The Boon of Alon

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

"I, eh, think there may be some sort of misunderstanding." One of my surprise visitors, the woman in front, is the first to speak, and she's slow and sheepish about it. "We were asked to–"

One of the others elbows her. She hisses something at him and the group argues just low enough that I can't hear. Not rebels, then? Bounty hunters, or mercenaries—chasing me on the rebellion's behalf. The paper doesn't list a reward, nor does it say where to meet whoever might give them one, but it does request proof of my death. So they were sent to kill me—why aren't they trying?

"Who?" I wave the paper at them and a couple of them look at it guiltily. My gut knots and I back up closer to Iamon. "How'd you find me?"

"A few folks saw dragons coming to and from this spot," one man admits. "But we...weren't told you were one of them," he adds carefully. That must be what's stopping them—they weren't expecting to face a dragon, too.

"By who?" I ask again.

The woman in front shrugs, avoiding eye contact. "We didn't get any names."

I bet they know it's the rebellion, though. Or, hell, maybe they don't, but they just don't want to lead me back to whoever hired them. Bad for their reputation, I imagine.

Either way...the rebels know I'm alive. And that means they know Suthi lied.

I'm not going to wait around for these guys to decide whether to try to kill me or not—I have to save her.

"I think it's time to go," I think to Iamon.

"Agreed," he responds. I tuck the paper into my jacket, double check that I have everything I need on me—mindful of the eyes on me as the hunters continue to mutter to each other—then turn and scramble up into the saddle. The hunters shout and a single crossbow bolt whizzes by my ear as I duck to secure myself—then Iamon roars and leaps upward.

"We have to go to Pangessa," I think, clinging tight to the spines on his neck as we shoot up into the cold sky.

"What is your plan?" he asks.

"If they know Suthi lied, then we need to go rescue her before they–" I can't bring myself to think about it. "She's got to be somewhere in the capitol, hasn't she?"

"Hmm." Iamon rumbles thoughtfully. "You are making assumptions."

"What? You think she's somewhere else?"

"Della."

Okay, deep breath. I think back over what I just said. "I'm assuming that they know she lied. But maybe they think she was lied to, instead?"

"You can go deeper than that," says Iamon. For all that he's pushing me to think it through, we are headed towards the mountains—towards Pangessa. "Back up, little bug. Start from the start."

"Those people were hired to kill me." That's the start, isn't it?

"Were they?"

"That paper said to bring back proof of my death."

He rumbles. "Most who know of you believe you are already dead, yes?"

Oh, gods. "They weren't surprised that I'm a rider—they were surprised that I wasn't a corpse."

"I do not know with certainty what they were expecting, or what the rebellion knows," Iamon starts.

"But if I show up to get Suthi they'll know for sure," I finish. "Dammit." Just as well, I guess, because I have no clue where she is aside from probably in the capital. And that's a big city and likely not in the best state right now, seeing as the king's just been killed. "It's just a matter of time, though, if those guys report back." They have to get back over the mountains, but I'm pretty sure from that whole thing with Kirt that there are rebels in the Pangessan hills who can get a message to the rebel leaders fast. We've got days, not weeks.