The Order of Dragonfire

Chapter 22

The cold air burned Alex's throat as she forced it into her lungs. The sound of distant waves crashing onto the coast covered the sound of her running, or at least she hoped it would. As soon as she was out of earshot of the caravan she had began dashing away, making sure to keep her speed up but not tire herself out. She kept an eye on the path to her left but was traveling through the lightly wooded area besides it. If they did try following her at least she would have some cover. If she was particularly fortunate they might go straight past her.

She paused and cast a nervous look back over her shoulder. She listened intently, trying to hear anything besides the sea and the gentle rustling of wildlife. Nothing. It seemed as if they still hadn't noticed she had gone, or at least hadn't managed to catch up yet. There was only one place she would go, so she wasn't making much effort to stop them tracking her. To go anywhere besides Dragon's Jaw would be near certain death. The ring would afford little protection against the beasts and raiders, but it would at least give her the fighting chance she needed to make the last short trip of the journey.

The brief break was all she allowed herself before she began moving forwards again. If she could keep her speed up, she hoped to reach Dragon's Jaw a little after sunrise. That was if she wasn't recaptured before then. Every few minutes she would try reassuring herself that it would be okay; with any luck no one would think to check on 'Alex' again, and if they did they would see her there. But what if Rose had woken up or moved in her sleep so they could see it wasn't Alex? Or someone had gone to find Rose and tried to find out why they couldn't? They were very real threats, and the danger motivated her to carry on moving. But if everything went as planned, they wouldn't notice anything was amiss until they prepared to set off the next day. By then it would be too late for them to catch Alex before she was at Dragon's Jaw with the dragonstones. She almost hoped that they would follow her and that they would be too late; if there really was a cache of dragonstones, especially those with the mysterious power to raze the surrounding land merely by being there, she would have her old 'friends' completely at her mercy. She toyed with the idea of tracking them down if they didn't follow her so she could have her revenge. Then they would regret crossing her. But that was merely a fantasy, and one she silently scolded herself for indulging in. She couldn't afford to lose her head to emotional fancies and dreams of vengeance. There would be plenty of time for that when - if - she reached her goal. In the mean time, survival and keeping up her pace needed to be the priority.

She gasped for air as she threw her kit to the ground, fumbling for some food. The surge of energy from when she had first escaped was wearing off, and her aching muscles grew increasingly fatigued. A few quick bites of bread and a splash of water would be enough for now. She needed to keep her energy up and press on for as long as possible. But just as she was gathering her kit to carry on again a disturbing sound caused her to freeze. The unmistakable galloping of horses was approaching down the road. Who would be traveling at this time of night? She knew that the answer was obvious. She hadn't considered that they would come on horseback without the carriages, but now that she thought about it she cursed herself for not thinking of it. Of course they weren't going to let the carts slow them down, they would just go on horseback. But that gave her some hope; who would they send? Were there many of them? Fighting the whole group would have been beyond her, but hiding from a small handful would be easier and if she did have to fight it certainly wouldn't be hopeless. She was getting ahead of herself though. She didn't even know that it was Thorn's group chasing her, although she was fairly sure of it. There was still a chance that it would be some other travelers who would pass right on by.

Alex took cover behind a tree trunk and stayed as still as possible as she waited for the horses to come into view. Her heart sank as her suspicions were confirmed. Thorn, Caine and Githa rode together with Rose slightly behind, looking particularly resentful. Alex figured that the others weren't best pleased with Rose for letting her escape. Their faces were illuminated by the lamps they shone onto the shore and towards the woodland. Alex pulled herself behind the tree entirely and stayed as silently still as possible. If they weren't in the woods following her tracks then, so long as they didn't see her, they would carry on straight ahead. Perhaps that was their plan, though. She had little hope of surviving out there without some stronger dragonstones, especially as Thorn had surely organised for his tribe to search the wider area. If they knew she was heading there, why not just beat her there and make sure she didn't make it rather than waste time trying to track her down?