this would destroy it. Coward that I was, I’d hoped to be long gone before she realized, so I wouldn’t have to face the look in her eyes.
Maybe I could still delay the moment of truth. “Kellan woke up, and the avalanche rattled him so bad he’s panicked over another slide hitting us while the convoy’s stuck here. I thought I’d take him on an overnight scout, give him something else to think about. We’ll need to know the conditions up ahead, anyway.”
“Don’t, Dev. Just...don’t. How stupid do you think I am? You’ve got enough food there for a week. You mean to leave the convoy, right when I need your help the most.” Each word was barren as the Gosashen blight.
“I have good reason—!” I choked back the truth that crowded my throat. Cara’s life was worth more than our friendship.
She strode forward. The lanternlight fell on her face and revealed the bleak fury she’d kept from her voice. “Good reason! Gods damn you, Dev. Kinslayer was bad enough, but this! Is the profit from your smuggling truly worth more to you than anything else?”
I froze, too taken aback to even blink. Anger warred with contempt in her blue eyes.
“Did you really think I didn’t know about your little sideline? I’ve turned a blind eye because I know how Ninavel works. If it wasn’t you, it’d only be somebody else. Better if it was you, I thought, because I believed you’d never let it interfere with the safety of the convoy.” She directed a meaningful look at the supplies sitting on the ground between us. “I guess I was pretty fucking stupid after all.”
“Cara, I—”
She rode right over my words. “What, you think you’d better cut and run like Pello, because whatever you’re smuggling might’ve earned you the ire of a mage? They’ll say you were in league with Pello, that you brought the avalanche on our heads same as he did. Hell, I’d agree with them if I hadn’t seen you two face off like sandcats marking territory.”
“Wait, what? Pello—what?” I goggled at her, wondering if I’d completely misheard.
“He stole my horse not twenty minutes gone. Rode her down into the basin like a man demon-marked, and crossed the snowfield below the slide, heading west. Meldon ordered us to let him go, says we’re safer without him. He’s sure the avalanche was on Pello’s account, that he must’ve been carrying contraband stolen from a mage and now he’s running for Alathia in hope of saving his worthless skin.”
Or in hope of selling information on Kiran to the Alathians. Shit. Ruslan might chase him down and drag him back for questioning, but I didn’t dare count on that.
The skin around Cara’s eyes tightened, her mouth thinning. “The way the drovers are talking, if Pello ever shows his face back in Ninavel, he’ll get strung up for the vultures. You want to join him, is that it?”
Pello’s move made little sense to me, given he must’ve known he’d take the blame for the avalanche, but I’d ponder his reasons later. If he reached the border before us and spilled his tale to the Alathian mages, we’d never make it through. All the more reason to get moving.
“Look, Cara, ganglords aren’t exactly patient or forgiving. I promised a delivery date for my goods, and I’ve got to keep that promise. I can’t wait around for days while we dig out the route. Soon as I get to Kost, I’ll tell the importers about the avalanche—they can send Meldon a relief party with replacement mules.” Twenty dead mule teams meant Meldon would have to cache some cargo, even if he distributed as much as he could amongst the surviving teams. Merchant houses never left much weight margin, and the convoy still had to make the steep climb over Arathel Pass.
“Meldon needs experienced outriders right now a hell of a lot more than he needs mules, and you know it. You talk of promises—what about the promise you made when you signed on with the convoy?” Cara’s fists tightened at her sides. “What the fuck is wrong with you? That little bitch tossed you out on your ass, so now you’ve got to prove you’re just as selfish and cold as she is? Congratulations, you’re doing a great job.”
I flinched. You selfish, backstabbing bitch! I’d shouted at Jylla. When your Taint burned out, your soul went with it! All you have left is ashes and greed! Her eyes had glittered, her mouth curling.