Red Heir - Lisa Henry Page 0,17

thought still tasted sour in his throat when he remembered how skinny Grub was—clear evidence of how he’d been treated during his imprisonment.

“Horses,” Calarian said again, his sharp features pinched. “Maybe four or five? A few miles back still, but gaining fast. We need to get off the road.”

“Off the road?” Loth asked. “Just to clarify, you want us to get off the road?”

“Yes,” Calarian said. “Unless you’d rather wait to be recaptured.”

Grub reached around Loth and grabbed for the reins of the horse, tugging it to urge the creature to turn.

Fine. They were going off the road. The same road that was the only thing preventing them from wandering into the Swamp of Death. Which Grub had said wasn’t just named that because of the stench.

“This is a terrible idea,” Loth muttered.

“Shut up,” Grub said tersely and tugged the reins harder.

They headed off the road, and into the thickening mist.

Chapter Five

Dave led the group by virtue of the size of his mount. He was able to push through the scrubby undergrowth, making it easier for those following, although the cart was an early casualty—the wheels stuck in the gluey mud and refused to move, and it took the combined strength of Dave, Ada, Calarian and Loth to drag it out of the way. Scott shouted pointless directions like “Lift it out of the mud!” and Grub paced nervously on his horse, glancing back at the road. As soon as the way was clear and Loth had climbed back on the horse, he was forging ahead.

His urgency affected the rest of the group, and it was a tense ride as they moved forward. They left the cart to the mud and Grub rode hard on Dave’s heels, as though the extra two feet would make a difference if someone really was after them. Loth chanced a glance at his companion, took in the set jaw and the tense shoulders, and wisely didn’t make the crack he’d been planning about Grub just wanting to get closer to Dave’s horse’s arse.

There was a trail—of sorts. It was more the faintest of lines through the ferns and grasses, a hint that they weren’t the first ones to make their way through here, that someone or something else was walking in the swamps besides them. Loth wasn’t sure if that was a comfort or not. Regardless, they were here now. The stench was growing steadily worse, and the thick stands of trees obscured the light almost completely, leaving them guessing as to where they should be going. They were no longer able to ride and had to dismount and lead the horses. After they’d forged ahead for half an hour driven by guesswork and panic, Scott called a halt. “I can’t see,” he complained. “I need the map.”

“It’s too dark to read the map,” Calarian countered, clutching the document tightly.

“As your leader, I demand the map,” Scott snapped, and lunged forward and snatched it out of Calarian’s hand.

“Fine, but it’s still too dark to read it,” the elf said with a sniff.

Dave spoke up unexpectedly. “We got Pie.”

“We don’t need fire, Dave,” Scott sighed. “we need light.”

Dave’s brow furrowed. “Fire... light?” he ventured.

At that, Scott’s expression brightened. “I have Had A Thought,” he proclaimed, and Loth could hear the capital letters. “We shall use the dragon as light to read the map, and I shall lead us to safety.”

Well, he’d certainly lead them somewhere, of that Loth had no doubt. He just wasn’t sure that he wanted to follow. Still, he nudged at Pie where he was sleeping in the pocket of his scarf.

“Come on, little one,” he murmured, “go keep our great and glorious leader happy.”

Up until then, Loth never knew that a dragon could roll its eyes, but Pie managed it just fine. Then he stretched his wings and flapped them once or twice, yawning, and glided over to land on Scott’s shoulder. Loth was pleased to see that once again, the dragon crapped down Scott’s back. It was almost like it was deliberate.

Scott was blissfully unaware as he held up the parchment. “I NEED YOU TO BREATHE FIRE ON THIS,” he said loudly, pointing at the map.

So Pie did.

The scroll caught alight almost instantly, and Scott flailed wildly and dropped it into the mud, where the flame burned inexplicably brighter for a second, consuming the entire thing. Pie made a pleased sound, and flapped over to Dave, chittering excitedly. Loth couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like the dragon was congratulating