The Seer by Rowan McAllister (reading comprehension books .TXT) 📕

“I swear. That’s it. I’m never. Going. To carry. Him. Again. No more. You hear me?” he panted.

Shura didn’t bother to respond. She’d set their packs down too, and now she hovered at the head of the alley, focusing all her attention on the streets beyond. After a few minutes, the clop of hooves and the flicker of torchlight caught his attention. Shura’s silhouette straightened in the wavering light, and she stepped out of the alley. Ravi moaned quietly next to him and shifted a little, but settled again. He was waking up, which could prove problematic, since the whole point of all this wasn’t just to torture Daks, it was to get Ravi through the gate without any unfortunate magical incidents.

Gritting his teeth, Daks pulled himself to his feet and limped to the head of the alley. He spotted Shura easily amongst a small group around a cart. She looked his way, as if she’d felt him watching, and then she headed back to him with two of the strangers in tow, one of whom towered over the rest by a good foot at least.

“Daks, this is Haruk and Vahal. They’ll be driving the cart,” she said by way of introduction.

Daks nodded to both men, and then Vahal, the larger man, lumbered past them toward Ravi. Daks followed him and hovered close by while the giant stooped to pick Ravi up like he weighed nothing.

“He’s waking up,” Daks said, shifting anxiously as an odd twinge constricted his chest.

He shouldn’t feel like he was somehow failing in his duty if he let someone else haul Ravi around for a bit. He was a practical man, after all. But his lips still twisted into a scowl as he sullenly followed them out of the alley.

At the wagon, Shura turned to him. “Haruk and Vahal will stow you two inside and leave by the ninth gate. We’ve decided I’m a little too, uh, distinctive, too memorable, so I’ll join Maran’s lieutenant and leave by the tenth gate. We’ll meet up again in the woods outside Haruk’s farm.”

“We’re separating?” Daks asked, eyeing the strangers uncomfortably. “Are you sure?”

She grimaced. “I’m not best pleased with the situation either, but they have a point. I draw too much attention just being who I am. We don’t want to pique anyone’s curiosity, and two small teams are less likely to be noticed.”

And less likely the King’s Guard or the Brotherhood will get all of the rebel’s men in one incident if something goes wrong.

She moved past him to where Ravi lay propped against one of the large wheels to the cart, pulled the vial from her pocket again, and poured a bit more into his mouth. He coughed again but didn’t rouse more than to crack his eyes for a second before closing them.

“Don’t give him too much,” Daks warned. “He may be heavy, but it’s mostly bones. We don’t want him out all night.”

Shura threw him a sour look, like he should know better, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“You know he’s not going to let you anywhere near him again after he wakes up,” he murmured as he threw her a crooked smile.

She shrugged. “I think he will have little choice. They could only spare a couple of mounts, and I’m the lighter of the two of us. He’s more than welcome to walk the whole way to Urmat, if that is his wish.”

Daks’s smile widened. This was the Shura he knew and loved, not the sentimental stranger he’d encountered at the Dog and Duck. He still didn’t like the idea of splitting up again, but he supposed the rebels had a point. The less attention they drew to themselves, the better off everyone would be. A couple of tired farmers going home from the city after a long day at the markets was as ordinary as the dirt beneath their feet, and just as forgettable. Shura, on the other hand, was another matter altogether.

They all pitched in unloading the cart so Daks and Ravi could squeeze into a crate behind the driver’s seat at the front of the wagon. After a quick and largely unspoken goodbye with Shura, Daks settled Ravi into the box first and then climbed in beside him. There wasn’t quite enough room for both of them to lie side by side, so he had to pull Ravi’s inert body partway onto his chest to squeeze the rest of the way in. In other circumstances, he might’ve enjoyed the cuddling. He hadn’t bedded anyone in weeks and wouldn’t mind a little human contact. But the box was far too small and he hurt far too much to take any pleasure in it.

After putting the lid on the box, the others piled mostly empty crates, barrels, and sacks left over from a successful day at the markets in front of them. Thank the gods Daks wasn’t claustrophobic or he would’ve been on the verge of panic by the time they were done. The bumpy ride to the gate was tortuous enough. He almost envied Ravi being allowed to sleep through it all, but the poor man would probably be covered in bruises by the time they were done. Daks did what he could to protect Ravi’s head and shoulders, but he could barely move enough to brace himself within the confines of the box, so he wasn’t sure how successful he was.

When the bouncing and rattling finally stopped, he held his breath and strained to listen as what sounded like gate guards questioned Haruk and Vahal. He tensed for a fight when the thud of boots moved toward the back of the wagon and someone began shifting the crates in front of him. As the noises grew closer, he silently cursed himself for not removing the dagger from its sheath at the small of his back, because he sure as hells couldn’t reach it now.

Luckily, after a few tense moments, the rummaging stopped, and