Midnight Quest by Honor Raconteur Read Free Book Online

called to come to her rescue, but bit them back. The horse moved at a fast enough clip that they could not talk comfortably over the sound of hoof beats. Besides, Sarvell no doubt was intently scanning their surroundings, watching for any traffic that they would have to hide from.
    They dove off the road only three times, and twice Sarvell was able to issue a word of warning before they moved. She tightened her grip and didn’t disgrace herself by falling off.
    Aside from hanging onto Sarvell and gripping the horse’s sides tightly enough so that she wouldn’t bounce around, Jewel had nothing to do. Her ears automatically caught every hint of noise it could and catalogued it: faint calls of songbirds, the lower tones of cows’ bells as they jangled, the leaves rustling against each other from the slight breeze. Several times she heard men and women speaking, sometimes raised to carry over a distance. None of it told her what direction they were heading, or where they were now. That wasn’t much of a surprise, really, considering that she’d spent most of her life in Belthain.
    It wasn’t until she heard the faint gurgle and soft rush of running water that she gained any bearing. “Are we nearing the mill?” she asked, pitching her voice to carry over the hoof beats.
    “Yes,” he answered, sounding a bit startled, “how did you know?”
    “I can hear water,” she responded simply.
    “Ah. We should reach it in a few minutes.”
    It seemed he’d barely spoken the words before they left the hard dirt road for soft grass. The sound of water became clearer and louder as they drew closer to the river.  She could not feel the sun here, but the sound of rustling leaves encircled them. They must be surrounded by trees, then.
    “It’s still deserted,” Sarvell noted with a tinge of relief. “We should be able to wait here without worry until Rialt arrives. Now, if you hang onto my arm again, can I lower you to the ground?”
    “Easily,” she assured him, a bit amused and humbled in turns at the care he showed her.
    “Alright, grab on then.”
    Sliding from the back of a horse was much easier than shifting around on top of it, and Jewel was rather relieved when her feet were back on firm ground. She stepped back two paces to give him room to dismount, which he did with a soft grunt.
    “Well, how about breakfast while we wait?”
    “Sounds heavenly,” she admitted. “Do we have provisions?”
    “Rialt and I made sure to buy some before we went for you. I’ve got fresh biscuits and some sunte fruit…and I would offer tea, but it’s in Rialt’s bags.” This last part sounded almost apologetic.
    “Water will do fine,” she responded in amusement. “Especially with the river so close.”
    Sarvell insisted on starting a small fire and parking her next to it before he did anything. In this cold winter morning, the heat flaring from it was very welcome. She tried to help with fetching the water, only to be gently returned to her seat. He worried about her walking around in a foreign area. Really, the worst that could happen would be for her to trip over something. She could hardly get lost, not with him being so close and making noises that she could follow. Still, after the night she’d had, sitting down was a priority. Jewel decided not to push the issue.
    Instead, she sat next to the small crackling fire and sliced the sunte fruit, chucking the slippery seeds over her shoulder as she worked. Sarvell came back bearing the two cups with water, one of which he handed directly to her. She did steal a rag from him and washed her face, hands, arms and legs as much as she could of the dungeon’s grime.
    Over their simple breakfast, Jewel finally unleashed her curiosity and got answers to her questions, starting with how Sarvell was sent to her aide. He turned out to be a bit of a storyteller as he painted the picture of an angry goddess rousting him out of a comfortable bed. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or