The Spell of Rosette (41 page)

The tawny female hissed again before chortling.

‘Jarrod!’ Rosette called, about to inform him of Drayco’s catch, but he was already making a spit across the fire.

Rosette tethered the horses in front of some thick brambles, the only greenery still available at the edge of the pine woods. The fish were cooking when she returned, everyone’s face flushed from the fire. She sat amongst them, soaking up the warmth.

‘Delicious,’ Rosette said, taking another bite and wiping her mouth on her sleeve. ‘Smoky, but delicious.’

‘You always liked fish in the wild.’ Jarrod winked at her and smiled.

‘Still do.’ She leaned into him, kissing his cheek through his stubble.

‘Listen, you two,’ An’ Lawrence interrupted. ‘This isn’t a picnic we’re on. When we find a crossing, we’ll be splitting up, and the gods only know whether the Lupins are going to be on our heels, or yours. There won’t be any time to linger. You’ll have to ride hard from dawn until dusk each day, hard enough to cover the distance, but not so hard you cripple the horses. You’ve got to get off this continent, remember? You’re being tracked.’

‘I doubt the Lupins will enjoy crossing that much water,’ Nell said, her eyes sparkling as she spoke.

‘How would you know what the Lupins would do? Dogs can swim,’ An’ Lawrence pointed out.

‘They aren’t dogs.’

‘What about Kreshkali?’ Rosette asked. ‘What do you think she will do next?’

‘There’s no telling,’ Nell said. ‘She…’

Maudi! Riders headed this way, fast!

Rosette held her hand out to silence them all.
Where, Drayco?

Downstream.

Jarrod stood, waving them quiet. ‘Someone’s coming.’

‘Get down,’ she whispered. She dropped to a crouch, pulling him down beside her.

An’ Lawrence was on his feet, hand on his sword hilt.

Dray! What do you sense?

Two riders. One is on the Sword Master’s black beast.

Do you recognise them, Dray? Can you tell who they are?
She looked across at An’ Lawrence. ‘Who’d be riding Diablai?’ she whispered.

‘Zero or…’ He didn’t finish the sentence. ‘They’d be searching for us.’

It’s Zero,
Drayco confirmed.
And him…the bard!

‘Who?’ Jarrod asked.

‘Friends,’ Rosette answered. She scrambled up, pulling Jarrod along with her. ‘What do we do?’

Everyone froze.

‘Go!’ Nell whispered, motioning to the horses. ‘Get out of here, now! Find a ford to the north. We don’t want to cross tracks.’

Rosette hesitated, looking from Nell to An’ Lawrence.

‘Now!’ Nell snapped her fingers. ‘Before either of you are seen.’

In seconds Rosette was untying Wren and her mountain horse, tightening their girths and leading them towards the fire. Jarrod met her halfway.

‘Find Maka’ra,’ Nell instructed as she tucked a handful of gold into her daughter’s saddlebag. ‘And
keep the horses. You can ferry them across the strait to Rahana Iti. Maka’ra will take you on from there. You can trust him completely.’

‘I know,’ Rosette said.

‘Leave no trace behind.’ She gave Rosette a hug, holding the horse as she mounted.

‘Try to remember some of the things I’ve taught you,’ An’ Lawrence said. He was at her side, taking a twist out of the reins. Looking up at Jarrod, he added, ‘Mind each other.’

Rosette brushed her hand across her eyes and nodded, urging her horse into a trot.
Drayco! Come now.

Drayco sidled up to Scylla and gave her a nose-touch before loping off with Rosette and Jarrod.

A minute later and there was no trace of them at all.

Eventually they found a shallow ford. The icy water spread over a wide expanse, barely reaching their horses’ knees. They rode slowly, standing in their stirrups, watching for sharp rocks or sudden holes, but the river floor was all pebble, the fine gravel crunching beneath the horses’ hooves as they plodded through the rushing water. They scrambled up the bank, slippery with recent rain, and moved easily through the valley before heading northwest to find a mountain pass.

Rosette stopped at the top of a particularly steep ravine. Her horse was breathing hard, flanks sucked in behind the ribs.

She gestured to Jarrod, shaking her head. ‘Wren might be able to run on ice water and brambles, but this one can’t.’

‘You’re right. They both need to graze. The foothill valleys could still have some decent pasture,’ he said. He turned to Drayco.
Can you still hear Scylla?

Dray cocked his head to the side for a moment.
She said they’re already packed up. Nell and the Sword Master are on Diablai. The bard’s crying.

Rosette looked at her hands, her thumbs pinching the reins.

‘Who’s the bard again?’ Jarrod asked.

‘My friend…from Treeon.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘Clay.’

‘Why won’t Drayco say it?’

Rosette shook her head. ‘He has his reasons.’

Jarrod frowned. ‘How did you meet this bard?’

Rosette smiled at the memory. ‘He gave me a ride to the temple on his family’s plough horse—massive beast.’

‘Clay?’

‘No, the horse, silly.’

Jarrod’s lips formed a thin line. ‘If he’s in tears, he must believe you’re dead.’

He didn’t at first. Scylla said he was ready to ride through an army of Lupins to rescue you.

‘He might still have to fight that army if they don’t get moving,’ Rosette said, twisting in the saddle to check her horse’s breathing. It was slower now and more even.

‘We could be in the same situation,’ Jarrod warned, encouraging Wren forward. ‘Shall we move on?’

Rosette followed silently before sending a message to Drayco:
Tell Scylla we’re on our way and to ask the Sword Master to watch over Clay.

Drayco trotted alongside Rosette and looked up at her.
She says not to worry. He always has.

‘So what’s he like?’ Jarrod had removed his mare’s saddle and tethered her with the other horse in a chesthigh patch of waning yellow oat grass.

‘What’s who like?’ Rosette picked up her horse’s hooves one at a time, checking for stones. ‘Damn!’

‘Problem?’

‘You don’t have an anvil and forge with you, by any chance?’

Jarrod raised his eyebrows.

‘Loose nail,’ Rosette explained. ‘The shoe’s still snug, but this isn’t good. One twist and the whole thing could come off. There are only two nails on the inside wall. Who shoes like that?’

‘Someone in a hurry.’ Jarrod bent down, running his hand over the nail head and testing the wiggle.

‘White foot too. Just our luck,’ Rosette said, staring at the horse’s one white sock and cream-coloured hoof.

‘The roads should improve in a few days,’ Jarrod said. ‘We’ll make it.’

‘What roads?’

Jarrod smiled, but said no more. He gathered wood, stacking it in a pile as the sun disappeared behind the western foothills.

‘You two sound like you were pretty close.’

‘Who?’

‘You and Clay.’

Rosette snorted. ‘Yes and no. I mean, we had a lot of laughs and fooled around…’ She paused, tilting her head to one side, gauging Jarrod’s expression. ‘I trusted him but always felt that something wasn’t quite right.’

‘What’s he look like?’

Rosette laughed. ‘Jarrod, are you that jealous? Seriously, what difference does it make what he looks like?’

‘Just tell me.’

She clicked her tongue. ‘Like a lanky farm boy. Glorious tattoo of a forest stag on his right forearm, after the fashion of the Ice Clans. Very bright blue eyes. Wonderful singing voice…’

‘He’s a journeyman bard?’

She nodded.

‘So he journeys?’

‘That’s implicit in the name, yes.’ She scrunched her nose. ‘Why all these questions?’

‘Just tell me, what colour’s his hair?’

‘Jarrod, really! You’re getting obsessed.’

‘Does your bard have bright red hair?’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘How’d you know?’

‘I think he was in Lividica a few weeks ago, nosing around about you.’

‘He was where?’

‘Lividica. A bard like your Clay played in the pubs and at the markets, asking all kinds of questions about the de Santos and their daughter Rosette. I think someone finally told him about the Matosh family and Kalindi Rose. He disappeared straight after, before I could confront him.’

‘But…that doesn’t make sense. He went away to Morzone for weeks but…’

‘That bard’s the reason I decided to come looking for you, Rosette. I knew something wasn’t right.’

She was silent for some time.

He lied to us, Maudi?
Drayco asked, returning to the campsite with a small bush-pig in his mouth.

‘Oh, bravo, hunter-cat!’ she praised him as he dropped it at her feet.

Deception?
Drayco asked again.

Maybe so. But we’ve lied to him too,
she answered.

So it’s even?

It doesn’t really work that way.

I didn’t think so.

Jarrod joined them by the fire, unloading another armful of wood. He snapped off small branches and laid them over a mound of dry grass. ‘So, did Clay and you…’

‘Please stop,’ Rosette interrupted. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Just trying to unravel a mystery.’

‘Whatever it was, it must have been more than it seemed if he was looking for evidence of me in Lividica.’

‘He claimed to be your suitor, keen to meet your family.’

‘I don’t think that was it. We never talked about the future in those terms.’ She cupped her hands around the small flame as Jarrod crouched down to blow it into life. ‘We’re lovers, sure, and he’s a friend. Very funny and bright,’ she said as the sparks leapt into flames. ‘There wasn’t any talk of suiting.’

Jarrod reached for more fuel. ‘I see.’

‘It wasn’t like what you and I had…have?’

‘You mean, like you and I and Liam had?’

Rosette lifted her head. ‘Jarrod, can you let that go too? That was years ago.’ She wrinkled her brow. ‘How is Liam? Did he…’

‘Liam’s fine,’ Jarrod snapped.

‘Working for your pa?’

‘Yes.’

‘Family yet?’

‘No.’

She studied Jarrod’s face. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘There’s always a triangle with you, Rosette. Always you, me and something, or somebody, else.’

A smile curled her lip. ‘It’s only you tonight.’

Jarrod stared at her, shaking his head and relaxing his shoulders. ‘So I guess I’d better enjoy it while I can,’ he laughed.

‘Should be delightful, as long as it doesn’t rain.’ She looked at the starless sky.

I’d be more worried about the mountain lions than the rain.

‘What mountain lions?’ Both Jarrod and Rosette spoke at once, their heads turning to Drayco.

The ones over the next ridge that are coming this way.

Rosette was awakened in the deepest part of the night by a throaty roar. It echoed around the peaks. Within ten breaths, it was answered by two others. They sounded more like bears than mountain lions and she shivered under the furs.

‘Can’t sleep?’ Jarrod rolled over to face her.

The clouds parted and she could see his eyes sparkling, black pools in the moonlight.

‘I’m scared.’

‘You’re safe with me.’

‘It’s not that kind of fear.’

‘Would you like me to distract you?’

‘Again?’

‘Why not?’

‘Because you need your strength tomorrow and so do I. We don’t know what’s ahead.’

‘I’ve a pretty good idea.’

‘You do?’

‘I had a long talk with An’ Lawrence—I get along better with him than I did with John’ra.’

‘I wish I could say the same.’ She pulled him close. ‘So what’s ahead?’

‘Box canyons, lava fields.’

‘Lava fields?’

‘Miles of obsidian, sharp as glass.’

‘You didn’t mention this when we were discussing my horse’s loose shoe.’

‘I didn’t want to alarm you.’

‘And now you do?’

He tightened his arms around her. ‘We’ll get through.’

‘And then? What’s after the box canyons and lava?’

‘The land fans out into towns and valleys. We have to cross those before we finally reach the seaport of Morzone, if we’re lucky.’

‘And if we aren’t lucky?’

‘We wander around in these arroyos for days until the horses drop dead and the bears eat us.’

She didn’t reply for the longest time. ‘I thought they sounded more like bears too.’

They both laughed and she felt Jarrod’s hand run down her back, a delightful sensation.

‘Are you going to keep me up all night?’ she asked.

‘Is that an invitation?’ Jarrod found her lips and kissed her, making her purr with delight. ‘I’ve missed you, Rosette.’

‘Me too.’

She woke with a start just before dawn. Drayco was growling, and Jarrod was on his feet, doing up his pants.

Maudi! Make the fire big,
her familiar roared in her mind.

‘What’s happening?’

Bears. Three or four. Very close. Mind the horses don’t bolt.

Rosette sprang out of the covers and started snapping thin branches in two. She and Jarrod worked side by side, propping sticks together over the coals like a tent, fanning the flames to life. They hopped about, scrambling into their clothes and lacing up their boots.

‘I thought you said the mountain lions were all we should worry about,’ she whispered to Drayco.

It’s bears now.

‘What do we do?’

Keep the fire big while you pack up, then we get out of here and hope they don’t track us.

Rosette looked at Jarrod. ‘Did you hear that?’

‘I did. Not encouraging.’

You could leave them some food, Maudi. That would slow them down.

‘What do you mean?’

Bury the pig bones, hide some bread and cheese. They might spend hours sniffing it out. It would give us time to get away.

‘Drayco says if we bury…’

‘I got it.’ Jarrod was already piling rocks over the pig carcass. ‘Tack up the horses.’