Heirs of Prophecy - Lisa Smedman [107]
Cautious, she landed on a branch and peered down
through the tangle of foliage. Her heart leaped to her throat as she recognized one of the riders below. It was Master Ferrick, leader of the company Tal had joined. There was no sign of Tal among the riders, who numbered less than a dozen. All of them rode as though exhausted, and one was injured, with a stained dressing wrapped around his shoulder.
Had Tal's company already been attacked by the elves, leaving these men the only survivors? Had Larajin's vision of Tal's death already come to pass?
The riders were talking together in low voices, but at this height she couldn't hear what they were saying. She stalked from branch to branch, trying to get closer to the ground. At last she could pick out a little of the hushed conversation.
"… our other patrols?" one of the men below asked.
Most of Master Ferrick's answer was pitched too low for Larajin to hear, but she thought she made out the words,.. wait for them at…" before the horses thudded on, and the riders were lost from sight again.
A rush of hope filled Larajin. They were going to wait for someone? Did that mean the company had merely split up-that Tal might still be alive?
Launching herself from the branch, she flew through the forest to a tree that lay in the general direction the men were traveling-north-then landed and strained her ears and eyes. So intent was she on watching for the men to reappear that she only realized something had landed beside her when she felt it brush against her. She turned, expecting Goldheart, but saw Leifander instead. She glanced up and saw the tressym circling anxiously overhead.
Though the soldiers were still too far away to hear him, Leifander's croaking was low, the equivalent of a whisper. The goddesses' blessing must still have been upon Larajin, for she heard what he said as plainly as if he'd spoken in Common-"Sembians?"-as well as the tightly controlled anger in his voice.
"It's Tal's company," she answered.
Leifander cocked his head as the riders came into sight again, watching. This time, the men below kept silent. More than one was looking around, as if fearful of attack. One of them looked up, and both Leifander and Larajin instinctively froze.
Leifander waited until the riders had disappeared from sight before speaking again.
"Your half-brother is not with them."
"No," Larajin admitted, "but Goldheart said Tal was coming this way."
"What of it?"
"If I can find Tal, I can warn him that the elves-"
"That the elves what?" Leifander cawed angrily. "Have windriders guarding the forest ahead? I think not!"
Frustrated, Larajin dug her claws into the branch. She had no idea what Leifander was talking about, but his accusatory tone galled her.
"We're on the same side now, remember?" she cawed back. "We're trying to stop this war."
"By betraying the elves' secrets?" Leifander asked hotly. "How human of you."
"And what of when we reach the druids?" Larajin hissed back. "Will you betray the movements of the men below and get my brother killed?"
Her words had been plain enough, but Leifander was giving her a blank look, his head cocked and his glossy black eyes unblinking. Then Larajin realized why. For some reason, her last few words had come out in the form of a tressym's angry yowl. Before she had time to wonder why this might be, Leifander launched himself into the air. Larajin, still angry, hurled herself after him, wings beating furiously.
They chased each other through the sky for several moments, he furiously cawing and she howling like a cat.
The trembling looseness that she'd felt earlier returned. Realizing that she had to land-and soon, before her spell wore off-Larajin searched the forest
below. She briefly debated trying to find the Sembian riders again, then decided against it. Master Ferrick would recognize her, but his men might not-and Larajin didn't relish the thought of dying at the edge of a "friendly" sword after startling them in the darkness.
Rauthauvyr's Road was an equally unappealing place to land-it was