Healer of Sakkara

Chapter 14 - Followed

The moon had yet to rise, and a light haze of summer dust, probably kicked up by a distant storm in the southern deserts of Abarra, blurred and dimmed the stars. Near total darkness lay over the flat, fertile farmland valley, and the small party traversed it in silence.

They stuck to the long dirt roads that crisscrossed the valley and ran between rows of fields. The ground was packed hard—cracked and dry with the summer heat—and they could pass along it in silence and with little trace. According to Sevhalim, the risk of walking in the open outweighed that of being chased by some farmer's dog and rousing the whole country 'round.

Sev, who seemed to have unnaturally good eyesight, and Zenir, whose sharpened hearing might warn them of hazards unseen, led the way, and the rest followed in a line.

The farmlands were at their peak before the harvest, the fields packed with tall rows of corn, sun-ripened wheat, pumpkins and squashes, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, greens, and various other crops. The rich scents of growing things, fertile soil, and animal manure drifted on the cooling air.

Closer to the valley's far side, where the land began to rise towards the base of the hills, there were orchards of fruit and nut trees: apple, almond, walnut, pear, plum, persimmon, and sweet little oranges. The perfume of ripening fruit made a pleasant change, but had its downside, too.

Memories rose in Galen's mind, triggered by the scents: annual birthday trips to the orchards as a small child, riding on Harrald's shoulders to reach the higher fruit; a cup of cold apple cider and candied nuts as a treat, and the long dusty wagon ride back at the end of a pleasant day.

Harrald had never pretended to be his real father, but Galen couldn't have asked for a better one.

Unconsciously, his footsteps slowed and stopped. He turned and looked back to the black line of the distant woods and wondered if he'd ever see Dern, or his father, or his friends again. He wished he'd had a chance to say goodbye.

As he looked back down the long, straight lane by which they'd come, a little dot of orange light caught his eye, like the flicker of a candle in the dark. He blinked, and it was gone, and he wondered if he'd imagined it. Then Rea came alongside him and paused.

"You saw it, too?" she asked.

"Yes."

She nodded and quickened her pace to catch up to Sev and Zenir. Galen couldn't hear what she said, but Sev glanced back down the road behind them with a frown.

They continued on, and then, when the road dipped into a little hollow that hid them from sight, Sev led them away from it and into the weedy grass beneath the old apple trees. When they'd gone some ways into the orchard, he crouched low to the ground and gestured for the others to do the same.

"Seems we've got a tail," he said.

"Hunters?" Obi asked.

Rea shook her head. "Too quiet, and too few. I'd guess it's not more than three."

"Trackers, then," said Iksy grimly, and Galen shivered as he got the sense he didn't mean the usual sort of woodsman who followed game. Sevhalim had something about trackers, too, when he'd first encountered Galen in the forest, and Galen had the same feeling then. He was glad when Sev shook his head.

"No. It's too soon for that, and they wouldn't come from Dern, anyway. These are human shadows; probably a few overeager Guards with the right skills. Regardless of the casre we've taken, we're bound to have left a trail."

"And due to our... delay," Rea said, glancing at Galen, "that trail is still fresh."

"If it's only two or three, we can handle them easily," Obi said. "They'd be fools to take us on alone."