Chapter 42

Herndon dismissed them all soon after, waiting until they had all filed out into the tunnel, before closing the door behind them and leaving the secret room with a smile on his face.
Fools.
                                                                         * * *
"What should we do now?" Cayle asked, his blanket pulled up over his shoulders to ward off the chill of the night.
They had decided to camp in the clearing that night, and had deemed a fire too risky.
Deanna shrugged as she took a drink from her canteen. "We head back to the Dukes castle."
"Why?" He asked. "Shouldn't we try and pick up a trail?"
"Why?" She replied. "We already know where they're taking her."
"To be ransomed." Cayle said sullenly. "I don't like the idea of her being out there alone, with just her kidnappers for company."
"Neither do I," She said. "But there's nothing we can do; we don't know how much of a head start they have on us, and we'd probably just wander around the countryside in search of some clue, which they'd probably have covered up, costing us precious time."
He sighed. "I know."
"Besides, we need to head back to the Kings camp so that we can come up with a plan to rescue her."
"How are we going to do that?" He asked.
"I don't know," She said, laying down on the ground, wrapping her blanket around her. "That's why we need to head back first thing and make a plan. Goodnight."
                                                                              *
"How is your ankle?" He asked, pausing. They had been leading the horses for a time to allow them to rest, and he had noticed that Deanna had started wincing with every step, which made him feel guilty, since had almost forgotten she had injured her ankle when they'd helped her escape from the Dukes castle.
"It's fine," She said. "Just twinges a bit."
"Well, we've been walking for a while now, I think it's time we switched to riding again." He said, preparing to mount his horse, who, since he didn't know the horses name, he had started calling Starfall.
"Wait," Deanna said, holding up her hand. "Do you hear that?"
"Horses." Cayle replied, putting his foot, which he had put in the stirrup in preparation of mounting, back on the ground. "Lots of horses."