Gale's Gift by Beth Alvarez

Author:Beth Alvarez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, fantasy, short story, novelette, low fantasy

Chapter Four

“Hold on,” Morghram murmured, reining his horse to a halt. Eona stopped behind him, clutching the pommel of her saddle. Four days of riding had made her more comfortable on horseback, but she still looked nervous any time her horse moved without direction, and her gelding pranced in place.

They'd reached the first rocky cliffs of the mountains the night before, but the heavy rainfall that preceded them made the footing unsure, so they had agreed to wait for sunrise before starting up the winding trails.

“What is it?” Her voice was high, her face pinched.

He slid from his mount, handing her the reins. She wouldn't be able to hold the beast if it spooked, but at least she could keep it from wandering off. He didn't reply right away, instead following the traces left in the mud for a little way before grumbling in displeasure. “We've been following ruts left by the wagon's wheels for a few days. Followed them right onto this trail. No wheel tracks any more. Only footprints.”

Blinking, she leaned forward to look at the muddy trail. “You can tell all that? All I see are our hoof prints.”

“They teach all soldiers a little tracking. Was never good at it, myself, but I got by.” Rubbing the stubble on his chin, he walked back the way they'd come. “There weren't any side roads. Nowhere to hide a wagon, either.”

“So where would they have gone?”

Morghram pursed his lips. His eyes drifted to the ledge to the left of the trail. It wasn't a terrible drop, perhaps twenty feet, but that was plenty to shatter a wagon and let the underbrush hide its remains. “They must've pushed it off. Probably means they couldn't take it up the road ahead, but didn't want to leave anything obvious behind.”

Eona fidgeted, peering at the ledge as well. “Wouldn't you have seen tracks from it being pushed off the cliff?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Maybe not. I haven't been watching that closely, since there's no other way they could have gone.”

“Should we go back and find it?”

“No need.” He returned, taking his horse and dragging himself into the saddle again. His leg protested; he thought it fair in its objection, considering his history with horses, though it would have complained just as much had they walked the last four days themselves. “As I said, there were no other trails branching from here. Wherever they've gone, it can't be far.”

The trail narrowed as they went on. Eona stayed at his back, though the path was still wide enough for them to ride side-by-side. They went slowly, Morghram leaning forward over his horse's shoulder to watch the traces left behind.

There were many footprints left where the earth wasn't so hard-packed, though the direction varied. But he couldn't tell if they were left by a few men running back and forth to unload supplies from their lost wagon or many. Everything they'd seen alongside the wheel ruts indicated only two or three men, but if they had some

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