Stormcaster (Shattered Realms #3)(118)

Finally the tunnel sloped upward, in some places growing so steep that steps had been carved into the cave floor. The air freshened and became noticeably cooler and drier.

Finally, Queen Marina came up beside Hal. “Lady DeLacroix really cannot go much farther, and your mother is struggling, too. If we collapse, then it’s going to slow us down considerably. We need to say something. If we still have miles to go, we’re going to need to stop for a rest.”

Hal nodded, though at this point he wasn’t exactly sure who was in charge of this enterprise—he or Barrowhill or the queen.

He was threading his way forward toward Lila when he noticed that the oppressive darkness was thinning, the walls to either side becoming visible, even beyond the reach of the torchlight. They were obviously nearing an opening to the outside. It wasn’t bright—likely the sun hadn’t yet risen.

As the others began to notice, some of them put on speed, children tugging at their mothers’ hands, stumbling over rocks in their eagerness for the long, scary journey through the dark to end. Up ahead, Lila stopped, turned, and waited for them to catch up.

When the entire group was gathered, Lila said, “This is where we surface. We should be outside the city, beyond whatever perimeter the King’s Guard has put up. I need everyone to wait here while I check and make sure our transportation is ready to go.”

“I’m thirsty,” a little boy whined.

“Don’t worry,” Lila said, ruffling the boy’s hair. “They’ll have food and drink for you.” She disappeared through the cave entrance.

She wasn’t gone long, but by the time she returned, some of the lytlings had curled up on the floor or on their mothers’ laps and gone fast asleep.

“All right,” Lila said. “The wagons are just outside. Each one holds about ten people. There’s room for everyone. I want families to stay together and board the same wagon. We need to be well on our way before the sun comes up.”

As the families began trickling toward the door, Hal took hold of Lila’s elbow. “Well on our way where? Where are we going?”

Lila cocked her head. “Didn’t you talk to Lieutenant Karn about that?”

“He’s been tight-lipped,” Hal said. “He’s told us just enough to get this far.”

Lila shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him. I’m just the hired help.” She rubbed her thumb and fingers together, signifying payment.

Hal’s temper was fraying. “I would like to ask him, but I haven’t seen him since the blasts went off.” He followed Lila out of the cave to find himself in a pitch-dark copse of trees at the bottom of a ravine. He could hear water running somewhere nearby, and the soft nickering of horses.

Where were they? It was hard to judge how far they’d traveled in the dark.

Lila pointed them down the ravine to where it opened up into an abandoned farmyard. The house had long since been burned. The barn and outbuildings were still standing, though, and four wagons were lined up, each with a team of four sturdy mountain ponies.

The wagons were enclosed, so as to keep passengers out of the weather and out of sight of prying eyes. They resembled the wagons used by clan traders to transport their goods—something rarely seen in the empire these days.

The first family was climbing into the first wagon. The driver was muffled in a scarf and coat that seemed too heavy for the weather. He’d placed a step next to the wagon to make it easier to climb in. As each one passed, he handed him or her a wrapped bundle and a deerskin flask—the promised water.

As each wagon filled, it pulled away, rolling down the farm lane and disappearing into the trees.

“This doesn’t look familiar,” Hal said, touching Robert’s arm. “Do you know where we are?”

Robert shrugged. “We should be on our way to Temple Church to join Father and the others. So I’m guessing we’re somewhere north of the city.”

“Maybe,” Hal said. “But I’ve been up and down the North Road between Ardenscourt and Delphi way too many times. I don’t remember seeing a stretch this remote.” He squinted up at the sky, but between the sodden clouds and the canopy of trees he couldn’t get a fix on their location. The rain seemed to muffle sounds, the mist lending an air of risk and mystery.

“Well,” Robert said. “We wouldn’t want to come up too close to the road, would we? It’s probably just that—”

Hal put his hand up. “Hang on. Isn’t that the last of the wagons?”

Robert stared as the wagon rounded the curve and disappeared. “Hey!” he said, running a few steps after it until he must have realized it was no use.

Hal turned to find Barrowhill striding toward them. “That’s the last of them,” she said. “The queen and the princess are with them. Let’s hope they don’t run into any trouble along the way.”

“We were supposed to go with them,” Hal said. “Isn’t that what we agreed on?”

“My agreement is with Lieutenant Karn,” Barrowhill said, brow furrowed. “I thought he’d have filled you in.”

“No,” Hal said through gritted teeth. “He did not fill us in.”

“You mean you got into this without really knowing the plan?” Barrowhill shook her head. “That’s never a good idea.”