A Warrior's Redemption (The Warrior Kind) (35 page)

Should she continue to hold out for the freedom she had craved ever since she had learned what it meant to be a slave? To be able to do as she pleased, to go where she wanted, when she wanted to and be whatever she wanted to be without anyone saying otherwise. Pick her own mate and have children that would be as free as she wanted to be.

That’s exactly what she wanted and that realization made up her mind as to what she would do, but it wasn’t as easy a decision as she would have thought it would have been.

“Krista.”

She turned towards the fire and the man beside it.

“You need to come get warm and get some sleep.”

She came back to the fire wondering what he would do next. He rose and came over to cover her shoulders with a blanket.

“Get some rest while I keep watch. In a couple of hours I’ll wake you and you can stand watch the rest of the night while I get some rest. That sound okay to you?”

Krista nodded. She lay down next to the fire and starred at it for a while.

Roric.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I slapped you that wasn’t right of me.”

“I forgive you.”

The sounds of a song bird twilling out its morning lullaby protruded its lovely notes into my consciousness. I became aware of the warmth of the sun on my face.

The sun!!!

I bolted upright throwing the blanket covering me half across the camp. The fire was long dead and even though it wasn’t late morning yet it was far later than I had wanted to remain in camp.

Why hadn’t Krista wakened me when I had told her too? Where was Krista and for that matter where was the other horse?

Flin was cropping off grass by himself in the area I had picketed both horses on last night. I leaped to my feet my hand going for my sword. I looked around for any hidden danger but found none. Zarsha sat up sleepily from her bed of blankets having been awakened by my commotion.

“Where’s Krista?” I asked.

From her blank expression I could tell she knew nothing. I walked over to where Krista had slept hoping to find some trace of her disappearance. Her blankets were gone too, but there was a piece of white paper weighted under a rock lying on the ground where she had lain.

I sheathed my sword and with a sinking feeling I reached down and picked the paper up and read it.
“Dear Roric, I hope you understand why I have left. You of all people must know what the desire for freedom is like. And as you fought to claim yours so must I. I want you to know that I harbor no ill will against you. I know as a slave I could have wished for no better a master than you. Sebastian was wise to give me to you and I know I have disappointed both of you by my actions, but I must pursue my dream of being free whatever the risk may be. I feel that I will die inside if I give up on my dream now. I wish to thank you, Sebastian and the dear woman, who raised me for several years, for showing me
that there is a God in heaven. As I seek my freedom so will I seek a greater understanding of the Creator in my
life. I promise you this. Please don’t worry about me. I know how to handle myself in a fight and I took one of your daggers and I have money that Sebastian gave me. I hope you will remain the good man that you are and care well for the dear little girl you protect. I wish you well as I would hope that you would wish the same for me. Goodbye and may the Creator go with you and be with me too. Krista.”

As I finished the letter my hands crumbled the paper into a ball in my fist. I was so mad I could hardly see straight. How could she just leave like that? She was mine!

How did she hope to protect herself from all the dangers of being an escaped slave and a beautiful one at that, all by herself? I threw my saddle onto Flin and within minutes we were riding out of the camp in hot pursuit of the tracks of Krista’s horse leading away from the sea.

I reached the top of a knoll and stopped Flin abruptly. I thought we had lost all possibility of any pursuers on our trail, but I had been wrong. Less than half a mile away a party of forty or more Zoarinian cavalry men were steadily moving in our direction. I knew the bitterness of defeat in that moment like I had never known it before.

The girl of my dreams had just been here with me and now she was gone probably for forever. I had to get the information Sebastian had acquired to where it would do the most good and there was Zarsha’s welfare to consider as
well. I vented my anger at the cruel turn of my life in an angered roar of frustrated fury at my helplessness to get what I had wanted so deeply.

The enemy cavalry had spotted us and were charging across the sand dunes toward us. I turned Flin towards the sea and let him run all out. As we neared the beach I could see a sail out in the small enclo
sure of the natural harbor that formed along this stretch of the sea coast.

There was no time to wait for a boat to come pick us up. I ran Flin through the pounding surf into the deeper waters of the breakers. It was a new experience for both me and Flin. He took to it gamely enough and I had no choice but to. As he started to swim powerfully against the onrushing current of the waves I slipped from the saddle to lighten the load on him, but it was unnerving to know the vast depths of water that were open
ing up beneath us.

Swimming was something I had never mastered and I had never regretted that more than right now. Zarsha clung to the saddle horn in sheer terror as the sea water lapped against her legs and splashed her in the face. I tried to not let her terror consume me too. Drowning was a horrible fate to consider and it seemed altogether a real possibility at the mo
ment.

It seemed like we had been struggling against the current of the sea for forever when abruptly our rate of progress dramatically increased. After a while I managed to look up from the churned up water around us and saw that the small
masted boat was practically on top of us. Men were moving quickly all along its decks and in the rigging overhead.

A rope splashed down near me in the water and I grabbed onto it desperately and held on as our forward progress was directed toward the sailing vessel. Netting had been thrown over the side and sail
ors eagerly lifted us out of the heavy water that dragged at our clothing.

As we reached the deck I bellowed out hoarsely, “We must get the horse aboard im
mediately!”

I had seen the fin of what must be some sea monster as I had been lifted onboard and I wasn’t about to have Flin be
come his late morning snack.

“We can’t bring the horse on board! It’s too heavy and we’re not equipped to handle such cargo!”
Screamed a little man, who seemed to be in charge of the group of sailors near me.

My right hand shot out and I grasped him by his shirt front be
neath his chin and lifted him completely off of the deck until we were eye to eye, “The horse comes!”

“But of course he will
Master Roric. If you would now please unhand my second mate there, we will make prepar
ations immediately.”

My head swiveled to view the person, who had calmly issued the commanding words. A slim but finely muscled man in the uniform of what must be the captain had stridden onto the scene. I released the second mate, who gasped relievably upon his release and I watched as the captain began issuing orders in the same calm, but authoritative manner in which he had addressed me. In no time a crude but effective looking compilation of rigging and tackling blocks had been swung over the side of the vessel.

I yelled out encouragements to Flin trying to keep him calm, but it was hard succeeding at it, because he too had sensed the danger swishing in the waters below. Bravely a team of sailors dove over the side of the ship with ropes and netting. How they did it with Flin moving around I’m not sure, but they managed to attach a piece of netting under his belly and secured it by ropes to the crude winch lever system that had been constructed above the deck. As the order was given to pull I lent my own strength to the line of sailors throwing themselves on the ropes as the captain continued to orchestrate order into the massed confusion of the scene.

Before long Flin began to appear up over the side of the ship, eyes wide in fright, at the unorthodox situation he found himself in. We eased Flin down until his hooves connected with the deck of the ship. The sailors broke out into a cheer at their accomplishment, while other sailors leaned over the side of the ship and issued jeers at the unsatisfied group of sea monsters that had congregated in hopes of an easy exotic meal.

As the netting and ropes were released from Flin he gave a mighty series of shakes that drenched everyone in the vicinity. The crew that had worked as one to bring the ungainly cargo on board wiped the spewed seawater from their eyes and faces laugh
ing.

The captain turned to me and said, “Sir you have your horse and may I say
that it is with great pride that I welcome you, your delightful young lady and your horse on board the Fair Damson.”

I reached out to shake the young captain’s hand impressed with his handling of getting Flin on board, “The honor is mine, thank you for saving us!”

I glanced at Flin and added, “All of us thank you!”

The sailors cheered again and then the process of making way with the ship began. Find
ing a quiet moment after Flin was stowed securely away in a small cargo area on the tiny ship I went to the rail and looked out at the fast disappearing shore.

I could still see the brightly colored dots of the cavalry men drawn up in the sand as they watched us disappear over the horizon. I gripped the railing hard wishing that I wasn’t alone standing there by the ship’s railing. I missed her. The thought that I might never see her again was espe
cially hard to come to peace with.

Why had she left after the kiss we had shared last night? In my heart I knew why. She had wanted her freedom more than she had wanted me. And while that left me with a bitter feeling inside, it was still a reason for leaving that I could respect.

“God I pray that she’s safe! Please keep her and help her find her freedom and happiness, even if it isn’t with me.”

Chapter Seventeen

The Plan

We made good progress over the next several days. We didn’t encounter any ships at all, which I felt was due in large part to the skillful navigation of Captain Jansa. Soon we would be put ashore near Yorktown in the Southern Settlements.

It was far too risky to continue traveling further up the coastline, because that was where the bulk of the Zoarinian navy was stationed. The Zoarinians kept the much smaller, but still formidable fleet of the Tranquil Islanders, bottlenecked up within the harbors and inlets of their islands to keep them from coming to the Valley Landers aid.

Captain Jansa stepped up to the ship’s railing beside me and shared my view of the shoreline that we were approaching under cover of darkness. “I wish we could be of more ser
vice to you, but I’m afraid this is all that we can manage for now. I know it is but little, given the graveness of the situation faced by our two peoples.”

“Captain Jansa during my brief time in the Valley Lands I detected no blame being lev
eled against your people for any lack of military support on your people’s part for us. You have to protect your lands just as we do ours.”

“Yes this is true. But if our long time allies perish then who do you think will be next to fall? It is better that we stay together and if need be, die together. I can assure you that I will continue to preach just that to my superiors until they have no cause, but to see it my way as many of us al
ready do!” Captain Jansa finished passionately.

I of
fered my hand to the young captain, “I wish you luck in your endeavor as we could certainly use the help, but there is no shame if you don’t come.”

Captain Jansa left me and returned to the bridge to direct
ly oversee the pulling of the ship close to the shore line in the darkness. When we were far closer to the shoreline than I would have thought safe Captain Jansa gave the orders to cut the sails and come about.

A long hastily constructed wooden ramp was hauled out over the side and secured with rigging. I mounted Flin and with the click of his hooves sounding loud and hollow in the night air I directed him down the swaying ramp. I lifted a hand in a si
lent farewell to the sailors who had risked their lives to come pick us up and now to offload us. Flin buck jumped off of the end of the ramp into the cold waters of the surf.

The water came up to the saddle horn but no further and within minutes Zarsha and I pulled clear of the water altogether and headed up over the wet sands of the beach toward the cover of the dunes beyond. It would take us almost a week to reach Kingdom Pass, which was more than it should
have taken because we would travel by night as it would be too dangerous to travel by day.

Five days later saw us at the foothills of the mountains. We had crossed the Litian River without incidence in the night, but now the first rays of sunlight were peaking into the morning sky. I kept riding hop
ing that we were far enough that we wouldn’t fall prey to any Zoarinian patrols this close to the Valley Lands.

It was late morning of the next day when we entered the beginning of the long narrow pass that would lead us to the great wall at the head of the pass. I let Flin into a full gallop eager to be on the other side of that massive wall at the head of the pass. I heard an arrow whizz past my ear where I had been just moments before and smash off a rock to the other side of me.

Several arrows came from the opposite direction of the first arrow, but they weren’t aimed at us but rather at the source of the first arrow. Several riders with bows at the ready and arrows held notched with one hand for a quick delivery came riding out of the rocks toward us. Their faces were sharp with concen
tration, as they scanned the upper slopes around us. They drew abreast of us and offered us an escort up the narrow pass.