Page 39 of The Golden Princess

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Other cries, harsh and full of outrage, sounded. The donkeys had started braying at last, but the sound of their hoofs was growing louder, not softer, as if someone was leading them back into the cave.

The first of a line of horses turned in. The face of the man riding it was set in lines of anger, and I recognized him from my one other encounter with the gang. Their captain.

“Who dares to enter our cave?” he snapped, peering down at Kasim, still frozen near the entrance. “Who dares to steal from us?”

Kasim opened his mouth, but the words that came out were gibberish.

The robber captain swung down off his horse as did the others behind him, coming to stand at his back.

“How did he get in here, Esai?” asked the one closest to him in more measured tones. “How did he find it? That’s the important question.”

I didn’t recognize the second man, although he had distinctive, arched eyebrows. Was he the missing Davis who had led Rek and his guards away?

Kasim moaned.

“We’re not going to get any sense out of him,” said a burly man in disgust.

I recognized his voice more than his appearance. This was the man who had challenged the captain last time, only to back down again. His appearance suggested he was stronger on temper than intelligence.

“It would appear not,” said the captain in a tone of cold disgust.

My mind raced. Of course they needed to get information out of Kasim, that much was obvious. For once, his foolishness might work to our advantage. It would be a while before he was in a fit state to answer questions which gave me time to think of a way to get him out of the situation.

I gritted my teeth, trying to think what could be done, while the captain—Esai—turned to look back toward the tunnel where one of the other thieves was now leading the donkeys back in.

“No one steals from us and lives,” he said, gazing at the baskets full of gold and jewels.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the threat, pleading with my brain to work faster. Would they keep him stashed in the cave or take him out into the forest, thinking to get clearer answers from him out there?

The ominous sound of ringing steel made my eyes flash open. I shot onto my knees, acting on instinct rather than logic as I reached for the carpet in front of me. But before I could push it aside, a sickening sound made me freeze. Almost reluctantly, I pressed my eye back to the gap.

The burly thief stood two strides in front of his previous location, the sword in his hand now dripping red. My stomach flipped, and I had to fight to keep it from rejecting my last meal as my eyes traveled to Kasim’s still form, lying on the floor in a rapidly spreading pool of blood.

CHAPTER12

The captain turned, obviously just as caught off guard by the actions of his lieutenant as I was.

“What have you done?” he barked.

“You said he couldn’t live.” The burly thief started to clean his sword.

“I didn’t mean you should kill him instantly,” Esai said with a growl. “Now how will we learn how he discovered this cave? Or who else he has told about it.”

The killer shrugged. “He must have seen us last time we were here. Perhaps he was hiding up a tree or something. It’s the only way he could have known. And he was alone here in the middle of the night with ten donkeys.” He glanced back at them in disgust. “Obviously he wanted to keep the discovery all to himself.”

“All those things may be true,” Esai said coldly, “but we cannot afford to assume they are. We must find out who this man was and who he has told about our cave. All of which would have been easier to do if he was alive.”

My stomach turned again although I was carefully averting my eyes from Kasim’s body. So he really was dead. It was hard to fathom. His death alone would mean complete upheaval for our entire household. But the manner of his demise, coupled with the captain’s words, made it sound as if every one of us was in great danger.

“We cannot risk not investigating,” Davis said, backing up the captain. “Just look at those baskets! Look how much he was going to take. It would have meant complete disaster.”

“Had he already taken previous loads away?” another of the thieves asked, sounding more concerned than the possibility warranted, given how much still remained. “He may have ruined everything already.”

Esai laid a hand on the closest basket. “No, I think we can be sure that has not happened. If it had, at least some of our retired members would have converged on the cave by now—my father at their head.”

Several of the older looking thieves looked queasy at his suggestion, leaving the strong impression Esai’s father was a man more feared than respected among them.

It sounded as if Esai had inherited command of this gang from his father. Had it really been going for so long? There were always reports of bandits on the roads, but I had never suspected it of being a single gang, uncaught for decades.


Tags: Melanie Cellier Fantasy