And halted, the summoned power still dancing through his veins like needles.
Not danger. He knew those faces.
All three of Hamish’s nephews peeked out from the bushes, their ruddy hair a beacon amongst the dark green foliage. They stood close enough that Darshan could clearly make out their identically smug expressions.
“We also ken that you’re the one our uncle would most want to win,” Ethan said.
“Is that so?”
The trio stepped out of their cover. All three were garbed in drab shades of green and brown. “We want to help,” Ethan added with his brothers nodding along. “We’ve been running through this forest since we could walk, we ken these hills.”
Darshan considered how easily the three of them had left behind not only Hamish and himself, but also their older uncle. Having three young pairs of eyes on the lookout as well as guiding him could only make the trial easier. “Does anyone know your whereabouts?”
“Mum thinks we’re waiting at the finishing line with our uncles,” Mac supplied.
“And Uncle Hamish said he would make sure everyone else thought we were with our mum,” Bruce finished. He handed over a wooden case that looked suspiciously like the one holding his glasses. “He also said you needed these.”
“I see.” Flipping the case lid open, he found his glasses still neatly tucked into the velvet lining. Hamish had told the boys of their deception? And he had also sent them?
Darshan put on his glasses. The world once again had depth and definition.
He crouched next to the trio, peering over his shoulder as if he could spot anything untoward within the patches of green and grey. “So, what is your plan?” The gods knew his idea of scuttling through the undergrowth and hoping wasn’t much of one. It was definitely improved now he could see, but not by much.
“It’s simple,” Bruce said. “Ethan’ll guide you.”
Over the boy’s shoulder, his brother beamed.
Darshan couldn’t help but be a little sceptical in the face of their confidence. “He knows where the traps are?” He had come across one, warned back by a ghostly whisper and a flash of men straining the strength of a tree’s branches.
Ethan shook his head. “Nae that. Even the lobbers wouldnae ken their stations until they were given them this morning. But I ken the best routes to avoid any tricky spots. As for the rest…” He jerked a thumb at his brothers. “They’ll scout ahead and warn us. Maybe even play diversion.”
“What are the chances of you three getting caught?” As much as he appreciated the children’s attempts to help, getting them into trouble would have quite the opposite effect.
“Slim to none,” Bruce replied, shrugging. The boy’s brothers seemed somewhat less confident of his opinion, but not enough to voice any doubts.
Truthfully, Darshan would’ve preferred a complete absence of risk. It was utterly ridiculous to place his chances at the hands of these three children, but the likelihood of him making it through the forest alone was far lower than the boy’s estimation. “No time like the present,” he mumbled, squaring his shoulders. “Did any of you happen to note any obstacles on the way?”
As one, the boys raised the hoods on their cloaks.
“Most of the dye-lobbers are further in,” Bruce said. “We’ll nae come across them for a stretch.”
Dye? Was that what they were throwing? Something like the powdery balls of cloth the boys had attached to their arrows whilst they practised hunting with their kin? “Then, by all means, lead the way.” With a low sweep of his hand, he indicated the breadth of forest stretching before them. A wisp of relief puffed out his nose as the trio started off in that very direction. At least he hadn’t done something as crude as gotten himself turned around.
They crept through the undergrowth and hustled across open patches as swiftly as could be done once the path was deemed clear, always keeping as low as possible. Whilst the boys were certainly taller than the average child back home, encroaching on his own height when it came to the eldest of the trio, their stature was just that little bit lower to let them scurry along whilst stooped.
Darshan’s back strongly objected to the stance. His healing magic thrummed through his lumbar region, having to soothe the area even as he subjected it to more abuse. It tugged at his already frazzled concentration.
At last, Bruce halted them at the base of a large tree where the trunk was surrounded by a loose cluster of budding bushes. He beckoned Mac forward, whispering to his youngest brother and pointing into the leaves and branches beyond whilst Mac shook his head and argued back with similar results.
Once they both seemed to be of the same mind, Bruce turned back to Darshan and his other brother. “There’s a wee formation of lobbers set up in the trees just beyond.” He jerked a thumb in the direction Mac still watched, but Darshan couldn’t pick out anything different from the treetops. “We’re going to get their attention on the eastern side. Take him west, keep him low. There’s a ditch nearby. Be careful they’ve nae got someone stationed there. We’ll meet up on the other side.”
Ethan gave his brother a curt nod.
They waited for a short while as the two boys slipped out of the undergrowth and darted off into what Darshan assumed was an easterly direction. He tried to track them, but they vanished swiftly.
“Stay close,” Ethan whispered, motioning Darshan onwards as he lifted a branch for them to crouch under. “They’ll nae stay distracted for long.”
Over the hushed crunch and rustle of their footsteps, came the faint exclamation of the nearby men. The sound was followed swiftly by a dull, and rather wet, thwack. Did that mean the other two were doing as planned, or was that one of the competitors?
Darshan risked a peek the way they had come. Nothing but green. And a buzz that carried on like the drone of
