The Prison of Buried Hopes (After The Rift Book 5)

by C. J. Archer

  The grooms stopped what they were doing, but did not approach.

  "Call the constables!" the ostler told them. "This man is a thief!"

  Erik took a step towards him. "I am no thief."

  Dane stepped between them, arms outstretched to keep the men apart. While Erik looked like he would engage the ostler in a fight, the ostler looked relieved to have someone intervene.

  "I can assure you, this man is not a thief," Dane said. "We only arrived in Merrin Fahl two days ago. This is the first time he has set foot in this part of the city."

  "Doesn't matter when he got here." The ostler spat into the straw-covered cobblestones. "The theft happened two winters ago. I never forget a face. Especially one that looks like that."

  Dane lowered his arms. "You recognize him?"

  "That's what I said, isn't it?"

  I went to join the men but Kitty held me back. "Stay here with me," she whispered. "I don't like this."

  "Are you sure it was me?" Erik asked the ostler.

  "Course it was you. How many other Marginers pass through here?"

  "I do not know. How many?"

  The ostler looked at Erik as if he were stupid. "None. Just you with your rat-tail hair and these dots on your head." He tapped his own forehead.

  Erik rubbed his tattoos.

  "Tell us what you remember about the theft," Dane said.

  "He turned up here on foot, boots just about worn through, wearing no jerkin or doublet, even though it was winter. He snuck in, all quiet like, thinking we were asleep."

  "It was night?"

  "Aye."

  "If it was dark, how can you be sure it was this man?"

  The ostler spat again. "I already told you, he's a Marginer. Ain't been no other Marginers before or since and I've lived in Merrin my whole life. It must be the same one."

  "What did he steal?" Dane asked.

  "A horse." The ostler jerked his thumb at the stable block behind him where two lads mucking out the stalls had emerged to listen to the exchange. Their wide-eyed stares focused on Erik.

  Erik puffed out his chest. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was enjoying the attention. But his gaze was filled with worry. The chest puffing was an attempt to make himself look bigger, more formidable, as if facing down an opponent just before a fight.

  I eyed the archway through which we'd come. Two burly men stood there, arms crossed, blocking our exit.

  Kitty's grip on my arm tightened and her swallow sounded loud in my ear.

  "He came here, speaking in a strange tongue," the ostler said.

  "Probably his own language," Dane said wryly. "Did you try to communicate with him?"

  "He couldn't understand me, and I couldn't understand him. He gave up and looked like he was going to leave, then a rider came. He dismounted and handed the reins to this fellow without paying him any attention."

  "The rider thought he was a groom?"

  "Aye. By the time I pointed out his mistake, the Marginer had mounted and ridden out of the yard. We shouted until the constables came, but by then he was long gone."

  "If the rider gives me the reins, it is not theft," Erik said triumphantly.

  "It bloody well is!"

  "Do you know where he went?" Dane asked.

  The ostler kept his gaze on Erik but answered Dane. "The sheriff said there were sightings on the south road. He sent word ahead to all the village sheriffs from here to the border to be on the alert. We never did hear if he was caught."

  Dane plucked a coin from his pocket and held it out to the ostler. "I can assure you, my friend is not that man. He has never been to Vytill. Please accept this for the information about the thief. It happens that we're looking for him too."

  "That so?" The ostler scratched his whiskers and eyed the coin. "Seems an unlikely coincidence to me."

  "Yet still a coincidence."

  The ostler's lips twisted from side to side. "I don't know."

  A commotion at the archway saw the two men keeping guard part to allow in a third on horseback. He was dressed in a constable's uniform of blue tunic and breeches.

  He pointed his sword at Erik. "You're under arrest! Get down on your knees, hands behind your head!"

  Erik's hands curled into fists at his sides.

  "There's been a misunderstanding," Dane said quickly. "This isn't the same man from two winters ago. He has—"

  "Is it the same man?" the constable asked the ostler.

  The ostler scratched his whiskers. "I reckon so."

  Dane hissed out a frustrated breath between his teeth.

  The constable pressed the point of his sword into Erik's chest. "Get down on your knees and put your hands in the air, Thief!"

  "Stop this at once!" Kitty cried in a voice that would have sent palace maids scurrying to do her bidding. She let me go and drew herself up to her full height. "This man is innocent. Move aside and let us pass."

  The constable chuckled. "Who're you to give me orders? The princess herself?" He laughed and looked around to see if anyone laughed with him.

  Dane moved up alongside Erik and spoke quietly to him.

  "Oi!" The constable thrust out his sword, the point drawing dangerously close to Dane's chin. "You're all under arrest until we get this sorted. Understand, Marginer?"

  "I understand." It was unclear if Erik was speaking to the constable or Dane.

  I took Kitty's hand. It shook, either with fear or anger or perhaps both. "Get ready to run," I whispered.

  Her fingers squeezed mine then let go. She gathered up her skirts and marched past the constable, nose in the air. "This is ridiculous. I am not under arrest and nor are my friends. We've done nothing wrong. Come along, Josie. Erik, Dane, it's time we left, not just this inn but this city. Merrin has turned out to be quite the disappointment so far. Mull is more civilized than this pigsty."

  "Stop!" the constable commanded. He wheeled his horse around to go after her.

  Distracted by Kitty, the move also left him exposed on his left. Dane reached up, grabbed the constable by the doublet and pulled him off the horse. The constable tried to strike Dane as he fell, but Dane caught his wrist and wrenched the sword off him.

  "Josie, go!" he shouted.

  I looked up to see Erik barreling towards the two self-appointed guards in the archway. They stood their ground, but were no match for a big Marginer running at full speed. One fell over and the other careened into the archway.

  With a foot to the chest of the man on the ground, Erik beckoned for Kitty and I to pass.

  We ran.

  I glanced back to see Erik removing his foot and setting off after us, Dane on his heels. The man on the ground reached up as he passed and grabbed Dane's ankle. Dane stumbled, one hand to the ground to stop himself falling completely, his other hand still clutching the constable's sword. He kicked out and the man released him, but the delay cost Dane precious moments.

  The second man charged up behind him, teeth bared, veins bulging in his neck.

  "Dane!" I screamed as the man launched himself forward.

  Dane turned and struck upwards. The sword hilt connected with the underside of the man’s chin, stopping him in his tracks. He fell backwards into the dust with a thud.

  "Split up," Dane said to Erik. "Take Kitty."

  Erik grabbed Kitty's hand and they went left, only to stop. Erik swore.

  Dane and I glanced back and stopped too. Up ahead, Lord Xavier Deerhorn sat on horseback, his jaw slack as he realized he'd stumbled upon us.

  And we were running from the law.

  “Catch them!” the constable shouted.

  Dane and I ran. All around us, shops and houses lined the street without so much as a narrow alley between them offering an escape route.

  Behind me, hooves thundered and I could swear I heard Lord Xavier's chuckle on the breeze.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see that he'd not bothered with Erik. Hopefully he hadn't even looked at Kitty, his eyes on a different prize—
me.

  The constable rode out of the stable yard, saw that we were being pursued, and took off after Erik and Kitty.

  Dear Hailia, protect them. Protect us all.

  I stumbled, only to be pulled upright by Dane. We didn't speak as we sprinted. We didn't have to. We both knew we couldn't outrun Lord Xavier on horseback. We had to find another way.

  Just as Lord Xavier rode up, hand outstretched to grab me, Dane jerked me out of his reach. We dashed around a corner into a short alley. It was empty. The upper floors of the houses on either side almost met above our heads. A slender streak of cloudy sky gave us just enough light to avoid hurtling into the cart wheel leaning against a barrel, but not enough to illuminate the dark recesses.

  It was into one of these recesses that Dane pushed me. I flattened myself against the door at my back. I expected Dane to join me, but he did not. Merdu, what was he doing! Lord Xavier would surely follow. His horse's momentum would have taken him beyond the alley entrance but not far. He’d soon circle back.

  "There'll be another for you after you tell the rider we went that way," I heard Dane say.

  Then he was pressing against me, my face in his chest, the spare sword between us. His heartbeat thundered in my ear, matching my own.

  The hooves of Lord Xavier's horse passed us and I let out a breath. We were safe.

  But Dane did not move and a moment later, the sound of the hooves returned at a more sedate pace. Something crashed and wood splintered. The barrel and wheel, most likely suffering from a blow inflicted by Lord Xavier's sword.

  Silence thickened in the small alley. A horse snuffled. A hoof clomped on the stones. "Come out," Lord Xavier growled. "I see you there."

  My heart lurched into my throat and my body suddenly felt weak, light, as if I might float away. I was only held up by Dane and the door.

  "I said come out, Josie! Or Merdu help me, I'll ram this sword down your lover's throat before your eyes."

  "Don't hurt me, sir," came a small, trembling voice.

  Lord Xavier swore. "The man and woman who came down here. Did you see where they went?"

  "That way."

  "Impossible. I would have seen them when I got to the end. There's nowhere for them to hide, nowhere for them to escape."

  "There are ways to escape, sir. There's tunnels under the buildings. The entrance is in the house with the sign of the black snake."

  Lord Xavier rode away, but Dane didn't move until the sound of the hooves on the cobblestones faded altogether.

  "You can come out now," the child said.

  Dane stepped back, releasing me. I drew in a deep breath and peered at the boy—or perhaps it was a girl—of about nine years of age, palm outstretched to receive a coin from Dane.

  "Thank you for your service," Dane said as he deposited the coin in the child's palm. "But I advise you to leave the area immediately. He'll be back when he discovers you lied about the tunnel entrance. Ingenious, by the way."

  "It ain't a lie," the child said defensively. "There are tunnels with an entrance near here. Only it's not at the house of the black snake. That's a bawdy house of a particular kind. The rough kind, if you know what I mean. Pardon me, miss."

  "It’s all right," I said, trying not to laugh in giddy relief.

  Dane and I held hands and raced out of the alley, back the way we'd entered, and headed towards the river. From there, we walked swiftly until we reached the inn where we found Kitty and Erik kissing on the bed in the room I shared with her and Meg.

  Kitty sprang up and threw her arms around me. "Thank Hailia, you're safe. We were so worried."

  "I can see that." I nodded at the bed.

  "I needed distracting. How did you get away?"

  "Through trickery and a lot of help from a street urchin. You?"

  "I stole a horse," Erik said.

  "Borrowed," Kitty said. "It was tethered outside a tavern. Once on horseback, we were able to evade the constable. Erik is an excellent horseman, and I'm quite good myself."

  Erik puffed out his chest. "We rode around Merrin until we lost the constable and then I ask a boy to take the horse back to the tavern. Then we came here."

  "You weren't followed?" Dane asked.

  Erik shook his head and smiled. "Today was a good day! We know I was in Merrin two winters ago and took the road to Freedland. We will find answers there. I am sure of it now." He clapped Dane on the shoulder.

  "It would be good news if you weren't a wanted man and Lord Xavier didn't know we were here," Dane said.

  I sat on the bed, the day's exertions beginning to take their toll on my legs. They felt heavy and my feet hurt. My spirit was affected too. Erik was right, and we had reason to celebrate after he was recognized, but the appearance of Lord Xavier worried me.

  "What's he doing here anyway?" I asked.

  "Following us," Dane suggested. "His family are not convinced we were telling the truth in Tilting when we said we didn't have the gem. I can think of no other reason why he'd leave Glancia when he should be helping his parents shore up support for Gladstow."

  His mere presence proved just how important finding the gem was to the Deerhorns. When we'd last seen her in Tilting, Lady Deerhorn had convinced me she no longer believed we possessed the gem. According to her, we would have used it to our advantage already if he we had it.

  But sending her son here proved otherwise.

  I lifted my hair off my neck to cool myself a little. It had fallen from its arrangement in the pursuit and become tangled. I pulled out the pins and tried to fix my hair back in place but my hands trembled and I made a bigger mess.

  Dane sat beside me and drew my hands away. He quietly went about pinning my hair back in place under Kitty's critical eye.

  "We'll leave tomorrow at first light," he said as he worked. "It's too dangerous to stay here now."

  "Are you all right?" Meg asked me as we ate a supper of bread, cheese and pigeon pie in the inn's dining room that evening.

  I crumbled the pie crust between my fingers and watched it form a little pile on the plate. "I've been better."

  "I can't believe Lord Xavier's all the way down here."

  "I can't believe we ran into him in a city the size of Merrin." The inn where we'd been spotted was one of the better ones, located on the main thoroughfare that led to the grand homes of Merrin's wealthy. It was where a wealthy traveler would find accommodation, but the encounter was unlucky nevertheless. Neither Merdu nor Hailia had smiled on us today.

  "Do you think he'll find us here?" she asked, looking around.

  As soon as everyone returned for the day, we'd moved to a different inn. Erik had kept his head low, a hood pulled up to hide his distinctive hair and tattoos.

  "I'm sure it will be fine," I said.

  I pushed my plate away and caught Dane watching me. He arched a brow, glanced pointedly at my plate, and mouthed, "Eat."

  I drew the plate towards me. He was right; I needed to eat. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and we couldn't take many provisions with us. We'd decided to abandon the wagon and travel on horseback out of Merrin Fahl. I only hoped my poor riding skills didn't slow us down.

  "Where are they?" came a growling voice from the taproom beyond.

  Dane and the other guards stood and drew their swords. Max and Erik exchanged worried glances while Quentin swallowed loudly. All four settled into fighting stances.

  The constable from earlier in the day barged into the dining room, sword drawn. Six more constables followed and then came a man with a sheriff’s insignia on his sleeve.

  The constable pointed his sword at Erik and Dane. "That's them."

  "Arrest them!" the sheriff barked.

  "Wait!" I cried, stepping forward.

  Balthazar caught my arm and pulled me back. "Let me handle this."

  His priest robes caught the constables by surprise. They hesitated. One turned to his sheriff for advice.

  "Move out of the way, Brother," the sheriff said. "This doesn't
concern you."

  "These men are my friends. Why are you arresting them?"

  "The Marginer has been identified as a thief."

  "A Marginer has been identified as a thief," Balthazar corrected. "Unless your witness is confident it was this one, you can't arrest him."

  "That will be for the magistrate to decide."

  "When will they go up before the magistrate?"

  "Tomorrow, or the following day at the latest." The sheriff nodded at his constables. "Arrest them."

  "Why both?" Theodore asked, stepping up alongside Balthazar. This time the constables didn't stop. They swatted both men aside and advanced.

  Quentin and Max raised their swords, prepared to strike.

  "Lower your weapons," the sheriff ordered. "Or you will all be arrested too."

  Quentin lowered his sword but Max did not.

  "It's all right, Max," Dane said. "We can't fight them. Not in here." He meant not with us standing by. He and the others might be able to defeat six swordsmen, but with three women and two unarmed men to protect as well, they might as well have one hand tied behind their backs. Our vulnerability made them vulnerable.

  They put down their weapons.

  "You haven't answered my friend's question," Balthazar said to the sheriff. "Why arrest both? You cannot accuse both of the theft."

  "I'm not arresting the second man for theft. I'm arresting him for murder."

  Chapter 4

  "No!" I rushed forward only to be caught by one of the constables. I struggled against him, kicking and punching, but it was useless and it was only making him angry.

  "I haven't murdered anyone," Dane snarled as a constable edged closer, sword raised to strike.

  "He has been here all evening." Theodore indicated the innkeeper and serving girl standing in the taproom, watching proceedings. "Ask them."

  The sheriff ordered his men to take Dane and Erik away. "This fellow struck a citizen of Merrin this afternoon outside the inn beneath the sign of the white horse."

  "The man got up," I said. "He didn't die."

  "He died later from his injuries."

  Dane frowned. "That's impossible. I struck him with the hilt of the sword beneath the chin. He remained conscious and didn't strike his head as he fell, and no blood was drawn. He can't be dead."