Except
Allegra stood, breathing hard, and knew the solution lay in front of her, her proof, a hostage, the way to stop the fighting. Ozarson was possibly the most valuable human being alive, and if he stayed here, a good chance existed this luminous boy would be dead before his tenth birthday.
If she took Ozarson, Markus would never forgive her. At that thought, her anger stirred. No matter how much they beat, whipped and starved her, they couldnt break her. They had stolen her life, violated a treaty and drugged her. And what sentence did they suffer as a result? The nomads were rewarded by extraordinary wealth. Markus kept her for his own pleasure. Bladebreak and Yargazon would have raped her, and Yargazon wanted to torture her as well. She had never done anything to any of them, yet they used her with no remorse, and when she resisted, they hurt her. Damn it, they had no right.
Allegra gritted her teeth. She knew what they valued, what mattered to everyone in this godforsaken country more than anything.
She knelt next to Ozarson. “Im sorry, she said softly.
The boy was heavier than she expected, but she managed to lift him into the cart. His legs hung out the back and his head rested against the pole with the handle she used to push it. He murmured in his sleep, asking for his mother. It made her want to weep. She put the bags of food and coins on his lap and set the dodecahedron by his side, but she kept the octahedron clenched in her hand.
Then she wheeled the cart out of the pavilion.
CHAPTER 13
THE KINGS COURSEWAY
Allegra sang.
She crooned sleep to the guards who snored outside the pavilion. She rolled the cart in the direction the stable boys had taken the horses and sang for anyone who might cross her path.
The horses were in a pen rather than a stable, under a rock overhang. She wheeled the king of Jazid into the enclosure and stopped singing, letting out a breath as she saw the stable boys fast asleep on the ground. Unfortunately the horses were also asleep. She couldnt rouse Shadow at all. She bit her lip, wondering what she had done. She had never managed a spell like this before, and she had no precedent to judge the results.
Allegra leaned her head against Shadows neck and sang so only he could hear, murmuring the lilt she used to wake her youngest brother, who was only four:
Rise little sprout
Someday a mighty tree
Come softly child
Come softly with me
Shadow whinnied in protest, as if the idea of waking offended him. She kept singing, easing him awake, until finally the great horse nuzzled her shoulder. She gave him part of an apple she had taken from the dinner.
Allegra found riding supplies in a hut by the pen. She took a blanket, stuffed a second bag with trail food, filled sacs at the water trough and added feed bags for Shadow. She changed her uniform with a stable boys nondescript clothes, and pinned up her hair under the cap to hide the yellow color, which would otherwise stand out in Jazid and Taka Mal like a sunrise at midnight.
Shadow stepped restlessly as she prepared him for the ride, but he didnt protest. It surprised her. Granted, he had carried her for several days, but she had expected him to resist any rider except Markus. Perhaps the spell had affected him somehow. Or maybe he liked her. Who knew? She was just glad he consented to her presence.
Ozarson remained fast asleep, his legs hanging out one end of the cart and his head balanced against the pole. She had no idea how she would lift him onto the horse.
“I know you want to stand, she told Shadow. “You even sleep standing up, eh? But I need you to kneel, beautiful horse.
Shadow shook his head and stamped. He knew they were ready, and he wanted to go.
“Come on, she coaxed, tugging on his bridle. “Here you go.
After some persuasion, and the rest of the apple, he knelt for her. She heaved Ozarson onto his back and shifted the sleeping atajazid so he straddled the horse. Sliding on behind him, she put her arms around the boy to hold him secure. Then she lifted the reins and said, “Ho! Now you can go, my restless Shadow.
The horse surged to his feet. He knew how to leave the pen; he even nosed aside the gate. Allegra left it open. If the horses did wake up sooner than the men and wander into camp, well, it would take that much longer to organize search parties when all the people awoke.
She crooned the lullaby as she rode past sentries asleep on the ground. It astounded her that so simple a spell could neutralize an armed camp. Or maybe it wasnt so simple; it drained her so much, she had trouble staying upright. She switched to the waking song for Shadow and herself, but when Ozarson stirred, she went back to the lullaby, to keep him asleep.
They passed the outskirts of the camp and rode into the desert. Worried about sentries, she continued to sing softly, with green in her spell so she could touch the moods of soldiers on patrol. With that warning, she was able to avoid them. She didnt let the spell fade until she was far out into the barrens, well beyond the foothills where the army had hidden their camp. Her voice was hoarse, and she prayed for its recovery, for without it, she could do no spells. Even with her voice, she wouldnt be able to do much for several days. She had stretched too far. With rest and proper care, her magic would probably return, but she had used everything she had tonight for her escape.
Ozarson had become a heavy weight in her arms, and she groaned as fatigue pressed on her. But she couldnt risk dozing while she rode because the boy might slip out of her arms.
The call of a night-wing eagle came from above her. Raising her exhausted gaze, Allegra saw the bird gliding on currents of wind. Fly far and long, she thought to the magnificent creature. And I will fly with you, for if I am truly a night bird, then I shall be as free as you. Markus had given her the name, and the part of her that had begun to care for him wanted to keep it. If her escape succeeded, it would be all she had left of him. But if she were to be a night bird, it would be on her termsas wild and as strong as that glorious eagle in the sky.
Allegra rode on, her weary mind in a haze, rousing only enough to guide the horse by the stars. With the border of Taka Mal so close, Shadow would cross it sometime in the night, but she had no idea when. The maps indicated they were south of a tributary to the Saint Verdant River in Taka Mal. A few days ride along the smaller river should take them to the great Saint Verdant, with its thriving communities. She hoped the waterway would help disguise their trail, and that they would be harder to locate in more heavily populated regions than out here in the desert.
Quaaz, the capital of Taka Mal, was a logical destination. She could reach it in four days. But then what? She knew neither the people nor the customs, nor what to expect for a woman and a boy traveling alone. Markus and his advisors would probably assume she went there, since it was the closest major city where she could find help. If she went to Aronsdale instead, it would take longer, but they were less likely to search in that direction.
She reviewed the geography in her mind. The nomads had ridden eastward for about four days from where they had caught her. Markus had ridden east for three more days. That put her roughly seven days out of Aronsdale. If she rode straight to the border, she could probably reach Castle Suncroft in six or seven days.
If Markus didnt catch her.
She brushed her hand over his cheek. “Please be different. Be a man I could love.
Markus touched her lips. “I can only be what I am
Allegra jerked awake as someone jolted her. Confused, she tried to orient herself. She was on a horse
It all rushed back. She had escaped.
Shadow had slowed to a walk across the desert. Another sigh brought her fully awake, and she remembered what else she had done. The king of Jazid sat slumped in her arms.