the road before you get to Bearn, meet us there.”
“The Flying Swan,” she says. “We’ll be there, could take us two days, though.”
“Understood,” he says. Looking back, he sees Uther and Jorry now with the caravan, their faces hanging low with sullen expressions. Shorty and Stig are now behind him, happy to be doing other things than riding along with a dull caravan.
“Let’s go,” he tells his men. Nudging the sides of his horse, he gets him moving quickly down the road to Bearn. A short distance later the road forks and they follow the one that continues along the Kelewan River toward Bearn.
They continue riding hard the rest of the day and when it gets close to sundown, they see a small town ahead on the road. It’s just one of the many clusters of buildings they’ve passed through, usually consisting of not much more than an inn or a store for the occasional traveler.
This one boasts of not only an inn, but a horse trader. A corral with a dozen horses sits near a large building with a sign of a large bird in flight. “We’ll stop here for a bite to eat and rest the horses,” Illan announces.
Miko understands the necessity of stopping, but he’s anxious to find James. “Don’t worry lad,” Illan tells him when he sees the worried look on his face. “I don’t plan to be here long.”
“I hope not,” Miko replies.
Inside they find a dining room and take a long table, large enough to accommodate them all. After they order and are waiting for their food, Miko is gazing out the window at the horses in the corral and suddenly cries out, “That’s Jiron’s horse!”
“What?” exclaims Illan. “Where?”
Pointing out the window, he says, “Out there in the corral.”
“You sure?” he asks.
“Absolutely,” he states with conviction.
To Shorty he says, “You stay here and wait for the food.” Standing up, he adds, “The rest of you come with me.”
On the way out, he asks the serving girl who he could see about the horses in the corral outside. She tells him her father, Terrol, should be out there in the adjacent stable. He thanks her and they all leave the inn and head over to the stable.
They find a man currying a horse in the first stall. He looks up when they approach and asks, “Can I help you?”
“Are you Terrol, the horse trader?” asks Illan.
Nodding his head, he says, “Yes, as well as the innkeeper.”
“We’d like to know where you got that horse?” he asks, pointing to where Jiron’s stands in the corral outside.
“Why?” he asks, realizing something’s not quite right.
“It belonged to a friend of ours and I was wondering how you came to be in possession of it?” he asks.
“Not more than an hour ago,” he explains, “these men came riding up and wanted to exchange their horses for three of mine. I could tell they’d been riding hard from the haggard look of their mounts. We haggled a moment and they gave me a good price for mine, then they were off. Why?”
“Did one look sick?” asks Miko.
“As a matter of fact,” he replies, “one didn’t look all that good. The other two had to help him off his horse and onto the other. Is there some kind of problem?”
Illan pauses a moment and then says, “No, just curious is all.”
With relief evident upon his face, Terrol says, “That’s good.”
Illan turns around and they head back to the inn. Once seated back around the table, he says, “They have fresh horses, we’ll never catch them now.”
“Why don’t we get fresh ones too?” asks Miko.
“Don’t have enough money,” explains Illan. “Plus, he doesn’t have enough fresh ones for all of us, at least none I would want.”
“So what are we to do?” he asks.
“Follow as best we can,” he says. “We should only be a few hours behind them by the time we get there.” When the food finally comes, he says, “Eat fast, I want to be on the road in ten minutes. We’re riding straight through with only brief stops.”
The meal of roast fowl and tubers is filling and they’re soon back on the road. Night finds them still hours away from Bearn. They ask the occasional traveler heading north about the riders ahead. Some remember seeing them, while others do not. From what the ones who’ve seen them say, they’re steadily falling behind. Where they’ve had to have more frequent rest breaks for their tired horses the others can continue on with their fresh ones.
When the lights of Bearn begin to appear in the distance, they all breathe a sigh of relief. Tired, though not nearly as bad as their horses, they find an inn outside the walls.
“I thought we were going to be staying at the Flying Swan?” asks Miko.
Illan glances at him as he dismounts from his horse, “I’ve been thinking the last hour that if we’re still here by tomorrow night, we’ve got serious problems. We need to get James and leave town fast.”
Miko looks at the inn and it brings to mind another inn that James had adamantly refused to stay at because it was filthy. There’re few windows and the one fellow who comes stumbling out from the front door stank to high heaven.
“You sure about this place?” he asks Illan.
“I’m not planning on sleeping here, if that’s what’s worrying you,” he says to him. Lowering his voice, he continues as the others move closer to hear, “I just want a place where the horses can rest and be outside the gates. When we get James, there’s a possibility we’ll have the guards after us and I don’t want the horses inside the walls if they should shut the gates.”
Shorty nods his head and says, “Good idea.”
“Now, you all just wait here and I’ll be back in a moment,” he tells them before walking to the door.
They stand there by the horses as he enters through the front door. “Think we’ll get him out?” Fifer asks.
“If we have surprise on our side, then it’s a good possibility,” Scar says. Then to Miko he asks, “You’ll be able to find the entrance to Lord Colerain’s estate?”
“I think so,” he says. “I remember exactly where we entered the sewers the last time. If we start there, I should have no problem.”
“Good,” grunts Scar.
Just then, the front door opens and Illan comes out. “Let’s take the horses around back to the stables,” he announces. “I arranged for two days, which should give us ample time to get James.”
Taking the horses to the stables, Miko is surprised to find they’re in better condition than the inn. Suppose the horses are more important than the guests themselves.
Finding stalls for each, Illan then tips the stableboy a silver to give them extra care and some feed. The boy begins filling feed pouches with grain as they leave the stable. Illan sees an unused lantern hanging on a peg and asks the boy if he can borrow it.
“My master would be most displeased if he were to find it missing,” he replies.
Reaching into his pouch, he pulls out two silvers and hands them to the boy. “If we don’t return, buy a new one,” he says.
Snatching the coins, the boy nods his head and resumes feeding the horses.
Illan checks the lantern and finds it has a wick and can hear oil in the base when he shakes it. Turning back to the others, he looks to Miko and says, “Lead on.”
Miko nods his head and moves out of the stables and toward the street the inn borders on.
Once out of the inn’s courtyard, Miko takes the lead as he passes through the familiar streets. They don’t seem quite as imposing as they once did, back before James came along. Smiling, he wonders what that gang would do now if they found him. Would they even recognize him?
At the gate, they’re questioned briefly by the guards before being allowed to pass through. Miko sees the spot where he first met James that day he arrived. What stroke of fortune had made James pick him out of all those boys who were clamoring for his attention? Despite all that’s happened to him, he’s glad that he did.
