“Why not?” Quain asked.

“All the tasty parts are in front.”

“Disgusting. Remind me not to ask any more questions.”

Loren huffed with amusement. “As if that would work.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Gentlemen,” Belen warned. “If the ufa didn’t flip the body, then who did?”

I walked around the other bodies. “There are drag marks in the snow.” Backing up so I could see the whole scene, I noted how the bodies had also been lined up so their heads pointed one way. Northwest. “Why go to all the trouble of arranging them?”

“Because it’s a message,” Kerrick said as he returned.

“Something other than ‘run as fast as you can in the opposite direction right now or you’ll be ufa food’?” Quain asked.

“The main pass through the mountains is northwest, isn’t it?” I asked Kerrick.

“Yes.”

“A message warning us away from the pass?”

“No. I found another set of remains quite close to here. The bodies have also been arranged.”

“How’s that a message?” Quain asked.

Belen answered, sounding stunned. “Tohon’s clearing the way for us so we will reach the pass without running into trouble.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Loren said. “Wouldn’t he want to prevent us from reaching the pass?”

“Are you sure it isn’t a warning away from the pass?” I asked. “After all, Ryne’s safe on the other side.”

“He’s not on the other side,” Kerrick said. “He’s hidden within the Nine Mountains. The easiest way to reach him is via the main pass, but the others work, as well. They just take longer and can only be accessed in warmer weather.”

I put a few clues together. “Does that mean—?”

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Quain asked.

“Tohon knows where Ryne is,” Kerrick said.

Chapter 18

“That’s a big leap in logic. Just because the bodies had been arranged a certain way doesn’t mean Tohon has found Ryne,” Belen said. “Tohon could just be playing with your mind, capitalizing on your fears. Let’s consider other possibilities.”

“All right, Belen. What do you think it means?” Kerrick asked.

“Maybe he’s guessing that we’re headed to the pass and is being cocky about it, letting us know he knows. It’s typical of him.”

“It could be a trick,” Loren said. “He wants us to think he has Ryne so we rush to him, leading Tohon right to him.”

“Either way, it’s a heck of a message,” Quain said. “There’s lots of bodies. He’s not fooling around.”

“And how did he know you’d see it?” I asked. “Yes, he could guess we’d enter from Pomyt, but the foothills span for miles.”

“We’ve been following the animal paths, just like the marauders had,” Kerrick said. “It’s easier than trying to push through the dense pine trees. He knew we’d stumble upon them eventually.” Kerrick paused. “I’m changing our plans. We’re not going to hunker down, but take the main pass.”

Just what Tohon wants, but I wasn’t going to say it aloud.

“What about the steep icy path and thousand-foot drops?” Quain asked with a slight quaver of nervousness.

“Be careful where you step and don’t look down,” Kerrick said.

“That’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be.”

The change in plans felt wrong. Belen and Loren had both made excellent points. And there was always the possibility that Tohon was goading Kerrick so he’d rush right into an ambush. They had been friends for years; Tohon must know how to provoke Kerrick. Heck, I knew how to upset him and I’d only been around a little over three months.

Regardless of our opinions, Kerrick led us straight to the pass. We encountered a couple more bands of dead marauders, but he wouldn’t let us stop.

We reached the base of the main pass two days later. Wider than the animal paths, the road snaked through the pine forest. The snow had been packed down by previous travelers.

Kerrick pointed at the thin lines made by wagon wheels. “A caravan came through here a few days ago. Otherwise, there’s no one else on the trail.”

“What about above the tree line?” Quain asked.

“We’ll have to send a scout ahead,” Belen answered.

“How would that work?” I asked. “Not much up there to hide behind.”

“He’d have to travel at night and wear camouflage,” Belen said. “There’s a rock fall before it gets steep. Once the road turns high and tight, there’s no room for an ambush.”

Quain glanced up at the mountains. “What about room for a camp?”

“None. We’ll push through until the road widens.”

“How long?”

“Worried about your beauty rest, Quain?” Belen teased.

“If you really wanted, you could take a nap,” Loren added. “Just be careful not to roll over in your sleep.”

“Not funny.” Quain pulled his cloak tighter.

“I wonder if you’d wake up in midair?” Loren mused more to himself than his friend. “Once you hit bottom, then it’s lights out forever.”