Night was very slow to arrive that day and they were exhausted by the time it was too dark to press on without light. Eleusia had pushed them hard to escape the Lupines and, after the last few hours of wearily running, they’d not heard or seen anything that indicated they’d been followed.
When they finally stopped to rest, they’d made their way halfway up a large, tree-covered ridge that lay several miles from the road and the remains of the caravan. They sought shelter in a small cave that lay a short distance from the top of a hill and offered a good view across the landscape of Bar-Dendra Forest, now bathed in silvery moonlight. The only other light was the faint glow thrown out by the burning wagons that lay hidden on the road, visible as a dark line cutting through the trees.
For a
