Dagger's Point (Shadow series) (7 page)

Jael checked each of the horses. All had been bespelled, although on some of the horses the warm tingling was fainter than on the others; the spell had likely been cast by an amateur mage or a very inept one. She checked each horse again, making certain that her touch had dissolved the spell.

“I’m not a real mage,” Jael said, thinking fast, “but I believe your horses have been hinder-spelled. I have a little of the mage-gift, not much, but I believe I’ve broken the spell.”

Reda narrowed her eyes warily.

“I’ll have to speak to the grooms and the wagonmaster,” she said. “You should’ve gotten permission before using magic on our horses. Go back to your camp and stay there.”

Jael sighed and obeyed. Tanis had already laid out their bedrolls and built a small fire—the merchants had brought peat for fires, as there was no wood to be found on the open plains—and he shook his head when Jael told him what had happened.

“The wagonmaster’s going to be furious, but not necessarily at us,” he said. “The possibility that there was a hinder-spell on the horses means that either someone in the caravan now, or more likely someone back in Allanmere, wants this caravan delayed. It could be a competitor, but it’s probably an organized band of highwaymen.”

“Why would highwaymen want the caravan slowed down?” Jael asked him. “It’s not as though the spell’s enough to stop the wagons completely, and they can’t travel all that fast to begin with. What’s to be gained?”

“If the highwaymen are setting up an ambush, they need a certain amount of time for their henchmen in Allanmere, who know when the caravan’s leaving and what it’s loaded with, to ride all the way around the caravan well out of sight, reach the rest of the band, and prepare the ambush,” Tanis told her. “I’ve heard of such plans before. Any band of highwaymen willing to dare a caravan this size and this well guarded would have to be fairly well manned and organized.”

“Are you going to warn the wagonmaster?” Jael asked.

“I doubt I’ll need to,” Tanis said, shrugging. “Anyone who’s been in this business for a few years will know how these people work. What he’ll end up doing, much though it hurts him, is thanking you kindly for the warning once it’s obvious tomorrow that the hinder-spell’s gone. As things stand now, though, it’s just as well I’d already claimed our supper, or likely we wouldn’t get any. It really would have been better to ask permission first.”

“I couldn’t do that,” Jael sighed, and after a moment, Tanis nodded his understanding, although neither wanted to voice their thoughts, as someone from the caravan might be within earshot. Of course the hinder-spell would have been broken as soon as Jael touched it, and if there had been a mage or even another magic-spotter in the caravan who later examined the horses, he would find no spell, and the wagonmaster would either assume that Jael had been lying or that she had already broken the spell. Either way would have earned Jael and Tanis the same suspicion they were already receiving. At least this way the horses’ improved pace on the morrow would prove Jael’s honesty.

Despite her weariness, Jael found that sleep eluded her. She felt safer with the guards and merchants nearby, but the ground was hard and uncomfortable, and she missed the soft hay of the night before, even if it had made her nose run. When she spent the summers with Mist in the Heartwood, they’d stayed in his comfortable hanging bower in a tree near Inner Heart. Even on their frequent journeys through the Heartwood they’d woven sleeping nests in willows when they could, or at least piled leaves or some such to soften their bedrolls. Here there was a lump the size of a small mountain under her hip, and the bruises from her last sword practice ached.

The small fire, too, had been good enough to cast a little light and warm the roast fowl for their supper, but the ground was cold, unlike the hay in the barn the night before. Jael squirmed uncomfortably, remembering the warmth of the shared blankets and of Tanis’s arm around her the night before. She wriggled around onto her other side, scrabbled under her bedroll, and tossed the offending rock aside. Now there was a hollow where the rock had been.

Jael scrunched down a little lower in the covers, then sighed and gave up. She rolled over again.

“Tanis?”

“What?” Tanis’s eyes were open, and Jael wondered whether he’d had difficulty sleeping, too.

“Can I move over there with you?” Jael asked sheepishly.

Tanis grinned back at her.

“I’d have asked if you hadn’t,” he admitted. “Bring your blankets and come on.”

Combining their pallets gave them more cushioning from the packed earth and twice the covering over them, and the warmth of Tanis’s body against hers banished the last of the spring chill.

Her cheek pillowed on his shoulder, Jael finally relaxed and slept.

Morning dawned cold and foggy, rain-heavy clouds hanging low. Jael and Tanis rode behind the caravan, cheerful despite the weather. When the first hour of riding revealed that the limping horses now stepped along at a much improved pace, Reda had ridden ahead to confer with the wagonmaster. She rode back to hand Tanis a small purse of coin.

“You can camp at our fires tonight and until we reach Westenvale,” she said. “Wagonmaster Nezed says if it rains today, you can tie your horses behind his wagon and ride inside if you don’t mind sitting on boxes of copper pots.” She rode away before Jael or Tanis could make any reply.

“They don’t exactly smother you in thanks,” Jael said wryly.

“I’d rather have a dry place to sit and a comfortable camp than thanks anyway,” Tanis said, chuckling. “Plus, of course, some of our coin returned.”

“How much did you have to pay to begin with?” Jael asked.

“Ten Moons,” Tanis admitted. “Expensive. And that was after I bargained him down from the fifteen Moons he asked. I’ll wager he’d have asked no more than three or four Moons if we’d joined the caravan under less suspicious conditions.”

“We paid half a Sun just to follow in their wagon ruts and camp on the ground?” Jael asked, shocked. “How much did he give you back?”

Tanis opened the pouch and looked inside.

“It looks like about five Moons’ worth of coppers,” he said. “Well, that’s much more reasonable, although on our next caravan I hope you don’t have to break hinder-spells to earn a fair price.”

“I don’t mind the spells,” Jael said slowly, “but what about the highwaymen? Do you still think they’ve set up an ambush ahead of us?”

“I don’t know,” Tanis said, his voice lowered. He guided his horse to ride closer beside Jael. “The wagonmaster’s sent some of the guards to ride ahead and look for any places where robbers could have enough cover to hide and wait for us, and I see the guards have their bows ready, too. But it’s not impossible that the highwaymen could have someone inside the caravan— maybe even the person who cast the hinder-spell. So we’ll stay behind the caravan, and if there’s any trouble, we’ll ride like there’s a dragon chasing us in the other direction. Hopefully the highwaymen won’t bother chasing us when they have a whole caravan to loot.”

“Shouldn’t we help defend the caravan?” Jael asked doubtfully.

“Jaellyn, they’re not paying us to be guards,” Tanis told her firmly. “And I’d be very, very happy if we never had to draw our swords from now until we get back to Allanmere. Do
you
think either of us is skilled enough to fight a band of murderous brigands?”

Jael sighed. Her mother would have gladly matched her sword against any twenty brigands, and Aunt Shadow would have slipped away unseen while pocketing the choicest valuables from caravan and robbers alike, but Jael and Tanis would run like frightened rabbits, five Moons the poorer and nothing gained.

A slow drizzle began around noon, but to Jael’s irritation, Tanis insisted that they stay with their horses instead of riding in the comfort of the wagon. By the time the caravan stopped for the evening, Jael was cold, wet, stiff, sniffling, and absolutely furious. The drizzle continued, driving the merchants into their wagons for shelter. Despite the cold, if the dry spot under the proffered wagon had been wide enough, Jael would have gladly placed her bedroll far from Tanis. Tanis was in no better mood than she, and they hunched silently in their shelter mopping up stew with half-stale bread. Jael listened sourly as the merchant in the wagon over their heads made certain sounds indicating that he was not alone.

“Is the potion High Lord Argent gave you working?” Tanis asked at last.

“Not yet,” Jael said shortly. She wiped her nose on her sleeve. The merchant and his doxy became more vigorous, causing the wagon to shake.

Tanis glanced upward, grimaced, and poured himself another cup of wine.

“I’m sorry you got wet and chilled,” he said irritably. “But are you going to sulk about it all night?”

“That depends,” Jael said sourly. “Are you going to make me sleep out in the rain, too?”

“Don’t tempt me,” Tanis retorted. “I’m not going to apologize again. I really thought there might be danger. I suppose I dodged when I should have parried. It’s happened to you once or twice, too.”

Jael had to grin at that.

“You mean once or twice in the last two days, don’t you?” she said, relenting. “I suppose even a bad case of the sniffles doesn’t quite pay me back for demon-scratches, does it?”

Tanis touched his tunic where it covered the five scars puckering the skin of his right shoulder.

“They ache in this weather, too,” he said proudly.

Jael reached for her pack.

“You should’ve said something sooner,” she told him. “I have a salve that’s good for aches that aren’t in the bone. Take off your tunic and shirt and I’ll rub some of this in.”

Tanis winced a little as he pulled his tunic over his head, and Jael raised her eyebrows in surprise. In the little more than a year since he had left the priesthood and become an apprentice thief, Tanis had lost his acolyte softness and developed a thief’s lithe, wiry musculature. The five angry white furrows started just below the collarbone on the left side of Tanis’s chest, crossed the point of his shoulder, and tapered off at his back. Jael remembered the ferocity of the demon who had given Tanis those marks, and shivered. He’d been lucky not to lose his arm—or his life.

Tanis sighed contentedly as Jael rubbed the pungent-scented salve over his shoulder, working the unguent into his skin with practiced fingers. She’d have to remember to thank Mist, who had tutored her in every aspect of trail medicine, and Shadow, who had taught Jael the art of rubbing the soreness out of muscles. At least it was a way of passing time other than lying there and listening to the merchant and his bed companion shake the wagon.

“That’s wonderful,” he said. “Allanmere lost a great herbalist when Argent left his shop. And you have a healer’s touch. Whatever were you carrying that salve around for?”

“I suppose Father thought I’d need it for all the bruises Mother left on me in sword practice the day before we left,” Jael said with a grin. “She could split a bull in half head to foot with that monster of a sword, so you can imagine what it’s done to me, even a practice blade with a dulled edge and through padding.”

Tanis shook his head sympathetically.

“Bad?”

Jael pulled up the side of her tunic in answer. The bottom of the huge, mottled bruise was plainly visible on her back and side.

“It looks as if you could use some of this ointment, too,” Tanis said, grimacing. “You should have mentioned it before. Lie down and let me put some of this on your back. Are you sure you haven’t cracked a rib?”

“It’s just a few bruises,” Jael said, somewhat embarrassed by his concern—it didn’t speak well for High Lady Donya, did it, if she cracked her daughter’s ribs in sword practice? “She mostly tries to hit me with the flat, anyway.”

“On a sword that heavy, that’s enough.”

When Jael had stretched out on her stomach on the blankets, Tanis gently pushed up the back of her tunic, murmuring in dismay at the bruises he uncovered. The cold, wet night air on her bare back made Jael shiver, and she started when the gob of ointment touched her skin, but Tanis’s hands were warm and his touch was very gentle as he smoothed the paste into her skin.

“I imagine this means it would be best to postpone
our
sword practice for a few more days,” Tanis said, chuckling. “I’d never forgive myself if I added any more bruises on top of what’s already there.” He was silent for a moment, scooping up a little more ointment to rub into Jael’s shoulders. “Of course, if I get to do this every time I beat you black and blue, the prospect gets much more tempting.”

Something in his tone made Jael uneasy.

“You know,” she said slowly, “maybe it’s not a very good idea for you to—I mean, maybe you’d better stop.”

Tanis’s hands kneaded the muscles at the base of her neck, then slid caressingly down her back.

“Must I?” he asked gently.

Oh, no. Jael closed her eyes and sighed.

“Please don’t,” she said hesitantly. “You know this just isn’t going to work.”

“Won’t you let me try?” he asked softly. “Just this once, can you let me try? If it’s not right for you, I won’t ask again. I promise.”

Jael twisted her head around as far as she could to look at Tanis. His blue eyes were direct and unshadowed, his expression sincere. He was the best friend she’d ever had besides Aunt Shadow, and if she couldn’t trust him, she’d picked a poor companion indeed for this journey. Gods, he wouldn’t be here sleeping on the cold, hard ground if it weren’t for her. And it wasn’t as if she didn’t
want
to be able to feel those things he wanted so much for her to feel.

“All right,” Jael said at last. “But you promise—”

Tanis brushed his fingertips over her cheek.

“I promise,” he said. “You know me better than to believe I’d ever do anything you didn’t want.”

The gentleness of his hands sliding over her back was soothing, and Jael found herself becoming drowsy. The merchant in the wagon above them was quiet now. Tanis drew the tunic up over Jael’s head and lay down beside her, pulling the blankets over them both.

It was warm and safe and dark there together under the wagon, and the heat of Tanis’s skin against hers and the familiarity of his scent were comforting. When Tanis bent to kiss her, Jael tried to respond as best she could. It was an awkward business; she didn’t know which way to tilt her head, and the noses got in the way, but it wasn’t unpleasant overall. Jael clung to Tanis as if somehow his passion could soak through his skin and into hers, but when Tanis trailed his lips down the side of her throat, one hand gently caressing Jael’s small breasts, Jael burst out in helpless laughter.