“Yes. Many of my brothers are buried here,” Brother Henry answered, turning to stare at the resting place.
She gazed into the distance. “What’s that?”
Brother Henry followed her line of sight. “Another cemetery. Anancientcemetery. It’s been here since before I arrived. I’m sorry to say that it’s mostly overgrown and uncared for. I do my best, but God’s house is my primary concern.”
Landyn looked into the distance. He made out a crumbling wooden fence surrounding a vast area. Two large stone lions guarded the entrance. He couldn’t see anything inside from this far.
“Can we help clear the graveyard?” Sage asked.
Landyn’s brows rose in shock as he spun to her. She had a determined expression on her face—the same expression she’d had when she said she wanted to leave. The others shifted their stares to her.
“I would be very grateful,” Brother Henry said sincerely. “But on one condition, you allow me to bring food to you.”
“Of course,” Sage agreed.
Brother Henry hobbled back into the church.
“Sage,” Raven said. “I thought you wanted to get back to the directions.”
Sage nodded. “Perhaps we can assist Brother Henryandfollow the directions. See those two lions? Three passages down from the one we were following, it says, ‘Two lions guard the entrance.’ I think we might have been on the right track all along.”
She excitedly started toward the cemetery. Marcus dismounted his steed and continued after Sage, as did Willow and Raven.
Landyn urged his steed in front of Christian’s before he could dismount, blocking his path, and held up a hand to stop him. “Demory is still there.”
“I know,” Christian agreed.
“It’s time to find out how many others there are. I’ll go over that ridge, and you search near the hill. See if you spot anyone. And be careful.”
Christian gave a solemn nod. His eyes were narrowed and hard with apprehension. “Watch for my father,” he warned. He touched the reins of his horse, and the animal cantered away from the church.
Landyn spurred his horse with determination, heading toward the valley near the hill, knowing Demory would spot him and Christian leaving the group. He hesitated, not wanting to put the others in harm’s way but knowing Raven, her sisters, and Marcus were capable of defending themselves from Demory if he foolishly chose to attack them. Landyn’s goal was to discover if there were others trailing them.
“Landyn!”
He pulled back on the reins, and his horse’s hooves dug into the soft soil, throwing up dirt as he came to a stop. Raven galloped closer, and her mare snorted, nostrils flaring wildly.
“Where are you going?” she asked as she neared.
“I thought I saw someone.”
“You can’t go alone,” she insisted.
“I’m not alone. Christian…” He looked toward Christian and saw Willow beside him on the back of her chestnut horse. His jaw clenched as he cursed under his breath; the group had split up, and he needed the girls to remain together for safety. “Raven, you must stay with your sister. Sage is the one in the most danger.”
“If you’re alone, you are,” she insisted.
“I’ll be back,” he promised. “I won’t confront whomever it is. I just want to scout.”
“We’ve scouted together before.”
“Demory is here. He is watching. I don’t want to leave Sage alone.”
Raven searched the landscape. “She’s with Marcus.”
“Raven,” Landyn said firmly. “You know it’s not enough. What if he has others with him? That’s what I need to find out. I’ll be back.” He dug his heels into the side of his horse.
Raven sat unsurely for a long moment as her eyes bounced back and forth between the spires of the church and Landyn.
