Marysvale (48 page)

She gingerly lifted my clothes,
exposing my wound.

Hannah went white.

“
That awful?” I
asked.

She nodded.

Jane took a moment longer before giving
a more judicious and informed answer. “It looks bad, but I don’t
believe it hit anything important. It’s shallow and the ball passed
through. You could use some cleaning and sewing; but since we don’t
have the proper supplies, a bandage will have to
suffice.”

Jane quickly tore some strips of cloth
from my shirt and bandaged me up. “There, I suppose that’s the best
I can do.”

The pressure of the wrap did feel
better.

“
Thank you,” I said
sincerely.

A sweet smile was her reply.

“
Now may we go?”

Jane mounted her horse and set off at a
trot.

We worked our way north through the
remains of the hill and past the north gate.

The town guards were well awake, but
they were looking toward the garrison, pointing and talking to each
other.

I pulled up next to Sarah, withdrew the
musket from Smoke, and gave it to her.

“
What are you doing?” she
asked.

“
Giving you
this.”

“
I’m not in much shape to
shoot at anything,” she protested.

“
Neither is he,” teased
Jane.

“
I’m afraid it’s true,” I
sighed. “I’m not a very good shot, but that isn’t why I’m giving it
to you. I won’t need it, and you may.”

Hannah looked scared. “Why?”

“
I’m only going to retrieve
the food I left in the field, as well as the rifle,” I reassured
her. “Both of which we’ll need—especially the food. You all look
like you could use some nourishment.”

“
Shall we wait?” asked
Jane.

“
No, I want to put some
distance between us and the town. I’ll catch up.”

“
Hurry back.”

“
As soon as I can. And
Sarah?”

“
Yes.”

“
Keep them going, no matter
what you hear. In fact, if you hear anything, run as fast as you
can.”

She nodded.

I peeled away, before any more
questions could be asked.

The storm had moved off, revealing
brilliant stars and a bright moon which lit up the damp countryside
in its pale, white light. It also made it easier to find the oil
skin pack, which lay right where I’d left it. Scooping it up, I
continued on to the trees where the rifle waited.

Clamorous shouts surged from the wall.
The guards had finally noticed the women, and were gesturing
excitedly at them. They hadn’t spotted me yet.

Other than talking amongst themselves,
they didn’t appear to be doing anything about it. I hoped that’s
all they would do.

I pressed on to the tree line and
slipped into the woods. Locating the rifle was a bit more of a
challenge. Many of the trees looked like the ones I wanted, but
none had what I searched for. About to give up, I checked one more
maple that looked promising and finally found the rifle, lying on
the ground.

Faintly, through the trees, I heard the
sound that I hoped I wouldn’t, but knew I would—the unmistakable
groan from the rusty hinges that held the massive gates. Opening my
vision, I saw town guards pointing in the direction where the women
had disappeared into the forest. Ten mounted soldiers streamed out
of the town, two by two, riding at a full gallop.

I knew we would be pursued, once Lord
Wright had discovered us. That was part of the reason why I had
separated from the women...to implement a plan. And now, it was
time to see how well, if at all, my idea would work.

I picked the shortest line to intercept
the cavalry, and kicked Smoke into action.

He responded with enthusiasm and
galloped through the trees. Apparently, he didn’t suffer from the
exhaustion that plagued me. I would have given anything to lie down
in a warm bed and let the fire in my wound subside. But it was
pointless and disheartening to dwell upon it, so I set my
concentration to the task at hand.

At the edge of my vision, I saw the
women still moving at a trot. They hadn’t heard the gate and didn’t
know they were being hunted. They would be caught soon.

We flew back onto the field and angled
in behind the riders. There were no corridors, caves, or trees to
slow Smoke down. Despite my pain and exhaustion, Smoke’s rhythmic
pounding and raw speed felt exhilarating.

Our dash through the open attracted the
attention of the guards on the wall. In a valiant effort to warn
the cavalry, they yelled and waved frantically. It was no use; the
soldiers remained focused on the women. Besides, I was doubtful
they could hear anything over the thunder of their horses. If they
did, they probably thought it was just cheering.

I fell into the rear of the column,
just as they charged into the woods. No one noticed that an
eleventh rider had joined the back of their group.

I withdrew the crossbow, freshly loaded
with its lethal, silent arrows. I aimed, and pulled the trigger.
The little twang, signaling the soldiers’ demise, was masked by the
sound of pounding hooves.

One by one, in rapid succession, two
victims fell with a thud. I nudged Smoke forward. He ran between
the two rider-less horses and on up to the next unsuspecting
pair.

However, without the true and sure
arrows, I had to risk getting closer. These two soldiers noticed
something was wrong when Smoke’s bobbing head appeared between
them. Even so, there wasn’t anything they could do.

I had already drawn my pistols, and was
so close that even I couldn’t miss. Both weapons barked and leapt
in my hands. White smoke spat out the ends and streamed behind my
outstretched arms. The deadly balls found their targets and the
soldiers hit the ground in a rolling, tumbling, crumpling
motion.

One of them, without a doubt, was dead.
His ghost furiously rode the unburdened horse. It kicked and cursed
at the animal for slowing and falling behind. The horse drifted
away from the group, enraging the ghost even more. It grappled,
fruitlessly, for a whip that he couldn’t hold.

The rest of the soldiers now knew that
something was terribly wrong. It was confirmed to them when they
looked back and realized that four of their comrades were
missing.

I stuffed the pistols back into my
belt, and Smoke, not knowing I wanted him to slow, continued his
charge up and in between the next two riders.

For a moment, we all looked confused;
but it didn’t last long. The soldier on my right quickly drew his
pistol.

There was no time to draw the
rifle.

Seizing the reins, I did the only thing
I could think of. I drew back and turned hard to the right. Without
hesitation, Smoke slowed, turned, and charged into the hindquarters
of the smaller animal. He caught it with its hind legs in the air.
Without weight on his back legs, the horse swung sideways. Unable
to keep its footing, it fell over. The rider clung desperately to
an elusive grasp that would keep him in the saddle, but quickly
lost the battle against momentum and force. In the end, it turned
out to be a blessing for him, as he was flung clear of the saddle,
and free from the crushing weight of his mount.

Smoke stumbled for a moment, but
regained his stride and continued his turn away from the toppling
duo. We crashed through the trees as gunfire erupted from the
remaining horsemen.

Balls shredded the air, blasting leaves
and branches around us. One even came so close as to tousle the
back of my hair.

Two men peeled away and gave chase;
while the other three continued after the women, whom I noticed
had, thankfully, heard the commotion and were now galloping at full
speed.

I angled away from the other three
riders and coaxed Smoke to run faster. He valiantly responded. Each
of his powerful strides put a little more space between me and my
pursuers.

When the distance was enough, I slowed
Smoke to match their speed and searched for a fallen tree of just
the right height.

We darted around trunks and over
obstacles. It took a bit of hunting before finding what I was
looking for. We aimed for it and I set up Smoke’s approach. He
launched over it with ease—but then, the fallen tree wasn’t chosen
necessarily for its height, but for the difficulty in seeing beyond
it.

As soon as we landed, I reined up and
turned Smoke around. Withdrawing the rifle, I aimed and waited
momentarily.

The thumping of hooves drew up to the
fallen tree, and the lead horseman launched into the air. His head,
and that of his mount, appeared first; but I waited for their
entire bodies to clear the obstacle. With my poor aim, I needed the
biggest target possible.

The man’s eyes went wide with fear as
he realized, too late, the deadly trap he was in.

I fired.

The rifle roared to life. The air
filled with the acrid smoke from the black powder, and partially
blocked my vision. However, I could see enough to tell that
something was wrong with the horse. It came down without energy or
the rigidity and tension it should possess.

Upon landing, the animal’s legs simply
folded. It somersaulted forward, and catapulted his rider face
first into the ground and continued to roll until its back came
crashing down onto the poor man.

Both lay motionless.

The second rider leapt over the stump.
Seeing the jumbled mess of horse and man beneath him, he tensed
with fear. Down they came. His horse miraculously located a spot
for its legs, and landed with only a small stumble. Relief filled
the soldier’s face, then instantly transformed to anger. He aimed
his horse at me, drew his sword, and charged.

I hadn’t planned on him surviving the
jump, and found myself unprepared for the ferocious attack.
Desperately, I struggled to raise my rifle. The gleaming, sharp
blade sliced through the air, making a whooshing sound as it fell.
It embedded deep into the wood stock of my gun.

Instantly, the soldier tore it
free—nearly wrenching the rifle from my hands. Rage contorted his
face. He slashed again, breaking a barrel band. Again he slashed,
breaking the flintlock mechanism. Like a mad man, again and again,
he chopped; his blows splintering wood and obliterating the rifle
as I feebly defended against his attacks.

Our horses danced around each other
while their masters waged war above their heads. Or more
accurately, one master battled, while the other somehow survived.
It was only a matter of time before I lost the fight against the
superior training of the soldier.

The next time he drew back in
preparation for another lightning strike, I threw the splintered
and broken rifle at his chest.

It did little to hurt him, and he
easily knocked it away. However, it bought me a few precious
seconds. I utilized them by kicking Smoke into flight. He lurched
ahead, churning the dirt beneath his hooves. I leaned forward,
desperate to avoid the next lethal blow that was already in
progress.

The blade skimmed the back of my
clothes and a new draft was born in them.

Instantly, my enemy gave
chase.

Flying through the woods, we galloped
as fast as our mounts could go.

Astoundingly, by driving his horse
unusually hard, the soldier remained close behind. The gap between
us and the other three soldiers closed, as did the gap between them
and the women. I kept a safe distance out of musket range as we
slowly caught up, and then passed the other three
riders.

The miles rolled by as we hurtled on
through the forest. Night started its gradual fade to day, and the
sun began its slow climb over the horizon. A glance under my arm
showed the soldier still riding like he was possessed by a demon.
Flogging his horse, he beat every ounce of speed from the poor
animal, but his mount was no match for Smoke. Even with his
viciousness, it wasn’t enough to catch us.

Despite growing tired and dripping with
sweat, Smoke slowly and steadily continued to grow the distance
between us, length by length.

All the horses were being pushed beyond
their limits, and soon, one of them would collapse. If betting
wasn’t a sin, and there was someone to take my wager, it would be
on my pursuer. His horse faded, but the whipping continued,
nonetheless.

I angled over and worked my way behind
the women. When they heard Smoke running up behind them, they all
turned with fearful expressions, which morphed into recognition,
and then to relief. Smoke slowed to match their pace. The maniac
horseman had now joined his comrades, but continued his steady fall
behind.

The chase continued until a horse did
finally collapse.

I would have won my bet.

At this point, the soldiers realized
that running their horses into the ground wasn’t a very good idea
this far away from anything. They reined up and granted their
mounts a rest.