The Hekamon (29 page)

"Is something wrong?" Teague asked.

"Captain, slow down," the voice boomed.
Shouted by an unseen man, urgent and out of breath. More importantly
for Alyssa, it was not said by the man who was closest to her, that
man she could hear as well. He was not speaking but breathing loudly.
His footsteps were heavy, close by and from what she could tell, he
seemed to be stopping. The sound of the other footsteps grew
louder, accompanied the sound of a man gasping and wheezing.

With her face buried in the leaves, Alyssa was going by
sound alone, and there was a limit to what she could determine.

From
the sounds one of the men was making, she could tell that he was not
accustomed to running and she could also place his position. He
was twenty feet down the hillside and on the trail. Beyond those sketchy
details, she couldn't be sure of anything else. Gradually the sounds
of the gasping man started to quieten, it wasn't only because he was
catching his breath, he was moving away, too.

Alyssa slowly raised her head and looked to her left.
What she saw brought a smile to her lips, they hadn't seen her. Instead, the
two guards were continuing along the path that ran along the hillside and
toward the clearing ahead. The one with the Halberd and helmet
following one without. The lead man sheathing
his sword, already thirty yards away and disappearing
from view. While the second guard would soon be joining him.

Should she stay hidden amongst the leaves and let the
guards go? Or should she keep them in sight? If she wanted to keep an
eye on them, she had two options. She could either descend the short
distance down to the trail where she would have a clearer view, or
move higher up the hillside and follow them as they went, concealed
by the trees but with the need to stay closer.

While
deciding what to do, she was struck by a realization.
The
guard had called him captain
.

It could be only one man.

Despite
how close Alyssa had come to being caught, intuition told her she
could not stay where she was, even for a few minutes. Waiting here
would make her journey much more difficult. Allowing the
guards to get out of sight would mean, either having to slow down, or
detour so much, that it would take an age to get to Serfacre.

If she
didn't, there was the real risk of being ambushed by the two men now
ahead of her. So, keeping the men in her sights would be preferable,
but she had another reason. Now she knew the identity of the person
looking for her, she
wanted to get a better look at him.

Tregarron.
It was a name she'd heard many times, yet she had never seen him
before, none of the younger ferguths had. Some of the older ferguths
had
seen him, and wished they hadn't.

He
had a fearsome reputation. He was a soldier, an interrogator and he
was searching for her.
He
had chased her
. The
thought sent a chill down her spine, and the feeling was not so
unpleasant as she might have imagined.

Staying higher on the hill and moving in the direction
the guards had taken, Alyssa began to follow them. They had walked
away at a brisk pace, so she adopted a similar approach. She was more
accustomed to the weight of the boots now and was not clomping
anywhere near as much. She was certainly making far less noise than
the two men ahead, whose progress into the clearing she could easily
hear.

The sound of their heavy boots on the exposed rock escarpment
was loud and distinctive. It looked like they were going to walk
through, if so, it would be difficult for her to follow them. Her
only option was to watch them, and observe the route they took, to
see where they exited on the other side. To do that meant she would
need to get as close to the glade as possible, without leaving the
forest.

Alyssa started move down the hill and back onto the
trail again. Once there, she cautiously made her way into the
undergrowth that grew around the edge of the clearing near where the
rocky escarpment began. Moving through the long grass and into some
bushes, Alyssa moved up behind the last tree and peered out and into
the open area beyond.

What she had expected to see, was the two men nearing the
far side, but what she actually saw, was that the guards were not
carrying on through, at least, not yet. They had reached the center
and had stopped. Well, one of the men had stopped. Tregarron had sat
himself down on a hailstone, seemingly preoccupied by something. The
other one, the fat one with the hat and the halberd, he had started
pacing around the glade. Alyssa watched them and listened.

They guard with the Halberd spoke, seemingly worried
about who they might run into now that they were deep in the Glades.
Alyssa found it interesting that the men appeared nervous, the fat
one especially.

She had always thought of the guards as being
authoritative and all powerful, but seeing these two men alone and
worried, made them seem far less intimidating. Even more so when she
realized what had made them feel that way. The incapacitated
Coralainians in the trading post.

From what little of their
conversation she could hear, they were concerned about who it was
they were dealing with and how many. Well it was just her, she
smiled to herself, her bravado growing. She almost dared them to try
taking her on.

The guard in the helmet, old, unfit, slow. She could
see in her mind how she would defeat him. He was holding his halberd
all wrong. Even she could see that, and she'd never carried such a
weapon. He'd used like a walking staff for so long, that's what it
had become.

She turned her attention to Tregarron. He was different,
even when seated he was poised. Alyssa thought she might have
guessed who it was, even if the other guard had not called him
captain. Here was a man who exuded authority, but he was not without
his weaknesses, just at this moment he seemed distracted. He was
holding something and turning it over in his hands, but it was
impossible see what from this position.

Unable to see the object of his attention, she
scrutinized the man instead. His face, in profile, she could make
out. A Strong brow and jawline, deep set eyes, a hint of some faded
scars, his was a rugged, lived in look. In some ways he reminded her
of Vondern but fifteen years younger.

It was not so much his
appearance, since he only bore a passing resemblance, it was something else.

There was an intensity about him, it was palpable even from thirty
yards away, even though he was just sitting and not moving, or maybe
it was precisely because of that. If the man had that focus and poise
when at rest, what would he be like in action?

If the captain was anything like the voight, then she
knew already. Vondern could turn in an instant, he had an aggressive
streak. When she had told Vondern that she would not accept his
decision to betroth her to Tolle, he had looked at her as if he would
kill her. It was a look that had made her relent, in words anyway,
if not in deeds.

Just then, the captain lifted up what he had been
inspecting so intently, and placed it inside his blue guardsman's
coat. As he did, Alyssa could see that it was a gray pouch. It was
the kind they used to store and transport herbs in Fennelbek and
almost certainly the one her brother had given to Tansley.

So
Tregarron knew they'd been there
.

The man stood. He was tall, and now that he was
standing, Alyssa could see he had been practically slouched when
seated. At least, when compared to how he looked when he drew himself
to his full height.

Once standing, Tregarron looked back in the direction he
had come, which meant she could see his eyes clearly now, black
piercing eyes.

Alyssa felt, that should Tregarron see her, he would
know everything about her in one look. She drew back further out of
sight, but was angry at her withdrawal into the shadows. She'd made
light work of the Coralainians, and she would do so with him. She dared him
to try taking her on, he would be surprised.

Suddenly the man was moving, with purpose and towards
her. Alyssa slunk back further still, suddenly realizing what she was
wearing. She was not well camouflaged in these clothes. Panic started to set in,
there was every chance she would be seen. Why was he coming back this
way? What of their conversation had she missed?

She rolled and pressed herself low to the ground,
weighing her options. If she was going to run, her position was all
wrong. She could not spring to her feet, at best she would stagger to
them. Her situation was bad, no, it was worse than that. The tree she
was hiding behind was concealing her, but in the process it was
blocking her view. She would not be able to see if the guards were
coming right for her, not until it was too late. They would be on top
of her before she could do anything about it.

She was angry at herself. She had become transfixed by
her prey, yet he was nothing of the sort. Alyssa's eyes grew wide at
her terrible position. Even her dagger, normally close at hand, was
hard to get at under the jacket she was wearing. If they caught her,
she would be taken to the fort. She would be a prisoner. What would
happen to her there?

At that moment the sound of the approaching footsteps
changed, as the men stepped from the rocky escarpment and back into
the forest. Suddenly the two guards were right next to her, less than
ten feet away. She peered up through the undergrowth that barely
concealed her, ready to jump to her feet, yet knowing she would not
be able to.

The fear gripped her and held her tightly. From where
she lay Tregarron appeared a giant, a monster. Alyssa knew she could
never out run him, and when he caught her, she would be defeated in
any manner of his choosing. She couldn't move, could hardly breathe,
and as she closed her eyes, she heard the guard speak.

"Is something wrong?"

Then came another voice, "Whoever it is, they're
looking for something," she heard Tregarron say. There was a
timbre to his voice. His words had a flint-like edge but there was a
growl beneath them, "Croneygee and Tansley both leave the
armory and both are attacked."

"You think we should go to Croneygee's workshop?"
The guard replied.

"Yes. Yes I do."

After a few seconds, and hearing the sound of retreating
footsteps, Alyssa opened her eyes again. She watched as the two men
walked away. Laying still, gradually the feeling returned to her
limbs and her heart rate returned to normal. She had never been
paralyzed with fear before and never wanted to be again.

If becoming petrified had worked, it was only because
Tregarron was not as good as his reputation had lead her to believe.
He could be distracted and lose sight of what he was looking for.

The
object of his pursuit had been just a few feet away from him and yet
he had not realized. She would not have been so blind. Not only that,
he was going to lead her exactly where she needed to go. His hunt
would fail. Hers would not.

She slowly climbed to her feet, watching the two guards
until they were at the limit of her view through the trees, before
following once more.

Even the most impressive pack leaders become blind and
deaf in old age, Alyssa reminded herself, her self assurance
returning. She even started to pity him. This thought caused her to
reach for the Ettinshel, if only to confirm her instincts. That she
needed to do so was perhaps an answer in itself. Or at least, it was
the only answer she was going to get, so it would have to do.

A wolf will eventually lose all the attributes that make
it such a creature, but the last thing to go is the bite. She would
stay vigilant. He was not her prey but her guide, an unwitting guide
who would not want to be followed.

Kormak
and Tolle walked ahead. The pair had been deep in conversation since
leaving the Egret Stockade, with Tolle asking him all of the questions,
and he giving
most
of the answers. Like Palfrey had guessed, Tolle was not happy at
Alyssa having been left behind, but nor was he particularly angry
either.

"The problem with your sister, is that she can be
feisty," Tolle said, "and doesn't
always do as she's told."

"I know. I told her that I would help look for her
stupid necklace, once I had secured the grippers, but she ignored me
and went by herself anyway," he said, and they both shook their
heads.

Some time ago, Tolle had taken a shine to Alyssa, but
his affections had neither been wanted or reciprocated. But the
leader of the Egret Patrol was a nephew of Vondern, and as such, he
had some influence with the voight, so Alyssa's unwillingness was
irrelevant.

Vondern had thought the potential pairing an agreeable
one, and so had decreed that Alyssa was to be Tolle's betrothal. When
the voight made such decisions, they were final and not something
open for debate or disagreement. Unfortunately, Alyssa had been less
than co-operative.

As her brother, he had told her that she was being
stubborn and unreasonable, but she didn't listen. His friend, and
patrol leader, had decided to give Alyssa some time to come around to
the idea but both of them knew that, eventually, Vondern would
intervene. If she continued to refuse to fulfill her obligations to
Tolle, Vondern might decide to betroth her to someone else, quite
possibly someone much older and less understanding.

So, knowing Alyssa as he did, Tolle seemed not at all
surprised at Kormak's description of her behavior, "She's
behaving recklessly, searching through the glades on her own, what is
she thinking?"

"It's selfish of her," Kormak agreed, "We're
worried about her but she doesn't care. The Ettinshel, or whatever
she calls it, is all she cares about," and they both nodded.