Harbinger
Page 16
“Just like mum used to make, eh?” His booming laugh made Kael contemplate murder. “Sorry for the abrupt wake up, but there’s trouble in town. Garron’s given the order to move out immediately.” Jonathan was leaning next to the window, peering down into the streets. Kael found the strength to sit up and look.
Gray fingers of dawn were barely scratching at the window, yet the square was already alive with movement. Soldiers in gold-tinged armor marched through the streets, pounding on house doors and demanding entry. When the doors opened, they shoved through. If the doors didn’t open, they kicked them in.
A desert merchant tried to hurry past unnoticed, but a guard caught him roughly by the back of his shirt. He asked a question and when the merchant shook his head, the guard threw him to the ground. Then he turned his glare in the direction of the inn.
Kael blanched when he saw the twisting black dragon stamped on his breastplate. “Midlan,” he said, and Jonathan nodded.
“I heard them push through the gates this morning. I was out, ah, lightening the purses of some of the local gamblers, when I saw them marching in. ‘Course I ran to tell Garron right away.”
So his worst fears had come to pass — the King’s soldiers were raiding the town, looking for something. And he thought he might be able to guess what they were after. Downing twenty-four tankards of mountain ale would have certainly gotten him noticed. He pulled his shirt over his head, cursing. As he tugged on his boots he thought to glance at the brothers’ beds. They were empty.
“Don’t worry — we got them out with the first cart,” Jonathan said when he saw the panic on his face. He threw his rucksack over his shoulder and tossed Kael his. “It’s just me, you and Horatio left. All the others are out — escaped through the back gate, they did. I forgot you were up here or I’d have snagged you sooner. Once those guards move on, we’ll make a dash for it.”
They stood on either side of the window, watching the guard who’d thrown the merchant. He still had his eyes on the inn. He scanned the bottom floor, then moved to the second. His eyes flicked across the windows and Kael froze when they stopped at his. The guard’s eyes narrowed and he started marching towards the inn. He turned and shouted something to a gang of soldiers — who broke from the main group to follow.
“On second thought, now’s as good a time to dash as any,” Jonathan said, and Kael agreed.
Most of the inn’s customers were still sleeping off their ale, so the hallways were quiet. They hurried down the stairs and weaved their way through the first floor corridor. Just before they reached the main room, Jonathan stopped at the corner and crouched.
“All right,” he whispered after a moment. “Looks like it’s all cle —”
The crooked front door flew open, causing a shower of dust to rain down from the ceiling as it slammed against the wall. In marched the throwing guard and his posse of soldiers.
“Search everywhere!” he barked. “She’s been here, I can feel it.”
They kicked tables over and toppled chairs, smashing the bottles and dishes piled on top of them. A few people were passed out near the hearth, and they beat them awake with the flats of their swords.
The noise must have roused the innkeeper. He stumbled in from the room behind the bar, red-faced and trembling, with the frazzled serving girl close behind. “Just what do you think you’re doing —?”
“I’m looking for a dangerous outlaw, subject. An enemy of the King.” The guard stepped up and planted his hands on the bar. “She calls herself the Dragongirl, and there’s a mountain of gold waiting for the man who turns her in. Have you seen her?”
The innkeeper snorted. He ducked behind the counter and returned with an enormous book that he plopped down on the bar. A cloud of dust puffed out from between the pages and made the guard cough.
“I can’t remember everyone, but you’re welcome to look through my ledger,” he said, quite sarcastically.
The guard’s face hardened. “You’re under arrest.”
“For what?”
“For hiding an enemy of the King!” At his signal, two soldiers grabbed the innkeeper and dragged him, screaming, from the room.
The serving girl made to follow them, but the guard grabbed her by her frazzled hair and held her back. “Please sir, I don’t know anybody by that name, I swear it,” she said, clutching her nightgown tighter to her chest.
“Her face, then. Tell me if you saw a woman with dark hair and green eyes. She will have been about your age, and likely dressed in armor.”
Before Kael could clamp a hand over his mouth, Jonathan let out a gasp — and the serving girl heard. Her eyes flicked in their direction for half a second before they went back to the guard.
He knew they were done for. He knew the girl had seen Kyleigh — they’d been chatting just last night. How could she possibly forget? She would know that Kyleigh traveled with Garron. She’d tell the soldiers, and they would hunt the caravan down. The only way he could stop it from happening was if the guard never heard. Kael reached behind him and started to draw an arrow when the serving girl spoke:
“No sir, I don’t recall seeing anyone like that.”
The guard frowned. Apparently, he could tell by the defiant line of her mouth that she was lying. He growled and threw her to the nearest soldier. “Lock her up with the other one.” Then he turned and barked: “Search every floor, every room from top to bottom. Move!”
They started towards the hallway, and Jonathan swore. He went to back up, but Kael put out a hand to stop him. His eyes were on the serving girl, and her eyes on his.
A soldier had a hold of one of her arms, but the other was free. As he watched, she stretched out her hand, reaching for a bowl balanced on the edge of the bar … and knocked it over.
It smashed on the ground and every head turned to look, giving Kael the second he needed to grab Jonathan and sprint behind the counter. They went through the kitchen and out the back door; trudging through whatever rotten food the inn couldn’t sell until they managed to dash into the cover of the nearest alleyway.
“Well, bludgeon me like a cricket!” Jonathan said, his eyes wild. “Did you know that about Kyleigh?”
“She told me she was an outlaw,” he admitted.
Jonathan stopped cursing for a moment when a horde of soldiers tromped by. But as soon as they were gone, he started up again. “You aren’t from the Earl at all, are you?” His eyes flicked to the top of Kael’s head. “I bet that isn’t even your real hair.”
“No, we’re not from the Earl. And yes,” he tugged on his hair, “it’s real.”
Jonathan shook his head. “Well, we have to tell Garron. This is as serious as a knife to the neck.”
Garron was the last person who needed to know, in Kael’s opinion. He would be angry about missing market — maybe even angry enough to make up the difference by turning Kyleigh in. Especially if what the guard said about a reward was true. He had to wonder what she could’ve possibly done to stir up so much trouble.
“You can’t tell Garron,” he said. He grabbed Jonathan by his collar. “Look at me — you can’t tell him. I’m serious.”
His eyes went wide before he finally nodded. “You’re right, mate. I know you’re right. Even if she is an outlaw, she’s still my friend. And I may be a lot of things but I’m no traitor. Pox Midlan,” he spat on the cobblestone, “her secret’s safe with me. Besides, I know she’s your girl and all. I wouldn’t want to be the one to end your conquest.”
Kael shoved him. “She’s not my girl.”
Jonathan pointed to his burning cheeks and cackled. Before Kael could punch him, he galloped away.
*******
They found Horatio waiting near the back gate. His eyes were red and his cheeks were tinged with green. He took small sips from a flask and grimaced as he swallowed.
“It’s about time,” he grumbled when he saw them. “You dragged your feet, and now they’ve posted a guard.”
There were two gates in
the back. The first one was large enough for a cart to fit through, and was being blocked off by a score of mounted soldiers. They had their pikes lowered and pointed in the direction of the merchants lined up before them. Their horses snorted in the chill morning air and pawed eagerly at the ground. Though they cursed and spat, none of the merchants seemed interested in trying to drive their carts through the pikes.
A few yards down the wall, a flight of stairs led up to the second gate — which was actually just a door no larger than the entrance to a house. A lone Midlan soldier stood with his arms crossed in front of it, glaring down at the crowd of merchants beneath him. His stony glare seemed to be the only thing keeping them at bay. No one wanted to be the first to challenge him.
“We should light out while there’s only one,” Jonathan said, and Horatio agreed.
He led the way through the crowd — people bounced helplessly off his girth and Jonathan and Kael followed in his wake. They climbed the stairs and stood on the landing, directly in front of the guard. Kael took the spot on the left and tried to ignore the curious tittering from the crowd behind him.
“Merchants requesting passage, if you please,” Horatio said.
The guard smirked. “Denied.”
He crossed his arms and lowered his brows. “Denied? On whose authority? You have no right to keep us prisoner.”
“On His Majesty’s authority, so I’ve got every right,” the guard replied with a sneer. “You ain’t allowed to leave. So why don’t you just march your fat rump back down the stairs —”
“Don’t call me fat, you worthless tin-head.”
Behind him, Kael could hear the rattle of armor heading their way. He turned and saw a dozen Midlan soldiers reach the crowd. They bellowed for passage, but the merchants refused to let them through. Swears and threats poured in from both sides, making a dangerous mix.
The guard, emboldened by his reinforcements, slunk forward. “Tin-head, am I?” He rapped a knuckle on the side of his helmet. “Well how’d you like it if I used my tin head to crack your skull, eh?”
He was too busy threatening Horatio to see the door open behind him. A hooded figure stepped out from the arch, grabbed him by the shoulder and drove a sword into his back — so swiftly that he didn’t have time to cry out. It wasn’t until the white blade ripped through the dragon on his breastplate that they realized who their rescuer was.
“Kyleigh —”
“Shhhh! Go quickly,” she said. She had her hood pulled up, and if he hadn’t seen Harbinger, Kael didn’t think he would have recognized her.
The guard tried to call for help, but ended up choking on a mouthful of blood, instead. His body grew limper by the second, sagging more of his weight onto Harbinger’s blade. Jonathan stared, open-mouthed, at the dying man until Horatio shoved him through the gate. Then Kyleigh stepped to the front of the platform.
She held the guard up by his chainmail, still skewered on her sword. Beneath them, a scuffle had broken out between the merchants and Midlan’s soldiers. They exchanged shoves and spittle, but so far all weapons had remained in their belts. Then Kyleigh leaned forward and dropped the body right in the middle of them.
It was amazing how quickly the swords came hissing out of their sheaths.
Before Kael could see what happened, she grabbed him and pulled him through the gate, kicking the door shut behind them. They sprinted for the forest as the angry shouts in the courtyard grew to a roar. When they made it to the cover of the trees, the sounds of fighting erupted.
“What were you thinking, killing a soldier of Midlan?” Horatio gasped as they slowed their pace to a trot. “They’re going to hunt us down and slay us all!”
“No one saw me do it,” she said, not even out of breath. “We just needed to make sure those soldiers stay busy for a few hours. Nothing slows an army like a riot,” she grinned, “and nothing starts a riot like a corpse.”
They moved at a trot until Horatio was near to passing out, then they slowed to a walk. Kael glanced down the path several times, expecting to see all of Midlan barreling down upon them. But they never followed.
He realized it could have all gone terribly wrong: if they’d been spotted, if Kyleigh hadn’t shown up, if the serving girl hadn’t caused that distraction — well, they might be hanging from the town walls instead of joking about it. But even though he knew they could have easily met their ends, his heart still pounded with excitement.
He was having an adventure. A real adventure!
At midday, his stomach began to rumble, and the glory of it all wore off. He doubted if they would ever catch up to the caravan, traveling at Horatio’s pace. Just when he’d resigned himself to this thought, they crossed over the next hill and saw a welcome sight.
A large grove spread out beneath them, hundreds of trees sat heavy with orange fruit and leaked the perfume of citrus into the air. The dirt road wound directly through it and there, right in the middle of the grove, was the caravan.
Jonathan whooped as they approached and several of the men looked up from their lunches to cheer. They met them on the road, clapped them on the back and shoved rations into their hands. Kael was surprised at how many of them seemed happy to see him. He didn’t think he’d be missed. Chaney and Claude kept saying that they’d been so afraid for him; that they thought he’d been captured. But they assured him that if he were ever really captured, they’d come to his rescue. Then Garron shook his hand and thanked him profusely for bringing Jonathan and Horatio back alive. He was sorry that he’d ever doubted in his skill.
And then there was Aerilyn. She didn’t bother with patting him on the back: she tackled him. “I was so worried I’d never see you again!” she said. When she peeled her head off his chest, he saw her eyes were shining with tears. “We waited so long and you never came out. Then Papa said the guards were coming and we had to leave and, oh, will you ever forgive me?”
“Of course I forgive you,” he managed to say, even though she was practically strangling him.
When she had all the air squeezed out of him, she pounced on Kyleigh. “And you, how dare you! How dare you just run off like a madwoman without so much as telling me where you were going.”
She laughed and tried to pull away. “I told you exactly where I was going.”
“Um, to save Kael isn’t a place, in case no one’s told you.”
Jonathan elbowed him in the side and winked, but Kael tried his best to ignore him. Having Kyleigh show up made things easier — but he thought he still could have escaped without her help.
When she finished scolding them, Aerilyn threw her arms around Horatio. Even Jonathan got a hug — until he did something that earned him a slap across the face instead.
After they’d been welcomed back, Garron gave them an extra few minutes for lunch. They settled under a large tree to eat and Aerilyn left to pick them some oranges. Kael volunteered to help.
“Papa bought three barrels full — plus we get to have one each for lunch,” she said, plucking a large piece of fruit off its branch and handing it to him. “He traded the farmer a silk blouse for them. Can you believe it?”
Kael didn’t know what a silk blouse was, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Garron cheated the poor farmer senseless. “I hope he was pleased with the trade,” he said carefully.
She smiled. “I think he was. He lost money, but it makes him ever so happy to help the working class.”
Kael nearly dropped his armful of oranges. “Wait a moment — he lost money?”
She looked at him curiously. “Silk is the clothing of Kings, not farmers. Of course, the farmer didn’t know that: he just wanted to get something lovely for his wife.” He must have still looked shocked, because she glanced around her and lowered her voice. “Can you keep a secret, my friend?”
He nodded warily, wondering what sort of secret a girl like Aerilyn could possibly keep.
“Well,” she took a deep breath, “Papa and I aren’t actually from the Grandforest.”
She nodded. “It’s true. My family is from the High Seas, originally. But my grandfather moved our business to the forest when Papa was a child. And do you know why?”
“No. Why?”
“Because he owed the people of the village a great debt — a life debt. You see, one day, while Grandfather and Papa were on the merchant’s journey, Papa became deathly ill. They stopped at a small village in the Grandforest, where an old man gave Papa medicine to break his fever. But even after the fever left, he was still too weak to travel. Though Grandfather didn’t have enough coin to pay him, the old man swore he would care for Papa while he finished their route.
“Grandfather was so grateful for his help that he moved his business to the forest and gave the villagers work in the caravan. Papa has never forgotten the kindness shown to him by that old man. He says he learned that some of the wealthiest people in the Kingdom are those who have little but kindness to give to others.”
Kael hadn’t been expecting to hear that about Garron. He cleared his throat roughly. “Well, that was nice of him.” And then, because he didn’t know what else to say: “Come on, the others will be waiting.”
They passed out the oranges and dug into their lunch. Claude was the only one who struggled to get his peel started. After watching his first unsuccessful attempts, Kyleigh took the orange out of his hand and bit directly through the skin. He had no trouble finishing up from there. Kael ate his a slice at a time, savoring the flavor that burst out from the tiny pouches of juice. Chaney amused himself by spitting the seeds at Jonathan’s head. It took him a few moments to realize who was pelting him, but when he caught on, Jonathan fired back. A full-fledged war ensued — during which nearly everyone got hit by a stray seed.
They finished lunch in a whirl and still had a few minutes to relax. Kael was thinking very seriously about taking a nap when an ear-grating note came off Jonathan’s fiddle.