Vengeance (The Captive #6)(50)
Her shoulders sagged; relief filled her. If it wasn’t the entry she sought, it would at least offer them some form of shelter for the night. Grabbing hold of William’s hand, she gave it a tug to alert him to what she’d found. “I’m going to go in and check it out.”
“Let me know what you find.” A gust of wind caught hold of his words, but she’d been able to make them out.
“I will,” she said before slipping inside. The moist scent of the cave filled her nostrils, but beneath that, she detected the familiar odor of her home on the other end. Fresh air flowed through here. It carried with it the smell of crisp lake water, snow, and the mountains she’d always known. It was so subtle someone who hadn’t grown up here probably wouldn’t have detected the different aromas, but she recognized them instantly.
A pang stabbed her heart. She almost bolted across the cave to the other side and out onto the trail lining the mountain, but she somehow managed to keep herself restrained. Turning around, she stepped back outside and gestured for William. “This is it,” she murmured.
Tugging on Achilles’s reins, he followed her into the cave.
***
William surveyed the walls surrounding them before focusing on Tempest again. “Is it safe for us to stay here tonight?” he inquired.
She glanced around the cave, then back toward the entrance as another echoing cry resonated across the rock walls. Turning away, she looked down the lengthy, slender cave. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t think the soldiers in town would have found this. It branches off in a bunch of different directions once you enter on the other side.” She turned back to him, her eyes a deeper color in the darkness around her. “If you don’t know what you’re looking for you could spend days exploring the different routes. I don’t know if those things out there will follow us in here.”
“They might follow our scent, but it sounds as if they’re still at least a mile or so away. I’d like to try to make it to your town tonight, but I think we should get some rest.”
“I’m fine to go on, if you think it best.”
No, he didn’t think it best. He could see her exhaustion in the shadows circling her eyes, in the slump of her shoulders and the way she leaned against the cave wall for support. He couldn’t expect her to keep going. He knew she would if he asked her to, she trusted him. He recalled the feel of her in his arms, curled so innocently against him. He couldn’t shatter that innocence. He couldn’t let his need for revenge put her in danger.
“Can we move further in, somewhere more sheltered to get out of the way of the wind and anything that might follow us in here?” he asked.
“I know of a sheltered alcove,” she replied. “Achilles will be able to fit in it too, and there might be some water there.”
“Perfect,” he replied.
He kept hold of Achilles as he followed her further into the cave system. They walked through a series of intricate turns that would have completely lost someone else, but having grown up in caves, he was extremely adept at finding his way in and out of them. He mentally marked certain grooves in the rocks, different patterns in the floor, and odd rock formations they passed to remember in case he had to find his way out without her to guide him.
Halfway through the twists and turns, and away from any light, she stopped and pulled out the torch she’d kept all this time. He handed her a rag he’d made from one of his shirts. She wrapped it around the torch before lighting it. The small fire illuminated the gloom of the cave, causing the shadows to dance away. Lifting the flame high, she turned around and once again led the way.
Achilles nudged his shoulder, looking for food, but he’d have to wait until they were settled before he could have his dinner. Finally, Tempest made another turn into a large alcove that went about fifteen feet back before ending in smooth rock. The tinkling sound of water filled the alcove as it trickled down the back wall from somewhere up above. Achilles’s ears pricked forward; he practically shoved William out of his way to walk toward the back wall. The water had carved a round spot into the floor where it pooled before running downhill and vanishing from view.
The horse lowered its head before William could take the bridle off and began to drink the water. “This will be a good place to keep him while we continue on,” he said as he rubbed Achilles neck.
“In the dark?”
“He’s not going to make it through the trails and mountains you described on the other side. I can’t leave a fire burning; it could attract some of those things to him. He can’t stay outside and he can’t go forward. There’s fresh water here; we’ll leave him with plenty of food, and we won’t be gone long.”
She stared at him for a minute before rubbing Achilles’ neck. “Will he stay here?”
“He’ll stay close to the water.”
He didn’t like the idea of leaving Achilles here anymore than she did, but the horse couldn’t continue with them. Walking forward, he untied the saddlebags and placed them on the floor before unbuckling the girth and pulling the saddle free. Achilles released an audible sigh; he lifted his head and turned to look at him. William rubbed the white stripe on his forehead before removing the bridle and placing it on top of the saddle. He finished getting Achilles settled before turning to Tempest.