‘Pray,’ said Ilkar. ‘And if you had any sense, you’d be doing the same.’
Chapter 29
The bandages boiled once again in the mugs above a small fire consisting mainly of embers. Smoke spiralled into the bright dawn sky, cloud clearing after the latest burst of rain. Yron had made Ben-Foran as comfortable as he could in a cut-in above the sloping banks of the River Shorth late the night before, after walking into the evening only because Ben had dredged energy from somewhere and didn’t want to stop.
Yron had boiled the blood-soaked bandages that night and replaced them, and now he was repeating the procedure he still refused to believe was futile. But Ben was dying. The fact would have been obvious to a blind man. His night had been full of delusions. He’d cried out and Yron had forgone any rest to be at his side, to soothe his fears. Infection was setting in quickly despite Yron’s best efforts and his knowledge of rainforest herbs.
He’d been without food too. They both had, existing only by chewing on the scraped bark and leaves of guarana, which provided basic energy. It had to be enough. They didn’t have the time or the energy to hunt, or forage for anything other than medicinal plants.
And Yron himself was beginning to succumb. His bites from the piranha weren’t healing and the insects had done their work too. He thought he might make it back to the ship but only if he was unencumbered. Trouble was, there was no way he was leaving Ben.
While the bandages bubbled, he fed Ben guarana and made him drink menispere to fight the fever. He laid boiled leaves of the same plant on his horrible leg wounds, apologising for the thousandth time as the pain ravaged his lieutenant. But as usual Ben didn’t cry out or complain. Indeed he even managed a smile.
Throughout the previous day, as they’d walked with agonising slowness along the banks of the river, Yron’s admiration for the young man had grown. His spirit was amazing. Unquenchable. He remained as alert as he could. He still talked, still wanted to learn. Even for a determined soldier like Yron, it was truly inspirational. Ben would be a great leader of men. Would have been.
‘You respect them, don’t you?’ asked Ben suddenly, his words coming through short breaths.
‘The elves?’
‘The ones chasing us.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Yron. ‘Their skill is extraordinary.’
‘They will catch us, won’t they?’
‘Yes,’ said Yron. ‘Unless our luck holds, that is. Hard to think we’ve been lucky so far, but we have. They are utterly ruthless and we have committed a crime that carries the death penalty in their eyes. If they do catch up with us, there’ll be no mercy shown.’
‘So why do you think they haven’t caught us yet?’ asked Ben.
‘Because they aren’t absolutely certain where we’re going. When they know, they’ll move.’ Yron stirred the bandages and began hooking them out. ‘And that’s the game for us and for anyone else still alive out there if they did but know it. Keep the TaiGethen guessing, keep alive. Simple.’
But it wasn’t. Soon, if not already, the TaiGethen would know their exact destination and the ClawBound would confirm it.
‘You ready to go?’ he asked.
Ben laughed, coughing at the same time. ‘Never better, sir. Get the bandages on and let’s run.’
‘Whatever you say, son.’
Auum completed the prayers and stood, his Tai around him. They turned to the small fire and unwrapped the fish that had been cooking in its embers. Swallowing the succulent flesh, Auum’s mood darkened. There were mages out there with the running strangers and though ClawBound and a full Tai had attacked a camp of four, they had not found the mage and the writings were still with him. A scouring of the camp had revealed nothing.
Elsewhere, a mage shielded another band of desecrators from the eyes of the panthers and the TaiGethen. But the two groups with no magical support were caught and dead, their prizes given up and even now being returned to Aryndeneth. But the mages worried him. Because mages could fly faster than a panther could run and a TaiGethen cell track. And on his own, with no companions to protect, a mage might well choose that option. It all depended on his energy in the stamina-sapping conditions of the rainforest.
‘Is there a ClawBound near?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ said Duele.
‘Bring them.’
Auum sorted more fish from the fire while Duele was gone and took one of the fresh