Marysvale

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Marysvale Page 29

by Jared Southwick


  The soldier led her down the hall towards the sound of the raucous laughter.

  “John,” whispered Hannah. “Close your mouth and stop gaping. Good boy. Now put me down and follow them.”

  I could hear Jane ask, “Aren’t you going to share that with me?”

  He handed her the bottle, as they slipped into a room and closed the door.

  I sprinted down to the door and flung it open. The man was sprawled on the floor in a small puddle of liquor and bits of shattered glass.

  Jane stood over him, still holding the broken end of the bottle.

  I relieved him of his pistol and stuffed it into my own belt.

  Jane brushed the glass off him and placed the end of the broken bottle near his hand, in an effort to make it look like he had simply passed out.

  With a smile, she looked at me and asked, “What would you do without me?”

  Before realizing what I was doing, I threw my arms around her. It startled her—and me, for that matter. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, releasing her.

  “Don’t be,” she said, drawing in so closely that we were only inches apart. “I have that effect on men, you know.”

  “Goodness,” said Hannah from the doorway. “I can’t ever leave you two alone, can I?”

  Sarah stood by, wearing a smile.

  I stepped back and muttered, “We’d better be on our way.”

  “Yes, we’d better,” replied Hannah distrustfully.

  Back in the hall, light spilled out of an open room farther down; it was also the source of the laughter. Far behind us came the sound of more laughter. Men were coming down the long corridor behind us.

  There was no choice; we had to go forward. I scooped up Hannah, while Jane resumed her position by Sarah’s side.

  We passed by the open room. A dozen men sat around wooden tables, located in front of a fireplace. The fire burned low. They were drinking, laughing, and swapping tales. Some had passed out on the floor. One noticed us and suddenly straightened up. Here it comes, I thought and waited for the alarm to rise. Instead, he raised his cup in a drunken salute, then promptly fell over backward and lay unconscious on the floor.

  Safely past the commotion, we arrived at the door. Sarah slipped the key in the lock and opened it.

  The night air felt cold and damp; the storm had moved on and was now raging off in the distance. Outside, the grounds were quiet, all the activity of the day long over. The only movement my sight revealed was of the sentries manning the wall, much fewer in number than the previous night, but still alert. There were two guards posted at the main entrance to each castle, and I assumed our castle had the same contingent. Four pair of soldiers patrolled the grounds in a circular pattern, though they appeared to be going more through the motions than actively surveying. Crossing to the stables didn’t appear to present any great challenge, more a matter of timing than anything.

  When the nearest pair of soldiers passed, we made our move. When the next pair neared, we hid behind trees. And so we weaved our way to the stables. It was much slower than I’d hoped, but still uneventful.

  At the stables, I placed Hannah on her feet while I unlatched and slowly pushed the large door open a crack. Peering inside, nothing seemed out of place, except for the sound of heavy sleeping. I motioned for the women to come. They quickly slipped in and closed the door behind them.

  After a moment of searching, I found the source of the snoring. Within the stables were two small rooms. In one laid my crossbow, absent of all but five arrows. I snatched them up and silently strung it. The other room held a grimy bed on which a smelly, muscular man slept. The butt of a pistol protruded from beneath his pillow. I quietly added it to the other one already in my belt. After locating some rope, the man finally woke to me binding his wrists, while Jane gagged him. He struggled, but with our task nearly completed, all he could do was glare at us.

  I tied his feet together, and then secured him to the bed, patted his cheek, and muttered, “Sleep tight.”

  After grabbing all the ammunition I could find, we returned to the others.

  “I don’t believe your farm is safe anymore,” I said to Sarah.

  “No,” she replied.

  “How far away is the nearest settlement?”

  “There is only one settlement close by. It’s just shy of a day and a half ride.”

  “Then we’ll make that our destination?” I suggested.

  They agreed.

  With that determined, I said, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  Sarah and Hannah stayed put; Jane didn’t. She followed me down the rows of stables.

  In no time, I had found what I was looking for. Smoke whinnied and draped his head over my shoulder in a horse-type hug.

  I patted him affectionately in response.

  The stall next to his contained Sarah’s brown mare.

  Jane took the task of saddling them while I picked out another two of the fastest horses I could find, or at least what I guessed were the best. Even more importantly, I hoped they had stamina.

  We saddled and led them back to Sarah and Hannah.

  “We’ll have to go through the main doors of the castle,” I said. “They are the only ones big and wide enough to ride through.

  “We’re going to ride through the castle?” asked Hannah somewhat dubiously.

  “Why not?” I asked. “Much quicker than walking; and there’s no question the main hallways and doors are large enough—they were built for the Brean. Do you think you can manage?”

  She nodded resolutely. “Just don’t put me on Smoke.”

  “No,” I replied. “I think I’ll ride him myself this time.”

  I carefully lifted Hannah up into a saddle. She winced in pain, but gave no complaint. I then helped Sarah onto her horse, while Jane mounted another.

  “We’ll have to deal with the guards at the doors,” I said to Jane.

  She patted her musket, “I’m ready.”

  “Is everyone else ready?” I asked.

  They nodded and gripped their reins.

  Going over to the stable door, I peeked out and watched until the patrolling soldiers passed, waiting for the largest gap possible. Then, swinging the door wide open, I leapt on Smoke and led the charge, out onto the wet grounds.

  We were halfway back to the castle when someone raised the alarm.

  “Halt,” yelled one of the patrolling soldiers. His partner turned to see what the commotion was about.

  “Halt,” he yelled again at the top of his voice. Now we had the attention of all the soldiers, including those manning the walls and guarding the doors.

  We made no attempt to stop.

  He fired a warning shot.

  We ignored it and charged on toward the castle. As we drew near, the guards at the door looked uneasy.

  One yelled, “Halt.”

  When we didn’t, they raised their muskets and aimed threateningly.

  Jane pulled up next to me and drew her musket. I did the same.

  Both sides waited tensely for the distance to close—the closer we were, the better the shot. Unfortunately, they had the advantage, as it was much more difficult to shoot accurately from a moving horse.

  A few scattered pot shots rang out from the patrolling soldiers, but they were too far away to be a concern.

  We drew within effective weapons range. Securing our reins, we both stood up in our stirrups, while using our legs to hang on and absorb the up and down motion from our mounts.

  Jane fired first. The musket erupted, with billowing smoke shooting out the end. The white plume was angrily disrupted and scattered, as she continued her charge through its midst.

  Her shot was true—a guard violently jerked and toppled over.

  Following her lead, I fired. My weapon mimicked hers, the cloud of smoke obscuring my vision. Charging through the sulfurous smell of the smoke revealed that my target still stood, calmly, in fact.

  He took his time and, deciding to take revenge on Jane,
changed his aim from me to her.

  I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to her. I kicked Smoke and he surged ahead. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to cut in front of Jane, causing her to alter course slightly and thereby putting me in the sights of the soldier.

  He fired.

  For a brief moment, I thought he had missed; but then a searing pain roared across my side, just above my belt. The force from the little ball felt like I’d been hit with a large, heavy hammer, swung by a strong blacksmith.

  Using every ounce of effort, I kept myself from flying out of the saddle. Warm blood ran down my side.

  The guard dove for his fallen comrade’s unspent musket. At the same time, the doors flung open, hitting him in mid stride and sending him sprawling onto the ground.

  Armed soldiers filled the doorway.

  Smoke leapt up the steps and plowed into the unprepared men. Bodies scattered this way and that, as those lucky enough to avoid Smoke now had to scramble away from Jane, Hannah, and Sarah’s mounts.

  Hooves clattered and echoed through the stone castle as we continued our charge.

  Officers screamed orders at the fallen men, trying to get them to their feet and in pursuit.

  Torches and lamps whizzed by, like angry fireflies.

  Occasionally, we slowed to make a turn.

  A few curious onlookers dared to enter the passageway, only to leap back in an effort to avoid the gigantic dark gray horse.

  I passed a turn.

  “No, it’s this way,” shouted Jane, who then took up the lead.

  Hannah and Sarah followed her.

  Smoke slid to a stop on the smooth stone.

  The shouts of soldiers rang through the castle, accompanied by the sound of boots pounding the stone. It seemed like they came from everywhere.

  Awkwardly, I turned Smoke around, and we quickly caught up to the others.

  Through one last, recognizable corridor, we emerged into the cavern. Before us, the torch-lit staircase descended like a coiled serpent, wrapping its way around the black shaft of darkness.

  Jane hopped off her horse and started to lead it down the steps.

  “Wait,” I called.

  She stopped.

  Addressing Sarah, I asked, “Do you think you can ride down the stairs?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Good.”

  I dismounted Smoke and, with a bit of maneuvering, we positioned Sarah in the front. She led Jane’s mare, followed by Smoke, who had no need of being led, with Hannah taking up the rear.

  “Is this necessary? Can’t we walk?” asked Hannah more than a little worried.

  “It is necessary,” I replied. “You can barely walk and, at any moment, soldiers are going to pour onto the stairs where we will be easy targets. Your part is simple; your horse should follow the others without a problem.”

  “Should?” she asked anxiously.

  “You can ride Smoke if you prefer.”

  Suddenly, she seemed fine with her horse.

  Grabbing my crossbow and ammunition, I signaled for Sarah to start going. “Wait for us at the bottom,” I instructed.

  She nodded, turned forward, and nudged her mount forward. The line of animals slowly descended the stairs.

  I gave Jane my musket. “Load it for me?”

  She took it. “What are you going to do?”

  The shouts of soldiers drew closer.

  “You’ll see. Follow me.”

  I ran down the staircase and, grabbing torch after torch, flung them over the edge.

  They fell, flickering and fluttering in their downward rush to meet the bottom. Hitting the rock, they spewed burning embers everywhere.

  Not quite halfway down, I caught up with the horse caravan. Taking one last torch, I tossed it over the edge, and then ran back up to meet Jane, who had only made it about a quarter of the way.

  I stopped her. “This is a good position. We’ll cover them until they get to the bottom.”

  She handed me a musket. “A good position? I don’t see how… Oh,” she said, looking around and seeing what I had done. The top half of the cave, where we were hiding, was now enshrouded in darkness. The bottom half remained lit for horse and rider to see.

  “Here they come,” I warned.

  The first soldier, an officer, burst out of the corridor and onto the stairs.

  Waving his sword at the horses, he yelled excitedly, “There they are. Shoot them!”

  Apparently, in his exuberance, he failed to notice that two of the horses were missing riders.

  Jane wasted no time in reversing his orders. Her musket belched fire through the darkness, briefly giving away our position; but the officer didn’t notice. Her shot found its mark, and he fell over dead.

  More soldiers caught up and poured out onto the stairs.

  I took my turn, fired… and missed…again.

  Perhaps it was intuition, or maybe because it’s what I would have done—either way, I didn’t have to look to know that Jane eyed me questioningly. I didn’t meet her gaze, and she said nothing. She broke her stare and reloaded.

  Trying to redeem myself, I grabbed up the crossbow. Quickly, I aimed, and pulled the trigger—halfway, for the first arrow, then all the way for the second. Silent and lethal arrows sliced through the air, burying themselves deep into their victims. Neither of them heard a thing. The first man cried out in pain and fell backward. The other screamed and tumbled over the edge, into the black abyss. Seconds passed before a crunching thud echoed up, registering the end of his descent.

  Regretting that I’d left the remaining three arrows on Smoke, I returned to loading the musket.

  Some of the soldiers saw the spark from our muskets, including another officer. He yelled orders to shoot at the flash.

  I desperately grabbed Jane by the hand and dragged her further down the stairs.

  The soldiers fired.

  Balls flew by dangerously close, ricocheting off the cavern walls and out into the blackness.

  Jane finished loading and fired at the officer; he crumbled to the ground with a croak.

  She started to reload, but I took the musket from her and thrust my loaded one into her hands. Then I reloaded hers.

  She fired and missed.

  I finished loading and handed her the musket. This time she hit her target. We repeated the cycle three more times, with three more hits.

  The mini massacre didn’t go unnoticed by the remaining soldiers. Without an officer to direct and motivate them, they fled to the safety of the passageway, stumbling over the fallen and wounded in their escape.

  Scooping up the crossbow, I tucked it under my arm and grasped the musket and balls. With my other hand, I took Jane’s.

  “Let’s go,” I said. “They won’t stay there for long.”

  And indeed the angry shouts of arriving officers could already be heard as they ordered and reorganized the men in preparation for another assault.

  Hand in hand, we fled down the stairs.

  “Amazing! Where did you learn to shoot like that?” I asked.

  “Sarah,” she replied with a grin. “I’ll teach you when we have more time.”

  A sharp pain shot through my side. I groaned through gritted teeth, withdrew my hand from Jane’s, and pressed it against the wound. My clothes were soaked with blood. In the excitement, I’d forgotten about it, though in light of the pain, I’m not sure how.

  “You’re wounded,” cried Jane. “When did it happen?”

  “The guard at the castle door.”

  “When you cut in front of me,” she said more to herself. She then added resolutely, “We need to bandage it.”

  “I most assuredly agree. But perhaps now isn’t the best time. Don’t worry, I won’t collapse for at least another minute or two,” I joked.

  She didn’t think I was funny.

  We reached the bottom and ran into the passage leading to the dungeon where Sarah and Hannah waited. Jane leapt up onto her horse, and
I launched onto Smoke. Halfway through my jump, I realized a more judicial and perhaps less heroic approach to mounting Smoke would have been in order. In pain, I gasped in a somewhat less masculine way than I would have liked. But at least I made it, saving me the embarrassment of falling back to the ground. I wondered what kind of hell Sarah and Hannah were experiencing with their many cuts and wounds. It sent a tingle of sympathy pangs to areas best left unmentioned.

  The sound of soldiers clamoring down the stairs filled the air.

  “Hurry! GO!” I shouted unnecessarily, as Sarah had also heard the commotion and was already galloping down the tunnel.

  Through the passage we fled, and in no time, one by one, we burst into the dungeon.

  Suddenly, Hannah, then Jane let out screams of terror; Hannah’s being the loudest.

  Upon entering the chamber, I immediately saw the horror that lay before us. I sucked in my breath, stifling the cry that threatened to escape.

  Chapter Twenty-one: Beyond the Wall

  SIX Brean hunched over Lyman’s and the now dead soldiers’ bodies. They were feasting on the corpses, their ugly faces and hands drenched in blood.

  Raising their massive heads, they regarded us with their black, cold eyes.

  My stare met with that of a Brean who, although I couldn’t be sure, resembled the first one I’d seen and shot near Sarah’s. It felt like ages ago.

  It recognized me, too.

  The monster stretched its jaws wide and bellowed a deafening roar that blew spittle and blood. The other Brean responded, in a chorus of thunderous vociferation that shook the cave and sent shivers of fear down my spine.

  Sarah charged through the chamber, past the Brean, and down the last tunnel leading to the outside. Hannah followed Sarah into the tunnel, with Jane right behind.

  Altering Smoke’s course slightly, we dashed by the wall, and I grabbed a torch before turning and galloping down the tunnel.

  Grunts, snarls, and the thumping of padded feet, echoed behind us, and told me that the pursuit was on.

  Past the torture room and down the dark tunnel we sped.

  Looking back, my heart leapt. One of the Brean had gained ground and was frightfully close.

  Rounding the bend in the tunnel, I turned my head just in time to see Sarah exit the cave and disappear into the night.

 

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