The Silver Sphere (33 page)

"Here now, Manti. Come in a bit more," Briscane said
from directly over them, with a blow of the bukkehorn right after. The trumpets
blared again in response. The Manticore was almost on top of them.

Shelby tensed without realizing she had stopped breathing.

The floorboards groaned and pushed down. At one point, they touched
the tip of Shelby's nose, and she gasped. A heavy, hoarse panting followed each
creak of the floorboards. The Manticore was right above them.

In the distance, the sound of hooves pounding the path emerged.
Shelby took a deep breath as she readied herself for the ambush. Her grip on Max's
hand tightened.

The whips of the stagecoach's driver snapped through the tunnel,
the hooves smacking down. From beneath, the clamor was thunderous. Shelby resisted
the urge to cover her ears. They were coming.

"Hah! Hah!" the driver shouted.

She heard a loud swooshing grate and then a crash. Several voices
hollered. The trapdoor had been dropped.

Her pulsing blood thundered in her ears. She was terrified, yet
her resolve wouldn't let her do anything but wait.

"Whoa," yelled the driver, the coach screeching to
a halt above them.

The Manticore's roars doubled in volume as voices screamed atop.
The stagecoach rumbled to a stop. Nightlanders pounced from the carriage and engaged
the Manticore. The beast bugled again, and bit by bit, the Nightlanders fought it
back. At some point, the black-garbed warriors would be between the Kin and the
Manticore.

Shelby tensed, waiting for the signal.

"Now!" shouted Max.

They all pushed the floorboards up and sprang into the shaft.
Garrick and his men popped out from the sides and engaged the Nightlanders from
behind. The sound of swords clanging echoed in the tunnel.

Riley picked off the driver with her slingshot and gave a rallied
whoop
when he came crashing down off the coach. Shelby charged to the front
with Max, and Emily strung her bow and fired off two arrows with uncanny speed.
The bolts knocked a pair of Nightlanders off the top of the carriage. Shelby swung
her blade, catching a Nightlander under the throat. A wide, red mouth split across
his neck, and he dropped.

Stuart forced the stagecoach door open. A Nightlander emerged
and took a swipe at him. He ducked, and then blasted the Nightlander with his hand-cannon.
Stuart entered the cabin as Shelby and Max leapt to the head of the carriage. Max
grabbed the reins.

Up ahead, the Manticore thrashed wildly and threw Nightlanders
ferociously into the wall.

At the exit of the tunnel, the bukkehorn erupted, and the Manticore
raised its bloody maw and bounded down the shaft. The sound of trumpeting roars
followed.

Shelby's heart pounded so hard she noticed little else. At one
point, she remembered a Nightlander trying to stab her. She cut him down, sticking
her blade clean through his chest.

She glanced behind, where Riley and Emily hopped on the back
of the coach. Emily gave her a thumbs-up.

"Now," she said to Max.

"Hah!" Max snapped the reins.

The stagecoach propelled forth and raced down toward the Manticore.
The wheels rumbled against the planks beneath them. Horses brayed and swung their
heads. Shelby leaned forward, her rapier at the ready. Once they exited, Nightlanders
might be waiting for them.

They burst from the tunnel, but the Manticore had stopped in
front. Max pulled in the reins and the coach halted. The Manticore turned and placed
its fiery gaze on Shelby and Max. Soft rumbles came from the beast as he growled.
The creature stood and held its glare.

From the right side of the shaft, several Nightlanders bounded
in on horseback. They halted at the sight of the Manticore. It grumbled and then
lunged at the Nightlanders, clearing their path.

Cold sweat rolled down the nape of Shelby's neck.

"Hah!" Max shouted again, and the coach thundered forward.
"Here we go!" He smirked and glanced over at her. "Told ya we'd do
it."

They sped down the Gida Path, Shelby's heart racing with the
carriage.

Zach sat on a thick branch and stared down the Gida Path. Morgana
was stationed across the way, perched on a tree, her arrow nocked and at the ready.

Before long, the sound of hooves rumbled down the trail. He motioned
to Morgana, who nodded. His body tensed, and his heart pounded as he aimed the arbalest
at the path.

A score of Nightlanders came into view, with several un-mounted
horses trailing them.

Brodeur slid up next to Zach. "Blazes!"

"What do we do now?" said Zach. "We expected a
smaller group of scouts and archers. I count at least thirty of them."

"Hold tight. Maybe they're passing through. We can't battle
this many, so let's see what they are up to." Brodeur pulled out his bow.

Zach motioned to Morgana to stand down, and she nodded.

The troop arrived at the turn and halted. Horses neighed and
tossed their heads, tramping the ground. One of the soldiers dismounted and shouted
out some orders.

Beside Zach, Brodeur drew in a deep breath. "Wait a minute.
I know that spidery build anywhere. Stay here."

Before Zach reacted, Brodeur hurried down the tree and scampered
over to the troop. Zach raised his arbalest. Morgana set her aim on the crowd of
Nightlanders.

"Blunderbuss!" Brodeur shouted.

The lanky soldier squinted and walked closer to him. "Brodeur?
What the blazes are you doing here?"

"I can't believe the Centurions have joined Malefic, you
long-limbed traitor." Brodeur spat on the ground.

"Traitor? We are working with the Kin to ambush a stagecoach
carrying the Assembly, you fool. We can use all hands on deck!"

"The Kin? Well then now, we had plans of our own to take
the coach at the turn. Four of us are here."

"Four of you to take out the coach and scores of Nightlanders?
You are as brave as I remember, Brodeur." Blunderbuss chuckled and clapped
him on the shoulder.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

They embraced one another heartily.

"Come, we must be quick," said Blunderbuss.

Throg crept up next to Zach with a concerned expression, panting.
"I picked up voices. What's happening?"

"That is Blunderbuss."

Throg smiled as he watched the two men break their embrace.

"Looks like the Centurions have chosen sides."

The two men spoke a few moments as several Centurions approached
Brodeur and slapped him on the back. Brodeur then motioned to where Throg and Zach
were stationed.

Zach frowned.

Brodeur shouted up to them, "Throg, it's Blunderbuss. He
is working with the other Kin. They have a plan in action to overtake the coach."

Zach glanced at Throg, who shrugged. "Better go check things
out."

Throg began to work his way down from the tree.

Zach gave the scene one last glance before following him. He
landed hard on the ground, then trotted over to the others, warily looking around.
After the things he'd seen, he wondered if these people really were trustworthy.

Blunderbuss said, "If they pulled this off, the Kin should
be coming down the path in the stagecoach soon. A regiment of Nightlanders will
be in hot pursuit, though."

Throg nodded. "We cleared a trail leading back to a hidden
cave. If the Nightlanders aren't too close, we can steer the coach to the area without
them knowing for some time. We may be able to pull this off." He turned to
where their fourth was hiding. "Morgana, come on down. You're safe!"

She slipped down the tree and ran over, relief in her eyes. "Brodeur,
you scared me half to death, walking over to a horde of Nightlanders like that."

Brodeur grinned.

Throg showed Blunderbuss the trail, and they made their plans.

"I will position some archers in the treetops to provide
cover," said Blunderbuss. "Now we have to wait and pray the plan comes
to fruition."

They stood on the sides of the path and stared at the road as
a handful of Centurions ascended the trees. Zach took the reins of one of the horses,
again eyeing Blunderbuss warily. Everything was contingent on whether or not the
other Kin succeeded. He only hoped they had.

Brodeur stared down the Gida path. "Godspeed to the Kin."

The stagecoach rumbled down the path. Max snapped the reins with
fervor and urged the horses on. The road underfoot grew rough and uneven.

Shelby gulped hard, hoping Blunderbuss waited ahead.

Riley slid over the top and joined them. She gave a peppy wink.
"Emily is in back with her bow drawn. We spotted a band of Nightlanders breaking
away from the Manticore, and they aren't far behind. More poured out from the sides
of the tunnel."

"I'm pushing these poor horses as fast as they can go,"
said Max.

"I'm going in the cabin to check on Stuart," said Shelby.
Max nodded, his green-eyed glare fixed on the road.

She deftly scaled the side of the jiggling coach, as though she
had done it before a hundred times, and pounded on the door. "It's me, Shelby."

Stuart popped open the hatch. "What's the password?"
He smirked.

"Raging Minotaur." She darted inside.

Stuart tried to keep his balance as he pointed across the cabin.
"Here they are."

The Assembly sat snugly in a row, hunched over and bound with
shackles. They wore tattered silken robes that no doubt had been white as cream
once, but they now lay smudged and dirtied. Their time in captivity had left the
Assembly weak and exhausted.

"I tried to take the shackles off but... too dang thick.
I checked the Nightlander I blasted for keys, but couldn't find any."

Shelby crawled over and inspected the Assembly. She stopped at
a female whose long, dark hair framed a pale, gaunt face. Age lines creased around
the now familiar woman's thin lips.

"Bianca," she whispered, and caressed her hair.

Bianca discharged a dazed moan, and opened her eyes to gaze at
Shelby. She forced a faint simper and then nodded off.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," Shelby said, and turned
to Stuart. "The Nightlanders are right behind us. I think we have to abandon
the coach first chance we can and get off the Gida."

Stuart crouched down next to her. "Blunderbuss said the
bend was a little over a mile ahead. We should reach it shortly. Hopefully, he has
a plan."

"Okay, I'm going back outside. Let Emily know we have them."

"Will do." Stuart exited the cabin.

Shelby followed and closed the door behind her. She climbed back
to the front of the rattling carriage and, once seated, exhaled her pent-up tension.

"All six are there, shackled and unconscious."

Max and Riley nodded.

"Here we are," said Max.

Up ahead, Blunderbuss waited in the middle of the road. Next
to him stood three men she didn't recognize, most likely Centurions. Last night,
they had been hard to spot.

Max pulled back the reins and the carriage came to a halt. "Hordes
of Nightlanders right behind us."

"Okay, we're in luck." Blunderbuss motioned to his
companions. "This here is Throg, and this is your fellow Kin, Zach."

"Ahoy, Kin, you are a sight for sore eyes," Throg said
as he waved.

They returned the gesture, Shelby fixing her gaze on Zach. He
had a wide grin and his shaggy brown hair flopped as he rushed the coach. He stared
up at her with piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in warrior's clothing, though
he looked like he'd been hiking for days.

"I've been trying to find you guys for ages," said
Zach.

"And we, you," Shelby said at once. "We must be
quick. Nightlanders are coming fast."

"I'll drive the coach," said Throg. "Zach and
Morgana will also come. We've cut a path to the right that leads to a hiding spot
we staked out."

The thunder of hooves rang behind them.

"Morgana, hop on the back with your bow. I will get in front.
Zach, head into the cabin. Let's move," Throg shouted.