“The blazes is wrong with him?” Rowan asked, bewildered.
“I don’t know,” Colin said, equally confused.
“Will? Rowan? Colin?” Will heard the growling voice but couldn’t turn to see Ross running across the drawbridge toward the three of them, still holding Visra’s head off the dirt. The dirt that Will was staring at, his head spinning, as it darkened with the horse’s blood.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Sounds like some Thornten squires are getting a bit brazen in their training,” said Rockwood. He readjusted his seat on the hay bale outside of Visra’s stall, stretching his long legs out in front of him, and grimaced. “But how they got around the patrol is beyond me.”
Haru, leaning on the stall door, his arms crossed, and his murderous glower fixed on the floor before him gave a low huff of annoyance but didn’t answer.
“Soldiers have been getting lax and sloppy in patrolling is how,” Ross growled. “I’ll be bringing that up to the King.”
“Well, honestly, they wouldn’t think much of a bunch of kids, would they, Ross,” Rockwood sighed, an exhausted shadow crossing his face. “They’d think either that they are our squires or that it’s boys from the city playing at knights.”
Next to Rockwood, Colin shook his head. “You couldn’t have mistaken them for common folk. They had swords–good swords–and their horses weren’t just common nags. They were warhorses and good ones at that.”
“But luckily, not as good as ours,” Ross growled. “How are you, Will?”
Seated on the floor next to Visra’s stall door, Will didn’t answer, still not entirely trusting his voice. He hadn’t said a word since Ross had come to them outside the walls. He’d only watched in silence as Ross sprinted back to the castle, returning with Miller, Robin, Rockwood, and Haru. The five knights had worked in tense silence to sling ropes under Visra and, as they had managed to get the last one slid under his chest, Don had arrived leading a cart horse with a sleigh attached. It had taken all of them–knights and the three squires–to pull Visra onto the sleigh. They’d drug the horse into the barn and then pulled him into his stall before the healer had arrived, ordering Will, Rowan, and Colin out of the stall and out of his way.
And they’d been waiting ever since. The healer had set to work on treating the gash along Visra’s side but had stopped Will and Haru at the door. He, Haru, Ross, Colin, Rowan, and Rockwood, had taken their stations outside, listening to the healer’s low muttering voice, the words indistinguishable as he worked on Visra for two hours while Colin and Rowan filled the knights in on what had happened. Will was relieved they didn’t ask for his input and more relieved still when Rowan and Colin glossed past The Cutthroat Prince’s reasoning for approaching them. Instead, they made it sound like he had found them by accident and hadn’t the slightest idea or interest in who any of them were. Ross’s brow had furrowed at that and Will wondered if he had understood what wasn’t said.
“He’s got a good chance, Will,” Ross said, his growling voice softening when Will didn’t answer. “But he’s exhausted and who knows what might have been on that blade.”
Will nodded mutely, staring at the floor in front of him.
“And you say the only names you heard were Draccart and what else?” Rockwood asked and Will was thankful for the distraction.
“Resben,” Colin answered, nodding.
“All of them shall hence forth be known as the Stupid Squire Squad,” Rowan decided. “Because they’re stupid.”
Rockwood and Colin both stifled choking laughter and Ross growled and raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Alamore help the day you become a knight, Lonric.”
“They didn’t seem like squires.” Will’s voice cracked from the hours of silence. All of them turned to him, even Haru who hadn’t taken his eyes off the ground since taking his stance against the stall door.
“What makes you say that?” Haru asked, frowning.
“Like Colin said,” Will said, his voice hoarse, “their swords and horses were expensive. They knew…” he caught himself on the verge of saying they knew who I was but managed to stop the words from slipping. “They knew a lot about Alamore I think.”
He knew by the flash that crossed Ross’s eyes that he had understood what he, Rowan, and Colin weren’t saying after all.
“Squires of higher-ranking nobles will have nicer things in Thornten,” Rockwood offered, shrugging. “I mean, it’s their tradition. I’m sure Robin had the best horses as King Tollien’s squire and, as for this lot, probably squires to Lords and Dukes.”
And Princes, Will wondered darkly. Could The Cutthroat Prince be that? The squire of Marl? It made sense. It would be like Marl to send a squire to hunt Will down when he knew the Ranger and half the knights of Alamore were hunting him.
“The other weird thing if they were squires,” Rowan said, breaking the silence, “is that they were in Alamore. I mean, really, do you think Tollien would order squires to Alamore?”
“They might not be here on Tollien’s orders,” pointed out Rockwood. “Don’t give me that look, Rowan. Finding trouble and being where you shouldn’t be is not a quality exclusive to Alamore squires.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time that Thornten squires have done something like this.” Ross leaned his back against one of the stalls, his face darkening. “We’ve had attacks from young knights, older squires, those who have thought they could go rogue in Alamore and win some favor. More often than not they’ve gotten themselves killed or captured.”
“I would like to kill them,” Rowan snarled, scowling at the ground.
“Judging by what happened, that feeling sounds mutual,” Rockwood rebuked, smiling sadly.
A sound behind Will made him turn and Haru hurried to straighten as the stall door opened. Will sprang to his feet, heart in his throat and stared at the healer, stepping calmly out of Visra’s stall.
Wiping his hands on a rag, the round-faced man frowned at them, eyes shifting from the knights to the three bedraggled squires. “You didn’t think that maybe you should take them to get treated while I treated the horse?”
“They weren’t going to go even if we ordered it,” Ross said flatly.
The healer rolled his eyes. “Alamore, all knights and squires are the same, I swear.”
“How’s Visra? Is he going to be okay?” Will demanded. He made to move around the healer, but the man stepped sideways, blocking his path.
“You’re not going in there. No, not you either,” he snapped as Haru stepped forward. “That horse needs rest. The wound will take some time to heal but yes–I think it will heal. We’ll have to keep an eye for infection and check that the stitches hold. My bigger concern is that the blade that cut this horse seems to have been treated with Inanimus.”
Will didn’t understand and saw his confusion mirrored on Rowan, Colin, and Haru’s faces. But Rockwood’s face turned unusually grave and Ross’s eyes hardened.
“Inanimus?” Will asked slowly. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Not surprising,” the healer grumbled. “There’s never enough focus on foreign medicines or poisons here… Inanimus is a toxin that, if inhaled, can render someone unconscious. It causes headaches when people wake but those tend to fade quicky which means it’s often used to sedate people. But, if it is administered through the bloodstream, that pain sets in sooner and with more intensity. It spreads through the entire body. It can cause someone to lose control of their limbs and be unable to stand or walk. Depending on the amount given, it can be lethal.” The healer blinked, seeming to notice their stricken faces and shook his head. “Your horse didn’t get enough to kill it. That animal weighs a lot more than a man. No, it was only enough to knock him down by the time he got here. The mixture of exhaustion, blood-loss, and the toxin coursing through his body from running all caused him to fall.”
“But he should heal?” Haru pressed.
“I said that didn’t I?” grumbled the healer. “Let him rest. I don’t f
ully trust how he’ll act as he’s waking up. I’ve not had much experience with Inanimus, especially not in horses. As I said, it’s not from here.”
“Where’s it from then?” Will asked.
It was Ross who answered, his voice a low growl. “Kelkor.”
Will saw Rowan and Colin exchange sharp looks and had to focus as not to let his own surprise show. “How would a Kelkor poison get into Alamore lands?”
“It’s sold through black markets often enough to reach these parts,” Rockwood added quickly, shooting Ross a questioning frown. “If I’m not mistaken, the Ranger said that’s how you three got caught last year.”
Will nodded. What the healer had described matched the means with which Marl had captured them the winter before. “Yeah, it must have been that.” Still, he couldn’t shake the dark thought forming in his mind.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” the healer sighed, closing the stall door behind him. “I’d like to go to bed. If you need treatment, go to the healing chamber. I’m not doctoring humans in a barn.” With that he wheeled round, stalking out of the barn.
“Old wart,” Rockwood said, laughing and clapping Will on the shoulder. “But you heard him, the horse’ll be fine.”
Will nodded, stepping toward the stall and peering through the bars. Visra was lying on his side still, eyes closed, but his sides rose and fell with a slow even breath. Will felt Haru come to stand beside him.
“I think it’s time we all get some rest,” Ross growled. “It’s been a long enough day without this adventure on top of it.”
“So, you’re saying you don’t want to go on anymore adventures?” Rowan asked mischievously.
“No!” Ross snapped.
Will turned away from Visra’s stall, exhaustion washing over him.
“Yeah, I’m in agreement with Ross. If you three aren’t needing the healer to look after you, it’s time for bed,” Rockwood grinned ruefully. “And try not to stay up all night telling the other squires of your madness and adventures. We don’t need to be giving them any ideas.”
“You’re no fun,” Rowan complained.
“He’s right, Will,” Haru muttered, gripping Will’s shoulder tightly then stepping away. “You need some rest. It’s been a long enough day and we’re still going to have work to get done tomorrow.”
Will hesitated, his hand gripping the bars that separated him and Visra. He wished he could stand there all night, guarding over the horse that had risked his life to save them.
Feeling the eyes of his companions heavy on his shoulders, Will pried his fingers loose of the bars and turned away. He fell into step with Rowan and Colin, leading the small party from the barn and into the courtyard. Night had truly fallen. Distant clouds blotting stars. The shivering shadow of silver moon was a hazy glow above, casting an eerie quality to the trees around them. The few lit torches along the wall distorted their shadows, stretching them far ahead of the three squires.
“Is it me or do the knights not seem real bothered by what happened? Like they’re concerned cause it was us, but not worried about the Cutthroats,” Rowan hissed in an undertone with a cautious glance over his shoulder. “Like do you think they we didn’t tell them everything or…”
“I don’t think so.” Colin shook his head, scowling. “I think the reason they don’t seem as worried as we are is they don’t know the full truth. They don’t know what that Cutthroat Prince was saying, or that he knew Will, or any of that.”
Will nodded, guilt twisting inside him. “I feel like I need to tell Haru the truth now though.”
“But the Ranger said not to,” Colin whispered. “He’s worried and this has to be part of why he was.”
“He’s worried because there’s a spy. I don’t think that’s Haru,” Will said flatly.
“I don’t think we have any idea who it is,” Rowan mumbled. “I mean, maybe an idea but…”
“You think it’s her, too, then?” Will asked sharply. They had to wait to continue their conversation until they’d slipped through the black double doors and into the entry hall.
“It seems a bit fishy,” Rowan admitted, shrugging. “She shows up and there just so happens to be a bunch of bone heads with cloaks? Not to mention the imadee, imaergus, imma-”
“Inanimus,” Colin corrected, frowning. “Seriously, Rowan, do you not listen or is your memory that bad?”
“It’s a weird name,” Rowan said defensively.
“It is fishy,” Will agreed. He heard the knights turning out of the corridor, through the side door that led up to the knights’ tower. “You think the knights are thinking the same thing?”
“I don’t think so,” Colin muttered, shaking his head. “It seems too obvious. I mean, they might question her, but I don’t feel like she’d be the spy.”
“Ross just said that toxin, the weird name thingy, is from Kelkor!” Rowan said, smacking himself in the forehead. “And you aren’t suspecting the rider who just showed up out of the blue from Kelkor? Come off it, Colin! You’re supposed to be the smart one of us!”
“I’m trying to be the logical one,” said Colin coolly. “And that’s not a logical solution. It’s too simple.”
They stepped into the darkness of the dinner hall. Someone had extinguished most of the torches, leaving only the two that flanked the squire chamber door at the far end of the massive hall.
“What I want to know,” Will said, pausing and turning to face his friends, “is who this Cutthroat Prince was. I agree with you two on that; he wasn’t old enough to be a knight. But I’m not sure I’m buying that he’s a squire either.”
“Unless he was Marl’s squire,” Colin offered.
“I’ve thought about that too, but why would Marl not have him kill me then? Why bother bringing me back to Thornten? They said it’s because I’m an heir but that’s just it. I thought that was the reason they wanted me dead, because he and Tollien see me as a threat and a future challenge for that stupid throne.”
“You’re probably the only person who would think the idea of taking a throne that you’ve got birthrights to is stupid,” Rowan commented, smirking.
“Well, I don’t want it,” Will growled, scowling down at his boots for a moment. The memory of Visra crumpling flashed through his mind and he shook his head in a futile attempt to clear it. “It’s not worth what they think it is.” He could tell his friends had understood what he meant.
Colin sighed, running his hand over the back of his neck. “But you heard the healer. Visra will be fine. He probably wouldn’t have even fallen if it wasn’t for the Inanimus.”
“But what if it’d been us,” Will demanded, looking up sharply. “That took Visra down. If that was strong enough to knock down a horse, it could have killed you or Rowan and it would have been because of who I am.” The truth of his words crashed over him and his shoulders slumped. “You two are putting yourselves at risk being around me, and so is everyone else, including Haru and he doesn’t even know it.”
“We’re training to be knights,” Colin said, and Will was surprised to see his friend was smiling slightly. “Not sure if you’ve realized it yet, Will, but knights tend to get attacked, injured, and killed.”
“An occupational hazard,” Rowan added, beaming. “So don’t go getting all sappy and self-centered that it’s your fault we got into danger. In case you’ve forgotten, I was the one to open the tunnels. Remember that? The tunnels? Full of murderous people and Airagon? Yeah, that wasn’t anything to do with you so don’t be so hard on yourself. Haru knows to watch his back and, honestly, we all know what being a squire means. Means a lot of thinking ‘this could kill me or be a cool story.’”
Will couldn’t help but laugh, albeit grudgingly.
“But Ross was right,” Colin said, trying to hide a yawn in the crook of his elbow. “It’s late. We’ve got to get rested up. I wouldn’t put it past the knights to have us going through an exhausting training tomorrow.”
They agreed and crept across the roo
m and into the squire chamber in silence. Still, long after Will had climbed into bed and heard Rowan and Colin’s breathing deepen, he couldn’t sleep. His mind was alert, racing, spinning with thoughts and visions. Despite what Colin had said, he was sure that Haru couldn’t have anything to do with what had happened. But, if that was the case, he wondered as he tossed onto his other side, why was it such a relief to hear Colin say he should listen to the Ranger and not tell anyone? Was he a coward for that? Was it fear of how Haru might react that made him so eager not to explain the truth?
And, what about the Ranger’s other warning? He’d told Will to avoid this Lady Serena knight. Surely that meant something. How could Colin brush away those blinding facts so easily? The toxin that had nearly killed Visra was from Kelkor, where this woman was supposed to be from. Even if Marl had used it last year, it felt too coincidental.
The hours slipped by his mind, never slowing. Not even when his breathing deepened, and eyelids sank closed. The thoughts were there waiting in the darkness of sleep, already twisting into nightmares.
CHAPTER SIX
The following morning Will was surprised when Haru told him, Rowan, and Colin to wait at the breakfast table once they had finished eating.
“I thought we were practicing early this morning?” Will asked, bewildered.
“I thought so too,” Haru grumbled. Will noticed that the young knight looked as exhausted as he felt. “Turns out, however, that your little adventure got the King’s attention.”
“Meaning we’re getting an award or what?” Rowan asked, sitting up straighter, his fork halfway to his mouth and dripping yellow egg yolk over the table.
“Meaning you’re going to a council,” Haru said, raising his brows. “And you’re also making a mess, so get that eaten and get to the council. Some of the knights don’t care for waiting around.”
“Yes, Sir,” Colin and Will said in unison.
The Cutthroat Prince (William of Alamore Series Book 2) Page 8