Rebecka Evertrue's Arc

Chapter 37 of 66

The between-road spat them out at the top of the ridge. The mare's hooves hit stone. Rebecka slid off and pulled her bow free. The crow landed on her shoulder. Its glowing eyes swept the slope below. The cave mouth sat dark in the rock face. No movement. No sound. Rebecka pressed her palm flat on the ground. Cold stone. She looked at Aiyana. "Where do I stand?" she asked. Aiyana pointed to the cliff edge. "There. You can see the approach from both sides." Rebecka moved to the spot. The ridge dropped steep on three sides. The main road curved up from the south. A narrower track split off toward the east draw. Both were empty. She pulled the compass from her coat. The needle swung east and held. Two dots glowed on the face, close together, moving slowly up the eastern track. "They're an hour out," she said. Aiyana knelt near the cave entrance. She placed one hand on the rock. "Your mother sealed this from the inside. The refugees are deeper in. They won't hear what happens up here." Rebecka counted her arrows. Fourteen remained. The quiver hummed faintly against her back. She had enough. The crow lifted off her shoulder and circled once before settling on a jutting stone above the cave. It watched the eastern track without blinking. Rebecka set an arrow on the string and waited. The wind came cold across the ridge. She thought of Ninka in the sealed chamber below, curled against Katia. Safe for now. Safe as long as the riders didn't reach the cave. The compass needle pulsed. The dots moved closer. She could see them now, two riders picking their way up the narrow track. One wore a dark coat. The other had a blade strapped across his back. They were three hundred paces out when the compass flared. The needle spun and locked south. A third dot appeared on the face, larger than the others, racing up the main road. Rebecka's breath caught. She hadn't planned for three. Aiyana stood. "The third one is faster. He'll reach the cave first." Rebecka shifted her aim to the south. The rider came hard, bent low over a gray horse. He carried no visible weapon. That didn't mean he was unarmed. She drew the string back. The bow warmed in her hand. The rider crossed two hundred paces. Then one fifty. The bow's warning hum rose sharp. She loosed. The arrow took him in the chest. He fell backward off the horse. The animal veered off the road and stopped. Rebecka turned east. The two riders had paused at the base of the draw. They'd seen the man fall. One pointed toward the ridge. The other pulled a blade. They kicked their horses forward. Rebecka fired twice. The first rider dropped. The second threw himself off his mount and rolled behind a boulder. She could see his boot, his shoulder. Not enough for a clean shot. The crow shrieked once. The man broke from cover and ran upslope. Rebecka shot him before he took three steps. The ridge went silent. She stood at the edge and scanned the compass. The three dots faded. No others appeared. She counted to fifty, then lowered the bow. Aiyana walked to the cave mouth. "It's done." Rebecka looked down at the bodies on the road below. Three men sent to kill her daughter. Three men who would not ride back to report. She tucked the compass away and climbed down toward the cave. The watchcrow followed.