Which Way?

Silver pressed his lips together, trying to keep the feeling of Sage's kiss as long as he could. Sensing his distraction, Daisy jolted slightly, trying to discern from her master which way to turn.

"I'm not sure," Silver admitted. There were three farms about equal distance from the field where the men were squatting and he did not know to which family it belonged.

He needed to choose fast. Dismissing the farmhouse behind him due to the forest between it and the field, Silver closed his eyes and tried to decide between the other two.

"I don't suppose you have any guidance, Hanna?" The Guardian hesitated for just a moment, but got no reply. He sighed. "To the left then, Daisy. And hurry."

The sun seemed to be moving rapidly through the sky, and Silver felt helpless to find a way to slow it down.

'Perhaps I should go find the soldiers first. There are more of them and more lives at stake..."

But he had to wait until the Commander was gone before he could warn the troops, for Borit would simply contradict him. And besides that, the Guardian knew that the General would kill the farmer, and that it might happen sooner rather than later. It only made sense.

Not only did Kaarel have a vendetta against the man for causing the general to change his plans, but there was also the matter of tying up loose ends before they became a problem. If the farmer were to hear the ruckus caused by the fighting and go ask for help, it might bring about some questions which neither Borit nor Kaarel would want to answer.

It was best for both men if the farmer's ears were no longer around to hear anything that might make him suspicious. If Silver did not make it in time, the farmer and his family would become a part of their own field by morning.

'What if the man has children?!'

It was the final thought that pushed Silver to make Daisy race at the expense of their ability to hide. He could not stomach the idea of innocent children dying because of his inaction.

The barn was the first thing that came into sight. It had a tall grain silo and a large stable for animals to stay out of the weather. The Guardian sighed in relief as he saw a man wiping his brow with his hat while trudging to the farmhouse just beyond a distant fence.

"Good sir!" Silver called, but the wind carried his voice in the wrong direction. The coming darkness elongated the shadows, making the camouflage which he normally enjoyed a terrible problem.

'He cannot see me...' The Guardian called out again and again until at last the older man turned on his heels to look at the newcomer. He had already made it beyond the gate and almost to his door. He looked less than amused by the intruder.

"Good sir!" Silver dismounted and walked toward the house. The farmer slammed shut the low gate and clicked his tongue. He did not seem intimidated at all by the fact that his guest had only a black void where a face should be.

"You can sleep in the barn. Two gold coins for the night and they need to be paid up front. If you don't steal nothing, you can have one of 'em back in the morning." He chewed at the piece of dried grass protruding from his lips.

Silver was taken aback. "I am not looking for a place to stay. I need to deliver a message."

"Then head up to the fort. It's a half day's ride that way. I've no use for gossip. My offer for the barn still stands though." The man leaned on the gate wearily. It was looking more and more like he would not be getting anything useful from the man who had just delayed his upcoming dinner.

"You don't understand. I need to give you a message. There are dangerous men in the fields." Silver was floored when the old man gave him a sharp gaze. His hazel eyes clouded with suspicion.

"Don't you think I know that? Those vagrants have been nothing but trouble. Yer not one of them, are ya?"

"I am most certainly not. But you need to get out of here. They are coming to kill you." Silver would have gone into more detail, but the farmer seemed disinterested.

He spat his grass onto the ground and tapped the fence post with his knuckles. "Now why would they go and do a fool thing like that? I've never even met the scoundrels.'

"Because they are in your wheat field and you have been harassing them?" Silver's words came out as a question.

"Who told you that I was harassing them?" The judgment in the farmer's voice was full of disdain for whoever the gossip might be.

"No one. I overheard the men say they were going to kill the owner of the wheat field and then I saw your silo and I just assumed..." Silver trailed off as the old man shook his head.

"I haven't grown wheat in years. That silo holds more birds than it does grain. You are looking for my neighbor, Dinnick. He is the one who has the squatters on his land. You say they want to kill him? I don't like that one bit, but I can understand it. Dinnick is one persistent son of a mule. Once I lent him my shovel and he had the nerve to..."

It was Silver's turn to interrupt. "What is the fastest way to Dinnick's farm? And does he have any family I need to be concerned about?"

"One son who thinks he is a man but is still a boy and a plucky little girl who can barely walk. He had the girl too old if you ask me. Not that he did, but still..." The farmer was about to launch into the proper age for child rearing.

Silver pinched his nose, his hand disappearing into his hood. "Tell me how to get to his farm! Time is of the essence!"

"It is just over the rise and two arrow shots east. You cannot miss it. He just built that gaudy green silo winter before last to put my old barn to shame."

Silver jumped onto Daisy, "Thank you. You may want to leave for the next couple of days as well. Trouble is brewing."

"I have nowhere to go and no family to speak of. If I die here, I shall be content." The farmer shrugged, disinterested in the caution the Guardian had given.

"Fare thee well, then," Silver did not have time to argue. He had given a warning and that was as much as he had time for. With a click of his heels into Daisy's side, Silver aimed his mare toward Dinnick.

"If you save my neighbor, remind him that he still owes me a shovel! I haven't forgotten." The farmer turned around and headed into his house with the same old trudge.

Silver rolled his eyes. "What a strange old curmudgeon!"

He looked up at the sky. The dull glow of the sun was beginning to be overtaken by stars. His heart began to sink.

Silver had done his best to warn Kaarel's first victims of the attack. If only he hadn't picked the wrong farm!

'Maybe there is still time....I hope.'

Hope was all he had.