There was a soft rustle in the branches beside me as my companion, a youth named Kipp, shifted his position. He drew an arrow from his quiver but didn’t nock it to his bowstring yet. A careful examination of the woods around us belied the impression we were alone. There were nearly a dozen others of us strung out along the tree line, ducking behind stumps and lying low beneath piles of brush and bracken. We didn’t have the travelers outnumbered, but the better part of their party were children and old folk, and we calculated we had more than enough men to quell any resistance they might offer. We’d been lurking here in the shadows for an hour, since Ladley had first brought us word which road our prey followed, and I had long ago grown impatient.
Now I shifted my weight, flexing the muscles in my cramped calves as I counted heads in the train winding slowly into sight. Two wagons led the way, the first an open cart, the second a larger conveyance with a wooden frame arching over the top and a thin strip of canvas stretched over it. Several small heads ducked from beneath the roof of this wagon, and a skinny dog trotted along in its wake. I summed up the two drivers, both old men, and the trailing handful of travelers on foot. Half of them were women or youngsters. Bringing up the rear of the procession, a broad man in the now-familiar gray robes of a priest of the Light pulled along behind him a line of weary-looking pack animals laden with bundles. Seeing the Honored One among them, I breathed a sigh of relief Terrac wasn’t here to see us persecuting a priest. I could well imagine what he would say to that.
It appeared to me as I looked down on them that these miserable travelers could scarcely have anything worth robbing. Perhaps in our more desperate years this would have been a worthwhile catch, but these days, we rarely extended a hand toward such slender pickings. I observed as much to Kipp, who grinned.
“If Ladley says they’re worth our while, that’s good enough for me. He’s got a woman in Coldstream who tipped him off these travelers would be passing through. Information from the woods villagers is usually good.”
It was true. We had long ago formed an uneasy truce with a number of the surrounding woods villages, whose inhabitants weren’t averse to passing us useful bits of information. We occasionally ventured into their settlements for supplies, and as long as we didn’t steal anything or stir up trouble, most villagers turned a blind eye toward stealthy strangers in deerskin.
Kipp continued. “You hear what Ladley says about this caravan? He’s insisting some wealthy nobleman travels with them under the guise of a commoner to protect himself from that wicked band of thieves led by Rideon the Red Hand. Ladley claims this party comes from Black Cliffs in Cros. You imagine folk have heard of us all the way up there?”
I shrugged. “It’s not so far from here. Terrac says his old village is only a couple weeks distant. Merchants and peddlers travel a lot between Selbius and the Cros cities, and I guess they’d warn others, wouldn’t they?”
Kipp emitted a low whistle. “Infamous in two provinces. How much longer do you suppose it’ll be before the Praetor decides to take us seriously?”
I shushed him even though the caravan was too far away to hear his noise. “I don’t know.” I pointedly kept my voice low. “But Rideon will know how to handle it if trouble comes our way. His wits are a match for any Fist’s.”
“Maybe so, but I’ve got a bad feeling about all this attention.”
“I’ll be keeping my mouth shut and leaving those things to the Hand,” I said shortly. “You can start telling him how to run things if you want, but don’t expect me to back you up.”
“That’s the last thing I’d expect, the way you lick his boots these days.” He grinned as he said it, to show he only half meant the words.
He had a roguishly attractive smile. Funny, I was just starting to notice things like that. Even the once scrawny Terrac could be a pleasure to look at with his tunic off during sword practice.
I shook these distracting thoughts from my mind and returned my attention to the approaching party. I scanned their faces and dress as they drew near, but if any of them was a wealthy noblemen in disguise, none showed it. Soon they were passing beneath us. Kinsley whistled the signal, and we abandoned our hiding places to descend on the startled party. A woman screamed in fright, and many of the male travelers started and looked close to crying out themselves as our band dropped suddenly into their midst.
A few folk were stupid enough to put up a fight—two had walking sticks and one a short dagger—but our men quelled their resistance in a matter of moments with little bloodshed. Rideon preferred we not injure our victims if we could avoid it. This wasn’t sentimentality on his part; it just made sense to antagonize the Praetor as little as possible. I was glad of this rule, in view of the wailing little heads I saw poking out of the canvas-covered wagon.
We rounded up all our prisoners and ordered them to sit cross-legged on the ground. Brig and another man, Dannon, stood guard over them, clubs in hand and threatening to dash the brains out of anyone foolish enough to attempt escape. The remaining outlaws began sorting through the wagons, seizing anything of value, but I didn’t join them.
From the first, I had dashed up to hold the line on the packhorses before they could spook at the confusion and gallop off down the road. Now with one hand I loosed the knots holding the packs on the back of the first mare and began lowering the bundles to the ground. She was a cantankerous animal and made her mistrust of me obvious by sidestepping and tugging sharply to the full reach of her rope. I extended a hand to stroke her nose, but she drew back her lips and snapped dangerous yellow teeth at my fingers.
“Whoa. Easy there, lady.” I flattered soothingly. She seemed unaffected by my wheedling and stamped her feet, rolling a wild eyeball at me.
“She’s no lady. She’s a wicked old tart, that one.”
I jumped at the unexpected voice behind my ear. I tried to spin around but found myself suddenly snatched from behind, my arms pinned behind me. I kicked and wriggled desperately, cursing myself for my carelessness, but no amount of squirming could free me. My assailant’s arm may as well have been a band of iron around my chest.
“Kindly cease struggling, child, or I will be obliged to poke you in the back with this dagger, little as such a brutish act would appeal to me.”
I stiffened and ceased my struggles, feeling the sharp point digging into my back.
“That’s a good fellow,” the stranger said. “No need for violence, is there?”
I had no chance to respond. He raised his voice to shout at my comrades, who remained oblivious to my predicament. “Hold there, you thieving wretches. Stop what you are doing and take your greedy hands off those wagons. Let these good folk up, help them reload their possessions, and speed them on their way. Ignore my orders, and I’ll have no choice but to resort to force.”
My comrades paused, looking around incredulously to see who issued such outrageous orders. Then the voice of Rideon’s right-hand man, Kinsley, rose over the lull. “What is this now, Honored? I don’t know how we missed you, but settle down. You’re upsetting folk. No one’s going to suffer harm so long as they cooperate, and that includes you. Now why don’t you release our little hound there? Looks a bit white in the face.”
“No harm?” my captor demanded. “I doubt any of these people being robbed would agree with you, but we’ll not debate that. Just free them, together with their belongings, or you will find yourselves short one of your number.”
Kinsley frowned, turning to confer with Brig and a few others. The remainder of the men resumed their work, as if there had never been any interruption.
“You may as well know this is no good,” I warned my captor. “With the exception of one or two of my friends, my life wouldn’t buy you a pork pie from most of these men, let alone your freedom.”
“Not to worry, young man. I am prepared to adapt to the situation as necessary. I have fought giants and Skeltai in my time, and I think I’m a match for a ragtag band of thieves.”
Despite the co
nfident words, he planted his blade a little more deeply into my back and tightened his hold around my chest. Then, startled, he glanced down to see exactly what his grip encircled.
“Upon my ashes,” he exclaimed. “You’re a woman. Or a girl, at least.”
“A low rumor invented by my friends to plague me,” I said.
“Is that right?” He surprised me by laughing. “Well, whether you call yourself one or not, you’re still a young woman, and as a priest of the robe, I should ordinarily release you and apologize for the manhandling. Unfortunately, since my companions are in danger at the moment—or at least their goods are—you can see I’m in no position to do anything of the kind.”
“If you did, I’d kill you,” I growled. “Give me the chance and I’ll have first stab at you.”
“Mean-spirited, eh?” He sounded amused. “In that case, I suppose we’ll both just have to wait and reconcile ourselves to whatever comes.”
I felt ridiculous standing there helpless, holding a private conversation with the stranger while my companions a few yards distant were engaged in a discussion of my fate. Brig had abandoned the prisoners and hastened over to join them.
“What are they dragging their feet about?” my captor demanded in my ear. “True, you aren’t much of a prize, but one thinks they would have some dredges of loyalty.”
I shook my head and wished he would quit talking to me. He wasn’t doing this right. I determined not to speak to him anymore. I’d wait until he either killed me or lent me the opportunity to do as much for him.
I couldn’t hear the discussion playing out before us but could see Brig shaking his head angrily and knew he was arguing on my behalf. Kinsley was gesturing toward me, shrugging, and everyone else just looked confused. I had never felt so humiliated and burdensome in my life. I might have told the priest he had made an unlucky choice. He ought to have snatched a more popular captive.
But I didn’t have to, for he seemed to read my mind. “I can see you have not exactly endeared yourself to your friends, young one. This grows awkward.”
“You aren’t the one looking foolish and helpless,” I gritted out, forgetting my resolve.
“I see. You have yet to prove yourself to these ruffians, then?”
“Shut up,” I said. “We shouldn’t be talking.”
“You’re right. This hostage idea is crumbling down around my ears—not one of my prouder moments. Something tells me it’s time to act.”
The decisive words had scarcely left his mouth when he shoved me roughly aside and charged forward, dragging his sword from its scabbard as he ran. He had no sooner dived ahead than a green arrow whistled past the spot where his head had been only seconds before. The shaft, angled downward, nearly skimmed my shoulder as I tumbled to the ground from the force of the priest’s shove. As I rolled back to my feet, I scanned the treetops and was rewarded with a quick glimpse of Kipp shimmied out on a low-hanging limb, bow in hand. I turned my attention back to the melee before me.
And a battle it was, though it shouldn’t have been. A lone man clad in cumbersome priest’s robes ought to have been no match for a handful of hardened brigands. But he was. None of the outlaws had anything better than hunting knives and daggers, and they were unprepared to fend off the attack of a broadsword. The first outlaw to encounter the priest was swiftly cut down, not to stir again. A second outlaw danced in to deal a tap of his pike at the priest’s chest and was quickly slashed across the forearm for it. I didn’t see what else became of him.
I slipped my knives from their wrist sheaths and rushed to join my comrades, who were fanning out to form a ring around our sturdy opponent. As we closed in on him, the priest spun, managing to be everywhere at once. Brig had no sooner swung a powerful blow of his stave at the priest’s head, when the broadsword was there to stop it. With a single slash, Brig’s stave became two short sticks. I chose that moment of distraction to duck into the fray and jab at our enemy with one of my knives, but he avoided that too with a long sidestep and a ringing slap across my shoulders with the flat of his blade.
Seething and feeling mocked, I was pushed out of the fight by Brig, who positioned himself in front of me. I watched, helpless, as our opponent plunged his blade into Dannon’s belly and spun to lop off Ladley’s right arm, followed by his head, in two clean sweeps. The priest sustained no injuries, appearing hardly winded, and I began to believe he might finish us all.
The outlaws were clearly daunted by his skill. They stepped up their attack, and the priest became a gray blur as he spun, slashed, and blocked. Never had I seen a man fight as he did. He moved with such speed I couldn’t have targeted him even had I a bow and been competent at using it. His robes swirled outward, revealing the glint of chain mail underneath, and his eyes sparked with a fire like none I had ever witnessed. He seemed unstoppable as he slashed our disintegrating line to bits.
There were only three outlaws standing now, Brig, Kinsley, and I. The others were either dead or grounded with injuries. I suspected several feigned worse wounds than they possessed to avoid further combat with the formidable priest, and I didn’t blame them. It was unnerving being one of the few still in his path, and I felt an urge, myself, to sit out this fight.
Instead, I straightened my back and kept a ready stance, trying to appear braver than I felt. I gripped the knives in my hands so tightly my knuckles ached. Brig hadn’t given me permission to reenter the fray, but I didn’t think I could afford not to. There was a brief pause of indecision, and then Brig charged. He had collected what was left of his broken staff, and he swung this at the priest’s head while Kinsley simultaneously attacked with a dagger.
The priest raised an arm, and Brig’s cudgel glanced off his elbow with an audible crack. Our opponent’s injury must have been screaming painfully, but still he lashed out, his sword licking a shallow cut across Kinsley’s arm. Then I watched, horrified, as his blade darted for Brig. Every thought flew from my mind except the need to defend the outlaw.
I ducked beneath the oncoming blade and threw myself at our enemy’s ankles.
Chapter X
IT WASN’T A BRAVE TACTIC or well planned, but it worked. The priest rocked on his legs, I tightened my arms around his boots so he couldn’t steady himself, and he fell backward, slamming into the ground. Immediately, I heard the quick crunch of approaching footsteps signaling Brig and Kinsley moving in, and I gripped my arms more firmly around our opponent’s legs.
I heard his hand scrabbling in the dirt for his dropped blade as he grated at me, “Release me or I’ll be forced to kill you!”
I ignored his words and held fast.
“Wicked little wretch…,” he muttered.
I wasn’t in a position to see anything besides his dusty feet, but I heard the sound of his hand discovering his sword hilt. I braced myself for the blow I was certain would be forthcoming. It fell, ringing across my skull like hammer on anvil, and I saw bright lights. Stunned, I briefly lost awareness of my surroundings before consciousness came roaring back. I heard sounds of conflict around me and realized the priest had slipped out of my grasp.
Crawling dizzily to my knees, head ringing so harshly I was powerless to do more once I got there than sit in the dirt, I observed the scene unfolding before me. The outlaws stood before the priest, obviously only going through the motions of a fight they didn’t believe they could win. Kinsley’s sleeve was soaked in red, his arm hanging limp. Brig stood weaponless, as if he would clash with the swordsman bare-handed. His face spelled defeat, and my throat constricted with fear as the priest drew back his blade.
“Wait!” The unexpected shout came from Kinsley. “There’s no sense to this,” he said to the priest. “You kill us, and our lad in the tree up there will still shoot you afterward. It’ll be a short-lived victory for you.”
He indicated Kipp, crouched high in his tree.
The priest said, “Your boy would have to shoot me before I reached him, and as he has yet to do so, I suspect he lacks
either the skill or the nerve. I’ll take my chances.”
Only the way he panted between words gave away his weariness.
Kinsley said, “Kill him, kill all of us, and you only seal your fate. The captain of our band is a vengeful man with a deadly reputation. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Rideon the Red Hand.”
He paused expectantly, but if he thought to find our enemy impressed, he must have been disappointed, for the priest’s expression never altered. Kinsley frowned and continued with, “Rideon won’t let you walk free to boast of besting his men for long. You might go on for a year or two thinking yourself safe, but the Hand has a long memory and a far reach. Sooner or later, the morning will come when you wake to find your throat slit and your family drowning in their blood.”
The priest appeared unconcerned. “I have no family to fear for and, as you’ve already discovered for yourselves, my throat is singularly hard to slit,” he said. “I think you attribute more power to this outlaw captain of yours than such a man could possibly possess. Still, you’ve captured my interest. Who is this ‘Red Hand’ people in these parts speak of with such dread?”
“I offer you the chance to find out,” Kinsley said. “He’d like to meet a man with your skills.”
“An interesting offer,” said the priest. “But despite a degree of morbid curiosity, I’ve no desire to sit down opposite some murderous scoundrel as if we were on peaceable terms. It is not my habit to keep company with thieves and criminals.”
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