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Authors: Terie Garrison
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freezing?” I asked, sitting up.
“I wouldn’t have shared my cloak if I were. Here.” He grinned and handed me a tin cup full of steaming tea.
“Thanks,” I said, curling my hands around it and taking a sip. “But how can you be warm enough. It’s so cold.”
“You will learn, my dear. All in good time. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thanks to you.” I indicated the cloak. “Did you?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t sleep. One of us needed to keep watch, and you were far too tired. It’s a good thing I did, too. A small contingent of soldiers passed by a few hours ago.” My heart leapt in fear. He must have seen it in my face. “Not to worry. It was no difficult thing to hide the fire from dolts like that.” He handed me a piece of flatbread. “You better eat this so we can move on. With good luck, we will find the others today.”
But we didn’t have any of that luck. We travelled the whole day without signs of anyone at all. I noticed that we were heading northwest. But although I felt sure that we should be trying to turn more eastward, I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything. Perhaps Anazian knew a circuitous route to the mountains.
As we walked that day, Anazian taught me all kinds of herb lore. I paid careful attention in hope of retaining as much of the knowledge as I could.
“See that winter-flowering herb there?” He pointed at a low, spreading plant with tiny pink flowers. “Thomwort, excellent for stomachache. You crush the flowers into a paste, mix in just the right amount of goat’s milk, and administer two spoonfuls every four hours.” He wouldn’t tell me exactly what the “right amount” was, of course.
A little later, we came across a tall shrub with sharp thorns and green berries. “Winthistle, an effective cure for . . .” a pause as he gave me a mischievous look “. . . female troubles.” I turned my head away a little in embarrassment, then hoped he hadn’t noticed.
“Also good for strengthening nursing mothers.”
We walked on. Since I’d slept until two hours after dawn, we didn’t stop for lunch. In the middle of the afternoon, we took a short rest and ate some dried fruit. The all-night walk followed by only a few hours of sleep was beginning to tell on me, and I wondered how Anazian, who hadn’t slept at all, could keep going. When he told me he wanted to push through as much of the night as possible, I wanted to snap at him that I was already tired, but I managed to hold my tongue.
Most of that night was a blur, other than something that happened around midnight. We’d discovered a path that led more or less in the direction Anazian wanted to go. I was in a fog of weariness, concentrating on just putting one foot in front of the other.
Anazian grabbed my arm and we both halted. His grip communicated his tension, even through all my heavy winter garb. He put a forefinger to his lips to quell any questions and, taking my hand in his, led me off the path and into the darkness of the woods.
It had been cold walking; standing still was even worse. It seemed as if hours had passed, and I was just about to ask why we’d stopped at all, when I heard clomping feet, jingling gear, and quiet voices. A troop of soldiers went past on the road. I held my breath and willed my heart to stop banging so loudly in my chest.
Anazian wore a look of deep concentration. His lips even moved a little. I’d have to ask him what kind of spell he was casting. Later.
Once the troop had gone by, I breathed a little easier, but I no longer had any inclination to move on, not for a long time. Anazian beckoned me to follow him much sooner than I would have liked.
I decided that it was long past time for me to stop blocking vibrations. That had probably been what tipped Anazian off that the enemy was so near. It had just been so easy to block that it hadn’t occurred to me that I was cutting myself off from an important source of information.
When I first unblocked, the
“I wouldn’t have shared my cloak if I were. Here.” He grinned and handed me a tin cup full of steaming tea.
“Thanks,” I said, curling my hands around it and taking a sip. “But how can you be warm enough. It’s so cold.”
“You will learn, my dear. All in good time. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thanks to you.” I indicated the cloak. “Did you?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t sleep. One of us needed to keep watch, and you were far too tired. It’s a good thing I did, too. A small contingent of soldiers passed by a few hours ago.” My heart leapt in fear. He must have seen it in my face. “Not to worry. It was no difficult thing to hide the fire from dolts like that.” He handed me a piece of flatbread. “You better eat this so we can move on. With good luck, we will find the others today.”
But we didn’t have any of that luck. We travelled the whole day without signs of anyone at all. I noticed that we were heading northwest. But although I felt sure that we should be trying to turn more eastward, I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything. Perhaps Anazian knew a circuitous route to the mountains.
As we walked that day, Anazian taught me all kinds of herb lore. I paid careful attention in hope of retaining as much of the knowledge as I could.
“See that winter-flowering herb there?” He pointed at a low, spreading plant with tiny pink flowers. “Thomwort, excellent for stomachache. You crush the flowers into a paste, mix in just the right amount of goat’s milk, and administer two spoonfuls every four hours.” He wouldn’t tell me exactly what the “right amount” was, of course.
A little later, we came across a tall shrub with sharp thorns and green berries. “Winthistle, an effective cure for . . .” a pause as he gave me a mischievous look “. . . female troubles.” I turned my head away a little in embarrassment, then hoped he hadn’t noticed.
“Also good for strengthening nursing mothers.”
We walked on. Since I’d slept until two hours after dawn, we didn’t stop for lunch. In the middle of the afternoon, we took a short rest and ate some dried fruit. The all-night walk followed by only a few hours of sleep was beginning to tell on me, and I wondered how Anazian, who hadn’t slept at all, could keep going. When he told me he wanted to push through as much of the night as possible, I wanted to snap at him that I was already tired, but I managed to hold my tongue.
Most of that night was a blur, other than something that happened around midnight. We’d discovered a path that led more or less in the direction Anazian wanted to go. I was in a fog of weariness, concentrating on just putting one foot in front of the other.
Anazian grabbed my arm and we both halted. His grip communicated his tension, even through all my heavy winter garb. He put a forefinger to his lips to quell any questions and, taking my hand in his, led me off the path and into the darkness of the woods.
It had been cold walking; standing still was even worse. It seemed as if hours had passed, and I was just about to ask why we’d stopped at all, when I heard clomping feet, jingling gear, and quiet voices. A troop of soldiers went past on the road. I held my breath and willed my heart to stop banging so loudly in my chest.
Anazian wore a look of deep concentration. His lips even moved a little. I’d have to ask him what kind of spell he was casting. Later.
Once the troop had gone by, I breathed a little easier, but I no longer had any inclination to move on, not for a long time. Anazian beckoned me to follow him much sooner than I would have liked.
I decided that it was long past time for me to stop blocking vibrations. That had probably been what tipped Anazian off that the enemy was so near. It had just been so easy to block that it hadn’t occurred to me that I was cutting myself off from an important source of information.
When I first unblocked, the
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