“They’ll kill us either way,” Sellis said. He had accepted Myrana’s plan, but grudgingly.
“True enough. I know this won’t keep us alive forever,” Myrana admitted. “I just hope it works long enough to find a way to escape.”
“Looks hard,” Ruhm said.
“Impossible, or close to it,” Amoni added.
“For now, yes. Over the next few days, perhaps they’ll relax their guard,” Myrana said. “Every day we live is one more chance for us. Dying today would have meant no chances. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to discuss it with you before I spoke up, but I honestly just thought of it at that moment.”
“And saved us all,” Aric said. “Thank you, Myrana. Now that I understand what you had in mind, I think you made the right decision.”
“Let’s hope,” Ruhm said gloomily.
“Apparently that’s all we’ve got left to us,” Sellis said. “Hope, and empty stomachs. Tomorrow, Myrana, you’ll have to remind them that not mistreating us requires giving us food and water, else we’re not likely to live long enough to reach the ambush spot.”
“I’ll work on it,” Myrana promised.
Aric ate the last of his lirr, staring into the fire, turning every now and then to let it warm the side of him facing the night’s cold.
She found a chance to bring it up the next day, on the trail. She was near the front of the procession, riding a borrowed erdlu. She had been loaned it so that she could keep up with the leaders of the long line of raiders, since she was supposed to be directing them to a spot only she knew. The elf from the day before, whose name was Ceadrin, jogged beside her. He had a certain roguish charm, and he had been true to his word, so far, keeping other raiders who might have been disinclined to honor his deal from laying hands on her or the others.
“Either my friends and I must be allowed to hunt our own game,” she said, “or you’ll have to feed us.”
“Was that part of our bargain, girl? Somehow I disremember that.”
“It’s part and parcel. If you let us starve, that’s mistreating us. The deal was no mistreatment.”
Ceadrin regarded her—approvingly, she thought, although she wasn’t the least bit interested in his opinion of her. His eyes had a light orange cast to them. “You drive a hard bargain.”
“It’s in my blood.”
“And yet you’re willing to betray that blood?”
“Family ties aren’t always the strongest bonds,” she said, hoping that was vague enough to get by. If she needed to, she could make up an argument, but she hoped it didn’t come to that. “As you must know, since I see a scattering of other elves among your band, but not an entire tribe’s worth.”
Ceadrin shrugged. “You’re right. I was of the Starspeeder clan, but there were … difficulties, let’s say. You wouldn’t want to hear more than that.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“There are more of my clan, back at the fort. But not many, I grant you.”
“What fort is that?”
He waved a hand behind him, encompassing the whole lot of raiders. “Oh, we’re just one raiding party,” he explained. We’ve a fort, once called Dunnat. There we’ve three times this number. Almost too many, really. Although we go raiding in smaller bands, it’s still a lot to share with. And I’ve never been fond of sharing.”
“Well, you’ll be a hero when you return with the goods you’ve stolen from House Ligurto,” Myrana told him. She allowed herself a slight grin, then pretended to try to hide it. “And I’ll have achieved a small measure of vengeance, myself. It should work out well for us both.”
“You—what’s your name, girl? Myrana?”
“That’s right.”
“You might just have the spirit of a raider. Perhaps when this is done …”
“Then I’ll want to be on my way with my friends. Aric, the half-elf, he’s from Gulg, and longs to return there. The others and I vowed to accompany him that far, and I mean to keep that promise.”
“Gulg?” the elf asked. “I’d never have guessed it.”
“It’s been a long voyage, Ceadrin. We’ve all made some changes, or had them forced upon us. There was a day you’d have looked at him and known exactly where he was from, but that was ages ago.”
“And you, Myrana? Where’s home to you?”
She indicated the desert before them. No harm in telling the truth on this score. “Anyplace there’s a tent pitched and a blanket to go over me. And a bargain to be struck—the lot of a trader’s life. All I know are the stars and moons and the shifting sands.”
“Pity you’re so determined to honor that vow,” Ceadrin said. “There’s much about you that makes you fit to join our group. I think I’d like that a great deal, in fact.”
“Even though I’d be one more to share with?”
“Even though.”
“Well, my word is not given lightly,” she said. Never mind that she had been lying to Ceadrin since they’d met. It was a simple matter of survival. And he was lying to her, too, which made it easier. “But we’ll see what the next days bring, won’t we?”
“We will, at that,” Ceadrin said. “I suppose we will indeed see.”
That night, they had erdlu eggs and wine, along with the raiders. Their guard was no more lax than it had been the first night, but they seemed to be growing more accustomed to the captives, and in addition to including them in their meal, the raiders engaged them in conversation.
For two more days they journeyed with Myrana riding most of the time. Given her damaged leg, Aric was thankful for this, but the others had to hurry to keep up with the raiders.
Finally, they reached a spot that indeed seemed ideal for an ambush. Two tall ridges formed a wide canyon that converged at one end to a narrow pass through which perhaps six or seven mounted people could ride abreast. The hills on either were covered in large rocks and scrubby plants that would offer both cover and weapons. The gap wasn’t tight enough to make travelers anxious, but it was so slim that raiders could flank them from both sides and easily cut them down from above.
“Why would your family’s caravan pass through here?” Ceadrin asked Myrana when she showed them the place. “It’s far from the main trading routes.”
“Which is exactly why,” Myrana said. “The main trading routes are where most of your kind would look for them. And they’re where our competitors also travel—sometimes competing caravans are more dangerous than the most bloodthirsty raiders. You also won’t find a faster route between Urik and Nibenay.”
“Interesting,” Ceadrin said. “When will they be here?”
Myrana looked to the sky, as if it could provide the answer she sought. “Two days, perhaps. Maybe three, depending on how hard the craftsmen of Urik are dealing. But when they come, they’ll have plenty of rich obsidian in their wagons: weapons, carvings, jewelry, and raw stone. Plus, of course, whatever they acquired in Draj and Raam, and a certain amount of gold.”
“That sounds fine,” Ceadrin said.
“So let’s kill ‘em now!” the halfling female they’d met before said. “We’re here, we know when the caravan comes.”
“There’ll be no killing,” Ceadrin countered.
“No killing?” the halfling echoed, her disappointment clear. “But—”
Ceadrin raised a hand, to silence her and the other raiders who had already chimed in on her side. “No,” he said. “We don’t know what’ll happen when the caravan arrives. This looks like a good place for a successful ambush. We’ll be on both sides of them, with elevation on our side and boulders we can tumble down upon them. But it’s possible that a hostage will come in handy, as well, and for that we’ll need the girl.”
“Kill the others, then! All they are now is more mouths to feed!”