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  “But we do neither?” Cathros asked.

  “Right. We escape upstream on foot. We sneak up the gorge in the middle of the night.”

  “But we’re still trapped in the gorge,” Elynna noted.

  “Yes,” Bandor admitted. “My plan only delays the problem. Yet maybe it gets us someplace where our escape will be unexpected—especially if luck is with us and one of the ruses draws off the guards watching us.”

  “It is a dangerous plan,” Cathros said. “Especially for those two or three who are chosen to climb up the cliffs. And yet,” he added quickly, before Bandor could defend the idea, “I have no better idea, nor have we much time to try to think of one.”

  A shadow approached through the trees. It had grown dark enough that Bandor couldn’t identify the face until he was only a few steps away. It was Noab. Bandor realized that none of the Ceadani had been involved in the decision. He quickly reviewed what they had learned from Namha and what they now knew of their dire situation, and then explained his plan. Noab agreed at once. “When we send the boat downriver,” he added, “we must make just enough noise to be heard over the river.”

  “Then let us get everything ready,” Bandor said. “We will want to travel as far as possible under the cover of darkness. With this cloud blanket, it will be as dark as a bear’s back in an hour.” His companion murmured their agreement and he continued. “Who will climb up this side? This is the most dangerous part of the plan. This plan was mine. I will take that risk, but I will need others to go with me.”

  Nahoon turned and spoke at once to Namha, who replied in a single word. Nahoon turned back to Bandor. “Namha will go.”

  Bandor breathed a quick sigh of relief. Though he did not say so aloud, he thought any real hope of success rested on Namha. “Theo has already proven to be a strong climber,” he said.

  “Yes,” Tienna replied. “But he is also young. Climbing quietly up the cliff will not be enough. Whoever takes that task must be ready at the top to also take a life. He—or she—will almost certainly have to slay any Undeani they encounter at the top. And will have to do so quickly and quietly. I will take Theo’s place.”

  Bandor wanted to object. He knew Tienna was capable. Maybe she was more capable than any of them save Namha. Yet she was also one of the gifted. Only a short time ago Bandor had experienced just how important that was. But he knew also that she was right about Theo. He was young for that burden. If he hesitated even a moment, the whole mission might fail. So he held his tongue.

  “Lluach is a trained soldier,” Cathros said. “He is as good as any for this job.”

  “And Kreeg,” Braga said. “Among my people his climbing skills may be second only to mine. His skill with his weapons is unmatched.”

  “Then we send five?” Bandor asked. “Namha, Tienna, Kreeg, Lluach, and myself.”

  “No,” Tienna replied. “We send only four. As you said, the plan is yours. You must stay below and lead the others. There is nobody I trust more in guiding the company quietly up this river.”

  The next half an hour was spent explaining the plan to all the others, and preparing all the elements of Bandor’s plan: the secret mission up the cliff, the launching of the boat, and the hoped-for escape up the river. All the while they worked they could see movement up and down the south side of the gorge of silhouettes against the dark sky. The Undeani warriors patrolled the cliff top in clear sight.

  “What are they getting into position for?” Beth asked nervously.

  “Nothing,” Braga answered. “They are trying to intimidate us—to get us to attempt an escape up the cliff behind us. Otherwise they would not allow themselves to be seen.”

  Finally, it grew dark enough to offer some cover from arrows. At a silent signal, Braga and Bandor led a group of Undeani back to the boat for their supplies. They were little more than shadows moving along the ground. Still, several arrows whizzed over their heads or fell into the water. Though fate was with them and none of the arrows found a mark, the sound terrified Bandor.

  They gathered back in the trees against the cliff, ready for the next stage. Namha, Lluach, Kreeg, and Tienna were prepared to go. Bandor could see shadows only about two or three feet in front of his face. There would be no looking upward to plan a climbing route. He now fully realized just how dangerous the climb would be. Probably a greater risk than the Undeani axes and bows waiting at the top.

  “The river will cover some sound of climbing,” Bandor whispered. He was still feeling guilty that others were carrying out this mission. He had a pit in his stomach, especially for Tienna. “The higher you get, the quieter you must be. And be ready to fight the instant you reach the top.”

  Namha made no response, but in the darkness Bandor saw the other three heads nod. Eschewing the clumsiness of swords, they equipped themselves with only their knives. Bandor knew the plan. Namha would lead the way, climbing by feel. He had a loop of rope over his shoulder that he would lower to the others when he reached the top. The others would follow his route as best they could. Lluach threw a second loop of rope over his shoulder. Then, with Namha leading the way, they started up the rock.

  Bandor watched nervously for a few moment as the four shadows worked their way soundlessly up the rocks like spiders on webs. The rock face was not sheer and offered plenty of handholds, but he would not have wanted to climb it in the dark even without enemy soldiers waiting at the top.

  When Kreeg, the last of the line, had reached ten feet up the cliff face, Bandor turned away. While their companions set to muffling any gear that might clink or squeak, and covering anything shiny, he and Braga took the clothing out of Amark’s pack and arranged it as best as they could on several branches, which they carried down to the boat. The darkness was even deeper now, and this time no volley of arrows flew in their direction. They banged the oars on the boat—not so loud as to be obvious but loud enough to echo out of the gorge—and intentionally scraped wood on gravel as they slid the boat into the water and pushed it off. As the boat slid into the water, they dropped themselves down into prone positions on the gravel and lay there flat. The boat began to drift down with the current. “Goodbye nephew,” Braga whispered. “You’d be glad of our use of your clothing, I think. Maybe it will find you and clothe you once more.”

  27

  ESCAPE

  Bandor let a full ten minutes pass, laying as still as he could beside Braga on the cold damp gravel, trying to ignore the discomfort. He hoped any enemy looking down from above and hearing the noises would see only the boat gliding downriver, and not their prone bodies upon the shore. He could barely make out the form of Braga laying just two feet away. Though somebody above with better vision might see the vaguely human shapes clinging to the sides of the boat—the last remaining memories of Amark’s presence in the company. Maybe they would be fooled.

  His thoughts turned quickly from his ruse to Braga’s last words. He knew how much his Undeani friend had loved his nephew Amark. He could not imagine Braga having to explain Amark’s death to his sister. So much loss and grief. Bandor was tired of it.

  The time passed. He reached and tapped Braga on the shoulder. Together they crawled on their bellies back up to the trees. The rest of the company was ready and waiting. Bandor took one last look up the cliff where his companions had disappeared. Then he turned, tapped several others on the shoulders, and disappeared into the darkness heading upriver.

  The walk upstream was slow, moving in darkness along uneven rocks, trying not to make any noise—not even the rolling of a single stone—that would be heard above the steady rumble of the stream. Several times they had to cross open ground where the bottom of the gorge was devoid of trees. Each time they paused and scanned the tops of the rock wall looking for a darker shadow against the faint light background of a cloudy night sky, and then kept as close as they could to the northern cliff face. If enemy scouts watched from above, they
kept themselves invisible.

  Bandor and his companions had hiked for about two hours when they came to a stretch of gorge that rose steeply in front of them. Though he could see little, the sound of the river was much louder as it tumbled down over a series of low falls or cascades somewhere ahead and to the right. They paused at the bottom to consider their next move. The discussion did not take long. Despite the difficulty of the terrain, none were in favor of stopping with the enemy so close. After a short rest, they went on. Elynna walked beside Bandor. They scrambled breathlessly up several big boulders that clogged the ravine. At one point, Elynna lost her footing and slid down the backside. Bandor feared the worst—an injury to Elynna or a noise that would draw the attention of their enemies. But Elynna did not cry out. Bandor followed her down as quickly as he could and found her at the bottom ankle-deep in icy water at the edge of pool. Neither spoke a word. He reached out and took her hand and helped her back up the rock. Still onward they climbed.

  It took nearly two hours to reach the top of the cascade where the river flattened out again. They must have gained several hundred feet of altitude in that period. Bandor could hear several people breathing hard around him. He realized that his own heart beat rapidly. “Pass the word,” he said to those around him. “We will rest. Get a drink and stay ready to move.”

  They had been there perhaps ten minutes when a shadow appeared out of the darkness. Theo’s voice spoke from the shadow. “Somebody is coming. Or at least I think so. I was watching behind us where we passed in front of the lighter rock face. A shadow moved past it.”

  “Namha and the others?” Bandor asked, hopefully.

  “And Tienna?” asked Elynna, who sat at Bandor’s side.

  “I could not tell,” Theo answered. “I saw only one shadow. But it is dark.”

  Bandor rose and followed Theo back in the direction from which they had come. He heard Elynna following behind him. He was dimly aware of forms sprawled around the ground. He almost tripped over one body he couldn’t see, and only recognized it for a person rather than a rock from the grunt. Near a tree at the top of a slope, the three of them waited only a minute before a figure emerged from the darkness just a few steps away. A few inches in front of Bandor’s face, the dim figure become Lluach.

  Lluach jerked backward as though startled. “I’m glad to see you,” he said. “You have made it farther than I had hoped. I was afraid something bad had happened.”

  “Where is Tienna?” Elynna asked nervously. “And the Amanti?”

  “I never saw them,” Lluach said. “A rope came down to me as I climbed, but when I reached the top they were already gone.”

  “Did you see any enemies?” Bandor asked.

  A moment of silence followed the question. In the darkness Bandor could not see Lluach’s face, but his voice sounded sick. “I did. I almost walked into one of their scouts. He was standing with his back to a tree. I think he had fallen asleep. They must have marched—or been driven—without rest for several days to catch us.”

  “What happened?” Bandor asked impatiently.

  “We surprised each other, but I already had a knife in my hand. By the time he grabbed his spear, it was too late for him. Then the clouds parted for a moment and I caught a glimpse of his face. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen years old: the age of my little brother. I could see the confusion in his face as he died. He didn’t know what he was doing here. I turned and came back down. I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m sorry I failed you all. That was why I forsook the uniform of Citadel.”

  Bandor reached out and put a hand on Lluach’s shoulder. “No. You haven’t failed. You’ve won the victory. Better that we all die than that we become like Golach.”

  The four of them made their way back along the river, through the darkness, over the boulders and resting bodies. Bandor found Braga and Cathros. Lluach repeated his story for them. Braga also told Lluach he had done well. “The Undeani are my people. I know they are here to war with us. The Gaergaen has turned them into our enemies. Yet they are my cousins also. It will be hard on Kreeg. When this war is over, every life that has been spared will make the healing easier.”

  Bandor told Lluach to rest while he could. He then turned to Elynna. “I wish Tienna were back,” he whispered. “And Kreeg also. And Namha.”

  “So do I,” Elynna replied.

  Bandor knew they could not let Lluach rest for long. Though it appeared their escape had succeeded, he knew Undeani scouts would be scouring both sides of the gorge looking for them the moment their absence was discovered. He could only hope the enemy focused their efforts downriver where the boat now floated, or northward from where they had first been attacked.

  Less than a quarter of an hour after Lluach arrived, Bandor roused the rest of the company. He took the lead with Braga and started upriver once more. Elynna followed behind. Others trailed along in the darkness. Bandor could hear the occasionally rolling of rocks and padding of feet that would have alerted anybody nearby to their movements. He hoped the sound did not carry. The sky seemed to have lightened just slightly. Either the clouds had thinned or the moon far overhead was leaking light through. Still, it was dark enough to hide their movements.

  The gorge soon leveled out again, and for a time they traveled more easily despite the darkness. Then the trail began to narrow as the rock walls closed in from both sides. Before long, they were walking right on the water’s edge with only a few feet separating the shore from the cliff. If anybody above had seen them, they could have killed them just by dropping rocks. He saw no sign of any enemy above. “Your plan is working,” Braga whispered to Bandor.

  Yet almost the moment he said that, they came to a halt. The trail went no farther. The gorge had narrowed to the width of the river. Ahead they could hear another falls. They backed up several feet to a wider piece of ground where they could gather.

  They had not even begun to consult when Tienna and Kreeg appeared out of the darkness. Kreeg found Braga right away and began reporting to him in their Undeani tongue. Tienna accepted a warm and relieved hug from Elynna, but remained silent. After what Lluach had told him, Bandor did not have the stomach to ask Tienna what had happened. Just as Kreeg finished reporting to Braga, Namha arrived back. He spoke at length with Nahoon while Bandor listened, feeling as much in the dark on what Kreeg and Namha were saying as he was in the literal dark.

  When Namha finally stopped speaking, to Bandor’s surprise Nahoon laughed.

  “Well what do we know?” Cathros asked impatiently. “Am I the only one who hasn’t heard what happened?”

  The suspense got to Bandor. “We’re all waiting,” he said impatiently. “Somebody tell us something. Nahoon or Braga or Tienna. I don’t care who.”

  “Here is the most important news,” Nahoon said. “We should be safe from pursuit for a short time. Golach’s main army hasn’t arrived yet. And the Undeani are all fleeing.”

  “Fleeing?” Aram asked. “From only three of you? I wish I had seen that.”

  “We know even more than that,” Braga said. “Kreeg was able to question one of Namha’s prisoners.”

  “Prisoners?” Cathros asked

  “Yes,” Braga replied. “Apparently the leader of the Citadel army—this Golach of whom you have spoken—sent Creagon under command after us in haste with his Undeani war party. They were sent to catch us, harry us, delay us. Basically they were to take all the risks, while Golach’s company moved more slowly. Now Creagon’s folk are in turmoil. I don’t think they liked Golach’s plan much. Or if they liked it before, they don’t like it now.”

  “But where are the prisoners?” Cathros asked.

  Bandor thought back on Lluach’s earlier report. “What happened? How many of them did we have to slay?”

  “None,” Tienna replied. “But Namha left twelve of them hanging by their feet from trees. The rest are headed down river.�
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  Several in the company exclaimed their surprise and delight. “Are they chasing the boat?” Bandor asked. “Did our ruse work?”

  “They saw the boat,” Tienna replied. “They were watching it when we arrived. It may be that the distraction made our task easier. But I don’t think that is why they headed downriver. They were running from Namha. Those who weren’t hanging by their feet, that is.”

  Bandor breathed a sigh of relief. A few days earlier, after Creagon and his people had betrayed the company, Bandor had wanted all the Undeani dead. No longer. He didn’t want any more killing. And no more dying. “I think it safe to rest for a time,” he said. He turned to Tienna. “We’ve reached an impasse in the gorge. If you are not too tired, you can come with me to scout the way while the others catch what sleep they can.”

  “I am not too tired,” Tienna answered. “Let us bring Braga also. His climbing gear may prove as useful as his skills in the mountains.”

  28

  THE TRAINED AND UNTRAINED

  Dhan surveyed the scene through a cleft in a rock. The sun had not yet risen, nor was it even coloring the eastern horizon, but the sky was growing lighter. He could see the snowy hillside below him lined with enemy soldiers. He knew without looking that his own men were strategically spread out along the gully and in the rocks on both sides of him, ready to make their defensive stand.

  His enemy? His men? The irony of those labels was not lost on the prince. The enemy below him was a band of soldiers of Citadel, men who until a few weeks ago would have been under his own command. He had worn the same blue uniform. He probably knew the names of some of them. How many times had he dined with El-Phern, or shared a carafe of wine with him at some inn in Citadel?