Page 8 of Lake of Sorrow

“Frayvar?” she risked calling, hoping they’d left the authorities and the Kar’ruk far behind. “Are you there?”

Even as a strong swimmer, Kaylina struggled to pull herself out of the swift current in the center of the river. Another mile passed before she neared shore, finally snagging in a beaver dam that thrust into the waterway.

“Kay?” called Frayvar from the shadows. “Is that you?”

“No, I’m a Kar’ruk maiden who fell in love after hearing that you sprinkle perfume on letters, and I leaped into the water after you.”

“Funny.”

“As I always strive to be.” Kaylina pushed wet hair out of her eyes and used the jumble of branches and logs to pull herself toward Frayvar and the bank.

“From what I’ve read, the Kar’ruk females are almost as likely to be warriors as the males, though some are holy leaders, alchemists, and sacred gatherers—that’s someone who specializes in finding and collecting useful parts of altered plants.” Only Frayvar could give a lesson on culture while clawing his way along a beaver dam to shore. “It’s too bad the Kar’ruk were aggressive. I wish I could have asked them about their people. What humans have recorded and what’s reality might not be the same. Although the primatologist Denri Morvarian, after spending a few years studying gorillas in the jungles of Egorth, lived for a time among the Kar’ruk. She’s believed to be the only one who’s ever been permitted to do so, likely because she became the mate of one of their chieftains. She wrote a fascinating text.”

“On how to make love to a man with horns?”

“It was a scientific study of their people, culture, and social dynamics.”

“I bet she learned the other thing along the way.” Kaylina reached the boulder-strewn shoreline and pulled herself out of the water, then lowered a hand to help her brother.

“I suppose that could be accurate.”

The snort of a horse kept Kaylina from making another comment.

“How many people are out here in the middle of the night?” she whispered.

Frayvar groaned softly and flopped down on his back. Not caring if guards found them?

After being chased by the arrow-shooting Kar’ruk, Kaylina almost wanted to return to the relative safety of a dungeon cell, but her time in the royal castle hadn’t been uneventful either.

“Stay there,” she whispered, though Frayvar didn’t look like he would move until dawn.

His second groan sounded like compliance.

Kaylina crept up the slope, lamenting that they’d lost their lantern and pack—she hoped Vlerion wouldn’t be upset that she’d lost his book as well—and peered out onto a dark field. There were enough hills that she couldn’t see the city in the distance, but the map in her mind told her they had to be near the highway that followed the river toward Port Jirador and Frost Harbor.

Yes, there it was. A team of horses pulled a covered wagon along it, one a white mare that stood out even in the dark. A sleepy-looking driver with his chin to his chest rode on the bench. The wagon was heading toward the city, the team ambling at a sedate pace.

Kaylina scrambled down the slope to shake Frayvar. “Up. We’re getting a ride.”

“Uh? With rangers?”

“No, in a wagon.”

Or maybe under the wagon. The back might be searched, but if they could find a way to hang on underneath, this could be their way to sneak into the city.

Not explaining further, Kaylina tugged Frayvar to his feet. He groaned again, but at least he had stopped wheezing.

“Follow me,” she whispered.

They scrambled up the slope, the rush of the river and clop of horse hooves hopefully drowning out any noise they made. The wagon had passed their position and was continuing toward the city. The driver was the only person visible, and none of the weary horses flickered their ears as Kaylina and Frayvar crept closer.

The darkness and a flap hid the contents of the wagon. Kaylina hoped there wasn’t an army of guards or army of anything sitting on benches inside.

When they caught up, they gripped the edge of the tailgate, and Frayvar untied the flap. Kaylina started to whisper her plan to hang onto the frame and ride underneath, but Frayvar slithered over the gate and inside. Nobody shouted an alarm. Good. If they had miles to go, it would be hard to hang on from below.

Kaylina pulled herself in after her brother and winced when her shoulder struck something again. Not a boulder this time but a… what? She groped about a huge stack of papers tied together. It was one of many that filled the wagon, leaving little space for them to hunker down.

“These feel like newspapers,” Frayvar whispered.