Ash laughed. “To some rich merchant, I bet!”
To think he’d once thought her his true love. He wanted to punch something just to feel more in control again. That there had been a time in his life where he’d thought true love was real at all made him want to vomit.
Leaving Ceidir had been one of his smarter decisions.
“I’m sorry,” Ash said. “For last night. I should have fought, and I didn’t. I owe you, Doran. I owe you big time.”
“Me too.” Where was he supposed to look? He’d never been great at apologies. “I shouldn’t have shouted at you.”
“So we’re even?”
Doran grinned. “We’re even when you save my life for once. We should keep a tally.”
“Or we could not. There’d be no point having two sides on it.”
It felt good to laugh with Ash again. For a long time he’d been Doran’s only friend, and the only one Doran trusted. He hated fighting with Ash. Now Doran could trust Levi too, and to an extent Naavah Ora if she was in a charitable mood, but he didn’t want to lose what he had with Ash. Ash knew what Doran had done. Ash was the only one who knew.
“We should leave,” Naavah Ora said. “We’ve got a long way ahead.”
The progress they’d made so far was laughable, yet last night’s fight had his limbs aching like he’d been travelling uphill for weeks. It’d been a while since he last had to fight like this. He hoped it’d be a long time before it happened again.
It was warm outside, and before long the hot sun had them sweating. Doran and Ash were used to long hikes in any weather, but Levi and Naavah Ora were panting from the effort.
The forests became fewer the closer they got to the Z’rasien border. Shade was rare. They were still a long way off, but the terrain leaked into Vaska here and there. It was the fastest way, but maybe they should have taken a longer route that would have gone easier on Levi and Naavah Ora.
“How long until the next village?” Levi asked after several hours.
Doran pointed to a large wood to their right. “There’s a small town in that forest. If we head there we can stock up on some supplies.” They needed to refill their water if nothing else, and the trees would provide cover. It was the only sign of shade for miles.
“Will that slow us down?” Naavah Ora asked.
“Not much. We might lose half a day, but we’ll be able to walk faster once we reach the forest. We should be able to make up time that way.”
Naavah Ora nodded. Ash had given up trying to lead their group, and so Naavah Ora had resumed her spot at the front. So far from home, Doran had to give her directions more often than not.
Their walk to the forest felt painful and long. Doran coped and so did Ash, but he was worried about their progress once they were in Z’rasie. It wasn’t that warm outside yet, but to Levi and Naavah Ora, who were used to cooler weather, the temperatures were soaring.
If Naavah Ora and Levi didn’t get used to the climate change, perhaps they should spend money on a carriage after all.
Ash held up a hand when they were finally close enough to the trees to see the shade fall over the path “Wait. Ora, stop.”
She turned around. “What is it?”
Doran knew that look. “Something isn’t right,” Ash said. “Someone has set a trap five metres from where you’re standing.”
“I can’t see anything,” Levi said. Neither could Doran. But Doran knew the look on Ash’s face all too well. If Ash said there was a trap, Doran believed him.
“Look, there.” Ash pointed to a spot ahead of them. Doran had to squint to notice the shimmer in midair. “Someone has put up thin wires. They won’t harm us if we walk into them, but they’ll alert whoever has set this up.”
“You think it was set for us?” Naavah Ora took a step back.
“Doubt it,” Ash said. “No one knows we’re here. We should still be careful, though. Follow me.”
Ash walked ahead and examined something Doran couldn’t see. He walked to the right a few steps, away from the path. Five steps from the road, he stopped.
“It ends here. We won’t set it off if we walk through here and then rejoin the path. Can’t hurt to be careful anyway, though. They might have set more.”
Doran hated going into any situation blind. Knowing there was a trap and walking into it regardless was only acceptable when he knew he could outsmart whoever had set it.
He felt strange, walking through something he couldn’t see. He knew the wires were close to him, but how close? Would one step into the wrong direction trigger the mechanism?
He felt no better for reaching the path. Someone had gone to great trouble setting this up. They wouldn’t rely on one trap alone.
Whoever the hunter was looking for must have been worth a lot of money to someone.
“We’re being watched,” Ash said.
Doran searched the area but couldn’t see anything. “Another ambush?”
“I think so. I don’t know what they want. They might not even be looking for us, but we should proceed slowly.” Ash turned to Naavah Ora. “Can you cast a protective spell around us, and can it be discreet?”
“Hang on.” She had her back to the forest, so whoever was watching couldn’t see her hands forming complicated signs without moving her arms. At first Doran thought that nothing happened, but then he felt like someone had pulled a blanket over his body and tucked him in. The sounds around him grew muffled. Everything looked like he was seeing through thin fog.
“There, that should do it,” Naavah Ora said. The strange feeling disappeared. His vision and hearing went back to normal, and the feeling of a warm blanket around him died, too. “That’ll deter arrows, at least, but I won’t be able to keep it up if we have to fight.”
“Be on your guard,” Doran said. None of them were at their best today thanks to the lack of sleep the night before.
They entered the forest. The terrible feeling that they’d made a big mistake washed over Doran. They should have walked around the forest. It would have meant at least another day’s travel, and they would have missed the town at the heart of the forest, but they’d have kept their lives.
“Why would anyone lay in ambush so close to a town?” Levi asked. “Wouldn’t the town have guards to prevent bandits?”
“If the price is right,” Ash said, “some bandits can be persuaded to do more stupid things than this.”
“And the price was very nice indeed!”
Doran’s head shot up. Leaves rustled above him, but it didn’t help him find the owner of the voice. The whole forest came alive with the rustling of leaves as more and more men surfaced.
They were outnumbered. Massively.
They should have gone around. Ancients, he’d allowed Ash to talk him into trouble again.
Bandits dropped out of the trees all around them. Several archers stayed high up, weapons raised.
“You fetch a beautiful sum, Ashwin. I’ll be a rich man after today, thanks to your head.”
Doran turned to ask Ash where they knew each other from, but the look on Ash’s face said everything. Doran glared at him.
“Ancients, Ash, who did you piss off?”