Warrior's Soul (Book 3 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 9

"He's so good looking."

"But he's blind."

"It's a pity."

"Why? I don't mind, as long as he..."

Leyla picked up her pace to move further ahead of the giggling women. She didn't begrudge the mothers their idle chatter as they navigated the rough terrain with their children on their backs. Behind the smiling faces, she could see they were exhausted and it was no wonder. After this morning's Timsa attack they had all walked for hours to the mud village, and it had now been hours since they left.

Casting a quick glance at the rest of the group following her, Leyla saw that the elderly couple had fallen behind again. Waru and Tai, who were carrying Kaya on a stretcher between them had white knuckles and Malia who walked alongside them with her own child on her back was out of breath. Only the Sage, with his bright robes and walking stick, looked like he was enjoying a leisurely stroll. Strange man.

He was certainly strange, but he also knew his business. Just by feeling her pulse the Sage had even worked out that Leyla was a girl. She wondered briefly why he had not corrected everyone else's mistaken impression of her, but it didn't really matter.

Being thought a man made little difference to her; she had no desire to change the wrong impression, nor would she try to stop the truth from being revealed.

Scanning the area ahead, Leyla tipped her head up to look through thick branches and at the darkening sky above. They didn't have long before sunset. She would need to settle the group soon, and though this area was not exactly ideal, it would do. She could hear the water nearby and they had just finished a steep climb; being on higher ground was good.

"Protector?" Malia called out when Leyla put down the bags of medicine she had been carrying. "Are we stopping?"

At her nodd, there was a collective sigh. Tai and Waru put Kaya down gently and Leyla was pleased to see the Sage leaning down to check on her.

Finding a thick stick, she drew a large circle, setting a parameter for the camp then did a quick head count. Three mothers, three children, Tai, Waru, Malia, Kaya, the Sage..and the two elderly who had finally caught up with them; she had thirteen mouths to feed. Bloody Diya, that was not going to be easy without a bow and arrow to go hunting with.

Alright, food was not the priority. Water had to come first.

Grabbing the half-empty water flasks that had been dropped into a pile, Leyla took a last look around the camp. The Sage was directing Waru and Tai into helping him change Kaya's bandages, the elderly were sitting with the younger children and Malia had the other women unpacking the blankets for bedding.

They would be fine for a little while.

Before heading for water, Leyla spent a while covering their tracks to keep others from finding the camp. While wiping out their footprints, she found a berry bush and gathered as many as she could inside her oversized shirt. By the time she had the flasks filled and made it back to camp, the sky was losing the last of its colour.

"Protector!" Relieved voices called out at her arrival, and she could tell from the expression on several faces that they had believed she wouldn't come back. Leyla took a deep breath, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling of guilt in her chest. She was only sticking around until Kaya woke up. The villagers ought not to get attached to her.

Handing the full water flasks and berries to a grateful looking Malia, she went to check on Kaya.

"You're back," the Sage smiled his easy smile when she knelt beside him. Then he was turning to Waru, "Go ask for some of the fresh water, we have to make Kaya drink."

So he had realised what she was gone for? Leyla wasn't surprised. He was not called Sage for no reason. Her eyes roamed over Kaya's face and her leg. The bandages looked clean and while the girl's skin was pale, it was no longer radiating the burning heat from before.

"She will be fine," the Sage spoke beside her. Then he was reaching for Leyla's hand. She pulled away quickly and got to her feet. She didn't want him to fix her bandages. There was no need. And she had things to do. "Alright," he sighed as if reading her thoughts. "But please keep the bandages clean."

Of course she would, she was not that foolish.

Assured that Kaya was doing well, Leyla moved towards the bonfire the villagers had made in the centre of camp. Malia and two others were passing out berries, Tai was helping the elderly with blankets and Waru was walking past with water. All was well, but it wouldn't stay that way if they were spotted.

Pushing at the built up earth around the fire with her feet, Leyla started covering the flames.

"Protector, what are you doing!?" Malia rushed forward, looking panicked. "We have dried mushrooms with us, we need the fire to make soup!"

As smart as Malia was proving herself to be, did she really not realise how likely it was for Bone Eaters to still be lurking in the area? The bastards travelled in big groups and once they found the corpses of their men, they would be wreaking havoc in the area.

Leyla parted her dry lips and cleared her throat.

"The fire will give our location away," the Sage said before Leyla could utter a word. "Safety is more important than soup, Malia. Did the Protector not bring us berries? Let us make do with them for tonight."

Malia's eyes widened and shifted from the Sage to Leyla, "I didn't think..." She stopped, then spoke to the rest of the gathering, "Everyone, we are putting out the fire. Settle on your blankets!"

Leyla looked over at the Sage who had gone back to checking on Kaya with unhurried moves. Of course, the coming darkness would mean nothing to him; his world was always black.

Odd. There was something about him, something about his air that felt...strange. But, she had to admit that it made things easier to have someone who understood her intentions.

Pushing the rest of the earth onto the flames, Leyla adjusted the sword on her hip and made her way between blankets to begin her patrol.