Thane watched the two leave, such hatred leaking from every pore in his body that it was lucky he was young, or he would have swum out after them to tip the boat over. He wished to scream and cry and carry on, but the longer he stood there, the happier he was.
Brian looked at his brother and asked, “Why aren’t you upset that they left us here alone?”
Thane smiled and replied, “Because it’s what I always dreamed would happen. That I would steal away from the bitch and take you both with me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll be fine without her. We don’t need her.”
Mora and Brian stared at him, their faces frozen with fear—glassy eyes, sweat on their foreheads, quivering lips. He took one hand of each and said, “Don’t you see? We’re free. We can do what we want, and we’ll never be slapped again. No whips, no paddles, no pegs. And we can talk as loud and as much as we wish to.”
Brian’s face crumpled. “But what will we do?”
“Whatever we like. First, we’ll walk until we can find a place to sleep. Not on the beach. Mayhap we could find a cave. You know the one we were in long ago? With Da?”
Brian and Mora both shook their heads.
“You don’t remember.”
Two heads shook again.
“Then come along. We’ll find a cave. But first, I wish to see what we have.” He opened the sack his mother had packed and found a second outfit and mantle for each of them. There was a hat for Mora, some hair ties, a comb, a few oatcakes, and a chunk of soap. Some woolen hose for winter. That was it.
He wasn’t surprised. Brian brought him the rower’s pouch and said, “What do you suppose he left us?”
Thane took a deep breath and untied it, peeking inside, then letting out a huge sigh.
“What is it?” Brian asked.
“Quite a bit of dried meat, and something even more valuable.”
“What?” Mora asked. “Can we see, Thane?”
He held up a dagger, something they would need to survive.
“Good. I’m glad we have meat. But why do we need a knife? And how does that help us at all? Why did he leave it?”
Brian said, “Stop asking so many questions, Mora.”
“Nay, Brian. From now on, Mora can ask as many questions as she wants.”
Thus began Mora’s penchant for asking multiple questions at once.
He looked up at the sun and said, “We have half a day to find a cave as it could be cold and wet tonight.”
That was the beginning of their adventure. They’d found a cave and learned to live on their own. They lived off berries, greens, apples, and anything they could forage. Waterfalls became their favorite place because they could wash and have fun at the same time. They became very skinny, but they were happy.
Every once in a while, they’d awaken and find a pouch of dried meat left just inside the cave. They treasured that meat, but no matter how they tried, they never discovered who left it.
They met a few more along the way and their group grew until three years later when they found the deserted castle and one more important piece.
Artan.
He taught them how to start a fire and skin meat and catch fish.
Brian and Mora never looked back.
Thane did. He lived for vengeance, and someday, he’d find her.
Chapter Twenty
Tamsin
