For a moment, Keira was overwhelmed. “I am quite sure that you could do very well without me, lads, but it is good to be appreciated. Thank you.” She smiled around at them, then said briskly, “Now, before we change our minds, let us go!”
* * *
Murdoch lay in the dark on the ground for what seemed like an eternity. He was cold, even though it was almost summer, and fidgeting with impatience. At this time of year, the hours of full darkness were becoming fewer and fewer, the first streaks of dawn appearing at about the fourth hour in the morning. By his reckoning, it must be about that time now, but as yet, there had been no signs of morning approaching. He was stiff, cold, and still tired because of his broken sleep.
He wished the robbers would just hurry up so that they could arrest them and be done with it. He did not foresee a show of great resistance from them. From what he had heard, they had never once stood and fought back. They simply ran, sometimes leaving their booty behind them until a few years before…
The rebels had been a scourge in the district for at least twelve years, but it was only in the last four that they had become a force to be reckoned with. Something had happened then. They had become more organized and had begun to use tactics that were military in their precision to outmaneuver the castle guards, sometimes employing decoys to lure them away on a wild goose chase. Murdoch had only been Captain of the Guard for a year, but in that time he had seen them in action only once, and they had managed to elude capture with relative ease.
They will not escape this time,he thought grimly.
This time, every available guard was on duty, and Murdoch had made sure that each of them had been provisioned properly to keep their strength up, armed to the teeth, and knew his orders precisely. Nothing would be left to chance.
The tension in the camp was palpable, and the silence was thick except for the hooting of night birds and the first cheeps of songbirds greeting the day.
Then, suddenly, it began.
“I hear them,” Dougie whispered, as he scrambled over to Murdoch. “I can feel them movin’.” He put his ear against the ground to demonstrate.
Murdoch did likewise, then, as he felt the vibration, which sounded like the rhythm of horses’ hooves against his ear, he nodded.
“Rouse the men,” he said firmly. “This time these bandits are going nowhere.” He stood up and beckoned the guards to stand around him. “These people are dangerous and must be caught. That is your job for tonight, and I want it done.” He did not wait for salutes.
* * *
As the cart and the men stopped beside the big store, Keira felt a shiver going down her spine. Something was wrong—she could feel it as all the hairs on her body stood on end—and she was about to order the men to stay on the cart, but they had already begun to jump off it. Moreover, she could not risk crying out to them in case anyone was there.
She reasoned that she might be overreacting because she was nervous, she thought, seeing ghosts where there were only shadows. Yes, that was all it was.
She jumped off the cart, her heart racing furiously, and scurried over to the barn. James was already at the door, looking baffled as he stared at it since it was closed but not bolted. He tried the handle and the door swung open.
That was the moment that Keira knew that her instincts had been right. She tried to gather her scattered wits sufficiently to find a way out for them, but she suddenly saw that the group was surrounded on all sides by guards. Her first thought was that someone had betrayed them, but it was hardly the time to be worrying about that now. Now they had to escape, and it was every man for himself.
A few heated sword fights broke out between the soldiers and the rebels, but the guards were surprised to learn that the men were surprisingly good with swords, especially with axes, and most of them were able to fight off the guards and run into the forest.
Two of the rebels were seriously wounded, but many of the guards were lightly or severely injured too. Two would never use their legs again, and one of them had lost his arm up to the elbow. It was as bloody a fight as Keira had ever seen, but she wanted to take part and do her share, even though she was scared witless.
Keira had just unsheathed her sword when suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth from behind, and her arm was viciously twisted up between her shoulder blades. The pain was so acute that she screamed, and as she was dragged off into the night, she was still screaming, both with pain and with fury, for ignoring her sixth sense. She should have listened to it, for it was never wrong.