The Shadow Companion - Laura Anne Gilman [14]
“Because it’s too powerful to be left in plain sight.” In the morning sun, Gerard looked as exhausted as Newt felt—Sir Matthias had had him running all night after the monk’s revelation, ensuring that everyone would be ready to leave first thing in the morning.
“And it is especially too powerful to put in a house of worship, with access given to men of faith—men to whom the power of the Grail might be an eternal temptation.” Callum was green, but not stupid.
“So it makes sense to hide it,” Newt said, his agreement clearly confusing to Callum and Gerard. Ailis, he noted, was shooting him a look that said she knew what he was doing, and while she was amused, she didn’t quite approve. Their bickering felt familiar. It felt like comfort. It felt like family.
“And to hide it somewhere with a reputation, so nobody will come looking, poking around…” he continued, despite her look.
“Somewhere with a reputation that would explain anything strange that might happen around such a powerful object!” Gerard finished the thought triumphantly.
“I hate it when you two make sense.” Ailis managed a faint imitation of her old, cheerful smile. “Fortunately it doesn’t happen often.”
In the daylight, with the mud, confusion, and lack of direction left behind them in the old encampment, the three friends plus Callum, who seemed to have attached himself to Newt, were able to pick up some of the anticipation, if not the high spirits, of the rest of their caravan. It was enough, at least, to bring back some of their old banter, the back and forth that had gotten them through difficult times before.
There was an edge to it now though, one that Newt was slowly becoming aware of, mostly from Ailis: She was sharper, more brittle with Gerard, as though trying to defend herself against attacks that never actually came. He wished he could feel more regret for that, but instead found himself taking advantage of it, agreeing with Ailis more obviously, just to rile his friend and see the flash of gratitude on her face. He knew it was small and petty, but he didn’t stop doing it.
“Did you see that?” Ailis asked suddenly.
“See what?”
If Callum were any more fidgety, Newt thought, he was going to twitch himself right out of his saddle.
“Behind Sir Matthias,” she said, indicating the direction with her chin, so as to not be too obvious about it. Newt looked but couldn’t see anything in the forest.
The knight in question reined in his horse—a great muscled beast—from the front of the line letting his knights continue on past him. Then he walked the massive charger back to where the four of them were riding.
“Gerard.” He acknowledged the others with a nod of his head, but his attention was solely on the older squire. “We will be coming to the place the monk spoke of, perhaps by midday. I will want to camp there, at least until we have some sense of where the Grail might be. I want you to take the northwest quadrant of camp, make sure it is set up properly, and let me know if there are any problems.”
It was an important job for a squire. Gerard sat up proudly in his saddle despite the weight of this responsibility.
“Sir, I—” Ailis began, then stopped when Sir Matthias turned a gentle eye on her.
“My dear, I want you to promise me you’ll stay close to one of the squires at all times. This is a rough place, and I would not wish to regret allowing you to come with us.” He patted her kindly on the cheek then, with another nod to Gerard, turned his horse and rode back to the front of the line.
The good mood among the four of them had been broken. Ailis was fuming once again, the paternal warning another reminder that she was only a girl and therefore of no use to the Quest.
Meanwhile, Callum felt slighted not only by Sir Matthias’s focus on Gerard, but by the dismissal of his new hero, Newt. Gerard, basking in the trust given him by the brave knight, was aware of their dissatisfaction but, not knowing how to deal with it, chose to ignore it instead.
“You saw something?