She gave that some thought and came to the conclusion that running would simply slow them down while they searched for her. It almost guaranteed their capture.
As the morning wore on, stiff and sore legs caused her to stumble several times. She ate another apple and watched where Robin stepped while changing from thoughts of fleeing to others of safety. She also reconsidered the conversation with Brix earlier about dragons.
At the top of a rise, she spotted the peak of Bear Mountain off to her right, again. Clouds obscured the top, and others floated higher in the sky. The slope they had climbed was steep. Twice they passed patches of snow left over from last winter. The air felt chilly, but not yet cold. Camilla said, “Can we rest? I can’t catch a breath.”
Robin sat on the ground, her eyes on her feet, and her mouth slack. She breathed so hard she panted and looked like she couldn’t walk ten more steps.
Brix had fallen behind on the last slope, and when he caught up, he looked no better. He used his staff to lower himself.
Camilla said, “We’re passing south of the mountain. It can’t be much further.” She stood and looked ahead where hills, large enough to be small mountains, and full sized mountains blocked their way. It looked like a solid wall. “Robin you’re sure this is the right way?”
Robin looked up, her breathing returning to normal, but her eyes dull and her movements slow. She nodded. “The air up here is harder to breathe.”
“Is it the right way?”
Robin turned to face the solid wall of mountains and hills that continued for as far as she could see. Her eyes slid along the peaks and ridges until they rested on one spot. She smiled.
Camilla said, “Where?”
“See those three small peaks? Just to the right of them, there is snow on another mountain?”
“Yes, I see.”
“That mountain is farther away, at the end of another valley. We’re walking east toward that mountain. Before we get to it, a long time before we get to it, there’s a steep valley running from those three peaks north and south. That’s our route.”
Camilla memorized the peaks and mountain. “Your man with the dragon mark told you about it?”
Robin smiled. “Yes. If we get through there, I think we’ll be safe.”
Brix said, “How cold will it be tonight?”
Robin’s smile faded.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The Slave Master looked at the Weapons Master, then at his injured leg. Their eyes passed unspoken messages back and forth. “Can you stand?”
“With a crutch or cane, I can walk.”
The Slave Master looked around and saw no suitable sapling nearby.
The Weapons Master said, “I have my knife. If I crawl back to the road, I can make it. The first sapling that suits me will become a crutch or cane.”
“Nonsense,” Edward said. “Use my shoulder for support, and I’ll get you to the road.”
A look of respect crossed the Weapons Master’s face for a fleeting instant. Then he said, “I appreciate the offer and will fondly remember it as a genuine response. But, you’re going after the dragon boy. Or girl. The one you let escape with trickery.”
“But you need help to walk. I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” the Slave Master snapped. “The three of us are here to do our King’s bidding, not saving each other. I promise you that we’d leave you drowning in a heap of horse dung if it allowed us to complete our mission. I still might, if I find enough dung along the way.”
Edward said, “I’m tired. I followed them all day, then waited for them to sleep. I never got any.”
“Stop the royal bitching. You’ve had less sleep than either of us, and we’re twice your age. I intend to catch them before they move too far. They won’t expect us to travel that fast.” He nodded a farewell to the Weapons Master and turned to the trail across the rocks and boulders.
Edward followed him, retracing his same route. However, his mood was better, despite the harsh words. The two men were the King’s own henchmen, the ones he only dispatched on the most critical missions. His most trusted, and most powerful. Others rightfully feared them and leaped to gain the least bit of approval. Edward had seen the respect in the eyes of the Weapons Master when he had offered to walk him to safety. He’d also caught the fleeting glance the two exchanged.
Today he earned the respect he craved. Better yet, he’d earned it from two very hard men, and he hadn’t been trying to act the peacock, trying to impress them. He had just done what he believed was right. At a particularly difficult swampy area, he said, “Want me to take the lead? I’ve been this way twice.”
The Slave Master looked confused for an instant, then nodded.
Edward stepped ahead and swelled with confidence. “Step on the clumps of grass and move on quickly because they sink.”
“Shut up and get a move on before I leave you.”
Leave me? Edward quickly stepped across three more of the floating islands and placed a foot on a log he’d stood on earlier. A small hop and he found firm footing for both his feet. On impulse, he bent over, grabbing his ankle as if he’d twisted it. The end result was that he stood on the log while the Slave Master behind him sank deeper and deeper.
“Hey! Move on you damn fool.”
Edward glanced back. The Slave Master stood in muck to his knees with nowhere to go. “I think I’m all right. Just give me a second.”
Edward finally stood and stepped to the next thick clump of grass and weeds, and the next. He heard splashing and cursing behind, but didn’t dare look. He suppressed a smile. Who spanked who?
It was a dangerous game. If the Slave Master caught on it would cost Edward, his life. He considered leading him astray but realized that would never work. He picked up his speed on the next slope, hoping to tire the man. He must be close to sixty, even if his body looked like that of a twenty-year-old. One step after another, uphill, then down. Then up the slope of a mountain and down the other side.
No matter how fast he moved, the sound of the Slave Master remained right behind. They arrived at the place where the others had camped. Believing they would be gone, he made no attempt to sneak up on them. The Slave Master elbowed him as he stormed past.
“Wait here,” he snapped as if he was speaking to the old Edward, the inept boy who was the son of a powerful man.
The Slave Master bent and examined several tracks. He moved under the tree they’d slept under and looked at some more. He glanced up at Edward. “You hid over there?”
Edward glanced at the nearby trees and nodded.
“When they slept you crept up on them? Why?”
“I have my knife. I wanted to slit their throats before they knew I followed.”
“The old woman slept there. The boy and girl over here. How did you know which throat to cut?”
“I didn’t. I planned to use my knife to slice once left to right, and then again, right to left. Cut both the young ones, then turn and cut the old woman before she fully woke.”
The Slave Master rubbed his chin and thought before speaking. “I think I’d have done it the same way. What went wrong?”
“The girl. She must not have been asleep. Just as I was about to attack, she rolled and had a staff under her blanket. She used it to hit my shin. Twice.”
“And you went down.”
“Then she hit me again. On my kneecap. And later on my elbow.”