A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Without Kovin, we wouldn't have made it very far.

The Ady River was swift, wide, and flowing in the wrong direction. Kovin fought against the current, keeping us as close to Deorun's wall as possible. The city's wall ran just along the river, leaving no room for us to climb out and try to walk. In a few places, the stones were crumbled enough that we could hold on and take a bit of a break. Many times, I debated dragging myself out of the water and climbing the wall, but realistically I knew I was too exhausted for that.

Castin shifted constantly between a glassy-eyed panic where he clung to Kovin so tightly he almost stopped Kovin from swimming, to a more controllable fear where he managed to help kick or hold cervices in the wall or the slick plants that grew in the water. Kovin, through all of it, kept trying to move us upriver. We just had to reach the end of the city wall. Then we could pull ourselves from the water and walk around to meet the Ziannan and Navirian armies camped on Deorun's other side. We were so close.

I forced aside my own dislike for the water and tried to both encourage Kovin and keep Castin somewhat distracted. Our progress was so slow that at points it felt like we might have been moving backwards. While I said encouraging things to Castin and Kovin, in my head, prayers to Tolle and Roe repeated in a loop.

And then, finally, we reached the end of the wall.

I grabbed at the roots of a tree and pulled myself out of the water onto the sandy soil that made up the riverbank. Kovin helped push Castin up, then slowly crawled out of the water and immediately rolled over to lie on his back. He closed his eyes and hugged his wounded arm to his chest. Castin shuffled away from the water, wrapped his arms around his knees, and buried his face against them.

We needed to keep moving, but I understood that they both needed a break. I forced myself to my feet and tried to wipe the damp sand off of my legs. "I'm going to look around. Stay here. Cast?"

He grunted some sort of reply. Before I could say Kovin's name, Kovin waved with his good arm.

Cautiously, I walked away. The riverbank was lush compared to the desert, and little houses gathered along it. There was a whole village beside the city. It didn't take me long to realize it was deserted, and not too long ago. Hopefully the people had found refuge inside the city.

I explored the homes closest to the river, but found very little of use. Most of them seemed ransacked—locked doors were broken open, chests were smashed, furniture was askew. In the fifth house I was beginning to lose hope when I felt an odd divot under my foot.

I kicked aside a rug to reveal a trapdoor, locked with a little latch. A rusty fork with bent tines worked well enough as a lockpick, and soon I heard the satisfying click. I lifted the trapdoor and hopped down into a shallow cellar. It was a small space, lined with shelves, covered with little pots and vases. I opened the nearest pot and grinned.

Kovin was asleep when I walked up to them. Castin hadn't moved either, but he lifted his head slowly once I was closer. "Find anything?"

"Someone's looking out for us. Finiss, maybe." I tossed him a small bag of dried fruit. "Eat, there's lots more." While he opened the bag, I sat beside Kovin and gently touched his left hand. "Kovin? Wake up."

Kovin's forearm looked terrible. Dirt and sand had dried to his raw flesh. Patches of the wound already looked burned by the sun. A few flies were buzzing around, trying to dart in and land on it. The elation from my discovery of the cellar dropped away, and thoughts of us trying to drag an unconscious Kovin to the army camp flashed through my mind.

Then he opened his eyes a crack. "Aye?"

I held up the clean washcloth I had found in the cellar. "Can I wrap your arm?"