John Flanagan - The Royal Ranger

“And I’m doubly sorry I missed you,” Will said.

Ruhl’s face contorted in anger and he drew back his fist to hit Will. The Ranger faced him calmly, waiting for the blow. But Ruhl hesitated, frowning as he stared at the bearded face before him.

“I know you,” he said. He searched his memory, trying to recall where he had seen that face before. A recollection came to him. He’d been on a boat—a punt—slipping away from a river bank. And this man had been facing him, barely five metres away.

“You’re Treaty,” he said softly. Then, with mounting anger, he continued. “You’re the one who killed or captured my men. You hounded us across the country and destroyed my business. Now you’re trying to do it again. What have I ever done to you, for pity’s sake?”

“You killed my wife,” Will told him. His voice was emotionless, but his eyes were cold as stone.

Ruhl nodded his head, remembering, understanding.

“Yes. The Courier, wasn’t she? Well, actually, as I recall, she did it to herself. Ran back into that burning inn and got herself trapped, silly girl. I didn’t do it. She did.”

“You were responsible,” Will said.

Ruhl tilted his head, considering the accusation. “Well, I suppose some people might put it that way. But it’s all water under the bridge now, isn’t it? Or should I say, smoke over the inn?”

He laughed. He studied Will carefully, looking for signs of an explosion of rage. Instead, he saw only icy hatred in those brown eyes.

“I’m going to kill you, Ruhl. I thought you should know.”

Ruhl smiled at him, shaking his head. “It’s good of you to warn me, but I don’t think you are.” He gestured at the rope wound around Will’s arms and body. “After all, you’re a little helpless, aren’t you?”

“I’ll manage. Believe me,” Will told him. But again, the Stealer shook his head mockingly.

“I believe you want to. I believe you would if I gave you the chance. But I’m not going to do that. I’m going to do something else entirely.”

He gestured to the Iberian who had secured Will. “Tie him up properly, Anselmo. Make sure he can’t get away. Then bring him back to camp.”

He waited as the sailor expertly trussed Will, securing his arms and wrists, and tying his ankles together, leaving a short length of rope between them so that the Ranger could only hobble awkwardly. Will tried the knots, testing the strength of his arms and wrists against them. But the rope was new and the Iberian sailor knew his business. Will couldn’t budge them a centimetre.

Ruhl stood back, watching the process with a satisfied smile. Then, as Will stood silently, he moved closer again.

“Don’t you want to know what I plan to do to you?” he asked.

Will shrugged. “Not really.”

“Well, I’ll tell you anyway. In memory of your lovely wife, I think I’ll burn you to death.”

Bumper’s low rumble brought Maddie awake.

She had slept for two hours—a deep, satisfying sleep—and she felt refreshed and revitalised. But the warning sound from Bumper reached through the veils of sleep and alerted her conscious mind. She came awake with a start, feeling a sudden rush of alarm.

Bumper and Tug were both facing towards the narrow entrance to the cave. Their ears were pricked and Bumper’s chest and shoulder muscles were trembling in warning spasms. They had heard or sensed something.

She rose, patted them both and whispered to them to relax. Then she moved to the entrance and peered carefully round the edge. She could see or hear nobody nearby. Emboldened, she slipped outside and moved towards a large rock, dropping behind it as she surveyed the surrounding terrain.

There were two men on the road. They were a little past the spot where she had led the children off the high way and towards the caves, so they had obviously seen no sign that she had done so. She blessed her sudden instinct to have the children spread out. Even a non-tracker would have seen the deep swathe they would have cut through the grass if they’d moved in a tight-knit group.

She had no doubt who the men might be and her heart sank. If they had come this far, it meant that Will had been taken. He never would have let them pass otherwise. He was probably lying dead somewhere back along the road. Her eyes filled with tears but she shook them away, angrily. If that were the case, she wanted to know. She wanted to be sure. And if he were dead, she would take her revenge on Ruhl and his gang—starting with the two on the road.

They had paused uncertainly, looking up the road to the north, seeing no sign of the fugitives. She could just hear the dim mutter of their voices. They looked around the surrounding area and she forced herself to remain still. Movement could give away her position. As it was, she was just another dark mound among the rocks.

The men’s voices were raised as they began to argue. She still couldn’t make out the words but the gestures and body language were unmistakable. One of them kept gesturing to the north. Obviously, he thought they should continue. The other threw up his arms in disgust and turned back to the south, beginning to retrace his steps.

His companion shouted angrily at him. Then, with a shrug of resignation, he followed suit. They were still arguing as they headed back towards Hawkshead Bay.

Maddie waited until they were out of sight, then hurried back inside the cave. She hesitated, weighing her choices. All her instincts were telling her to go after Will, to see if he was alive and if he needed help. But if she did, she would be deserting the children.

She paced the sand floor of the cave for several minutes, torn by indecision. She knew Will would tell her that her responsibility lay with the children. But she couldn’t bring herself to agree. This was Will, her godfather, her mentor. She thought about the hours they had spent together in the woods around Redmont, the hours of calm, patient instruction and his quiet pleasure when she succeeded in a task he had set her. And she knew she couldn’t desert him. Even if he were dead, she had to know what had become of him—and if she abandoned him now, she might never find out.

Her decision made, she looked around for Tim Stoker and saw him sleeping soundly by the wall of the cave. She moved to him, dropped to one knee and shook his shoulder gently. His eyes flew wide open and she could see the instant alarm in them.

“It’s all right,” she said. “It’s Maddie.”

The panic in him died down and he knuckled his eyes drowsily.

“What time is it?” he asked.

Maddie shrugged. She had no idea of the exact time.

“It’s still night,” she said. “I want you to take charge here. I’m going back to find Will.”

“What’s happened to him?” he asked. The tension was back in his body and it was evident in his voice.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. He may have been taken by the Stealer.” She didn’t say he may have been killed. She feared that saying it might make it real.

Tim looked around at the sleeping children. The cave was dim and quiet, with only the occasional murmuring of one of the former captives as they tossed in their sleep.

“Should I wake them up?” he asked but again she shook her head.

“Let them sleep. Go back to sleep yourself. You’re safe here. I’ll be back for you tomorrow, when I’ve found Will.”

He nodded uncertainly. He felt safe and protected while she was around. Without her, he knew they were all vulnerable.

She patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Just relax. You’ll be fine.”

“If you say so,” he replied. But his voice told her that he didn’t really believe it.

She donned her cloak and checked her weapons, then led both horses out through the narrow opening. She left them unsaddled. It was easier for them to negotiate the narrow split in the rock face that way. Once in the open, she saddled them both.