The Wizard's Heir (28 page)

Auriella looked upwards, craning her neck to see the brown edges of the towering cliffs that peeked out above the thick foliage. “How are we getting these three out of Desolate Drop without the tunnels?”

Tybolt looked up. Those with Hunter abilities could probably manage going up—maybe—but the rest hadn’t a prayer of climbing that and surviving.

“I believe Tybolt could help,” Alistair said.

“Huh?” Tybolt had no idea what he was referring to.

“The trees.” Alistair motioned around them.

“I still haven’t seen what you can do,” Griffon said.

“Sure you have,” Asher interjected. “There was that lovely little piece of magic where he set your tent on fire.”

“I don’t like magic,” Jamison muttered.

Tybolt formulated a plan. Using the trees that lined the side of the canyon, he outstretched his hand and whispered a command. A pine nearby came to life. It twitched and twisted, and then one branch reached over and wrapped around Jamison’s waist. The poor boy screamed, his pitch rising to one Tybolt didn’t think possible, while he frantically pounded at his wooden captor.

“Shut up!” Tybolt said through laughter. “The whole forest will hear you.”

Jamison clamped his mouth shut, but his face drained of color as the branch picked him up and passed him from one tree to the next. It was working! But the tricky part was still to come.

Trees grew thick at the top of the ridge, but then came the steep drop for which Desolate Drop was named—two hundred feet of sheer rock ending in a pile of boulders and gravel. The land then sloped into the forested area that hid the bottom of the canyon from prying eyes.

When Jamison reached the edge of the rocks, Tybolt held his breath. The trees passed him sideways to a grandfather beech that towered above the rest. The old tree moved him up to the tip-top of its branches and leaned, creating an arch. Even still, he was far from the ridge, and Tybolt doubted his plan was viable.

“Tybolt?” Auriella questioned.

He didn’t respond, because he didn’t have an answer. He stared with the rest of them at Jamison’s dangling feet.

Then a root as thick as Tybolt’s arm exploded from the dirt at the rim. It waved in the air, stretching like the arm of a great sea creature, then shot down and wrapped around Jamison’s middle. Another scream escaped the man before he remembered Tybolt’s reprimand and kept quiet as the root neatly set him on the top of the drop.

“You chose him on purpose, didn’t you?” Alistair said.

Tybolt rocked back on his heels with a grin. “Absolutely.”

It took a little time, but one by one they all moved up the hill until all six of them were standing safely on the rim. Tybolt was the last to the top, and he turned around only to run straight into Jamison’s scowling face.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he snapped.

They moved as quickly as they could towards Eriroc without making themselves easy targets, which meant they were forced to walk when Tybolt wanted to run and avoid the paths most often taken —which naturally were the fastest. They’d walked for nearly two hours when the whinny of a horse froze them in their tracks.

“Hide!” Tybolt hissed. He and Auriella grabbed Alistair and jerked him down, shoving him into a bush. Tybolt gave a quick glance to make sure the other three were safely hidden before he crouched down next to his uncle.

By the sound of it, there were at least four horses pounding towards them. Multiple Hunters was really not something he wanted to deal with. He carefully pushed a branch to the side so he could see better.

Two wizards crashed through the foliage.

“Who is that?” Tybolt hissed.

Alistair shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Run,” the blonde wizard shouted to the other. “Faster!”

Alistair started to stand, but Tybolt grabbed his arm and jerked him back down. “Don’t even think about it.”

“But they’re in trouble—”

“Expose us now,” Auriella said, “and we’re all dead.”

The wizards vanished into the forest. A few moments later the horses appeared with Hunters astride. Tilly was in the lead, her black hair streaming behind her. Tybolt marveled for a moment. He’d never been on this end of the Hunt. Between their stunning beauty and physical abilities, Hunters truly were frightening.

Tilly shouted orders, splitting the Hunters in three groups to hem the wizards in. Two of the horses plunged through the undergrowth so close to Tybolt that a branch swung back and slapped him across the face. He gritted his teeth—that was going to leave a welt.

Riders shouted, horses snorted, branches snapped, and Hunters continued to appear to the left and right, weaving in and out of the area. It was only a matter of time before one of them was accidentally discovered. He had to do something.

A rustle to his right caught his attention. Jamison was quickly removing his camouflage.

“
What
is he doing?” Auriella whispered.

Jamison walked into a clearing and proceeded to unlace his pants and begin urinating over the trunk of a tree. Tybolt muttered a stream of obscenities.

“You,” Tilly shouted. “Turn around!”

Jamison casually looked over his shoulder. “Well, hello, my lady. I would, but—I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“I said turn around!”

Jamison shrugged and turned around with his hands on his hips.

She had the decency to blush and look away.

“I did warn the lady,” he said as he pulled his pants back up.

Tilly circled him on her horse. “Your eyes are brown. You’re not a wizard.”

“No, my lady.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“Decided I didn’t want to live in the city anymore.” He put his hand to the side of his mouth as if sharing a great secret. “I was tired of starving.”

She scowled down at him.

“But—” He waggled his eyebrows. “Had I seen you before I left, I may have made a different choice.”

Auriella groaned.

Tilly huffed in aggravation. “We’re looking for wizards.”

“So it seems. You’re being loud enough about it. Chased off any prey for miles. I’ll be going hungry tonight, thank you very much.”

“Have you seen any?”

“Any what?”

“Wizards!”

“Maybe.” Jamison took a step forward and ran a finger suggestively up Tilly’s leg. “But that information will cost you.”

“What the hell is he doing?” Auriella hissed in Tybolt’s ear.

Tilly snarled and put her boot in his chest, shoving him backwards. His foot caught and he fell flat on his back. “I’m on the King’s business, and you’ll tell me what I need to know!”

Jamison didn’t even bother to get up. He put his hands behind his head and smiled. “Perhaps you should convince me. I can think of a few things that might do.”

Tilly dismounted and Tybolt groaned inwardly. Jamison was a dead man. She pulled her sword and straddled Jamison, pressing the blade under his neck.

“How about the kiss of my steel? Will that loosen your tongue?”

Jamison licked his lips. “It will indeed, my lady. Why didn’t you say so?”

“Where are they?” she shouted.

Jamison raised a hand and pointed in the opposite direction of where the group was crouched. “They went that way.”

Tilly stood and sheathed her sword. “If I find out you’ve lied to me, I’ll haul you back to the castle and let King Rowan decide what to do with you. Or I might just teach you a lesson myself.” She mounted her horse. “You should pray for the first.” She kicked and plunged back into the forest, shouting for the others.

They all waited, motionless, until the sounds of the forest returned. Birds and insects promised an area free of Hunters. Tybolt stood and the blood rushed painfully back to his toes. “Risky approach, Jamison, but well done.”

“Lucky you didn’t try it with me.” Auriella fingered her dagger and cocked an eyebrow. “I would’ve left something for you to remember me by.”

Jamison just laughed. “I figured, make a woman mad enough and she’s liable to walk away.”

“You’ve never made a Hunter mad before, have you?” Tybolt said.

Jamison’s face fell. “Well, no.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t try it again.”

Asher clapped him on the back. “Good advice, that. I’d take it if I were you.” He ran a finger over Jamison’s neck and held it up. “You’ve got a little blood there.”

“Would you like the bad news now or later?” Griffon said.

Auriella sighed. “Now what?”

“The entrance we were heading for is that way.” He pointed in the same direction that Jamison had just sent the Hunters.

“Of course it is.” She glared at Jamison.

“I know another one,” Alistair said. “But we better move before the Hunters come back.”

Although they moved steadily towards the next entrance, it was much farther than Tybolt had expected. He anxiously watched through the tree branches as the sun slid west.

They were nearing the valley when Alistair finally stopped near a large pine. It had grown at an angle and thick branches hung low, draping across the ground, neatly concealing the door to the tunnels beneath a thick carpet of needles.

While Alistair brushed the dirt and needles away, Tybolt heard the faint sound of something snapping behind them. He leaned over to Asher. “Did you hear that?”

Asher nodded and his hand moved to his sword. “Yes.”

Auriella turned, her eyes scanning the trees. Tybolt lowered his voice further, not wanting to alert Alistair. “Someone’s tracking us.”

“Probably multiple someones,” Auriella said. “Most likely they’re coming in on all sides. We need to get those three safe below and then draw them off.”

“Alistair’s going to love that.” Tybolt cleared his throat. “The sun’s going down fast. Griffon, Jamison, get in the tunnel. You too, Alistair. We’re running out of time.” Once all three were safely inside, he crouched at the edge of the hole. “We’re being hunted. My guess is we’re nearly surrounded. You three get to the city and help the others. We’ll draw them off.

Alistair immediately objected. “I’m not leav—”

“Yes,” Tybolt said, firmly. “You are. Because that is the only way this works. I’ll meet you in the city.”

Alistair chewed over his objections with one hand gripped tightly around a ladder rung.

“I’m sorry.” Tybolt slammed the door.

Asher knelt next to him and quickly helped him cover the lid while Auriella kept watch. They worked seamlessly together—stealth was what they’d been trained for.

“All right,” Asher said. “You two go right and eliminate any threats from that direction. I’ll go left and pull away the rest. Meet back up at the trail to the city.”

Tybolt hesitated but there was no time for an argument. “Just, don’t get yourself killed.”

“And miss the look on Rowan’s face when he sees you? I wouldn’t dream of it.” Asher winked and then dashed left.

“Should we split up?” Auriella asked.

“No, we can split later if needed.”

They turned and ran. Once they were clear of the large pine and the secret it guarded, they slowed to a walk. They moved in complete silence, giving nothing away while taking in everything.

Tybolt watched for a flash of color and listened for any sound that might alert him to how far off an attack was. “I can’t say I’m fond of being on the other end of this little game,” he whispered. His heart pounded in a distinctly different manner when he was prey instead of Hunter.

“You look like a scared rabbit,” Auriella said tightly. Her muscles were tense as she carefully placed her feet.

He needed a plan. He was not a rabbit, and he wouldn’t wait around until an arrow punched through his gut. That visual stole his concentration for a moment, and he stepped on a thick piece of wood, snapping it in two. He froze, mentally cursing his stupidity. Auriella cursed him aloud.

Running footfalls came from two directions. A figure slid past his vision to the right, and then another passed straight in front. Hopefully it was only the two. The Hunter to the right of him burst through the trees. It was Giselle, a friend of Tilly’s. She was small in stature for a Hunter, but she was fast.

Tybolt took off at a dead run with Auriella right behind. He veered to the left, avoiding the Hunter in front. He glanced back and caught a branch to the face.