Ghostwalker (Book 1) (23 page)

Jade took another swallow of her coffee, enjoying the feel of the sun on her back. “Do you think they’re right?”

The man put down his cup. “Who can say? Things aren’t always the way they appear.” He took another bite of cheese, chewing thoughtfully. “They may be secretive, but I don’t think they’re necessarily evil.”

A bird flew into a branch above Jade’s head, flitting its wings and singing merrily. “So how do we move him?” she asked after a moment’s silence.

Joseph took another bite of the bread. “He won’t be able to get very far on a horse,” he said. “What we need is something to carry him. I think I have an idea. It’s not fantastic, but it’s better than nothing.”

Jade leaned forward. “What is it?”

“Something that would help,” the scout said vaguely. He finished off the bread, then rose quickly to his feet. “I’m going to go check your friend’s bandage. Gather your stuff together. The quicker we leave, the better.”

“All right,” Jade said, still a bit confused. As Joseph crossed over to Kendril, she knelt down by the pistols, picking one up in her hands. They seemed dry enough. She collected them, testing the flints in succession.

She glanced back over at Joseph. “What about Maklavir?”

The scout finished tying off a new bandage. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll catch up to him.” His eyes fell on the pistols. “Do you always carry around that many guns with you?” he asked lightly.

Jade gave an embarrassed smile. “Oh, no. These are Kendril’s. I was just drying them out.”

Joseph walked over, and picked one of the weapons up. He ran his thumb across the flint. “These should probably be sharpened,” he murmured, “They’ll spark a bit better. Should swab out the barrels with a dry cloth, too, just to make sure there’s no moisture left. I have one in the pack, if you want. But they look dry enough.” He turned the weapon over in his hands, giving Jade a sidelong glance. “This Kendril…do you know anything about him? Who he is, where he comes from, anything like that?”

“No,” replied Jade, getting to her feet. “He wouldn’t talk about it. Why do you ask?”

The bearded man handed the pistol back to her. “These are finely crafted dueling pistols. They look fairly expensive.” He grabbed the sack lying on the ground. “Just curious, that’s all.”

Jade looked down at the pistol in her hand with renewed interest, but said nothing in reply.

“Well,” said Joseph, latching the sack back onto his horse’s saddle, “for now I think our best bet is to put your friend there on the horse. It won’t be too comfortable for him, but right now I think it’s our only option.”

“All right,” said Jade. “I’ll walk alongside.”

Joseph nodded, taking a deep breath of air and staring off intently into the woods. The sun was completely above the horizon now, and most of the frost from the night before had melted away. The air seemed a bit warmer. Already two squirrels were busy hopping from branch to branch overhead.

“Looks like it’s shaping up to be a fine day,” he said. “Let’s head out.”

The going was slow, with an unconscious Kendril draped atop Joseph’s horse and Jade walking alongside with one hand on his leg to steady him. Joseph often sprinted ahead of them, disappearing silently through the brush. Sometimes he was gone for several minutes. No detail seemed to escape his attention. He listened to every birdcall, noticed every bent leaf or branch, and constantly scanned the ground for telltale marks. Jade often saw him duck back behind them, and she suspected that he was trying to somehow cover their tracks.

It was certainly warmer than the day before, and there was no trace of even a rain cloud in the sky. Birds twittered endlessly through the leafy boughs of the woods through which they traveled, and Jade felt strangely comforted by their voices. The sun was shining bright and full, and any remnants of rain were quickly burning off in wisps of steam. The ground was still muddy in places, however, and she was soon glad to be wearing the boots she had found back at the Outpost.

It was mid-morning before they finally stopped. They had been traveling in a northeastern direction, through heavy woods, though Jade suspected that they would probably hit the main road before long. Kendril was still unconscious, his arms wrapped around the neck of Joseph’s horse. His face looked as if it was getting the tiniest bit of color back. Jade took it as a hopeful sign.

Joseph came back from where he had been scouting ahead of their path. “I think we’ve found your friend,” he said. “Unless there are several people running around the Howling Woods wearing purple capes.”

Jade felt her heart leap. “Where?”

The scout motioned ahead. “Ahead, about fifty yards or so. I’ll take you to him.”

A few minutes later they came upon the diplomat. Kendril’s mule was sitting obstinately on the ground, and Maklavir was pulling hard on his bridle. His back was turned to them.

“Come on, you wretched animal,” he said, giving the bridle a hard yank. “This is no time to take a break.”

Simon brayed an uncivilized reply.

Maklavir straightened. “Why, you brutish, undisciplined—”

Jade jumped down a slight incline, running towards him. “Maklavir!”

He looked up in surprise. “Jade? Good heavens—”

She gave him a warm hug. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”

“Well,” Maklavir said with a sardonic smile, “I guess that would make two of us.” He held Jade out at arm’s length, looking her over. “You’re not hurt at all, then? Marvelous. Where is Kendril?”

Jade’s face fell slightly. “He was shot, Maklavir. It’s pretty bad. Joseph treated his wound, but he’s still unconscious.”

The diplomat looked at her strangely. “Joseph?” He glanced up, and noticed the scout for the first time.

The young woman stepped back. “Oh, I’m sorry. Maklavir, this is Joseph. Kendril and I would be dead right now if it wasn’t for him.”

“Well, then,” said Maklavir, extending his hand to the bearded man, “I suppose we all owe you a debt of thanks. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Maklavir, diplomat and barrister, formerly of the court of King Luxium of Valmingaard.”

Joseph took the outstretched hand. “Joseph,” he said.

Simon gave a plaintive whine, shaking his tail and nudging Jade. She rubbed his nose affectionately.

“Good to see you, too, Simon,” she said.

The mule snorted happily.

“I have to admit,” said Maklavir, readjusting the cap on his head, “I was doubtful that either you or Kendril were still alive. I’m glad to see that I was wrong.”

Jade glanced worriedly over at the Ghostwalker, still slumped on the horse’s back. “Kendril’s barely holding on, I’m afraid. I don’t know how much longer we should keep him on that horse.”

“I have another plan,” said Joseph. “It’s not much, but it would mean traveling east for a ways.”

Maklavir cocked his head. “You’d be willing to accompany us?” he said, rather suspiciously. “Where are you headed?”

Joseph gave a wry smile. “I
was
going to the Outpost, but I heard that the inn there has burned down of late.”

Jade scratched Simon on the ear. “Joseph is a scout, Maklavir. He could guide us to the nearest town.”

The diplomat beamed. “A pathfinder, eh? That’s certainly good news. I’m afraid we’ve been bumbling around rather badly up until now. How much will your services cost, my good man?”

The scout thought for a moment. “Five hundred coins.”

Maklavir’s jaw dropped. “Five--?”

Joseph gave a hearty laugh and clapped the diplomat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry yourself. I’m heading east anyway, so I don’t see the harm in taking on a few more traveling companions. Besides, I could use the company.”

Jade crossed her arms. “We’ll pay you whatever we can when we reach the nearest town.”

The scout lifted his hand. “I’m not the kind of man to extort money out of people in a tight spot. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I did.” He shook his head adamantly. “No money. I’ll get you to the nearest town. You can figure out what to do from there.”

“Thank you, Joseph,” said Jade gratefully.

Maklavir straightened his cape. “You’re a good man.” He looked behind him, trying to see through the thick woods. “Now all we have to do is to find the road again. I’ve been staying well away from it, just in case that bounty hunter comes back. It’s probably a few miles away from here.”

Joseph pointed to the left. “The road? It’s about twenty yards that way.”

The diplomat stared at him. “You’re joking.”

A smile formed on Joseph’s face. “How did you folks ever get along without me?”

Chapter 16

“Here.” Joseph waded through ankle-high leaves and grabbed at a large bush.

“Here what?” Maklavir followed behind him, kicking leaves out of the way as he tried to keep his cape from touching the ground. “I don’t see anything.”

The scout gave a sudden yank on the bush. A camouflaged netting came flying loose, revealing a rickety cart underneath.

“Oh,” said Maklavir.

Joseph brushed some stray leaves and branches off the cart. “I found it about six months ago, right here just off the road. Trappers or bandits sometimes hide things like this deep in the woods, so they can have some convenient transportation easy at hand if they need it.”

Maklavir peered curiously at the wagon. It was a dusty gray color, with moss growing on the carriage and vines crawling up through the wheels. It was covered with grime and dirt. He wrinkled his nose. “It looks like it has been sitting out here for a while.”

Joseph nodded, moving around to the other side of the wooden cart. “Yeah. Chances are someone put it out here and then forgot all about it.”

“But if we take it, won’t we be stealing?” Maklavir folded his cape over his arm, tired of trying to keep it out of the slimy leaves below.

“Oh, technically speaking I suppose so.” Joseph tore a vine away from the wagon. “But that Ghostwalker friend of yours may not make it to the next town if he has to ride the whole way. This cart will make things a whole lot easier for him. Besides, it’ll start rotting if it’s left out here too much longer.”

“I see.” Maklavir shrugged. “So what do we do from here?”

 “Well,” said Joseph as he examined the underside of the wagon, “I’d say we have to get this up to the road.”

Maklavir looked unenthusiastically down at the filthy wagon. “You mean
pull
it up?”

The scout positioned his hands on the back of the cart. “Well, yeah. Or you can push, and I can pull. Either way is fine with me.”

Maklavir gave a sigh. “No, pulling is fine.” He gingerly grabbed the front of the cart, trying to keep his clothes from touching any part of it.

“Ready?”

The diplomat looked back up at the road. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said with a grimace.

They had found the driest place on the trail possible, under the branches of a large oak tree. Maklavir and Joseph had managed to get Kendril down off the horse and had leaned him up against the rough bark of the tree trunk. After that the two men had gone off the road to the right, into the woods in search of whatever Joseph hoped to find there.

Jade sat down against a tree near Kendril, quietly loading the Ghostwalker’s three pistols. There was no sign of the bounty hunter or his men yet, but Jade had little doubt that they would be coming yet again. She kept glancing down the road, expecting the one-eyed man to appear around the bend at any moment.

Simon sniffed sadly at the blood on Kendril’s pants, then gave a low whine.

Jade finished the last pistol, then reached over and patted the beast reassuringly on his muzzle. “Don’t worry, boy. He’ll be fine.”

The mule gave her a doubtful look.

She couldn’t really blame him. To be honest, she wasn’t entirely convinced herself. She looked over at Kendril again. He hadn’t shown any signs of life since they had gotten him off the horse.

Simon gave a loud snort and pressed his head into Jade’s shoulder.

Kendril moved.

His head rolled on his shoulders, and he gave a low moan, then a sharp intake of breath.

Simon jerked his head up with a start.

Jade moved quickly over to the Ghostwalker’s side. “Kendril?” she asked hopefully. She pushed the hood back from his face.

She saw him swallow, then his eyes fluttered ever so slightly, opening to mere slits.

Jade felt her breath catch. “Kendril, can you hear me?” She suddenly realized that she was running her hand down the side of his face. She quickly pulled it back.

“Celeste?” he managed, his voice almost inaudible.

She froze. “No, it’s Jade,” she managed after a moment. “Maklavir is here, too, over in the woods. How are you feeling?”

The Ghostwalker’s eyes slipped shut once again. “Jade,” he murmured softly, then was silent.

Simon gave another concerned whine.

Jade absently reached up and stroked the mule’s broad nose. She felt strangely pained, and she didn’t quite know why. Kendril had stirred from his coma, and that was a good sign.

Still, she couldn’t get the Ghostwalker’s reply out of her head.
Celeste
…?

A loud crash from the other side of the road suddenly caught her attention. Simon pulled away with a startled snort, and Jade jumped to her feet.

A very disheveled and unhappy-looking Maklavir pulled a gray cart out of the bushes, and a second later Joseph followed, pushing it from behind.

Jade stared at the contraption in amazement.

Joseph pulled away from the cart and clapped his hands together. “This should make things easier. How is he doing?”

Jade felt herself pause for a moment. “Fine,” she said, “just fine. He actually spoke a moment ago. I think he’s doing better.”

The scout moved around to the front of the wagon. “Good. I was hoping that salve I put on the wound would help. It’s powerful stuff, that’s for sure.” He bent over the side of the cart and ran his hand across the wooden planks. “It’ll be a bumpy ride. We can put down some blankets to make it a little better for him.”

Maklavir clucked his tongue sadly, and twisted his head to look over his shoulder at his cape. “Look at this,” he groaned. “It will be nothing more than a fancy rag by the time we ever get to a decent-sized town.”