‘Not you,’ Braith said to Rafe. ‘You can ride with me.’

They set off again, Scratcher and Sniffer leading them unerringly west, skirting the edges of the forest.

‘Anything to report?’ Braith asked him.

‘Evnis is desperate to find his son, Vonn. I saw him on the ship with Edana.’

‘I know,’ grunted Braith. ‘I was there.’

‘Thought you might have been too busy getting kicked off of the pier by Camlin to notice.’

‘That’s enough of your cheek, now.’ Braith’s expression shifted, a dark cloud. ‘Anything else?’

‘There is a resistance based in the marshes. There have been raids; nothing of any real impact yet. There is a warband down here hunting for them. Morcant leads them.’

‘Ahh. Not the best man for a task like this.’

‘How so?’ Rafe asked him.

‘To catch rats you need patience. Morcant is proud, impatient, spontaneous. Though I’d not tell him that to his face.’ Braith grinned. ‘He’s a rare talent with a blade.’

‘I know. I saw his duel against Conall. He lost, but then, so would most against Conall.’

‘He’s that good, Conall?’

‘Oh aye.’

Braith nodded, looking thoughtful, but said no more.

To the south the land dipped, spreading into a wide bowl of water-dappled land, dotted with patches of woodland. They passed a few villages, columns of smoke and tilled land marking them out. Rafe saw the occasional tower standing lonely on a rare hill, large pyres beside them built up high and silhouetted against the skyline. Sometimes there was a palisaded wall about the tower. It was hard to tell from that distance, but something about them suggested to Rafe that they were recent constructions.

As the sun began to sink behind the Baglun the hounds came to a sudden stop. They both stared into the distance, still as statues, their hackles rising.

Rafe stared too, saw distant figures materialize in the fading light: riders, lots of them. ‘It’s Morcant, or at least a large portion of his men,’ Braith said. ‘See the banner – Rhin’s broken branch.’

Hooves drummed behind them and Rafe turned to see Evnis approaching.

‘What is it?’

‘Morcant, I’m guessing,’ Braith said. ‘Do you want us to go and fetch him?’

Evnis just sat and stared a while. ‘No,’ he said eventually. ‘I don’t want him charging in head first and scaring Halion off. We’ll likely only have one chance at this.’

‘I agree,’ Braith said. ‘We may as well make camp here. The dogs won’t lose Halion’s scent now. They’ve tracked him half a thousand leagues already.’

And Vonn. That’s who Evnis really wants to find. Thing is – what will he do once he finds him?

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

CAMLIN

‘How’re we going to get in there?’ Vonn asked Camlin.