Page 77 of The Last Warrior

It didn’t take long for Suzette to discover that scouting was, indeed, tiring. Her forearms and elbows, her knees and her calf and thigh muscles would never be the same. Nor would her bicycling outfit. Already the green velveteen was torn, and though she hadn’t thought to do so, she discovered that Black Lion would often backtrack, culling the ground for what, she didn’t know. More often than not, he returned with remnants of her clothing.

When she had asked him about it, he had said, “Such cloth as this will indicate our path, and until we are well out of the range of the show’s scouts, we must not leave a trail.”

This was a concept she hadn’t stopped to consider. “Do you think Cody will send scouts after us?”

“He might. Your grandmother was, after all, under contract, as was I.”

“Yes, of course. But isn’t it hard to do—to not leave a trail?”

“This is why I am often returning to go back over our path, to erase the signs of our passage over our Mother the Earth.”

Suzette tilted her head to the side. “Fascinating. It does take quite a bit of time, however. Not that I am complaining. I am happy for the break. But I do worry we may not catch them with ample time.”

“I believe we will find them.”

Suzette sighed heavily before saying, “I am glad to hear it.”

They had ceased their travel for a moment, and were at present encamped beneath a giant oak tree, which sat in a glen protecting a small stream. Reaching into the pouch he wore over his shoulder, Black Lion protracted from it a breakfast of dried meat and chokecherries. Luckily, the stream would provide a drink of cool, refreshing water, making their breakfast complete.

“We could go on a little farther,” he said, “while the light is still dim, but I think not. We will rest.”

Though Suzette was so tired she could have gone to sleep right there, she objected. “I thought we would not stop at all.”

“We must rest during the day.”

“Rest?” she asked, even while she lifted drowsy eyes to meet his. “Rest when Irena’s life is in danger?”

“We do not know that her life is in danger,” he corrected. “We rest because you are tired.” And, with this said, he reached for her hand and brought her fingers to his lips. “You are with child. Do not forget this.”

“How could I possibly forget it?”

“Also, if we are to find your grandmother, we must not be caught ourselves. Therefore, we will proceed only during the evening hours, when our chances of being seen are slim. During the day, since we must stop anyway, we will rest.”

“Yes, yes, but—rest during the day?”

“Hau, I think we will erect a shelter here, since there is good cover, as well as water for food and for bathing.”

“Could I not simply lie down beneath this tree?” She yawned.

“And be easily found?” He grimaced. “I think not. Come, you can help me with this, if only a little, for I will need many sticks and pine branches.”

She sighed. “Oh, very well, if I must, I must.”

In the end, she did help him to erect a shelter. Made of earth, leaves, pine boughs, branches and grass, once Black Lion had landscaped the earth around it, it fit so well into the scheme of the landscape around them, it did literally disappear into the environment.

By the time it was finished, Suzette was so fatigued that, as soon as her bed of pine branches was laid out within the neat little lean-to, Suzette collapsed upon it.

At least her overexertion was good in one respect: it made for a very peaceful sleep, indeed.

Chapter

Twenty

They had been on the move for four days. Traveling through each night, sometimes walking, but more often creeping over the landscape, they stopped each day before dawn to make camp and to erect another temporary shelter. Often, Suzette noted their lean-tos were built around rocks, although once it had been nestled into a cliff. Each shelter was then carefully landscaped so the eye could barely discern it from the natural environment. Her bed was often soft, made of pine branches when they could find them. However, if none were to be located, her bed then consisted of the blanket Black Lion carried with him at all times.

There were moments of intimacy, for when they did lay down to rest, the spaces were small, and Black Lion’s presence filled each cozy hideaway. Always Suzette was more than aware of him, fretting over the accidental touch, the chaste looks that passed between them and their whispered words to each other.

He usually sat no more than a few feet from her, and. like a sentinel, he always faced toward the entrance.