Page 1 of Captive

Chapter 1

Afallen tree blocked the road ahead.

Novikke frowned down at it from the bed of the wagon as they shuddered to a stop. There was a pause as the wagon’s four occupants looked down at the tree in dismay.

“That’s not good,” murmured Ermo, the old man in the driver’s seat.

“No,” Novikke agreed. She hopped down to the ground to study the tree up close. Dimos followed her.

Her hand crept to the hilt of her sword as she glanced up at the darkening woods beyond the road. This close to Kuda Varai, it was wise to keep your weapons within reach.

She couldn’t see any saw marks on the tree. It didn’t look like it had been put there intentionally.

“The storm the other day must have knocked it down,” she said.

Dimos snorted. “Just my luck. First the bandits, now this.”

Novikke gave him a sideways glance. She’d only known the man for a few hours and was already tiring of him.

The horses snorted and shuffled their feet as if something had disturbed them. She watched them, wondering if they sensed something she could not. It was said that animals were more sensitive to magic energy than humans were.

There was no way for the wagon to get past the tree. And the tree was too heavy for them to move.

“We won’t be able to pass,” she said. “Unless anyone has an axe?”

She turned to the old couple perched on the driver’s bench. Ermo and Chrysana. They’d picked up Dimos and herself a couple hours ago when they’d passed them traveling on foot. A generous offer, considering they were strangers in the rural parts of Ardani. She supposed the Ardanian army uniforms made them seem more trustworthy.

Normally she would have had a horse of her own to ride. This time, there had been a mix-up at the stable where she should have changed horses. Instead of a rested horse waiting for her, there was nothing. Dimos, another soldier on his way to Livaki after taking leave to recover from an injury, had had the same problem.

“There’s always the forest road,” Ermo said.

Novikke frowned. “When dusk is approaching?”

“Well, we can’t camp on the road. And it’s too late to go back to Valtos. Would you rather risk running into bandits or wolves on the road? We ought to just push through to Livaki as quick as we can.”

The old forest road, which forked off the main road a mile or two behind them, crossed through the edge of the night elves’ forest, Kuda Varai.

She didn’t even like being this close to the forest’s border. Being inside it was another matter entirely. The night elves were fiercely protective of their forest, and vicious in their encounters with humans.

Only the desperate took that road. Only the most foolish would take it at night, when the nocturnal night elves were awake and watching.

It was unlikely that any of them would happen to be crossing the very edge of the forest at the same time their wagon was, but… Well. Night elves greeted humans by killing them. Novikke had never seen one in person, and she was inclined to keep it that way.

“You two can keep on walking if you want to,” Ermo said. “That tree’s not stopping you. But we’re going around.”

He waited. His wife pressed her lips together, squeezing her hands in her lap. She gave Novikke a pleading look. At least one of them had enough sense to be afraid.

“I’ll stay with you. I’m not worried about any night elves,” Dimos said, patting a hand to the pommel of his sword. “Let them come. If any of the slimy bastards bother us, they’ll regret it.”

Novikke folded her arms. “If you see a bear in the wilderness, do you walk up to it and poke it, or go around it so that you can both go on with your day?”

“I’ll walk where I please, and if that bothers the bear, then so be it. If it’s foolish enough to try to harm me or mine, I’ll happily cut it down.”

“If we cross into their lands, we’re opening ourselves up to sanction. Everyone knows the border is closed. It’s always been closed. We should avoid it.”

“It’s only a few miles,” Ermo said. “Come now. You’re worrying over nothing.”

Novikke rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was on a tight schedule. She had a stack of letters to deliver to Fort Greenbar, and another to take back to Valtos after that. But none of it was anything that couldn’t wait another half-day to arrive. Not when the alternative was crossing through Kuda Varai.

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