Darkspur

Chapter 24 - Betrayed

"Hanian?" Cass found his brother sitting in the kitchen, hunched in his armchair, staring into the hearth's flames. He seemed to be lost in thought, unwilling to answer. "Hanian?" he said again.

"It's all my fault, Cass," he said, not taking his eyes from the fire. "I should never have left him."

Cass sat in the opposite chair, slowly shaking his head. "How were you meant to know, Han. You could never have foreseen this, no-one could."

Hanian sighed, leaning back. "Still, I should never have left, Sam, behind. I got caught up in the call from Darkspur, convincing myself I was returning to save it's people, when really it was just to satisfy my own selfish ego."

Cass leaned forward, smiling. "You have many faults, brother, but selfishness isn't one of them, you did what was right and what was necessary, ego had nothing to do with it. Be sure though, we will find them."

Earlier, Cass had found the Darnach trail within minutes and reported back to Hanian who instantly called his men to ready themselves. Cass, though, had convinced him to wait the night before continuing; with Hanian still weak and darkness falling, there would be no point in trying to track them through the night.

"What you need now is rest. Go to bed, Han, we need you fresh in the morning."

Hanian rose wearily from the chair, smiling at his brother, patting him on the shoulder as he passed.

"Good night, Cass," Hanian said, climbing the creaking stairs.

Cass, now alone, sat peering into the crackling flames. For the last few years he could never put into words how fulfilling his life had been; moving from place to place telling his tales. He wondered if that would ever be the case again. With his eyes heavy with fatigue, it didn't take long for the dancing flames to lull him into sleep.

-o-

They left at dawn and from the outset the pace was quick. The horses had been left behind, unable to follow the trail in the dense undergrowth, so they were limited to what could be carried. The knights again discarding most of their armour, retaining only their rune infused breastplates that helped enormously with the pursuit, boosting their stamina and speed far beyond normal human endurance. Even though the trail was several days old, Cass had no problems following and with Hanian almost fully recovered, the group made fast progress through the forest.

"Twelve, maybe thirteen, Darnach," he said, crouching, his fingers following the almost unperceivable lines of a heel print. "Something strange here though. I don't think, Sam, is with them, I think he's being followed."

One of the other Outriders nodded in agreement.

"Their tracking him?" Hanian asked.

"I can't be sure but I think there are two trails here; one the Darnach and another a group of three. I'm guessing Sam, Milly and going by the bodies we found back at the farm, the other is, Handran, the squire."

"And what about, Mother Kell?" Hanian said.

"She's definitely with the Darnach," he replied.

Hanian again could dare to hope. If the Darnach were indeed tracking his son, he knew they would be slowed by the pace of the aging Mother Kell; there may still be a chance of catching the enemy before they reached Sam.

"Lets just hope you're right, Cass," Hanian said.

Cass looked up at his brother, grinning. "When am I ever wrong?"

-o-

"No way is she coming with us," Handran was stabbing a finger towards Lyet who had taken up her normal squatting stance on a low hanging branch under the tree house. She was calmly popping dried seeds one by one into her mouth, spitting out the inedible chewy husks on to the forest floor. She was seemingly taking amusement from the squire as he got more and more irate.