A Crown Imperilled

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ty held up his hand.

Instantly the others fell silent. He motioned to Gabriella to move with the Princess into a depression below the road and hide out of sight. To Hal he pointed behind and then held up his hand to his ear, and then again pointed to the rear.

Hal paused, cocking his head to one side, and then he heard it: distant footfalls, slowly coming their way. He motioned back to Ty to take up a position on either side of the game trail they had been following.

For two days they had circled up into the high foothills heading mostly west by north, then straight west, roughly parallel to the King’s Highway, hoping to reach the road close to the city of Ran. They had subsisted on stream water and summer berries found along the way, but otherwise had nothing. They might be young and fit, but hunger was robbing them of strength daily, and Hal and Ty knew they would be less able to fight as time wore on; it was time to make a stand.

Hal motioned again and Ty nodded, understanding he wanted their pursuers to come past them before they attacked. Both young swordsmen hunkered down behind concealing undergrowth.

Soon the sound of footsteps grew louder and four men in the tabards of the Kingdom came into view. Hal didn’t have to look at their boots to know they were counterfeit soldiers, as they were as ragged and unkempt a lot as he had ever seen. Pirates in stolen tabards was his best guess, and they looked ill-humoured and angry. For them to still be on the trail of the fugitives indicated the lesson of those slain on the King’s Road hadn’t been lost on the rest of them. Hal could hear them speaking in a language foreign to him, and guessed they were Ceresians.

They were not being especially quiet, but they were being cautious, and the man in front appeared to have some tracking skills as he pointed to the prints Hal and the others had just made. He knelt for a moment, placed his hand into the depression of a boot heel and pressed with his fingers. He raised them up, rubbing with his thumb and Hal knew exactly what he was doing.

The leader tracker said something as he drew his sword and pointed down the trail to where the ladies lay in hiding. Hal waited until the last of the four was past, then leapt at him from behind, cutting him down as Ty went past to take out the next man.

The fourth man turned to intercept Hal, but the tracker hung back, shouting, ‘They’re here!’ at the top of his lungs. He managed to get three shouts out before he suddenly stiffened and then collapsed, revealing Lady Gabriella standing behind him with a bloodied belt knife.

The two best swordsmen at the previous Masters’ Court finished off the two remaining pirates in quick fashion, but shouting from the distance told them the damage had been done. Ty cast around, determining where the noise was coming from. ‘They’re above us!’

He started down the hillside as fast as trees and brush would allow, assuming, correctly, that the others would follow without question. As they reached a clearing he paused to seek the next path down and said, ‘We got below all of them but that one that stumbled on us. Had we been a little quicker maybe …’ He looked back. ‘We need to strike for the King’s Highway and hope we can outrun them to Ran.’

‘How far?’ asked Gabriella and with a slight incline of her head showed she was asking on behalf of Stephane, not herself.

‘If I’m correct, three, maybe four miles.’

‘We’ll never outrun them,’ said the exhausted Princess. ‘Leave me. You go and get help and come after me.’

Almost simultaneously Hal and Ty cried, ‘No!’

Hal put his arm around her waist, half-lifting her, and started toward the downhill slope.

‘No!’ shouted Ty.

Hal turned to look, and Ty pointed off in another direction. ‘That way.’

Hal took off and Gabriella and Ty followed. Without communication it was understood. Hal would keep going with Stephane no matter what happened, while Ty and the Lady Gabriella would turn and hold off the pursuers as long as possible should they be overtaken.

After a moment, Stephane said crossly, ‘This is impossible!’ She pushed herself away from Hal, shouting, ‘I can run!’ and took off at a staggering run down the game trail.

‘Don’t!’ shouted Ty, but it was too late.

Four staggering steps sent her tumbling and she cried in pain as she rolled down the trail.

‘Oh, gods!’ Hal leapt after her, almost losing control as he raced down the trail after her, Ty and Gabriella a step or two behind him.

Stephane continued her out-of-control tumble, crying as she struck rocks and branches tore at her clothing and flesh, until she hit hard against an outcropping of rocks at the lower end of a small clearing. Hal was at her side a moment later. Kneeling beside her, he said, ‘Don’t move.’

She looked up at him. ‘I’m an idiot,’ she said weakly.

He pressed quickly where he could, seeing if anything was broken, and found a spectacular collection of abrasions, bumps, and small cuts, but at last said, ‘I don’t think you’ve broken any bones.’

‘I feel dizzy,’ she said weakly as Ty appeared.

‘She must have bumped her head.’

‘Can we move her?’ asked Gabriella.

‘Yes,’ said Hal. He picked up the Princess and tossed her over his shoulder as he would a sack of grain, ignoring her moans. He set off down the trail, hearing the voices of their pursuers.

‘There they are!’ cried Ty.

Hal turned and as gently as possible put the Princess down, drawing his sword. ‘I can see the road below,’ he said, ‘but we might as well stand here.’

Ty had his sword out and Lady Gabriella her long belt knife when the first two pirates hove into view. One almost ran up on to the tip of Ty’s sword, barely backing away in time. The other jumped towards Hal and for his trouble had Hal ran him through the stomach as Gabrielle slashed his throat.

The first pirate’s heel caught a rock and he fell backwards, just as three others approached slightly more cautiously. They spread out and one spoke. ‘Give us that girl and the rest of you can go.’

‘Found your friends, did you?’ asked Ty, with a grin.

Hal said, ‘Four to three. Shouldn’t be much of a bother.’

Another half a dozen men came up behind the first pirates. ‘Well, ten to three,’ said Ty. ‘That might pose a problem.’

‘Your last chance,’ said the leader. ‘Walk down the hill and you live. You’ll be in Ran inside two hours. Stand another minute, and you’ll die, and we get the girl either way.’

‘Ah, where’s the sport in just walking away?’ asked Ty with a grin.

‘You take the five on your side,’ said Hal loudly. ‘You’re the Masters’ Champion, after all.’

‘Well, you almost beat me,’ he replied.

Several of the pirates laughed, but the leader looked at Hal and said, ‘You’re Duke Henry’s boy?’

‘I have that honour.’

‘Lot of ransom.’ He motioned to his men. ‘Take him alive too. Kill the other two and if the girl is alive, have your way with her, but first to touch the Princess dies at my hand, understood?’

As he turned to look to see if his men were following orders, he heard a dull thud a moment before he reached up to his throat. His eyes widened, then started to go blank. Gabriella’s throwing blade was lodged firmly in his throat and he died trying to pull it out with weak fingers. ‘Now, who wants to be the first to try to have his way with me?’ she hissed as she held her dripping dirk and another knife she had drawn out of her boot.

The pirates hesitated. Hal, Gabriella, and Ty formed a semi-circle between Stephane and the would-be abductors. The attackers approached cautiously and Hal said, ‘If the lady doesn’t carve up too many of them, perhaps we can settle once and for all who’s the best blade. Most kills?’

‘Loser buys dinner when we get to Ran.’

The pirates shouted and charged and Hal was almost bowled over by a burly man who received a wicked slice along his arm for his pains. Blood spattered over Hal, and over Stephane where she lay on the ground behind him, and he howled in pain.

Ty let the first man on his right extend and overbalance, then grabbed him in a headlock, slicing the back of his sword hand with his blade, then wheeling him around so that his rump faced the other four men, just as one struck a blow, taking his companion in the backside. The man howled in pain. Ty released him, then drove his left elbow down into the man’s neck, stunning him.

The half-dazed man served as a momentary human barrier, and Ty reached across it to cut the sword hand off another of the remaining three men. His stump fountained blood and he cried out as his sword and fell dropped to the ground, and backed away.

Both Hal and Ty were trained in swordcraft far beyond most young men. Moreover, they were not merely competitive swordsmen, but sons of fathers who understood the skills of brawling as well as soldering.

Men who had not trained to fight alongside one another were often more of a liability than an asset, and Ty and Hall moved instinctively away from one another, while Gabriella stayed close to Stephane, her own blades ready to protect the princess.

Hal ducked and sliced at a man’s hamstring as he stepped by, Hal’s finely-honed blade cutting through a heavy leather boot to topple the man. Now there were six.

Realizing almost simultaneously that their biggest risk was being swarmed by the rest, Ty and Hal began furiously to hack and lunge, inflicting half a dozen minor injuries before the men fell back.

One man bumped against the man next to him, moved the wrong way and Ty skewered him in the lower abdomen, causing him to collapse in a groaning heap. Now there were five.

Seeing so many comrades fall, the remaining pirates pulled back, stealing glances at one another as if attempting to coordinate their attack. Their expressions showed each was waiting for another man to take the lead.

One muttered, ‘It’s our necks if we come back without her.’

Another said, ‘And it looks like it’s our throats if we keep trying.’

What the remaining pirates saw was Hal and Ty hiding their exhaustion, and a strong-looking young woman crouched low with two weapons she had already shown she knew how to use. Even Stephane sat up, back to a rock, holding a dagger, determined to make any man who touched her pay a heavy price. The remaining Pirates appeared uncertain of which way to move.

There was a moment of silence, then as one the five pirates launched their attack, followed an instant later by three others, the fourth turning his attention to the girls. Ty parried the man on his left but took a nasty cut along the ribs from the one on his right before slamming the man in the face with his right elbow, the blow catching him under the chin and driving his jaw upward, stunning him. Ty turned full-circle and cut the other man across the back of the neck and he fell like a rag doll.

Hal spun to his left, taking him beyond the two pirates who had launched themselves at him, causing the man who had moments before been about to take Hal on the left, to discover Hal now far to his right. As he attempted to turn, to open up, he died from a deep thrust through his right side. Ty was quickly dispensing with the other two men, as they conveniently got in one another’s way, allowing the young master swordsman the opening he needed to quickly impale both with sharp thrusts.

Hal shouted, ‘Gabriella, guard the Princess!’ He realized his warning was gratuitous, as Gabriella made short work of the pirate who had foolishly picked her as an easy target. He had come in expecting the longer reach he had with his sword to give him an advantage, and made the mistake of making a cutlass slash rather than a killing thrust. She had ducked under the cut, come up inside his reach and used her two blades to carve him up before he could recover.

The last man tripped over that corpse as he backed away from Hal, falling on his back at her feet. Gabriella knelt and without emotion drove her dagger into his throat.

Two wounded men groaned, while a third was unconscious and bleeding. Hal nodded once with a grim expression to Ty, and soon the three men were dead.

Hal turned to confront an ashen-faced Stephane. ‘Are you hurt?’

Quietly she said, ‘Did you have to kill them all?’

Hal looked into her eyes and without emotion said, ‘Yes. If others come by they won’t be alive to raise alarm or tell which direction we’ve fled.’ She nodded. Again he asked, ‘Are you hurt?’

She said, ‘Just my ankle. No one got near me.’

‘Good,’ said Hal. He put up his sword, grabbed her by her left arm and drew her over his shoulder, as he would a sack of grain.

When they reached the road and stepped out, they were greeted by a waiting squad of men on horseback, swords out and two bows trained on them. ‘Halt in the King’s name,’ said the ranking sergeant.

Hal put Stephane down and drew his sword. Ty said, ‘Boots.’

Hal saw these men were uniformly equipped and let out a slow breath of relief. The sergeant pointed uphill and indicated two of his men should head up and see what all the noise had been. ‘Now, who are you and what are you doing on the King’s Highway?’

Ty glanced at Hal as if silently asking how much they should say. Hal answered, ‘No disrespect, Sergeant, but I really need to speak to someone of higher rank in the city.’

The sergeant, his face looking like a sack of sunburned leather, large pouches under his eyes from too much drinking and too little sleep over the years, rubbed his chin with a heavily-gloved hand. ‘Higher rank, is it?’

The two riders returned, ‘Lots of bodies, Sergeant. Wearing the King’s tabard.’

Swords started coming out of scabbards but Hal said, ‘Pirates, wearing Kingdom tabards. Have your men go back and look closer. You’ll see clothes, weapons-’

‘Boots,’ interjected Ty.

‘-from no garrison stores in the Kingdom.’

The old sergeant sat back, his expression revealing he had little use for complications in what should be an otherwise ordinary patrol. ‘We’ve had word of such to the east.’ He motioned and the two returned up hill, only to come back a few minutes later. ‘It’s as he said, Sergeant,’ said one rider. ‘Cutlasses and the like. One of the dead has Keshian sandals on.’

‘Well, then,’ said the sergeant. ‘So far you’re telling the truth. Now, about this need to speak with someone of higher rank …’

Hal stripped off his left gauntlet and moved to the other side of the sergeant’s horse, which blocked him from the sight of the others. He pulled off his signet ring and handed it to the sergeant. The seagull crest of Crydee with the cadency mark of three points over the gull, indicating the eldest son, was clearly carved into the fine gold alloy.

‘Where did you get this?’ asked the soldier.

Quietly Hal said, ‘My father gave it to me.’

‘And where did he get it from?’ asked the sergeant, his tone softening.

‘From his father, who got it from his before he became Duke of Crydee.’

For a moment the old soldier’s expression showed that truth or lie, this was a problem for someone of superior rank, so he turned and shouted, ‘Tanner, Williams, your horses!’

Two soldiers dismounted and came over. To Hal he said, ‘For the ladies, so they may can ride if they are able. You lads can walk with my boys. I’ve got a patrol to continue.’ To the two soldiers he said, ‘Take them to the captain,’ and without another word, raised his hand, signalling that the patrol was to continue.

Hal looked to Stephane who said, ‘I can ride,’ before he could ask, and he smiled at her. She returned one, though weak and exhausted.

Gabriella helped Stephane mount and then climbed into the saddle of the other horse and the four fugitives and their two escorts turned west.

Hal asked, ‘How far to Ran?’

One of the soldiers said, ‘At a walk? We’ll be there in two, three hours.’

Hal and Ty looked at one another and both managed a beleaguered smile.

Despite days in the wild, the trek along the highway was the most tedious portion of the journey. The road to Ran led down from a series of escarpments above the shore and so the city came into view miles away. As they trudged along it appeared to be getting no closer, but at last they were suddenly outside the city’s eastern gate.

The guards at the gate raised a hand and one said, ‘What this then?’

‘Captain?’ was all the soldier said and the sentry nodded, waving him through.

They moved past a crowded area, part caravanserai, part customs inspection point, ringed by make-shift booths and stalls where hawkers sold a variety of goods. The smells of cooking food caused all four of the travellers to realize they were weak from hunger and Princess Stephane said, ‘Oh, whatever that is, I’ll eat it here in the saddle.’

‘We’ll get you fed soon enough,’ said Hal, his own stomach reminding him how long it was since he had had a handful of berries.

They reached the office of the city patrol and the soldier who escorted them in saluted before a bored-looking young captain sitting behind a small desk, and said, ‘Sergeant says you should talk to these people, sir.’

The captain waved him away and looked at the four of them. Seeing the young women he perked up a little, for despite their road-dirt and fatigue, they were still attractive women. He stood up and motioned for Hal to fetch over another chair. ‘Ladies, please, you look exhausted.’

Sitting on the desk, he looked first at Ty, then Hal. ‘So the sergeant says I’m supposed to talk to you. About what?’

Hal said, ‘Forgive me a question, Captain, before I answer you. Who is in command of the city?’

The captain looked at Hal as if he was joking. ‘The Duke of Ran, of course.’

‘I mean is he in the city or in the field?’

‘Here, in Ran. The army of Ran has been recalled and even as we speak is disembarking from ships in the harbour. The war is over, if you’ve not heard.’

‘Over?’ asked Ty.

‘What about Roldem?’ asked Stephane.

‘We’ve no news from Roldem, lady, so I assume all is well there.’

‘I must speak to the Duke,’ said Hal.

‘First you’ll speak with me,’ said the captain, not happy at Hal’s tone.

‘Sorry, but I must speak to the Duke.’

‘And who might you be to tell me you must speak to the Duke?’

Hal took off his gauntlet again and held out his ring. ‘I’m Henry, son of Henry, Duke of Crydee, and you have the honour to address Her Royal Highness, Princess Stephane of Roldem.’

Stephane gave a wan smile.

The young captain was completely flummoxed for a moment, then looked again at Hal’s ring. If it was a forgery or ruse of some sort, let the Duke’s personal household guard captain sort it out. He was just a garrison captain ordered to patrol the King’s Highway and arrest smugglers. Decision made, he shouted, ‘Williams!’

A soldier stuck his head inside the small office. ‘Captain?’

‘Get a carriage and take these people to the palace.’

‘Where am I going to get a carriage at this time of day?’ he asked, showing a casual disregard for the formalities of rank.

‘I don’t care if you steal it! Get a carriage now!’

The soldier vanished, his expression showing shock at the young captain’s tone. ‘My name is Greyson,’ said the captain. ‘Can I get you something, anything while you wait?’

‘Water,’ said Gabriella.

‘And something to eat,’ said Stephane.

Hal and Ty looked at one another and in unison said, ‘Ale!’

Still fatigued but now fed, Ty and Hal stood before Duke Chadwick of Ran. A stern-looking man in his late fifties, he still had the look of a brawler about him. He was thick-shouldered, and deeply tanned from years of soldiering, but his once-red hair was now white, as was the small moustache and pointed beard he sported. The young women were being seen to by the Duchess and her women and were enjoying baths and fresh clothing. The Duke had felt the young men’s stories were important enough to demand a hearing straight away, so here they were, still dirty and tattered.

Ty and Hal had been somewhat circumspect in naming particular players in the political game in Roldem, but in the end the Duke had said, ‘Odd that the King and Queen should feel the need to smuggle their daughter out of Roldem rather than simply call this Worthington fellow to account.’ He was silent then said, ‘A coup?’

Ty said, ‘After a fashion, I suspect, Your Grace. The rumour prevalent in the capital is that Lord John is ambitious to have his son wed to the Princess.’

‘Who wouldn’t be?’ asked the Duke with a laugh. ‘Had I a boy of the right age, I’d be sending him to Roldem. But my sons from my first wife are all grown, and those from my second still toddlers.’ He grew thoughtful. ‘Still, as the King’s Chancellor, Lord John has more power then any man non-royal in Roldem, so what’s to be gained from forcing the girl to a marriage no one but Lord John wishes?’

‘She’s fourth in line for the Crown,’ answered Hal.

‘Roldem, of all places.’ The Duke shook his head. ‘I just can’t see it.’ He glanced around to see if they were overheard. ‘Here, the Isles? That’s another kettle of fish. You’re a royal, young Hal, albeit a minor one, so there are people out there who wish you had never been born. If the King doesn’t get on with it and father another son one of these days, we could have a serious mess on our hand in a few years.’

‘Few years?’ asked Hal.

‘Well, Gregory’s not a well man by all reports. Oh,’ he added quickly holding up his hand, ‘not that he’s at death’s door or any such, just that he’s not robust and has had bouts of ague over the last few winters. Certainly, there are healing priests and chirurgeons hovering when he’s taken ill. If he passes any time soon, it’ll be because Lims-Kragma wants him now!’ He barked out a laugh, to show he was making light of the matter. ‘You’ve got a dozen cousins who would happily dance on your corpse rather than see you standing before the Congress of Lords claiming the crown, young Henry. It’ll stay that way until the King names his heir.’

‘If you remember, Lord Chadwick, my ancestor, Martin, King Lyam’s brother, renounced the throne for our line.’

The Duke waved it away. ‘Western honour. I forgot. It’s very quaint and charming.’ He leaned forward. ‘Just be ready. If anything happens to the King, your father will have a dozen knives seeking his throat at first chance, and you’ll be next. Any other brothers?’

‘Two.’

‘Well, they would be on that list after you.’ Leaning back, Chadwick said, ‘You’re a conDoin, boy. Since we left that damned island to conquer half the north of Triagia, a conDoin has sat the throne in Rillanon. Some better than others, granted, but always that bloodline. There are some who would see it end with Gregory.’

‘That’s treason,’ said Ty.

‘Not if the King doesn’t name an heir. Then it’s up to the Congress of Lords and that means it goes to the highest bidder.’ He paused. ‘Or the man with the biggest army. Bah!’ He dismissed the conversation as meaningless. ‘This is the Isles. We’re always looking for a way to gain advantage over our neighbours. My family’s been at odds with Rodez for over two centuries, and for the life of me I can’t tell you why.’ He grinned. ‘Still, we pester one another when we can. But Roldem …’ He shook his head. ‘Lore says we of the Isles and Roldem were once a single people. Heaven knows the languages are enough alike that it takes little effort for one to learn the other. I know that our noble families have intermarried so often we might as well just call ourselves cousins. But we’re the difficult cousins, and they’re the refined ones. We build armies; they build universities.’ He pointed to his own back. ‘Had the cane myself a few times as a student there. You?’ he asked Hal.

Hal nodded.

He looked at Ty, who shook his head. ‘You missed a lot then, lad. You don’t appreciate learning until you’re away from it for a while. That school there, it’s a wonderful place. My two elder boys went there and my little ones will go when they’re old enough.’ He leaned back and again rubbed his chin. ‘Roldem,’ he said softly.

‘What should we do, Your Grace?’ asked Hal. ‘The King and Queen sent their daughter to safety. We are supposed to see her to Rillanon.’

‘Then see her there you shall,’ said the Duke. He picked up a little bell and rang it. When no one answered he rang it again, harder. After a moment, he bellowed, ‘Makepeace!’

An old servant appeared and said, ‘Your grace?’

‘Send word to the harbour that my ship is to be ready to sail on the morning tide to Rillanon. And tell my wife to stop fussing over those girls.’ He glanced at the two young men and grinned. ‘We only had sons, so she aches for a daughter to dress in fine clothing and all that paint women wear.’ Turning back to the old servant, he said, ‘And ask her to see to supper. We’re entertaining royalty tonight!’

He stood up, as did the two young men. ‘I don’t envy you, either of you,’ he said softly after the servant left. ‘Fate has set you on a path that will I think have many traps and dangers. I was called to the capital in any event so I’ll just leave a few days early. The Congress is gathering as there is much to discuss. Kesh is suing for peace and we must ask about that nonsense.’ He thought for a moment, then added, ‘Yes, let the King decide what’s to be done with the lovely princess and then you two can get back to doing whatever it was you were doing before this fiasco began.’

Hal and Ty looked at one another.

‘Come!’ the Duke cried. ‘Let’s go to my favourite balcony where we can watch the sun set and drink brandy, and you can tell me about the Masters’ Court.’

Both young men were exhausted, but they knew it was likely to be a while before they could rest. As the Duke led them away, Ty whispered, ‘Maybe when we pass out face down at the table and they have to carry us out we’ll get some rest.’

‘As long as it’s on a full stomach, I’ll even sleep in this road-dirt.’

‘I heard that,’ said the Duke. ‘Bathe first, then brandy!