A gentle breeze blew across the landscape. They remained close to the coast, and the hiss and crash of waves were constant companions. Now and then, the salty smell reached them across open fields. They stopped at a creek by the roadside to eat, water the horses, and refill canteens. Llew gratefully accepted a share in the fresh bread rolls and fruit on offer.
‘So, what’s your special skill?’ Anya asked, joining Llew by the creek as she filled one of the spare canteens.
‘Sorry?’
‘Well, you see, Cassidy is a superbly fine shot with a bow and arrow,’ she began, swiveling so that she could point out each of their companions. ‘My father insisted they prove to him that I was in good hands. He’s good with a sword, too, but it was Alvaro who shone in the mini-tournament they put on for me.’ She beamed. ‘And Jonas has an uncanny knack for knife-throwing. Actually, his knives sliced each of Cassidy’s perfect shots.’ Anya looked around, seeking out the dark young man.
It wasn’t hard – he hadn’t let Llew out of his sight since she’d joined them, and he wasn’t hiding the fact. Every time she looked up he was there. When she went off for a privacy stop, he was barely out of view, although he was polite enough not to watch. He didn’t trust her, and Llew hoped that was all. She had stolen from him, after all, so she could understand his concerns.
‘So, my little menagerie has an archer, a swordsman and a knife-thrower.’ Anya looked Llew up and down. ‘And what is it that you can do?’
‘Fishing?’ Llew cursed herself for such a lame answer. She’d been caught off guard and replied with the first thing that came to mind – an archer, a swordsman, a knife-thrower, and a fisher?
Anya clapped her hands with delight. ‘Oh, that’s wonderful! You can catch us some fresh dinners. It’ll make a nice change from the travel rations.’
Llew blinked. She’d expected a demand for a talent in weaponry. In truth, she had some – you didn’t work for a blacksmith and go on to survive the streets without picking up a few essential skills – but she doubted she compared well with Alvaro, Cassidy or Jonas.
‘I’ll need a hook, I—’ Stop. Just stop, now. ‘I don’t have a hook.’ Why was she continuing with this? She should have been proclaiming her skill with a sword, a sling, whatever they needed. Something useful. These people had money and ample supplies, and it wasn’t as if they had the time to sit around waiting for dinner to bite. Fishing. Sure, Llew. They’ll be happy to have you along. You’ll be so useful.
‘Perhaps we can get you one when we stop at Orn. I’m sure they’ll have a store.’
Llew nodded absently, and Anya headed back to the carriage. Llew didn’t know what to make of the other girl. She was talkative, bubbly and . . . nice. It wasn’t a normal state for the girls living on the streets of Cheer, where not fighting hard enough for every morsel could leave you too tired and hungry to fight for the next scrap.
‘Damn shame, ain’t it?’
‘What?’ Llew couldn’t believe she’d been taken by surprise again. She stood and turned to follow Cassidy’s gaze. He was watching Anya chat animatedly with Aris and Emylia.
‘A girl like that. Off the market already. Marryin’ a guy more’n ten years her senior, too.’
Llew looked at Cassidy. Her lips began to curl up in a smile, and then she remembered her role as a fellow young male and the smile disappeared.
‘Yeah.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Damn shame.’ Anya’s laughter jangled like a cow bell back through the air to them, accompanied by the deeper tones of Aris. Anya was as comfortable in the presence of her elders as she was with Llew, a stranger.
Normally, Llew would have been wary of these people. What did they have to gain by taking her with them? Very little. In Llew’s world that equated not to generosity, but ignorance. Giving without expecting in return? Unheard of. In accepting their help without negotiating terms, she had put herself in a vulnerable position, and yet it felt like the right thing to do. She probably wouldn’t have accepted the ride from these people if it hadn’t been for Anya though. She trusted Llew not to take advantage of their generosity, and Llew realized that faith was catching.
Cassidy’s clear blue eyes settled on her. ‘Of course, men like you an’ me never get girls like that. They keep to their own kind and we keep to ours.’
He wasn’t wrong. But Cassidy didn’t look like much of a street rat.
‘And what’s your kind?’
Cassidy’s face lit up in a grin. ‘Generous.’
Revera shifted under Braph, her saddle and his trousers creaking. She was growing restless. If she had any notion how to read the signals flying along the telegraph semaphore line, she would have been as riveted as he. Semaphore towers. Braph shook his head. Aghacia was so far behind the times. Turhmos already had a wired telegraph system, and in having such had a far greater level of security for the information crossing the nation. Aghacia still relied on optical signals, which any damned fool could read. Braph wasn’t a fool, and he was certain he knew more about the information currently heading up the length of Aghacia than the sender or receiver.
News was spreading of a witch surviving a hanging in Cheer at the far south of the country, where Braph was now headed. But not only had the girl survived, she had also killed. She was still there then, or at least had been until this news had got out; he doubted she would still be in Cheer any longer. That wasn’t a bad thing. The shape of Aghacia meant that the chances of Braph and the girl crossing paths were high, and Braph was by no means saddened at the prospect of not returning to that primitive and ramshackle town.
The only question remaining then, was whether or not the girl had actually died and lived, or if she had merely failed to die in the first place and healed her wounds. Either way, Braph wanted to see it for himself.
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