Gyl nodded. ‘They’re here, all right. But they’re too clever for their own good.’ He walked to his saddlebag and dug out a fresh shirt. ‘All right, we break camp and set up a new rendezvous point and we’ll go through this next ten miles with a fine comb.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Get your men fed and rested, Lyngos.’
The captain nodded and saluted, then turned to give orders.
‘Oh, Lyngos, these people you met—was it wise to let them travel alone? How old was the girl?’
‘I’d guess around sixteen summers, sir. Dressed plainly. They were on foot and insisted they had nothing worth taking.’
‘Other than the obvious thing that fiends like these will not think twice about stealing,’ Gyl said, shaking his head. ‘Did you offer them an escort?’
‘No, sir, I didn’t. They were adamant that travelling alone suited them.’
Gyl believed the captain should have insisted, and Lyngos now realised he should have too. These men had killed many times and, having had the death sentence proclaimed on them over and again, had nothing more to lose. Rape was one of their favourite pastimes. An old girl and a young woman on foot would be easy pickings.
‘Thank you, captain. Get some food into you.’ Gyl dismissed the men and pulled on his shirt.
He knew the story of Alyssa’s rape, which she had told him haltingly one rainy night a year or so ago. He could not recall why this tale had spilled out just then, but they had cried together over it and he had made her a promise then and there, that every woman in the Kingdom would be safe when he was Prime.
That comment from a young man had brought a smile to Alyssa’s face. ‘My brave Gyl. So you think you’ll be Prime one day, do you?’
‘I shall lead my men bravely and I shall die for my King if required,’ he had said, leaping to his feet and grabbing the sword he was so proud of. ‘And every woman will be able to travel the roads of Tallinor without fear!’
He remembered how his stepmother—the woman he now thought of as his true mother—had stood and hugged him hard. ‘That is a fine promise.’
Gyl brought his thoughts back to the present and called for his horse.
‘Carry on. I’ll catch up with you,’ he reassured the captain, who looked over at him enquiringly. ‘I’ll just see those women safely into Hamptyn.’
He hit the road at a steady canter.
Lauryn felt real fear now. ‘What do you want from me?’ she yelled at the leader.
‘All it is that you have left to give us,’ he said and laughed.
‘Tie her to that tree for now, Belco. What happened to your ear, man?’
‘She bit me,’ Belco lamented, pushing Lauryn back against the tree trunk.
‘Well then, you’ll just have to bite her back later in a place she’s never felt such pain before,’ the man replied and grinned horribly at her.
Lauryn knew if she did not do something right now, it was over for her. These men would rape her, maybe torture her. Certainly they would not leave her alive. And Sorrel was dead! She could not dwell on that now, but Sorrel had forbidden her to linger, had urged her to flee at any sign of danger. And she would never see her Gidyon again, or meet her father, or be held in her mother’s arms if she did not do something now!
With that rush of emotional thought, a new sensation flowed through her body. She felt it like a pulse and then she sensed the Colours; it was as though they were rushing through her. Suddenly she
felt lightheaded and…powerful. Yes, that was it! She felt power. Not really understanding the sensation, or knowing what to do with it, she reacted instinctively when Belco bent her arm painfully back behind her for the second time that day.
Belco’s body hit the tree opposite with great force and a sickening crunch. His body dropped to the ground, broken; his ear leaking a trickle of blood, which would stop shortly because his heart no longer pumped life.
The two other men had their backs turned, but the lad saw what happened and called out in shock. The men turned, their eyes flicking first to Lauryn, who was still untied, and then to Belco on the floor.
‘Get her!’ the leader cried and they rushed her.
Lauryn blinked, still struggling to understand how she had harmed Belco, and then she was running.
Sorrel’s voice haunted her: ‘Run, Lauryn, run!’ and run she did, like a startled hare. She picked up her skirt and crashed through the copse of trees at a speed she never thought she possessed, but the men were in hot pursuit. She zigzagged, trying to throw them off, but knew she was making far too much noise, so she headed for open country, bursting out of the cover of trees and running across a field.
They spotted her, of course, and soon the lad was gaining on her. Lauryn stepped up her speed but the burning in her chest told her she could not keep this up; she might be able to outrun the two heavy men but not the lad, and he was all it would take to pin her down.
So she stopped and turned on him. Breathing heavily, she eyed him ferociously and it stopped him in his tracks. He approached cautiously.
‘Don’t take another step forward,’ she said.
He lunged but found himself hurled high into the air; when he found land again it was with an assortment of broken limbs. He began to scream from the pain but Lauryn did not care. She turned on her heel and ran off through the field, with no idea of where she was headed, other than away from the scene of death behind her.
Gyl cantered around the curve of the road and scanned the scene. An overturned cart lay there, but had nothing in it, which was odd. Lyngos had made no mention of this either, but if the accident had just occurred, there would be lots of confusion, a terrified horse and its owner trying to calm it down. Gyl remained on his horse, cautious that this could be a trap.
Approaching slowly, he suddenly noticed a woman lying at the side of the road, her body roughly covered by a few branches. She was silvery-haired and clearly old. His heart sank. This was probably the old woman Lyngos had mentioned. With no sign of the granddaughter, Gyl could only imagine the worst. He punched his thigh, anger gripping him that this could have happened under his very nose.
He made a swift decision. If the old girl was dead, then there was nothing he could do for her. Right now, he might still be able to save her granddaughter.
With a kick of his stirrups and a cry of anger, he forced his horse up the small embankment and into the copse. He drew his sword and guided the horse carefully through the trees. It did not take Gyl long to find the smashed body of Belco. Once again he did not leave the safety of his high position. The man was dead, that was for sure, but he could not imagine what had happened here.
Witnesses had reported three men and a lad, so there were three outlaws still on the loose. He called out but received no response, so decided to head out of the copse and see what lay beyond. Emerging from the cover of trees, he looked ahead and saw two men running across the field. When he squinted he could see the golden hair of a woman bouncing wildly, running not that far in front of them.
Gyl spurred his horse into a gallop and gave mad chase. The men turned to see a King’s man bearing down on them at speed and one peeled off immediately. Gyl pursued the other man, who was closing on his prey. The Under Prime caught up with him quickly and slashed at the back of his legs, cutting through tendon and muscle and bringing the bandit to a screaming halt. It was not the leader.
Gyl did not even slow but pushed his horse faster, until he could reach down and grab the girl. She flailed in panic in his grasp. One moment Gyl had her cleanly up and onto the horse; the next, he found
himself on the ground, which he had hit so hard he could see stars.
It took him what felt like a long time to roll himself onto his back, where he lay in pain, sucking in great gasps of air. Had the horse stumbled and thrown him? No! Gyl never lost his seat and certainly not from Bryx. He was the finest horseman in all of the company.
He lay there thinking unclear thoughts, wishing the pain would dissipate.
Where was Bryx? Where was the girl?
‘Er…I found your horse,’ a voice said.
Gyl opened his eyes to slits and turned his head painfully towards the sound. He saw a girl covered in mud. ‘Are you all right?’
‘In better shape than you, I believe,’ she said, sheepishly. ‘I fell into some sort of swamp. Can you move?’
‘I’m not sure. Everything hurts. Did you see what happened?’
Lauryn lied. ‘No. You must have fallen from the horse.’
Gyl pushed himself painfully to his elbows to regard her. ‘The Under Prime does not fall from his horse,’ he said, disgusted at himself.
‘How do you feel?’
‘Not good. May I ask for your help?’
Lauryn looked at the horse, unsure of what to do.
‘The horse won’t go anywhere. He comes at a command. His name is Bryx. And I am Gyl, Under Prime of Tallinor…I’d like to say at your service, madam, but it seems I am far from that.’
Lauryn smiled through the mud which she could feel covered all of her face and hair. The immense fear was falling away and the Colours were falling with it. She felt dreadful about what she had done to this man, who had obviously been giving chase to help her, but how could she have known that in those seconds of terror? Lauryn did not understand what she had struck out with, but it was effective; she knew that much!
‘Where are they?’ she said, letting go of the reins and approaching him.
‘One’s dead in the copse—I have no idea why or how. I felled another with my sword, but not mortally. The third ran in a different direction when he saw me. Light! If I had only kept my seat, I could have had them both under chain by now.’ Gyl shook his head with disgust again. ‘And apparently, there was a lad with them.’
Lauryn said nothing about the boy. ‘Did you see an old woman at all?’
‘Yes, I’m sorry. She is dead. They have much to answer for, these men.’
Lauryn bit back tears. She helped him to stand.
‘Nothing broken, I don’t think,’ he said tentatively, leaning on her and gingerly testing his weight on his legs. ‘Here, Bryx!’
He clicked his tongue at his horse, who obediently walked to his master. ‘Let’s get you back to Hamptyn and work out things from there,’ Gyl said kindly.
‘Oh no,’ Lauryn said, pulling away. ‘I’m not going back.’
‘But what about your grandmother? Where are you going? You surely don’t mean to go on alone?’
‘My grandmother is dead. I am going to continue my journey to Axon and I definitely do mean to go alone,’ she replied defiantly, remembering Sorrel’s urgent warnings.
He looked at her. ‘What is your name?’
‘Lauryn.’
‘And where do you come from, Lauryn?’
The question caught her by surprise. Sorrel had warned her not to say too much, so she blurted out the first place which came to her mind. ‘Mallee Marsh.’
He seemed surprised. ‘Really? That’s where my mother comes from too. Why are you headed for Axon?’
‘Why all these questions?’
‘Lauryn, I am in charge of the security of the Kingdom. I have a right to know your business.’
‘And do you think one young woman travelling alone could threaten the security of a Kingdom?’
This girl made him feel foolish. And she managed to achieve that whilst dripping mud from every inch of herself and staring at him from a mud-encrusted face.
‘No, I don’t.’
‘Then thank you for your concern…Gyl, is it? I am grateful for your help but I wish to continue my journey.’
‘I cannot permit you to continue alone.’
Lauryn felt exasperated by his stubbornness. And he was such a good-looking man. She did not wish to
sit close to him on that horse of his, with her back against his chest; though then again…
She was completely confused by all these feelings and spoke sharply to cover it. ‘Can you hold me against my wishes, sir? I have broken no law.’
Gyl knew he was clutching at straws. ‘Axon is a long walk from here, for a woman alone.’
‘It would be no shorter if I was walking with ten others.’
Light! She infuriated him. ‘Are you not scared of the outlaw who is still on the loose?’
Lauryn no longer felt frightened. If anything, she was more terrified by the powers which seemed to be at her command. She needed time to think on what had happened and how she had loosed such magic. Sorrel had insisted she go on alone should anything untoward happen. Well, it
had
happened and she would go on as instructed…if she could only escape this handsome man’s interest in her. She was finding it hard to even look at him, with that shirt torn open and his broad chest revealed.
‘No, I am not scared because I know you will track him down and keep me safe.’
Gyl smiled inwardly. How could she know him so well? A pity he could not see her face through the mud. He liked her strength.
‘Do you know which way to head for Axon?’
‘Perhaps you could show me,’ she said. She wanted to wipe the mud from her hands on her skirt, but it may betray the nerves she felt at his keen interest.
Gyl knew he was not going to win this argument. He had a duty to his men and it was time he returned to them. He still had to pick up the felled man, sort out the body in the copse and start tracking the final villain in the pack. The Light only knew what had happened to the boy.
‘The longer, easier route is back to the road and then head east.’
‘There is another way, I’m guessing?’ she said.
‘Yes, over these hills. It’s steep and very hard walking. But you will cut two days from your journey. Just head north east and you will see Axon nestling in a shallow dip next to one of the forest’s fingers.’
‘Then that is the way I shall head. It will also take me away from the outlaw, I believe. You will find him, won’t you?’
‘For you, Lauryn, I shall. Do you wish me to wait whilst you clean yourself up?’ Gyl was beginning to think he would like to lay eyes on the girl behind this mask.
Lauryn was horrified. At least she had been able to hide her plump, plain looks behind the mud. And ‘clean up’ meant taking her clothes off. Certainly not!
‘No, please. You have spent enough time with me. I am fine and thank you for the directions.’