The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,108

The Anateri who'd pulled back to give them a degree of privacy closed in on them again as Jason sat up, looking more alert than he had in hours.

"Is there a threat?" he asked.

Eva felt her stomach dip as knots tangled around themselves. Up the line from where they'd just come there seemed to be some disturbance as the riders came to a stop.

"Keep her close," Caden warned his people.

Eva's hands tightened on her reins as the tension of the situation increased. Any fatigue and tiredness dropped away as adrenaline sank like rocks in her stomach.

They passed the rest of those who'd stopped, making their way toward the front.

Several people called out greetings and questions. Caden and the other Anateri shook their heads, as lost as the rest. Galloping hooves from the rear announced Darius's presence as he joined them.

They stopped near where Reece had dismounted, crouching with one hand on the ground as he peered over the slight ridge and the half trail that meandered down it.

"What's the hold up?" Darius asked.

Reece shook his head. "I'm not sure yet."

Ajari loped toward them, and stopped, raising his head and sniffing the air.

"I think it's mist," Reece said, his expression troubled. "But it doesn't feel quite right."

No one remarked on his comment, all of them had at least some experience with Shea. No one questioned the pathfinder's ability to sense the mist.

"Something else," Ajari said. "I haven't felt this in a very long time."

"What is it?" Reece asked. "It feels broken and jagged, like glass dipped in blood."

"Your senses are better than I gave you credit for," Ajari said. "Perhaps your people haven't lost everything after all." His head turned toward Eva. "And you? What does the Caller sense?"

Until he asked, Eva had attributed the sinking, writhing ball of snakes in her middle to her own fear. With his question she realized the source wasn't her at all, but originated from outside her psyche.

She tried to put the emotion she felt into words, but it was too big.

"Dread," she finally said. "All I feel is dread."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The others traded uneasy looks.

Reece stood and wiped his hands. "We need to get to Slig as soon as possible."

"Why?" Ghost asked. "Pathfinders can deal with the mist. Right?"

The last word was said with a touch of uncertainty.

"We can, but it's always safer to ride it out from the safety of a settlement," Reece explained.

"The mist isn't what he's afraid of. It's what is inside the mist that worries him," Ajari said with a cool look.

Another Trateri unsheathed his sword. "I'm not afraid of beasts. My pigsticker should take care of any who dares test us."

Ajari's lip curled. Had he been human Eva thought he might have been tempted to roll his eyes. "Such arrogant mice. Your splinter will do little beyond amuse most of the things that now hunt these hills."

The man gave him a gap-toothed smile and stepped forward as if to prove his mettle.

Caden stopped him. "Even a splinter can cause rot and death if overlooked."

"Either way, the pathfinder is right. Better to have walls at our back, rather than face whatever is coming out in the open," Darius said. "How much farther?"

Reece shook his head, looking worried. "Not far, over that rise."

"Then we don't have any time to waste chatting." Darius raised his voice. "Move out, maximum pace."

The Trateri wasted no time, mounting up and falling into line like the well-trained warriors they were. The idle chatter and normal banter that characterized their exchanges were gone as the rest picked up on the tension riding the air. Hands dropped to weapons, loosening the ties for easy access as their eyes scanned the horizon and hills around them.

Steep ridges rose on one side with rolling hills on the other. Now that Eva thought about it, she realized how vulnerable they were. Before this trip she'd never had cause to think about choke points and ambushes. Now she was seeing trouble everywhere she looked.

The Anateri and Caden closed in around her, their eyes narrowed as they kept watch.

"Eva, what is it?" Jason called as he rejoined them.

"Trouble," she said.

Was there really any other answer?

Jason expression was vexed. "What kind?"

"The bad kind," Jane said. "If you can talk you can ride faster."

Chastened, Jason fell silent, bending forward as he melded with the horse, letting it do it have its head as he hung on for the ride.

A good thing too, because the pace picked up, with Reece and the other scouts at the lead