Healer (Brotherhood of the Throne Book 2)
Page 31
“Kane, I can tell you where the worst of the fighting is outside.” Brenna’s voice was low in the dark stairway.
Kane heard Deeley and Wils coming up the steps behind her.
“Deeley, did they find the secret entrance yet?” he asked.
“Not yet, Captain. I can’t hear more than furniture being shoved around. I suspect these guards don’t know about the secret passages.”
“I hope you’re right.” He’d rather not have to worry about fighters coming at them from behind. “Brenna.” He stopped at the top of the stairs, crowding Shelton and Culley, who had led the way. “What’s going on out there?”
She closed her eyes and then grabbed his hand. He saw many pinpricks of light - the old steel weapons, he thought in wonder. A dozen were backed up against the wall they hid inside, trying to keep their escape clear. He couldn’t tell how many of Thorold’s guards there were but they weren’t able to force the Brothers away from the wall. Another twenty or old steel weapons were clustered further away. That would be the main group of Brothers. They must already have engaged the Kingsguard.
Kane’s view expanded as Brenna searched further. There were two smaller groups heading their way. The other teams who’d been sent inside other passages. They’d heard Brenna’s call to retreat.
“That’s enough,” he said. He let go of her hand and the odd sensation of watching fell away. He didn’t want her to tire herself out - they had more to get through before they could relax. “Men, when we get out, we’ll be surrounded by Thorold’s militia. Looks like our boys are holding them off so we should be able to tip the fight in our favour.”
He stepped back to let Wils get in front of him and Brenna. The door swung open and he squinted against the brightness. Dawn had come - they had very little time left before the full force of the Kingsguard arrived.
Kane stepped out onto the ground - Brenna shadowed him as he worked his way into the center of the small group of Brothers. As much as he wanted to add his sword to the fight he wasn’t about to leave Brenna’s side again. Another group of men exited the wall a few paces away – Dasid’s team.
The twelve Brothers he’d seen through old steel ringed Kane, Brenna and their small group. One looked back and raised his sword. Kane signaled that the mission was successful - Brenna was out. Ten of Thorold’s guards ranged along the road out front, swords out.
“Let’s join the main group, men,” Kane shouted.
The Brothers surged forward and the guards were easily forced back along the road. After a few minutes they fled rather than be pushed into the Brotherhood’s main fighting force. Dasid met up with him as they merged with the main group.
“Glad to see you safe Brenna,” Dasid said. “Are we ready to go?”
Kane nodded. “Most of the men will try to slip away slowly and either make for Aruntun or Fallad.” He turned to Brenna. “The horses are down by the river.”
“Will these men be all right?” Brenna asked.
“Most will,” he saw her face pale at his words. “Some will die - they knew that was a possibility. A lot of these men are former Kingsguard - they’ve understood the potential cost for most of their lives, but in order for their sacrifice to mean anything you must get away.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She brushed them away and nodded. Good, she could mourn these men later, as would he, but right now she needed to focus on escaping.
“Let’s go.” He led the way to the horses and Brenna smiled slightly when Blaze whickered at her. They mounted up and the four of them, he, Brenna, Dasid and Gaskain, rode away from the skirmish.
Getting out of the city was easier than he’d expected. Most of the Kingsguard had been pulled from duty and sent to Duke Thorold’s estate. The single guard on the gate had simply watched them ride through. Kane looked around at his companions. He couldn’t really blame the guard - now that it was light out he could see how battered and bloody they were.
They reached the ferry at midmorning. Once across they took some time to wash the worst of the blood off themselves. Cleaner and slightly refreshed, they settled in to a better pace.
Even though they were in Comack, they met up with one of Duke Ewart’s patrols late in the afternoon.
Brenna would have fallen if a young militiaman hadn’t caught her when she slid off of Blaze.
“Thank you,” she mumbled. She turned to try to grab her saddle bag.
“Let me,” the soldier said. He quickly untied her bag and handed it to her. “Don’t worry about your horse. I’ll make sure she gets taken care off.”
Brenna smiled gratefully and let him lead Blaze away. She clutched her bag to her chest and wandered over to a tree. Since someone was already getting a fire going she was going to mix a big batch of a restorative tea. She untied the left pocket of her saddlebag and stuck her hand into it. She smiled. Madelay, she thought. She pulled out a cloth bundle and unwrapped it to find the mortar and pestle. Nestled inside the mortar was a small packet. Brenna opened it up and sniffed - ginseng and lemon balm. Madelay had even prepared a tea. She looked around. Kane was talking to Dasid and the corporal from Ewart’s militia. She should be there as well but all she could think of was how tired she was. She grabbed her pot and the packet of tea, found some water and put her tea on to boil. When it was ready, she took a mug to both Kane and Dasid. She took a third mug to Gaskain, who was slumped against his saddle watching some Brothers rub down their horses.
Finally, she took her own mug back to her tree. She leaned back and she sipped the warm liquid. Once her tea was gone she closed her eyes.
Brenna stretched her arm but stopped when it came into contact with something soft and solid. She opened her eyes to find Kane’s face inches from her own. The light of a fire illuminated his smile.
“Did I miss dinner?” she asked. Her stomach growled noisily.
“I saved you some.” Kane reached one hand past her head and returned with a wrapped bundle.
She sat up when she smelled the rich yeasty odour. She took the bundle from Kane and sniffed it.
“Bread,” she unwrapped it and took a bite. There was butter slathered on the bread and she groaned with pleasure. “Where did this come from?”
“It’s close to fresh,” Kane said. “Ewart’s men brought it - it’s from an inn they stayed at last night.” He smiled. “The same one we’ll be staying at tomorrow. We should get there by early afternoon.”
“A bath.” Brenna wrinkled her nose. “For both of us.” She took another bite of bread and leaned against Kane’s chest.
“No arguments here,” he said.
The bath was pure luxury. If poor Kane hadn’t been waiting for his turn Brenna would have happily stayed in for hours. As it was she’d left Kane downstairs cleaning his weapons over an hour ago. She put on some clean clothes, tied her wet hair back with a string, and headed down to the tavern. Duke Ewart’s men had commandeered the entire inn so they were the only ones there.
She slid onto the bench beside Kane and poured herself a mug of ale before she noticed the silence in the room.
“What’s happened?” she asked. The faces of the men surrounding her were solemn. Puzzled, she looked at Kane.
“We’ve just had a runner from Kingsreach,” Kane said. He grasped her hands in his and she stared down at them. “King Mattias is dead and Beldyn has been proclaimed king.”
Brenna looked up into his face and nodded. It was soon, much sooner than they’d expected. She wasn’t ready, not yet, but she had no choice.
“And so it starts,” she said. She looked around the room. All eyes were on her. The Brotherhood had waited for this moment for a very long time - now was when their real test would start. Her eyes met Dasid’s and she watched him solemnly raise his mug.
“The king is dead, long live the Queen.”