Queen (Brotherhood of the Throne) (16 page)

“I would dearly love to be part of
those negotiations,” Marcus said with a sigh.

Brenna tried - had been trying for
days - but she hadn’t been able to use her gift to See the wagons and
prisoners. Which is why she heard them first.

She was scouting ahead of the
wagon, keeping Blaze to a fast walk as they rode through the wooded foothills,
when she heard a low murmur that she assumed was a stream of some sort. But
when she rounded a bend she stopped and slid off Blaze, easing them both back
behind a copse of trees.

Despite all the sounds - horses
hoofs on the grass - the creaking of the wagons and harnesses - the muffled
clanking of the iron shackles, it was an eerily quiet scene. No one spoke, no
babies cried - just two silent columns of men and women trailing after two
wagons, watched over by guards on horseback.

Brenna watched the tarp-covered
wagons, her heart breaking with the knowledge that children were huddled under
them, afraid to move or look out.

Then saw him - Pater, by the gods -
Pater was shuffling slowly at the end of the line of men. The absolute misery
apparent in every step he took made her shake with anger. Brenna gripped her
knife, ready to put an end to this at once. She started to draw her magic about
her, ready to lash out at every guard she could see.

“Looks like one of the brats tried
to run,” a man in brown said, a small body thrown over his shoulder.

He laughed as he set his burden
down hard on the ground and in shock Brenna let her power drain away. Ronan
stood up and glared at the man and Brenna prayed that he wouldn’t make things
worse by trying to fight or run. But Ronan knew when he was outmanned - he
simply balled his fists and looked down at the ground. He was roughly hoisted
in the air and shoved into a wagon while the rest of the guards laughed. Brenna
noticed that some prisoners looked angry, while others, Pater included, simply
waited dejectedly until the wagons started to move again.

Before she even knew what she was
planning Brenna recited the invisibility spell and headed towards the end of
the line, and Pater. She wasn’t leaving either him or Ronan alone in this.

“Pater,” she whispered. She gently
reached one arm around his shoulders and tried to keep him steady as he lifted
his head and stared around. “Pater, keep your head down and keep quiet. It’s me
Brenna.”

“Brenna?” Pater’s voice trembled as
he spoke. “You can’t be here - you should be somewhere safe.”

“But I am here,” Brenna said. “And
I’m not leaving you.”

When the group of men started up
again Brenna helped Pater as he began a shambling walk. Touching her knife, she
quickly reached out for old steel.

“
Wils, stop the wagon right now
,”
she called. “
The wagon caravan is just beyond the ridge I was scouting. Please
get Blaze – I’ve left her tied to a tree.
”

 Wils replied that he would do as
she asked and Brenna went back to supporting Pater as they walked. Ten steps,
twenty steps, she stopped counting at one hundred and thirty steps and instead
simply watched Pater’s feet as they scuffled through the dust and dirt of the
wagon track.

“
I’ve got Blaze
,” Wils said
finally. “
But we can’t find Ronan anywhere. Neemah’s frantic
.”

“
Tell her Ronan’s fine. I know
where he is and I’m not leaving him
,” Brenna said. “
He’s been captured
by the wagon guards and I’m close behind them
.” He didn’t need to know
exactly how close, she thought as the smell of the sweat-streaked man in front
of her drifted back to her. “
Stay well back. And check the map. I need to
let Dasid know exactly where we are.
”

Brenna continued to walk in step
with Pater while Wils checked the map. Ten steps, twenty steps, and then Wils
contacted her again. Once she had a good description of their location from
him, she took a deep breath. Now for Dasid. Gripping her knife tight, she
reached out and found him.

“
Dasid
,” she said, startling
him. “
Dasid, we’ve found the wagons
.” Brenna passed on Wils’s directions
and then waited.

“
We’re about two days away
,”
Dasid replied after a few minutes. “
They’re using a different road through
the mountains
.”

“
That route will keep them
closer to Fallad, I think
,” Brenna said. “
Should I have Gaskain send
more men?
”

“
Are there more guards than we
expected
?” She could hear Dasid’s concern through the old steel.

“
No, there are ten,
” she
hesitated. “
But Ronan has been captured. I’ve spelled myself invisible to
stay close.
”

Dasid swore and his fear almost made
her lose the grip on her knife.

“
Why isn’t Ronan with Neemah?
She must be so worried
.”

“
Wils is keeping her calm
,”
Brenna said. “
They’re behind and are staying well back. We can’t have them
discovered
.”

“
Has Ronan been hurt
?”

“
No, but I’m sure he’s scared. I’m
going to get close enough to tell him we know where he is and that we’ll get
him back. Oh
.” Pater sagged against her and Brenna stumbled. She shifted
her weight until she was dragging him.

“
Brenna, are you all right
?”
Dasid asked. “
Did something happen
?”

Ignoring Dasid for the moment, Brenna
checked to see if anyone noticed that Pater wasn’t actually walking anymore.
She leaned over him and her lips tightened. Pater was struggling to stay
conscious - as she watched his eyes fluttered closed. He wouldn’t last much
longer. She wished she could simply make him invisible and have them both drop
out of the line – but he’d be missed. If the guards were alerted she’d never be
able to free Ronan.

“
Pater’s one of the prisoners
,”
Brenna said. “
I can’t leave him. I think he’ll die if I do
.”

“
By the gods
,” Dasid said. She
felt his shock and frustration through the old steel. “
I know he’s a good
friend but he’s a Brother. Don’t put yourself in danger to save him. He
wouldn’t want that
.”

Brenna shook her head. It was
always about what they wanted, what the Brotherhood thought she should do. Sometimes
she didn’t agree with them –
couldn’t
agree with them and stay true to
herself. This was one of those times.

“
I have an idea. It means I can
help Pater and keep close to Ronan
.” Brenna quickly described her plan to
Dasid. She was surprised when he gave her his grudging approval.

“
Tell Kane
,” Dasid said.

“
I will
,” Brenna said. “
Later
.”
Once it’s done, she thought.

“
Brenna, tell him. In case you
need to draw some strength from him
,” Dasid chided. “
Or you can draw
from me
.”

“
Thank you, I’ll keep that in
mind.”
And she would, but she didn’t plan on needing any extra strength.
”
I’ll let you know when it’s done
.”

After talking to Dasid, Brenna
quickly gave Wils his instructions before she let her hand drop from her knife.
She shifted Pater against her side, thankful that he was still conscious and at
least trying walk. It wouldn’t be long now, she thought, looking at the late
afternoon sun. They would have to stop at dark. She had to keep Pater on his
feet for just a few hours more.

“Pater, stand up,” Brenna said,
shaking him gently.

He turned exhausted eyes her way
but she was invisible so he dropped his gaze to the ground.

“You have to stay on your feet long
enough to get your meal and water.”

The wagons had stopped a few moments
ago but the prisoners had not been allowed to sit down. Now the lines shuffled
past a guard who was handing out hunks of tough journey bread. Another two guards
filled mugs with water. They waited until each prisoner drank a mug of water
before refilling it for the next person in line so the line moved slowly.

Brenna licked her dry lips. She had
her own skin of water but had been too intent on keeping Pater walking to remember
to drink. Water for her later – right now she had to make sure Pater looked
able enough. She didn’t want the guards to pick him out of the line - she
didn’t know what they would do with someone too ill to walk but she doubted
adults were allowed to ride in the wagons. These were people they expected hard
labor from - it was unlikely they would bother with anyone too ill to keep up.

Pater managed to stay in control
long enough to get his food and drink some water. The line of men, still
shackled together, sat down along the road. Pater, at the end of the line,
dropped onto the grass to eat his bread. Brenna huddled beside him, trying to
keep out of the way of both prisoners and guards. Pater wiped hands on his
thighs and exhausted, stretched out on the ground. Satisfied that he was as well
as could be expected, Brenna silently rose. Time to find Ronan.

They’d taken the tarps off the
wagons while the children were fed. Ronan huddled in the corner of a wagon with
his knees drawn up to his chest the tracks of dried tears on his cheeks.

Brenna edged close to the corner of
the wagon.

“Ronan,” she whispered. “Be calm
and pretend I’m not here.”

“Brenna?” He looked up, excited,
but when he didn’t see her, his face fell and his lower lip trembled.

“It’s me, I’m really here.” She gripped
his arm and he flinched. “Remember I told you I could do magic?” He nodded. “Being
invisible is one of the magic things I can do. You need to follow my orders,
just like a soldier, can you do that?” Another nod. “I will get you out of here
tonight but I’m helping another friend too. I’m going to need you to take care
of him until you can get him to your mother. Be quiet and don’t draw any
attention to yourself until I come back. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

“Good lad. I’ll come back for you later.”
Brenna moved away from the wagon and headed back to Pater.

She let Pater sleep for a while. He
needed it and she had to wait until it was fully dark anyways. She’d take his
coat – hopefully it would be enough to fool a guard if one touched her.

A few hours after the watch changed
she whispered a spell and a patch of fog rolled in, blanketing the entire camp.
Waking Pater, she silently unlocked the shackle at his ankle and pulled him a
few feet outside the fog. With instructions to wait, she crept away to find Ronan.
With Ronan in tow, she steered Pater downhill for a few minutes. She stopped
and Ronan clutched her hand while Pater slumped to the ground. Brenna gently
transferred Ronan’s hand to Pater’s.

“Pater, I need your coat,” Brenna
whispered. “I’ll trade mine for yours.”

“What do you need my coat for?
Aren’t you coming with us?”

“No. I’m staying. I need to find
out where these prisoners are being taken,” Brenna said. “I want to get every
single man woman and child that Thorold has stolen from Kingsreach back. I need
more information I order to do that.”

“Does Kane know you’re doing this?”

“Not yet. But Dasid knows.”

“And he agrees with it?”

Brenna grabbed Pater’s arm when his
voice rose. “Shh, do you want us all to get caught?” Brenna felt him relax and
she let go of his arm. “Dasid understands that we need this information.
Besides, I can walk away whenever I want to.”

“Here,” Pater said. He thrust her
coat at her. “It’s not smellin’ so good anyway.”

Brenna took her own jacket off and slipped
it over Pater’s shoulders.

 “You be careful, Brenna,” Pater
said. “Two thousand years is a long time to wait for someone as bone-headed as
you.”

Brenna smiled for the first time since
she’d found Pater. “I never asked for any of this so don’t expect me to feel
bad about making my own decisions. There’s more walking for you tonight, I’m
afraid, but Wils and Neemah - Ronan’s mother - are not far away. Neemah’s a
healer - she’ll take good care of the both of you.” Brenna pointed them in the
right direction. “Sit still why I make you both invisible.”

She recited the spell and the two
of them disappeared from sight. “Keep a tight hold of Ronan’s hand. You might
not find him if he wanders off. The spell should last until dawn.”

“I’ll stay with him,” Ronan said.
“I can’t see Pater no more. Am I really invisible?”

 “Looks like it,” Pater said.
“Let’s go find yer ma, Ronan. Brenna, keep out of trouble, if ye can.”

Brenna heard the two of them walk
away. With a sigh, she turned back to the camp. It was still shrouded in fog and
she took a few moments to send messages to both Wils and Dasid telling them
that she’d been successful. Now it was time to hide herself in plain sight.

She snuck back to Pater’s spot at the
end of the line of men. This far north, just entering the mountains, the night
was cool in the late summer. She wrapped Pater’s coat more tightly around her. Quietly,
she clamped the shackle to her leg and lay down.