Jayne Castle [Jayne Ann Krentz] (33 page)

sudden certainly. It just took a different shape.

Ridge rode in silence for a while, leading the way across the valley floor and up along the trail that led

back through the mountains. Kalena knew he was turning something over in his mind, but she didn't ask

what it was. She had her own thoughts to occupy her.

When she turned to reach for her warm cloak, a familiar, small pouch came briefly into view as she

scrabbled around inside her bag. It was the packet of crushed selite leaves. Kalena's hand stilled as she

remembered she had forgotten to take yesterday's dosage.

"Kalena? Anything wrong?" Ridge glanced back at her as his creet rounded a small bend in the trail.

"No," she called back, and then added under her breath, "at least, I hope not." Desperately, she tried to

calculate how long it would be before she knew for certain if she would suffer the consequences of last

night's unprotected lovemaking. The memory of her own burning passion was unnerving. But there was

nothing she could do about it now. It would be some time before she found out if yet another fate had

been bestowed upon her.

Kalena sighed and told herself that the odds were in her favor. Surely she would not have to pay for one

day's lapse. She watched Ridge as he rode ahead of her and wondered what he would say if he found

out he had fathered a child.

But the answer to that was obvious. Ridge would assume his rights and responsibilities without a

second's hesitation. Kalena smiled to herself, wondering at her own deep certainty. For the first time

since she had accepted the bonds between herself and Ridge, she began to think of what those ties

would mean. She wondered if Ridge had given the matter much thought. It was odd to think of the trade

marriage becoming permanent. After all, a real marriage to an aggressive, ruthless, Houseless bastard

who was determined to establish himself as a House lord at any cost was not what she had set out to find

when she had left the farm.

To be perfectly fair, she probably wasn't the kind of wife Ridge had undoubtedly anticipated being able

to buy with proceeds from the Sand trade. He might be a bastard, but when he returned to

Crosspurposes he was going to be a rich bastard. Respectable Houses would be forced to take him

seriously if he courted their daughters.

But even if she couldn't offer him the economic and political connections that a Great House marriage

normally involved, she could bring him all the skills, manners, training, and pride that came with a fine

House heritage. Ridge had said that growing up without benefit of the traditions had only made him

appreciate them more. She believed him. Ridge would found his Great House with the hard-earned

profits of his own sweat, luck and skill. He would provide its economic base. But she could bring him the

intangibles, Kalena thought. If he married her, she would make his Great House into a home.

If he married her.

Kalena smiled wryly as she realized where her thoughts had wandered.

"The mist." Ridge reined in his creet as he rounded another bend and found himself confronting the

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shimmering veil. "It hasn't disappeared."

Kalena shook off her private thoughts and moved forward. "The Healers won't remove it for a while.

They're worried." "About what?"

"They say there have been signs of Darkness in and around the mountains. They believe in the Light

Key, Ridge. That means they also believe in the Dark One. They think the Dark Key has been found."

"Is that what they told you last night? I knew I should never have left you alone with those females. A

bad influence. Now they've gone and filled your head with nonsense and old legends." "Stop grumbling.

This veil of theirs would make a fairly interesting legend itself. Not exactly the work of silly, story spinning

females. Do you want to stand here all day telling me how full of nonsense the Healers are or would you

like me to lead you through this mist of theirs that is strong enough to keep any mere male at bay?"

"There are times, wife, when your tongue turns exceedingly sharp." He dismounted. "Lucky for you

you've got such a tolerant husband."

"Now that you've got your precious Sand, I expect a great deal of toleration from you. The way I look

at it, Fire Whip, you own me."

He grinned wickedly. "I always repay my debts." He held out his hand to clasp Kalena's and stepped

into the mist without any hesitation. A moment later, everyone, including the creets, was safe on the other

side. Ridge glanced back speculatively.

"I wonder how long they'll leave that there. If no one but you can get through it, Quintel's going to have

himself a problem."

"An interesting thought," Kalena said slowly. "The one who holds the secret of getting through that mist

could name her own price."

"Don't get any ideas of being too clever with the trade baron," Ridge said as he realized what she was

thinking. "He always gets what he wants. I know. I've spent a lot of years making sure of it."

"Then it is you and not Quintel I have to fear, isn't it?"

Ridge gave her an odd glance, but didn't respond to the comment. Instead he asked, "Did the Healers

tell you what they plan to do about trading Sand in the future?"

"Not really. We didn't discuss it. They've got other things on their minds at the moment. I think they fully

intend to continue the trade, but it may be a while before they feel safe enough to remove the veil."

"If it's safety they want, Quintel can provide them with an armed guard to watch the mountain pass."

"A force of armed men stationed at the entrance of their valley would not be very reassuring to the

Healers."

Ridge's mouth twisted. "I guess you're right. They want nothing to do with men, do they?"

"They don't hate men. They simply choose to live without them. It seems to work quite well."

"It's a good thing we didn't stay any longer in that valley. Those women would have played tricks with

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your mind," Ridge stated gruffly.

For the first time since they had left the valley, Kalena found herself grinning. She was glad Ridge's back

was toward her.

The trip back along the mountain trail was slower than the one into the valley, just as Ridge had

predicted. Loaded with Sand, the creets simply couldn't make good time.

Dusk began to settle while they were still some distance from the shelter where Ridge intended to camp

for the night. Kalena saw the last rays of the sun slip behind a snowcapped peak and realized she was

shivering. She would have been warm enough in her furlined cloak, she thought. There was no reason to

be so aware of the chill in the air.

"The shelter is only a short distance away, Kalena. We'll be there soon." Ridge spoke reassuringly as he

glanced back and saw her folding the cloak more closely about her.

She nodded in response and struggled to hide her unease. There was an unpleasant feeling of early

darkness. It was true that night fell quickly in the mountains, but surely there should be a reasonable

period of twilight. The warmth and light of the day seemed to be disappearing far too rapidly. Huddled in

the depths of her cloak, she let the creet pick its way around the next turn in the trail. When it came to an

abrupt halt behind Ridge's creet, she lifted her head.

"What's wrong?"

Ridge didn't look back; he was studying something that lay ahead of him on the trail, something Kalena

couldn't see. "Nothing."

"Why have your stopped?" She jiggled the reins a little to make her creet move up alongside Ridge's.

"There a stream across the trail." He leaned forward, his elbows folded on the pommel of the saddle.

"We crossed no stream on the trip in to the valley." "I know"

"Then what—" Kalena stopped short as she caught sight of the foaming black water that emerged from

the mountains on one side of the trail, crossed the path and disappeared into the canyon on the far side.

Her breath caught in her throat. "Ridge, what is it?"

"Water."

"No, it's more than that. It wasn't here when we came this way the first time."

"It must have rained somewhere back in the mountains during the night. This is just the runoff. It's not

deep."

"I don't care how deep it is, we can't cross it," Kalena whispered with absolute conviction. She didn't

know how she knew that for certain, but she did.

"Of course we can." Ridge straightened in the saddle and picked up the reins. "Let's go." He walked the

creet to the edge of the swiftly moving stream. The bird hesitated, but under Ridge's urging, it stepped

into the current.

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"Ridge, wait," Kalena called anxiously. "I think we should camp on this side. If it's just runoff from a rain,

it should be gone by tomorrow."

"It's too cold to spend the night out in the open when there's no need." Halfway across the stream, Ridge

turned in the saddle to regard her impatiently. "Follow me, Kalena."

Realizing he wasn't going to pay any attention to her instinctive dislike of the black water, Kalena tried to

make herself approach the stream. The creet lifted its head in a frightened gesture and Kalena knew the

poor animal was probably just reacting to her tension. Kalena got herself and the creet to the edge of the

water before she became aware of a vague nausea.

The water wasn't that deep where it covered the trail. She knew that. Ridge's creet had only sunk into it

up to the tops of its clawed feet. But one ought to be able to see the ground through water that shallow,

and Kalena could see nothing but foaming black liquid. She halted the creet.

"I can't cross, Ridge," she said quietly.

"Damn it, Kalena, it's getting late and I want to get to that shelter. What's the matter with you?"

"I don't know. I just know I can't cross it. I know it as surely as you know you couldn't go through the

white mist that guarded the valley."

He scowled at her from the other side of the water. "Kalena, this is no Healer's trick. It's just a mountain

stream."

"The water's black. I can't even see through it. Water that shallow should be transparent."

"The sun has set and the light is going quickly. That's the only reason the water looks black," Ridge

explained with a patience that annoyed Kalena. "Close your eyes if the sight of the water bothers you.

The creet won't mind it."

"I can't do it, Ridge." She looked at him pleadingly. "I just can't do it."

"Yes, you can." He sent his own creet back through the stream. "Here, give me your reins," he added

more gently. "I'll lead your creet."

"No!" Kalena yanked back on the leather, causing her already confused bird to prance in agitation.

Ridge dropped his arm, making no move to grab the reins again. "Kalena, you have no choice. You have

to cross that stream and you must realize it. I don't know what fantasy you're weaving in your head, but

whatever it is, I can't allow you to indulge it. There's no reason to make a cold camp on the trail when

warmth and shelter are just a short distance ahead."

"Please, Ridge. You must understand. I'm not indulging a fantasy. I simply can't go through that water."

He studied her for a long moment and then the impatience faded from his expression. "All right. I can see

you're really upset. Do you want to sleep on the trail tonight?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yes, please. I know it will be cold, but with our cloaks and a fire we won't

freeze. Perhaps this water will be gone by tomorrow"

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He moved his creet a little closer to hers. "Perhaps. Let's see what we can find in the way of shelter out

here."

Kalena finally began to relax. He wasn't going to argue further. "Thank you, Ridge," she said with

grateful relief. "I know this seems like so much female nonsense—but—No! Stop! Please, Ridge."

Her sentence ended on a squeak of protest as Ridge leaned forward without any warning and scooped

her up out of the saddle. "You're right," he said soothingly as he settled Kalena in front of him. "It does

seem like so much female nonsense. But it will all be over before you can count to ten." Holding her

firmly with one hand, he grabbed her creet's reins and started into the stream.

"Ridge, no! Please, I beg you ..."

He folded the edge of his cloak around her, covering her face. "Don't look if it bothers you so much," he

said gently.

Kalena knew it was too late to struggle. She buried her face against the warmth of his chest, shivering

violently even though she had the covering of two cloaks to shield her from the cold. She squeezed her

eyes shut and clung to Ridge's waist.

Kalena waited for the nausea to overwhelm her, but her stomach stayed calm this time as the creets

splashed into the stream. She was aware of an intense cold wafting upward from the black water, but

that was all. Cradled in Ridge's arms, she made the crossing without further trauma. It was as if the Fire

Whip's own heart was protecting her, she thought, half dazed.

When the birds were standing firmly on the far side of the water, Ridge loosened his hold on Kalena.