A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,160
he would not be gentle and would hold Petrous responsible. Looking into his eyes and seeing the promise of pain, Petrous gathered his men and relayed that order. Nonetheless, Dominic and Marcus each took a turn standing watch while the others slept, though the night passed without incident.
As the sun rose over the forest, they reloaded the wagon to leave. Jake and Jonas, though both looked better, were still feeling weak and needed to ride in the wagon. Marcus tied off Dontas to the back of the wagon, then mounted his horse. Hailyn took the reins of the wagon, waiting for Dominic.
He was making a last-minute check of their supplies, sorting through the material surrounding Jake and Jonas. After some thought, he called Petrous over. He thanked him for allowing them to stay and gave him the extra horses, weapons and armor. "May you have better luck with them." He said as he climbed onto Shadow.
They left the camp behind, backtracking to the easterly road. When they reached it, Dominic had Marcus join them at the wagon.
"We have to make a decision." Dominic said. "One of the miners says he saw a young woman with a group of half-men heading east along this road. He could not describe her as she passed quickly and he was soon being pursued by half-men, but it is possible that it was the princess. We have to decide whether to continue on or turn back to gather more forces from Alleon."
"If there is a chance it was the princess, we have to follow." Marcus declared. "We cannot leave her in their hands a moment longer than necessary." He spat, hands curling into fists, then continued. "Also, if any survivors of the fight last night make it back, they would be warned of our approach. They could move her or fortify their positions by the time we returned. I say we go on."
Jonas sat up in the wagon, holding on to the side panel. "I would suggest we continue on at least until we have definitive proof the princess went this way." He said, voice weak. "Once we have that, we can explore our options then."
Dominic looked at Jake and Hailyn, who both nodded. "It looks like we continue on." He spurred Shadow, turning east along the road.
They pressed on for most of the day, the forest rolling by, Dominic out front and Marcus covering the rear. The terrain gradually transitioned into rolling hills, with the trees spreading out and more rocks protruding from the soil. Jake and Jonas slowly recovered, feeling better by the afternoon, though neither had the strength to call up their power.
In the late afternoon, they came across another fork in the road. While the others stayed with the wagon, Dominic and Marcus each rode their horse to scout ahead. Marcus went up the easterly road while Dominic headed south.
Marcus returned first, an excited look on his face. He rode up to the wagon and showed them a small pearl bead that he had spotted in the dirt. "Clearly, Keria went east. Once Dominic returns, we should continue on."
They quietly discussed their options, with Marcus and Jake wanting to press on, while Jonas and Hailyn were not so sure. They were in the middle of their conversation when they heard a horse approaching at high speed along the southern road. Dominic pulled up, reining in Shadow at the last minute.
"Can either of you raise your power?" He quickly asked Jake and Jonas. When both shook their heads, he cursed under his breath. He sat on Shadow, silent for a moment, then spoke again.
"There is a large party of half-men and several Imps coming this way." He said, face hard. "We will not be able to mask our trail and we cannot outrun them. If you can't help, then standing and fighting is out of the question." He drew his sword, blade gleaming. "I will have to lead them away to give you time to escape."
"You can't do that, Dominic!" Jake protested, struggling to rise. "It's suicide!"
"Boy, I've done this..." Dominic began, but Jake cut him off.
"Tell him, Jonas!" Jake said, voice thick with emotion, appealing to Dominic's oldest friend. "We'll find another way."
"Boy..." Dominic started.
"No! I will not listen!" Jake cried. "You can't do this!"
"Boy!" Dominic tried again.
Jake ignored him, pleading with Hailyn to help him convince Dominic. She listened, her eyes sad, but did not get a chance to speak.