Rebraal led them south, occasionally pausing to look over his shoulder, shake his head and offer prayers to whichever God he thought was listening before slipping away again through the dense forest, leaving almost no mark. The same couldn’t be said of The Raven. Rebraal had given Hirad and The Unknown a short, angled chopping blade each and told them in halting and very rusty Balaian that they should only use it when they ran out of room.
Through the morning, the heat grew and Hirad finally understood what Ilkar had meant by the sapping conditions in the forest. Sailing and rowing upriver, they’d been outside the oppressive heat-trapping weight of the canopy and a light breeze had kept conditions tolerable. Now though, only a few hours into their walk, he could see the wisdom of the light leather Ilkar had insisted they buy for armour.
Sweat beaded and ran on his face, it dripped down his back and soaked the backs of his legs. He felt as if he’d dipped his head in a hot stream, and the more he wiped it away the more it came. They were plagued by clouds of flies the magnitude of which they certainly hadn’t seen when camping on the way to the village. For a brief moment, Hirad wondered if he shouldn’t wear the fine net that covered his hammock at night. Imagining himself dressed in it brought the only smile to his face the whole morning.
Holding aside a draping plant, Hirad looked behind him. Denser and Erienne walked together, faces set and anxious, eyes darting everywhere, following every noise. But they’d drawn closer again and for that Hirad was grateful, even if the sounds of their love-making had kept him awake last night.
Darrick looked miserable, waving incessantly at flies or scratching at his legs and arms, while Aeb betrayed nothing and Thraun, bringing up the rear, was smiling, loving every moment of it. He still hadn’t said much but Hirad could see in his eyes that he was coming back to them. And the way he’d formed up in The Raven’s line outside the village had set Hirad’s heart singing. There was still pain there, though. The pain of the loss of his pack and of his friend Will Begman’s death, for which he blamed himself so unfairly.
‘Come on, Hirad, keep up,’ called Ilkar from up ahead.
Hirad turned to see Rebraal, Ren and Ilkar watching him. He held the plant aside until Denser reached it and then strode on, scowling.
‘God, I hate patronising elves,’ he muttered at The Unknown’s broad back.
‘Just don’t let it get to you too much,’ said The Unknown over his shoulder.
‘Too late. Just because they’re bloody born to it. I don’t have to be here, you know.’
‘Of course not, Hirad,’ said The Unknown. ‘After all, I’ve never heard you mention how The Raven never works apart.’
‘Some rules you live to regret, don’t you?’ he said.
‘No, you don’t,’ replied The Unknown. He upped his pace a little, Hirad responding. ‘What a place.’
Rebraal kept up a hard pace all day. The going was difficult and in the afternoon they tired quickly. A brief stop for food after the third rain of the day hadn’t brought much respite. Interrupted by having to move smartly away to avoid a foraging mass of inch-long ants, the meal of cold dried meat and bread was as tasteless as it was hard to eat.
Hirad had heard the sounds of water for some time before Rebraal brought them to a stop on the banks of a wide sluggish river. He could see the dirty brown water through the bankside vegetation and could just about make out the opposite bank some hundred yards away. Light was fading fast and he didn’t know about anyone else but he was exhausted. Soaked by sweat and rain and with blisters irritating in his boots, he was ready to string up his hammock, confident that nothing would keep him awake once he got his head down.
‘Which way?’ he asked.
They’d gathered under the branches of a huge tree which soared up into the canopy and leaned out over the river.
Ilkar pointed across the river. ‘That way.’
‘How, by boat?’
Ilkar smiled. ‘No, a bridge.’
‘Really?’ Hirad peered through the leaves and branches again. ‘Where is it?’
‘Hirad, this isn’t Korina. You’re not going to find a stone arch across the river. You’re not even going to find lashed logs. You’re looking in the wrong place.’
Ilkar tilted his head skywards. ‘We do things by rope here. That way, people that shouldn’t know crossing points don’t find them.’
Hirad followed his gaze. He could see nothing. ‘How far up?’ Ilkar asked Rebraal. ‘About a hundred feet. It’s an easy enough climb. Rebraal will show you.’
‘Wait a moment . . .’
But Rebraal was already climbing. Favouring his right arm, he stormed up the trunk, his agility leaving Hirad open-mouthed.
‘Hirad, light’s fading. We need to get across tonight. The opposite bank is far better for camping.’
‘Why?’
‘Less crocodiles, more space,’ said Ren. ‘And Rebraal doesn’t want to stop here. This is where Mercuun fell.’
Hirad sighed and spread his hands. ‘Let’s do it. Anyone else not looking forward to it?’
‘Didn’t you ever climb trees as a child?’ asked Denser.
‘They weren’t miles in the sky and full of snakes,’ said Hirad. ‘What are you two smiling about?’
Erienne and Denser had the look of people reprieved from execution.
‘Tell you what,’ said Denser. ‘I’ll try and catch you if you fall.’
Hirad frowned. ‘You’ll what?’
And then they were casting. So was Ilkar. In moments, all had ShadowWings at their backs.
‘Bastards.’
Erienne laughed, her fear of the forest forgotten for a moment. ‘One clear patch of bank is all we need. You should learn a bit of magic, Hirad.’
‘I should choose new friends.’ Hirad shook his head. ‘You’d better have a good fire going by the time I get across. Make yourselves at least a little useful.’
‘What, and miss the chance to see you wobbling on the rope bridge?’ said Ilkar.
Hirad ignored him, turning instead to The Unknown. ‘Who’s first?’
‘Don’t be an idiot,’ said The Unknown. ‘Denser, Ilkar. Carry us. Let’s show your brother we aren’t so helpless.’
Hirad smiled. ‘Great idea.’
‘It was always the plan,’ said Ilkar. ‘And so was winding you up.’
Hirad laughed as he was lifted from the ground, arms locked around Ilkar’s waist.
‘What is it?’ asked Ilkar
‘Thraun,’ said Hirad. ‘Just look at him.’ The shapechanger was scurrying up the tree, his agility a match for Rebraal’s. ‘Your brother’s got a lot to learn about us.’
Yron was woken by distant thunder and opened his eyes on a day kept dim by heavy cloud. He could see a swathe of blue over to the north but didn’t hold out any hope of avoiding a soaking before the break arrived. Not that it would make much difference, given his plan for the morning.
As if to prove him right the heavens opened, drowning out the dawn chorus he had come to expect and now didn’t disturb him at all. He shook Ben-Foran, the youngster coming to wakefulness with a start and groaning as he stretched his limbs and back, stiff after an uncomfortable night on the rock. He eyed Yron with a scowl but managed to force a smile onto his face as he stood up.
‘What’s for breakfast?’ he asked.
Yron patted him on the shoulder. ‘You know the rules of my army. Exercise before nourishment.’
‘Why am I not surprised, Captain?’ said Ben. He got to his feet and stretched again, arms high and back arched. ‘Which way are we walking, then?’
‘Same direction as yesterday. But there’s nothing better than a healthy swim first thing, I always say. What say we race to the other side?’
Ben looked at him in total disbelief. ‘You are joking, I hope, sir?’