Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue (4 page)

The sounds of the camp grew louder, though they could not yet see it. As they approached, evil-sounding laughter reached their ears, and they froze. They each dropped to one knee near the trunk of a large tree. Carliss reached out and grabbed Salina’s arm.

“This is foolish,” she whispered. “We know these are the men, and as far as we can tell, no one has been killed yet. If we get caught, there won’t be anyone to rescue your family. We need to go for help.”

Salina looked at Carliss with anguished eyes. “I must see them.”

“If we go any closer, they will surely see or hear us,” Carliss protested.

Salina looked toward the sounds of the encampment, then shook her arm free. “You stay, I’m going on.”

Salina carefully moved forward two steps, then glanced back at Carliss before proceeding. Carliss felt trapped between her oath to never abandon a fellow knight in peril and her dismay over the foolhardy actions of her friend. She carefully followed behind Salina, staying low to the ground. The smell of smoke and cooked game filled her nostrils, and she could now see movement ahead.

More laughter burst through the trees, and Carliss could almost make out the conversations of the marauders. Finally she reached a point where every fiber in her body resisted further advance. She felt for her sword and lifted it slightly out of its scabbard to unseat it in case she needed to draw it quickly. She grasped her bow, drew an arrow from her quiver, and set the nock of the arrow in the bowstring. Then she positioned herself on the far side of a tree stump, near some heavy underbrush, where she could clearly see Salina advance toward the encampment.

“Don’t get yourself killed, Salina,” Carliss whispered to herself, then focused intently on providing cover as she advanced.

Salina carefully made her way nearer the camp. Carliss took another step, then froze as she heard two men behind her. She dropped to the forest floor in the cover of the underbrush, hoping that Salina would see the men before it was too late. Carliss held her breath and turned her head just enough to see them as they approached. She could only hope that the brush at her back would be enough to hide her.

“Which castle do we deliver the vermin to this time?” one of the men asked.

“These are for Lord Malco himself,” the other replied. “And if that cracker Barstoon sends me out there again, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” the other man interrupted. “Leave Moorue and take up farming?” He laughed and slapped the back of the man’s head.

The man spit and snarled, then grabbed the arm of his accomplice. They stopped right beside Carliss, and her stomach rose to her throat.

“Look there!” she heard one of the men whisper.

The other man’s eyes grew wide, and they both slowly drew their swords. Carliss held her breath as they looked beyond her to Salina. Carliss watched in torment as the men silently made their way to her unsuspecting friend. When they were a short distance away, Carliss lifted herself high enough to be able to draw back her bow. Salina was still thirty paces from the edge of camp, and Carliss was just as far behind her, with the two marauders between them.

For a moment, Carliss could think of no way to save her friend and
still escape the clutches of these evil brutes and their comrades. She broke from her cover to get a better view of the men. Moment by moment the terrifying scene unfolded, and Carliss could hardly bear it. The men were close to Salina now, and Carliss drew back her bow, targeting the one closest to Salina, steeling herself for what she knew must come next.

Salina was so intent on the encampment that she was still completely unaware of her impending demise. She took two more steps, which put her just out of Carliss’s sight.

“No!” Carliss whispered. She relaxed her bow and ran forward until she caught sight of Salina again, but she was too late. One of the men had grabbed Salina from behind, and his hand was now encircling her throat. The second man stood behind them, his back to Carliss. He lifted his sword and hesitated.

Carliss drew back and let loose an arrow that followed the perfect path through the trees toward the man’s heart. Before the arrow hit its mark, Carliss drew another arrow and ran three more paces toward her friend.

Thud!
The hollow sound of the arrow penetrating the man’s back seemed to echo through the forest. Carliss was now only twenty paces away. As the first man fell from view to reveal the horror on Salina’s face, Carliss drew back and pinpointed her next target.

The second man’s eyes opened wide as he realized what had happened. Salina tried to scream, but the man gripped her throat tighter and held her close, positioning her to protect himself from Carliss’s next arrow. For an instant, the scene paused, and no one seemed to know what to do. Carliss stood with the tip of her arrow aimed just above Salina’s heart and into the shoulder of her captor, anguishing over the decision to release or not.

“Over here!” the man shouted toward camp.

The shout destroyed any chance of quiet escape, but it also gave Carliss the split-second diversion she needed. The man’s eyes looked toward camp as he shouted, and in that fraction of a second, Carliss released the taut string of the bow and sent her arrow to its target with deadly accuracy.

The man looked back toward Carliss with only enough time to see the final few feet of the arrow’s flight. Salina’s eyes went wide as the arrow skimmed her left shoulder and sank solidly into the man’s shoulder. He screamed and released his grip on Salina as he fell to the ground.

“Come on, Salina!” Carliss shouted. She drew her sword and whipped her bow onto her back as she beckoned for her friend.

Salina seemed dazed and unable to move. Carliss heard a commotion from the camp and knew an alarm had been raised. She could not wait for Salina, for their only chance now was to untie the horses and flee. She ran back toward Rindy, glancing over her shoulder to see that Salina had broken from her paralysis of fear.

“Hurry!” she called out.

Salina seemed to drag behind, but Carliss did not wait for her. She would need time to loose and ready the horses. She made it to the steeds, untied them, and mounted Rindy. She grabbed the reins of Salina’s horse and rode to cover the distance between them. Within a moment, she reached Salina and threw the reins to her. The marauders had spotted them and were coming quickly, but fortunately they were all on foot.

Salina seemed to struggle to place her foot in the stirrup, and Carliss was nearly beside herself. Rindy danced in circles, sensing her master’s apprehension.

“Come on, Salina!” Carliss shouted.

Just as Salina lifted herself into the saddle, Carliss slapped Rindy’s reins and bolted into the forest, away from the pursuit of angry men. She led them at a near-reckless pace through the trees, chasing the setting sun.

After a long ride, Carliss circled back to look over a knoll and see if their escape had succeeded. It was difficult to tell, for the sun was now set and the fading light was nearly gone, but she felt fairly certain they were safe. She changed their direction two more times and rode until it was too dark for them or the enemy to see.

They dismounted, and Carliss took a deep breath. She looked at Salina, whose face was downcast.

“What happened with you back there?” Carliss asked, still a bit frustrated with her friend’s lack of response to the danger.

Salinas gaze fell to the ground. “I saw them—Alston and my mother and father. They have them tied up…” She turned and walked away from Carliss.

Carliss hadn’t considered what that sight might do to her friend and felt ashamed for judging her too harshly. She walked to Salina and put an arm around her.

“I’m sorry. That must have been difficult for you.”

Salina nodded and covered her eyes with her hand.

“We will free them, Salina. I promise.”

“How? We don’t even know where they are going,” Salina said with an edge of anger in her voice. “We’ll have to follow them until we find out.”

“No we won’t,” Carliss replied. “I heard the men talking. They are going to Moorue. Now we will ride back to Salisburg and gather a force of knights to free your family and any others these evil brutes have imprisoned.”

Carliss smiled, trying to encourage her distraught friend. Salina still seemed somewhat dazed by it all, but slowly nodded.

“All right.” She smiled weakly. “Thank you for saving my life back there.”

Carliss nodded and then went to Rindy for her bedroll. Her trip home had been interrupted and delayed, but at least she would make it home now. Soon they would have the support of many knights. Though the days ahead would be difficult, she was finally at ease with their plan. Sleep was a bit easier to embrace that night.

A FRIEND AND A FOE

In the morning, Carliss set their course for Salisburg. Though it was in the opposite direction from Moorue, it still was the closest haven. Besides this, she knew that her parents and her brother Koen would never forgive her if she embarked on a mission like this without their knowledge.

“My parents’ farm isn’t far off our route,” Salina said. “We need food, and I would like to gather a few things before moving on.”

“As long as we don’t delay too long. I want to make Salisburg by tomorrow night.”

Carliss tried to engage Salina in conversation as they rode, but her friend seemed too oppressed by the thoughts of her family’s captivity. Thus they rode in near silence. Without the task of tracking, their return trip was much faster, but they couldn’t make Salina’s farm by nightfall. They were forced to camp a half-day’s ride shy of their destination.

They rose early and began their final leg home. By late morning, Carliss began to sense that they were being followed. At one point she stopped the horses and listened.

“What’s wrong, Carliss?” Salina asked.

Carliss held her finger to her lips and scanned left, right, behind, and in front of them. Her sharp eyes just could not pick up what her
instincts told her was a stalker. After a moment of silence that was interrupted only by the natural sounds of the forest, Carliss sighed.

“Nothing, I guess. I just can’t help feeling like we are being watched.” Carliss looked at Salina. “Keep a sharp eye with me, will you?”

Salina nodded, and they continued on their way. By early afternoon they arrived at Salina’s farm.

“I’m going to grab a few things from the house,” Salina said as she dismounted. “Would you check the barn to see if there’s grain for the horses?”

Carliss dismounted and walked Rindy to the barn. As they neared, Rindy seemed agitated.

“Whoa, girl,” Carliss said soothingly. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

Carliss stopped and looked all around them again. She focused her eyes as if she were hunting deer, but once again, nothing caught her eye. She was eager to be on their way back to Salisburg and wondered if the encounter with marauders had unnerved her more than she realized.

Carliss tied Rindy to a post outside the barn, opened the doors, and went in, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dark interior. All the stalls were empty—the marauders would have made sure of that. She spotted a large pile of hay in the far corner and walked over. A small creature in the shadows scurried for cover.