A moment later two men appeared, running quickly through the woods. They stopped directly below the two silent boys. Damn! said the first bandit, a tall, rangy man with dirty blond hair that hung limply to his collar. Whered they go?
Gone to ground, Ill wager, said the other, a broad-shouldered man with a heavy black beard. Bloody brush hides the tracks. You go that way, he pointed to a rough path along the edge of the rill that ran through the centre of the dell, and Ill work my way up. Lets see if I can flush em back to you.
They moved off and the boys waited. Tad put his finger to his lips. His caution turned out providential, as a few minutes later the tall blond bandit returned down the path. Zane quietly took the club from Tads hands and waited as the man hurried through the quickly darkening woodlands; he took no pains to hide his whereabouts. Muttering curses to himself, he was oblivious to the sudden movement above, as Zane twisted so his hips lay across the branch and swung down hard holding the wooden club in both hands. The man walked right into the blow, a loud, meaty crack that made Tad wince at the sound. It shattered the bandits nose and knocked him backwards as his feet went out from under him.
The impact also had the effect of causing Zane to pitch forward and tumble to the ground on his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. Tad leapt down from the tree and knelt next to the groggy dark-haired boy. You all right? whispered Tad.
Ill live, he said, standing on wobbly legs. Hows he doing?
Both boys turned their attentions to the fallen bandit. Kneeling next to him, Tad said, I think you killed him.
The mans face was awash with blood from a pulped nose and a gash across his forehead. Zane leaned down and touched the mans chest. The mans eyes suddenly opened and he reached out, grabbing Zanes tunic. The boy yelped in fear and pulled away as the man tried to wipe the blood out of his eyes with his other hand. Half-blind, the bandit said something incoherent but his murderous intent was obvious.
Tad picked up the branch Zane had used as a club and with all his strength he hit the man in the back of the head, the blow providing another nasty sounding crack. The bandit released his hold on Zane and pitched over sideways. The man lay groaning, and Tad hit him again, this time causing the mans body to jerk and then lie still.
Zane had scuttled backwards when released and now he rose and came to stand next to Tad. After a moment, he whispered, Hes not breathing.
I hope hes not, said Tad.
You killed him, said Zane softly, in mixed admiration and shock.
He would have killed us, was Tads reply.
Hey!
Both boys turned as one at the sound from below, the second man trudging back up the wash. Did you see them?
Zane glanced at Tad, who nodded, and yelled back in a faux deep voice, Up here!
Zanes eyes grew wide, but Tad pointed upwards, and put his hands together. Zane stepped into the stirrup Tad formed, and took the boost to reach the branch. Ill draw him here, said Tad. You hit him!
Zane said, Then give me the branch, you fool!
Tad was just on the verge of tossing it up to Zane when the second bandit came hurrying up the gully. He was out of breath but the instant he saw Tad standing over his fallen comrade holding the makeshift bludgeon, he pointed his sword and ran towards the boy.
Tad stood rooted in terror for an instant, then at the last he ducked as the bandit tried to cut his head from his shoulders. The blade struck the tree trunk and cut deep, like an axe. The blade was wedged deep and the bandit yanked to free it. Tad thrust upwards into the mans face with the butt end of the dried branch, and the erstwhile club struck him square on the nose. Damn! shouted the man as he threw up his left arm, knocking aside the branch while he staggered back. Tad could see the man had some small cuts on his face and a few embedded splinters, but the blow did nothing more than annoy him. Tad grabbed the hilt of the mans sword and yanked the blade free, then stood resolutely facing the bandit.
The man drew back his dagger. If you know how to use it, ywhelp, youd best be about it, else Ill cut you from chin to crotch for what you did to Mathias. He stepped forward, blade ready, as a pair of feet appeared directly over his head. Zane jumped from the branch above, one foot striking the side of the mans neck, the other landing on his shoulder. The boys weight drove the bandit straight to his knees and Tad could see the wide-eyed, startled expression on his face as his head twisted impossibly to one side, and he could hear the loud crack as his neck broke.
Zane again tumbled hard to the ground and lay there uttering a groan. Tad looked downward, first at the bandit who now lay at his feet, his head bent at an unnatural angle, his vacant eyes staring up at the night sky. He then looked at Zane who lay on his back, also wide-eyed and motionless. Tad knelt next to his foster brother who took in a large gasp of air and softly said, I think my back is broken.
Tad said, Are you serious? with concern approaching panic in his voice.
It hurts like it is, said the shorter boy.
Tad stuck his thumbnail into his companions leg and said, Can you feel that?
Ow! said Zane, sitting up. That hurt.
Your backs not broken, said Tad, standing and giving Zane a hand up as he did.
How do you know? said the ill-used boy.
Jacob Stephenson told me that when Twomy Crooms father broke his back from that fall in their barn, the old man couldnt move his legs, couldnt even feel anything below the waist.
Thats bad, said Zane.
Didnt matter, offered Tad. The old man died a day later.
Feels like I broke it, said Zane in a weak bid for sympathy.
Get the other sword, said Tad.
Zane took the one next to the first man they had killed. Tad hefted the other and the taller boy said, We should get back to the wagon.
Zane said, But Caleb said not to come back?
Tads blood was up and he almost shouted, But he may need our help!
You think Calebs all right?
Fear and exultation mixed in equal measure as Tad said, If we can kill two of these bastards, Im sure Caleb was the equal of the other three.
Zane didnt look convinced, but he followed his foster brother.
They moved cautiously up the hillside towards the road. It was now full night and the way was difficult as they navigated their way through the underbrush and thick boles. As they reached the verge of the road, they stopped and listened for any hint of the bandits. The sounds of the forest at night was all they heard. A light evening breeze rustled leaves and the sound of night birds echoed from some distance away. All appeared peaceful.
They ventured onto the road and looked in both directions. Wheres the wagon? whispered Tad.
Zane shrugged, the gesture lost on his companion, so he said, I dont know. I dont know if this is where we were, or if we were that way he pointed down the road to his left, or the other.
Then they heard a horses snort and the rattle of traces coming from the left. They had climbed back to the road farther to the east than they had thought. The boys hurried along the edge of the road, ready to dart back into the trees should they encounter bandits.
In the gloom they barely saw the first body, sprawled on the far side of the road. It was the bandit who had first accosted them. Farther down the road the wagon was stationary on the other side of the road while the two horses attempted to crop whatever they could from the underbrush. Another bandit lay dead as they reached the end of the wagon.
The boys circled around and saw two figures, the last bandit, the one with the crossbow, lying dead next to the wagons left front wheel and another figure slumped down beside him, back against the wheel of the wagon.
Caleb sat upright, but was unconscious, his body held in place by the wagon wheel and the dead bowmans corpse. Tad knelt next to him and said, Hes breathing!
Zane pulled the corpse of the last bandit aside, and Caleb fell over sideways. Tad examined him and found a deep gash in his side where a crossbow bolt had found its mark, as well as several sword cuts. Weve got to do something!
Zane said, Strip that mans shirt, as he pointed to the nearest bandit. Cut bandages.
Tad did as Zane said and pulled out Calebs huge hunting knife, using it to cut bandages from the mans filthy shirt. Zane hurried to inspect the other two corpses and returned with two more swords and a small purse. They must have robbed before, said Zane.
Throwing an impatient look at Zane, Tad said, You think?
I mean recently, said Zane, holding up the purse. Its got some coins in it.
Well, we had better get Caleb into the wagon, because I dont know how long hes going to make it without help.
Both boys picked up the injured man and deposited him in the back of the wagon. Tad said, You stay back there with him. Ill drive.
Neither boy was an experienced teamster, but both had spelled Caleb on their journey, and Zane admitted Tad was a better driver. The horses were reluctant to leave their forage and head down the road. How far did he say that village was? asked Tad.
I dont remember, said Zane. But hurry. I dont think we have much time. Tad pulled to the right and got the horses pointed down the road and with a flick of the reins and a shout got them moving. With another flick and a louder shout, he got them up to a brisk trot, the fastest he could manage in the darkness without running themselves off the dark road.
Caleb lay motionless, his head resting on a bundle of empty sacks while Zane tried his best to halt the bleeding. Softly, Zane whispered, Dont die!
Tad silently echoed his foster brothers request as he urged the horses down the dark and forbidding road.
The ride through the forest seemed to take forever. The boys alternated between an almost panic-stricken terror and a determined optimism that everything would turn out for the best.
They had no sense of time, as the minutes passed by and the road passed under the hooves of the horses. The animals had not been rested for hours before the ambush, and they were panting and the one on the left seemed to be favouring his left hind leg, but Tad ignored it; hed kill both horses in their traces if it would save Caleb.
Both boys liked the tall, quiet hunter, as they thought of him. They knew he was related to the owners of Stardock, though the exact nature of the relationship was vague to them. They also knew that their mother was in love with Caleb and that he cared deeply for her. Resentful of his attentions at first, they had both come to appreciate how happy his visits made her. Tads deepest fear was having to return to Stardock and seeing the look on his mothers face should he have to tell her of Calebs death.
Suddenly they were in the village. Tad realized that he had been so focused on what he would have to tell his mother and that Zane had been tending Caleb so closely, neither had noticed they had left the forest and had been passing by farms for some time now. The large moon was up and in the shimmering light of its reflected glow they could see the village of Yar-Rin. A few huts lined the roadway into the village square, and three large buildings dominated. One was the mill, on the far side of the square, and the other two appeared to be a shop of some sort, and an inn. The inn showed a sign with a sleeping rooster ignoring a sunrise. Remembering Calebs instructions, Tad pulled up before the inn and went to bang hard on the bolted door.
After a minute a voice from above sounded as a window was thrown open. What is it? shouted an angry landlord as he thrust his head out the window.
Are you McGrudder? We need help! shouted Tad.
Wait a minute, said the man as he withdrew his head.
A moment later the door opened and a large man in a nightshirt appeared in the doorway holding a lantern. Now, whos we and what sort of help His questions died on his lips as he saw Zane kneeling next to the prone figure in the wagon bed. He held the lantern close and said, Gods of mercy!
Looking at the two boys, both obviously exhausted and filthy, he said, Help me get him inside.
Tad jumped up next to Zane and they both got one of Calebs arms over their shoulder, then got him upright. The innkeeper came to the end of the wagon and said, Give him to me.
They allowed Caleb to fall slowly over the large mans shoulder, and ignoring the blood that was soaking into his nightshirt, the landlord took the wounded man inside. Elizabeth! he shouted as he entered the inn. Get up, woman!
A few moments later a plump but still attractive older woman appeared on the stairs, as the landlord put Caleb on a table. Its Caleb, said the man.
Are you McGrudder? asked Tad.
That I am, and this is my inn, the Sleeping Rooster. And who might you two be, and how did my friend come to this sorry state?
The woman quickly began examining the wounds and said, Hes lost a lot of blood, Henry.
I can see that, woman. Do what you can.
Tad and I are from Stardock, said Zane, and he quickly outlined the tale of their ambush.
Damn road agents, said McGrudder. Had a Keshian patrol from Yadom out looking for them a couple of weeks back.
Well, theyre all dead now, said Tad.
All of them?
Five men, said Zane. Tad and I killed two of them, Caleb the other three.
You killed two? asked McGrudder, then he fell silent as the boys nodded.
When he said nothing for a few moments, Tad offered, We were lucky.
Indeed, said McGrudder.
The woman called Elizabeth said, Henry, I dont think I can do anything to save him. Hes too far gone.
Damn, said the innkeeper. Margaret! he roared.
Within a minute a young girl, about the same age as the boys, appeared from a door in the rear of the common room. Get dressed and hurry down to the witchs hut.
The girls eyes grew wide. The witch!
Do it! the landlord shouted. Weve got a dying man here.
The girls face went pale, and she vanished back through the door. A few minutes later she reappeared wearing a simple grey homespun dress and a pair of leather shoes. Turning to Zane, McGrudder said, Take the lantern and go with her. The old witch wont talk to strangers, but she knows Margaret. To Margaret, he said, Shell not want to come, but when she tells you to be away, say this and no more, McGrudder says its time to repay a debt. Shell come then.