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  “I’m comfortable in the woods,” remarked Ben. “We’ll be okay there, but I’m not sure the army is what we need to worry about. The mages, what are they capable of? Can they track us somehow?”

  “I don’t think so,” answered Amelie. “To track us, they would need to mark us to create an affinity. I think I’d know if they did that to me, and they had no reason to do it with you before last night. There are other ways they could find us, far-seeing for example, but those are rather random if they don’t know where to start looking. The further we get from the City, the more difficult it will be for them.”

  “If they could easily find us,” agreed Mathias, “then we’d already be found.”

  “That’s it then,” declared Ben. “Let’s go.”

  They quickly distributed the supplies into the backpack Amelie found in Reinhold’s estate and one Mathias had collected in the City. Ben fashioned a strap on a potato sack and swung it over his shoulder. No ideal, but better than carrying it in his arms.

  They didn’t have much, but it would be sufficient for a few days. If they survived that long, they would worry about more supplies then.

  Instead of taking the road which would carry them north through the other estates and eventually to Kirksbane, they decided to traverse across the estates and stick close to the river. The risk of running into a lord’s guard was a lot easier to handle than seeing the Sanctuary’s troops on the road.

  In half a bell of brisk walking, they made it to the border of Reinhold’s property and found a head- high stone wall.

  “I know we need to keep moving, but let’s wait here for dark,” suggested Ben. “From what I recall when we came down the river, most of these main houses have views looking all the way down. We’ll almost certainly be seen if we cross in daylight.”

  “Good thinking.” Mathias nodded. “Let’s get some rest now. I advise we travel all night while we have the cover of darkness. Then we find a place to hole up during the day tomorrow. It’s going to be a long night. But…” He glanced toward the river. Around the bend, the City was still uncomfortably close. “I want to put as much distance between us and that place as we can.”

  The three of them sprawled out in the autumn sun and tried to get some sleep. Mathias quickly dozed off, but Ben and Amelie lay awake.

  After several minutes of silence, Ben asked, “Do you think we’ll make it?”

  “I don’t know,” answered Amelie somberly.

  The Road

  When night fell, they had a quick meal of cold provisions, scaled the wall, and dropped easily to the other side.

  The property was much like Reinhold’s, wide open lawns with a scattering of trees. The moon rose and they trotted across smooth grass.

  The main building was well lit. The rest of the estate was dark. They were worried about guards patrolling the grounds but in half a bell made it through without seeing anyone.

  The night was cool but the quick pace kept them warm. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of a nearby tree and the scent of flowers wafted up from an unseen garden. It should have been a pleasant evening, thought Ben.

  At the border to the next estate, they found a wall similar to Reinhold’s, head high and easy to scale. Five more walls, five more hurried trots across open lawns. They squatted down to catch their breath.

  In a soft whisper, Ben remarked, “I don’t know if we’re getting lucky or if they just don’t have guards, but this is easier than I expected. I thought we’d have to be watching and hiding as we moved.”

  Mathias grunted. “Don’t get cocky now. Just because these were easy doesn’t mean the next one will be. I’ve been thinking, though. It’s taking us nearly half a bell to cross each property. Unless they keep an entire army to do patrols, they can’t have enough men to watch all of the walls. They must keep the guards close in at night. As long as the buildings are guarded, there’s nothing out here anyone would be interested in sneaking to.”

  “It’s not the lord’s guards we need to worry about,” muttered Amelie.

  “Do you think the Sanctuary would have people out here on the estates?” Ben worried.

  “I’m not sure,” she replied. “That’s what scares me. We know they have resources, but how quickly can they deploy them? How long before they realize we’re not moving on any major roadways?”

  Ben frowned. It wasn’t such a pleasant night any longer.

  “They are either out here or they are not,” declared Mathias. “If they’ve already locked down cross-country routes, then we’re cooked no matter what we do. The one thing we can affect now is time. The quicker we go, the further they will have to expand the net, and the better our chances.”

  Ben stood and settled his makeshift pack. “Shall we?”

  The next two estates passed smoothly like the ones before them. The manicured lawns were just as easy to travel across as a well-paved road. The high moon provided plenty of light. It gave Ben a little concern that they would be visible to anyone really looking, but so far, the only sign of life was in well-lit buildings they easily avoided.

  The next wall proved to be a bigger challenge. It stood nearly twice the height as the others and the top was studded with sharp glass shards.

  “This fellow is a bit more worried about security I guess,” grumbled Mathias.

  Luckily, despite the increased height, the wall was roughly mortared field stones and had plenty of finger and toe holds. Ben griped a stone and pulled himself up. At the top, he swung his cloak off and folded it before draping it across the glass shards. They were worn from exposure to the weather, but still felt uncomfortably sharp. He pressed a hand down on the cloak to test then called to his companions, “Mathias, I wouldn’t recommend straddling the wall and sitting down, but this should hold for us to swing over quickly.”

  The barkeep snorted derisively in the darkness below.

  Ben hung a leg over, found footing, and moved to the other side. Amelie came up next. Ben stayed near the top to help her get across. Mathias brought up the rear and the three of them descended into the grounds of the new estate.

  “Not bad,” whispered Mathias as they all scanned ahead. It looked just like the other properties they’d traversed. Open lawns, stands of trees, and a small wooden structure in the distance that appeared unoccupied.

  “Whoever lives here,” Ben responded, “they may be worried more about security, but like you say, no one can afford to pay enough guards to patrol all of this. Let’s move.”

  At a quick jog, they made good time with only a little delay when they came across a small stream. In the darkness, Amelie almost ran straight into it. Ben caught her arm at the last second before she plunged in.

  She gave him a thankful look and they moved upstream until they found a short bridge to cross and stay dry.

  “Two or three more of these estates and we should start looking for a good place to hole up and rest.” Mathias panted.

  “I’m with you on that,” replied Ben.

  Amelie only nodded in agreement. It was an easy pace for Ben, but he was used to training with Saala for several bells at a time. Amelie and Mathias weren’t adjusted to this much physical activity.

  Ben was considering running ahead to scout their path when he thought he heard something.

  “Hold on,” he said, gesturing for everyone to stop.

  Over the heavy breathing of his companions, he strained to hear what it was.

  “A guard? Should we run?” Amelie gasped.

  “I don’t think it was a guard,” he answered.

  Then they all heard it—the sharp bark of a dog followed quickly by more. It was a pack of them, and it sounded like they were on the trail of something.

  “Oh damn,” groaned Ben. “We run.”

  If this estate was the same size as the others, they were only halfway across, a quarter bell at the pace they had been maintaining. The dogs would be on them before that. They started at a flat run but slowed when they realized they couldn’t keep tha
t up for long.

  The barking drew closer and Ben got nervous. He and Mathias were both armed with swords, so even against a large pack, they might be able to defend themselves, but the dogs would bring guards. Even if they were able to fight off the guards, just being seen could ruin their chances of escape. A word in the wrong ear and the Sanctuary would suspect it was them. They would blanket the area with troops, hunters, or even mages.

  He glanced over his shoulder but couldn’t see anything yet. He couldn’t see the wall in front of them either.

  “Come on,” he urged, pulling ahead of the others. “We can’t get caught.”

  A look of determination painted Amelie’s face and she increased her speed. Mathias grimaced and kept up as well. Ben could tell it was taking a lot out of both of them.

  Before they saw the exterior wall, he spotted the first of the hounds behind them. It crested a hill almost a thousand strides back. It was coming fast. Ben estimated it was moving at least twice as quickly as they were.

  The hound accelerated when it caught sight of them.

  They poured on more speed and were back at nearly a full run. Packs and weapons bounced uncomfortably as they ran.

  The calls of the dogs rose and Ben knew the rest of the pack had seen them. He looked back again and saw the hounds were a large breed of short-haired hunting dog. It was difficult to be sure at the distance, but they might be half his weight and there were close to a dozen of them. If it came to it, the fight could go either way.

  Suddenly, Amelie shouted, “There! The wall.”

  Five hundred strides back, the hounds were closing quickly.

  Ben reached behind his back and pushed his pack to the side to free the hilt of his sword. They might make it. If they didn’t, he would have to be ready. He could fall back and protect the rear while Amelie climbed.

  Another look at the dogs and his heart sank. At the far hill, where he first saw them, he could now see pinpoints of light from lanterns or torches. The guards heard the dogs and were coming to investigate.

  “Move, move, move!” he extolled Amelie and Mathias.

  The wall was just one hundred strides away, but the dogs had pulled within two hundred strides. They were howling with excitement.

  At a full run, Ben’s companions made it to the wall. He swept his sword out and spun to face the approaching pack. One hundred strides back, they seemed to be flying toward him. Amelie and Mathias both hit the wall and started to climb. Amelie glanced back and yelled at Ben, “Don’t be stupid. Climb!”

  Ben grunted and turned to the wall. The dogs were within fifty strides now. He tossed his sword over the stone barrier then jumped to cling to the rough rock.

  Before he was halfway up, the first dog reached him and hurled itself into the air. Ben was able to swing his legs to the side and the poor creature smashed face first into the rock. It fell to the ground whimpering. The rest of the pack was just behind it.

  Mathias and Amelie were above him and had reached the top. They were struggling to hold a cloak over the glass shards before they climbed over.

  Ben gained another two footholds before he felt a hard tug on his pants leg that jerked his foot loose. He nearly went crashing down into the snarling pack, but was able to kick his leg free and haul himself up another arms-length.

  It wasn’t high enough. He felt a set of jaws clamp down on his tough leather boot before slowly sliding off when they couldn’t keep a grip.

  Mathias and Amelie swung over the wall and were hanging on the other side, ready to help Ben across.

  “Hurry Ben,” growled Mathias. “Lights are coming fast. They must know the dogs have something.”

  Finally, Ben reached the top of the wall, but his legs were still hanging halfway down and he felt his pant leg get caught again. In a flash of desperation, he surged upward, swung an arm over the top of the wall, and immediately regretted it. The glass shards dug into his forearm and sliced his skin as he continued the motion, hauling himself up and over. Another scrape cut into his side when he dragged his body across. He ignored the pain and scrambled over. Sharp glass was better than snarling teeth.

  On the other side, he dangled briefly before losing his grip and crashing down to the ground. He felt his ankle turn when he landed and he fell heavily on his side.

  Mathias and Amelie dropped down next to him. Mathias collected Ben’s sword and Amelie bent to help him up.

  “Can you move?” demanded Mathias. “Those guards will be at the wall in less than two minutes. They know someone was here. If they spot us…”

  Ben groaned and rose unsteadily to his feet. His eyes teared up when he put weight on his ankle, but it wasn’t broken, he could move on it. His arm and side were steadily leaking blood. There was no time to properly care for it. Amelie quickly pulled out a spare shirt and wrapped it around the bleeding arm.

  “We can’t leave a blood trail,” she murmured.

  “Hurry!” implored Mathias. “The first thing they’ll do is look over that wall and the second thing is alert whoever owns this estate. We have to get going, now!”

  Ben lurched forward and began a shuffling run across the grass. He clutched his wounded arm to his cut-up side to put pressure on both. A sharp jolt of pain ran up his leg every time he put down his twisted ankle, but Mathias was right—stopping now and getting caught meant being turned over to the Sanctuary and certain death.

  The night descended into a blur of pain and exhaustion. There was no thought of stopping or resting now. The guards they avoided may raise the alarm at all of the neighboring estates and everyone would turn out their barracks. Getting distance between them and where the disruption took place was their only hope.

  Each time they climbed another wall and dropped down, they were worried there might be another pack of dogs or worse waiting for them, but there was no other option. Moving forward was risky, but staying was inevitable capture. Bells later, Ben had lost track of time and was stunned when he saw the sun’s predawn glow lighten the sky. He paused, panting.

  Mathias and Amelie both came to an exhausted halt, looking around wildly.

  “We have to stop.” Ben wheezed. “If they’re searching for us or not, we can’t move through here in daylight.”

  “Behind us,” said Amelie, gasping for air. “There was a stand of trees behind us.”

  Mathias scanned the grounds around them. Much like the other estates, it was open grass lawn, areas of gardens, and small wooden structures. In full daylight, if there was a search, none of it offered anything close to sufficient cover.

  “The trees it is,” he rumbled.

  The three of them ran back then pushed their way into the thick stand of short trees. They wiggled into the tight undergrowth. Too tired to eat or think about the trail they were leaving behind them, they huddled close and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

  ***

  A sharp branch digging into his side edged Ben into wakefulness. He rolled over. The herbal scent of the undergrowth surrounded him. Underneath his body, a carpet of fallen leaves was as comfortable as a fine feather bed. For a pleasant moment, he drifted, half-awake. Quickly though, the dull pain in his arm and side dragged him awake.

  In the quiet, he surveyed his surroundings. It was afternoon. He lay beneath a close canopy of ferns and low bushes. Mathias and Amelie lay near him. Both were still resting. A now ragged and blood-soaked shirt was wrapped around his arm where the glass from the wall had cut him. He could feel his shirt stuck to his side near a shallow cut on his rib cage. All in all, it could have been worse. They were alive.

  His stomach growled. Ben realized he hadn’t eaten since the middle of the previous night, before they encountered the dogs and had to run. His pack was within reach and he dug out a crust of bread and hard wedge of cheese. He sloshed a drink from a half-empty water skin and thought they would need to find fresh water today. It was likely the least of their problems.

  His gnawing hunger sated, he sat up. Brushing vegetation aside, he w
iggled to a clearer area in the thicket. With a pained grimace, he unwrapped the ruined shirt from his arm, yanking it free from where dried blood glued it to his skin.

  He had several cuts along his forearm including two deep ones that oozed blood with the release of pressure from the shirt. A thorough washing and a few stitches of thread and he would be okay. If he was going to bleed out from the cuts, it would have already happened the night before.

  Checking these injuries earlier probably would have been prudent. He rewrapped it as best he could and decided to wait for help before he tried to stitch the gashes with one hand.

  He bent his ankle to test it and winced at a spike of pain. A light sprain. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but he thought he could walk on it. He searched through his pack for an extra pair of britches and used his hunting knife to cut strips to bind the ankle. The extra support would be worth having only one change of clothes left.

  Before long, Amelie and Mathias woke and they all crawled into the small open space Ben found in the middle of the thicket.

  Silently, using only gestures, they also ate. Amelie tended to Ben’s arm. Despite him trying to wave her off, she used a third of their water to wash it then pulled some thread from his shirt and a needle from her pack. He cringed and tried not to jerk his arm away when she threaded six quick loops into his skin. Her apologetic look said she knew it was messy, but on the run and with nowhere to turn to, they didn’t have a better option.

  She ran a hand over his arm and he felt a slight tingle. A look of concentration grew on her face and she stared down at the cuts. A warm sensation spread across his skin. He clamped a hand down on hers. Magic. She was trying to use magic to heal him.

  He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “It hurts, but I’ll survive. I can walk with this. I can run if we have to. Don’t waste your energy. You’ll need it tonight.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tight. He could feel tremors in her body but her arms felt strong. She was scared and determined.