The Wolf On The Run (The Wolf of Corwick Castle Book 3)

by Terry Cloutier

  My men fanned out along both sides of the ridge. We began sliding our hands across the stone and using our feet to brush the shrubs and weeds aside. The eight of us went over every inch of the ridge on both sides right up to the treeline, pausing in our work only when one of Odiman’s numerous patrols walked by making fun of us. Niko always had a witty response ready for the patrols, which we’d laugh at as the insults flew back and forth between them. Malo was the first to give up after more than an hour, followed by Putt, Tyris, and then the others, leaving me stubbornly continuing the search. Eventually, even I had to admit defeat and I joined them where they stood waiting for me at our starting point.

  “It was a good thought, Hadrack,” Malo said. “But we are no closer to getting into the town than we were. I’d better get back to Odiman and try to figure out what we are going to do.”

  The House Agent headed back along the path as Putt moved to the head of the ridge and started pulling himself up.

  “Where are you going?” I demanded. I pointed toward the town. “They will skewer your arse before you get very far.”

  “I’m just going to take a quick peek, my lord,” Putt grunted as he hauled himself over the edge. He stood, his body cast in flickering shadows as he turned to gaze back down at us. “I’ll be right back.”

  Putt disappeared from view as Jebido removed his helmet and scratched his silver hair vigorously. “These infernal lice are driving me insane,” he grumbled.

  “Try bathing once in a while,” Baine said with that familiar cheeky grin that I knew so well. “Either that or stand downwind from me.”

  Jebido chuckled, about to reply when Putt reappeared above us. “My lord,” the outlaw said, sounding excited. “I found a hole that looks big enough for a man to pass through.”

  “So what, you red-faced bastard,” Niko called up with a laugh. “That’s just from years of rain and wind. There are probably hundreds of them up there like that.”

  “Not with a ladder leading down to the bottom, there isn’t,” Putt said.

  2: Sabina

  I had to hand it to Putt. I’d been up on the ridge myself and had been less than six feet away from what he’d just found, but I hadn’t recognized the opening for what it was. To be fair, the entrance hadn’t looked like much then, or even now for that matter. Besides, when I had been up top before, I had been more interested in studying the town to the east, not looking for hidden entrances.

  The hole sat near the northern side of the ridge, surrounded on two sides by a weathered rock formation that rose far above our heads. The towering stone and tall trees of the forest worked together to cast deep shadows, making visibility in the area difficult. The entrance seemed like nothing more than a dark shadow among others, and it wasn’t until you were right over the hole that it appeared to be more than that. Even then, it’s doubtful anyone other than Putt would have noticed, as you had to stick your head inside and wait for your eyes to adjust to see the ladder where it lay in the darkness against the wall.

  “How in the name of The Mother did you even think to look in here?” Jebido asked as he got down on all fours to peer inside. He grunted and twisted his body at an angle until he got his hand inside the hole, burying his arm up to the shoulder as he cautiously felt around.

  Putt grinned and tapped his temple. “I’m always thinking. It just seemed to make sense that there might be something like this up here.”

  “Now I’ve heard everything,” Niko said sarcastically. “Putt making sense.” He lifted his hands palms to the sky. “Blessed Mother, I’m ready for you to take me now, because there is nothing left for me to see in this world.”

  “As if you’re going to be meeting Her first,” Putt muttered.

  I grinned, secretly agreeing with the red-bearded outlaw as I nudged Jebido’s backside with my foot. “So, what do you think?” I asked.

  “It looks like there’s a tunnel leading away from the ladder,” Jebido said as he sat back on his haunches. He gestured to the dark opening. “But what is really interesting is it feels like there is a loose slab of stone set in grooves beneath the rim here.”

  “You mean like some kind of door?” I asked in surprise.

  “Exactly,” Jebido agreed.

  “If that’s true, then why is it open?”

  “Good question.”

  “Maybe this is a trap, and they left it open on purpose,” Putt suggested. “Hoping to draw us down there.”

  “I doubt it,” Jebido said with a quick shake of his head. “Why risk it? They’ve done just fine slaughtering us from the safety of their walls.” He glanced away to study the line of the ridge. “Whatever the reason is, we can’t let an opportunity like this pass. If that tunnel does lead to the town, then my guess is it will follow a fairly straight path.” Jebido pointed through the hanging tree branches toward Springlight. “Going by my eye, and assuming the tunnel slopes upward, then it should go through the wall right about where that granary sits.”

  I looked to the town, where I could see the still-smoldering wooden shingles of the granary roof Jebido was referring to. We’d tried using fire arrows to set the buildings ablaze more than once over the last few days, but our success had been moderate at best. Springlight must have an abundance of water, I guessed, not to mention enthusiastic and motivated inhabitants to help douse the flames. I was thankful now that the fire had failed, since if Jebido was correct about the granary, we would need the building to be intact to get through.

  “All right,” I said to my men, coming to a decision. “We’re going down there. Sim, go back and tell Malo and Odiman what we found. Tell them we’ll need a ram.”

  “For what?” Baine asked.

  I stood over the entrance, looking down. “For what is waiting for us at the end of that tunnel,” I said. It was a safe assumption that there would be a stout door blocking our access to the town. That, and undoubtedly guards as well.

  “Not too big, though,” Jebido warned. “We have to be able to get it through the hole.”

  “Why not just use these?” Sim asked, hefting his axe.

  I shook my head. “Axes will take too long and make too much noise. I want to get through fast before they know what’s happening.”

  Sim nodded and slid down the face of the ridge, disappearing through the trees. I unsheathed my father’s axe. “I’ll go first,” I said, handing the axe and my shield to Jebido. “Wait for my signal, then the rest of you come down.”

  I sat on the cold stone near the hole, then dangled my feet over the edge of the rock until my searching boots found the top rung of the ladder. I grabbed each side of the rim with my hands and pushed myself upward, waiting as I let the ladder take my full weight. It seemed sturdy enough. I took a step down to the next rung, then the next before I paused as my shoulders grazed against each side of the entrance. I sucked in my breath, trying not to think about getting stuck. My armor screeched loudly, but by pressing down with my weight and continuing to hold my breath, I managed to slip through with only a few scratches across the metal for my trouble. I climbed down the last few rungs until my boots came in contact with the hard surface of the floor. Jebido dangled my father’s axe down from above and I grasped it, then he squeezed my shield through with some difficulty and dropped it to me. I turned and blinked in the darkness. A narrow corridor led away from me.

  “What do you see?” Jebido asked.

  I glanced up at my friend’s beak-like nose and shadowy features. “A face so hideous it would give even the bravest of men nightmares,” I grunted.

  “Very funny,” Jebido muttered.

  My eyes were starting to adjust to the gloom now, so I took several steps away from the ladder. I paused to look down as I stepped into a large puddle of stagnant water that rose to my ankles. I took several more steps with the sounds of my splashing feet echoed loudly off the walls. A faint beam of light cut through the darkness ahead, coming from a crack in the rock ceiling that was roughly the size of my fist at its widest poin
t. I could see two similar holes letting in faint light about ten feet farther along the corridor. I was hopeful that there would be more like them along the way, as in my enthusiasm to get down the ladder, I’d neglected to bring a torch with me.

  I turned and cupped my hands to my mouth. “All clear,” I called out softly.

  Jebido was the first man down the ladder, holding a flickering torch in his right hand. Leave it to my friend to always be practical, I thought. The torch's orange glow quickly lit up the corridor, revealing chiseled walls and a rounded ceiling that rose three feet above my head. A black, moss-like growth grew from the base of the walls, spreading upward toward the ceiling across the damp stone. The skeletal remains of a large rat lay crumbled in the corner to the right of the ladder.

  Jebido caught his shield nimbly as Baine dropped it to him before climbing down himself, followed closely by the rest of my men.

  “All right,” I said in a low tone once we were all gathered together. “We go single file. Jebido will take the lead. No talking. This still might be a trap, but I want to know what we are dealing with before Malo gets here.”

  I drew Wolf’s Head slowly, careful not to let the steel blade grate against my scabbard. Behind me, my men silently drew their weapons while Baine and Tyris nocked arrows to their bows. The corridor remained straight and narrow as we progressed, with a slight grade heading up just as Jebido had predicted. A jagged crack appeared in the ceiling every so often, letting in some light and a little fresh air, which had become stale as we moved deeper into the tunnel. I was having a tough time trying to ignore the relentless tickle at the back of my throat, and I could hear Putt coughing quietly into his hands.

  We walked for another ten minutes or so as the corridor continued to climb upward until Jebido suddenly grunted in surprise. A thick, metal-studded door lay open and unprotected in front of us, with two men dressed in mail lying on the floor inside the corridor several feet from the door. Both men had their throats cut.

  “Well, that explains why the entrance was left open,” Jebido said grimly. “Somebody that didn’t want to be in Springlight must have decided to get out.”

  “Rorian?” Baine asked.

  Jebido shrugged. “That would be my guess.”

  “But why leave the tunnel open?” Niko asked.

  “You probably can’t close it from up top,” I said. “It’s too heavy and awkward. I’m guessing whoever killed these men had no choice but to leave it open.”

  “I thought Rorian and they were on the same side,” Baine muttered as he gestured to the corpses.

  “We don’t even know for certain that it was Rorian,” I said. “For all we know, this could be about something else entirely.”

  “Fine,” Baine said with a shrug. “But how did whoever did this get past all of Odiman’s patrols?”

  I had been thinking the same thing as well. Malo told me Rorian was a resourceful man, so maybe it really had been him. Either way, whoever had killed the soldiers had gotten away by now. Or, more likely, were hiding close by in the forest waiting for an opportunity to do so.

  I approached the dead men and knelt by the closest one, then ran the tip of my finger in the pooling blood. It was sticky, but hadn’t crusted over yet, which meant the soldiers hadn’t been dead for long. I wiped my finger off on the corpse’s clothing, considering what to do next as I stood up. I knew if we went back now that there was a chance we would catch whoever had done this, but the bodies might be discovered in the meantime. If that happened, then the advantage of surprise would be lost to us. If Rorian was free somewhere above us, I knew Malo’s interest in taking the town would end and he’d concentrate everything on finding the scholar. That didn’t particularly bother me one way or the other, but if it wasn’t Rorian who had escaped, then he was still inside, which meant now might be our only chance to get to him without a long siege. I knew we could break the door down later if the townspeople bolted it again, but if I were in their position and knew that the entrance had been compromised, I’d seal the door off permanently, rather than risk being overwhelmed.

  “Putt, go back and tell Malo what we have found here and that we believe somebody got out,” I ordered. “It might have been Rorian, or it might not have, I don’t know for sure. That’s up to him to decide. Tell him I’m going to secure the entrance before the townspeople get wind of what’s happening. Just make sure that bastard Odiman sends me reinforcements.”

  “Yes, my lord,” Putt said with a curt nod.

  I approached the doorway and carefully peered around the wooden doorframe, prepared to duck back if I saw movement, but there was nothing except silence to greet me. A narrow corridor with bare walls of twisted planks lay in front of me with enough light coming in through the cracks between the boards to see. A closed, metal-studded doorway stood forty feet away at the opposite end of the corridor. Crude-looking murder holes spaced about three feet apart lined the planks on the right side of the passage. I studied them cautiously. Were there archers or men with pikes just waiting on the other side for some poor bastard to walk in there? I paused, listening for even the faintest sounds to indicate someone might be lying in wait, but I heard nothing at all.

  Finally, I turned to Jebido. “I’ll go in first,” I said. “Wait until I get all the way across before you follow.”

  I stepped through the entrance, holding my shield at an angle to the murder holes, anticipating a sword or spear thrust at any moment. I slowly made my way down the corridor with my back pressed against the solidness of the wall behind me, pausing to listen after every few steps. All remained quiet, however, and I eventually reached the other side without incident. I approached the closed door and gave it a tentative nudge with my toe. I’d expected resistance and was surprised when there was none as the door swung inward with a creak that seemed loud to me in the stillness. I tensed when the door stopped abruptly. I waited for a count of three, listening, then pushed again, but I could tell something was blocking it from the other side. I took a chance and peered around the door. The body of a man lay on the floor, barring entry with his weight. I shoved harder, pushing the dead man aside, then stepped into a tiny room about six feet wide and maybe ten feet long.

  The light streaming in from the corridor revealed a third doorway against the end wall. I moved forward. The handle on this door was made of cast iron and was strange looking, with a long narrow lever that twisted back and forth easily in my hand, though the door itself wouldn’t open. It was more by accident than any cleverness on my part that I realized you had to pull while twisting the lever to the left until the door popped out of a skillfully-designed frame. After that, all I had to do was turn the lever to the right to slide the door open along well-greased rollers.

  I could hear the others approaching along the corridor behind me as I stepped through the doorway into a large building. The interior had to be at least a hundred feet long, with a ceiling rising to a sharp peak forty feet or more above my head. Sunlight filtered through cracks along the walls and ceiling, revealing thick beams that ran down from the roof to join wider cantilever beams running horizontally along each wall. Crossbeams were attached to the cantilevers spanning the interior's width every ten feet, and these were secured on all sides to gigantic, roughly-shaped wooden columns. The columns separated the open space into individual stalls where barley, wheat, and oats were stacked in heavy burlap sacks. I could see rats scurrying around here and there, most looking well-fed as they studied me without fear. We were in the town granary, just as Jebido had predicted.

  The building was eerily silent, but I could see blood puddling on the dirt floor not far from where I stood. A trail of that blood led toward one of the stalls, where I assumed we’d find another body or two. A double door sat at the far end of the granary, with several of the weathered planks missing on one of them, letting in additional light. The room smelled heavily of grains, mold, and dust, tickling my nose. I tilted my head sideways, listening, but other than the faint, pleasa
nt sounds of a woman singing outside somewhere, there was nothing that seemed threatening to me. I took several more steps forward as the others came through the door behind me.

  “So, now what?” Jebido asked me after he’d taken a quick look around.

  “Baine,” I said, pointing to a stall to my left. “Over there.” I indicated the opposite stall on my right. “Tyris, you stand there and watch the door.” I glanced at Jebido. “Now we wait for Odiman’s men,” I said.

  Jebido dropped the torch to the ground and stamped it out. “That’s good, Hadrack. For a moment there, I thought you might want to take the town with just the five of us.”

  I smiled, about to respond when Tyris hissed at us in warning. Someone had just stepped up to the double doors, blocking the light coming through from outside. I pushed Jebido and Niko toward Baine, while I scurried over to Tyris and dragged him down behind the piled grain sacks. I glanced across the granary to see Niko and Jebido crouching as we were, while Baine stood with his back against the rising column, his slim form hidden from the doors.

  “And why do you wish to go in there?” I heard a feminine voice say from outside. “Why not just tell me what you need to say right here?”

  “Because someone might overhear us, dear Sabina,” a male voice replied in a lower, condescending tone.

  “Who?” Sabina asked with a snort. “That inquisitive sparrow on the rooftop above us, perhaps?”

  “Perhaps,” the man agreed with a light chuckle. “They do tend to stick their beaks where they least belong.”

  I looked at Tyris and grimaced as someone fumbled with the door latch.

  “What do we do?” the blond archer whispered as the double doors screeched outward on their hinges, flooding the entrance to the granary with sunlight.

  I shrugged helplessly. What could we do? We would be seen if we tried to retreat now. I glanced behind me, thankful that the open doorway leading to the corridor was nearly invisible in the shadows at the back of the building. I took a cautious look over the grain. A handsome young man with a pointed black beard and a bright red velvet hat stood in the sunshine looking in. He lifted a hand to his eyes, blocking the glare of the sun that bounced off the dirt floor in front of him. A pretty girl with startling red hair that cascaded down to her hips stood beside him. She was wearing a light brown dress with a wide leather belt around her waist, while he was dressed in matching blue breeches and hose.