Run Run Run

There was no time to contemplate what had become of the soldier in the fiery barn. If the man was willing to murder an innocent family, then Silver was unwilling to give him any of his sympathy.

Nor could he spare any of his energy on the men still lurking in the grass. Because of where they were stationed, they must not have seen the family flee.

It seemed they were content to watch the blaze until the house also collapsed from the inferno. And that time was still many minutes away.

That delay meant that Dinnick, Edyth, Ned and Sissy would be safe from being followed. Silver would celebrate that victory later.

He still had a long way to go before he could relax. The Guardian ghosted away from the hungry flames. They were devouring all that Dinnick had worked a lifetime to acquire.

The bag of coins which he had given the unlucky farmer would not be enough to replace all that was lost, but it would be enough for them to clothe themselves and not starve for the time being.

Perhaps when this was all over, Silver could speak with his sister to have the farmer reimbursed by the king. If there were any king left by the end of this...

'Stop the grim thoughts,' Silver chided himself.

Losing hope did nothing but make him make mistakes. He would hold onto the last sliver of hope until it was ripped out of his cold, dead hands.

When he was a safe distance from the farmhouse, Silver gave a low whistle. A soft whinny answered him as Daisy silently padded up toward him. While Silver had not cared if people heard him earlier—he had actually hoped the loud hoofbeats would alert the farmer to the danger—now he knew that stealth was his greatest ally.

For if he planned to slip into the Birilian camp and warn them, he first would have to make sure he was not discovered by the men of Lakyle.

That was easier said than done. Since there were so few of the men dispatched to deal with Dinnick, that meant the bulk were preparing to take down the encampment which Borit had falsely sworn to protect.

With the direction which Borit had given Kaarel when they parted, Silver had a general sense of where to go. Although the exact location had not been said, the Guardian gathered his bearings and located east.

Mounting his trusty steed, the Guardian pressed his heels into Daisy's side and they were off.

Slowly but surely, the night was growing deeper with stars peeking out overhead. The forest would obscure his view in a moment, but for now, each twinkling pinprick of light seemed to be flickering at him like a long-forgotten dream.

And then the dark, reaching branches of the forest loomed overhead, devouring the little twinkles like a ravenous wolf. It did not matter to the Guardian. Darkness was his home. He felt far more at ease without the threat of light to give him away.

Another sound graced his ears. A sound he liked even less than the sound of pursuit.

For although no one was currently following him—not that they really could in the impenetrable darkness—there was still a barrier upcoming which would hinder Silver's progress.

A river.

The Guardian had hoped to avoid crossing the rushing water, but the closer he got the more inevitable he realized the event was. Of course the soldiers had set up on the opposite side for the night. It was a natural barrier and even Borit could not rob the men of their common sense.

Silver searched his brain. The closest bridge last time he had been through here was a arrow shot south. Should he risk finding the crossing or find another way?

As the river came closer and closer, the Guardian wrestled with his sensibilities. If the bridge was safe for crossing, then he would be better off not wasting time fording the river. But his intuition told him that it was not safe to cross.

A moment later his gut feeling was confirmed on two points. The troops were indeed on the other side of the water and the bridge was not safe to cross.

For when the river came into view, something was flowing swiftly down it. A body. Pulling Daisy to a stop, Silver leapt from her back and ran along the shoreline. He pulled a rope from his cloak and after two tries, he managed to get the loop around the soldier's arm and tug him to shore.

Unfortunately, he was already gone. The Guardian had hoped he was not too late, but the ugly mark across the man's neck meant he was probably dead before he was dumped into the current.

Based on the speed of the water and the distance to the crossing, the death had occurred recently. Even in the chilly water, the Birilian soldier still had a little warmth left in his body. "May the Maker keep you," he blessed the soldier as he lay him on the shore.

Standing, the Guardian's eyes flashed with determination. River or no river, the fiends must be stopped. "Go hide," he told Daisy.

The mare objected with a snort. She had been tasked by Sage to protect Silver, after all. And somehow she sensed that he needed her just now. She walked over to where her master stood and nudged him.

He took her chiding in stride. The Guardian knew that he could not easily cross with her. The water was deep and visibility was low. And if the troops of Lakyle were awaiting him on the other side, an exiting horse would draw a considerable amount of attention. Daisy was safer here.

"Don't worry. If I'm not back by morning, you can go get help." Silver had no idea how much the horse understood, but even in the blackness of the night he could see her intelligent eyes judging him silently. "Go, hide!" He whistled his order, but the mare refused to move.

'Fine, be stubborn!' It did not really matter if the horse was out of sight. If the Lakilian soldiers found her, they would just assume she belonged to the dead man nearby.

"Suit yourself…"

There was no more time to argue with his trusty steed, so he patted her on the head and plunged silently into the river. The chilly water permeated through his cloak and soaked into his bones.

The memories of his drowning death flashed across his mind, but Silver refused to let the panic control him. Ethyn had forced him to learn to swim two summers ago, and his technique of float and stroke was enough to keep him from going under again after he surfaced.

Suddenly a hand reached up from the depths and caught his cloak. The grip jerked Silver sideways, suddenly aiming him downstream as he fought against the foe. The caught tree branch, after putting up a valiant effort, finally collapsed under the extra weight.

The surge of energy when the Guardian was released sent him careening to the shore. He slammed into it with a muddy thud.

Pulling himself from the water as quietly as he could, Silver checked to make sure his body was still intact. Although the trip was unpleasant, he seemed to be unharmed.

As the water drained from his ears, Silver pulled up his hood. With the lessening of the sound of the river, the Guardian heard something he did not expect.

Laughter.