Read Online SpringFire by Terie Garrison - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Terie Garrison
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mean? The possibilities danced in my mind.
Traz eventually rose to his feet, went beyond the firelight into the cave, and, wrapping himself in his cloak, lay down.
I took the first watch. Long after Shandry’s breathing settled into the regular rhythm of sleep, Traz’s eyes still glittered in the firelight.
When I began to feel drowsy, I stood up and stepped to the mouth of the cave. Rain poured down in sheets, and I was glad that Traz had found the cave and led us here. Sleeping outside in a deluge like this would’ve been impossible. With a sigh, I wondered how muddy the road would be now. Shandry was right that we couldn’t really have put the journey off, not with Xyla in the condition she was in. But I wished for better weather all the same. We couldn’t count on finding a cave every night.
The falling rain had a hypnotic effect on me. The thread of my thought wound its way back to Grey.
A sound from behind startled me. Traz crouched next to the fire, putting more wood on. I went over to him.
“Go ahead and get some sleep,” he said. “I can’t get any. It’s probably time for my watch, anyway.”
“I was going to stay up through your turn. You seem too … distracted. Why don’t you lie down again?”
“I’m telling you, Donavah, I can’t sleep. So you might as well.”
“Are you all right?”
He smiled up at me. “Yes, I am. Really and truly. I just want to think about some things. So I might as well watch, if I’m going to be awake anyway.”
I was tired, so he didn’t have to argue more than that. “All right. But if you get tired before Shandry’s watch, wake me.”
I woke up to see Traz’s form silhouetted against heavy snowfall outside. Shandry was lying nearby, also just beginning to stir.
I got up and moved to the fire, grateful to find that Traz had water already heating. A few moments later, Shandry came and joined me by the fire, holding her hands close to the flames and stamping her feet. Traz turned around.
“I’m thinking,” he said with a cockeyed grin, “that we’re not leaving right away.”
Shandry replied, “I hate to get a late start, but I don’t think we have any choice.”
I stifled a sigh of relief and set about making tea for the three of us while Shandry fed Dyster. I didn’t like the idea of delay, either, but surely we couldn’t travel until the snow lessened. After handing Shandry and Traz their mugs, I started a pot of porridge.
When we finished eating, I suggested to Traz that he try to get at least a little rest before we left. He lay down and even closed his eyes, but I doubted he slept.
I washed the breakfast things, then made more tea for Shandry and me. No less uneasy than Traz, she paced back and forth between the fire and the cave mouth, until I thought her incessant activity would make me scream. I understood her anxiety about being stuck here, but didn’t see how watching the snow would make it go away.
When it finally did stop falling after a little more than an hour, she stepped out without even putting on a cloak and looked up at the sky. She came in a few minutes later, slapping her arms and stamping her feet.
“Brr! It’s bitter out there,” Shandry said, “but we should probably get going. It looks to stay clear, at least for awhile.”
“At least for awhile?” I asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? We’re not going to leave here, just to get caught with no shelter a few hours from now, are we?”
Shandry made a non-committal sound. “I can’t tell what’s coming over the mountains. But there’s no point in staying here. You know that as well as I do.”
She got Traz up and moving while I put the fire out. Shandry and Traz loaded the packs onto the pony, then we bundled ourselves into our cloaks, hats, and gloves, and filed out of the cave.
Traz led the way back to the road. It didn’t seem natural, the way he could lead us so unerringly when he’d never been here before. But as if the incident with
Traz eventually rose to his feet, went beyond the firelight into the cave, and, wrapping himself in his cloak, lay down.
I took the first watch. Long after Shandry’s breathing settled into the regular rhythm of sleep, Traz’s eyes still glittered in the firelight.
When I began to feel drowsy, I stood up and stepped to the mouth of the cave. Rain poured down in sheets, and I was glad that Traz had found the cave and led us here. Sleeping outside in a deluge like this would’ve been impossible. With a sigh, I wondered how muddy the road would be now. Shandry was right that we couldn’t really have put the journey off, not with Xyla in the condition she was in. But I wished for better weather all the same. We couldn’t count on finding a cave every night.
The falling rain had a hypnotic effect on me. The thread of my thought wound its way back to Grey.
A sound from behind startled me. Traz crouched next to the fire, putting more wood on. I went over to him.
“Go ahead and get some sleep,” he said. “I can’t get any. It’s probably time for my watch, anyway.”
“I was going to stay up through your turn. You seem too … distracted. Why don’t you lie down again?”
“I’m telling you, Donavah, I can’t sleep. So you might as well.”
“Are you all right?”
He smiled up at me. “Yes, I am. Really and truly. I just want to think about some things. So I might as well watch, if I’m going to be awake anyway.”
I was tired, so he didn’t have to argue more than that. “All right. But if you get tired before Shandry’s watch, wake me.”
I woke up to see Traz’s form silhouetted against heavy snowfall outside. Shandry was lying nearby, also just beginning to stir.
I got up and moved to the fire, grateful to find that Traz had water already heating. A few moments later, Shandry came and joined me by the fire, holding her hands close to the flames and stamping her feet. Traz turned around.
“I’m thinking,” he said with a cockeyed grin, “that we’re not leaving right away.”
Shandry replied, “I hate to get a late start, but I don’t think we have any choice.”
I stifled a sigh of relief and set about making tea for the three of us while Shandry fed Dyster. I didn’t like the idea of delay, either, but surely we couldn’t travel until the snow lessened. After handing Shandry and Traz their mugs, I started a pot of porridge.
When we finished eating, I suggested to Traz that he try to get at least a little rest before we left. He lay down and even closed his eyes, but I doubted he slept.
I washed the breakfast things, then made more tea for Shandry and me. No less uneasy than Traz, she paced back and forth between the fire and the cave mouth, until I thought her incessant activity would make me scream. I understood her anxiety about being stuck here, but didn’t see how watching the snow would make it go away.
When it finally did stop falling after a little more than an hour, she stepped out without even putting on a cloak and looked up at the sky. She came in a few minutes later, slapping her arms and stamping her feet.
“Brr! It’s bitter out there,” Shandry said, “but we should probably get going. It looks to stay clear, at least for awhile.”
“At least for awhile?” I asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? We’re not going to leave here, just to get caught with no shelter a few hours from now, are we?”
Shandry made a non-committal sound. “I can’t tell what’s coming over the mountains. But there’s no point in staying here. You know that as well as I do.”
She got Traz up and moving while I put the fire out. Shandry and Traz loaded the packs onto the pony, then we bundled ourselves into our cloaks, hats, and gloves, and filed out of the cave.
Traz led the way back to the road. It didn’t seem natural, the way he could lead us so unerringly when he’d never been here before. But as if the incident with
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