Free Death Mages Ascent: Revised Edition (Death Mage Series Book 1) by Jon Bender Page B

for shade, and it wasn’t long before the heat had them all sweating. The Guardsmen had it the worst with their heavy chainmail. Jaxom even regretted wearing his customary black as the temperature continued to rise throughout the day.
    At mid-day, they came upon a small grove of trees surrounding a stream. They dismounted and started a small fire. While Jerup was busy making soup from the dried meat in their supplies, Jaxom went to the stream to fill the water bladders.
    As he knelt by the slow moving stream, Brenin walked up to him, a worried look on his face. “I think we may have trouble coming our way.” He led Jaxom to the edge of the grove and pointed down the road behind them.  Straining his eyes, Jaxom could just make out two men on horses. “How long have they been there?” Jaxom asked.
    “I don’t know. I thought I saw them a couple of hours ago, but I couldn’t be sure. They should have closed with us since we stopped,” the bowman replied.
    “Unless they want to follow us without being seen,” Jaxom said.
    “Why would they do that?” Brenin asked.
    Jaxom had no answer. He walked back with Brenin to where Jerup was now serving the soup into small metal bowls. Once they had all gathered around the fire, he told them what Brenin had seen.
    “What do they want?” Da’san asked, to no one in particular.
    Cribble spat into the fire. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever they want, it isn’t in our interests.”
    “I agree. If they didn’t mean us harm, they wouldn’t be trying to stay out of sight.” Jerup glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the unknown men.
    “It could just be bandits sizing us up,” Jaxom said.
    “Or it could be that those we are hunting have found us first,” Cribble said looking directly at Jaxom.
    He knew exactly what the veteran guard was thinking. If the enemy had found him in the cells beneath the palace, why couldn’t it find him out in the open? This couldn’t be another of the shadow creatures, though. That being had flinched at the touch of torchlight. Such a creature could never stand in open sunlight. Nevertheless, the shades were men, or had been before their change. If the enemy had used such men to attack the castle, he may have sent more to find them out here.
    “It doesn’t matter who they are,” Brenin said breaking his chain of thought. “There are only two. We can handle them.”
    Jerup gave him a good swat on the back of the head. “Think, boy. Just because you only saw two doesn’t mean they’re alone.
    Da’san shook his head in amusement at Brenin as the archer rubbed the spot on his head. “He is right. Who they are does not matter. What matters is why they are waiting and what our next move is,” Da’san said.
    “They’re waiting to catch us asleep. They think we don’t know about them. Why attack now when they can kill us while we’re helpless in our bed rolls,” Cribble said.
    “We still need to know our next move,” Jerup said looking to Jaxom expectantly.
    Jaxom considered. The way he saw it, they had four options. They could turn back and face their pursuers, forcing them to fight or retreat. They could wait until night and see if the men came at them, risking a fight in the dark against an unknown number. Or they could try to stay ahead of the pursuers by traveling through the night, a strategy he had rejected out of hand. They risked becoming separated in the dark, leaving them even more vulnerable. That left him with one option.
    “Pack up. We’re moving now,” Jaxom said.
    Leaving the cover of the trees, they rode for a few hours more. Jaxom made it clear that they must not look over their shoulders but continue on as if everything was normal. He explained the plan as they rode. They would find a place where they could break the line of sight with the men following. Once they found a good a spot, they would lie in wait for their pursuers and find out what they wanted. Their path took them into an area with small,