Masques (Sianim #1)(39)

Myr nodded. "When we were looking for Astrid, yes."

Aralorn continued. "If it works like the spells that shape-changers use, the Uriah won't even see the caves unless we are lighting fires and running in and out to attract their attention. The trail that we took up here is virtually a stream from the melting snow, so that in a little while there will be no sign that we came this way."

"I'll see that everyone stays inside." Myr started to go; someone was calling to him from a storage cave. "Aralorn?'

"Yes?"

"Change your clothes for something dry, before you catch lung-fever. You can use something of mine if you need to. My packs are marked over against the far wall."

"Thanks." She made her way to his packs, unmistakable because of the embroidered dragon that glared at her as she rifled through his belongings. True shapeshifters could probably alter the clothes that they were wearing, but Aralorn had no idea how to go about it. She pulled out a pair of plain trousers and a tunic of a dark hue (she couldn't see the color in the shadows of the cave) and, best of all, a pair of dry cotton stockings.

With clothes in hand, she hunted down an unoccupied cranny and exchanged the wet clothes for the dry ones. The oil coaling on the boots worked boiler in snow than in rivers. The water had run in from the top and been prevented from leaving by the oil on the outside, so that they were marshy inside. Aralorn dried them out as best she could and pulled them on over her newly acquired socks. She had hoped for better results.

She surveyed herself wryly when she was done. Myr was not tall, for a man, which left him only a head or so taller than she. He was, however, built like a stone wall.

Well, she thought, tugging at the front of the tunic, at least she wouldn't have to worry about it being too tight.

The camp was starting to look organized again. Rather than upset Myr's plans, Aralorn found the cave that was functioning as a temporary corral and began a better-late-than-never rubdown on Sheen. He stood quietly with head and tail lowered - a sure sign that he was as tired as she was.

Stanis found her there using a handful of hay in an unequal battle against the mud on the stallion's belly.

"Aralorn. I think Astrid went back to camp." His normally cheerful expression was anxious.

"What? ... Why?" Aralorn left off grooming, dropping the straw as she spoke.

"I can't find her anywhere an' neither can Tobin, we searched an' searched. She was crying all of the way up here because she left the doll her mother made her at camp. We tried to tell her that it would be all right, everyone knows that Uriah don't eat dolls, just people. But I haven't seen her since you came in, and neither has anyone else."

She knew that it was foolish - if Astrid had gone back to camp she would be dead by now - but Aralorn would not be able to live with herself if she didn't look.

"How many people have you told this to?" She was fitting her bridle to one of the camp horses, since Sheen was too tired to make the trip back into camp.

"Lots of people know I'm looking for her, but you're the only one that I told what I thought happened to her. I tried to tell Myr, but Haris was talking to him and lots of other people."

"Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to sneak out of here and go look for her. I don't want you to tell anyone that I've gone. Keep looking for her here. She was pretty excited about the man who helped her find her way out of the caves.

She may just have wandered deeper into the cave to see if she could find him. Wait until Myr isn't busy and then tell him where I've gone; that should take long enough that I'll either be back or I'm not coming back. Tell him that I said not to send anyone else after me. There aren't enough people to spare. I'm just going to sneak down to our camp and see if I can spot her. If I don't see her, I'll ride right back up."

She paused only long enough to get her sword. As she belted it on, the thought occurred to her that if she were going to have to keep using it against Uriah, it would behoove her to get more proficient at wielding the plaguing thing.

It wasn't easy, with her limited magical powers, to sneak through a cave filled with magic-users, albeit weak ones. The gelding, sulky at leaving the other horses munching dinner, complicated matters as well. She almost left him behind, but although he made it a little bit more difficult to escape undetected, he also gave her an edge if she were discovered or had to rescue the girl. The mice and birds that she could easily shapeshift into weren't much use against Uriah, and she was too tired from her frantic ride to try anything else.

Once out of the occupied caves, she gave up trying to remain unseen. The guards didn't challenge her as she took the horse past them. They were looking for Uriah coming in, not people going out.

* * *

OUTSIDE, THE SCREAMING CRIES OF THE URIAH WERE CLEARLY audible as they fought over the provisions that had been left behind. At least she hoped that was what they were lighting for, but the thought of what could happen to a lone child made her urge the horse to a speed that wasn't quite safe in the early evening shadows, darting through the underbrush. She drew her sword so that it would be ready.

She stayed off the trails and followed a creekbed to the far side of the valley near Wolf's camp, so the Uriah couldn't easily follow her back trail to the caves. It wasn't until she got to the valley that she realized that Astrid would have followed the main trail down.