Chapter 44: Flight (Part 4)
Justin glanced over his shoulder at Leah, Olorus, and Hook as they walked.
Seabiscuit and the other two steeds, bearing loads of supplies, were being led by a length of rope. Zechariah was in front, leading them along the edge of the Cru village. Hook carried a bow, strung and ready, that he had earlier bartered off the Cru, and Olorus walked with his spear in hand.
Justin shivered against the cold. It might have occurred to him to regret being pulled away from a warm bed-something he'd been so looking forward to-but all he could seem to think about were the increasing number of things that could go wrong at any moment.
He remembered the Gravelands-how one minute they had been riding toward the enemy, and the next, a dozen men were dead. He remembered their scowling faces, their blood, and the smell of burned flesh. If another such encounter occurred tonight, who would he be burying this time? Or who would be burying him?