Kaine Ashford's Arc

Chapter 6 of 7

Three days passed without anyone coming down the road. Kaine split his time between the boarding house and the forge, keeping Jane fed on what little remained in the stores. He burned scraps of wood to keep the place warm. Each morning he checked the waypoint marker for news. Nothing came. On the fourth morning, a soldier rode into the clearing. Kaine saw him from the boarding house window—a young man in clean uniform, sitting straight in the saddle. He stopped at the forge and dismounted, tying his horse to the oak post Kaine used for holding tools. The soldier walked to the forge entrance and called out. Kaine crossed the clearing slowly, giving Jane time to slip into the crawlspace beneath the boarding house floor. The stone path between the buildings was lined with late autumn flowers, their pale petals scattered by wind. He reached the forge as the soldier pulled out a folded paper with official seals. The soldier introduced himself and asked about Jane Cross. He held up the paper—an arrest warrant with her name written in black ink. Kaine stepped into the forge and gestured at the rack of dark clothes hanging near the far wall, garments left by travelers who'd paid for repair work with whatever they owned. He told the soldier he worked alone, that he took commissions when people could afford them. The soldier walked past him and looked at the clothes, then at the cold anvil. He asked when Kaine had last seen her. Kaine said he didn't know anyone by that name. The soldier turned and watched him for a long moment. Then he folded the warrant and put it away. He said the elven capital wanted her found, and that anyone helping her would lose more than a certification. He walked back to his horse and rode toward the watchtower. Kaine waited until the hoofbeats faded before returning to the boarding house. Jane climbed out of the crawlspace, her hands shaking. She asked if the soldier believed him. Kaine didn't answer. He'd protected her this time, but the lie had cost him the last piece of credibility he had left with the authorities. If they came back and found her here, the claim would collapse and the clinic would die with it. He told her they needed to decide—whether she stayed hidden and they risked everything together, or whether she left before the next soldier came asking. Jane looked at the empty room, then at him. She said she wasn't leaving. Kaine nodded and bolted the door. The choice was made.