Shattered-Book 3
an excerpt

The sun rose in the distance, illuminating the small town, breaking the darkness that had permeated for the past several hours, ever since the moon had become hidden behind the clouds. Daire sighed audibly with relief. If the town was this close, surely, tonight, after several spent out in the woods camping, would lead them to a rest in an inn. He thought longingly of the soft white sheets, the solid mattress, the shutters, and most importantly, the women that he could find in the towns. The horses could rest, as they were definitely weary, and dirty, after several days on the road. Daire had a pleasant night in mind when Dante stopped abruptly.
“What’re you doing?” Gun asked, following up Daire. Daire closed his eyes, begging for patience. Gun knew exactly what Dante was doing. Dante had done this for the other nights. Gun probably hoped, like Daire, that Dante stopped to talk. He didn’t.
Dante leapt off of his brown steed, made even darker by the dust of the roads. He unsheathed his sword as he walked toward the thick bushes that were off to the side of the faintly traveled path. Daire’s suspicions were confirmed when Dante started to whack at the bushes, cutting open a large opening.
“Do you want some help?” Daire asked. It was pointless to argue with Dante. Once Dante got an idea in his head, he acted on it.
“No.”
Inwardly, Daire grumbled. Not because his offer of assistance had been rebuffed. He was actually happy, or at least, not annoyed, at that. He was stiff and sore from riding on the horse for so long, but he doubted a quick dismount would solve that. No, he grumbled because his plans, already so well formed and pleasant in his mind, were now proven to be false. There would be no bed, no soft mattress, no young maiden. Only the company of Dante and Gun, the horses, and the hard ground.
“Why can’t we go on to the village?” Gun asked. “It’s, like, an hour away, at the very most. If you’re tired now, and want a break, it would be easiest to just to go on.”
Dante continued hacking at the plants without looking at Gun. Daire shook his head at Gun. Gun looked as disappointed as Daire felt. Gun opened his mouth to complain further, but Dante finally spoke up.
“Trust me. It’s quicker this way. Think of when we’re arriving. At daybreak. No humans travel in the middle of the night without a desperate reason. Unless you can think of something that is both believable and convenient, we’re sleeping in the forest.” By now, Dante had cleared out a sizable hole in the dense bushes. “Lead them through, Daire.” Dante commanded. Daire cast one last look at the brightening town, then directed his horse into the darkness. Gun followed, then Dante led his steed through. Daire waited ahead a few paces at Dante replaced the slashed boughs to their original place. Though it would not look perfect, it looked less obvious for a few hours, which was all they would rest for.
“I’m getting pretty tired of all of this,” Gun muttered to Daire. “We’ve been traveling for four days now. It wasn’t so bad when we had the nymphs, or when we could rest, but now we’re traveling in secret. I don’t really like doing this.”
“Trust me, I don’t care for this either.”
“You just want to check out the wenches.”
Daire laughed, at both the accuracy and the terminology. “What’re you? A pirate?”
“Quit laughing! It’ll give away our position!” Dante commanded. He heaved himself back into the saddle. “Lead us just into the forest. I think there’s a meadow around here somewhere. The horses can graze there.”
“And water?” Gun asked.
“By the meadow.” The reply was curt.
They traveled slowly, as they had to make their own path. Daire fumed silently. He knew that both Dante and Gun had valid points. It was possible to travel in towns, as long as a low profile was kept. At the same time, arriving at daybreak was a stupid idea. The humans had gotten too smart. HATTE would need to be stopped, before they figured out their weaknesses.
After about a half hour, the trees thinned to a grassy expanse, with the sound of a babbling brook audible. Daire, Dante, and Gun each jumped off of the horses, and then unsaddled the tired things.
Daire immediately retreated into the forest to look for the darkest and most comfortable spot possible. His patrol was the last. Gun would wake him up after his shift.
“Get back here!” Dante yelled before Daire was more than a few steps off.
“What?”
“You should all remember what today is.”
“Tuesday?” Gun answered.
“No, numbskull. It’s… okay, well it is Tuesday, but that’s not what I’m pointing out to you.” Dante then turned to Daire, expecting him to know exactly what was Dante spoke of. He did.
“Today is the day that…” Daire’s voice caught in his throat. Even so long after, it was hard to say. “Daemon died, today. Fourteen years ago.” Dante beamed at him.
“Oh, I thought that was yesterday. I wondered why no one mentioned it,” Gun said.
“We should toast to him.” Dante had already pulled out a flask. “He was a great man.”
No one would disagree with that. Daire didn’t want to drink up to Daemon’s memory. Their supplies were running low.
“To Daemon!” The three shouted, each clacking their flask together before gasping down the old blood.