by Guy Antibes
Sara turned to Willa. “Get the men hidden. We’ll want to capture the rebels who come.” Willa ran to the men, who began to scatter. “Have you been in to town?” Sara said.
Mrs. Carter shook her head. “They told us to stay away for now and make do on our farms. They told me they burned down Brightlings and if we didn’t follow their instructions, they’d do the same with our houses. Is that right?”
Sara nodded.
“Saw the smoke, then. They boasted about it like it was somethin’ to be proud of. What do they know?”
“They want to rule you and dictate what you should do. They’ll do anything to get their way. West doesn’t care what commoners or even nobles think. He’s under the false impression that he knows best,” Sara said.
“Right. I can fix you some tea to keep you warm while you wait for them to show up. Then you can kill them.”
Sara smiled again. “That would be nice. The part about the tea.”
Willa joined them for the wait. The tea was long gone when three men showed up. Two were mounted and the other drove a cart already half full of edible tribute. Sara slipped out the back door to remind her men not to kill the gatherers if possible. She was frantic to find out about Klark.
As the men dismounted and walked towards the front door, Sara and her men crept up along either side of the house and rushed them before they even had a chance to draw their weapons. Willa had already cut lengths of rope, so they quickly bound the men. Mrs. Carter walked out of her house and kicked one of them in the side a few times.
“That’s for trying to get from me, what I can only give to my husband.” She eyed her boy. “You didn’t hear nothing, Gabbo.” Mrs. Carter escorted her son back into their house.
Sara looked down at the three men struggling with their bonds, all in a row. “Gag them,” she said. “So you steal from the poor farmers?”
The cart driver showed some fear in his face so Sara removed his gag. “We’re just soldiers, ma’am. Following orders. We didn’t do any wrong. No, we didn’t.” The two other men began to struggle.
“So why did you burn down the manor house?”
“General West told us to.”
Sara’s eyebrows rose. General? “Did you know there was a woman in the basement?”
“Not at first, but by the time someone noticed the house was too far gone.” The other two wore angry faces.
Sara nodded. So they knew June died in the fire. That made their act even worse. She restrained herself from doing something stupid. “Probably needed to be rebuilt anyway. Something for the Red Swallow’s new order, right?”
“Something like that. West wanted to show the nobles who lived there who was in charge.”
Nobles in charge? West wants to eradicate the nobles? How could the Grand Duke permit that? “Has he killed other nobles?”
“No. Most of them have moved south to fight Parthy for the Duke. We’re picking up the leavings.” The man stopped and looked at the men surrounding him. “You the miners?”
A few of them nodded.
“Don’t kill me! I didn’t go up there!” He looked at his companions. “They did and bragged about it.” He began to sweat heavily despite the cold.
“I won’t kill you, if you tell me how the town is set up.” Sara looked at her men.
“You don’t have enough men. You’d need two or three times what you’ve got. You better just leave. Take the supplies and the cart. Take the horses. Just leave us alone.”
Sara took that to mean that there were up to forty men in the town. “Is West at the inn or Heartfly’s house?”
“You know Belting Hollow? He’s at Heartfly’s, setting himself up as Generals do. Most of the men are in the Council Chambers.” Both of the other men struggled even more furiously with their bonds.
Now for the question Sara had been dreading. “We lost a man this morning. He went scouting out the town and didn’t return. What happened to him?”
“Heard about that. Something about the Grand Duke sending him up from Stonebridge. West has him tied up somewhere in the house, if he’s not already dead.” His words froze Sara’s veins. He couldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t permit it. “Mrs. Carter!”
The woman came out of her house.
Sara walked up to her. “We’ll deal with these men later. Can we drag them in your barn? We’ll make sure they are more secure than they are now.” She put out her hand for one of the captured men’s swords. “If they give you any trouble at all, be my guest to punish them with this.” Mrs. Carter solemnly took the sword. Gabbo’s eyes bulged as he touched the scabbard.
“No touching, boy!” She cuffed the boy on his ear. “You can put them in my barn. Make sure they are on bare ground. I don’t want my straw cushioning their stay.” In the short time that Sara had been on the farm, Mrs. Carter changed from a cowed captive to a very angry woman.
Even so, it didn’t match the anger that grew in Sara’s head and heart. What if Seb and Enos were in Brightlings when West’s men torched it? They’d be buried with June. Ben would be dead. She had to watch her thoughts so there wouldn’t be any magic summoned, unbidden.
She had to stop West from destroying northern Shattuk Downs. The man obviously had no moral compass and Sara would stop him here, in Belting Hollow.
~
Sara’s troops infiltrated through the houses of the town. She passed Nona’s cottage and stopped to knock. Nona answered.
“Sara! Who are they?” Nona glanced at the armed men.
“I’m taking Belting Hollow this afternoon.”
“Brightlings…” Nona looked at Willa and the few men waiting for Sara. “Miners? You’ve freed them!”
“I have. We came in from Brightlings, or what is left of it. We buried June a few days ago.”
Nona’s eyes watered. “What do you need to know?” She lifted her chin and wiped away a tear.
“Are all of West’s men in the Council Chambers?”
“My, you’re well informed. Yes they are and in the Head Councilor’s house. West is staying there.”
“Good.” Sara called up a miner. “Go back the way we’ve come and find Choster. Tell him that the main force is in the center of town. The Councilor’s House and the Council Chambers. Quickly!” She looked at the other man. “You too. Make sure no one sees you.”
“Do you remember Klark Brownhill?”
“The nice looking boy who was with the Duke of something?”
“He’s been captured by West.”
Nona shook her head. “We’ve been told to stay in our houses and only come out between ten and noon. His men have beaten the few of us who’ve been out at other times.”
“Are there any local men in the town?”
Nona shook her head again. “Ben took most of them south, even Peppen to act as an Army healer.”
“Have West’s men asked for any healing? Are they sick?”
“Where did you learn to ask these questions?” She looked at Sara with an odd look. “No. Some burns from when they destroyed Brightlings and a few are recuperating in the Council Chambers from wounds after they returned from the mines.”
“I’ll tell you my story after we’re done.”
Nona grabbed Sara’s sleeve. “I haven’t been your father’s friend since fall—he’s not who I thought he was. Please forgive me.”
Sara paused, not having the time to chat. “We’ll talk about it after.” She gripped Nona’s hand. “Wish me luck.” Sara nearly whispered the words and left Nona’s doorstep. “Get prepared. You’re about to get some work.”
“Good luck.” Nona said as she shut her door. Sara chilled at the fear in the woman’s voice. She grit her teeth and pulled out her sword and her gun and led them to a position behind the butcher’s shop. The place seemed abandoned until Mrs. Glimmer came out her back door, taking out some garbage.
“Miss Featherwood!” Her voice came out as a whisper. Her eyes grew large and she dropped her garbage as her hands came up to her face. Twe
nty men came into view.
“Go back inside. We’re going to fight West. Is Mr. Glimmer here?”
Mrs. Glimmer shook her head. “No, he’s south with the rest of the men. They even took Pol.”
Why would Ben strip the village, exposing women and children to West’s madness? She wouldn’t let West escape this time, not now. “Go back inside and stay there until this is over.”
The woman ran inside of the house just as one of the miner’s she sent to Choster ran up. “Choster is ready. He sort of figured West would be in the two places. Told me that you should come in from the west side and throw one of your pipe exploders at the Council Chambers at three.”
Sara recoiled at the thought of blowing a hole in the building. A lot happened to her in the Council Chambers, good and bad, but if it was destroyed, it would join plenty of her other irretrievable memories. She went up to Mrs. Glimmer’s door.
“What time is it?”
The woman turned her head to look at their clock and then back. “A few minutes to three.”
“Wave your handkerchief in this window when it’s three exactly.” Sara hoped whatever clock Choster used was set at close to the same time. She called up a miner and gave him a pipe exploder. “I’m going to remove this wire at three. I want you to go around the side of this house and throw this exploder against the big building that’s across the road. Throw it as hard as you can. It has to hit the building.” She felt too nervous and didn’t trust her own strength to throw it that far and was thankful for the men who accompanied her.
The next few moments seemed to last forever. The handkerchief fluttered in the window and Sara pulled the wire out. “Don’t drop this. You saw what happened at the mines? Toss it at least ten paces away.”
He nodded. “You can count on me, Miss.” He ran around the house and halfway into the street and threw it at the Council Chambers as another blast shook the town. He dropped to the ground and half of the front of the building blew in.
Sara led her men towards the Council Chambers and she could see some of Choster’s men enter into the side door. She helped the miner up from the middle of the street. “Now it’s time to get angry,” she said. She pulled her gun out and ran into the building. The first rebel that came into view, she shot with her gun. Another approached her as Sara pulled out her knife. The fighting had begun.
The floor of the Council Chambers was littered with rubble and soon blood joined it. The miners’ ferocity outmatched the rebels and soon West’s men ran out of the building to meet the miners Sara had stationed outside the front door. Choster had done the same at the side door. The remaining rebels locked themselves up in the Council Room where Sara had once sewed clothes for the less fortunate of Belting Hollow. The miners pounded on the door. Sara told most of them to go around and make sure none escaped from the windows.
“They are stuck in there,” Willa said. “Like rodents in a hole.”
Sara pulled out the last exploder. “Get back Willa. You too, men, take cover. Remember? Twenty feet.” She pulled out the wire and threw it as hard as she could against the door and then ducked behind an overturned table. Nothing happened.
“It hit it flat on, Miss Featherwood,” a miner said.
Sara peeked over the table. The pipe had rolled right against the door. What could she do? Percussion came to her mind. She tapped into the roiling inside of her and whispered, “For June.”
She willed fire into the pipe. Inside the Council hall, the sound was deafening. She heard the pieces of pipe hit as she bounced on her bottom. The explosion threw the nails and the pieces of shredded pipe much further than twenty feet. The doors were blown open and, as the smoke cleared, the miners rushed into the meeting room along with Willa. Only a few of the rebels were able to put up any kind of a fight.
“Tie them up like we planned and guard them,” Sara said. “Let’s go to the Head Councilor’s house.” She wanted to stay and survey the damage, but Klark’s captivity forced her on.
She couldn’t find Choster as Sara ran inside the house. The fighting continued inside as Sara dodged the action and ran upstairs. If West were to be found anywhere, it would be up here. She passed Choster fighting with a rebel, loaded her gun and quickly ended the duel. She found a ladder leading up to the attic. With the gun reloaded, she carefully made her way up to the Head Councilor’s attic. No one attacked her as she poked her head above the trap door. All she could see were tiny holes of light coming up from the eaves. She held out her sword and gun and listened.
She heard a rustle at the far end. She figured West would find some unpleasant hole like this. She advanced silently towards the sound, ready to squeeze the trigger as soon as she could determine West’s location. She doubted his skill with a sword had improved since she last fought him. The rustling sounded again. She thought she could see a figure crouching on the floor. She raised her gun and paused. Could she shoot?
Thoughts of Brightlings filled her head, of June, of the anger of Mrs. Carter and the miners. She cocked the hammer.
A wheezing whistle sound cut through the air. Sara stopped and uncocked the gun. “Klark?”
She heard mumbling. She ran to the figure to find it was bound and gagged. She removed the gag.
“Shrewd woman,” he said. “I couldn’t say anything through the gag for fear you would shoot at any voice, but I could blow on this, so I used the whistle. I couldn’t get enough air into the thing to make a proper whistle.” Klark’s white teeth could be seen in the dim light and he still held the carriage whistle in his bound hands. Sara quickly untied his feet and helped Klark up. She wrapped her arms around him with him still trussed up. Sara didn’t care.
“I’m so glad you took that whistle.” She couldn’t help the tears.
“I could thank you properly if you untied my hands.”
Sara laughed with relief as she disengaged and cut his bonds with her knife.
“West had his men set this up in hopes that one of our group would have run me through in the dark. Devious chap.” Klark rubbed his wrists. “Why did I leave that knife you gave me at Winter’s Rise back in Parth? I could have used it to cut my bonds.”
Sara laughed, and if felt good. “You had an even better defense—the whistle.” Her good humor quickly fled. “Where is West?”
They left the attic and when they got to the bottom, Klark picked up a sword that lay by a dead rebel. Choster stood at the bottom of the stairs. “No West. I had men guarding the gate. I presume the attic is clear?”
“You can send some men up there with a lamp, but I don’t think anyone else is up there. They wanted us to find Klark in the darkness and dispatch him,” Sara said.
Choster led them out the back where the rebels sat, disarmed along the fence. Sara looked at the bleakness of the winter garden and remembered the time she and her brothers papered the top of the Head Councilor’s toilet. Could he?
She put her hand to her lips and walked to the privy. Sara took a deep breath and willed fire inside.
A scream rent the air as the little wooden house burst into flame. The building burned quickly. Choster kicked in the latch and opened the door. West’s charred body stiffly fell out onto the muddy ground.
Klark knelt down. “How did that happen?”
“Little boys shouldn’t play with fire,” Sara said, suddenly nervous that she might have revealed her powers. “He must have had a candle and dropped it.”
Sara sat down on the ground and took deep breaths. She expected to feel awful, but anger had fueled her actions and she needed to settle down more than anything. West had done so much harm and June’s death needed to be avenged. She waited for questions about the fire, but perhaps they couldn’t think of any other reason for the conflagration.
“We found another leader,” Willa said, crooking a finger. The Head Councilor, bathed in white powder, was led out of the house. His hands were tied and a miner led him out on a length of rope. A few of the rebels spit at him as he walked past.
“Found him in a flour barrel. It’s a wonder he fit,” Willa said. “I’d say this man has a lot to answer for.”
~
The miners had worked quickly to close off the blown out parts of the Head Councilor’s House and the Council Chambers. Sara sat behind a table, looking at Edmond Heartfly.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” Sara said.
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“Ben Featherwood took all of the men out of Belting Hollow leaving it defenseless. Brightlings is burned down. Miners and the King’s soldiers have been killed and you were right in the thick of it.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with Brightlings. West couldn’t stand to have it sitting there. He hated you. I don’t understand the animosity between you two.”
“He was crazy,” Willa said. “Crazy and too smart for his own good. Did he think he was going to set up his own domain here?”
Heartfly nodded. “He has a force attacking Obridge right now. Some men from his Red Swallow brigade are leading that attack. The Duke has stripped Shattuk Downs to form his army and I talked Ben into taking all of the men. After the mines were secure, we thought we were safe here.”
“You were wrong. Take him away.”
“What do you plan on doing, Countess?” Choster said, reminding her in a not-too-subtle way that she shared in leading the group.
“We will leave them under guard while we head for Obridge. Evidently we won’t be able to free the Duke just yet.” Sara wanted so much to bypass the College, but the responsibility for Nona and the rest of the town wouldn’t let her leave the northern part of Shattuk Downs in such turmoil.
“We free the Duke?” Choster said. “With all due respect, I have explicit instructions to leave you in Obridge, unless you wish to return to Parth back over the pass.”
Sara wouldn’t argue with him today, but she didn’t have to follow anyone’s instructions—not with her father imprisoned in Stonebridge. “How many men did we lose?”
“None, Sara. We have wounded, yes, but most of their forces were in this building and the two exploders took out more than half of them. We can leave our wounded behind as guards. We still have seventy men to fight whoever is outside Obridge’s walls.”
