by Joshua Khan
Thorn chucked the club away and went back to bed.
“Water the horses, troll.”
“Take those sacks over to the kitchens, troll.”
“More wood for the fires, troll.”
“Faster, troll, faster!”
Old Colm woke Thorn an hour before the other squires. Fetching, carrying, feeding, watering, and a dozen other chores that should take all day and Old Colm wanted them done now.
Thorn ran back and forth across Castle Gloom. He knew why they were doing it. Tyburn must have spoken to Old Colm.
Keep Thorn busy. Too busy to think about doing anything else. Anything stupid.
There was plenty of activity outside the castle walls as more and more people arrived. Tents sprang up, creating a city of dazzling cloth around the fair on Devil’s Knoll.
Nobles loyal to House Shadow arrived, and their horses needed grooming and looking after.
And it wasn’t just allies to House Shadow. White pavilions rose along the walls, lined between Troll Gate and Skeleton Gate. Paladins in their silver armor rode in and out of Castle Gloom as if they owned it already. Stonemasons began measuring for windows to be added to the Great Hall.
One more day until Halloween.
Two more days to save K’leef.
He just needed to come up with a new plan. If only he could rest for just a moment…
“Wake up, troll!”
Thorn jerked and looked around. He must have fallen asleep standing up.
The other squires smirked as Old Colm tossed Thorn his keys. “Get down to the armory, troll. Bring me up ten more blades. Take someone with you.”
“Yes, sir.” Thorn nodded at Wade, and they went down to get more weapons.
The guard at the armory waved them through, and Wade held the lantern as Thorn pushed open the door.
Sword blades glistened in the lamplight. Suits of full plate armor lined up in silent regiments. Spears were stacked like kindling, and sheaves of arrows filled old wine barrels.
“The training weapons are over there,” said Wade. “At the back.”
How big was this place? Like everywhere in Castle Gloom, there were tunnels and passages going off in all directions. They found enough weaponry to arm the Black Guard ten times over. A row of saddles, each made of sculpted leather stretched over wooden frames. Lances as tall as trees. Thorn knew that Gehenna didn’t have enough men to use them all. The population had never been large, as the earth was too poor to grow anything more than the most meager harvests. That was why the Shadows had used the undead to bolster their numbers. Corpses were plentiful during wars.
Thorn grinned when he came to a rack of axes. There were single-handed hatchets, ideal for trimming branches off trees and limbs off men. Then he found a hefty double-bladed great ax. He reckoned one of these could take down a horse.
Ah. Now this is more like it.
He picked up a battle-ax. Easy to carry in both hands and the head was just like his dad’s back home. He ran his thumb along a blade. Dad had taught Thorn about sharpening early on. Thorn had learned how to stroke the whetstone along the steel, making sure the edge wasn’t too shallow—the metal would chip—and not so steep that it wouldn’t bite deep enough. He put it back and ran his fingers along the row of ax handles, enjoying the way the wood slipped through his fingers.
Then, without thinking, his hand tightened around one.
Thorn lifted it, sensing its balance, as if his muscles knew it. He felt a familiar pattern press against his palm.
Strange…
“Wade, bring the lantern here,” he said.
“I’m just trying to sort out these swords. Some help would be appreciated.”
“Bring the lantern!”
“All right, all right…”
Thorn’s nail circled the pattern. He shivered.
I’ve used this ax before.
He’d carried it a hundred times. He’d spent evenings at the fire sharpening it.
But that ain’t possible.
Wade joined him. Thorn grabbed the lantern and held it up.
The carved pattern was an acorn—just like the one on his amulet.
“This is my dad’s ax,” he whispered.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am.” The last time he’d seen it was on his dad’s shoulder as he went off.
His heart beat fast. What did this mean? His dad would never have left his ax behind.
“Hey, what about the swords?” asked Wade.
Thorn checked the acorn again. Why bother? It was his dad’s. The same hands that had carved the ax had carved his amulet.
Ignoring Wade, Thorn ran outside with the ax. Someone would know. Someone would tell him how this ax came to be here in Castle Gloom.
A few minutes later, he stumbled into the courtyard. The other squires were busy at work, attacking thick wooden posts with their blunt swords. Ten chops to the head and waist. Then the next boy. The courtyard echoed with the endless thud thud thud of steel on wood. Old Colm stood talking to Tyburn.
“This is my dad’s ax,” said Thorn.
He’d chopped trees down with it and even killed a wolf with it once.
No one paid any notice. Old Colm kept on talking, and the squires continued hacking.
Thorn marched up to the nearest post and swung the ax with all his might. It hit like thunder. “Tell me!”
The squires stopped. Silence fell over the whole courtyard.
Old Colm glared, his face lit up a livid scarlet. “You little troll! How dare you interrupt?”
Tyburn raised his hand, and Old Colm backed off. “What’s on your mind, Thorn?”
“This ax belongs to my dad.”
“And you want to know how it ended up here?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“You want to have this talk right here, right now?”
Thorn’s pulse pounded in his ears and he suddenly felt terrified. Did he really want to hear the truth?
“Tell me,” he said, steeling himself.
“I got it off a brigand. He’d been part of a gang of six outlaws, lurking in Spindlewood. His companions were dealt with, but he escaped, dropping this ax as he fled. I’ve spent the last few months searching for him, this sixth brigand. I didn’t find him, but I did find you, his son.”
Those five heads on spikes on top of Lamentation Hill…
“What are you saying?” whispered Thorn.
Tyburn’s gaze chilled him. “Your father murdered Lady Shadow’s family.”
By evening, everyone in Castle Gloom knew the truth, that Thorn’s dad was the last brigand responsible for the death of the Shadows.
The other squires now wanted nothing to do with him. They whispered as he went past, or muttered threats, and occasionally one would trip him, or kick him as he tried to rise, promising worse to come.
Fine. He didn’t care. He preferred working in the stables by himself.
Thorn stabbed his pitchfork into the hay. He hated them all. Everyone in Castle Gloom.
Except Hades. Thorn had gone to see him at Murk Hall, but the bat wasn’t there. Thorn assumed he’d gone out hunting and just hoped he hadn’t eaten some poor farmer’s whole herd.
Life must be bad if my only friend is a giant bat.
What about Lily? Why hadn’t she come to see him? Did she hate him, too?
Someone came to the stable door. “Hello? Anyone in here?”
Why couldn’t they leave him alone?
It was Wade, the only squire still speaking to him. He strolled over, sat down on a sack of oats, and handed over a wrapped package. “Missed you at dinner.”
“I ain’t hungry.”
“That’s because you haven’t tried this.”
“What is it?” Thorn asked.
“Fruitcake. It’s poisoned, so you can eat it and die and stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
Thorn took a huge bite, half hoping it was poisoned and he’d die and they would all be sorry.
�
��It’s good, isn’t it?” said Wade.
“I suppose.”
“If there’s a fault, it’s that the cake’s a bit dry. So I brought this.” He held out a small bottle. “Lemonade.”
“Is that poisoned, too?”
“Have a sip and find out.”
Thorn did, and the lemonade was acid sharp. But not actually lethal.
Wade took a swig and screwed his face up as the sour taste attacked his taste buds. “I’m sorry about your dad, Thorn.”
“He wasn’t like everyone says he was. He ain’t no killer, Wade.”
“If you say so.”
He doesn’t believe me.
Why should he?
“What are you doing here, Wade? The others won’t like you taking sides with me.”
Wade wiggled his nose. “Those lemons are deadly.”
“Are you paying any attention?”
“To your whining? No, not really.” He drew his fingers over his face. “Will you be at the Halloween Ball tomorrow?”
“I ain’t interested in your stupid ball.”
“C’mon. I’ve a spare mask if you’re interested. You can get up to plenty of mischief wearing a mask.”
“How can I be thinking about masks when they’ll be executing K’leef the next morning?”
“Tyburn said—”
“Tyburn don’t know nothing! The man’s mind is so twisted with treachery he thinks the worst of everyone. The world ain’t like that, Wade.”
“Your world, maybe. Things are different here.”
Thorn grimaced. “I should have known. He sees me and buys me, just like that. Why?”
“Certainly not for your good looks.”
“Shut up, Wade.”
“I was just saying that you’re no—”
Thorn clamped his hand over Wade’s mouth and listened. Growing up in Herne’s Forest gave you sharp ears. You needed to know if the rustling in the bushes was a deer or a wolf. The difference mattered.
Now he could hear that something, or someone, was in the stables with them. Hiding behind the hay bales.
Thorn got up quietly. If it was a squire looking for a fight, he was going to get one. He slunk closer, taking care not to make a sound. Yes, definitely some creep lurking; he could hear their breathing and the rustle of cloth.
Thorn reached over and grabbed a fistful of hair.
“Ow!” Lily screamed as Thorn threw her across the floor. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Nice one, Thorn.” Wade cleared his throat and stood up. “Well, I’d love to stay, but there are chores to do, errands to run.” He performed a smooth, elegant bow. “M’lady.” Then he dashed out.
“What are you doing?” snapped Thorn. “Spying on me?”
Lily held up her arm. “Just look at that sleeve! Torn. I’m supposed to meet Baron Gaunt in ten minutes.” She pulled pieces of hay out of her hair and tried to arrange her dress into something that wasn’t a total mess. “You’re an idiot.”
“Why are you here, Princess?”
“Do I need a reason? I can go anywhere I like. These are my stables.” She shrugged. “I wanted to see you. But you were talking with Wade, and you sounded so angry that I wasn’t sure that you wanted to talk with me. So I hid.”
“How did you get in here, anyway? I didn’t see the door open.” He peered around. “It’s one of them secret passages, isn’t it?”
Lily smirked. “Maybe.”
“Could any of them help me get out of here?”
“What do you mean?”
Thorn checked the nearby wall. Was there a hidden door among the bricks? If he pushed the right one, would a tunnel open up? “Why am I still here? Now that everyone thinks they know what my dad did, no one wants me around.” He pressed a few bricks. No luck. “Why not just let me leave?”
“Tyburn won’t permit it.” Lily looked conflicted. “I…I understand you want to leave, but you can’t. Tyburn doesn’t want you finding your dad and warning him.”
“Find him? How does he think I’ll find him?” That was stupid. Thorn had spent months searching for his dad, and all he had to show for it was several weeks as a slave and then this.
“You know what Tyburn’s like.” She glanced down at the bottle Wade had left behind. “Is that lemonade?”
Thorn handed it over. “Be careful. It’ll twist your tongue and close off your throat.”
Lily took a gulp. Then another. “Not bad.”
He was impressed, despite himself. “It ain’t too sour?”
“I like sour.” She looked at him. “I’m sorry about your dad, Thorn.”
“He’s innocent.”
“Men get desperate. They do desperate things.”
Thorn scoffed. “That’s Tyburn talking, not you.”
Lily sighed. “Tyburn found my parents and brother. What was left of them. He followed the trail deep into Spindlewood. He found the brigands’ encampment. He tried to take the assassins alive, but things got out of control. Five of them were killed, and the sixth fled, dropping his ax.” She touched the black pearls around her neck. “My mother’s jewels were found on them. What more evidence do you need?”
“I know my dad,” said Thorn stubbornly. “He’s innocent.”
“Then he shouldn’t have run away. Tyburn thought he was the poisoner, too, lurking nearby to try and finish the job he started. You even told us that you knew how to make life-bane.” Lily frowned. “So he’s probably long gone from here. On his way home.”
Thorn knew her well enough now to know she was struggling with something.
“What is it, Princess?”
She glanced back at the door, making sure they were alone. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Not now.”
Thorn went cold. “What do you mean?”
“Tyburn knows where your family lives. You told him. Stour, a village on the edge of Herne’s Forest.”
“So?” Thorn felt dread start to well up inside him.
“So he’s sent men there. Dangerous men. They’ll kill your father the moment they find him. I’m sorry, Thorn. If I could stop them, I would—”
“Why can’t you stop them? You’re Lady Shadow! Tyburn works for you!” Thorn was on the edge of panic; he took deep breaths to calm himself. Surely his family was safe. Stour was a thousand miles across the sea after all.
“I can’t! They left weeks ago! I didn’t know!”
Thorn started pacing back and forth. Lily stopped him with a hand on his chest and met his gaze with a cold fury of her own. “Your dad’s a criminal. He did what he did and has to pay for it. That’s the law.”
“The law?” He flung her arm away. “The law’s an excuse you people made up. I’m sick of you nobles. You take what you want and never give anything back.”
“That’s not true! I look after my people.” Lily glowered. “You wouldn’t understand. You have only one family to look after. I have thousands.”
“And when we try and look after ourselves, what happens?” Thorn closed his eyes, trying to shut down his rage. “My dad’s a poacher, but all that means to me is he’s tried to feed his family. Like I was trying to do when I shot that deer.”
“Poaching’s against the law.”
“And starving isn’t. My dad’s lost enough from people like you.” He held up his hand. “They cut off his first two fingers, did you know that?”
Lily stared at him. “What?”
Thorn continued. “First offense, you lose them. Second, it’s your whole hand if you’re lucky; your life, if you’re not.” He crooked his thumb. “That’s why I shoot the way I do. Dad was the one who taught me, and he couldn’t shoot the usual way.”
“I met a man with some fingers missing….” muttered Lily.
“It’s a common punishment. Half the men back home have only eight fingers.”
“Is your father good with animals, like you?”
“Better. Scared off a wolf just by whistling.”
Lily dropped the lemonade bott
le. It shattered at her feet, but she didn’t notice. She just stood there, mouth gaping and eyes wild. “I…I think I saw him.” She stared at Thorn. “You look a bit like him. The eyes are the same. Why didn’t I realize? The hair. His is long, and yours is short, but the color…He also had a beard. It was as if he was trying to hide as much of his face as possible.”
Thorn grabbed her arm. “You ain’t making no sense.”
“Remember that zoo we visited? Maximilian’s Marvelous Magical Menagerie? I met a man there, looking after the animals. He had only three fingers on one hand.” She shook her head. “If you hadn’t walked off in a huff, you would have seen him!”
“No, it can’t be. He’d be a long way from here. He ain’t stupid.” But there was a mixture of hope and fear sprouting in Thorn’s chest.
“Tyburn told me he injured the man. It could be that’s what’s delayed your father. He’d have needed to rest up.” Lily’s brow furrowed. “And leaving’s not that easy. There are many rivers between Gehenna and the south and only a few bridges, all guarded by my soldiers. Tyburn would have ordered them to keep a lookout.”
Thorn gasped. “Tyburn’s been watching the ports, too. He found me at Port Cutlass.”
Could it be true? He almost didn’t want to believe it. That his dad could be so close, and he not know….Thorn tried not to let his hopes rise too high, but it was hard. “The fair was just a mile or two away. Come on, let’s go look!”
“The zoo left, Thorn. Two days ago.”
“Left? Why? Halloween’s tomorrow.” The zoo would have made most of its money then.
“I don’t know, but they’re gone. They were going south to the Sultanate for the winter.”
What to do? He had to find that man and see if…
“It don’t matter. I’ll catch them on Hades. They can’t have gotten far in their wagons.”
“Hades?” The color drained from Lily’s already pale cheeks. “Thorn, I thought you knew. Didn’t anyone tell you?”
“Tell me what? Nobody speaks to me, Lily! What have you done with Hades?” He was frightened down to his core. The bat was all he had left.
“A couple of the Solar squires were fooling around. That moron Gabriel put them up to it. One tried to get up on the bat’s back. The squire was thrown off and broke both his legs. He’s Gabriel’s cousin and…I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this.”