Gram Alder's Arc

Chapter 7 of 11

Gram left the tiger in her den and worked his way down the mountain toward the smoke. He could not walk in blind. If the men startled, they might hunt the tiger. So he moved slow through the timber, boots quiet on wet leaves. He wanted eyes on the camp before anyone saw him. He wanted to know who lit the fire, and why. He smelled woodsmoke first. Then he saw the tent through a gap in the trees. A single lantern hung from the center pole. Bedrolls, a strongbox, cook pots ringed a small fire. One person crouched there, feeding sticks to the flames. No hunting party. No traps. Just a young woman alone. Gram stepped out of the trees to get a clear look. A branch cracked under his boot. The woman spun and came up with a knife in her fist. Gram froze, hands open at his sides. For a breath they only stared. Her chest heaved. His did too. "Don't move," she said. "I'm not." He kept his voice flat. "I live up the mountain. I saw your fire." She studied him. The knife stayed up. "You're not a hunter." "No. Are you?" "No." Slowly she lowered the blade. "Soph. Soph Luke." Gram gave his name. He asked what brought her this deep into Icefall alone. Soph sat back by the fire and pulled a folded map from her pack. She spread it flat. A path wound through the trees to an X at the top. "My sister walked through the Hollow Gate three years ago. She came back wrong. Not herself." She tapped the X. "Three sources point to the same gate. I found it." "What is it?" "A dead oak. There's a door in the trunk." Her finger did not shake. "It only opens on the dark moon. That's in two nights. If I miss it, the seal breaks. The next chance is seven years out." Gram crouched across the fire. "You mean to go in after her." "Yes." She met his eyes. "Alone, if I have to." Gram thought of the tiger up in her den, waiting for him to clear the trail home. This camp was no threat to her. This woman only wanted her sister back. He knew what it was to chase something the woods refused to give up. "You shouldn't go through that gate alone," he said. "I know these woods. I'll help you." Soph looked at him a long moment. Then she nodded once. "Two nights," she said. "We move at dark moon." Gram had his answer now. The men in the valley were no men at all, just one grieving woman and her fire. The tiger had no reason to fear this camp. But he could not lead her past it yet. He had made a promise to help Soph reach the Hollow Gate first. The trail home would have to wait two more nights.