Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue Page 2

  “Hmm.” Salina nodded thoughtfully as they picked up their pace to pass a precariously loaded cart. Once they were safely past, she glanced over at Carliss.

  “Listen, do you remember when my brother visited me at the haven last week?” she asked.

  Carliss raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I think so.”

  “Well, he was so grateful for how you were helping me, and he didn’t get a chance to thank you in person.”

  Salina gave Carliss another meaningful glance, and Carliss shifted in her saddle, wondering where this was leading. Sir Alston had arrived at a time when Carliss was feeling overwhelmed with her duties. He had only stayed a day, and she had seen him a few times with Salina but never actually talked with him. Carliss was perfectly fine with that, for he was a handsome fellow, and such men tended to make her feel uneasy…as Dalton had.

  “What I’m saying is…I would love for you to come to my home and meet my family.”

  “Oh, I don’t think—”

  “It’s not far, Carliss, just a short ride north of here near Pembrook,” Salina continued. “I owe you so much, and I know that Alston and my parents would love to have an opportunity to thank you properly.”

  Carliss pretended to consider the request out of courtesy, fully intending to decline. But Salina persisted.

  “Please, Carliss. It would mean so much to me. At least come and share a meal with us.”

  Carliss looked at Salina and couldn’t think of any reasonable excuse. Her family wasn’t expecting her on any particular day. Besides, truth be told, she had been dreading her return home, for she knew she would have to face her own emotional dilemma at the haven there. Perhaps this diversion would help clear her mind.

  “All right, Salina. I’ll come,” Carliss said with a smile. “But only for a little while. Thank you for the invitation.”

  “Wonderful!” Salina exclaimed. “They will all be so excited to meet you.”

  Carliss ducked her head again, embarrassed at Salina’s exuberant response.

  “It’s off toward Pembrook then,” she said, wondering if she had just committed to something she might later regret.

  A RELUCTANT HUNT

  Carliss and Salina left the main road to Salisburg to travel due north toward Pembrook. Salina’s farm was southeast of the village, so they would reach it before they came to the village. Carliss knew she would need to spend the night somewhere, and she reserved the option to stay at Pembrook should she not feel comfortable with Salina’s family or should they not offer lodging for the night.

  By early evening they arrived at Salina’s farm. Salina appeared ecstatic, but Carliss couldn’t help feeling apprehensive. Her discomfort grew as they entered the yard, for it became immediately evident that something was wrong. Carts and barrels were overturned, and there was a blatant absence of any normal farm activity. Carliss scanned the area and felt for her sword just as Salina spurred her horse to gallop the last distance to the house.

  “Salina—be careful!” Carliss called as her friend jumped from her steed and ran inside. Carliss followed more slowly, her senses tuned for signs of danger. The back of her neck began to tingle as she neared the house, and she drew her sword as a precaution. She heard Salina calling for her family inside and decided to dismount and circle the house for any evidence of what may have happened.

  She walked along the right outside wall of the stone house. She could see that the doors of the barn were open and a section of the surrounding fence was broken down. A gray horse was grazing nearby. She knew in an instant that the horse was not simply loose of its own accord, for it was saddled and ready for travel.

  Carliss gripped her sword tightly as she approached the rear corner of Salina’s home. She stepped away from the wall to gain a better view, but all she saw was a bright blade arcing its way toward her head. Carliss instinctively met the blow and positioned herself defensively, not knowing if this marauder was alone or the first of many.

  Another wide slice came toward her, and she met it with the flat of her blade. She countered and glanced quickly about to assess the situation. If there were others she did not see them. She focused her complete attention on this lone bandit, and it quickly became apparent that her skills far exceeded his. The man maneuvered toward the horse, threw a wild combination of cuts and slices, then fled. Carliss started after him but was stopped by a cry from inside the house.

  “Carliss!”

  She hesitated just a second, then ran back to the front of the home and in through the door, fully expecting another fight. Instead she found Salina kneeling beside a chair, her eyes full of fear. Carliss scanned the room as she rushed over to her friend.

  “What is it, Salina?”

  Salina looked up at Carliss, unable to speak. At her knees was a pool of fresh blood.

  “Is anyone here?” Carliss asked.

  “No… no one. They’ve been… taken.”

  “Some kind of marauder just fled the farm,” Carliss said. “There may be more.”

  Salinas eyes opened wide. She jumped to her feet and ran to the front of the house. “Which way did he go?”

  Carliss pointed east. Salina ran to her horse, and Carliss followed.

  “Salina, we need help. We don’t know how many there are.”

  “If we don’t track the man, we may never find my family again.” Salina swung into the saddle. “I’m going after them.” She slapped the reins of her horse and bolted in the direction Carliss had pointed.

  Carliss mounted Rindy and followed more slowly, her discomfort growing when she saw the hoofprints of many horses in the spongy turf on the other side of the farmyard. Clearly, this was not a time to react irrationally. She understood Salina’s worry, though, and she was not one to abandon a friend, even though her instincts told her that hunting down a large band of marauders on their own was foolish.

  She galloped after Salina, not pausing until they reached the top of the eastern ridge line.

  “There!” Salina pointed below them to a shallow valley, where a man on a gray horse was galloping toward a wooded area. She quickly scanned the rest of the region but saw no sign of the larger contingent.

  They bolted down the valley after the man, and before long it was clear he had spotted them in pursuit. They closed on him, and Salina charged recklessly after him. Carliss had to push Rindy hard to stay up with her.

  They rounded a bend and had to rein in their horses to keep from colliding into a large branch that had broken from a tree and blocked their way. It was also what ended their pursuit, for their quarry lay prone on the ground, motionless. They could see his gray horse continuing the sprint eastward without a rider.

  Salina jumped off her horse, drew her knife, and ran to the man on the ground. Carliss quickly joined her, noting that the man’s head was bent over onto his shoulder.

  “Where’s my family?” Salina shouted, her knife at the man’s throat.

  Carliss drew her sword and approached cautiously.

  “Where are they?” Salina screamed again.

  “Salina.” Carliss returned her sword to her scabbard. “His neck is broken.”

  Salina hung her head, and Carliss put a hand on her shoulder.

  “I have to find them,” Salina said. “Please help me find them.”

  Carliss took a deep breath. “Of course. We can track the main contingent until we are certain of where they are headed. Then you must promise me we will ride for help.”

  Salina stood and looked Carliss in the eye. “Thank you.”

  “By the number of prints, there must be many of them,” Carliss said as they recovered their steeds and rode back to find the trail. “With prisoners they’ll have to travel more slowly, so we should be able to catch up with them fairly easily.”

  They rode until the daylight was gone and it was too dangerous to continue in unfamiliar country, then bedded down in a grassy clearing. By early the next morning they were back on the trail, pushing their steeds as hard as they dared. At time
s, the tracks of the band of marauders were difficult to follow, and the knights’ progress slowed considerably. At one point they completely lost the trail and had to backtrack to discover it again. They were constantly on the lookout for some sign of violence that might have been done to the captives but found none.

  With every mile they journeyed away from Salisburg, Carliss grew more hesitant to continue. She knew they needed help, but Salina could not be swayed.

  That evening they camped by a small stream, somewhat discouraged that they hadn’t caught up to the marauders. They had already exhausted their meager provisions and were famished. Carliss was able to shoot a couple of pheasants, and Salina gathered a few nuts and berries for the evening meal.

  The following day they picked up the trail again. In late afternoon, they finally came upon telltale signs—and sounds—of a camp being set up.

  “We’ve found them,” Salina breathed, her eyes bright.

  Carliss said nothing. Never before had she been so apprehensive about being successful in a hunt.

  CARLISS AND THE BOW

  Carliss and Salina waited until dusk to move. They tied their horses a safe distance away and then carefully and quietly approached the camp. Carliss could hardly force herself to take each step, for she knew that this was an unwise venture.

  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.