Nottingham

  “I can’t believe we’re burning down the whole forest,” Jacelyn said, wiping the dirt from her hands.

  “It won’t burn the whole forest,” Peveril tisked. “But it will clear the trees away from the road. Make it harder for them to sneak up on anyone.”

  “Good luck with that,” Jacelyn scoffed. “But I wasn’t complaining. All the better if it burns them right out of the forest and into our hands.”

  Kyle hauled his cask off, waddling, shuffling well past where he had lain the first one.

  “I don’t get it,” he called back to them. “We killed Robin Hood, so why bother?”

  “It sends a message,” Quill answered, “about keeping our promises. We cannot suffer the people to see us as weak.”

  Jacelyn argued something against this, but Kyle wasn’t interested enough to keep listening. He kept ambling off until he seemed a good enough distance away from the previous cask to tie his lines together and they could be on their way.

  The cask suddenly jumped in his arms, pushing against his chest with a sharp snap that made Kyle shout in surprise. He dropped it to the ground, scared it might light afire in his hands and roast him like a pig. But as it rolled over he noticed an arrow sticking out of its side that clearly hadn’t been there earlier, its head buried in the wood not a few fingerwidths from where Kyle’s right hand had been. Then there was noise all around, footsteps in the sloggy earth and the rustling of bodies, and Kyle looked up at a man holding a longbow loosely in one hand, his face completely covered by a dark brown hood.

  “Another present from the Sheriff!” the stranger shouted. All around him, bodies revealed themselves from the trees, and Kyle had to admit it would have been much nicer if they hadn’t. The bowman led Kyle back to the wagon, which the outlaws had circled and were claiming as their own, casks and all. Kyle half recognized a good number of their faces. There was the bald friar whose arm he had broken in Bernesdale, and the giant man who fought with the quarterstaff. A bearded villager, who had once promised to bring them information. Poor Arable was there, who he’d miss seeing around the castle, and the one they called Lady Marion. All of them had weapons out, even Arable had a bow in her hand. Further off, Quill and Jacelyn were on their knees, their hands on their heads. A few other men behind them drove the horsecart away. Another long walk back. Kyle could feel his legs hurt already.

  “Thank you for the delivery, gentlemen,” the hooded figure bowed gracefully.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Kyle scolded the man. “Shooting an arrow at this?”

  “Oh, you’re fine,” the stranger laughed. “Besides, I need you alive, to send a message to the new Sheriff.”

  “A message?” Kyle groaned. Seemed messages were all anyone cared about anymore. “What message?”

  “You let him know this isn’t over,” the man said in an angry whisper. “Not by a long shot. We tried to be civil, to only take back as much as we’d lost. We tried to play fair, to help the people, and in return you hunted us down and named us outlaws. A funny thing, when the people running Nottingham are the filthiest thieves of them all. But that’s fine. You want to make us criminals, then we’re only happy to oblige. You tell your new Sheriff this—you’re not ready for my brand of outlaw.”

  Kyle stammered to remember it all. “What are you talking about? Who … who are you?”

  The hooded figure sprang up close and pulled his cowl back, his young face smiling, disheveled blond hair sticking to his forehead. It was the boy with the knives, the one who killed Sheriff de Lacy, the one they released from the prisons.

  “God’s teeth, man.” The blond winked. “I’m fucking Robin Hood.”

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction, inspired in equal parts by history and folklore.

  It is faithful to neither.

  There’s no historical consensus on whether “Robin Hood” was even a real person, much less who that person was. Even in the earliest versions of the constantly evolving legend, many acknowledged anachronisms abound. While this book explores the tale in a realistic context, many elements subscribe more to our modern romanticized version of medieval England. I have made many efforts to respect historical accounts of dates, figures, world events, even chronologically accurate phases of the moon—but I am not a historian. I have knowingly deviated from record with a few historical figures, shortened certain timelines, and omitted other elements entirely. Moreover, the sensibilities and vocabulary of many of the characters are decidedly modern—let’s face it, today’s curse words just pack a better punch.

  So why does this book exist? As some people might ask, did we “really need” another Robin Hood story? Haven’t we had enough of them already?

  Well, if you want the full version of how and why this particular novel came to be—evolving from its first incarnation as a stage play in 2011—please visit my website, nathanmakaryk.com.

  But here’s the short version: I think every telling of Robin Hood so far has missed the mark in the same way. And if you’ve read this far, it’s hopefully pretty obvious what exactly it was I hated about most Robin Hood stories. Suffice it to say that I wanted a version that explores the real dynamics at play rather than polarized ideologies. I wanted to do away with good vs. evil, and find out what happens when you pit good vs. good vs. good.

  And in order to best explore that theme, I actually needed a story the reader would already recognize. Robin Hood has been rebooted and retold so many times that the characters have become part of our cultural knowledge. Everyone can picture a Robin Hood and a Little John in their heads, and I wanted you to bring those merry preconceptions along for the ride. I wanted you to show me what you expected from a Robin Hood story, so I could hold your hand as we tore it to pieces—and decided which parts are still worth respecting, which parts needed a deeper explanation, and which parts deserved outright mockery. I hope you enjoyed it! If not, well then I’m just one more guy who had his hand at these characters. But if you did, there’s much more to come in the next book.…

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Unquantifiable thanks …

  To my wife, Cassie, (who also belongs in several of the categories below) who kept believing this book would be published, even after years and years of that seeming painfully unlikely. For every hour I spent working on this, she sacrificed her own time to take on the lion’s share of keeping the baby alive, so that I could focus on writing. She’s the unsung hero that made every word in this book possible.

  To my agent, the incomparable Jim McCarthy, who first took the chance on this book and never gave up. His patience and tenacity are solely responsible for its existence as anything other than an abandoned dream.

  To my editor and tireless champion, Bess Cozby, whose passion and excitement made the editing process one of the best parts of this journey. She’s an expert at asking the perfect questions that pushed the book to grow in the right directions, and I couldn’t possibly hope for a more insightful or enthusiastic ambassador to represent the book.

  To every member of the Tor/Forge publishing team who had a hand along the way, some whose names I’ll never know, but am nonetheless indebted to.

  To those wonderful humans who gave me valuable feedback on the early drafts: Melanie Boudreau, Megan Heyn, Veronica Tioicha, Alexandra Wesevich

  To those other humans who said they’d give me feedback and never did: You know who you are

  To the esteemed authors who gave great advice on the world of publishing to a novice who had no idea what he was getting into: James Blaylock, Victor Koman, Kathryn Rose

  To those unfortunate few with whom I could openly chat about the process: Amy Teegan Hann, Patrick Heyn, Scott Keister

  The first version of this story was a stage play I wrote, produced, and directed in 2012. Many thanks go to its spectacular cast and crew: Frank Tryon, Michael Keeney, Andrea Dennison-Laufer, Elisa Richter, Scott Keister, Sabrina Ianacone, Larry Creagan, Jaycob Hunter, Glenn Freeze, Jeremy Krasovic, Gabriel Rob
ins, David Chorley, Bryce Wieth, Ryan Young, Evan Green, Kyle Hawkins, Rob Downs, Lauren Shoemaker, Brian Newell, Heidi Newell, Sara Haase, Amber Robins, Amanda Zukle, and anyone else who I forgot

  I know most people won’t read that previous list, which is why I inserted one random character from Game of Thrones into the mix, just to see if anyone noticed.

  Actually, I didn’t do that. But hopefully you went back to look more carefully, and now you’ve acknowledged all the fantastic people who first brought this story to life. It’s been my privilege to carry their performances forward every day I’ve worked on this.

  And finally to my high school creative writing teacher, Mr. Ty Devoe, who first taught me twenty-plus years ago the value of working all night on something you’re passionate about.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Nathan Makaryk is a theater owner, playwright, director, and actor, living in Southern California. Nottingham is his first novel.

  Visit him online at www.nathanmakaryk.com, or sign up for email updates here.

  www.twitter.com/NathanMakaryk

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Prologue: Richard of Normandy

  Part I: A Wolf in Lion’s Clothing

  One. Marion Fitzwalter

  Two. Robin of Locksley

  Three. Guy of Gisbourne

  Four. William de Wendenal

  Five. Arable de Burel

  Six. Robin of Locksley

  Seven. Guy of Gisbourne

  Eight. William de Wendenal

  Nine. Robin of Locksley

  Part II: With Ash as his Ink

  Ten. Robin of Locksley

  Eleven. William de Wendenal

  Twelve. Robin of Locksley

  Thirteen. William de Wendenal

  Fourteen. Robin of Locksley

  Fifteen. Arable de Burel

  Sixteen. Elena Gamwell

  Seventeen. Marion Fitzwalter

  Eighteen. Guy of Gisbourne

  Nineteen. Robin of Locksley

  Part III: A Thieves Bargain

  Twenty. Guy of Gisbourne

  Twenty-One. Marion Fitzwalter

  Twenty-Two. Guy of Gisbourne

  Twenty-Three. Arable de Burel

  Twenty-Four. William de Wendenal

  Twenty-Five. Elena Gamwell

  Twenty-Six. Guy of Gisbourne

  Interlude. Will Stutely

  Part IV: A Necessary Cruelty

  Twenty-Seven. Arable de Burel

  Twenty-Eight. Elena Gamwell

  Twenty-Nine. Guy of Gisbourne

  Thirty. William de Wendenal

  Thirty-One. Robin of Locksley

  Thirty-Two. William de Wendenal

  Thirty-Three. Arable de Burel

  Thirty-Four. Marion Fitzwalter

  Interlude. John Lackland

  Part V: Lex Talionis

  Thirty-Five. Elena Gamwell

  Thirty-Six. Guy of Gisbourne

  Thirty-Seven. Roger de Lacy

  Thirty-Eight. William de Wendenal

  Part VI: The Damned Consequences

  Thirty-Nine. Marion Fitzwalter

  Forty. William de Wendenal

  Forty-One. Marion Fitzwalter

  Forty-Two. Guy of Gisbourne

  Forty-Three. Robin of Locksley

  Forty-Four. Elena Gamwell

  Forty-Five. Robin of Locksley

  Interlude. Gilbert with the White Hand

  Part VII: Arnaldia

  Forty-Six. Guy of Gisbourne

  Forty-Seven. William de Wendenal

  Forty-Eight. Arable de Burel

  Forty-Nine. Guy of Gisbourne

  Fifty. Arable de Burel

  Fifty-One. John Little

  Fifty-Two. Guy of Gisbourne

  Part VIII: Two Rivers

  Fifty-Three. Arable de Burel

  Fifty-Four. Marion Fitzwalter

  Fifty-Five. Robin of Locksley

  Fifty-Six. William de Wendenal

  Epilogue: Kyle Morgan

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  NOTTINGHAM

  Copyright © 2019 by Nathan Makaryk

  All rights reserved.

  A Forge Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates

  120 Broadway

  New York, NY 10271

  www.tor-forge.com

  Forge® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Makaryk, Nathan, author.

  Title: Nottingham / Nathan Makaryk.

  Description: First edition. | New York: Forge, 2019. | “A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018054302 | ISBN 9781250195609 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250195623 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Robin Hood (Legendary character)—Fiction. | Great Britain—History—Richard I, 1189–1199—Fiction. | Sherwood Forest (England)—Fiction. | GSAFD: Historical fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3613.A3545 N68 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018054302

  eISBN 9781250195623

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].

  First Edition: August 2019