The King's Bastard - By Rowena Cory Daniells Page 0,141

nodded. Trusting him, she began sifting through their collapsed snow-cave to find her belongings and repack her travelling kit. Orrade caught Byren's eye, his expression grim. It was not as cut-and-dried and Byren made out. It was debatable whether they'd make it as far as the tradepost before the manticores attacked.

'We'll be defenceless, easy prey while we're walking.' Garzik frowned. 'If only I'd brought my hunting bow.'

Byren forced a hearty laugh. 'Planning on killing yourself a manticore, Garza? You trying to outdo me?'

The boy grinned and relaxed, but Orrade held Byren's eye. They both knew the dangers.

'Sylion's curse,' Byren muttered, 'I should have listened to Piro.'

'Why should you have listened to me?' Piro asked as she rejoined them.

'You said Lence warned -'

'A slip of the tongue. That's all it was. Horse trail, canal.' She shrugged this aside. 'What do I do with my pack?'

'Garza can climb up, toss a rope down and haul it up,' Orrade told her.

Had it been a simple slip of the tongue on Lence's part? Byren cleared his throat. 'Piro, are you sure Lence said he and Cobalt saw the manticore spoor on the horse trail?'

She frowned, thinking back. 'Cobalt didn't mention it. He arrived at Dovecote with Lence but he went on ahead to Rolenhold to let them know about Lence staying at Dovecote. When I was about to leave, Lence told me to take the canal.'

And Byren was certain Lence had told him to take the horse trail. He felt sick at heart.

'What?' Piro asked, reading his expression.

But he shook his head and cupped his hands. 'Step up. Climb as high as you can.'

For a moment it looked as if she would argue with him, then she sprang into the branches, climbing like a monkey, dislodging snow on his upturned face.

'Here, watch it!' he called.

She giggled, sounding so young and unaware of the danger that he vowed he would get her safely back to Rolenton, even if he had to kill the whole the manticore pride to do it.

But then what would he do? Sit at Rolenhold waiting for Lence to find another way to kill him? His whole body revolted at the thought. He could not accept that Lence had sent him into the path of danger. Lence didn't need to kill him. All he had to do was accuse him of being a Servant of Palos.

'Do you mean to stand there all night?' Orrade called down. Byren hadn't even noticed him climb the trunk.

'What? Here, catch.' He tossed his pack up to Orrade and climbed up, settling in the crook of the tree on a horizontal branch, three body lengths from the ground. This tree had branches like the spokes of a wheel. His was twice as thick as his waist and Orrade settled onto the corresponding branch beside him.

'Tie yourself in, Piro. You don't want to fall,' Byren called up to her, suiting his actions to his words.

'I'm not afraid of heights.'

'Tie yourself in anyway,' Orrade told her. 'You too, Garza.'

'I'm not a child!' Garzik insisted from a body length above them.

Byren could not summon up a smile, as his mind circled back. Even if Lence had deliberately sent him on the dangerous road... 'What were the chances of the pride finding us?'

He didn't realise he'd spoken aloud until Orrade answered.

'They're hungry. We crossed their path...'

'But there was a chance we'd miss -'

'I did not mention it before...' Orrade whispered reluctantly. 'But I dreamt of a manticore with Cobalt's head.'

Was it a dream or a vision? Byren didn't want to ask and it was clear Orrade didn't want to make the distinction.

'Even if Lence sent Cobalt on ahead,' Orrade continued, 'how could Cobalt ensure the manticores would attack us?'

'He couldn't,' Byren decided. Clearly, Orrade had come to the same conclusion as him - Lence's misdirection had been deliberate.

Orrade leant closer to be sure they could not be overheard. 'At best someone could have lured the pack down into the valley with cuts of meat and tried to keep them in the vicinity of this camp. But that would be incredibly dangerous and -'

'And it would only work if Lence was sure we were going to use the horse trail back to Rolenton,' Byren admitted, forced to consider the possibility. 'I know Cobalt's cunning, but I don't see how he could have lured the manticores to this camp site. Their attack was just bad luck.'

'Can you be sure?' Orrade asked softly. 'Lence believed Piro was going back to Rolenton with Garza so