Page 26 of Highland Slayer
“What about ye?”
“Whataboutme?”
“Are ye married?”
Estevan gestured in Anaxandra’s direction. “Dunna ask that question in front of her,” he whispered loudly. “Why do ye think she tried tae kill ye? She’s the jealous type.”
To her credit, Lorna seemed to accept that statement, bowing her head and casting Anaxandra a long side-eye to make sure the woman wasn’t about to strike because she was protecting her property. Convinced that Lorna had finally gotten the message that he wasn’t interested in whatever romance she had in mind, Estevan put his foot in the stirrup to lift himself into the saddle. But a big hand slapped him on the arse before he could make it.
He could hear Lorna laughing all the way back into her stall.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“We’re never goingtae reach The Butcher’s,” Kaladin said glumly.
He and Titan were nearing the mouth of the River Nith as it joined with the Solway Firth, heading toward the area where the ruins of the small boat was found yesterday. The rain had let up, but only for the moment. They were in a patch of blue sky, and all around them were clouds and rain. But for now, that spot of blue sky allowed sunbeams to shine upon the shore banks of the river.
It wasn’t particularly sandy, but very silty. The land around the river was lush and full of greenery, so the riverbank was rocky and dirty this far south. Kaladin knew right where he’d seen the boat, but his mention of The Butcher’s was more for the fact that they were heading in the opposite direction of the establishment.
That wasn’t the way he wanted to go.
Titan was aware of this. He felt much the same way, but unlike youthful Kaladin, he kept his feelings to himself.
“If not this time, there will be another time, I’m sure,” he said steadily. “Now, where, exactly, did you see the boat yesterday?”
Kaladin directed his distinctive black-and-white horse all the way to the river’s edge. He looked around, orienting himself, until he pointed southward.
“Down there,” he said. “In fact, I think I can see it.”
Titan strained to see what Kaladin was seeing, even as Kaladin took off in that direction. He followed, but as theyapproached what looked like a pile of broken wood, the landscape leveled out and they could see something else.
More boats.
“Stop,” Titan commanded. “Kal, stop here.”
Kaladin obeyed, reining his horse to a halt with Titan alongside him. They could both see that there were five more boats on the shore, not far from the wreckage. Concerned, Titan began to look around.
“I do not see anyone else,” he said. “Do you?”
Kaladin stood up in his stirrups, searching for another living soul. “Nay,” he said. “There’s no one.”
Titan didn’t say anything, but he didn’t like what he was seeing. In fact, he had a bad feeling about the entire situation. Dismounting his steed, he began to make his way over to the wreckage. Kaladin wasn’t far behind him when Titan came to a sudden halt.
“Look at all of the footprints,” Titan said, pointing. “They’re all around the wreckage of that boat.”
Kaladin was starting to catch on. “It’s what Estevan was talking about,” he said. “The Ormsfolk. The Serpent People. God’s Bones, do ye think it’s them?”
Titan couldn’t think of who else it would be. Slowly, he backed up, stepping only where he’d stepped before.
“Find something to wipe away our tracks,” he told Kaladin. “I do not want anyone knowing we’ve been here.”
Kaladin turned to their mounts, several yards back, munching on seagrass. “What about the horses?” he said with concern. “They’ll see their hooves in the dirt.”
“Nay,” Titan said, shaking his head. “They’re still on the grass for the most part. They may notice a little, but we cannot worry about that now. I need to get a better look at that boat.”
Kaladin rushed into the grass about ten feet away, going to the nearest sapling, growing crooked against the constant seabreeze, and broke off two good-sized branches with leaves on them. He returned to Titan, handing him one, and the men began to erase their footsteps from the silty shore.
“If the rain comes, it will wash any evidence of us away completely,” Titan said. “And it has been raining all night, which leads me to believe these men have arrived within the past couple of hours.”
