Chapter 4

The first rosy hint of dawn had begun to light the eastern horizon. After only ten days, Maeve had declared Thomas fit to ride. His wounds had healed remarkably quickly, and she’d removed the stitches last night. While he still had a limp, Thomas felt he could sit a horse. Everyone was eager to head to the capital, so it was decided to set out at first light.

The Wildlings had been a pleasant surprise. They were far from the barbarians that Thomas had heard tales about while growing up. They were a nomadic clan that lived off the land and usually avoided ‘lowlanders,’ as they called all those who lived south of them.

Once the caution of getting to know each other faded, they were very forthcoming. Thomas was well versed in reading signs in speech and body that gave him clues to their state of mind. It had been part of his education when he worked at the local pub. There was something that drove the Wildlings to come to their aid that they held back at first.

Before they revealed their reason, the two groups spent time learning from each other. Roger discussed Ranger-related stuff like tracking and hunting. The mercenaries were fascinated with the slings the Wildlings used. They’d been of the mind that such a weapon was only a step above throwing rocks. In their estimation, a sling would merely stun a man at best. Seeing men toppled from their horses had changed their minds.

The Wildlings showed them their secret. They used smooth stones found by riverbeds as ammunition. The smaller stones were used for small game, while they had larger rocks that they used to take down large prey like wild boar and deer.

In return for the knowledge, the mercenaries taught them the basics of using swords. Part of the spoils of war had been the weapons the men tracking Thomas had. The Wildlings had no use for the horses and their gear or any coins. They did accept the clothing and boots the attacking men had worn.

Unfortunately, none of the men had survived, and there was no clue as to who had sent them. The man who led them did have a pouch of coins that Leif assumed was payment for killing Thomas. He gave the money to Thomas to square their debt to him.

Roger took Thomas aside and told him that he could claim the spoils of war because he’d hired the mercenaries. On top of that, Thomas had left the outpost’s protection and helped defend the mercenaries. Roger also noted that the mercenaries had claimed horses to replace their lost mounts.

Thomas had no doubt that it was the tradition for the noble to claim the prize. And that it was one of the reasons the common people hated nobles like his brothers and father. He decided that he had enough funds to support himself and Nana Millicent, between the debt payment and the money and gems his father had given him from his mother. He would rather have the mercenaries’ goodwill than be greedy, so he accepted Leif’s offer.

Thomas had enjoyed getting to know Maeve. If she hadn’t been promised to Garrick, one of the warriors, he might have let her know of his interest. Maeve was a fetching young woman who was intelligent and had an easy disposition. With her healing skills, she would be a good catch.

Her only black mark was that she still insisted that he should turn Frost into a pair of boots. She warned that the cute pup would grow up into a predator that could easily rival a bear.

When Nana Millicent unpacked Frost’s mother’s skin to work on, the Wildlings demanded the story of how Thomas had acquired it. The telling garnered Thomas a lot of status in the Wildlings’ eyes. That was why the night before they left, Lorcan had a private word with him.

“You are someone of importance to your people,” Lorcan said.

“By accident of birth only. I am not the heir, so I’ll have to make my own mark in life.”

“But you have the ear of people who are,” Lorcan stated rather than asked.

Thomas kept his face neutral since he wasn’t sure what Lorcan was getting at.

“Why do you ask?” he asked after a moment’s contemplation.

“Winter is coming, and as I get older, living out of a tent gets harder. I would ask that you allow my clan to use your outposts along the border of our lands until it passes.”

Thomas didn’t have to think long because only Roger used them, and only when he made his rounds. He was sure his great-uncle, King Edward, would agree to help. It would be better to have the Wildlings as allies than not. The obvious reason was he owed them for saving his life.

“I’ll inform Roger. He can take you to the other outposts and show you how to enter,” Thomas offered.

“We already know how to get in,” Lorcan said with a touch of a smile.

“Have you seen other direwolves?” Thomas asked as the thought popped into his head.

He wanted to know because it would be better if Frost was with her own kind.

Lorcan’s whole demeanor changed in a flash to one of deadly seriousness.

“I’ve never seen one in my lifetime, but my grandfather told us stories. He always said they went north into the mountains at the top of the world.”

It was much as Thomas had been told before, so he let that go. But something wasn’t adding up. Lorcan didn’t have the look of a man that the weather would bother.

“What’s the real reason you want to use the outposts?” Thomas asked.

Lorcan got a sad look as he stared at a spot on the wall above Thomas’s head.

“Sickness,” he said and then looked into Thomas’s eyes. “A good number of our people have gotten a coughing sickness, and our healers are afraid the winter will kill them.”

Thomas was left with his own thoughts while he waited for Lorcan to say more but soon realized that the warlord wasn’t going to. He realized that for Lorcan, admitting he needed help for his people was hard.

Once on the road, Thomas reflected on what it meant that Maeve had given him a fierce hug goodbye. He wasn’t sure if she felt as he did or if she’d talked to her father and was just grateful for him allowing them to use the outposts. Eric and Grim teased him after they left because Thomas looked dazed. Jemma didn’t look happy.

Roger had returned to his cabin and assured Thomas he would check in on the Wildlings before winter set in. He promised to bring a healer with him. Thomas wasn’t surprised when he noticed that Nana Millicent had a tear in her eye at their parting. Roger had been a central part of their lives for the last thirteen years. In many ways, he’d been more of a father to Thomas than the duke had been.

Leif set a grueling pace, wanting to get to the capital as soon as possible. Thomas’s thigh began to complain almost from the beginning. Fury was a warhorse with a jarring gait, which hadn’t previously concerned Thomas.

They stopped at noon, a short way into the forest, for a quick meal of bread, meat, cheese, and ale, after which they stretched their legs and remounted. By early evening, the forest thinned out and eventually opened into a large clearing by the bank of a shallow river.

So, when he got a feeling, Thomas was ready to stop for the day. What he sensed wasn’t danger; he felt something call to him.

“We should make camp here,” Thomas ordered.

Leif gave him a pained look, but Thomas simply dismounted. When his leg all but gave out on him, the mercenary leader agreed.

Eric took his mount, and the rest began to make camp. Thomas limped around to gain feeling back into his leg. He went to the wagon and freed Frost, who was a bundle of energy.

“I’m going to take her for a walk and see if I can catch some fresh meat,” Thomas announced.

“Take Ragnar with you,” Leif called out.

The three of them found a path that was barely more than a goat track, heading in the general direction of where the feeling was coming from. Thomas set a leisurely pace, and he and Ragnar were entertained by the wolf pup’s antics as she raced around, checking everything out. Thomas noted that she never got out of sight. He’d shown her that he had venison jerky in his travel pouch before they left, and every so often, she earned a treat.

Thomas spotted some likely spots to put snares for rabbits. As he set his traps, he kept his eyes open for any herbs and wild vegetables he could bring back. He soon had a small sack full of wild garlic, onions, fiddlehead ferns, and chamomile with which Nana Millicent could make tea.

“Roger wasn’t happy with how we paid our debt to you. I want you to know that we are beholden and all you have to do is call on us. Thank you for understanding and for giving us our freedom.”

“Did Gabe have any family?” Thomas asked about the mercenary that had fallen.

“None of us do. We are each other’s family,” Ragnar shared. “You’ll find that when you join the Royal Guard, it will be much the same.”

“Brothers in arms,” Thomas said in understanding.

“Yes,” Ragnar said and then put a hand on Thomas’s chest to stop his progress. “Frost has spotted something.”

“I suspect that he already knew I was here,” a woman’s voice said before she appeared.

Thomas chuckled when Ragnar almost drew his sword at her arrival.

Thomas noted that the woman was tall and thin with golden locks and piercing blue eyes. She was dressed all in leather that clung to her and showed that she was remarkably fit. He had no doubt she could handle herself.

“And who is this pretty girl?” the woman asked as she squatted down and petted Frost.

Both Thomas and Ragnar were shocked when the wolf wiggled all over at the mysterious woman’s attention.

“Her name is Frost. I’d be careful because she does bite,” Ragnar warned from experience.

Frost didn’t let anyone touch her that she didn’t want to. She’d nipped most of the mercenaries who’d tried to befriend her.

“All us girls do, every now and then,” the woman responded with a twinkle in her eye and then turned her attention back to Frost. “But you wouldn’t bite me, would you?”

“I’m Thomas, and this is Ragnar.”

“Channing,” she said and gave Frost one last pat on the head. “Go with Ragnar and show him where all the snares are while I talk with Thomas.”

Frost cocked her head as if she understood.

“I’ve been tasked with protecting him,” Ragnar objected.

Thomas looked at Channing and felt safe.

“I’ll be fine. Take this and give it to Nana Millicent,” Thomas said as he handed Ragnar the food he’d found.

“Thomas will be back in the morning,” Channing added, which had both men giving each other a questioning look.

Ragnar didn’t look happy, but when Thomas shrugged, he started back with Frost leading him. Thomas watched in amazement as his wolf bound away, leaving him.

“Come. I have much to teach you in only a short amount of time,” Channing said.

Channing led Thomas to a small circular cabin with a sod roof. It had a fire pit in the center of the room that had a small fire burning.

“I’m confused by your saying you have things to teach me,” Thomas said.

“You felt my calling?” Canning asked.

Thomas nodded.

“That means you have some of the wild magic in you. Not many still do. Tell me what you’ve noticed so far.”

Thomas decided he didn’t have anything to lose, so he described how he felt heat when he was in danger. He also explained how he had an uncanny ability to take animals when hunting to give them a quick death.