“Yes, as soon as possible.” Gonda reached into his belt pouch, pulled out his wooden cup and a buffalo horn spoon, and set them aside. Then he pulled a stick from the woodpile and proceeded to stir the half-frozen bag of gruel. Ice crystals shished.
Towa and Sindak glanced at each other, drew their cups from their belt pouches, and waited.
After an agonizing amount of silence, Towa leaned sideways to whisper, “Why is Koracoo staring at us like that? She looks like a hunting cougar.”
Sindak glanced up. Despite her chopped-off hair, she was tall and beautiful, and dangerous. Threat seemed to ooze from her.
Sindak whispered back, “She’s trying to decide whether or not to pounce on us and rip out our throats.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I’ve seen that look before. I was married to Puksu.”
Koracoo stepped forward, met each man’s gaze, and said, “While the cobble heats up, let’s talk about our goals.”
Towa blinked. “I assumed we were going to track the children, find them, and rescue them.”
“That’s the ultimate goal, yes. But we’re going to take it one day at a time. No running ahead. No guessing. I want only facts. We’ve had a lot of strong winds, as well as rain and snow. In many places, the trail will have vanished. Each of us must pay excruciating attention to the ground, or we’ll never find the trail again.”
Towa gave her a disgruntled look. “We know that. You don’t have to explain to us as though we are five-summers-old boys.”
Sindak said, “What Towa means, War Chief, is that we are warriors. So let me assure you that I am an expert tracker, and Towa is a genius with strategy.”
Under his breath, Gonda said, “And you’re modest, too.”
Sindak smiled at him, but it was a promise of death.
Koracoo continued, “Good, Sindak. This is the plan, then: I will lead, and Gonda will bring up the rear. You will walk along paralleling the south side of the trail, and Towa, you will walk on the north side. Today, we stay close together, no more than fifty paces apart. If one person finds an interesting track, call out. The rest of us will work our way over to you. Do you understand?”
Towa squinted. “Of course we understand.”
Sindak asked, “But … are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Koracoo’s brows lifted, and the forest seemed to go silent. “I take it that you don’t?”
“I mean no disrespect, War Chief. I am just worried that they may suspect they are being followed.”
Koracoo shifted CorpseEye to her other shoulder, and Sindak’s fist instinctively tightened around his war club.
Koracoo said, “If the children were ordinary slaves, their captors would be herding them to villages to be adopted into new families. The warriors would be moving fast, interested only in getting home as quickly as possible. They wouldn’t be paying any attention to their back trail. On the other hand—”
“If their captor is Gannajero, it’s prudent to assume the worst,” Sindak finished the sentence for her. “Which means she’s watching her back trail like a hawk.”
Koracoo nodded. “Yes. She can afford no risks. She has been pursued before, many times. She must expect it as a matter of course.”
“So she may have scouts watching us even now?” Sindak asked.
“It’s possible.”
Towa exhaled hard, and his long braid sawed up and down his back. “Then is it wise for us to stay bunched together? If we fan out, they may get one or two of us, but it will be hard to kill us all.”
“A lone warrior is far more vulnerable, Towa. If we stay together, we can defend each other. So, for now, we stay together.”
Gonda reached over with two sticks, pulled the cobble from the fire, and dropped it into the gruel. Steam gushed up, and the bag boiled furiously for several moments before it settled down.
The delicious aroma of jerky and roasted corn filled the air. Sindak enjoyed it for a moment before asking, “That means, of course, that when she’s sure we’re following her, she’ll attack us.”
Koracoo’s hard eyes sent a tingle up his spine. “Expect an ambush, Sindak. If we’re on Gannajero’s trail, it will be there. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually she will take measures to eliminate us. Believe it. Prepare for it.”
Sindak held her gaze. There was a strange hypnotic light in her eyes. He wouldn’t mind seeing that every day of his life.
Koracoo added, “Just obey my orders, and I promise you that you will live through this.”
“We have sworn to obey you, War Chief, and we will,” Towa said. “Do you doubt that?”