“It’s all quiet,” Donnan reassured her. “We’re safe.”
Kaetha caught Mairi’s eye and she thought she saw the same uncertainty in her that she felt herself. As the woods began to thin, a great holly tree spread before them, the path splitting before it.
“The left will lead us toward Hawkwing and then on to Gledrae Forest,” said Kaetha.
“And the right takes us to Calamor. To safety,” said Mairi.
They paused by the holly tree beneath the rustling branches.
“So,” said Donnan. “I suppose we must decide now then.”
“I would have you both be safe,” said Kaetha.
“But you go to Ciadrath,” said Mairi. “You won’t change your mind.”
Kaetha shook her head.
“Then I go to Ciadrath too.”
“Great!” said Donnan. “I’ll see you both in a year or two maybe. I’m off to live with Mairi’s cousin.” He set off down the path to the right. “And I’m taking all the oats,” he called, raising his hand in a nonchalant wave without turning to face them.
Kaetha flew after him, her mouth twisting to suppress a smile. Grabbing handfuls of his cloak, she dragged him towards a bed of stinging nettles, spiky leaves reaching as high as she was tall and sticking out into the path.
“Are you sure about that choice?” said Kaetha. “Parting is always such a sting.”
Donnan laughed. “Alright, alright! I’ll go with you, seeing as you’re clearly so desperate for my company.”
Kaetha let go of him. “Well, we may need someone to cook.”
“Shh— you two.” Mairi came running up to them. “I heard a horse. Someone’s coming. We should hide.”
“Where?” asked Donnan.
“They don’t look so bad now do they?” said Kaetha, indicating the mass of nettles.
“You’re joking.” Donnan stared at her incredulously.
“We don’t have time to joke.” She took Donnan’s arm, plunging into the nettles with Mairi following after them.
She crouched, peering through her fingers as she held up her hands to protect her face, unable to see the path beyond the leaves. At least that meant it was unlikely that they could be seen. She just hoped that the nettles didn’t look too trampled. She could bear the itching of her hands and wrists but when she felt the prickling on the soft skin beneath her jaw, she had to clench her teeth and keep telling herself not to scratch, not to move. She could hear the hoofsteps approaching and kept still, taking slow, shallow breaths. Looking down, she saw a mouse, poised as if ready to scurry away, as motionless as she was except for the twitching of its nose as it sniffed the air.
“Because he’s already left, that’s why,” came a man’s voice.
“But the gold is still on offer, isn’t it?” said another man. “If we find her—”
“And manage to catch up with Macomrag’s son.”
A hand gripped Kaetha’s and, only moving her eyes, she looked up at Mairi.
“Well, go back to your feasting and your women, I don’t care. My purse is hungry for gold. And I’d go a long way to fill it.”
NINETEEN
Watcher in the Shadows
A cold shiver crept over Kaetha’s skin, despite the hot prickling of the nettles. Her hand found the hilt of her knife. One of the horsemen had stopped just in front of them; a hoof smacked into the ground only a few feet away.
“She’ll want to get as far away as possible. I’ll bet she’ll try to buy passage on a ship in Calamor. If that’s her plan, I’ll make sure she never sets sail.”
Their conversation faded as they continued westward.
Eventually, Kaetha leapt out of the nettles, followed by Mairi and Donnan.
“Thank the heavens they went the other way,” said Mairi.
“But they might not be the only ones looking for me. We have to be all eyes and ears. Here,” said Kaetha, reaching for a cluster of large, broad leaves. “Dock leaves.” They gathered plenty, using some then and there to ease the painful itching from the nettles and keeping some in their bags for later.
Finding a stream, they drank, refilled their waterskins and cooled their stinging skin. When woodland ascended to open moorland, Kaetha looked up to see an eagle circling above them, waiting for a sight of prey. Under the vast bright sky, upon the swathes of rolling land, Kaetha suddenly felt very small and exposed but at least there was no one else in sight.
Sun, rain and wind took turns in accompanying them as they trudged up rising land, down falling slopes, glad of any deer trails they could find cutting through the woody shrubs. They put a good distance between themselves and their home that day but, as their strength and the daylight waned, they found a rocky outcrop that would provide a degree of shelter for the night.
Mairi rested while Kaetha and Donnan had a thorough look through the bags Elspet had brought. As well as waterskins, oats and bread, there was a small cooking pot and three wooden bowls; some carrots and turnips; a round of cheese; an small earthenware jar with a stopper in it containing salt; a bag containing a pot of salve and bundles of herbs which, Kaetha was sure, Cailean would had selected for their medicinal properties. There were also blankets, rope and string.
While Donnan dabbed salve onto Kaetha’s cheekbone, she looked across the hills. Threads of smoke rose through the air. “That’ll be Hawkwing,” she said. “Pa and I passed that village last year on our way to Braddon. We could go there tomorrow and see if we can buy horses.”
Donnan started pulling up clumps of scratchy heather, its flowers long withered. “We’re going to want a fire out in this cold.”
“Aye,” said Mairi, “if we want to say to everyone looking for
