Page 39 of Winter's Fate

Callum crept closer, until he could see where an enormous tree trunk had been felled just a touch farther down the road. Any carriage that came this way would be forced to stop while the driver cleared the path.

So the man in the tree was a bandit. One of a team. He turned a slow circle, scanning the trees. No one was sneaking up on him. No one was watching from above.

Experienced thieves should know to watch the woods for scouts or random travelers like Callum, not only the road before them. They should know to listen for out-of-place sounds. And they would have picked a better location; few rich caravans ever made their way along the roads in this area. These thieves didn’t even know a proper region to hold their stakeout.

And that gave him an idea.

Scanning the woods a final time, Callum crept closer to the road. Now that he knew what he was looking for, it was easy to locate two more of the would-be thieves; even the ones stationed on the other side of the road were so intent on their mark that they did not notice him approach. It was all too easy to see them, though most had at least thought to don green and brown clothing. However, camouflage was useless when you fidgeted constantly, rustling tree branches and silencing the nearby birdcall.

And it was the work of a few minutes to find their leader. From his crouched position at the base of the fallen tree, he frequently reached up to signal his fellow bandits, his white hair flying in every direction as he did. Though Callum could not see what there was to signal about, with no coach on the way. Certainly not his own presence.

Drawing his knife, Callum backtracked, cutting a wide berth behind the first bandit he’d spied. Every second of delay put Laena in more danger, but it would do no good to rush after her unprepared. So he crept through the woods, aiming for the white-haired man.

By the time one of the scouts noticed him and cried a warning, his knife was already pressed to the leader’s throat.

The old man flailed, signaling wildly, and Callum leaned in close to the man’s ear. With any luck, he would not have to killanyone today. “If your archer shoots,” Callum said, “you’ll be dead before I will. Best call them off.”

The man swallowed hard, his skin perilously close to the edge of the knife. He held up his fingers in anXthat Callum very much hoped meant he was instructing them not to shoot.

He hadn’t actually seen any of them with a bow, but surely they couldn’t bethatinexperienced.

“My wife’s been abducted from these woods,” Callum said.

It would be foolish to admit she was a royal, even to amateurs. He was outnumbered here, and one of them could be targeting his heart. They might agree to his terms, then turn on him and demand a ransom if they thought she would bring in more than he could offer.

“Wasn’t us, gent,” the man choked. “I swear it.”

Callum gave a short laugh. “Oh, I know. You couldn’t abduct a willing victim, let alone a fighter like her.”

The man bristled. “I take issue with that implica?—”

“I’ll pay your band to help me retrieve her,” Callum interrupted. “You’ll make more than you would robbing petty coaches out here.”

“How would you know how much I make robbin’ coaches?”

“I think you’ve never robbed a coach before in your life,” Callum said. “I think you have no idea that it might be three days until one passes, and that when it does, the only folks who live out here are country mayors and monks. You might make three silvers, and that’s if you’re lucky. Hardly enough to feed your crew, let alone pay them.”

The man swallowed again, and Callum found himself wishing he would just take the deal. He could dispatch this band without issue—though the archer might provide a bit of trouble—but he found he didn’t wish to.

These bandits weren’t working any magic. He wasn’t even convinced they’d managed to rob anyone.

“I think perhaps you’d rather be doing something else,” hesaid, when the leader remained silent. “Also, I won’t kill you if you promise to help me. Win, win.”

“How’d you know I won’t turn on you?”

“Because you want half my gold now and half of it when we reach Inasvale.”

The man hesitated, like he was trying to think of a way around it. Callum squeezed a little tighter, and the man let out a squeak. “All right, gent, all right. You’ve convinced me.”

“Tell them.”

“Was getting to it, wasn’t I?” The old man held up his hands, palms open. “Change of plan, boys. Highway robbery’s done for the day. Today, we’re gonna be rescuers.”

CHAPTER 16

Laena smelled the site of her captivity before she’d fully awakened. Mold, damp and musty. Joined by the sweeter undercurrent of rotting wood. And beneath it all, the persistent odor of burning acid. It itched at the back of her parched throat, threatening to make her cough. But she wasn’t ready to open her eyes yet.

Her hands and ankles were bound, the ropes cutting uncomfortably into her flesh. She tried to adjust her position surreptitiously, but her back protested the movement, shoulders shooting pain up her neck after the long night in an unnatural position.

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