"It was near the fresh stream," a voice said. "I heard a girl talking, then a shriek."
She began to rise. Gavril's hand on her back slammed her down.
"It isn't shadow stalkers," she whispered. "They don't speak--"
"Shhh!"
"It must be guards, from the village. They're searching--"
"Shhh!" His lips came to her ear, warm breath filling it, his voice harsh with anger. "Be still and be quiet, Keeper. For once."
Another voice, from the forest. "Do we even know this is the way to the fresh stream? Liam has already led us astray once."
Moria knew all the guards by name. All the villagers, too. There was none named Liam.
"Do you want to try leading us through this forsaken place?" a third voice said. "You should thank the spirits I'm here."
They heard many accents in Edgewood, which drew guards from all corners of the empire. She'd only heard this particular one once, from a tradesperson. It was a guttural accent, not soon to be forgotten.
So who were these men? Not a rescue party. Even if someone from the village had escaped across the Wastes, it would be many moons before help returned.
"I told you I heard a girl's voice singing," the first voice was saying again, as the others complained about tramping over rough terrain.
"I think you've been away from women too long," another replied. "You're hallucinating. Next you'll see a pretty maid skipping along the stream."
"Mmm," another said. "Is she swimming in the stream, too? Unclothed? If he is imagining that, I don't blame him. It has been too long. They should have let us loose on that village before--"
"Enough." A man she hadn't heard yet, his voice quiet but firm. "All of you. If one of those guards did survive, we won't hear him with all your jaw flapping."
Gavril shifted, his hand on her back, his leg tensing over hers. On her other side, Daigo squirmed closer, too, leaning against her, one paw resting on her outstretched hand.
"Don't move," Gavril whispered in her ear. "Whatever happens, don't move."
It's not like I could anyway. With you and Daigo practically on top of me.
She made a noise of agreement. Gavril eased back. Then he let out a curse. He looked around frantically, and began wriggling out of his tunic. She didn't avert her eyes. He'd told her not to move.
He winced as he tugged it over his head wound. Then he handed it to her.
"Cover your hair."
"What?"
"Your--" The crack of a twig, telling them the men were almost on them. Gavril cursed and grabbed her hair, twisting it up over her neck, then slapping the tunic down over it. He adjusted it until her face was shadowed under the folds.
Moria lay still and tried not to breathe too deeply. She could smell the tunic. It wasn't pleasant. However, the brief sight of Gavril without it had been quite nice, so she remembered that and ignored the rest.
She saw a flicker of movement through the trees. Then all went dark as Gavril fussed with the tunic, pulling it farther over her face. She waited until he turned away, then tugged it back enough to see again.
The men were, it seemed, not coming directly toward them, but off to the side, taking a clearer path. Still, as a figure took shape, Moria lowered her chin to the ground, her face better hidden by the tunic's shadow. She'd pulled her hands into her own tunic. Gavril had tucked his forearms under him. Even Daigo had slitted his yellow eyes. No flash of color would betray them.
She could see figures now. Five of them, heading for a gap in the thick forest. They stepped into the light, and she watched them troop past, single file. Strangers, as she expected. Men from all corners of the empire, skin tones ranging from the light brown of oakwood to nearly black. One man's head was shaven. Another wore warrior's braids. The last man was the palest, with hair the color of copper.
For someone from Edgewood, accustomed to new guards and traveling merchants, the diversity was expected. It wasn't until she truly thought about it that the regional variance seemed odd. If these men were responsible for somehow raising the shadow stalkers, it would make sense for them to come from the same area. A strike against the emperor meant one region in revolt.
Is that what you think this is? A strike against the emperor?
I don't know.