“Seen you before,” she said pulling out the pipe and pointing at him with it. “Been a spell.”
Tomm didn’t smile, but he did nod. “Over a year,” he answered. “Wake’s coming,” he added, but the woman only returned the nod. Without another word she turned and moved back into the building. Tomm looked over at Sam and shrugged. She wasn’t sure what to make of the meeting, but Tomm dismounted and tied off his horse and with only a slight pause Sam did likewise.
“Since the Deutzani, Bert doesn’t like strangers much,” he whispered. The boy was still standing, half in and half out of the doorway watching them, but he fled inside as they moved up and onto the porch.
“Lyle there, warned me you was coming,” Bert said from the dark recesses of the building.
Lyle must be the boy, Sam thought as she followed Tomm inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did she saw a large room filled with more things than she would have believed possible. Heaped in stacks, everywhere, were all types of supplies, from grain, wood, and cloth, to barrels of ale, tools and just junk. There seemed to be no organization to any of it, some of it was piled higher than Samantha was tall. Tomm moved toward the back of the building following one of the narrow winding paths, which snaked through the mess like tendrils. Sam followed and spotted Lyle hiding behind a stack of barrels over to the right. They did not go down the path leading to him, however, and instead continued on toward the back. They went all the way to the very rear and through a door. It was like passing into another world. A small fire was burning in the fireplace on the far side of the room, which also contained a large, soft looking bed, a pair of over-stuffed chairs and a small table flanked by two benches. The room was extremely clean, brightly lit and remarkably free of clutter. Bert was sitting at the table opposite the doorway, her back to the fire. She motioned for them to take the bench opposite her, as she used a long thin stick to light her pipe. She puffed deeply a few times to be sure it was lit, and Sam thought she smelled a hint of sass-a-frass in the smoke.
“You both running?” She asked and then began to pour them all hot tea.
Tomm shook his head. “No, just her,” he answered. Bert studied the girl before her a moment. She could have been pretty, though it was hard to tell with her hair a tangled mess. She did have striking eyes though.
“Lyle!” She yelled, causing Sam to jump and spill a bit of her tea on her hand where it burned for a moment. She set her cup down and sucked on the hurt until it went away. Lyle appeared shyly at the doorway.
“Grab me a brush, then go and keep an eye out for Wake.”
Sam heard small feet rush from the room behind her; they returned in a moment and the boy dropped a brush on the table, staring for a split second into Samantha’s eyes. He gave a quick smile and then was off again at a run.
“It’s for you,” Bert said nodding toward the brush. “Don’t look like you’ve tended your hair recently.”
Sam stared at the old woman for a moment then slowly picked up the brush. It felt strange in her hand, like something from another time. She began to slowly work the tangles from her hair. It took a good deal of brushing. She was a bit self-conscious at first but the other two just sat and talked softly until the boy finally rushed in.
“Wake’s coming,” he said, happiness plain in his voice. He paused again to look at Samantha, who was still working at tangles, but now the brush was pulling through her hair much easier. Tomm stood, and she immediately did likewise. She made to hand the brush back to Bert, but the old woman just scoffed.
“Keep it,” she said gruffly and hoisted herself to her feet. “Can’t have Massi women running about the land looking like savages.” She moved past Sam and Tomm and led the way through the maze of supplies and back out into the sunshine. Lyle was nowhere to be seen, but the woman didn’t seem worried. And after a few moments the boy appeared at the edge of the Scar running just ahead of Wake, who was riding a large mare.
“Good luck,” Tomm said to Samantha; the statement came sudden and was very unexpected. “Keep moving as fast as you can. You get to the Scar Mountains and you’ll be safe.”
“You’re leaving?” Sam asked, not realizing until this very moment how attached she had become to his company the past few days.
Tomm nodded. “Have a farm to look after, and I can’t be gone too many days or the Deutzani might get suspicious. They’d take it out on my family. Wake will take you into the Briar, and one of the soldiers will take you on.” He paused for a moment, the hurt look on her face very clear to him. “You’ll be safe enough if you just keep moving.”
Wake rode up just as Tomm began to move back the other way. “Follow a different route home,” he warned. “If she’s got an Executioner on her tail it wouldn’t be wise to bump into him.”
Tomm chuckled as he went by. “I’ll take the round-about way for sure, and avoid anyone I see. You take care of her,” he added, tipping his head Samantha’s way.
“Oh, I will,” Wake answered and then turned his attention to her as Tomm made his way back to the Scar. Wake looked at her for a long time, though Sam could only hold his eyes for a brief spell.
“Quit ya staring,” Bert said loudly. “The girl ain’t growed another head.”
Wake grunted but finally looked away. “She’s fixed her hair,” he said by way of explanation. “Come girl,” he added and started down the road away from Bert’s. Samantha hesitated for a moment, until Bert walked over and patted her leg. “Don’t pay him no mind. He don’t mean any harm. Mona…his wife, past a few winters back. She had hair like yours, reddish I mean. That’s all.”
Sam looked at the back of the retreating man then turned and smiled at Bert. “Thank you…and thanks for the brush.”
“Not a bother,” Bert answered then turned and headed back inside. “Lyle!” she yelled once she was out of sight, and Lyle came scampering from the Scar waving as Sam turned and headed after Wake.
Wake led her about a mile up the road, and Sam contented herself to remaining just behind him to discourage any conversation or long stares. Wake seemed not to notice that she didn’t join him, and did not even look back as he veered left and into the thicket that lined the side of the road. She followed without a word and was surprised when he seemed to be taking her farther and farther into the tangle of surrounding bushes, all of which appeared to sport small red berries and long, sharp thorns. Wake finally stopped before a very imposing stand of foliage. Here the bushes grew tall, higher than even she was on horseback. Wake dismounted with only a glance back at her.
“Why are we stopping?” She asked, growing uneasy once again.
“Going into the Briar,” he answered curtly, as if the question shouldn’t have been asked. He pulled a thick pair of gloves from his back pocket, put them on then with relative ease began to move several large clumps of the briar bushes out of the way. Of course they were not bushes at all, just cleverly formed barriers woven to look like the surrounding foliage.
“Keeps out the nosey,” Wake said, and led his horse through the gap in the sticker bushes. Samantha passed through also and then he put the camouflage back into place.
He led her through the maze of bushes on paths just wide enough to accommodate the horses; several times Samantha received a sharp prick on her legs as they passed through some of the smaller gaps. Twice more he dismounted and moved false bushes, before they finally emerged from the tangle. Up ahead of Wake, Samantha could see a cabin of sorts with a few makeshift tents around it. There was a small fire burning in the center of the dwellings and around the fire sat three men. As they approached she saw the two of the men were older, one very old and the other less so. She couldn’t guess at their ages. She was not very good at estimating such things when the person was over thirty, but she could tell they were well past their prime, and both a good deal older than Wake. The third man was young, probably no more than five years older than she was. They remained seated and watched curiously as she and Wake approached.