Page 25 of Lake of Sorrow

“What are you talking about?” Jankarr touched his chest. “My company is a delight.”

“That vine hissed at you,” Vlerion said.

“It hissed at you too.”

They passed a few merchants heading to the markets with wagons of goods and fell silent. Two city guardsmen on patrol were even more cause for concern, but they nodded at the trio, murmuring, “My lords,” to them, and continued on. With the cloak and hood—and taybarri—Kaylina must have passed as one of the rangers.

That would be harder to pull off once it got light. She was relieved when their mounts picked up speed, and one of the eastern gates came into view.

“Good hunting,” one of the guards called to the rangers as they rode out.

“Do they already know about the Kar’ruk?” Kaylina asked.

“Not unless the news came from another source. That’s a common farewell to rangers.” Vlerion looked at her, then pointed to her pack. “It’s in the book.”

“I haven’t read it all yet.”

“Hm.”

“I’ve been a little busy.”

“Quit harassing her, Vlerion,” Jankarr said. “Half the rangers haven’t read that book.”

“Young recruits are frequently drilled on the information within.”

“Oh, I know it. I used to hide behind the vegetable cart in the dining hall whenever Sergeant Vimrok came through. He liked to pull us out of line and quiz us.”

“It’s remarkable that Targon believes you’re an exemplary model of a commoner rising in the ranger ranks.”

“I know how to suck up to him and stroke his ego.”

“I’d think it would be easier to read the book,” Vlerion murmured.

Kaylina agreed and vowed to continue on with the text, however dry it was, when she had time. After all, reading aloud from it had helped her calm Vlerion when he’d turned into the beast. At the least, he hadn’t attacked her in any way as she’d spouted passages about good behavior for rangers.

When the city disappeared from view behind them, Kaylina let herself relax. She even dozed as the taybarri loped across the miles, their gaits more similar to wolves than horses. Vlerion and Jankarr continued to banter, occasionally including her. Whatever danger the kingdom faced, the rangers’ normalcy was comforting, as if it meant they weren’t concerned. This was work as usual for those in their profession. Given what Vlerion had to worry about every day, she was amazed he could manage a semblance of normalcy, though Jankarr had an easygoing manner that made people around him comfortable.

As the highway followed the river past farms and into the foothills where sheep and goats grazed, Kaylina spotted the beaver dam. She slowed Levitke and pointed out the place where she and Frayvar had climbed out of the water.

“We need to see where you fell in,” Vlerion said.

“Frayvar fell in. I dove. And it’s in the preserve.” Kaylina pointed to the dark forest visible in the distance, the dense leaves making a verdant rug that stretched up into the mountains.

“Didn’t you say the Kar’ruk were shooting at you?”

“That’s why I dove in, yes. And because I didn’t want to lose my brother.”

“Yes, I understand.” Vlerion nodded, reminding her that he had lost a brother, and also that he understood she had to protect hers. He’d been the one to point out that Frayvar was a motivation for her, that she found it much harder to stand up for herself than those she cared about.

They stopped talking as lands that had long ago been cleared by men gave way to the first trees of the preserve, thick oaks, pines, cedars, and other species Kaylina couldn’t name. Because of the promise the druids had once extracted from humans, this forest had never been tamed by axes and plows, nor did men hunt the animals within.

Though the highway had veered away from the river to avoid the preserve, and trails were few, the sure-footed taybarri sprang over ferns, nurse logs, and boulders with ease. The waterway came in and out of view, but they never lost their way. Within the borders of the preserve, birds sang and squawked while animals called to each other, some roaring and others yipping. They didn’t fall silent with the rangers’ passing, not the way everything had grown quiet when the Kar’ruk had tramped through the forest.

“I think that’s the log we were crossing when they opened fire.” Kaylina pointed, and her eyes widened when she spotted a waterfall not far beyond it, the frothy flow plunging down a mossy cliff. Only then did she realize how lucky she and Frayvar had been after dropping into the river. Had they gone over falls along the way downstream, they might not have survived.

The taybarri slowed down, nostrils twitching, and the men looking around before dismounting. Their nostrils flexed too as they inhaled.

Kaylina breathed in the loamy scent of the forest and was about to ask what they smelled when she caught a musky odor. It had been in the air the night before too. She’d forgotten.

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