Her Knight's Quest: A Warriors of the Mist Novel Read Free Page B

at the door of the abbey. Rather than greet him herself, she would wait and watch. Eventually the gods would reveal his purpose to her, and her path would be clear.
    She prayed it would be so.
    *  *  *
    The final approach to the abbey proved to be a switchback trail that led up the steep side of a narrow valley. If Duncan hadn’t been looking for the passage, he might have ridden right past it. The abbey had been constructed out of the native stone, making it difficult to pick out much detail about the structure from the road that wandered along the valley floor below.
    Before starting up, he stopped at a small stream to let his mare drink her fill. He was tempted to bathe and change clothes in order to make a good impression upon the sisters, but reconsidered. Several days of trail dust and dirt would help his story of needing both a job and a hot meal sound more convincing.
    He took time to enjoy a cold drink of water and to finish off the last bit of roasted meat he had in his pack. After picking the bones clean, he tossed them as far as he could throw them. It was time to cease delaying, although it was hard not to worry about what the next hour would bring. What if the sisters did turn him away? Surely the gods guiding his steps wouldn’t let that happen.
    He had just mounted up when he caught the sound of a rider approaching at speed. Duncan checked the slide of his sword in its scabbard and waited to see if the newcomer came in peace. To Duncan’s surprise, the man looked relieved when he spotted Duncan and reined in his horse.
    Both man and beast had worked up a sweat, a testament to a long, hard day of riding. The first words out of the stranger’s mouth came as a complete shock.
    “There you are. I thought I would never find you in time.”
    Duncan checked to see who else the man could be speaking to, but they were alone on the road. “You were looking for me? Why? Who sent you?”
    It wouldn’t have been Gideon. He’d have sent his gyrfalcon, Scim, if he’d wanted to get a message to Duncan, or even one of Averel’s misfit dogs. Certainly he wouldn’t have sent a stranger.
    The man dismounted. “I apologize. I should have explained first. My name is Rubar, and I am the captain of the guards for a caravan headed this way. The master trader is named Musar, and his wife is called Ava.”
    The weary man paused to catch his breath. He was wrong if he thought the introduction cleared up the confusion. Duncan tightened his grip on the sword.
    “Their names mean nothing to me.”
    Rubar shrugged. “No reason they should. You haven’t met them yet, but you will. One of the wagons broke a wheel, so the caravan had to stop for repairs.”
    Duncan wished he’d get to the point. “Which still has nothing to do with me.”
    The man dismounted and led his horse over to the stream. “Well, yes, it does. Ava is a seer. Do you believe in such gifts from the gods?”
    More so than Rubar would ever know. Duncan jerked his head in a quick nod.
    “She had a vision about you three . . . no, four nights ago. She said I’d recognize you by the odd color of your eyes and the owl on your shield.”
    A shiver of dread snaked through Duncan’s chest. If the man was to be believed, the woman had the vision right before Duncan had left Merewen’s keep. What had her gods told her?
    He asked Rubar that question.
    “She said the sisters would likely turn you away from your quest unless someone vouched for you. If the wagon hadn’t broken down, we would’ve met you along the way and gotten to know you before arriving at the abbey.”
    He stared up at the stone building perched on the ridge above. “She said that the honor of our clan rests in your hands.”
    Then Rubar smiled and held up a hand. “And before you ask what she meant by that, I don’t know. I’m not sure she did.”
    His grin broadened. “Sometimes the gods are pretty vague with their warnings. Not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.”
    He