First Rider's Call
Page 5

“It’s certainly not safe for us to set up camp here,” Lady Penburn said. “Although I expected we’d eventually find ourselves in this situation, I wish we’d find signs of Eletians instead.”
Karigan suspected that Eletians would leave signs of themselves only if they wished to.
“We daren’t go west or east,” Lady Penburn said. “And south would be backtracking. Therefore we shall continue due north, and try to reach Rider Newland’s clearing by nightfall.”
Dread washed over Karigan at the announcement. Brogan, who had seemed to be in his own world during much of Ty’s report, shook himself to life.
“I wouldna do that, m’lady,” he said.
“And why not?”
Brogan licked his lips and squinted at her from beneath heavy eyebrows. “Begging pardon, m’lady, but there are some places you just want to avoid in this territory. Places of evil.”
“We’ve encountered numerous ruins and you’ve not had any complaints about those.”
“This is different. I’ve heard of this place, and I know trustworthy bounders who’d swear on their mothers’ graves it was ill-omened.”
“What makes it so? Are demons going to rise out of the earth and murder us while we sleep? Or is this just another bit of northern superstition?”
“No, m’lady. Not superstition.” Brogan groped for words. “It’s just . . . it’s just bad.” He looked at his boots, knowing how ridiculous it sounded.
Lady Penburn turned on Ty and Karigan. “Did either of you feel there was anything wrong with this place?”
“No,” Ty said.
When Karigan hesitated, Ty glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.
“Rider G’ladheon?” Lady Penburn’s voice was tinged with impatience.
Heat rose up Karigan’s neck and flooded her cheeks as everyone, from Captain Ansible to Lord Clayne, stared at her. So many eyes on her was a tangible, uncomfortable force that pressed on her from all sides.
And still she hesitated, fearing how very foolish she would sound if she told them of her feelings.
Lady Penburn’s eyebrows narrowed. “We haven’t all day, Rider.”
Ereal placed her hand on Karigan’s shoulder. “If you observed anything unusual in that clearing, we need to know about it.”
Karigan licked her lips. The silence that engulfed the group grew more immense as seconds passed and they waited for her to speak. If Lady Penburn hadn’t liked hearing of Brogan’s “superstitions,” then she certainly would find no merit in Karigan’s feelings. Yet duty required her to answer, and it was not in her nature to lie. What if her instincts meant danger for the delegation and she had failed to warn them?
“It was a feeling I had,” she said.
“A feeling?”
“Yes, my lady. A feeling of wrongness.” There. She had said it.
“A feeling, but nothing more?”
What else could Karigan say? “That’s correct, my lady.”
“Is it—” Lady Penburn cleared her throat and shifted, looking immensely uncomfortable, “—something you detected with your special ability?”
Lady Penburn referred to Karigan’s Rider magic, and while the lady had been briefed on the “special abilities” of each Rider attached to the delegation, Karigan knew that among the few who were aware of Rider magics, most failed to comprehend their limits. They only recalled the stories of the terrible mages who had wreaked havoc and destruction during the Long War; mages who possessed immeasurable powers. This was so ingrained in their minds that magic in any form was regarded with suspicion. They did not differentiate between the great destructive magics of the past, and the humble abilities Riders possessed.
“No, my lady,” Karigan finally answered, “my ability does not run along those lines.”
Lady Penburn looked pleased by the answer and she turned back to Ty. “And you felt nothing, Rider Newland?”
“Nothing unusual. The place was odd because of the tomb, but nothing more than that.”
Lady Penburn nodded in satisfaction.
Karigan sighed. It was only natural, she supposed, that Lady Penburn should dismiss her words and support Ty’s. Ty was a senior Rider, and Karigan was still perceived as the most inexperienced of the four who accompanied the delegation. She was even beginning to wonder if her feelings about the clearing had been just a bout of nerves.
Ereal squeezed her shoulder. “Well done,” she whispered. “It was good of you to speak up.”
“Brogan,” Lady Penburn said, “I appreciate that you bounders have your hands full in this wilderness. It is true these lands have a long past. We’ve seen the relics of that history, and this clearing appears to have yielded yet another.
“However, I will not tolerate any member of this delegation falling prey to fear wrought by superstition.” Her eyes seared those around her, and lingered on both Karigan and Brogan for what seemed like hours rather than seconds. “We have enough of what could be a truly dangerous situation to concern ourselves about. That clearing sounds defensible to me should we find ourselves attacked by groundmites, a rallying place where we could stand shoulder to shoulder in strong lines rather than being scattered throughout the forest. That is where we shall set up camp for the night.”
“M’lady,” Brogan said, “you brought me along as a guide, and I feel it my duty to warn you about such a place—”