Part 19 (1/2)
”That's my problem.” He hoped he could come up with a solution when the time came. He stuffed the strip of cloth into Jeriah's mouth and cut another to tie over it. ”But it'll be harder for me if I have to worry about you. You understand, Regg? You won't stay around and try to help me?”
The boy shook his head. ”I'm not as silly as Onny. I understand. I'll see you outside.” And he vanished.
Jeriah stirred, moaning behind the gag. Tobin grabbed his brother's arms and lashed his wrists with the cord he'd brought for this purpose, though he'd prayed it wouldn't be necessary. But now he was glad it had happened. He'd rather fight Jeriah honestly than fog his mind with spells. He tied his brother's ankles, rolled him over, and flinched at the pain and betrayal in his eyes.
”I'm sorry, Jeri, I'm so sorry.” He touched his brother's face, and Jeriah cringed as if he'd burned him. ”Oh, Bright Ones, don't. I'm not crazy, Jeri, I'm doing this because . . . because . . .” The impossibility of explaining washed over him. If he had time and freedom and Jeriah's trust, he could have made his brother understand, but he had none of those things. ”I'm sorry, Jeri. I know what it looks like, dishonor, betrayal, and maybe it is, but sometimes ...” A wry smile twisted his lips. ”Sometimes honor doesn't get it done. Forgive me.”
”He may,” said Master Lazur's quiet voice behind him. ”But I doubt if I will.”
Tobin rose and turned, slowly. The priest's gaze was as cold and steady as the crossbow pointed at Tobin's heart.
Tobin had to swallow before he could speak. ”I wasn'ta””
”Spare me the protests, boy. I'll learn all I need with a truth spell. It will be interesting to discover the source of this girl's fascination. I know you're too sensible to throw your life away for a pretty face.”
The face that appeared in the doorway behind the priest's back didn't look pretty, even though she'd washed away the dried blooda”it was grim and wary as an a.s.sa.s.sin's. Tobin had never been so glad to see anyone in his life.
CHAPTER 19.
The Hedgewitch THE KNIGHT's EYES WIDENED. She glared at him fiercely and he looked hastily back at the priest, who hadn't turned around, Bright Ones be praised.
”It isn't her at all,” said the knight, his quiet, intense voice designed to hold attention. Good lad. Keep it up.
Jeriah stared at her, wide eyed above the gag, but he didn't make a sound, and she thanked him with a nod as she crept forward.
The crossbow was the problem. If she hit the priest on the head as she'd planned, and his finger tightened on the trigger, he could hardly miss. .h.i.tting the knight. But if she used her first blow to knock the crossbow up, the priest would have time to shout, and one yelp was all it would take to bring the guards to kill them all.
The knight asked Lazur why Regg's spell failed when they entered the tent, and Makenna marked his warninga”though with this cursed net clinging to her arm, it hardly mattered. The knight braced himself as she drew neara”nothing obvious, just a small s.h.i.+ft in posture, but she knew she'd best move before that sharp-eyed priest noticed it, too. Now!
She stepped forward and kicked the bow up. Even as the bolt whizzed harmlessly overhead, the knight sprang, his hands closing around the priest's throat before he could do more than gasp.
The momentum of the knight's leap carried them both down, with the knight on top. She grabbed the priest's hands, pinning them so he couldn't break the knight's grip or gouge at his eyes. He was already turning purple, his face contorting. She felt a moment's fear that her champion would weaken, but one glance at his grim face a.s.sured her. A moment later the priest's straining muscles went limp.
”You gag, I'll tie.” His shaking voice contrasted oddly with the brisk commands. ”And don't forget to put that net around him. How did you get it?”
”Erebus. That's how he was hurt, going back for it.”
He worked rapidly and efficiently and she followed his example, tearing strips from her s.h.i.+rt for the priest's gag, just as he had. ”How long will this one stay unconscious?”
”Not very long. And you can make a lot of noise through a gag. We'd better get out of here fast,” he said.
She yanked the final knot tight. ”Then maybe you'd better finish what you started?”
There were some humans, perhaps even most, who should be spareda”but Makenna wasn't sure this man was one of them. The net seemed eager to leave her arm, curling around the priest's limp body like a cat. At least he wouldn't be freeing himself with spells when he woke.
”Don't push it, hedgewitch.” The knight glared at her with the eyes of a man who was rapidly reaching his limit, and she was too experienced a commander not to recognize it.
”As you will,” she said soothingly. Then a thought struck her. ”How did you know I'd go for the bow instead of hitting him over the head?”
”I didn't. Grab those cursed books, will you?” He pulled a large bag from the pouch on his belt and tossed it to her.
Her fingers lingered on the spines, stroking them despite the need for haste. Here was true magic, complex, codified, complete. This was what her mother had wanted for her.
”Hurry, will you!”
She stuffed the last of the books into the bag. But instead of coming to help her, he went to Jeriah, who sat in silence, watching. She saw him search for words.
”I love you,” he said finally, and pulled his brother into his arms, kissing his head. ”Tell Mother I love her. Tell Father ... tell Father it was the right thing to do.” He let Jeriah go and stepped out of the tent ahead of her, pulling his cloak around him.
She glanced back and met Jeriah's tear-bright eyes.
”I'll watch out for him,” she promised. ”And you'd better keep an eye on that one.” She jerked her head at the motionless priest. ”It's a trap, you know, thinking all the right's on your side, and none on the other. A trap of the mind, more vicious than steel spikes. Heavier than chains. And he's in so deep, he'll never even see it. Bright One's grace, I swear, I pity him. Win or lose.” Was there a flicker of understanding in the boy's eyes? Makenna couldn't be sure. She pulled up her hood and followed her ally into the night.
He was waiting for her, trying to look confident as he scanned the quiet camp. ”Do you have a plan for getting us out of here?” He took her arm, leading her in the direction of the horse lines. How long had it been since a human had touched her, in friends.h.i.+p?
”I was hoping you'd have one,” she said.
”This is no time to develop a sense of humor. What about the goblins?”
”I told Cogswhallop to get the lot of them to the gap in the wall, and wait for us. I'll try to cast the spell when we get there, though I still don't thinka””
He came to a stop and stared at her. ”You sent them on ahead? You said you thought I couldn't do it!”
”I still don't.” She took his arm and pulled him along. ”But if by some miracle we bring this off, having the goblins scattered from one end of the wood to the other would be like having a cow with a full udder and no pail. Shh! Don't laugh like that. Someone'll recognize you and we haven't the time.”
”Then you'll all be leaving as soon as you cast the spell.” He sounded thoughtful. Wistful? ”I wisha””
m.u.f.fled shouting came from the tent behind them, and several late-awake guards started cautiously in that direction.
The knight grabbed her hand and ran for the line where the horses were tethered. Makenna flung herself at the nearest beast, but when she put her foot in the stirrup and started to step up, the saddle rolled off the horse's back and fell on top of her. She sat on the ground and looked up at the knight, who was gazing blankly at the limp bridle that had fallen off the horse's head when he grabbed it. Then she understood and began to laugh, full, free, and joyous, and no thought of danger could stop the sound. Goblins! How she loved them.
The knight cursed, dragged her to her feet, and tossed her up to the horse's back.
”The books,” she gasped. He thrust them into her arms, yanked the reins from the useless bridle, wrapped one around her mount's neck, and handed her the ends.
He took the other rein for himself, pulled off the other horse's saddle with one quick jerk, and leapt to the beast's broad back, compact and easy as a house cat leaping to a window sill. He kicked his horse to a gallop, and Makenna followed.
She wasn't trained to ride bareback as the knight was. She dropped the rein and wrapped both hands in the horse's mane, the awkward bag of books clutched in front of her. She was glad her beast followed his, for as they rode through the seething settlement she had no thought to spare for its guidance.
Freed livestock darted, bawling, hither and thither, with the owners in pursuit. Half a dozen flapping chickens, followed by a man with no boots on, made her mount shy, and she wobbled dangerously on its slippery back.
The alarm bell started ringing, and the confusion intensified as some ran for the church and others looked for weapons that were unaccountably missing. She pa.s.sed a tent that bulged and bellowed furiously and laughed again when she saw that its flaps had been sewn shut.