here.'
'What? What do you mean?'
The forester grimaced. 'This is the first place Raedel's men will look, Aeron. You've got to get away from here.'
Aeron's head reeled. 'You mean run away?'
Kestrel nodded soberly. 'Aeron, I've tried to do right by your father. Before he died, he asked me to look after you, to raise you like you were my own boy. Lord Raedel sent him to the gallows twelve years ago. I'll be damned if I see you hanged, too.'
'I don't want to hang, Kestrel.'
'I know the way the castle lads treat you, Aeron, and I know you. Whatever happened, you did what you had to do, and it's wrong to die for that. But now you'd best get moving. I figure we've got a quarter of an hour, maybe a little more, before the constable rides up here to arrest you.' Kestrel rocked back on his heels, surged to his feet, and raised Aeron by the arm. He looked over at Eriale. 'Fix up a sack of food, a waterskin, and a bedroll of some kind. And get a knife, too. He'll need a new one.'
'Right.' Eriale nodded and ducked into the house.
'And get a second sack ready!'
'You're coming with me?' Aeron asked.
Kestrel shook his head. 'If I do that, they'll think I put you up to it. That'll smell like a revolt to Raedel; he remembers who your father was. No, I'm going to send Eriale with you so she can tell me where you're hiding. I can always tell the count she's gone off to visit her mother's kinfolk in Saden.'
'What are you going to do?'
Kestrel sighed heavily and looked toward the stone towers of Raedel Keep, across the river. 'I'm going to go down to the castle and try to set this straight. If it turns out right, I can always tell them you panicked and ran off when I left you. If I can't smooth things over … well, you'll be glad you're not here.'
Three hours later, the long afternoon was coming to an end. The sky had taken on the color of beaten copper, with red streaks marking a storm front pushing in from the south. Aeron and Eriale rested by an old trapper's lean-to, about six miles southwest of Maerchlin. They hadn't spoken much during the march. Aeron couldn't bring himself to talk about what had happened, and Eriale's gibes and barbs fell flat when he was so preoccupied.
'It'll be dark soon,' Eriale said, standing to gaze up at the sky. The lodge stood by a long field that stretched away to the west, and the red and gold of the sunset blazed in the soft tasseled grasses. Eriale had changed into breeches and a rough shirt not dissimilar from what Aeron wore. It was much more practical for hiking than her skirts. 'Should we build a fire?'
Aeron glanced around at the watchful woods. 'I've seen wolf tracks in this part of the Maerchwood. And troll signs, too. It might be a good idea to have a fire.'
They scoured the forest floor for suitable firewood, gathering dry pine needles for kindling. As darkness fell, Aeron managed to get a good fire going. They broke into their supplies and roasted a hen over the campfire, singeing their fingers and faces as they ate.
'Do you think the constable's looking for you, Aeron?' Eriale asked after they finished. She busied herself with banking the fire to burn all night.
'Raedel would never let me go,' he said bitterly. 'I stand up to him, and I'm going to lose everything for it. It doesn't seem fair, does it?'
'You're safe as long as you don't go home,' she said quietly. She looked up at him, her mouth tight. Aeron and Eriale had grown up together, family in fact if not in blood. He could read her moods with some accuracy. Eriale was a level-headed girl with a strong stubborn streak, confident in herself and those close to her. She didn't worry without good cause, and Aeron could tell she was working to keep her concern from showing. She tried to put on an optimistic face. 'Perhaps Father can get Lord Raedel to hear your side of the story.'
He shrugged. 'I doubt it, Eriale.'
'What will you do?'
'I can live off the land as long as I need to.' He reached behind him for his quiver and emptied it into his lap. Fifteen good arrows, two only fair, and the makings for a dozen more. He selected a rough shaft that was almost done and began to pare it carefully with a sharp fletching knife.
Eriale watched him. 'All by yourself? No one to talk to, no friends?'
'You and Kestrel could come visit me from time to time. As for friends. .' He met her eyes. 'I don't have many anyway. No one in Maerchlin has much use for the last of the Morieths, not after my father pushed Lord Raedel into setting Oslin's soldiers on us. You'd have a lot more friends yourself, Eriale, if your father hadn't taken me in.'
The forester's daughter smiled sadly. 'People misjudge you, Aeron. They don't know you like I do.' She spread out her bedroll by the fire and drew a thin blanket over her shoulders. 'We'll probably need to move again in the morning. Better get some sleep.'
'As soon as I finish this arrow.' Aeron turned his attention to the fletching. He lost himself in his task for half an hour or more. Eriale rolled over and started snoring softly. When he finished, he stood and walked away from the fire to gaze at the stars. By night, the forest was alive with the sounds of movement. Animals rustled as they moved through the brush; frogs croaked and called to one another; nocturnal insects chirped and buzzed quietly. In the distance, a hound bayed mournfully. Aeron smiled, closing his eyes to catch every song of the night. The hound bayed again, several others joining in a rough chorus.
Hounds?
Aeron's eyes flew open, and he wheeled to stare into the forest. It was hard to be certain, but he heard them to the west and slightly north, back toward Maerchlin. The dogs barked and snuffled, the sounds of their approach gradually growing into a continuous gabble of grunts and howls. He smacked one hand against his forehead and bounded up to shake Eriale awake.
'What? What is it?' she asked sleepily.
'The constable,' Aeron said. 'They've got hounds on our trail!'
Eriale sat upright, cocking her head to listen. 'They can't be more than a mile away!'
Aeron turned and started stuffing his pack. 'Come on! We're going to have to run for it!'
Eriale scrambled up. She knelt beside the fire and scooped great armfuls of earth over the embers, smothering it. 'They'll know we were here,' she said over her shoulder. 'There's no way we can hide all the signs.'
'I know,' Aeron said. He slung his pack over one shoulder, grabbed his bedroll, and stood. 'Got everything?'
Eriale crammed her blanket into her pack. 'Let's move.'
They set off toward the south, heading deeper into the Maerchwood. Aeron moved fast in the darkness. From his unknown elven ancestors, he'd inherited exceptionally keen night vision, and he could see quite well by starlight or moonlight. Eriale kept up with him as best she could, but she didn't have his acuity of vision or endurance, and she stumbled over thick roots and tangled undergrowth time and time again. He hadn't gone a mile before Eriale began to rasp behind him. 'Aeron, slow down!'
He halted on the edge of a small clearing. The moon was rising in the east, casting a silver light through the tree-tops overhead. Very little reached the forest floor. He caught Eriale's hand in the darkness. Behind them, the hounds were baying with excitement. They'd found the campsite and picked up the new trail.
He rested one hand on Eriale's shoulder. 'Let's get off the trail. They might miss us.' They stood on the shoulder of a tree-covered ridge, surrounded by impenetrable shadows and scant traces of silver moonlight. Aeron caught Eriale's hand and led her uphill. They crashed through thick briars and undergrowth, scuffling through thick layers of fallen leaves. To Aeron, it sounded like the passage of an army.
At the top of the ridge, Aeron turned and looked back to the west. He could make out angry lantern light bobbing toward them through the trees. They were close enough to hear the cries of the hunters. Aeron squeezed his eyes shut and pounded his fist into his hand, trying to think. How could they lose their pursuers?
'Aeron, they're right behind us,' Eriale said.
'They're still on the trail. Come on, let's get down the other side of the ridge.' He turned and started sliding down the hillside, kicking up dirt and dead leaves as he snaked down the hill's reverse slope. Eriale followed, a few
