“There’s a lot of them but they don’t seem to be well coordinated,” Ezekiel said, his back to the tree log, a bow at the ready.
“Most likely Bolt’s people, then. We’ve got to move before they surround us. Don’t fire your arrows, now the fire’s out they’ll know our position. Follow me. And Mave,” Jonah said, turning back to her, “for the love of Cradle turn that suit off.”
Jonah leading, the group headed back to where they’d met Mave. Why weren’t they heading back to their home base?
Every now and again Jonah would hold a hand up and hunker low. Everyone was still while only the sounds of the wind and the occasional movement or rustling of bushes. Mave couldn’t tell if it was human or animal, but Jonah seemed to know the difference. Slowly, and along a winding path, Jonah moved quickly yet stealthily through the woods. When they found a fallen tree with a sizeable hole in the ground next to a slope, they stopped.
“We’ll sleep here for the night,” Jonah said.
“We aren’t going to sneak past them?” Mary asked.
“She’s not accustomed enough to the forest. Too much noise. We’ll wait until morning.”
“We’ll lose the cover of darkness,” Ezekiel said, confused.
“Maybe, but camp is expecting us at daylight. When we don’t arrive, they’ll send a recovery party.”
“We hope,” Clementine said, raising an eyebrow.
“They will.” Jonah put his pack down to make a pillow and got underneath it. “We’ll be fine. Bolt’s boys are no trackers. They’ll get tired and hungry and sober, and go back to their fortress. They won’t expect us to be moving in daylight.”
As the rest lay down, Ezekiel leaned his back against the slope and removed a pipe from his jacket.
“Take it easy little missy,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye on things. And you must be tired, anyway.”
Mave was tired, but it was the least of her worries. “I can take a shift, if you’d like. I’m not tired anyway.”
Ezekiel chuckled. “That’s alright. But if you really must, I suppose you can keep me company while I keep watch.”
Mave and Ezekiel were silent, neither knowing what to say. He caught Mave looking at his pipe, which had a smouldering smoke that rose not a full foot high before suddenly dissipating totally.
Ezekiel tapped his pipe. “Smokeless leaf. Worth it’s weight in gold out here in the wild. Don’t know who invented the recipe, but I owe them a measure and a half of thanks.”
Mave knew about smoking, but had never seen it, not even in any of the surrounding rough quarters.
“Would you like a puff?”
She shook her head.
“Well, it’s just as well. Keeps you warm on a cool night, but a bad habit, overall.”
Mave laid down but looked up into the twinkling projection of stars.
“Ezekiel?” she asked, fighting to keep her eyes open.
“Yes?”
“Why is everyone in the Weald after me?”
Ezekiel was silent for a long time. Mave began to wonder if it wouldn’t have been better if she had stuck with her initial instinct to wait until they arrived at whatever and wherever camp was the next day.
“I think it’s better if I leave that to Jonah,” he said. “But I will say this: we mean you no harm. That can’t be said for everyone out here.”
“You mean the people chasing us?”
“Exactly so. I’ve said enough. You get some shut eye. The journey tomorrow won’t be too long, but we probably won’t stop to rest.”
But Mave had already drifted off to sleep.
“Mave? Get up Mave, it’s time to go.”
For a moment, just a moment, Mave was asleep in her bed in Haven safe and sound. It was her mother’s voice that called her down for breakfast and another normal, ordinary day.
“Mave.”
Hands shook her, and as she stirred her situation came slamming back into reality. She was an outcast, traveling with strangers in a forest to some unknown fate.
“I’m awake.”
Ezekiel and Jonah were peering out over the slope, talking in low whispers. Mary had a small bowl full of berries, which she handed to Mave.
“Take some. Breakfast.”
They headed out soon after Mave finished eating. She supposed the rest of them already had.
“Remember,” Ezekiel had told them before they began. “Talk only when you need to, and always in a whisper. Keep your eyes peeled. If you hear any strange noises, tap the person in front of you and point toward it, they’ll pass it forward.”
Mave was feeling pretty sure the warning had been for her in particular.
They walked through the forest in single file. Jonah lead, followed by Mary. Mave was center, followed by Clementine. Ezekiel brought up the rear. Now and again Jonah would stop and hold up a hand. Everyone hunkered down, waiting for the next order.
Other times Mave would feel Clementine tap on her shoulder and she in turn would tap on Mary’s who would then tap Jonah. Then Clementine or Ezekiel would point at some noise or another and they would all wait until it was either clear that it was an animal or enough time had passed.
They walked along an embankment near a stream until they came to a hill surrounded by trees.
“We’re here,” Jonah said, no longer whispering. He gave a loud whistle. From all around them in the forest, the whistle played back.
“Looks like there hasn’t been any trouble,” he said. “Mave there’s a lot to explain. Right now just be aware that we consider you a guest.”
“Is there going to be a feast?” Mary asked, barely able to contain her excitement. She was much more child-like now that they were in safe territory. Everyone felt relaxed, in fact, as the group began to travel uphill.
“So, where is it?” Mave asked. It certainly didn’t feel like they were near a camp.
“Right here,” Jonah said at the top of the hill, gesturing with a proud smile.
Mave was astounded by what she saw. It wasn’t so much a camp as a small village. Kids played in a field with tall grass. Fields of food waved in light of day. Corn, barley, wheat, and others. There were tents with various symbols painted on them. An area of about ten tents that looked to be some sort of services area. People milled in and out of the tents freely, a few had lines with a few people in them.
There was a marketplace with makeshift wooden stalls where people seemed to be trading back and forth, haggling judiciously. A group of men was cutting wood off to one side, while couples pick-nicked on the shorter grass and watched the children play. It was far from Haven, but Mave had expected it to be much more desperate.
“Welcome to Arcadia,” Jonah said, still beaming. “What do you think?”
