Sasha sagged and would have fallen to the ground if Ravencrom had not caught her. "I knew it," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. Ravencrom helped her to sit at the table, propping the rifle against it. She covered her face with her hands as the sobs wracked her body.
Thom rolled Anatoly onto his stomach and pulled his hands together to tie them behind his back, using the extra length of the rope to also secure the man's ankles.
"I thought he belonged to the wolf cult, but I had no proof," Sasha said, wiping her face on her sleeve. "He has a wife, Tatjana. She's the horse master in Solstice Village, up the trail." She looked up at Ravencrom, her hands clasped before her on the table. "If we capture her he'll be willing to trade her for my sister."
"How many people are in this village?" he said as he studied the bound man at Thom's feet.
Sasha turned to check the sun's height. "It's getting towards sunset. The men will be returning from their hunts soon. Maybe a few women and children?"
"So we run in and grab her in broad daylight without a fight?" Ravencrom shook his head. "Not likely."
Sasha sat as if in thought for a few moments. "I do have something that might help." She went back to the watchtower and returned with her arms full of clothing which she put down on the table.
"Ruuna made these darts for my father – he wanted a humane way to trap bears so he could study them." She pulled a small case from the mound of cloth. "But these darts weren't strong enough to put them to sleep. He . . . he was never one to throw anything away," she said, wiping away fresh tears with the back of her hand.
She held up the pistol she had pulled from the case and pointed to the row of wooden darts tufted with fur in the container. "Shoot Tatjana with one of these sleeping darts. They might just be strong enough to use on a human. We're going to need her alive if we're to have any leverage with Anatoly." She looked up into Ravencrom's face. "Please. For my sister, Anya. She's only five years old."
He held out his hand for the weapon and she gave it to him, hope brightening her tear stained face. Ravencrom pointed at the clothing with his other hand, eyebrow cocked in a silent question.
"Some of my father's old clothes you could maybe use for a disguise." She looked at me, taking my measure from my feet to the top of my head. "I . . . I don't think I have anything that would fit you, healer."
"Yes, I am a little taller than you," I said smiling, making a light jest at the significant differences in our heights. Neither of us made mention that my ears would also be impossible to hide.
Ravencrom snorted without looking up from his study of the pistol and the darts. "I'll stay here and guard Anatoly," I said, ignoring him.
"You stay here too, Sasha," Ravencrom said. He went through the pile of clothes and after making his choices, tossed some to Thom. "Let's get this over with." He headed towards the post's watchtower with the younger man in tow.
I went to my horse and pulled a bundle of food from the saddlebags. I should have eaten breakfast when I had had the chance. I felt shaky and half starved to death. Going back to the table I offered to share with Sasha but she shook her head. I flipped open the napkin and ruefully thought it was a good thing she had refused, there wasn't much worth sharing.
"You've had something planned for some time," I said as I pinched the crumbs together. I frowned in disappointment at the results and waited for the girl to decide whether or not to talk. After all it wasn't such a bad day, I thought wryly. The sunlight was a delicious warmth on my back at least.
"I don't know for sure if Anatoly was the one who did kill him," Sasha finally said slowly, her spiritless voice as soft as death on the wing. "But I know he had a hand in it, somehow." She sighed and I stole a glance at her. There were no tears now, only determination on her young face as she traced the whorls of a knot in the tabletop with one finger.
"He laughed at me when I said he did it. Then he said they had my sister. He said if I told anyone my father was dead they would kill her. Me? He had to keep me alive until the quartermaster at Westfall Brigade paid for my father's last shipment." She looked at Anatoly as he lay face down in the dirt where Thom had left him. "Greedy bastard."
She clenched her hands into fists as her body shook with rage. I reached across and touched her arm. "I am so sorry," I said, tears springing in my own eyes.
Sasha shrugged off my hand and turned her back on me. The door of the watchtower squeaked open as Ravencrom and Thom came out, dressed in the loose shirts and heavy weight pants trappers favored. Sasha jumped up and ran to Thom, throwing her arms about his neck.
"Quite the ladies man," Ravencrom dryly commented.
I turned to him and frowned, then noticed how closely he was standing next to me. I took a step away, masking the move by tiding up the table. "Thom did say they were friends. Besides, he's engaged to a girl in Stormwind." I dropped the clothing in my hands to look up and find his eyes meeting mine.
Of course he wouldn't know I realized when I saw his face. Thom wasn't one of his men. Ravencrom's look became thoughtful and I realized I had confirmed that Thom and I were not a couple. Now would be the right time to tell him I wasn't interested in him either, I thought grimly. "Lieutenant, there's something . . .," I began, but he had already turned away.
"If I may interrupt," Ravencrom called to the others. Thom pulled Sasha's arms from around his neck and held them to his chest, saying something to her too softly for me to hear. She nodded and they joined us at the table.
"We'll ride up the trail to look around and assess the layout of the village. The objective is to grab her quick and get out without anyone seeing us. I would suggest you ladies be ready to run if things don't go as planned." On his way to the horses he looked down at Anatoly. "We fail; I'll make sure you die first."
The certainty in his voice sent a shiver up my spine. We watched the men get on their horses and ride up the trail. They were soon hidden from sight among the trees. I turned back to Sasha where she sat at the table, her eyes still locked in the direction the men had gone. I decided the girl was too quiet for her own good, like a spring winding ever tighter. Between the wolf cultist and the younger woman filled with rage, I didn't know who to fear the most.
I walked over to Anatoly to check on him, careful to crouch at a respectable distance. The blood had stopped flowing from the cut in his scalp. He opened his eyes, the irises a deep yellow set in black. He not so much as smiled as bared his teeth at me. Shuddering, I rose and went to my horse who greeted me with nose questing for a treat. I lead her to the water trough for a drink before tying her to a tree for the shade.
I went into the watchtower to gather up the men's armor. After a quick search I found bags that I could stack each set in and then once the pull strings were tied together, could be thrown over a horse's back. If we did have to run away at least their armor wouldn't be left behind.
Thom's armaments were plain, being mostly leather with roughly shaped sheets of plate attached. He had been stripped of his own at Silverbrook and once taken to Amberpine, dependent on what the quartermaster could find for him. Ravencrom's was well made equipment that was largely unadorned but kept in good repair. I could smell the man in the armor, reminding me of an aromatic wood that grew in the hot sands of Tanaris.
After that there was not much else to do but wait and hope for the best.