They turned east. At first flickering in and out of sight before them, the road showed more clearly as both fog and noise dwindled behind them. Eventually there was only a murmur of water, like strong wind in distant trees. By this time dusk had fallen.
Xulai tugged at Precious Wind’s sleeve. “I have this feeling,” she said. “It would be a good idea for us to camp somewhere where we won’t be seen tonight.”
“A feeling?” said Precious Wind.
“Like . . . the feeling I had about the horses.”
Precious Wind called a halt to the caravan and went to explain to Bear that Xulai had a feeling.
“I’d take it seriously,” she said, seeing his scowl.
“I’m getting a feeling also,” he said. “I’m getting a feeling that I’m not sure who we’re taking where. You knew Xu-i-lok?”
“I did, yes.”
“Do you get the feeling that the princess may be directing operations here?”
“You mean . . . ?”
“Who knows what I mean? If she’s actually carrying Xu-i-lok’s soul, does that mean she’s carrying the princess’s personality, her opinions? Her special kind of knowledge?”
Precious Wind looked at her feet while she composed her face. “Bear, I don’t know, but I do know she gets these premonitions. About horses. About wagon wheels. About this and that. She’s been right each time, so far.”
“So far. Very well, we’ll take ourselves away from the road.”
At Bear’s direction, they crossed one of the numerous little streams flowing down from the heights to their left, then turned parallel to it and left the road, not stopping until they were deep among the trees that edged the valley. Bear and Black Mike went back to the road.
“We’ve raked up the grass to hide our tracks,” said Bear when he returned. “Here, we’re close to water. There are trees and a hollow to hide the campfire. We are unlikely to be seen or bothered by nighttime travelers.”
“We keep watch?” Bartelmy asked.
“We always keep watch, until we reach Wilderbrook,” said Bear with a long look at Xulai.
In the night, Xulai dreamed of the monstrous roar of the falls and woke to its earthshaking thunder pounding at her. Fully awake, she realized it was not water she heard! A great many horses in a frantic hurry. She sat up, feeling someone near.
“Shh,” said Abasio. “Quiet. Not that they could hear you over that stampede.”
From the forest edge they peered at the roadway, gleaming silver in the light of the moon and thick with riders. The horsemen were riding from the east, toward the falls, many of them carrying torches that streamed fire and reflected from helms and gauntlets, spear shafts and armor.
“Soldiers,” whispered Xulai. “Why? Where are they going?”
“From here the road goes to Altamont,” said Bear from behind her. “Also to Wellsport and the Lake of the Clouds. Even to Ghost Isle and Kamfels.”
“And Woldsgard,” Xulai said to herself.
“How many?” asked Willum Farrier from the darkness.
“Hundreds,” Bear answered.
“King’s men?” asked Clive.
“Possibly,” said Precious Wind.
“I think they’re from the abbey,” said Bear. “It’s hard to see the banners in torchlight, but I think I recognize them from the ones we saw at Netherfields. They had the device and colors there. The duke told us the abbey’s old and rich and it maintains a considerable force of its own.”
“My poor cousin,” said Xulai in a wounded voice. “My cousin, the duke.”
“Shhh, shhh,” said Oldwife. “Why should you worry over him? That’s pure silliness.”
Xulai started to speak, then caught the words before they came from her mouth. If the riders were from the abbey, they were probably headed for Netherfields, but not necessarily to build. Possibly to protect! If, on the other hand, they were from the king, they might well intend to attack Woldsgard. But! But, Woldsgard was probably already protected by an army sent by Prince Orez. The thought fell into her mind like a key into a lock.
“The troops of Prince Orez are already at Woldsgard,” she murmured. “They were on the way there before we ever left. My cousin felt he could use the help.”
They all looked at her as though she had turned into something strange. “Hallad, Prince Orez?” asked Bear. “Would that have been who was spying out the road near Altamont? I saw tracks when we crossed the road. A couple of riders came from the west, checked out the roads both ways, and then went back the way they had come.”
“Because we weren’t where we were supposed to be,” said Bartelmy. “According to the plan the duke and I made, we should have turned east by then and gone some miles down the eastern road. So they watched through the night, maybe until we headed east, and then, if Xulai is right, the troops from Etershore were at Woldsgard by the time we got to Eastwatch Tower, below the falls.”
“Why weren’t we supposed to see them?” asked Oldwife.
“What we didn’t see, we wouldn’t talk about,” said Precious Wind. “Is that the reason, Xulai?”
She nodded sorrowfully. “I’m sure we’re not supposed to know about it, and I made a mistake when I mentioned it. Prince Orez’s commander probably sent outriders to be sure we’d gone on by and there was no one else on the road. The outriders reported we’d be delayed because the bridge was blocked, so the army waited until the crossroad was clear. I hope they waited until the duchess was out of the way, as well.”
“I rather imagine,” said Precious Wind, “that they went by quietly, at a walk and well spaced out, shortly after we had camped, probably during or after that wolf-thunder nonsense with the horses, as well. We were far enough away that we wouldn’t have heard them, and getting there at night would have made the most sense. Few travelers ride at night, and at a quiet walk they could have gone far enough north to camp without being seen from
