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

That wasn’t completely true. In the city, his home, he knew how to get around, where to run and hide, and how to be smarter than the average bully, guard, or brute. He’d taken care of himself and his newfound family for years. But here he was utterly out of his depth, in a forest, with an entire company of armed men not far off. He came from a long line of scholars and scribes, not soldiers, fisherman, or woodsmen.

His face must have reflected some of his dismay, because after he caught her looking at him, Mistress Sabin turned to the others and said, “Why don’t Shura and I go? That would make more sense anyway. If anyone is looking, they’re looking for you, not us. Two women traveling alone will not be that out of the ordinary this close to the city, and I may see a familiar face who can help us. I haven’t traveled to Urmat more than once or twice in my life, but I might recognize someone from our meetings.”

Daks frowned and shook his head. “You won’t know our contact.”

“I don’t know his name, but I may know his face. Besides, Shura knows him, right?”

Daks and Shura exchanged a long look before Daks finally sighed and nodded, his expression grim. “In and out,” he said brusquely. “If anything feels wrong, leave, and we’ll think of another plan. We can always sneak down to the docks at night and steal a boat if we have to.”

Mistress Sabin’s thin blond brows drew down disapprovingly, and her lips set in a hard line. “These people rely on their boats to live. I won’t be a thief and leave a family to starve.”

“Then pray for better luck than we’ve had thus far,” Daks shot back with a shrug, and Ravi winced.

Mistress Sabin continued to scowl at him, but Shura stepped between them and lifted an arm. “Come, Fara. We should hurry.”

Mistress Sabin’s face softened as she turned her attention to Shura again, and she moved in the direction she indicated, only throwing a single disapproving glance back at Daks as they retraced their steps up the path.

Fidgeting in the heavy silence that followed, and overly uncomfortable with the large blue eyes of the white stallion trained on him, Ravi cleared his throat and moved closer to Daks. “What now?”

Daks grimaced. “We wait.”

Ravi hugged his bag closer to his chest and scanned their surroundings. Beyond the clearing with the abandoned house and the dirt track they’d used, all he could see were trees and more trees. The rush of the river nearby called to him in the vain hope that Daks had somehow missed a boat somewhere along the bank. It was a slim hope, but Daks was obviously not infallible, and anything was better than standing around doing nothing.

While Daks fussed with the horses, ignoring him, Ravi turned and followed the small track he’d taken earlier to the river’s edge. The bank was steep and rocky where it wasn’t choked with reeds or tree roots, but the water moved past at what seemed a fairly sluggish pace. Though Ravi hated to admit it, Daks hadn’t missed a boat among the reeds. He found nothing beyond a few frogs and birds as far as the eye could see.

He turned and glared at the towering trees behind him as if they were somehow at fault, before returning his frustrated gaze to the river. The opposite bank didn’t seem that far off. Maybe he could risk swimming it. He wouldn’t be able to carry a pack or cloak. In fact, he might have to leave his bag and extra clothes behind, which would hurt, but surely someone would take pity on him on the other side before he froze to death.

“If you’re thinking of swimming or bathing, I wouldn’t.”

He jolted at Daks’s voice and nearly pitched forward down the slope into the water. Daks caught his shoulder to steady him, but Ravi quickly shrugged it off and scowled as he stepped away from the edge.

How did someone so big move so silently?

“The bottom is muddy,” Daks continued, his expression unreadable as he stared at the rushing water. “It sucks at your boots if you try to walk on it, and that’s where it isn’t filled with rocks that could trap an ankle. The currents are a lot stronger than they look, especially where it gets deeper toward the middle. Plus, it’s cold as hells this time of year, and farther than it seems.”

He shot a glance at Ravi, and despite Ravi’s less than welcoming expression, his lips curved at one corner as he casually propped a shoulder against a nearby tree, folded his arms, and crossed his ankles.

“You know, yesterday, in that hiding place you found us that smelled like it came straight out of the Seventh Hell, you sat like a rock for hours,” he continued. “Today you’re fretting like a mare getting ready to birth her first foal. What gives?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“What?”

Ravi swung to face him fully and glared in disbelief. “Uh, there’s a whole company of soldiers camped on the other side of town that could discover us any minute. We don’t know why. We have no way across the river. You were dumb enough to mention luck twice now where the gods could hear you. And we’re in the middle of the woods, where who knows what wild animals or even Spawn could attack us at any second. I think I have good reason to be a little anxious.”

Daks quirked an eyebrow, and his infuriating crooked smile grew. “Yesterday you were in the same city as Blagos Keep, surrounded by brothers and King’s Guard, with a Finder hot on your trail.”

“But it was Arcadia, a place I know, with people I could ask for help. I’m useless out here. I don’t know anything about surviving in the wilds.”

Daks snorted. “This is hardly the wilds.”

Ravi’s fists balled at his sides. “Don’t mock me.”

Daks’s smile fell away, and he