by Jon Kiln
“Not now, girl, please. Turn right. Up along this ridge,” Berengar instructed.
He wheeled around and Nisero followed on his flank, with Arianne holding on behind him.
“Did he look hurt after you dropped him?” Arianne spoke into Nisero’s ear.
He kept his eyes forward, watching the ground as they rode up the rise of the ridge. “What?”
“Was Dreth hurt badly?”
“I think he got in better shots than me in that fight.” Nisero licked the inside of his teeth, tasting blood still, but fought the urge to spit. His old scratches on his neck still stung.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “He is still my husband. I believe he is a good man. He was just angry because he thought I was siding with you against him. Maybe I was.”
Nisero ground his teeth together, feeling pain in the front of his gums. He remembered watching through the inn from the hallway and wanting to come out to defend her from Dreth more than once. Some of that could have been jealousy, but Nisero read threat in the man and those instincts were pretty honed in him.
“I think he was fine,” he finally said.
Berengar glanced over at Nisero and then back to the ridge that was beginning to curve. “What’s that you say?”
Arianne pressed Nisero further. “How can you be sure after you dropped him through that hole?”
“I had time to look. It was barely more than the length of a man. It was a mild drop. At worst it stunned him for me to get away… for us to get away.”
“What are you talking about?” Berengar asked again.
“There could have been nails in the boards that fell through and he might have been hurt more badly than we thought,” she went on.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Nisero said. “You should have let him have his short sword and run me through, if you wanted him to win.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” She lowered her forehead against his back and Nisero felt bad for having said it.
Berengar still was not sure what they were discussing, but felt the need to explain himself. “I didn’t know he had set me up to lead those men to you. I thought he would come for his wife and be gone. We could then slip away before he was any the wiser.”
“When he ran inside to beat my skull in,” Nisero said with a small smile, “that might have served as a warning that your plan had gone awry, captain.”
“Noted. I figured you’d put him off long enough to get out the back. I thought I would serve better by having horses ready.”
“Maybe next time I’ll get the horses while you take the beatings,” Nisero offered.
Arianne raised her head. “We stand no chance if we are going to lie to each other. Betrayal is what wove this situation. We cannot stand for it between one another. That was a bad move, father.”
“I thought I could trust, Dreth. Getting you clear of this was the best for all of us. If it had worked, that is. We didn’t want to end up in a situation where we were all fugitives and fleeing for our lives.”
“Well, that is exactly where we are.”
They rode in silence for several moments. The ground sloped down away from them on both sides. Trees gripped the ground with thick beds of leaves washing down along the way.
Berengar pulled up in a break in the trees and stood on his stirrups. Nisero leaned forward in the saddle to stare down. He felt Arianne lean against his back to do the same thing.
The scant cornfields of Berengar’s secret property spread out below them. The inn seemed small and barely fit to stand, looking down from that distance. Men crisscrossed around on the grounds of the property. It looked like the equivalent of a division of men.
“Are any of them following us?” Arianne asked as she watched the soldiers scurry about.
Berengar raised his hand over his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun. “I don’t think they tracked us up this ridge yet. By the time they do, we’ll be gone.”
“Maybe we should get moving now just to be sure,” Nisero suggested.
“Hold on,” Berengar said. “I need to see something. The men that came with Dreth to take the inn were on foot. We should be fine for now.”
“What is it you are trying to see?”
Berengar stopped and pointed out across the fields. Nisero followed his finger out over the land. He did not see what he was pointing at, but then Nisero spotted the horses. It was a small group of riders, but they were out on the main road. They were definitely military and they were cutting across diagonally.
“That’s what I thought,” Berengar confirmed. “They are coming across to cut off our path.”
Arianne was looking at them too. “Do they know we are on this ridge?” she asked her father.
“No, I don’t think so. I think they are looking to block the trail along the back edge of the property. Not knowing the land here at all, I imagine they see the ridge as a natural barrier to their advantage. They won’t realize that this trail over the top exists until they investigate further… if they bother.”
“And by then we will be gone,” Arianne said in relief.
“Do you see anyone you recognize, Nisero?” Berengar asked suddenly.
Nisero squinted around below them. “Who?”
“The riders.”
“What about them?”
“Look,” Berengar insisted.
It was a great distance, but Nisero started piecing together colors and patterns. His jaw dropped open. Berengar nodded.
“Explain please,” Arianne said.
“Elite Guard,” Nisero replied.
“And you recognize the one in front?”
Nisero only counted seven men. Could that be all that was left? Eight, if he counted himself, but Nisero was not sure he could see himself among them any longer.
“Captain Forseth,” he said in distaste.
“What are they doing here?” Arianne bit her lower lip.
“If they truly believe I was responsible for killing our brothers, then they will want to get hold of me themselves.”
“And if they are responsible for it,” Berengar added, “they will want to get to you first, too.”
Arianne sighed. “So, that narrows it down to one or the other.”
“I’d love to ride ahead and get hold of Forseth myself,” Nisero said through gritted his teeth.
“As do I,” said Berengar, “but now is not the time.”
“Where to then, captain?” Nisero looked away from the land below.
Berengar pointed down the other side of the ridge. “This trail is a little steep, but it leads down beyond the ridge leaving them on the other side.”
Nisero took one last lingering look at the men below, before they made their way down the trail behind the ridge.
Chapter 8: Lies and Answers
Arianne slapped Berengar across the face. It was a crisp sound that echoed through the hardwoods and foliage around them.
The horses reacted to the noise like a threat. They rolled out sounds of distress from their throats and snorted through flared nostrils. All three pulled with enough force on the reins wrapped in Nisero’s fists that they dragged his feet along through the dirt. He clicked his tongue and pulled back until they gave up the fight to bolt. As they bobbed their heads, Nisero realized they could have dragged him through the forest, if they had so chosen.
The girl’s handprint glowed rosy red on Berengar’s cheek. Two of the fingers were lost in the hard lines of his scar from Solag’s hand. Berengar blinked and took a step back, more to calm himself than to recoil from the actual force of the blow.
“How could you try to pass me off like that?” Arianne shouted. “How could I mean so little to you?”
“I explained why I did it and what I was trying to accomplish,” replied Berengar calmly. “There is nothing more to say on it. I thought your husband was a different man.”
“I thought you were a different man.” Arianne held her belly and turned away from her father. She to
ok a few steps, but not exactly toward Nisero either. “You led them right to us. We came to you to avoid that very thing. You lied.”
“I said nothing that was untrue.”
“The song and verse of liars everywhere,” Arianne spat.
Berengar sighed and turned his eyes toward Nisero holding the horses. “I’m sorry I almost orchestrated your capture, Nisero. I thought Dreth would take me at my word and return Arianne home, freeing us to investigate the mystery surrounding this betrayal. I did not intend to be party to a betrayal myself and for that I am sincerely sorry. To both of you, I am sorry.”
“I understand, captain.”
Arianne threw her hands back and spoke up at the sky between the trees. “Of course he forgives you. What choice does he have? You could probably lie and double cross him two more times and he would forgive you twice again.”
“That is enough,” Berengar said with force. “What exactly did you think the plan would entail, dear daughter, were we to ride off together? Three into battle—four if you count your unborn child? We are hobbled for having you in tow. It increases the danger on all of us. Had I not approached your husband myself, he would have rallied half the King’s army to come hunt us down. You can pour the full measure of your wrath upon my head, if you so choose, but had you gone with him willingly and remained silent on the matter, we would have been away and out from under some of the heat that dogs us now. There is some of the truth you love and want so desperately. Is it every bit as liberating as you had hoped, Arianne?”
“I will not cry, if that is your ploy, turning your mistake back harshly against me.”
Berengar snorted in a manner that reminded Nisero of the horses. “I have no opinion or concern on whether you choose to cry or not.”
“You have had no concern about many things for a long time,” Arianne said with her voice pitched lower.
“All my concern,” Berengar said, “has been for your continued safety and life. That and nothing else.”
Insects clicked through the trees around them. Nisero listened for any larger pests that might have been drawn in by the argument, but he heard none. He had hoped to remain out of the father daughter dispute until the storm had passed, but he wasn’t sure it was going to do so. He opened his mouth to speak into the silence like he had promised himself he would not, but Arianne spoke first.
“I am done,” she said. “So what do we do now?”
“We still need information.” Berengar turned his attention back on Nisero.
The lieutenant walked the horses a few steps closer to the space between Captain Berengar and his daughter. “I have no sources I can trust. Even those that would be my friends under most circumstances would not dream of engaging me even in conversation now.”
“I have fewer now than I did before.” Berengar scratched at his whiskers and stared down at the ground for a moment. “And that wasn't very many to begin with.”
Nisero glanced in Arianne’s direction fearing that she would take the comment as an opening to re-engage the argument about the situation being her father’s fault. She appeared to be holding her tongue for the moment, but knowing her, Nisero wasn’t sure how long the peace could hold.
“We could find a way to get information from people that don’t care to give it,” Berengar thought out loud. “The same way we did on the ridge called The Way of Blood.”
Nisero looked away. “As I recall, people died that night.”
Berengar shook his head. “We did not kill those boys. We kept our promise to their sister.”
“I’m talking about the sword fights that followed during our narrow escape. We also had to jump off a cliff. My hip still hurts when it rains sometimes.”
“Well, maybe we can modify the idea and stay closer to the ground this time.”
Nisero thought about it for a beat. “That will require us to get close to those that pursue us.”
“They are already close and getting closer. We might as well have the information too.”
“What do you have in mind?” Arianne queried her father.
“We’ll need to swing back toward the farm.”
Arianne rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry I asked.”
“Again, the farther from the capital we flee, the less likely we are to be able to find the truth and clear Nisero’s name. Unless we intend to cross over and approach the king of the eastern kingdom, but I think we would find an even colder reception there.”
“I will follow you lead, captain.”
Arianne took one of the horses from Nisero and mounted. “As opposed to your other choices.”
***
They rode south west, avoiding trails until Captain Berengar pulled them up short. He put a finger to his lips and signaled for the other two to follow him. They looped down into a ravine and tied off the horses below a vine covered overhang.
“Arianne,” Berengar whispered, “I need you to stay with the horses until we return. Be ready to ride, please.”
She crossed her arms. “As you wish, father.”
He took a length of rope over one shoulder and motioned Nisero to follow him as they walked back up out of the ravine.
“What is the plan, sir?”
“We are close to ears that might hear,” Berengar said softly. “Just trust me for now and I’ll explain later, if I can.”
Nisero’s thoughts drifted to Berengar bringing Dreth into their midst, but he did not press for answers yet.
The older man looked around and began testing the saplings. He bent one down and began tying off the end of the rope. Nisero started to get the idea of what Berengar was trying to do even if he did not understand why he was doing it. Nisero leaned his weight on the tree as Berengar finished the knot.
The captain pulled down taut on the tree and covered the bend with leaves. Nisero joined him in the task. Berengar created a loop and staked it down on the ground. They covered that as well. As they finished, Berengar looped the rope around a stump, up through a fork in a tree and then across the trail over another branch. He added slack until the rope lay across between trees on the ground. They covered this final section too.
They both crouched behind the trees and the captain held the rope, waiting.
After a while, hoof beats approached. Seven riders from the regular army rode through between the trees. Nisero waited for the captain to spring the trap, but they rode on and he did not set off the elaborate snare he had prepared.
“How did you know they would ride through here?” Nisero whispered.
“Because they came through once and they did not find us.”
Nisero adjusted his position to be more comfortable. “Why didn’t you spring your trap?”
“They were not the prize I sought.”
“For whom is this trap set?”
Berengar closed his eyes and took a beep breathe. “For answers,” he said. “Now remain still. This is worse than having Arianne up here.”
Nisero remained quiet, but thought about the captain’s daughter waiting in the ravine.
Another rider approached. Berengar raised his head to look and then lowered it again. He stared forward, still and silent. Nisero figured this was not their prey either.
As the rider’s shadow fell across the ground ahead of them, Berengar leaned back and pulled the line up rigid out of the leaves. The horse rode under, but the man took the rope across his chest. He lifted out of the saddle in the air and grunted. He tried to hold onto the rope, but instead spilled to his back on the ground, staring up at the sky.
Nisero saw it was Forseth.
Berengar let go of the rope and instead of falling limp to the ground, the stakes came loose and the tree snapped up in the air. The loop tightened around Captain Forseth’s feet and he lifted up into the air upside down clawing around himself, but not finding anything to hold onto.
Berengar drew his sword and sprung from his hiding place. Nisero followed close behind.
Forseth opened his mouth to scream for h
elp, but Berengar put the point of the blade against Forseth’s throat and the upside down captive stopped in mid shout.
“Not a sound, or I will run you through like the dirty bandits we are.” Berengar grabbed Forseth’s belt to steady him in the air before drawing the man’s sword out of its sheath and tossing it aside. He did the same with his dagger.
“You don’t need to do this,” Forseth breathed.
“Don’t test me,” Berengar said. “You’ll have plenty of time to talk in response to my questions.”
“How did you know he would come back through eventually?” Nisero asked.
Berengar knelt down level with Forseth’s head. He moved the point of his sword and rested the edge of the blade against the man’s chin and throat. “Because he had not found us. He was the most keen to find us, and therefore he would come back through last.”
“I know Nisero did not kill those men,” Forseth said quickly, “and the charges against him are lies.” His arms were dangling down past his head near the ground.
Berengar grinned at Forseth’s reddening face. “Now you seem to be saying something that I am actually interested in hearing, old friend. Go on.”
Chapter 9: Conspiracies
“I know Nisero is not guilty,” Forseth blurted.
“You said that already,” Nisero said from behind Berengar.
Berengar still held his sword to the man's neck as he hung upside down in the trap. “Yes, so tell us something new about this thing you know, Forseth.”
“The ambush was already cleared by the time we returned from the manor. Authorities were searching for the killers before the sun rose, and I know some of them must have been the very ones that brought down the Elite Guard. We were ordered back to the capital and your image and name, Nisero, were attached to the crime before we arrived.”
Berengar didn’t believe him. “So you claim no part in staging the ambush?”
Forseth’s face was already red from hanging upside down, so it was hard to read any surprise or emotional nuance in his reactions. “I would never turn on our brothers any more than you or Nisero could.”
Berengar laid out the facts. “You stopped the company on the road. You picked the men that accompanied you in before the attack. You had no part in that staging, you claim?”
