37. Keelan

Chapter 37

Keelan

“ S top! We have crossbows aimed at your backs,” a man barked.

Jess had disappeared in a blur of darkness and hooves, so I decided our best option was to delay her pursuers, at least face them. I reined in my horse and turned to face the torch-bearing riders. It took Atikus a few strides to realize what was happening before he began wrestling his mount into compliance.

“Stay right there, nice and still. Hands where I can see ’em,” the man said.

As the men came into view, I recognized their uniforms as Protectorate.

“Gentlemen, what can we do for you tonight?” I asked amiably.

The Constables glanced sideways at each other, clearly baffled by my cordiality. One sat rigidly atop his horse. Bushy brown hair flecked with gray poked out of the sides of his road-worn cap. His partner looked to be in his early twenties and sat slouched in his saddle, cradling a crossbow with fidgety fingers. I hoped he could keep his twitches away from the trigger long enough for us to survive the encounter unharmed.

“Who are you, and where are you going? Where is the third person we saw with you?” the older officer demanded.

“There is no third. This is Atti, my grandfather. We’re headed home to Kitchton.” Atikus finally trotted his mount up beside me. He donned his best doddering old man expression and bobbed his head toward the men.

“You boys keepin’ the road safe for us? Thank you very much. My boy here’s okay in a pinch, but this old man couldn’t swat a fly. We need you folk out here protectin’ us. King’s blessin’s on you both.”

The gray-topped Constable’s eyes narrowed. “There were three of you. We saw you cross the road. You know it’s against the King’s law to lie to a Protector, right?”

Atikus raised both hands in a placating gesture. “Sir, we’d never lie to the King or his lawmen. We chanced across that young man you saw. Never met him before tonight. When he saw you comin’, he took off north like the Phoenix herself was chasin’ him. Can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want to meet Constables on a lonely road.”

The man scanned our horses and packs, then glared at me. After a long moment, he nodded, then motioned for his partner to lower the crossbow.

“All right. Just be careful. With the war games going on, there’s a lot of restless men with weapons about. We’ve been far too busy lately, breaking up fights and dealing with robberies. I’ve never seen it this bad.”

I cocked my head. “I’d think there’d be less trouble with all the soldiers around. That’s odd.”

“You might think that, but a lot of the men going east are raw recruits, not regulars. They’re looking for a fight, all whipped up over the kidnappings.” The Constable grimaced. “Now, I hear the damned Melucians got the Princess. It’s dark times, that’s for sure. You best get to Kitchton and stay there until all this blows over.”

Atikus feigned a couple of coughs. “Thank you, young man. We’ll do just that. You boys stay safe out here.”

The Constable started to turn but hesitated. “You say that man you met was headed north? What did he look like? Did he have any weapons?”

Atikus craned his head, pretending to think. “It’s so dark out here, and my eyes aren’t what they used to be. I think he had black hair, maybe brown. Dark, yes, it was definitely dark. Or was that his cap?” He turned to me with a helpless curiosity in his eyes.

“That was his cap, Gramp.” I rolled my eyes at the Constables. “We couldn’t see any hair, but he looked about your height. Horse was mottled gray, pretty small, looked like a pony.”

“Good to know. We patrol the road between Bo and Marlon, stay on the coast most of the time. Glad to hear that fella’s headed away from us.” With another nod, the Constables wheeled their horses and headed northwest toward their coastal home.

I spurred my horse to a trot, and we headed toward the eastern coast and Atikus’s mystical cave.

When we were well out of earshot of the Constables, Atikus said, “They must not have been sent by Isabel.”

I shot him a confused look. “How could you guess that?”

“When I said, ‘King’s blessing to you,’ they did not flinch. We went on to talk about the King’s law, and still nothing. Anyone in uniform who knew their King had been murdered would have said something about it when he was raised in conversation.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“I don’t think he bought your description of Jess, though. Her stallion is too big—even from a distance—to be mistaken for a pony of any sort. I know your Gift makes you hate lies, but we need to tighten up that story before we run into anyone else.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, I wondered. He didn’t change his expression but didn’t sound overly convinced either.” I glanced about. “Speaking of Jess, any thoughts on where she ran off to?”

Atikus shrugged. “From what she told me, she visited this area as a child but knew little about it. I cannot imagine she would run off on purpose, not in a place she knew poorly in the dead of night. We have earned more trust than that.”

“I’m not sure I have. She doesn’t like me very much.”

Atikus chuckled again. “You did not exactly have a smooth start, but she is coming around. The poor girl has been through more than either of us can imagine. She is still going through it, really. She is only sixteen. That would make her a handful without a crown on her head.”

“I guess.” I nodded thoughtfully. “To lose your father, brother, and mother all at the same time . . . and to then be told you’re in charge of a nation headed to war? That’d probably break most. When you lay it all out, she’s actually handling things pretty well—except for running away from her only two allies in the middle of the night.”

“We shall see. At this point, I say we continue toward the cave. We are probably two days from the coast, and it might take another day or so to find the entrance. She knows that is where we are headed, so we are more likely to find her there than running all over the countryside.”

I nodded again. “Fair point. I know you’re tired, but I think we should push it tonight and get as far away from where we met those Constables as possible. If they didn’t buy our story, they’ll head back with more men. We don’t want to be anywhere nearby.”