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I waited until the three of them mounted the horses. The sun had started to break, for real this time, so they would have the light they needed to make their way safely past the black tiger and her young.
It would help me and the two assassins as well, but it would also make us easier to see.
"We're going this way." I swung my bag onto my back yet again and moved through the trees.
"Are you sure about this?" Kerina asked. "The magic that threw you like a bag of oranges might have come from the woman you saw."
"Possibly," I agreed. "That's why only we are going. I'm not taking children and bards into a situation that might get them killed."
"Should we head back with them?" Kerina asked.
"Scared?" I asked, half teasing to lighten the mood.
She barked a laugh. "Hardly. If you think those who took Viva are this way, I'll follow you. For the good of the Vault."
"For the good of the Vault," I agreed. What would Dex make of all of this? Or Viva? Was she allied with her captors now, or resisting? As a witch, she had power like they did, but she was headstrong. She might bend, but she wouldn't break easily. If she joined them, that would make her more dangerous. Our knives, skills and amazing wits would do little against her and the others. I would have to make sure she didn't see me coming. Or smell me.
"I don't suppose the woman you saw said how far this place was?" Kerina's eyes were on the trees around us, but she glanced at me for a moment. "Or what we're looking for?"
"No, just the direction," I said regretfully. I reached out lightly, searching for any signs of life in the forest around them. No tigers, thank Hades, but smaller minds like birds and the occasional snake. I knew not to get complacent around forest reptiles, but as long as we didn't bother them, the reptiles would steer clear.
The sun rose higher, the trees became thicker. The slope of the mountain steepened. Each step was more difficult and treacherous than the last.
My boots slid on loose rocks. My heart skipped, but I only slipped back a step or two before I grabbed hold of a slender tree and stopped myself from a hard tumble back down.
"I'm not sure we can go much further," Latika remarked.
I cupped a hand over my eyes and scanned ahead. The assassin was right. The mountain was steeper still in front of us.
"We'll have to skirt around," I said. "Try to find another way forward." If there was any kind of structure or even a cave up here, there must be an entrance.
I swallowed hard and carefully avoided looking down while I led them in a westerly direction. Only instinct told me we were headed the right way.
If you feel like appearing again, to offer some guidance, I'd appreciate it.
The woman didn't reappear.
Hades, a sign of some sort?
Nothing.
I sighed softly.
A large shelf of rock jutted out of the side of the mountain ahead. We could try to climb up and over the top, or down and look for a path underneath it. Before I made a decision, I sensed a mind up ahead. Their thoughts weren't clear, but their mood suggested boredom, bordering on sleepiness. A guard, who was certain no one would find them up here.
They were in for a nasty surprise.
I raised a hand and gestured downhill. As expected, the two women obeyed without a word or a sound. If I didn't know they were behind me, I would have thought I was alone.
I took note to have Kerina train more of the guard in the ways of the assassins. As much as she was allowed to share, at least. My subordinates were good, but some had all the stealth of a dragon in a fishpond. To be fair, that was why some of them were guards. Their presence was intended to act as a deterrent to would-be assassins, or anyone who might want to stir up trouble.
Still, a lighter step would do them good.
I gestured toward a spot below the lip of the rock. There, a lone figure leaned against the trunk of a tree. Dressed entirely in brown and green, they wouldn't be easily seen unless a person knew what to look for.
To me, they stood out like a cock on a bull.
"I'll go," Latika mouthed. She made a cutting gesture across her throat.
