing?" Buck asked, appearing out of the dark with Phillip close behind him.

"Anything?" Eamon asked hopefully.

They both shook their head in a negative.

Eamon sighed. "Shane thinks he's onto something."

"Oh?" Buck leapt onto their rock and squatted next to Shea. "What do you have?"

"Something."

She pulled out her little journal and flipped to several smaller maps at  the back. They weren't as detailed as what she held in her hand, but it  was enough to give her a general idea of the land.

"Is that a map?" Buck asked. "You're not supposed to be copying the maps, Shane. They could flog you for that."