*
“I’m sorry sir, but we’ve got instructions from Lord Cleaver himself to search anyone travelling through the Raven’s Vale.”
“This is ridiculous, but search away if you must,” Tiberius waved towards the wagon displaying a mixture of annoyance and unconcern.
The two men cloaked in black had appeared suddenly from the sides of the path, making Kat’s horse rear and eliciting a scream from Maddie. They called out a challenge that was quickly replied by a challenge from Tiberius. They had approached the group slowly, requiring a better view in the growing dimness of dusk. Despite the presence of Tiberius, they maintained a haughty manner and began questioning everyone.
“I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I’m also on a mission from Lord Cleaver,” Tiberius told one of them calmly. “This wagon of whiskey was hijacked and I’m bringing it back to the Manor.”
“Doesn’t it usually come from Rivermead?” asked a scar faced guard suspiciously as he started inspecting the wagon.
“Not if it’s been hijacked,” Kat replied rolling her eyes.
“Now wait just a minute you can’t…”
“No you wait,” Kat interrupted trying to keep their attention. “This wagon along with me and my sisters were stolen from Rivermead, and all we want to do is go home.”
The mixture of the steely gaze from Tiberius and the distraught faces of the women suddenly made the younger guard feel uncomfortable. Their only task was to stop Lord Lodge, who clearly wasn’t here. The additional presence of Tiberius made him wary and he was about to wave them through when someone called out from behind him.
“Tiberius is that you?”
Tiberius recognized the voice immediately and waited for the man to come into view. He was one of Malicio’s lieutenants and not a friendly face to come across in these woods.
“As you can plainly see,” he replied, suddenly on guard. “I’ve got the whiskey shipment from Rivermead and need to get through this ridiculous road block.”
“I heard about your little task. Took you long enough,” he sneered as he passed Tiberius towards the wagon. “I see you’ve picked up some lovely things along the way.”
“They were kidnapped with the whiskey,” Tiberius replied absently. “What are you looking for?”
“That’s confidential,” he said as he began tapping the barrels.
Tiberius ordered himself to remain calm, as he watched the wagon get inspected. Beside him he could tell Kat was moving and he reached over to stop her hand as it reached into her jacket pocket. Startled she looked up at him and then stopped moving when he shook his head slightly. Her eyes were on fire and he knew that she would act if she thought anything would happen to her sister or her new friends.
“It’s getting dark and we need to get this wagon to the Manor. You can inspect it thoroughly there if you want,” offered Tiberius as innocently as he could.
“Fair enough,” the leader replied just before he knocked on the last barrel. It took a moment for it to register before he knocked it again. “It’s empty!”
“The brigands that stole the wagon drank most of that barrel,” answered Tiberius too quickly.
“Is that right?” asked the leader sceptically as he raised his pistol into the air and cocked it. His men followed suit and raised their rifles at Tiberius and the girls by the wagon.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Tiberius bellowed, unhappily staring down the barrel of a rifle.
“I’m going to fire into this barrel unless someone tells me what I want to know!”
“Fine, everyone calm down,” Jane said, completely collected. “It was just as he said. Some brigands came into town and stole the wagon of whiskey and kidnapped my sisters and I. They took us across the valley and were going to rape and kill us. Luckily Tiberius and his men tracked them down and saved us.”
“Is that right?”
Jane nodded, quickly followed by the other girls.
“Sir,” began the young guard slowly, working through a puzzle in his mind as he stared at Jane. “I think I’ve seen this one before. Something’s not quite right.”
“I was just thinking she seemed familiar,” agreed the leader, before taking a step closer to Jane.
“I used to work at the Manor,” Jane answered as calmly as she could. “But I returned to Rivermead some time ago.”
“Listen we’ve answered all your questions and you’ve checked the wagon…” began Tiberius in what he hoped was an easy tone. He didn’t want to provoke a confrontation, but at the same time they needed to get away from the roadblock and continue their journey. He wasn’t afraid of these men or being taken into custody if they found Lord Lodge. He and his men could easily handle these three. But he couldn’t risk one of the women getting hurt in a sudden armed exchange.
“Stop,” ordered the leader pointing his pistol towards Tiberius, cutting off his plea. Something was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It was an uneasy feeling he’d felt before and one that had kept him alive on more than one occasion. But he couldn’t put the feeling into coherent thoughts or words as one of his men continued talking.
“What did they say before?” asked the guard with the scar to his companions. “Something about some brigands and the whiskey.”
Tiberius knew immediately where these thoughts were leading and he had an explanation ready. But he refrained from uttering it, confident it would only make them more suspicious.
“They said the brigands drank most of the whiskey and that’s why the barrel’s empty,” repeated the young guard wearily, clearly wanting to be anywhere but the forest.
“No, not that.”
“But that’s what they said.”
“I know, but they said something else about the brigands and the whiskey.”
“Oh, well I can’t remember. Are you sure they said something else.”
“Of course I am.”
“Both of you shut up,” cried out the leader as he lowered his pistol from Tiberius and turned away, desperately trying to order his thoughts. Within a few seconds everything clicked in his mind. “They said Tiberius and his men saved them.”
“That’s what it was!” Agreed the guard happily, snapping his fingers in triumph. But the feeling was quickly replaced by confusion as he lowered his rifle and turned his head towards his leader. “So where are they?”
The leader of the guards knew the answer before his slow witted compatriot uttered the question. He had been pacing the length of the wagon and was now at the back, staring at two riderless horses hitched there. Their obvious breeding and ornate saddles marked them as steeds from the Manor.
“Son of bitch,” he cursed under his breath as he turned his gaze from the horses to Tiberius. Tiberius replied with a quick wink, infuriating him even more.
“They’re watching us right now, aren’t they?” asked the young guard, now fully roused.
“Of course you idiot!” yelled the leader in exasperation. “They’ve been watching us this whole time. Haven’t they Tiberius?”
“Drop your guns to the ground slowly and take three steps backwards,” replied Tiberius calmly, remaining perfectly still.
“He’s bluffing,” spat the scar faced guard as he kept his rifle raised.
“No he’s not!” challenged Kat once more finding her voice. It had taken all her self control to refrain from pulling the pistol out from her jacket pocket when they were first stopped. Days of pent up frustration and anger now had an outlet; the three men standing in front of her. The only thing holding her back was the look Tiberius had given her when they were stopped. She trusted his judgement, in fact she found she trusted him more than she’d trusted anyone in a long time.
“Maybe I am bluffing,” allowed Tiberius coldly, ignoring Kat’s outburst. “But are you willing to bet your life on it.”
“He’s not bluffing,” insisted the leader with a mixture of admiration and annoyance. “He’s not bluffing because whiskey is not the
only thing they’ve got on that wagon. I’d be willing to bet that they’ve got Lodge smuggled away in there somewhere.”
“Even if that were true, the only way you’d get to him would be to kill me first,” allowed Tiberius, his steely gaze set directly on the leader. “So, would you also be willing to bet you can raise that pistol, cock it, and kill me with your first shot before two bullets smash into your skull. The tree line is about ten yards away on either side of us. What do you think the odds are of Morgan and Dufresne both missing from that distance?”
“So what do we do now?”
“Like I said, you drop your weapons and take three steps back,” Tiberius ordered, keeping his eyes locked on his adversary. “Then we tie up your hands and you tell us why you’re hunting Lord Lodge, the Master of the Manor. After that I decide whether I will take you back to the Manor or just shoot you and leave your bodies for the animals, you traitorous filth!”
The leader’s hands had been flexing and his teeth grinding throughout the speech. But when Tiberius reached a crescendo with his final insult he lost complete control. With wide-eyed abandon he raised his pistol and screamed something inaudible.
Tiberius would never know what he tried to scream, because two hollow point bullets entered his head and torso milliseconds apart. His body collapsed on itself as the two women on the wagon screamed in alarm.
A Malevolent Manner (Patrick Pierce #1) Page 80