Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series Read online

  They traveled all day, only stopping for a quick lunch and the occasional visit to the bushes.

  Heather was thrilled at the joy and hope in her companions. It had been too long since she had heard them laugh. Their long imprisonment in Eled Aminor had dealt their spirits a blow, but they seemed to be rebounding quickly. Even Enton’s booming laugh was a relief to her. At first, she had been concerned that someone might hear, but Agminion had assured them that they had entered the forest where the road was closest to the stream. The road, he claimed, wound in a northeastern direction, while the river flowed west, southwest. There were no settlements in this part of the woods and they should be alone until the river turned southwards.

  They came across the first problem as the sun was going down and they were looking for a place to make camp. During the last several hours of their walk, the ground had changed from a rocky bank to a more soft earthen bank. Most had welcomed this change as it made the walking much easier. However, a swampy bog now lay directly in their path. The stream through this part of the woods was slow moving and the low lying ground to the north of the stream was flooded. It wasn’t exactly a swamp, but it was a mucky wet mess.

  “Well, this will slow us down a bit,” Heather said looking out over the terrain.

  “Why did you think I was worried about how long it takes us to get to the lake?” Agminion mumbled.

  Heather chose to ignore the man’s comment. He had just lost a major battle to her this morning and perhaps a little time was what he needed, but if he kept his grumbling up, then she meant to see him lose another battle.

  The second day of traveling along the river went much slower than the first. The bog forced them to travel a bit north, away from the river, and they spent much of the day avoiding large mud holes and the marshier bits of the swamp. One of the main problems with traveling through the mire was that it was so deceptive in appearance. Several times Aaron stepped in, what he thought was an inch or two of water, and sunk all the way to his knee. Heather had finally moved Aaron farther back in their marching order and she took the lead. She was more at home in the woods than most and she hoped she could speed up their trip.

  The marsh was overgrown with bushes and wildlife. They rarely saw much of the animals, as the Guardians were making so much noise that the animals had cleared out long before the humans marched through. Still, Heather saw several snakes, although none of them were real close. As they didn’t appear close enough to be a threat, she didn’t say anything to the others. No reason to get them excited. On a couple other occasions she saw the bushes shaking, undoubtedly due to the passage of an animal. As the animals always seemed to be running away from the humans, she remained silent about their passage as well.

  It was a much more subdued group that climbed through the muck, and the laughter was almost entirely gone. Heather found herself missing the laughter, even Enton’s booming laugh.

  They made camp that night on a small hill that rose out of the marsh. Heather insisted that they build a large fire and all sleep near it. It was not to make sure they were all warm, but rather to keep any and all animals from bothering them. No one stayed awake for long. They were all exhausted from the laborious travels of the day.

  The third day looked to be a repeat of the second day. The bog seemed to go and on, but they found the ground sloping upwards around noon and several hours later the marsh was a distant memory. As the bank gradually rose, the river flowed faster; it was a welcoming sight.

  The group’s spirits lifted, as did their pace. The going was easier than it had been, but it still was not easy. The terrain became wilder the farther east they went and the thick bushes and trees slowed them down almost as much as the bog had done. Several times they had to wade across small streams that emptied into the larger river they were following. Still their moods remained high; finding their way through thick trees was less depressing that climbing through the muck.

  They made camp that night in a small grove of trees, thirty or forty yards from the water. A small fire was started, a quick supper, and then they collapsed into their blankets. The Guardians were in better shape than most, but still trudging through the woods was tiring. The magicians and sorcerers were exhausted, as they were unused to this kind of physical activity.

  For the first time since they escaped Eled Aminor, Heather decided they needed to set a watch. They hadn’t seen the first human track or sign, but they had seen some wolf prints. Most likely the wolves would not approach the fire, but just in case they did, she wanted to be prepared. Only the Guardians would take a turn standing guard; she didn’t trust Agminion and besides Dagan and Cassandra would probably fall asleep during their watch. That is, if the two didn’t refuse her command. That bothered her. If a moment came when one of them refused to follow orders, how would she respond? Discipline was important for any troops, but they weren’t technically troops. They were not under her command, and for that matter, neither was Atock.

  Heather sighed deeply and lay down on her blankets, pulling one up to her waist to cover her legs. The days were hot and the nights were quite warm as well. She had always been a cold-natured person and even in the summer, she found the evenings and mornings chilly.

  Laying there, Heather’s mind seemed to want to dwell on everything that could go wrong. Would the ship captain be trustworthy or would he turn them over to the soldiers? Was Agminion trustworthy? Her thoughts always came back to Flare. How could he be the one? More importantly, could they have miss-understood the Kelcer prophecy? Knowing that she would never get to sleep with her mind so troubled, Heather forced her thoughts back to a small wood where she had been trained by druids. She missed her teachers but found happiness in their memories. The lessons, too, had been enjoyable for her and she relaxed at the memories. Slowly, her breathing slowed and she drifted off to sleep.

  Atock shook Heather awake and she sat bolt upright, instantly alert for anything. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Peace,” he said quietly. “It’s just your turn for the watch.”

  Nodding, Heather stood and stretched. Her back and joints popped in an alarming manner. Without another word, Atock moved to his place by the fire and lay down.

  Heather moved away from the fire to just outside the small grove of trees. There was a bit of a wind blowing, but she could still hear the sound of the river flowing to the south. She looked up at the night sky. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen and she stood there for a while looking at the stars twinkling. She always found forests relaxing, but even more so at night.

  She made a slow circle around the grove. Nothing drew her attention and she really hadn’t expected any trouble. Wolves wouldn’t normally attack a group of humans, unless maybe the animals were starving. There was plenty of wildlife in the woods and undoubtedly the wolves would go for the easier prey.

  She wandered for an hour or so, always near the grove and she looked in on the fire several times.

  Finding a tree that had been blown over, she sat down on the trunk near the roots. The tree itself was still alive even lying on its side and she had to break a few green twigs off to clear a spot to sit.

  It had been a while since she had been alone and she found the freedom enjoyable. That thought had no sooner occurred to her then she heard a twig snap and she tensed up. Her hand fell to the handle of her knife and she tried to find where the sound had come from. She didn’t move, hoping that whatever it was wouldn’t see her.

  “Heather?” Enton’s deep voice called quietly from the edges of the grove.

  Heather’s whole body seemed to slump and she took a deep calming breath. “Over here,” she called back, just as quietly.

  The big man emerged from the shadows of the trees and headed over towards her. “You’re early,” Heather said. She had chosen the middle watch for herself, as it was the worst one. No soldier wanted to sleep for a few hours, wake up to stand watch, and then go back to sleep for several more hours. She had chosen the worst watch because no one els
e would want it. As the leader, she felt it was her duty to lead by example.

  “I woke up and realized it was nearly time for my watch,” Enton said. He approached the tree where Heather was sitting and she broke off several limbs to make a place for him to join her.

  Enton grinned at her and sat down beside her. He yawned a jaw cracking yawn. “Tomorrow’s going to be another exhausting day.”

  Heather only nodded. The new Enton was much better than the old one had ever been. Oh, he had always been an excellent fighter and he had even been a good soldier when he was taking orders from a man. But he had not liked being ordered to follow a woman. He hadn’t actually rebelled or refused to follow any orders, instead he had sulked and made life miserable for himself and the others. Finally, unable to accept the man’s attitude anymore, she had ordered him to return to Telur. Luckily for them, he had not obeyed. He had followed the merchant caravan that Heather’s group had been traveling with, and had freed the Guardians when they had been taken captive. He had disobeyed, but as he saved their lives, Heather found it necessary to forgive the big man. It was also true that since rejoining them, he had done everything he had been told to do; and Heather had taken great delight in assigning him his tasks.

  “Do you trust Agminion?” Enton asked, breaking the silence.

  Heather had been lost in her thoughts and looked up at Enton through blurry eyes. “No,” she said after a moment, “I don’t, but for the time being he’s necessary.”

  Enton nodded. “This uncle of his, the ship captain, he might be leading us into another trap.”

  Heather blinked at Enton in confusion before her sleep deprived brain unraveled what Enton was saying. “Another trap? You think it might be like the wagon caravan?”

  Enton nodded again. “It would be rather crafty, wouldn’t it? If there is still a bounty on our heads, and King Stennis didn’t want to get in between Telur and whoever put the bounty on us, why not let us escape and then lead us into a trap? For all we know, this ship captain may take us hostage and turn us over for the bounty. Aramonia doesn’t anger Telur or the people looking for us.”

  Right then, Heather hated Flare and this whole Kelcer mess. She felt like she had a kingdom sized burden on her shoulders, like the future of the world was in her hands, and that with a wrong decision she could condemn her friends to death. She sighed deeply. “Keep your eyes open. When we get to the ship, I want everyone prepared. Dagan will have to be ready to handle Agminion and the rest of us might very well have to take the ship.”

  Enton nodded again but said nothing.

  She was impressed. The big warrior was an excellent fighter, but he lacked imagination on the strategy side of things. He was straight forward and there was little miss-direction where he was involved. When dealing with people, Enton tended to be rather blunt. This time, he had seen an angle that she had completely missed. She shivered, more from the burden of leading than from the cold.

  “Cold?” Enton asked.

  Heather shrugged. “I’m always cold.” She meant to say more, but cut off abruptly as Enton placed his right arm around her shoulders and leaned in closer to her. Her muscles tensed a little and she sat up straighter. She was wide awake now.

  “Better?” he asked.

  “Uh,” Heather managed after a moment. She turned towards Enton and he leaned down and kissed her. It was a wonderful kiss, warm and passionate. Any thoughts of being cold fled, and she thought her heart might beat right out of her chest.

  After a moment Heather broke the kiss and pushed Enton away. They stared at each other for a moment and she nearly giggled. His eyes were wide, in shock or fear she didn’t know which, but she imagined her eyes were probably as wide as well. “What was that?” she finally managed to get out. She found it rather bothersome that she was out of breath.

  The fearful shocked look disappeared from Enton’s face and he grinned in a lopsided way. “You mean you really don’t know what that was?”

  Insufferable man! Heather thought. She took a deep breath before responding. “Of course I know what that was, I mean why did you kiss me?”

  Enton’s grin got even bigger. “I didn’t kiss you. You kissed me!”

  Heather popped to her feet and glared down at Enton. “What did you say?” she exclaimed. Indignation and disbelief plainly visible on her face.

  Enton raised his hands in a placating manner. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. Please lower your voice or you’ll wake the others.”

  Fighting to remain calm, Heather did indeed lower her voice. The last thing she wanted was for the others to be spectators to this. “Why did you kiss me?” she repeated in a much lower tone.

  Enton shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  Heather blinked several times. For some reason, she found herself wanting to bludgeon the man to death. She leaned in closer and pointed her finger right in front of Enton’s nose. “You keep this to yourself. Do you understand?”

  Enton nodded. He was plainly fighting hard not to smile.

  “It’s your watch,” Heather said. She promptly turned on her heel and walked to the grove. She did not once look back.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning they ate breakfast before the sun was even up and began to get ready to start the day’s trek. There was an order to their breaking camp now. Even those who were not Guardians were doing their part. There wasn’t that much in breaking camp. The fire had to be put out, the blankets packed up, and their dwindling supply of rations had to be put away. As it was summer, there wasn’t any need for tents or great numbers of blankets. It simply didn’t take that long.

  Heather looked around to see if anything was amiss. As she suspected, everything was proceeding as it should. Her eyes met Enton’s and her visage darkened. She hadn’t spoken to him since the events of last night and she wasn’t sure how best to handle the situation. He had actually kissed her! She wasn’t sure what bothered her more, his kissing her, or the fact that she may have liked it. Only a bit, though. It had been a long time since anyone had kissed her and she was sure that the length of time since her last kiss was the only reason that she had enjoyed kissing Enton. Oh Gods! How she hated admitting that she enjoyed the kiss, even just to herself.

  Enton smiled awkwardly at her and, gritting her teeth, she turned away. That was when she noticed Agminion walking off into the woods. He was headed off into the bushes for some personal business. She sighed, realizing what she had to do.

  Heather finished shoving the blanket into her pack and stood up. Glancing once more in the direction where Agminion had gone, she caught Enton’s eye and motioned him to come over.

  Enton approached looking like he might want to run away.

  Heather snorted. Enton was a beast when it came to a fight, but when it came to dealing with women, he was a coward. He stopped far enough away that he was out of her reach. She motioned Enton to step closer. He did so reluctantly. “Have you mentioned your suspicions about the ship to anyone?”

  He shook his head but said nothing.

  “Good. Wait until we get closer to the port.”

  “Why?” Enton asked, puzzled. “Shouldn’t we begin working on a plan?”

  “Not yet,” Heather answered, “Agminion’s an intelligent man. If he spots us with our heads together whispering, then he might get suspicious and that’s the last thing I want.” She glanced around again to see make sure he was still in the bushes. “Who knows what a sorcerer can do. I don’t want him eavesdropping or noticing attitudes changing towards him.”

  “All right,” Enton said slowly.

  He didn’t say anymore but Heather got the feeling there was something he was holding back. “You have something else to say?”

  He hesitated then nodded. “It seems to me that most of us don’t treat Agminion that well, even now. You think he would notice if we began our planning today?”

  Heather considered that. Once again Enton surprised her. Perhaps
he was getting better in dealing with people. It was true that no one showed much appreciation for Agminion. The man was an arrogant ass who did not go out of his way to be friendly. Finally she shook her head. “No. Let’s wait until we get closer to the port.” She knew that she didn’t owe him an explanation, but perhaps it would be helpful. “Right now, we treat him with dislike. If that were to change to suspicion or if he were to notice people whispering and then stopping when he approaches; he would most likely suspect something.”

  They continued their journey eastward, roughly following the riverbed. None of them had thought much of the small river when they had began following it, but as they travelled eastward, numerous small creeks emptied into it and the small stream slowly turned into a roaring river.

  The forests were wild and quite often grew down to the riverbank. With trees and bushes growing to the water’s edge, it made following the shore more difficult, so they had begun following the stream from a short distance away as it made the traveling easier.

  They continued eastward in much the same pattern that they had followed so far. There was one important change. Heather continued to take the middle watch for herself, but she now assigned Enton either the first or last watch. It irritated her that she felt the need to avoid the man, but she didn’t want a repeat of the other night. They had barely spoken since he kissed her, and then only when it was required. He would still catch her eye at least once a day and raise his eyebrows. Heather took this to be his way of asking should he warn the others and begin planning for the possibility of taking the ship. So far, Heather had continued to shake her head at these times. Time was getting short. If things went as they hoped, within several days they would be boarding the ship. Most likely, it wouldn’t take long to make their plans and she did not want to give Agminion any advance warning.