“Stop here,” Haru ordered.
Will obeyed. They were almost to the end of the alleyway. “We’re almost there, Haru.”
“I know,” Haru said coldly. He was watching Draccart, eyes narrowed. “But we’ll move faster without him.”
In one swift movement, Haru pulled the dagger away from The Cutthroat Prince’s neck and shoved him forward with all his strength. Taken aback by the sudden movement, The Cutthroat Prince fell, sprawling onto the street. Draccart screamed and sprang toward the Prince. Will watched him reach down to help his leader back to his feet but The Cutthroat Prince smacked him away, trying to sit up.
“Get your hands off me! Get them!”
“Come on!” Haru grabbed Will’s arm, dragging him the remaining distance down the alley and into the street beyond. They almost collided with a woman carrying a basket of dirty clothing, Will pulling Haru to the side a moment before they knocked into her. She screamed, the basket flying into the air, clothing scattering over the street.
“Sorry!” Haru called over his shoulder as he and Will took off running again, sprinting for their lives down the street, toward the throng of market shoppers. “We need to get lost in the crowd! Keep your head down, don’t let that sword hit anyone!”
Overhead thunder growled and the sky shattered. Rain started to fall, cold and biting. Still, they ran, through the driving rain, the wind whipping around them. Over the howl of the wind, Will heard the woman scream again and twisted round, panic rising. He caught sight of her running through the door of a nearby house, her basket forgotten on the ground. The reason for her flight was obvious, rushing toward them.
The riders had arrived. Five of them, riding hard, were streaming into the road from more alleyways. People were springing out of the way to avoid being trampled, shouts and cries echoing down the alleyway.
“They’re getting closer,” panted Will. He stumbled, almost dropping the sword he still clutched, but righted himself and ran on. Will found his boots slithering over the rain slick ground. “We can’t outrun them!”
“We aren’t going to try,” Haru snapped. “Just a little further and we can…” Haru didn’t finish his sentence, instead redoubling his efforts to continue running.
People were rushing from the streets, slowing their progress as vendors hastened to shelter their goods, mothers herding children out of the mud. At their backs, the horsemen were bellowing at people to move, their voices growing closer.
Will’s lungs burned, his muscles jumping, and the sword in his hand felt like it was pulling him to the ground. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep running and, with the streets emptying, they would soon be obvious.
“Here!”
Haru pulled Will to the side, almost falling over a goat being led by a portly man, who swore at them. The knight didn’t seem to notice, too intent on shoving through the door of the building next to them. Staggering through the door, Will straightened as Haru snapped the door shut behind them, plunging them into darkness.
There was a muffled thud as Haru pressed his back against the door, panting. “Pass me that sword, Will.”
“Oh, right.”
He’d forgotten he still clutched the blade. Handing it to Haru, he took in his surroundings, water pooling at their feet. Now that they weren’t running he recognized his surroundings. A stairwell led to a walkway that twisted above them while doors were set into the walls. Tables crowded the dark room, lanterns hanging above several and a line of candles burning on the bar that took up the center of the room. Behind the bar, reflecting the flickering flames, was a wooden sign depicting a silver stag on its hind legs, a golden mandolin tangled in its antlers.
The place was empty, eerie in its darkness. He’d never seen it without a crowd and rarely before night. The only times he’d entered were as a child, looking for Marl.
“The Dancing Stag?” Will asked, turning to his knight.
“Yeah.” Haru nodded, still winded. The knight’s face was drawn, his hair plastered over his pale skin. “And we need to keep moving. They’ll think to knock in doors before too long. See if you can’t shove a table or two over here. We’ll block them as best we can, give us some time.”
Snapping back to his senses, Will darted toward one of the tables and threw his weight against the solid wood. It scraped against the floor, the timbers groaning in protest, and Will winced. The sound seemed enough to wake the dead.
“Hurry,” Haru hissed.
Will pushed harder, straining to move the table when one of the doors burst open. He recoiled from the table, grabbing the stolen dagger from his belt.
“The blazes do you lot think you’re doing, aye?”
A woman had appeared, eagle eyes flashing, framed in the light that poured from the door at her back. Despite being Will’s height and thinly built, with grey streaking her blonde hair, there was something intimidating in her stance and the knife she gripped.
“We’re closed another three hours, so get out of here,” she snapped, taking a step forward. “I’ll have none of this, making a racket and–what are you doing to that table, boy? Don’t go moving my tavern round!”
“I…” Will stopped, turning to look desperately at Haru.
His knight however was straightening, his face flooding with relief. “Anryn, it’s me.”
The woman stopped. “Alamore, I thought you were a few more of the local loons trying to play at fun. What’s going on? Knight or no, Haru, this isn’t any hour for a drink and I’m not serving the boy.”
“We’re not here to drink,” Haru said hurriedly. “We’re running right now, we just got chased in here. I don’t have time to explain but we need to get you out of here, we need to barricade the door, to-”
“That’s not going to do,” Anryn snapped. “If they can’t get in they’ll torch the tavern. Come on, quick, I’ll hide you.”
She turned back away from them, through the door. When neither Will nor Haru moved she spun back, planting her knife free hand on her hip. “Blazes you waiting on?”
“Coming!” Haru hurried forward, grabbing Will by the collar and dragging him after the woman.
“Hold on, Haru, who is this? What’s going on?” Will hissed. He wasn’t sure he liked trusting a stranger in this instance.
“She’s Sir Richard’s wife,” Haru growled. “She and Henry’s wife own this place.”
They stepped through the door that Anryn had vanished through into what seemed to be a study. One wall held shelves, a heavy table was groaning under the weight of mountains of papers, and on the faded red rug an old dog picked up his white muzzle to survey the newcomers through drooping eyelids.
“Don’t touch anything,” Anryn warned. “Haru, make yourself useful and lift that rug–get off of there, Teldax.”
The dog stood stiffly, moving off the rug as Haru crouched and pulled it up. A square door was set into the floor and Haru didn’t wait for Anryn’s order before picking that up as well, setting it aside.
“Where does it go?” Will asked, hesitant. Memories of the tunnels were freezing him to the floor.
“Under the tavern, you buffoon,” Anryn said snippily. “Now, get under there and I’ll send someone to the castle to get guards and-”
“No need to go that far.” Haru shook his head. “The King and Don are at Glimmern’s shop.”
“And they’re not being chased?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, just us.” Haru nodded.
The woman tutted, rolling her eyes. “Alamore Haru, you ought to learn to stay out of trouble, you’re making me grow old before my time.”
Haru grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”
“And dragging the youngster into your wicked ways?” she demanded, eyeing Will. “I take it you’re his squire then? Should’ve known Haru would get his squire into a mess like this before the year was out.”
Will saw Haru’s grin fade but to his relief Haru didn’t say anything, kicking his feet down into the hole in the fl
oor.
“Here, you’ll want this.” Anryn snatched up one of the lanterns from her desk, forcing it into Will’s hand. “Don’t come out till I’m back,” she ordered. “Now, go. I need to straighten up the tavern, so it doesn’t look suspicious. When the King and Don arrive, I’ll come get you, until then, keep your heads down.”
“Thank you.” Haru gripped her arm a moment and Will saw the woman’s eyes soften. Then she pulled away, waving her hands at them to hurry and tucking her knife in the belt.
Haru pushed himself forward, dropping into the darkness. Will’s throat caught and he took a step nearer, lowering the lantern into the hole. He jumped as Haru’s hand appeared, grabbing the lantern out of his grip, and stepping back out of sight.
Taking a deep breath, Will swung his legs over the hole and dropped in after Haru. His feet hit solid earth sooner than he’d expected and he stumbled with the impact, throwing out a hand to support himself on the freezing wall. Overhead the door dropped over the opening, casting them into the glow of the lantern. He straightened, nearly brushing the low ceiling. Ahead of him, Haru was seated on the floor, eyes narrowed, glowering at Will.
“So,” the knight said, a frosty edge to his voice. “Shall we discuss your being an heir of Thornten or would you prefer to continue lying to me?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Stale air tightened and Will could have sworn the walls of the small chamber closed in around them. Under Haru’s cold stare, Will lowered himself onto the floor out of Haru’s reach, running a hand through his hair.
“I didn’t want to lie.”
“Then you shouldn’t have,” Haru snapped.
Will winced. He’d deserved that. Turning to look at his knight he felt burning hot shame wash over his face. “I’m sorry. It just…I couldn’t…” How could it be that hard to tell someone?
“Alright, let’s start simple.” Haru sighed, shaking his head. “Why did you think I was a spy?”
Will looked away, face growing hot with shame. “I didn’t, not really.”
“But you accused me of that, Will, and that’s not something I take lightly,” Haru growled.
Will groaned, running his hands over face. “All I knew was that there was a spy and the Ranger seemed to know that before he left. He told me not to tell anyone, including you.” He decided it best not to mention Miller’s suspicions. That truth was one Haru didn’t need to hear.
“So, the Ranger thought I was a spy?” He didn’t have to see Haru to hear the angry expression he wore.
“I just said he didn’t know. He just wanted me to keep my head down. I think he was worried something like this might happen.”
“Alright.” Haru sighed. “I can’t get too mad about that. He’s got a point and I guess your knight would make a perfect spy for someone like The Cutthroat Prince. We’ll look past that for right now.”
Will nodded, relieved. “Good.”
“I didn’t say we were done,” Haru growled. “No, I want answers. Who all knows, Will? Does the King? Is that why he agreed to take you on as a squire in the first place?”
“I think so, but I didn’t know that then. I didn’t know anything about being related to the Thornten line until last fall, when Marl attacked Rowan, Colin, and me.”
“He told you when he captured you?” Haru asked confusedly.
Will shook his head. “He didn’t tell me. When we were making our escape, Robin found us and when he was telling me he needed me to come back with him, he said it.”
“Robin knows? He knew? What, did everyone know and no one thought to tell me?” Haru demanded. Will glanced up and saw the hurt and betrayal in Haru’s face.
“It wasn’t his secret to tell, so why should he?” Will retorted defensively.
“Because I’m your knight! He should have.” Haru shook his head and pushed himself off the ground, beginning to pace in front of Will, his head ducked to avoid scraping it along the low ceiling. “Alright, who else knows?”
“Rowan and Colin.”
Haru snorted derisively. “Obviously.”
“And the Ranger, Ross, Laster, Miller, and Rockwood, and the King.”
“So, half the knights knew this, and it never crossed your mind that maybe, you should tell me?” Haru snarled.
Anger flared in Will’s chest and he felt his hands ball into fists on either side of him. “It’s not that simple.”
“Oh? Isn’t it? You couldn’t have mentioned that your father is Tollien’s brother? Because I don’t see it as that complicated to tell the tru-”
“Do you think I wanted to tell anyone? Do you think that I have ever been proud of what I found out?” Will was on his feet, though he couldn’t remember standing.
He and Haru glowered at one another, the anger coursing through Will’s blood. “I don’t want any of this! I didn’t ask to be Marl’s son; I don’t want any tie to the Thornten throne. All I want is to be a knight!”
Haru stared at him, face unmoved, and as quickly as it had flared, Will’s anger died. He slumped against the wall, exhausted, and let his forehead fall into his hands.
“I should have told you, I’m sorry… I couldn’t do it, I didn’t want to, and the Ranger told me not to tell anyone and-”
“When did he say that?”
Will looked up. Haru’s face had changed. The anger was washing away, replaced with a pale look of dawning realization. Confused, Will frowned. “When he was last at the castle, when Lady Serena arrived.”
Swearing under his breath, Haru came to lean on the wall next to Will. He gave a low humorous laugh, before groaning and turning his head to stare at the ceiling above them. “Alamore, I’m an idiot. With how the Ranger singles you out, talks to you, I should have realized there was something else.”
“You didn’t have a way of knowing this,” Will muttered.
Haru shook his head, closing his eyes. “No, Will, I did.”
“What’s that supposed to-” Will’s question was cut off by the distant sound of something crashing.
Haru straightened, reaching for the hilt of the stolen sword at his side. Somewhere above, footfalls clattered over the wood floor. Haru shot Will a sharp look and pressed his finger to his lips in a warning. The gesture was unnecessary. Every instinct in Will’s body was telling him to be silent.
“We’re closed,” Anryn barked loudly overhead.
“Where’d they go?” Will recognized Draccart’s gruff voice.
Haru whispered a string of oaths, moving toward the trap door, hand gripping the sword tighter. Will reached for the stolen dagger at his side.
“We get a lot of people through here,” Anryn sounded unimpressed. “And I already told you, we’re closed.”
“Don’t play games, you stupid woman. The knight and squire, where are they?” The Cutthroat Prince had obviously recovered himself enough to join the hunt. Will saw Haru’s face go rigid with fury and grabbed the knight’s arm to keep him from springing back out of their hiding place and attacking. “They came this way. Tell us or I’ll torch the place to have done with it.”
“Talk to me like that again and you’ll be on your way out, either of my tavern or your life. I leave that choice to you.”
“I’ve had enough of this. Draccart, grab this foolish female and…”
The Cutthroat Prince’s words were drowned in a crash of breaking glass and a high-pitched squeal of surprise and fear.
Haru made to move but Will pulled with all his strength, stopping him. “Haru, no, we’ll make it worse! If they see we’re here!”
“But Anryn-”
“They’ll kill her or use her as bait if we show ourselves.”
Another crash and a yelp of fear and pain. They froze, listening.
“Quit throwing bottles at me, you lunatic woman!”
“Get out of my tavern and take your buffoon with you before I save myself the money on beef and serve you for the menu instead, boy.” Crash. “And clean your mouth out, you disrespectful lout.”
/> The door slammed and Will and Haru waited, holding their breath. A moment later they heard hurried footfalls and the trapdoor above them was yanked wide, blinding light pouring over them.
Anryn raised her brows at the two of them. “You both best get up in case they decide to burn the place. I’ve sent Senvren for the King’s men but can’t promise he’ll get there fast enough.”
“We won’t let them burn it down,” Haru snarled, pulling himself through the hole in the floor. He reached down, grabbing Will by the arm and pulled. They both fell onto the study floor and hurried to stand as Anryn dropped the hidden door back in place.
“Don’t be stupid. We’ll wait. They didn’t stick around long, I guess they didn’t much care for the cheaper liquor.” Anryn smiled wickedly. “You and Miller didn’t seem to mind it when you were younger, but I guess you had cheaper taste than those thugs.”
“Anryn, if we can keep them away from the outside of the tavern,” Haru insisted.
The small woman crossed her arms and Will was forcibly reminded of Sir Ross when he was in one of his immovable moods. “You think this is the first threat this tavern’s got? Anyway, I’ve watched you grow up too long to see you die fighting for a pub. Anyhow, if they can burn this place down with that rain, I’ll be more impressed than disappointed. No, Haru, not another word. The King will be here before too long and I told Senvren to get the city guard after that. They’ll be here before long.”
The sound of shouts from outside were followed by the crash of the door banging off the opposite wall. Before Anryn could stop him, Haru had drawn his sword and was rushing into the tavern, Will on his heels clutching the falcon dagger.
Glass shone across the floor, glittering in the light of the candles and lanterns. Will could see liquor spreading in dark stains like blood, reflecting the flickering glows. Someone had thrown the door wide and was shaking his head in a dog-like manner, water spraying from his hair and beard.
Hearing them enter, he straightened and grinned, his brown eyes laughing as he took in Will and Haru, Anryn hurrying into the room behind them. “A little early for a drink, isn’t it Haru?” Don asked, beaming. Then his eyes fell on the bottles and he frowned, shaking his head. “Anryn, if this is a new way of mixing drinks, I’ll have to take my business to the Piper’s Pub.”
The Cutthroat Prince (William of Alamore Series Book 2) Page 14