The Lost Library of Cormanthy - Mel Odom [15]
He clasped the sling in his hand, then moved forward into the open, gliding between the leaves and the branches. Jaeleen had her back to him. He made no noise that she could hear.
Coming up behind her, he reached forward and clapped a hand over her mouth. She struggled immediately, becoming a hellion in his grasp. Baylee used his body weight to subdue her, managing it with difficulty because he didn't want to hurt her.
She waved the vicious little hand crossbow and tried to bring it to bear.
Baylee kept his hand over her mouth. She bit him, and her teeth penetrated the rough leather of his gloves with enough force to hurt but not break the skin. "Jaeleen!" he hissed into her ear. "Be quiet, or you'll have them down on us!"
She stopped struggling, but her body remained tense. He released his hold on her lower face. She turned her head to look at him.
"Baylee?"
He met her gaze. "Yes."
Without warning, she kicked him betwixt wind and water.
I warned you about her, Xuxa said. She knows no allegiance except what she gives willingly. You do not mean as much to her as you think.
Baylee rolled away to deflect part of the kick. But he crashed through the dead leaves and branches scattered across the ground, causing a great deal of noise. As he got to his feet, he heard orders bellowed in the distance. Then the sound of running feet echoed through the forest, approaching quickly.
Jaeleen leveled her hand crossbow at Baylee's chest. Her finger whitened on the trigger.
2
"Baylee!" Recognition dawned in Jaeleen's eyes over the edged bolt of the hand crossbow.
"Yes." Baylee took a tentative breath, really surprised when it didn't hurt too badly.
"What are you doing here?" Jaeleen remained behind cover, her attention divided between the ranger and the approaching group bashing their way through the forest.
"Camping," Baylee replied. He turned his own attention to the crashing noises coming through the brush. The group no longer worried about remaining quiet. He pointed at the hand crossbow. "Would you mind aiming that somewhere else?"
Jaeleen shifted the crossbow, but not far. She reached up and knocked leaves from her hair. Oak seeds whirled around and descended to the ground. "You expect me to believe you were camping?"
"Not since you've been spying on me."
Dark anger coasted across the shadowed planes of the woman warrior's face. "Spying is kind of a harsh term, don't you think?"
Baylee let some of his own anger sound in his voice. "What exactly would you call it?"
Jaeleen's mouth made an O of surprise. "You think I followed you here!"
"I've been here for hours," Baylee retorted, "and you've only just arrived. What would you think?"
The crashing through the forest neared, sounding remarkably like hounds taking to the brush. The bellowed commands became clearer, and this time Baylee was able to recognize the language being used.
An orc raiding party, Xuxa said. They must have cut your trail, or the woman's.
"How dare you think I would follow you! I swear by the fair hair of Tymora, my chosen goddess, that I had no idea you were here until I saw you on that hillside!" Jaeleen looked indignant.
Her words rang true, but Baylee knew the woman had the gift of making any implausibility sound like the truth. He'd had experience. "Then what are you doing here?" he demanded.
She hesitated. "Traveling."
Baylee snorted his disbelief, an obscene sound that Xuxa instantly rebuked him for through their silent communication. "Ranger's Way is six miles to the east. You're out in the rough."
"I was hoping to shave a few days off my journey to Plungepool."
"What business have you in Plungepool?"
"I went to see the falls, if it's any business of yours," Jaeleen snapped. "Which, of course, it isn't. I've heard a lot about the area."
"You've never been there?"
"No."
Baylee struggled to believe that. Still, most of the times he'd occasioned to
meet Jaeleen had been along the Sword