Despite her excitement, Lia’s expression was completely serious. “I understand. I’ll focus extra hard on my watch today.”
“Thank you,” I answered, patting her on the shoulder. “Now, I’m going to get some sleep. If you see anything out of the ordinary, wake me up, okay?”
She nodded, though her furrowed brow told me another question was coming. “How can you sleep like this? It’s light out, the wagon is bumping all over the place, and I know that we aren’t the quietest group; I had to keep reminding Marin to keep her voice down all morning yesterday.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said with a laugh. “Sleeping is a skill, and just like any other skill, you can get better at it with practice. I won’t wake up unless I want to.”
She narrowed her eyes at the explanation. “You’ll have to teach me how to do that when this is all over.”
“Sure, add it to the list.” I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against hers. “I love you. Be safe today.”
“I love you,” she replied, kissing me on the cheek. “Get some sleep.” I knelt down onto my bedroll as she left the wagon, and I soon heard another, softer squeal of excitement as she saw the horse again. I lay down with a smile on my face and quickly fell asleep.
---
The following week of travel passed in a blur. After three days of continuous snowfall, the skies finally cleared, and the world warmed to a more comfortable cool temperature. I continued to keep watch at night and sleep through our morning travels while Lia took over the duty. My nightly rides were interrupted twice by the appearance of more scouts. After my experience with the first group of outriders, I refrained from killing them all simultaneously, choosing instead to only target the first man in the group; in both encounters, the remaining scouts immediately turned to flee and didn’t return for the rest of the night.
On the day we were to reach the outskirts of Atsal, Lia woke me while the sun was still low in the morning sky. “There are riders coming,” she said in a low whisper. “Four of them, from in front of us this time.”
I bolted upright and confirmed the information with my own quick pulse of Detection. The scouts were only a few miles away and were riding at a full gallop in our direction. “Marin, we need to stop,” I shouted, sliding over my small barrier of crates into the main body of the wagon. “We’ve got trouble headed our way.”
Marten stood in alarm, but he was immediately thrown back into his seat when the wagon stopped short. “What do we need to do?”
“Nothing, hopefully,” I answered as I made my way to the back flaps. “I’m going to ride out to meet them. Lia, stay here and keep an eye on the road to the south; I don’t want to get caught in a pincer.”
She nodded. “Try to get some information out of them before you’re done.”
Her tactical analysis of the situation was the same as mine, and it brought a grin to my face. “That’s the plan.” I hopped down from the wagon and untied the reins of my horse from his hitch, then climbed into the saddle and turned him northward. “Alright. Let’s find out what we’re dealing with.” I put my heels into the courser’s side and took off down the road.
Another quirk of my Detection magic revealed itself as I rode. My mental map flickered in and out like a sputtering lamp whenever my horse’s hooves all left the ground at once, disconnecting me from the mana I had extended along the ground. When a hoof impacted the ground again, the image would jump ahead with updated information, only to disappear again a moment later. It created a strange slideshow effect in my head, and I closed my eyes to attempt to fight off the headache I felt coming.
I slowed my pace before the scouts came into direct view. With my hood drawn, I traveled forward at a more casual speed in an effort to arouse as little suspicion as possible. The strategy proved to be of little use when the first rider spotted me and immediately called a halt to his party, stopping a few dozen yards away. “You there! Pull back your hood and stop, by order of the King!”
My horse continued to trod forward slowly, and I hunched down to shield my face behind the courser’s neck. This apparently angered the guard, as he drew an arrow from the quiver on his back and nocked it in a bow aimed directly at me. “I won’t ask again! Stop immediately and reveal yourself, or—”
I leaned back and pulled down my hood in a single, swift motion, then waved to the scouts. “Hello, gentlemen! How can I help you today?” I held up both of my hands to show that they were empty, though I knew they wouldn’t be for long.
The realization came over the lead guard’s face far too late. “Get back to the wall!” he shouted as he loosed the arrow from his bow. “He’s coming!” I stayed perfectly still on my horse and watched the arrow fly wide of my head. “Damnit, Joss, go! We’ll hold him here!” The man at the rear of the group yanked hard on the reins of his horse and wheeled in a wild circle, desperately attempting to flee while his comrades pushed forward to cover his escape.
His horse made it three steps away before its legs tensed and locked in place,
