The Wolf On The Run (The Wolf of Corwick Castle Book 3)

by Terry Cloutier

  Emand smiled and lowered his sword. “I have enjoyed this, Hadrack. I really have. It’s brought back memories of a more youthful time.” Laurea stepped ahead of the cordwainer and she flipped her right wrist. The claws she wore on that hand came off with a snap and she dropped them to the ground. “But,” Emand continued, “time catches up to us all.” He gestured to Laurea, who was doing something with her hair. “My wife is a woman of unusual talents, as you will soon bear witness to. Observe.”

  Laurea withdrew her hand, and I saw she held a flat, metallic disc with knife-like spikes jutting out all around the exterior. She threw sideways without any warning and I cried out, my right leg giving way beneath me as the disc caught me just above the knee, burying deep into my flesh. I snarled in anger as I fought to rise while Emand moved to stand beside his wife. She withdrew another of the spiked weapons and grinned at me, showing long yellow fangs as she threw again. I tried to spin away, losing my balance as the steel points ripped along the meat of my left shoulder before the disc disappeared into the spring. I wobbled, then fell flat against the rock on my stomach as Malo’s sword skittered away. Laurea stooped and picked up her claws, putting them on as she stalked toward me. I began to drag myself toward my sword, while behind me, I could hear Laurea’s breathing rasping in her chest in excitement. I felt the cold metal of her claws on my boot, the touch almost a gentle caress.

  “I’ve got you now,” Laurea hissed, the first words that I had ever heard from her.

  I looked at her over my shoulder. “Who’s got who, you ugly bitch?”

  Laurea’s eyes widened as I grabbed her cloak by the collar. I yanked her toward me and smashed my forehead into her face, squashing her nose and breaking off several of her teeth. The woman squealed as I switched my grip to the back of her neck just as one of her claws caught me on the right cheek, tearing open the skin. I could feel the warm blood flowing, but I ignored it as I twisted and slammed Laurea’s face into the rock floor. I heard bones snapping and I drew her back up, then smashed her down again, then a third time just to be sure. I tossed her limp body aside just as Emand reached me and put his sword to my throat. Tears were rolling unashamedly down Emand’s cheeks as we stared at each other wordlessly. I could see my death in the little man’s eyes.

  “Is she dead, Hadrack?” Emand finally asked, his voice quivering.

  “Oh, she’s dead all right,” I grunted. “I think she was still alive after the first two times, that’s why I did it again.” I glared up at him in challenge. “I found it very satisfying.”

  Emand glanced at Laurea’s twisted body, and he nodded numbly. He slowly squatted in front of me so that we were eye to eye. The man might be grieving, but the sword he held to my throat never wavered an inch.

  “I am going to kill you,” he said flatly.

  “Yes, I’m aware of that,” I responded.

  “Tell me where the codex is hidden and I will make it quick.”

  “No.”

  Emand sighed. Tears were still clinging to his cheeks, yet he ignored them. “My wife made these herself,” he said sadly, gesturing to the steel half-buried in my leg. He wrenched the disc out in one quick motion as I screamed in surprise, then he casually tossed it aside. “I imagine that hurts,” Emand said dispassionately. He pressed the blade of his sword tighter against my neck. “I recommend that you don’t move, Hadrack.” Emand reached into the gaping wound in my leg and began to poke around inside with his fingers. I screamed in agony, holding my body as rigid as I could as I felt the blade at my neck bite into my flesh. Finally, Emand grunted in satisfaction, and he withdrew his bloody fingers. I almost sobbed in relief. “Now, my friend, I will ask you again. Where is the codex hidden?”

  “You were right, Emand,” I managed to rasp out. “I did lie to you. Sabina isn’t a whore at all.”

  “Is that so?” Emand said, looking unimpressed.

  “Yes, she knows everything I do about the codex.”

  Emand chuckled. “Do you think telling me something that I already know will save you somehow?”

  I shook my head. “No, I just feel bad about calling her a whore. I wanted you to know that before she bashes in your skull.”

  “What?” Emand grunted in surprise.

  The cordwainer turned just as Sabina swung a thick branch, catching him squarely across the temple. The little man groaned and dropped to his hands and knees as Sabina struck him again, this time across the back, snapping the branch in two. I grabbed for the sword in Emand’s hand, but he clutched at it possessively. Emand’s face was covered in blood, but I could see the fire of determination burning in his eyes as we struggled over the weapon. He was surprisingly strong for such a small man. Sabina hovered over us with the remnants of her branch, waiting for another chance to strike.

  “You bastard!” Emand hissed in my face.

  Our noses were almost touching, and I grinned at him. “Tell your wife the Outlaw of Corwick says hello,” I growled. I let go of the sword and grabbed Emand by the shoulders, then smashed my forehead into his face just like I’d done to his wife. The cordwainer gasped and he wobbled in my grip as his sword fell from nerveless fingers, landing with a splash into the bubbling spring behind us. I wrapped a hand around the little man’s neck. “And while you are at it,” I whispered. “Say hello to The Father as well.”

  Then I shoved Emand backward, knocking him down the spring bank and into the boiling water below.

  My leg injury was severe, and progress through the undergrowth was slow and frustrating as we headed north along the western wall. We kept expecting to see the Tapeau tunnel at any moment, only to be continuously disappointed as the hours slowly went by. Sabina had bound my wounds and most of the bleeding had stopped, but even so, I still felt weak, lightheaded, and disorientated. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to make it more than a few dozen steps if it wasn’t for Sabina’s help.

  The gorge was cast in deep shadows when we finally reached the end of it, but the tunnel wasn’t there either. I collapsed to the ground in exhaustion as I stared bitterly at the jumbled rock wall facing us. Oasis had originally been open to the north, but the cliffs to either side had collapsed long ago, boxing it in. Whether this had been the work of men or the gods themselves, I had no way of knowing. Nor did I care much at the moment.

  “We must have missed it somehow,” Sabina said in dismay.

  “We didn’t miss it,” I said, knowing that I was right. “The Tapeau lied to Emand, Sabina. The tunnel must be along the eastern wall.”

  Sabina knelt beside me and inspected my bandages. “Well, wherever it is, we’ll have to find it in the morning,” she said. “You can’t go on like this.”

  “No,” I grunted stubbornly. “We have to keep moving. I just need a few more minutes to catch my breath.”

  Emand and his wife had been alone, but I knew sooner or later, others would come. If we stayed where we were, they would be sure to find us. My shoulder throbbed constantly, but the second disk Laurea threw at me had only torn off a chunk of skin in passing. I could still use the arm reasonably well. The leg was another matter. It flopped around like a headless chicken when I tried to walk and I had to drag it behind me like my father did when I was a boy. Even an experienced tracker would have little trouble following us with the trail that I had left behind.

  Sabina made a face as she unwrapped the blood-soaked bandage around my leg. “This isn’t good, Hadrack,” she said. “The wound looks like it is getting infected.”

  I had to agree with her. My leg was already leaking a yellowish fluid, with the skin around the jagged gash red and angry-looking. I thought of Emand jamming his grimy fingers in there and I cursed softly. Maybe the bastard had killed me after all.

  “Goldenseal,” I muttered. Goldenseal was a plant that Malo had used to suck the infection from Baine and Jebido’s wounds years ago. Maybe it would help. I closed my eyes as a wave of weakness settled over me. “Do you know of it?”

  “Of course, I do,” Sabin
a said, sounding relieved. “I should have thought of that. I’ll go and try to find some.”

  I nodded, wishing her luck, but was too exhausted to bother opening my eyes. I lay where I was, dozing in and out of a fitful sleep, until a sudden memory from long ago appeared in my mind. My father was leaning on his axe, sweating in the morning sunlight as he took a break from chopping wood. I remembered the moment vividly from my childhood. I was sitting on the fence near the sty and marveling at my father’s great muscles as curious pigs snuffled and snorted behind me. I was five years old.

  “You must always be aware of your surroundings, Hadrack,” my father said to me gravely. “Danger can appear from places where you least expect.”

  “What danger, Father?” I asked innocently as only a boy of five could. “We’re safe here, aren’t we?”

  “People like us are never safe anywhere, Hadrack,” my father replied. He swept his hand out. “When you look around, what do you see?”

  I let my gaze slowly wander the farm and fields as my father waited patiently. My mother and sister were tending to the garden near the house, crouching down around the onions and beets. My mother stood stiffly as I watched, stretching her back as she peered east to where my brother, Lallo, worked digging rocks from the field. She waved and he waved back. I grinned and turned to my father, confident that I knew the answer. “I see my family,” I said.

  My father laughed. “Of course, that’s obvious. But it is the things that are less obvious that require better attention.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because the world is a harsh place, lad, with even harsher men in it. That is why you must always be aware.”

  “I’m not afraid,” I said proudly. “I’m going to be big and strong, just like you.”

  “And because of that, you think that I don’t know fear?” my father rumbled, looking amused.

  I could feel my eyes widening. The idea that my father could be afraid of anything seemed impossible. I shook my head. “Of course not.”

  “All men know fear, Hadrack,” my father said. “At least the wise ones do,” he added.

  “Well, I won’t be afraid of anything,” I proclaimed. I stood up, balancing on the railing of the fence. I swung my arm as though it held a sword. “I’ll be a great warrior and kill my enemies by the hundreds. The King will recognize my deeds and reward me with land and title. You will see, Father.”

  My father frowned, looking uncomfortable. “I fear you may be right about that.” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “But not today, eh?” he said after a moment with a wry grin.

  A dragonfly droned past me and I focused on it, mimicking the insect’s flight in the air with my hand, my battle forgotten. I laughed as it swooped around me curiously before landing in my hair. “Look, Father!” I shouted gleefully. “Do you see? I’m the King of the dragonflies!”

  My father chuckled, shaking his head as he took up his axe again. “Maybe you are. Maybe you are at that.”

  I snapped open my eyes, brought back to the present by the sounds of someone moving nearby. “Sabina?” I called out hoarsely.

  “Not so loud!” came back the hushed response.

  I waited, reaching for my sword as Sabina’s shadowy form appeared through the brush.

  “There are men with torches coming this way,” Sabina whispered as she crouched down beside me.

  I nodded wearily, not surprised. “Help me to my feet,” I grunted.

  Sabina held up several plants that she clutched in her hand. “First, the goldenseal.”

  I shook my head firmly. “There isn’t time for that. We have to go now.”

  “Go where?” Sabina asked.

  I pointed east. “That way. Maybe we can find the tunnel before they find us.”

  We started off, moving slowly as Sabina did her best to take as much of my weight as she could. The pain was excruciating, and after ten stumbling steps, I paused to pick up a small stick, which I planted firmly between my teeth to keep myself from crying out. The gorge was almost half a mile wide, but it felt ten times that width before we finally reached the eastern wall. We paused against the sloping, uneven rock as I fought to stay upright. I could see torches burning through the trees and hear the calls of the men as they searched for us. Soon, I knew, they would locate our tracks heading east.

  “What now?” Sabina asked.

  I closed my eyes, willing my mind to focus. “Can you go back and erase our trail?” I finally asked.

  “All the way?” Sabina muttered doubtfully. “We don’t have that much time.”

  I shook my head as I sucked in much-needed air. “No, just the last thirty feet or so.”

  “And then what?” Sabina asked.

  “And then we go up,” I said, slapping the rock face behind me. The ground along the cliff's base was made up of solid bedrock, scrubbed clean of soil from the wind. I knew we would leave no trace behind once we were above the floor of the gorge. The trick, of course, was going to be in the climb. Would I be able to manage it?

  The look on Sabina’s face told me all I needed to know about what she thought about my plan. She turned wordlessly and disappeared, returning in less than ten minutes.

  I pointed upward when she joined me. “See that ledge there, about fifteen feet above us?”

  Sabina peered up into the gloom. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I see it.”

  “Can you climb up there?”

  Sabina took a deep breath. “I think so. But it doesn’t look like much to me.”

  “There’s only one way to find out,” I grunted.

  Both the sacks of provisions that I had carried were lost—one shredded by Laurea’s claws, the other when Emand kicked it into the spring. I’d gathered what scattered food I could, and Sabina had used the torn canvas for bandaging. I had almost thrown the rope away that held them around my neck but decided to hang onto it at the last moment. Now I was glad that I had as I offered it to Sabina. “When you get up there, tie the end of this to something, then empty your sacks of food and tie the rope to them. It should be long enough to reach me.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Sabina said, looking up again. “We don’t even know how wide that ledge is.”

  I pushed Sabina forward. “We will just have to leave that part to the gods.”

  The valley wall sloped at an angle, steep, but not impossible. I grimaced. Not impossible for someone with two good legs, anyway. Sabina began to climb carefully, thrusting her hands and feet into crevices or whatever else she could find.

  Small rocks clattered down around me and I looked up in alarm. “Sabina?” I hissed. “Are you all right?”

  I heard a grunt come back, but that was all. The girl’s dark cloak was lost to me now in the shadows of the wall. Finally, something whispered back and forth against the rock above my head. It was one of the canvas sacks dangling from a rope. I reached up, just able to grab onto it with my right hand. I gave an experimental tug, satisfied when it held firm.

  “All right,” I said under my breath. “This is going to hurt. A lot.”

  I reached as high as I could with my right hand, then, fighting the urge to cry out, I lifted my injured arm and wrapped the cloth around my hand. Then I pulled upward, fighting a wave of nausea as my wounded shoulder protested. I paused for a heartbeat, dangling off the ground and praying the rope would hold, then I propped the foot of my good leg on an outcrop of rock to support me. I counted to three, then pushed off with my foot and pulled myself upward at the same time. I could see Sabina’s shadowy form leaning out above me with her hand outstretched. I pulled myself up with brute strength alone, trying to be quiet, until finally I reached the top.

  Sabina helped me over the jagged lip and onto the surface of the ledge, which proved to be much wider than I could have hoped. I lay where I was, gasping for air as the excited calls from the searchers grew louder. I could see the reflection of their torches dancing on the rock face above me now as Sabina carefully drew up the rope. Then I felt her
probing fingers on my body as she began to work in the darkness on my leg. I could hear her chewing the goldenseal leaves into a paste and smell the acrid stink of it before finally she pressed the result firmly into my wound.

  I closed my eyes through it all and said nothing, listening to the pounding of my heart and trying not to concentrate on the pain wracking my body. When Sabina was done, she rewrapped my bandages and lay down beside me as the calls of our pursuers echoed out across the gorge. I felt her hand slide into mine as she nestled her body against me.

  Sabina mumbled something into my shoulder—I don’t know what—before exhaustion overcame us both and we slept.

  19: Feverfew

  When dawn broke the next day, I awoke to the distinctive songs of nightjars as they feasted on insects and fluttering moths in the growing light. Sabina was snoring softly beside me, her hair hanging fetchingly over half of her face. I sat up slowly as pain wracked my body and peered over the edge of the ridge. I was relieved to see that there were no signs of our pursuers from the night before. The valley floor was alive with other types of movement, however, as arrogant, shrill jays, odd-looking crossbills, and tiny yellow warblers, as well as reptiles and small mammals, moved through the trees and undergrowth. Sabina muttered something beside me and she clutched at me possessively before starting to snore again. I gently removed her hand and shook her shoulder.

  “Sabina?” I whispered. “Wake up.”

  Sabina’s eyes opened and she smiled when she saw me leaning over her. I shifted position on the stone without thinking and had to squash a scream as searing pain shot through my leg. Sabina saw the anguish on my face and she sat up quickly in concern, then carefully unwound the bandage on my leg. She made a face at the putrid smell. My leg looked swollen and angry from below the knee, almost to my thigh. The wound itself was packed with half-chewed goldenseal paste covered in pink and yellow slime. Sabina used her fingers to cautiously remove the paste, constantly dabbing with the filth-covered bandages as pinkish fluid oozed out over the lips of the cut. The skin all around the wound was puckered a strange yellow, with hints of black throughout. I also had a long gash on the outside of my thigh where Laurea’s claws had raked me that was crusted over with blood. Sabina put her hand on my forehead, looking worried.