Chapter Twenty-One (Pt.2)
“He’s dead.”
Leah turned to see Karel kneeling by Conor’s still body. Stumbling to his side, she knelt. Her fingers fluttered over Conor’s dark gold hair, over his shrivelled face... “Conor, I’m sorry... I’m so sorry. I should have said, should have told you I wouldn’t be facing the brigands alone. I should have forbidden you to come. How can I repay you? How can I ever repay you?” Dissolving into sobs, she hid her face in her hands as Karel reached over and gripped her shoulder; both wept over their fallen comrade.
“Leah?”
The sound of Evalan’s soft, quivering voice grabbed her attention. Struggling to her feet, she walked jerkily to where he’d come to and slid off Free. Roughly, she pulled him into her embrace.
“You came,” was all he could say as he pressed his face against her mail shirt.
“Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”
He shook his head. “What’s happened? Where have they all gone?”
“I don’t know,” she said, still resting her head against his grubby hair. “But we’d better go before they return.”
Still kneeling by Conor, Karel said, “What about–?”
“We’re taking him back with us. I’m not leaving him here. What would I say to his family? To his father?”
“Who’s that?” asked Evalan.
Swallowing hard, Leah replied, “Conor.”
“He’s dead?”
“Come on, we’d better go.”
“He’s dead? Because of me?” His voice climbed to a higher pitch.
“No.”
He winced at her harsh tone.
“None of this is to do with you, do you hear me? You’re not going to start blaming yourself for this mess. Do you understand?”
A whimper escaped him as he slowly, shakily nodded.
“Leah,” said Karel, “calm down.”
Breathing hard, she lowered her voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. I’m sorry, Evalan. But I don’t want you to shoulder any blame…” She embraced him again, but this time, she did so tenderly. “I’ll get the horses.”
They left the devastated camp, retracing their steps; it wasn’t long before the dark swallowed them. Leah had Evalan on Free with her, while Karel led Conor’s horse, the fallen warrior strapped to its back.
Using her magic to ‘see’ the way, Leah kept going until she was satisfied that the camp was far enough away. Only then did she suggest they stop to rest in a small clearing amongst the towering trees. Leaving Evalan with Karel, Leah followed the sound of trickling water to a nearby stream to fetch water. While Karel prepared a simple meal, she kept watch. But the only sound was the wind stealing through the leaves.
After taking a few, small mouthfuls, Evalan asked Leah what had happened after the brigands had taken him. She tried to give him a simple answer, not wanting to say anything about Maeve, but he kept asking about their mother for he’d seen her fall. Hearing that Maeve was still in the Sanctuary, he stopped eating to stare at his plate, tears trickling down his cheeks. Putting her plate down, Leah pulled him against her, and rocked him; within minutes, he’d fallen asleep.
As she lay him down and covered him with a blanket, Leah glanced at Karel, who was tidying away their unfinished meals. “You should rest.”
“What about you? You’ve been through... a lot.”
“I know. But this is no hardship for me. Honestly. We can take turns tomorrow night.”
He hesitated a moment more then turned to get his bedding.
“Karel?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
His only reply was to reach down and grasp her shoulder.
* * * *
Leah no longer felt unnerved travelling through the quiet forest, and they made faster progress during the day, their horses picking their way confidently along the path. But they had to make frequent stops for, although Evalan insisted that he hadn’t been hurt, he struggled to spend long hours in the saddle.
He refused to say anything about how the brigands had treated him. Part of her loathed doing it, yet Leah probed Evalan’s sleeping mind during the night, for she had to know; she consoled herself that by knowing, she’d be better able to help him. His memories revealed to her how he’d been fed the bare minimum, how he had been bound to a stake each day, to suffer the taunts and blows of adult and child. Weeping silent tears, Leah vowed never to reveal that she knew, either to him or to their parents. And she couldn’t deny the part of her that was glad she’d killed that one brigand.
Their way through the Grimwood was uneventful; apart from a few animals, they came across no other living being. And when they stepped out of the forest into the ruined settlement, Leah wondered how long she’d have with her family before she’d have to return... to give herself to Belosh.
* * * *
The journey home took nearer twelve days because of Evalan. By the time they crested the hill overlooking the Road that led to Orenheart, their food supplies were barely enough to last another day.
Daylight sped away from them, twilight in swift pursuit as they galloped for home. Leah lost track of time until they were challenged.
“Halt,” came the shout again.
Leah pulled at the reins; Free fought her momentarily, clearly not wanting to stop.
“Identify yourself.”
“Assistant commander Leah,” she replied hesitantly, struggling to recognise the voice as it was difficult to discern features in the gathering gloom.
“Com–Highness?” The four riders gathered closer and peered at her.
“With Karel. And my brother.”
Shocked gasps and stares greeted her words before one of the riders tore himself away to race towards the city.
Leah allowed herself a small smile at the thought of her parents’ reaction.
“Highness, we’ve been looking everywhere–”
“We need to get the prince within the safety of the city walls,” she said to avert the need for explanation.
“Of course. Forgive us, Highness.”
If she’d been hoping to make it to the palace under cover of the darkening sky, Leah found she was very much mistaken. By the time they entered the city, it seemed as if all available torches were ablaze, illuminating the crowd awaiting them.