by LeRoy Clary
“Lucky,” he whispered. The dog raced to his side.
All but two boats were too exposed by their positions in the starlight. The men in the boats held their torches high, and that light also cast wavering shadows to shore, exposing the boats. The nearest of them tied to the rope were so close to shore the water couldn’t be deeper than his waist.
But there were two boats nearer the downstream end that lay in a shadow. Tyler worked his way back into the darker shadows further away from the water and started circling. It was taking too long. He couldn’t rush and be discovered, but Bender kept the knife at his hip, sharp enough to use to shave. It would slice through the rope quickly, and Bender didn’t know about the two guards Tyler had dealt with.
He hurried, but long before he reached the boats, a hissing sound in the river warned him. The rope was cut and was sliding through the grass and water. From one of the boats, someone became startled and said, “Hey.”
Another, at almost the same time, said, “What?”
Footsteps pounded on the shore behind Bender. Tyler leaped to his feet with their backpacks in hand to race to the boat. Lucky ran at his side.
“Over there,” someone shouted.
Bender appeared behind him, running faster. Men ran behind. An arrow landed in the river mud five steps away. Another flew high over their heads.
Tyler spared a look and sped up. The boats on the river were pulling away from the shore as the rope carried them down the river, and none had yet cut themselves free. The men inside them were confused. A boat tipped over, and torches winked out. That drew the attention of boats nearby, and they moved to help, but the two closest boats had archers who had spotted Tyler and Bender. The men stood to shoot. They wobbled as they fought each other for balance in the small boats. Arrows flew. None came close.
Tyler reached the last boat in line, using the shadows for the little benefit they provided. It was small, a two-person boat with only one set of oars. The boat beside it was even smaller.
Bender helped push it into the water and leaped into the bow. Tyler ran it into the water knee deep and climbed inside to find the middle seat and grabbed the oars. Bender reached into the water and grabbed Lucky by the scruff of his neck and helped him scramble into the boat as Tyler took his first pull of the oars.
Lucky shook the water off as Tyler fought to turn the boat downstream while staying close to the bank and away from the others that were getting organized, ready to give chase. A few archers desperately fired arrows splashed well behind them, but no boats had untied from the rope, yet.
More whistles blew, men shouted, and one man fell from his boat, creating more confusion as other Cabots rescued him. Tyler rowed with long, steady strokes, prepared to shift seats with Bender when needed, so he didn’t have to conserve energy or worry about tiring.
“One has started the chase,” Bender said in a calm voice that sounded menacing.
Tyler ignored the comment and concentrated on rowing and keeping the boat moving straight. The boat was small, cramped with the two of them and the dog, but it was light and moved easily and fast. After a few more strokes, Bender said, “Maybe two more boats are now after us, but they’re so far back I can’t tell for sure.”
Tyler counted in his mind. One-two-three-four. Then he repeated. The steady cadence kept the boat moving ahead. The trick with a rowboat is to never let it slow too much. As it begins to slow, another stroke of the oars sends it on its way again, keeping up the speed it has gained.
“You keeping watch ahead, too?” Tyler asked.
“Looks clear,” Bender said. “But that one boat behind us is catching up.”
Tyler stole a look. The boat had white water foaming at the waterline. It appeared narrow, and there were two sets of oars clearly seen in the light of the torch the man in the bow held up. Three people in the boat that was not much larger than theirs, two of them rowing so it would overtake them easily.
An arrow splashed in their wake behind, too close. Bender said in a snarky tone, “Want to play that game?”
Tyler rowed. He heard the snick of sound as Bender released an arrow. Bender said, “Your rowing threw me off. Stop rowing when I’m set.”
Tyler paused and lifted his head to watch. The distance to the other boat closed fast as theirs slowed. Bender let another arrow fly, and Tyler wanted to join in but was too winded to accurately loose an arrow. Bender waited, then released another. It struck a rower, who slumped and fell to one side. The other rower tried turning the boat, but another arrow was already on the way. The archer who had held a torch earlier to light the way had doused it and drawn a bow. He had another arrow ready to fly when Bender’s arrow took him in the chest.
The last Tyler saw was one rower pulling on his oars as fast as he could to escape. Bender had sat again and said, “Let me know when you want me to take a turn rowing.”
Like nothing had happened. Tyler shook his head and straightened the boat to point downriver again. He pulled stroke after steady stroke, only pausing a few times to listen for the sound of other boats in pursuit. They heard none.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Soon after dawn, they had already exchanged places several times and managed what little sleep they could. Tyler was curled in the small seat at the bow, his head cradled in his sore arms, when Bender said, “Better wake up. No emergency.”
Tyler looked up through eyes that refused to fully open. Bender stopped rowing and was turned to face the bow. A dock extended out into the river, and two people were standing on it. They wore normal peasant clothing, rough and sturdy. Tyler saw fishing poles resting in a narrow boat, and from the looks of the men, they were going fishing. Now their attention was focused on Tyler and Bender and seemed mildly surprised.
Bender pulled on the left oar turning the boat in their direction, then took a couple of strong pulls sending the boat closer to the dock. Tyler reached down to where his bow and the quiver were stored, but didn’t lift them above the sides of the boat where the fishermen could see. He was ready. Hopeful, but not trusting.
“Mornin’,” Bender called in a cheerful voice.
The older of the two fishermen said warily, “We don’t see many boats coming from upriver.”
“It’s not an easy trip,” Bender said, flashing a smile and telling them little with his response.
“Cabots still got everything up there blocked?”
“They do. We hope we’ve escaped. We weren’t looking for trouble,” Bender said, pulling back on the oars keeping the current from carrying the boat down the river past the dock.
The younger of the two, younger than Bender or Tyler, and probably not yet twenty said, “No more of them Cabots down below here if that’s got you worried.”
A look was exchanged between them that Tyler didn’t understand. The older man said, “Care for something to eat? Since you are strangers here, you might have a few questions to ask, and we have a few of our own.”
Bender looked at Tyler. Tyler shook his head with the slightest of movements. Bender said, “We should push on.”
“The Cabots took two of my sons, you know. We’d pay you for information about them.” It was the older man talking. “Please?”
Bender pulled on the oars again and said, “My mother taught me never to say no to someone with enough manners to say please.” His eyes went to Tyler.
Tyler said softly, “Really? Didn’t you see me shake my head?”
“But, he said, please.”
“Please keep on rowing. There, I said it too. I don’t like these people.” Tyler bristled at the nonresponse. Bender normally listened to him, but seemed intent on meeting with the two.
Bender gave a final pull of the oars and the boat settled against the rickety dock with a solid thump. The boy tossed a loop of rope over the wooden cleat on the bow. Everyone but Tyler was smiling. Tyler had an arm over Lucky and felt, more than heard, the low warning growl deep in his chest.
The warning was enough for Tyler to inc
rease his wariness. So far, Lucky hadn’t been wrong once. He followed the others at a distance, but still carried his bow over his shoulder, as well as a full quiver of arrows. Before leaving the boat, he strapped on his sword while ignoring the scowls of the two men as he did so.
“You won’t be needing that,” the younger of the two had said, jutting his chin at the sword.
“I wear it everywhere. No offense intended.”
“Your friend left his.”
“Any friend of mine would still be rowing us downriver,” he mumbled to himself while stepping between Lucky and the boy. If Tyler didn’t like the situation, Lucky obviously liked it less. The hairs on his neck were beginning to stand up. The boy smiled and motioned for him to follow behind Bender while he traveled last as if that was a sign of good manners.
Tyler started and then thought about walking in front of a stranger who could pick up any random log or rock, and bash in his head with it. He said, “Hey, my dog needs a bit of a walk after being in the boat all night. I’ll catch up with you in a moment.”
Had he noticed a look of disappointment on the boy’s face? He thought so.
Bender and the older man had disappeared along a well-used path. Tyler took Lucky to the side and covertly watched. The boy waited for him, almost insisting on following him, which made Tyler very nervous.
“You can go on ahead,” Tyler called. “We’ll be along after Lucky does his business.”
“I’ll wait, so you don’t get lost.”
“I’ll just follow the path,” he said. The more reluctance the boy showed, the more Tyler didn’t want him behind.
A vague silent smile from the boy said he’d wait.
When Tyler got closer to the path, he knelt and pretended to wipe Lucky’s mouth as he said just loud enough for the boy to hear, “Here, let me wipe that nasty old blood off your mouth. Thanks for killing those two guards back there that attacked me. Good boy. Daddy trained you well.”
From the corner of his eye, he watched the boy take a small step back. It might indicate fear, but for what reason? Tyler finished with the dog and stood as if nothing had happened. He shrugged. “Lucky has been with me a long time.”
“He doesn’t look lucky.”
“If you’d seen the fights this dog was in when we were soldiers together you’d understand. He has more medals than my friend here, and I combined. You never saw a dog that can fight like this one.” The bold lie told more about the boy’s intentions than he wished. Suddenly, he needed to reach Bender. Without explanation, he spun and ran. “One word from me and he’ll take down a bear.”
Tyler had intended to let his dragon emerge and scare the boy, but he didn’t think he needed to. He instinctively knew the two men were up to no good. He felt the weight of the backpack, and the little thing was probably curled up, asleep again, which was almost all day, every day.
It either hunted, ate, or slept. The other one did the same. They were only active a short time each day, but the stench that arose from the backpack when he lifted the flap always took him by surprise. The day before it had smelled bad. Today it reeked, but he had no time to think about it.
The young man fell in behind. The move was too obvious for Tyler, and he ran.
“Hey, wait up.”
Lucky raced to his side, then raced to the front of him where it ran on ahead sniffing the path and following Bender. They tore up the twisting path as it wound next to a small stream despite the calls from the boy to wait for him. The trees ended in a clearing with a cabin sitting on a small rise overlooking the river. It was the prettiest location they could have chosen, the cabin and pastures beyond like something out of a fairy tale.
However, next to the stream, Bender lay on the ground, while three men stood over him, one holding a knife, another a shovel.
Tyler pulled to a stop. The bow slipped over his head, and he reached for an arrow. It struck the man holding the knife low, near his groin. An instant later, Lucky leaped to the chest of the older man who had been on the dock and wrestled him to the ground. Tyler’s second arrow took the remaining man high on the shoulder as he swung swing the shovel at the dog. He turned and ran in a halting, jerking set of motions.
The boy emerged from the trees at a full run behind him, to find an arrow aimed at his heart. Tyler motioned for him to lie down. He meekly complied, as if puzzled by what happened. Lucky still wrestled with the old man on the ground, but Bender slowly climbed to his knees and joined in the fight with a well-placed kick. It ended quickly. Bender wiped his knife clean on his thigh.
“Up,” Tyler ordered the boy.
He climbed to his feet and when pushed ahead by Tyler, stumbled forward where Bender searched the two men, one alive with an arrow still protruding from his lower stomach, and the other unconscious, blood streaming from a cut across his head. Bender stood with two pouches in hand and when he loosened the drawstrings on the first, gold coins tumbled into his palm. The same with the second.
Tyler held out his hand to the boy. He pulled a similar pouch from inside his waistband like the first two. Tyler said, “Where do fishermen get this much gold?”
The boy hesitated.
Tyler said, “Lucky, want another fight? Still hungry?”
“Not the dog. Please.”
“If I don’t get the answers I want, that ugly yellow thing will turn mad-crazy and rip your throat out. He’s done it to others, two this morning before the sun came up,” Tyler waited.
Bender was panting from the effort of his fight and recovery, looking dizzy while fingering a lump on the back of his head, but he caught on. “Let me get out of the way. He damned near ripped into me, last time.”
“We capture people and sell them.” The boy blurted the words out as if telling them he raised and sold cabbages. No emotion. No sense of guilt.
“To the Cabots?” Bender asked, his jaw so tight it barely moved.
“They pay us gold for able men,” the boy added, as if that explained it all.
Bender said, “And that explains why you live so close to them, but they don’t capture you and put you to work. You’re no better than them.”
“We don’t do anything bad,” the young man said defensively.
Tyler looked at the two men on the ground. He asked Bender, “Did you kill that one?”
“Yes, and the other will be gone soon. Why don’t you stay here and question this one, while I go after the one you winged?” Bender was already moving.
“No,” the boy shouted. “That’s my father!”
Bender didn’t slow. Lucky ran ahead of him, tail raised high into the air. Tyler said, “If he catches him, your father is going to die. If Bender finds your mother, sister, and brothers, they will too. He’ll kill your dog, eat your chickens, and burn your house to ashes. When he’s angry, that’s one mean son-of-a-bitch, and you people did that to him.”
“We’ll pay you!”
Tyler hesitated. “We already have your gold.”
“Not all of it. We have more hidden. I’ll show you where if you let them go. And me.”
“How many lives and families have you people ruined to have so much gold?” Tyler thought for a moment and said, “It’s not that I want your gold. It’s that I don’t want you to have it. If they weren’t chasing us, I’d stop right here and sell your ass to the Cabots, but I want to leave this evil place. If you show me to your gold, I won’t kill you. And your family, which is a hell of a lot more than you’ve done for others.”
“I’ll show you,” he said hurriedly and started to walk. Then he turned back to Tyler, “You’re telling the truth?”
“I am. Move.”
Tyler followed him past the cabin to another trail that was wide enough for small wagons. They found Bender wiping his knife clean on the boy’s father’s shirt.
Tyler said to the boy, “Never mind that. Show me.”
The boy passed by the prone figure with tears streaming down his face, but he kept on moving until they reached a farm
house. Neat fields surrounded the house. Smoke spiraled up from a river-rock chimney. Cows grazed, and roosters welcomed the day with their crowing.
Near the barn, the boy stopped at the stump of what had been a massive oak. The top was jagged and looked as if it had rotted and then broken off in a storm. He said, “You promise you’ll let them live? And keep him away from them?” His eyes were on Bender.
Tyler nodded. “I gave you my word. We won’t harm you or them.”
The boy leaped and caught hold of a stubby branch and levered himself higher until his foot found a toehold. He reached into a hole in the stump and pulled out a leather sack. Again, he said, “Keep him away from my family. You promised.”
“Drop it. Now.” Tyler allowed the whip of command to enter his tone.
The sack fell from limp hands. It thumped on the ground like a brick falling from a roof. Bender knelt and peeked inside. “By the Six Most Holy Gods.”
Tyler said, “If I believed in tainted money, this would be it.”
“What did you promise him?” Bender asked.
“That you wouldn’t kill his brother, sisters, and mother. Not his dog, either,” Tyler said.
“What about burning down his house?”
Tyler said, “That too.”
“The barn?”
“I didn’t make any promises about the barn or killing any animals. Wait, I did say you wouldn’t eat the chickens, but not that you wouldn’t kill them, or the cows, pigs, and so on.”
The boy sagged to his knees and said, “Wait. Haven’t you done enough to us?”
Bender smiled, but there was no humor in it. “Not by half, I haven’t. If your compassionate friend here hadn’t made promises to me, I’d kill all of you and take my time doing it. Did he also promise that I wouldn’t turn you over to the families of those you sent to the Cabots?”
When he didn’t respond, Tyler shook his head, no.
“As we travel downriver we’re going to tell everyone we meet what happened here, what you look like, and what you’ve done to their friends and relatives. I’ll keep Tyler’s silly promise not to kill you myself, but what can I do if others come looking for you?” Bender turned and walked to the barn.
