Harbinger: Fate's Forsaken: Book One (21 page)

Kael had
actually been having a decent dream: it involved green meadows and a cool
summer breeze. He’d been lying on his back, just enjoying the world around him,
when he saw a man approaching from the distance. He recognized him and sat up
to wave —

Then an icy
cascade of water fell from the sky and knocked him from his sleep. He coughed
and spat out a mouthful of water, gasping for a clean breath. When he realized
he wasn’t in any real danger of drowning, he shoved the wet hair from his face
and found Jonathan — who was standing beside his bed with an empty bucket
in his hands.

Kael could have
hit him. “What in Kingdom’s —”

But the sound of
his own voice was like a dagger in the head. He collapsed back on his pillow
and suddenly felt like he was going to be sick.

“It’s the bane
of every bloke about town, I’m afraid.” Jonathan’s words slapped against his
skull. “It’s the ale that always gets the last laugh. And I believe you set a
new record last night, mate — twenty-four tankards! Now that’s nothing to
sneeze at. Would’ve probably killed a lesser man.”

Kael wanted to
tell him to shut up. But he was afraid to even open his eyes, let alone his
mouth.

“Here, have a
swig of this and you’ll be on your feet in no time.”

He cracked his
eyes open enough to take the cup from Jonathan’s hand. He threw the whole thing
back at once, because he thought that if he dragged it out he’d be violently
ill. It tasted like something Jonathan scraped out of the inside of his boot.
His stomach balked as the slimy liquid oozed down his throat, and he fought the
urge to gag.

“Just like mum
used to make, eh?” His booming laugh made Kael contemplate murder. “Sorry for
the abrupt wake up, but there’s trouble in town. Garron’s given the order to
move out immediately.” Jonathan was leaning next to the window, peering down
into the streets. Kael found the strength to sit up and look.

Gray fingers of
dawn were barely scratching at the window, yet the square was already alive
with movement. Soldiers in gold-tinged armor marched through the streets,
pounding on house doors and demanding entry. When the doors opened, they shoved
through. If the doors didn’t open, they kicked them in.

A desert
merchant tried to hurry past unnoticed, but a guard caught him roughly by the
back of his shirt. He asked a question and when the merchant shook his head,
the guard threw him to the ground. Then he turned his glare in the direction of
the inn.

Kael blanched
when he saw the twisting black dragon stamped on his breastplate. “Midlan,” he
said, and Jonathan nodded.

“I heard them
push through the gates this morning. I was out, ah, lightening the purses of
some of the local gamblers, when I saw them marching in. ‘Course I ran to tell
Garron right away.”

So his worst
fears had come to pass — the King’s soldiers were raiding the town,
looking for something. And he thought he might be able to guess what they were
after. Downing twenty-four tankards of mountain ale would have certainly gotten
him noticed. He pulled his shirt over his head, cursing. As he tugged on his
boots he thought to glance at the brothers’ beds. They were empty.

“Don’t worry
— we got them out with the first cart,” Jonathan said when he saw the
panic on his face. He threw his rucksack over his shoulder and tossed Kael his.
“It’s just me, you and Horatio left. All the others are out — escaped
through the back gate, they did. I forgot you were up here or I’d have snagged
you sooner. Once those guards move on, we’ll make a dash for it.”

They stood on
either side of the window, watching the guard who’d thrown the merchant. He
still had his eyes on the inn. He scanned the bottom floor, then moved to the
second. His eyes flicked across the windows and Kael froze when they stopped at
his. The guard’s eyes narrowed and he started marching towards the inn. He
turned and shouted something to a gang of soldiers — who broke from the
main group to follow.

“On second
thought, now’s as good a time to dash as any,” Jonathan said, and Kael agreed.

Most of the
inn’s customers were still sleeping off their ale, so the hallways were quiet.
They hurried down the stairs and weaved their way through the first floor
corridor. Just before they reached the main room, Jonathan stopped at the
corner and crouched.

“All right,” he
whispered after a moment. “Looks like it’s all cle —”

The crooked
front door flew open, causing a shower of dust to rain down from the ceiling as
it slammed against the wall. In marched the throwing guard and his posse of
soldiers.

“Search
everywhere!” he barked. “She’s been here, I can feel it.”

They kicked
tables over and toppled chairs, smashing the bottles and dishes piled on top of
them. A few people were passed out near the hearth, and they beat them awake with
the flats of their swords.

The noise must
have roused the innkeeper. He stumbled in from the room behind the bar,
red-faced and trembling, with the frazzled serving girl close behind. “Just what
do you think you’re doing —?”

“I’m looking for
a dangerous outlaw, subject. An enemy of the King.” The guard stepped up and
planted his hands on the bar. “She calls herself the Dragongirl, and there’s a
mountain of gold waiting for the man who turns her in. Have you seen her?”

The innkeeper
snorted. He ducked behind the counter and returned with an enormous book that
he plopped down on the bar. A cloud of dust puffed out from between the pages
and made the guard cough.

“I can’t
remember everyone, but you’re welcome to look through my ledger,” he said,
quite sarcastically.

The guard’s face
hardened. “You’re under arrest.”

“For what?”

“For hiding an
enemy of the King!” At his signal, two soldiers grabbed the innkeeper and drug
him, screaming, from the room.

The serving girl
made to follow them, but the guard grabbed her by her frazzled hair and held
her back. “Please sir, I don’t know anybody by that name, I swear it,” she
said, clutching her nightgown tighter to her chest.

“Her face, then.
Tell me if you saw a woman with dark hair and green eyes. She will have been
about your age, and likely dressed in armor.”

Before Kael
could clamp a hand over his mouth, Jonathan let out a gasp — and the
serving girl heard. Her eyes flicked in their direction for half a second
before they went back to the guard.

He knew they
were done for. He knew the girl had seen Kyleigh — they’d been chatting
just last night. How could she possibly forget? She would know that Kyleigh
traveled with Garron. She’d tell the soldiers, and they would hunt the caravan
down. The only way he could stop it from happening was if the guard never
heard. Kael reached behind him and started to draw an arrow when the serving
girl spoke:

“No sir, I don’t
recall seeing anyone like that.”

The guard
frowned. Apparently, he could tell by the defiant line of her mouth that she
was lying. He growled and threw her to the nearest soldier. “Lock her up with
the other one.” Then he turned and barked: “Search every floor, every room from
top to bottom. Move!”

They started
towards the hallway, and Jonathan swore. He went to back up, but Kael put out a
hand to stop him. His eyes were on the serving girl, and her eyes on his.

A soldier had a
hold of one of her arms, but the other was free. As he watched, she stretched
out her hand, reaching for a bowl balanced on the edge of the bar … and knocked
it over.

It smashed on
the ground and every head turned to look, giving Kael the second he needed to
grab Jonathan and sprint behind the counter. They went through the kitchen and
out the back door; trudging through whatever rotten food the inn couldn’t sell
until they managed to dash into the cover of the nearest alleyway.

“Well, bludgeon
me like a cricket!” Jonathan said, his eyes wild. “Did you know that about
Kyleigh?”

“She told me she
was an outlaw,” he admitted.

Jonathan stopped
cursing for a moment when a horde of soldiers tromped by. But as soon as they
were gone, he started up again. “You aren’t from the Earl at all, are you?” His
eyes flicked to the top of Kael’s head. “I bet that isn’t even your real hair.”

“No, we’re not
from the Earl. And yes,” he tugged on his hair, “it’s real.”

Jonathan shook
his head. “Well, we have to tell Garron. This is serious as a knife to the
neck.”

Garron was the
last person who needed to know, in Kael’s opinion. He would be angry about
missing market — maybe even angry enough to make up the difference by
turning Kyleigh in. Especially if what the guard said about a reward was true.
He had to wonder what she could’ve possibly done to stir up so much trouble.

“You can’t tell
Garron,” he said. He grabbed Jonathan by his collar. “Look at me — you
can’t tell him. I’m serious.”

His eyes went
wide before he finally nodded. “You’re right, mate. I know you’re right. Even
if she is an outlaw, she’s still my friend. And I may be a lot of things but
I’m no traitor. Pox Midlan,” he spat on the cobblestone, “her secret’s safe
with me. Besides, I know she’s your girl and all. I wouldn’t want to be the one
to end your conquest.”

Kael shoved him.
“She’s
not
my girl.”

Jonathan pointed
to his burning cheeks and cackled. Before Kael could punch him, he galloped
away.

*******

They found
Horatio waiting near the back gate. His eyes were red and his cheeks were
tinged with green. He took small sips from a flask and grimaced as he
swallowed.

“It’s about
time,” he grumbled when he saw them. “You dragged your feet, and now they’ve
posted a guard.”

There were two
gates in the back. The first one was large enough for a cart to fit through,
and was being blocked off by a score of mounted soldiers. They had their pikes
lowered and pointed in the direction of the merchants lined up before them.
Their horses snorted in the chill morning air and pawed eagerly at the ground.
Though they cursed and spat, none of the merchants seemed interested in trying
to drive their carts through the pikes.

A few yards down
the wall, a flight of stairs led up to the second gate — which was
actually just a door no larger than the entrance to a house. A lone Midlan
soldier stood with his arms crossed in front of it, glaring down at the crowd
of merchants beneath him. His stony glare seemed to be the only thing keeping
them at bay. No one wanted to be the first to challenge him.

“We should light
out while there’s only one,” Jonathan said, and Horatio agreed.

He led the way
through the crowd — people bounced helplessly off his girth and Jonathan
and Kael followed in his wake. They climbed the stairs and stood on the
landing, directly in front of the guard. Kael took the spot on the left and
tried to ignore the curious tittering from the crowd behind him.

“Merchants
requesting passage, if you please,” Horatio said.

The guard
smirked. “Denied.”

He crossed his
arms and lowered his brows. “Denied? On whose authority? You have no right to
keep us prisoner.”

“On His
Majesty’s authority, so I’ve got every right,” the guard replied with a sneer.
“You ain’t allowed to leave. So why don’t you just march your fat rump back
down the stairs —”

“Don’t call me
fat, you worthless tin-head.”

Behind him, Kael
could hear the rattle of armor heading their way. He turned and saw a dozen
Midlan soldiers reach the crowd. They bellowed for passage, but the merchants
refused to let them through. Swears and threats poured in from both sides,
making a dangerous mix.

The guard,
emboldened by his reinforcements, slunk forward. “Tin-head, am I?” He rapped a
knuckle on the side of his helmet. “Well how’d you like it if I used my tin
head to crack your skull, eh?”

He was too busy
threatening Horatio to see the door open behind him. A hooded figure stepped
out from the arch, grabbed him by the shoulder and drove a sword into his back
— so swiftly that he didn’t have time to cry out. It wasn’t until the
white blade ripped through the dragon on his breastplate that they realized who
their rescuer was.

“Kyleigh
—”

“
Shhhh
! Go quickly,” she said. She had
her hood pulled up, and if he hadn’t seen Harbinger, Kael didn’t think he would
have recognized her.

The guard tried
to call for help, but ended up choking on a mouthful of blood, instead. His
body grew limper by the second, sagging more of his weight onto Harbinger’s
blade. Jonathan stared, open-mouthed, at the dying man until Horatio shoved him
through the gate. Then Kyleigh stepped to the front of the platform.

She held the
guard up by his chainmail, still skewered on her sword. Beneath them, a scuffle
had broken out between the merchants and Midlan’s soldiers. They exchanged
shoves and spittle, but so far all weapons had remained in their belts. Then
Kyleigh leaned forward and dropped the body right in the middle of them.

It was amazing
how quickly the swords came hissing out of their sheaths.

Before Kael
could see what happened, she grabbed him and pulled him through the gate,
kicking the door shut behind them. They sprinted for the forest as the angry
shouts in the courtyard grew to a roar. When they made it to the cover of the
trees, the sounds of fighting erupted.

“What were you
thinking, killing a soldier of Midlan?” Horatio gasped as they slowed their
pace to a trot. “They’re going to hunt us down and slay us all!”

“No one saw me
do it,” she said, not even out of breath. “We just needed to make sure those
soldiers stay busy for a few hours. Nothing slows an army like a riot,” she
grinned, “and nothing starts a riot like a corpse.”