Krasniy looked at Haakon, who could only shrug. He had no idea where the woman had come from, but the fact that she had helped him with the ropes on his cage suggested the three of them had the same plan in mind.
“Okay,” Haakon said, ducking out of his cage. He stood upright, feeling his spine rattle and crack, and he filled his lungs with air. It felt good to stretch, even though time was of the essence. Off to his right, he noticed a lazy finger of smoke drifting into the air, and the sound of excited voices drifted toward them from that direction.
A diversion? he wondered. His gaze was drawn to movement and he saw a tiny woman, her head swathed in a red scarf, watching them from the row of ger. She stood awkwardly, staring at the cages, and there was something about her bearing that struck Haakon as familiar.
She looked in his direction as she reached up and removed the scarf from her head. Haakon stared, shocked to recognize her. “Cnán...?”
The Chinese woman complicated the situation, especially when the other prisoners started to make noises about being freed as well. Cnán gestured at Haakon to follow her, and started walking briskly toward the tree line to the west of the camp. The young Northerner would either follow her or not, and she couldn’t really do anything about the others—the giant man covered in red hair or the Chinese woman who had helped Haakon escape. In her mind, she could already hear Feronantus admonishing her for the number of strays she had picked up, and she felt her face flushing with embarrassment as she strode out of the camp.
She hadn’t thought through Haakon’s escape. She hadn’t really considered the complications that would arise with trying to free just one of the prisoners. She glanced over her shoulder—happy to see that Haakon was following her, not as happy to see the other two coming as well. As least, they’d moved away from the cages before other prisoners made too much noise.
They had to move quickly.
She picked up her pace when she reached the tree line, and behind her she heard Haakon hiss at her, trying to get her attention. She didn’t slow down, not wanting to stop until they were some distance into the woods.
The red-haired one, she heard, was not very good at moving quietly through the woods.
“Cnán!” Haakon grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to a stop.
“We can’t stay here,” she said. “We have to keep moving.”
“In a moment,” he said. He was slightly out of breath, his cheeks flushed with excitement. His beard had come in more fully and he seemed taller. Perhaps that was only her memory of him—thinking of him as a mere boy, even though he hadn’t been.
“I wasn’t expecting your friends,” Cnán said.
Haakon looked over his shoulder. “That one is Krasniy,” he said, nodding at the red-haired man who was clumsily making his way through the forest. “I do not know the other one.” He smiled. “I never expected to see you again.”
She flushed at his attention, and gently removed herself from his grasp. “I couldn’t...” she started.
“You aren’t here alone,” Haakon said. “One of the Mongols talked about the Shield-Brethren. Like he knew them.”
Cnán started. “Alchiq?”
“Aye,” Haakon nodded. “I think that is his name. Older man. Gray hair.”
“That is the one,” Cnán said. She suppressed a shiver. If Alchiq was with the Khagan, the Shield-Brethren might be walking into a trap.
“Excuse me,” the Chinese woman said in the Mongol tongue, having caught up. “We cannot stay here. We have to move farther into the woods.”
Cnán glared at her. “Who are you?” she demanded.
“I am Lian. Like your friends, I wish to escape the Khagan’s reach.”
“You can’t come with us,” Cnán said. “I don’t know you.”
“Nor I you,” the woman responded. She glanced at Haakon. “But I know him.”
Cnán noted that Haakon appeared to be following their conversation. “But I don’t know you,” he said to the woman.
“I like your new friends, Haakon,” Krasniy boomed as he joined them. “Very pretty.” He laughed at Cnán’s expression.
Cnán shook her head. “Come on,” she said. “We need to far away by nightfall.”
“Where are we going?” Haakon asked.
“Anywhere but here,” Cnán muttered.
Haakon didn’t budge as she started to walk away, and she stopped too, looking back at him. “We have to go,” she reiterated.
“Where are they?” Haakon asked.
“Who?”
“The Shield-Brethren. They’re in danger, aren’t they?”
Cnán shook her head. “They’re always in danger,” she replied.
“They’re trying to kill the Khagan.” Haakon didn’t phrase it as a question.
Krasniy guffawed at Haakon’s pronouncement, but his laughter subsided when he glanced at Cnán’s face.
“Yes,” she said.
“I want to help them,” Haakon insisted. “If Alchiq is with the Khagan, then it may be a trap.” He turned to Lian and spoke in the Mongol tongue. “How many warriors with the Khagan?”
She shrugged. “Four, maybe five arban.”