The sorcerer of the North ra-5

by John Flanagan

  "It's not exactly a classic example of ingenuity, is it?" he said. Will shrugged.

  "If you like, we'll dig a secret tunnel, or we could wear clever disguises. But by the time we do it, we'll all be dead. Our best bet is to move quickly and surprise them. I assume some of your men are still on the walls?"

  Orman nodded. "Some will be my men. But not many."

  "All right." Will glanced at Xander. "Get him out of here now, and use those back stairs. If Keren and his men come calling, I don't want you two trapped in here. But if they can't find you, it might buy us a little time. They might not realize we're on to them yet. Ten minutes," he repeated.

  Both of the other men nodded agreement. He hurried to the door, opened it a crack and peered out. There was nobody in the outer room. Xander had apparently dismissed the sergeant major and his men. Will crossed quickly to the exterior door, checked again and went out. The corridor outside was deserted. There were two guards at the far end, but aside from an incurious glance in his direction, they took no notice of him. Forcing himself to walk calmly, he headed for the staircase and started down.

  His nerves shrieked at him as he crossed the main hall and then the courtyard outside. Every fiber of his being wanted to run, to get to the stables as quickly as he could. But he forced himself to walk casually, to avoid attracting attention to himself, waiting all the time for some sign that the alarm had been raised.

  Once inside the dim stable building, however, all pretense of casualness disappeared. He sprinted to Tug's stall, grabbing his saddle and bridle from the rail alongside. Both Tug and the dog heard him coming and were alerted by his behavior. Tug stood still as Will tossed the saddlecloth and saddle onto his back and fastened the girths. The dog stood guard, sensing that something was out of the ordinary. Once Tug was saddled and ready, Will took the component parts of his bow from the packsaddle and hurriedly clipped them together. His quiver of arrows was hanging nearby and he slung it over his saddle pommel, then led Tug out of the stall.

  He hastily checked the adjacent stalls for two suitable mounts. His own packhorse was a sturdy enough animal but it would be too slow if there were any pursuit. There were several battlehorses available, but he ignored them. He didn't think Orman or Xander would be capable of handling the massive beasts. He'd noticed a good-looking bay mare earlier and he led her out now, hurriedly putting saddle and bridle on her. She was calm and docile, but she looked as she'd have a decent turn of speed. He tethered her beside Tug and hurried down the line of stalls, looking for a third horse.

  At the far end of the stable, he found a gray gelding that wasn't too skittish. He saddled it, then checked the girth straps on the bay and the gelding. It wouldn't do to have the saddles slip when Orman and Xander tried to mount. With the horses ready, he moved to the able entrance and eased one side of the double doors open, peering through the narrow gap toward the keep. He saw a brief movement at the eastern door and realized it was Xander, standing just inside the half-open doorway, in the shadow of the interior. A dark figure as just visible behind him-Orman, he hoped, and then realized could well be one of Keren's men. He shrugged. There was only one way to find out.

  "Fine," he muttered. He glanced at the dog, who was staring expectantly up at him, ears pricked and eyes questioning. "Follow," he said, then added: "Silent." He reinforced the word command with the hand signal he'd taught her. The dog, content now that she knew what was expected of her, dropped to her haunches, ready to move.

  Hastily, Will fastened a lead rope to the other two horses, tying the end to Tug's saddle. Then he moved quickly to the door once more, easing one side wide open. He ran back, swung quickly up into Tug's saddle and touched the little horse with his heels.

  There was a momentary drag on the lead rope as the mare and the gelding resisted the pull, then they were clattering out onto the cobbles behind Tug, moving already at a brisk trot. The dog slipped along beside Tug, a black-and-white shadow running belly low to the ground.

  Xander was already helping Orman down the three steps that led to the keep door. The castle lord looked to be in bad condition, supported by his secretary's arm around his shoulders. There was a moment of confusion as Will hauled on the lead rope to bring the horses to a halt. Tug, sensing what he had in mind, braced his sturdy legs to stop the other horses. They plunged and pulled for a few seconds, then Xander gripped the mare's bridle and held her steady as Orman tried to pull himself up into the saddle. Will heard his quick, painful intake of air and heard also a voice from the battlements as the sudden swirl of movement caught the guards' attention. He slid an arrow from the quiver hanging over the pommel and laid it on the bowstring. Xander would have to help Orman by himself. It would be Will's task to take care of any opposition that might show itself.

  As he had the thought, he heard muffled shouting from inside the keep tower, and the sound of running feet. He glanced down at Xander, struggling with the deadweight of his master as the mare stepped skittishly away in a small half-circle. Will urged Tug close beside the mare, held his bow in one hand, reached down with the other and heaved on Orman's belt, hauling him up into the saddle as Xander pushed from below. The castle lord groaned in pain, but he was mounted now and Xander was struggling to get his foot into the stirrup as the gelding danced nervously, affected by the tension and excitement.

  Behind him, he heard the keep doorlock rattle, then the heavy door was flung open by someone inside. Twisting in the saddle, barely looking, he shot, slamming an arrow quivering into the wood of the doorjamb at face height. He heard a startled shout and the door slammed shut again.

  "Come on!" he yelled. There was no more time to lose. He touched Tug with his heels and the little horse clattered away, dragging the others behind on the lead rope. He glanced over his shoulder, saw Xander half in and half out of the saddle, clinging desperately to the gelding's mane. He couldn't spare the little man any more time or thought. The gatehouse was before them and one of the sentries was running uncertainly toward the giant windlass that operated the portcullis. Will sent an arrow whistling past the man's ear and saw him drop to the cobbles for cover.

  There was more shouting behind them now and from the corner of his eye, Will saw movement on the battlements ahead of them, and heard a crossbow bolt strike, skidding, on the stones in front of Tug.

  Without conscious thought, seemingly without aiming, he shot again and a figure tumbled from the parapet into the courtyard, his crossbow clattering on the stones beside him.

  Then the horses' hooves were thundering on the timber of the drawbridge and the drag on the lead rope was virtually gone as the gelding and mare, drawn by the excitement of the moment, kept pace with Tug. They shot into the darkness under the massive gate tower, then out into the winter sunshine. Within seconds, the hooves were drumming on the hard frozen ground at the end of the bridge and they were clear. He sensed the hiss of crossbow bolts in the air but there were only a few of them. They had taken the sentries by surprise-or they were mainly Orman's men and had refused to fire on their lord. He glanced back and saw that Xander had finally made it into the saddle. He was riding close beside Orman, the taller man hunched painfully in the saddle, but holding firmly to the pommel.

  It would be some minutes before any pursuit was launched and Will knew where he wanted to be when they came after him.

  28

  Will drew rein as they reached the now-familiar entrance to Grimsdell Wood. He allowed the other horses to pull alongside Tug and studied Orman critically. The castle lord was swaying in his saddle, his eyes half closed and with a faraway look in them. His mouth moved but no sound came out.

  Xander was watching his lord anxiously. "We have to get him to Malkallam quickly," he said. "He's nearly unconscious."

  Will nodded. He looked away from Orman to the bend in the road where their pursuers would appear-he had no doubt there would be pursuers.

  "Get him further into the trees," he said. "I'll stay here and discourage anyone from following to
o closely." He indicated the narrow trail that he and Alyss had followed on their previous exploration of the wood. "Follow that path for a hundred meters or so and wait for me there. You'll be well out of sight by then."

  Xander hesitated. "What about you?"

  Will smiled at him. The little clerk had unexpected courage. He flicked the cowl of his cloak up over his head and nudged Tug farther into the dappled shadows under a bare-branched oak tree.

  "I'm out of sight now," he said. And when Xander still hesitated, he gestured for him to go. "Get going. They'll be up with us any minute."

  The secretary saw the good sense of the suggestion. He nodded to Will and, seizing the lead rein for Orman's horse, led the semiconscious castle lord into the dim shadows of Grimsdell Wood. After fifteen meters, they were lost to Will's sight. He nodded to himself with satisfaction and sat unmoving. The dog was flat on her belly on the ground beside Tug. She emitted a low, rumbling growl.

  "Still," he told her, and her tail flicked obediently.

  A few seconds later, Tug's ears twitched nervously and he pawed the ground with one hoof. So far, Will had heard nothing. He marveled at the acute senses of his two animals. He soothed Tug, and knowing that his master had heard his warning, the little horse relaxed.

  It was another half minute before the band of riders rounded the bend in the road. There were eight of them, all armed and led by a familiar tall figure.

  "Buttle," he breathed. The dog allowed herself another almost inaudible growl, then settled again.

  The group drew rein about two hundred meters from where Will sat. One of the men was obviously a hunter of some kind and he dropped from the saddle to study the tracks on the road, looking to the snow-covered meadow that separated the road from Grimsdell Wood, where the path taken by the three horses through the snow was all too clear. He pointed toward the wood and moved to remount.

  Buttle gave the signal for the men to advance, but they didn't move. Will heard raised voices as Buttle turned on them and repeated the order. He smiled to himself. Buttle obviously hadn't heard about the horrors of Grimsdell, he realized. For a moment, he regretted a lost opportunity. If they had come forward, he could have waited till they were in the middle of the open ground and then started shooting. He could probably have reduced Keren's available force by eight men that way. Then he rejected the thought. Some of the men might well be Orman's soldiers, forced to go along against their will. And even if they weren't, he knew he could hardly bring himself to murder eight men in cold blood, no matter how dangerous they might be. That wasn't why Halt had trained him for years to the level of skill he now possessed.

  Buttle, however, was a different matter altogether. His total lack of scruples and the basic evil nature of the man would make him a valuable deputy to the scheming usurper. Men like Keren needed men like Buttle, Will knew. They needed men who would obey orders to kill and rob and destroy without any hesitation. Such men made it easier for others to follow suit. He had no doubt that Buttle was already established as one of Keren's key retainers.

  And there he sat, just two hundred meters away from Will, who had an arrow nocked to the string already.

  It was a long bowshot and there was a slight crosswind. Will could see it stirring the tops of the bare alders that lined the road on the far side. Most archers would have approached such a shot with misgivings, but Will was a Ranger and for a Ranger, a two-hundred-meter shot was bread and butter. And he knew that misgivings were the beginning of a miss. Anxiety over a missed shot all too often rewarded itself with the very result that it sought to avoid. Will raised his bow to the aim position.

  The arrow seemed to slide back effortlessly, drawn by the big muscles in his back and shoulders with an ease born of thousands of repetitions. He created his sighting picture, focusing on the target, not on the arrow or the bow. They were simply two parts of the overall picture that culminated in the figure of Buttle sitting his horse two hundred meters away.

  He continued raising the bow until he was satisfied that the elevation was correct for the distance. At that moment, had anyone asked him how he knew that it was correct, he could not have answered. It was instinctive in him now, another product of those years of practice. He allowed for the wind and held steady a moment. His left hand, holding the bow, was loose and relaxed, so that the shaped grip sat in the gap between thumb and forefinger, supported but not actually gripped. The thumb of his right hand rested against the corner of his mouth, the first three fingers restraining the string at the full draw position, one above and two below the nocking point.

  He exhaled half of the last breath he had taken, vaguely aware of his own heartbeat and natural body rhythms, and allowed the string to release itself from his fingers, both hands passive, without a trace of jerking or twisting. The entire process, once he had raised the bow, took less than four seconds.

  The bow sang and the arrow leapt away.

  Ironically, it was the years of practice that now betrayed him.

  The shot was an excellent one. In any other archer, it would have been considered a success. But Will was using the three-piece bow, not the yew longbow that he had practiced with during the last three years of his apprenticeship. Over the two hundred meters it traveled-although it actually covered more distance through the air, moving in a smooth curve-the arrow dropped farther than he had estimated. Instead of striking home into Buttle's upper body, it came out of nowhere and slammed into his thigh, tearing through the fleshy part of the leg and pinning it to the hard leather of the saddle.

  Buttle screamed with the sudden burning agony in his thigh. His horse reared in fright, as did several others around him. His men, already wary about venturing toward Grimsdell Wood, took one look at the feathered shaft that had transfixed their leader and turned and rode for the shelter of the bend in the track. Buttle, cursing the pain and his men with equal savagery, wheeled his horse helplessly, then, furious, he gave in to the inevitable and rode after them, reeling in the saddle with the pain.

  "Damn," said Will dispassionately, watching him go. He remembered Crowley's words about the bow. A flat trajectory at first, but then it would drop faster than he was accustomed to. "No more long shots," he said to Tug, whose ears flattened back against his head in answer. Will glanced down at the dog, who was looking up at him, her tail moving slowly. It seemed she was quite content to see the arrow hit Buttle anywhere at all, he mused.

  He looked back at the road. There was no sign that the men were renewing the pursuit, so he nudged Tug with one knee to turn him and followed the track into the wood.

  He caught up to the others a hundred meters down the trail, where be had told Xander to wait. Orman was sinking further and further into the coma that he had predicted, swaying in the saddle, almost totally unconscious, mouthing meaningless words and making little mewling noises.

  "How's he doing?" he asked Xander, although the question was clearly unnecessary. The secretary frowned.

  "We don't have a lot of time," he said. "Do you have any idea where Malkallam might have his headquarters?"

  Will shook his head. "I assume it'll be right in the center of the wood," he said. "But where that might be is anyone's guess,"

  Xander glanced anxiously at his master. "We'll have to do something," he said, the worry evident in his voice.

  Will looked around helplessly, hoping for an idea. He knew that, Ranger skill notwithstanding, they could blunder for days in this thick forest, with its narrow intersecting trails. And they had hours, at best.

  His gaze fell on the dog, sitting patiently, head cocked to one side, looking to him for direction. There was a chance, he realized.

  "Come on," he said tersely to Xander, and nudged Tug, starting out down the path that he and Alyss had followed only a day ago. So much had happened in that short time, he thought. They skirted the edge of the sinister black mere until they came to the spot where Alyss had found the scorched grass. Will stopped there now and dismounted. Xander, after a moment's hesitat
ion, followed him. He looked at the scorch marks.

  "What caused this?" he asked. Will told him of Alyss's theory about a giant magic lantern. Xander's eyebrows went up, but he nodded thoughtfully.

  "Yes, she could be right," he said. "Mind you, you'd need a near-perfect lens for the job."

  "A lens?" Will asked.

  "The focusing device that would create a beam of light. I've never seen one of the standard you'd need for this, but I imagine it would be possible to construct one."

  "You'd need one hell of a light source as well," Will told him, bur the small man shrugged that objection away.

  "Oh, there's plenty of ways you can achieve that," he said. "Whiterock, for example."

  "Whiterock?" Will asked. The word was unfamiliar to him. Xander nodded again.

  "It's a porous rock that releases a flammable gas when you drip water onto it. The gas burns with an intense white flame. Very hot too… just like whatever caused these scorch marks." He nodded to himself several times. "Yes, I'd say whiterock would do the job. But what do you have in mind here?" he added.

  Will clicked his fingers and the dog moved closer to him, eyes fixed on him as she waited for instructions.

  "I figured if there was some kind of lamp here, there must have been people tending it. And people leave a scent. Maybe the dog can track them. Odds are, if we find them, we'll find this wizard's lair as well."

  He ruffled the dog's ears and pointed to the ground around them.

  "Find," he said.

  The black-and-white head went down and she began quartering the ground by the bank of the mere. After several minutes, she began casting wider and wider. Then she stopped, one forepaw rising into the air as her nose stayed close to the ground. She sniffed several times, then barked once, a sharp, urgent sound.

  "Good girl!" Will breathed. Xander looked doubtful.