Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) (26 page)

“You really think sneaking around in the dark is safe?”

“Nothing about this is safe,” Stone said in a gentle voice. “But I know what I’m doing. If I’m lucky, I might even get us a little more information.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” she said tenderly.

“I won’t, I promise. I’ll be very careful.”

“Well, get moving then,” Lorik said.

Stone gave Vera a quick kiss, and then he was gone. The barn was very dark, and he was out of their sight almost immediately. They sat listening, but he didn’t make a sound as he climbed down the ladder from the hayloft and slipped quietly out the small side door.

Once he was outside, Stone felt more confident. The interior of the barn had been pitch black and he’d been forced to move slowly as he practiced his stealth skills. Now he had starlight, and even though the property was still very dark, he could at least make out the darker shapes of the buildings around him. He moved toward the main path at an angle, staying low to the ground. He doubted that he could be seen, especially since the man who was watching the property had been doing it for hours. Stone expected that the outlaw was probably half asleep in his saddle.

Once Stone reached the edge of the dry ground where the property turned into bog, he paused. He couldn’t see the rider, and he felt confident the outlaw couldn’t see him, but he wanted to be certain. He knew he couldn’t sneak through the mud bog, and he assumed that the outlaw was confident of that as well. There was no place to take cover on the path, so Stone’s best bet was to move forward as quickly and quietly as possible and hope for the best. It was more risk than Lorik wanted him to take, but Stone knew he didn’t have a choice. They needed to know what Marsdyn was planning, and so he had to capture the rider and find out what the man knew.

He moved to the path silently, staying bent low to the ground and taking each step carefully to make sure he didn’t make a sound. It took nearly half an hour before he was able to see the rider. The man was slumped in his saddle, just a shadowy form in the darkness. The horse seemed no more alert, and Stone coiled his body beneath him like a tiger about to spring on its unsuspecting prey.

Then Stone was running, his feet barely touching the ground, just using his toes and hardly making any sound at all. The horse heard the sound and swung its head up just as Stone shouted as loudly as he could. The horse instinctively reared, pawing its forelegs in the air to ward off Stone, but he darted around the animal. The outlaw was caught completely off guard and thrown back when the horse reared. He screamed as he fell, but the wind was knocked out of him when he crashed to the ground. Stone was on top of him before he could catch his breath.

The man struggled at first, but then then Stone pressed the cold steel blade of his knife against the outlaw’s throat, and the man lay back gasping for breath. Stone was sitting on the man’s chest with his knees pinning the outlaw’s arms to the ground.

“Are you alone?” Stone whispered.

The man didn’t answer at first and then Stone pressed the knife down so that the outlaw felt the sting as the blade cut into the skin.

“Are you alone?” Stone asked again.

“Yes,” the outlaw said in a rasping voice.

“Tell me what Marsdyn has planned.”

“I don’t know,” the outlaw said.

Stone threw his elbow down against the outlaw’s face. The man cried out in pain and even in the darkness Stone could see the blood welling up from a gash his blow had opened along the man’s eyebrow.

“Don’t lie to me,” Stone hissed.

“I swear I don’t,” the outlaw said. “He sent me to keep an eye on things. He doesn’t tell me his plans.”

“What did you hear?”

“They were talking about who was in harbor, but that’s all I know.”

“So he’s planning to hire pirates?”

“I don’t know,” the outlaw moaned.

“When are you supposed to report back?”

“Someone is supposed to come relieve me.”

“When?” Stone asked, pressed the blade again.

“I don’t know.”

Stone whipped the blade across the outlaw’s neck so fast the man didn’t feel it, but the blade slashed down into the man’s throat. Blood poured into his windpipe, and he squirmed for only a minute before dying with a bubbling gurgle. Stone moved quickly, dragging the man’s body onto Lorik’s property and then hurrying back out to where the horse was still waiting. The beast was skittish after having been frightened, but Stone moved slowly and spoke in a soothing tone. He took his time, stroking the horse’s neck, before he climbed up into the saddle. He felt exposed as he sat facing the property. Marsdyn’s man would come from behind Stone, and if the man recognized that Stone wasn’t the outlaw waiting to be relieved, he would be vulnerable.

It took almost an hour for the second outlaw to arrive. Stone sat hunched in the saddle, one hand holding the horse’s reins, the other holding his knife. He heard the horse approaching and the outlaw made no effort to move quietly. Still, Stone didn’t turn, even though his back stung from the perceived exposure.

“Karnes,” the outlaw said. “Wake up, you oaf. You’re supposed to be watching the house, not sleeping in your saddle.”

Stone still didn’t answer as the second outlaw rode up beside him. Instead, he swung his knife in a backhanded blow that drove the butt of the handle into the outlaw’s teeth. The man cried out as he fell back off his horse, and Stone slapped the now riderless animal’s rump, sending it trotting onto Lorik’s property. Then he was off his own horse and kicking the outlaw as he tried to get up. Stone heard ribs snap and the man finally lay still, moaning in agony.

Stone knelt with one knee in the outlaw’s back and pulled the man’s head back with a handful of greasy hair. Stone’s razor-sharp blade pressed into the outlaw’s exposed throat.

“What’s Marsdyn’s plan?”

“I donth know,” the man said, his ruined mouth struggling to form the words correctly.

“Don’t lie to me,” Stone hissed, pulling the man’s head back further.

Then the outlaw struck. It was a desperate move but it caught Stone off his guard. He had pulled a small knife from his belt and swung it back blindly. The blade tore through Stone’s boot and gashed across his shin. He instinctively fell back, landing on his backside and rolling over onto his feet. The wound hurt, but wasn’t life-threatening, even though he could feel blood running down his ankle and filling his boot.

The outlaw tried to flee, but the broken ribs were too painful. He had trouble getting to his feet and was moving slowly when Stone limped up behind him. He punched the man in the back of the head using the brass knuckle guard of his knife and knocked the man unconscious.

The horses had both trotted away and now Stone stood in the dark, frustrated with himself. The cut on his leg ached and made each step painful. It was a stupid injury that he should have been able to avoid, but now he had to live with it. He grabbed the unconscious outlaw by the leg and began dragging him back toward the barn. It was a slow, exhausting project, especially with his wounded leg. After dragging the man halfway along the path, Stone decided he needed another plan.

Stone went to the dead outlaw and removed the man’s belt. He returned to the unconscious outlaw and used the belt to restrain the man’s hands behind his back. Then Stone finally took a look at his own leg. It was difficult to get the boot off because it was saturated with blood. The cut wasn’t deep, just a ragged gash, but it had scraped across the shin bone and hurt more than Stone would have thought. He cut off his sleeve and wrapped it around the wound, tying the makeshift bandage tight to stanch the bleeding. The pressure of the bandage eased the pain a little. The he looked at his boot, which was soft leather. He could stitch the hole but it would be ugly, he decided.

Finally, the outlaw woke up. He moaned and coughed, then struggled with his bonds.

“Not much hope for you,” Stone said quietly.

The outlaw looked around angrily. His eyes were still glassy, but full of hate.

“I’ll kill you,” he hissed.

“Not likely. I expect you’ll be tortured to death for information.”

Stone let the threat hang in the air. The man continued to struggle for another moment, but he had no chance of escaping the bond that Stone had made with the dead outlaw’s belt. Stone grabbed the man and pulled him to his feet.

“Aaahhhh,” the outlaw cried out in pain.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Stone said, gouging the outlaw in the ribs.

The man cursed and tried to stagger away, but Stone held him fast. It wasn’t difficult; the outlaw was obviously weakened from the trauma he’d been through. Stone pulled him along the path toward the barn.

“Marsdyn’s coming,” the man threatened. “You let me go and he may take it easy on you.”

Stone didn’t respond. He knew the outlaw was lying and he didn’t want to give the man false hope. They stopped by the the dead outlaw and let his captive take a long look.

“You called him Karnes, right?” Stone said.

The outlaw nodded. He could see the dead man’s gaping wound, and by starlight it looked like the flesh had been ripped to shreds. Karnes had a thick, black beard that was now slick with blood. His head was completely bald and seemed unnaturally white in the darkness. His eyes were open, but they stared into space, glazed and unfocused. He had tattoos covering his arms and showing on his chest underneath the leather vest that most of the Riders wore. His body lay on the ground like discarded trash.

“He was pretty sure of himself too,” Stone continued. “That’s what you have to look forward to, either from us or from Marsdyn. He’ll kill you for failing him. In fact, I’ll bet when he discovers that you and Karnes here failed in the simple task of keeping an eye on us, he’ll be so angry he may hurt anyone near him. Sound about right?”

He didn’t wait for the outlaw to answer.

“Just keep walking. Lorik has more patience with idiots like you. Play your cards right and he might even let you walk out of here alive.”

They made their way back to the barn. Stone stopped below the hayloft and looked up. He couldn’t see anyone, just a square of blackness on the face of the shadowy barn.

“Special delivery,” Stone said.

“Any trouble?” Lorik asked.

“Not much.”

Stone heard Lorik climbing down the ladder from the hayloft.

“Are you all right?” Vera asked.

“Fine,” he lied.

“I was getting worried about you,” she admitted.

“I had to wait for our friend here to show up and relieve the first watchman. And he took a little convincing to come visit with us.”

“As long as you’re okay,” Vera said. “I thought I saw you limping.”

“It’s nothing, just a scratch.”

“I damn near took your leg off,” the outlaw said loudly.

Stone cuffed the man hard on the side of his head, but he used his empty hand instead of his knife this time. The outlaw howled in pain, but didn’t fight back. When Lorik appeared, Stone shoved the outlaw toward him. The man stumbled and fell.

“You make him talk,” Stone said. “I’ll just end up killing him.”

“You okay?” Lorik asked.

“I’ll be fine. Really, it’s just a scratch.”

“Let Vera take a look at it. She’s as good as any healer I ever met.”

“Thanks,” Stone said, trudging back into the barn.

Lorik watched him go. They were all tired, and tempers could flare in that kind of situation. He wished he could give the young warrior a break, but they didn’t have that luxury. The best Stone could hope for was to snatch a few hours of sleep before dawn.

“Let’s go talk,” Lorik said to the outlaw.

He helped the man up and escorted him to the rear of the barn. There, he tied a rope that was dangling from the peak of the barn roof to the bonds Stone had tied the outlaw’s hands with. The man’s hands were still behind his back.

“You ever see a man’s arms pulled out of their sockets?” Lorik asked.

The outlaw cursed Lorik, but the teamster wasn’t disturbed. The rope he’d tied to the man’s hands ran up through a pulley he’d attached to the roof for lifting heavy objects. He’d gotten the idea from the dockyard, where the ships unloaded heavy cargo using pulleys attached to the masts’ cross beams. He gave the other end of the rope a sharp pull and the slack was taken out of the line, pulling the outlaw’s hands up behind his back.

“Aaaahhh,” the outlaw cried. “Stop, stop. You can’t do this.”

“Why not? You were going to ride in here and kill me. Your boss is planning to burn my home, kill my horses, destroy my wagons, and probably torture me to death. Why shouldn’t I kill you?”

“I’ll tell you everything,” the man said. “I know all Marsdyn’s plans.”

“Is that right? You’d trade that precious information for a quick death?”

“No,” the outlaw said quickly. “Stone said you’d let me live.”

“He may have over promised,” Lorik said, “but I’m listening.”

“Marsdyn is planning to attack you in the morning. He’s hired a crew of pirates and promised them they can loot your farm.”

“This isn’t a farm,” Lorik said. “And you aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know.”