I swallowed, uncomfortably aware of my pain and the searing heat of my hand. My brother would faint when he saw me in the light. "Alex," I said quietly, "we have to keep going through the night. We won't be safe until we are through this pass."
"I know." He paused, "But let's take the rest of the trail at a walk. If either of us hears something, we can take off, but these horses need a break. I can barely see in this awful darkness…" He chuckled. "I don't know about you, but I have almost fallen off twice tonight and am not willing to test my luck."
I knew better than to comment. "Let's head out" was all I said.
My brother let me lead –I had a better head for directions-and the two of us quietly found our way back to the main path without further delay.
After another hour of hushed passage, we finally left the shadows of the forest behind and continued the remainder of our journey underneath the moon's soft glow and the occasional glitter of starlight.
Fortunately, we were both too exhausted for Alex to notice any abnormality in my appearance. Instead, the two of us remained silently alert, using the remainder of our energy to listen for any sounds of others approaching.
But we did not have to worry. Not once did we cross paths with the outlaws. And several hours later, just as the sun had risen, we came to a very welcome sight. Just beyond the way, a large, homely looking inn stood out among the hills like a god among men.
Alex took off with a hoot, and I launched into chase close behind, eyes glued to the vision ahead.