Michael Spradlin - Orphan of Destiny

“Robard!” I shouted as one of them was almost on us. Robard’s arrow whizzed past the man, who ducked behind his horse’s neck. Robard pulled another shaft from his wallet, but we had no time. Then an empty wheeled cart came shooting into the street between us and the knight’s horse reared, nearly colliding with it. He was instantly unhorsed and fell hard on the ground, stunned.

“Hurry!” Maryam shouted. Her quick thinking had saved us. We ran into the center of the marketplace, dashing through the maze of closed stalls and empty carts. The knights would have to dismount to catch us, but we were also trapped. I caught a glimpse of Sir Hugh circling around us on horseback, commanding his men to dismount and follow on foot. Robard sent an arrow in his direction, and Sir Hugh leapt off his horse with a squawk. He hid on the other side of the stallion, giving Robard nothing to aim at.

“What are we going to do?” Robard asked. “We’re trapped.”

I tried to think of our next move.

“What if he sends one of his men to the Commandery to bring help?” Maryam asked.

“If there is even a full regimento there, I hope he has them out searching the countryside. . Regardless, they have all of the ways out covered. I believe they’ll try to wait us out. They won’t want to face an archer up close. I think we’re relatively safe for the moment,” I said.

I closed my eyes, trying hard to concentrate. Robard stood, bow at the ready, and I counted only a few arrows left in his wallet. Not a good thing. Not a good thing at all. My thoughts were interrupted by Robard’s shout, “Look out!” He pushed me roughly to the side, and a crossbow bolt thudded into a wooden post right where I’d been kneeling. I hated crossbows.

We found what cover we could as several more bolts flew at us.

“Robard, stay down,” I said. “If they try to draw you out. . We can’t lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, squire, and neither are you, and. . Tristan. . where is Maryam?”

From my hiding place, I glanced around me in every direction, but she was nowhere to be found. She was either excellent at hiding or had disappeared into thin air. “I don’t know,” I answered. “Maryam? Maryam, where are you?” I called quietly.

“Confound it!” Robard exclaimed. “What is that Assassin up to? If she gets herself caught again. .” Robard tried to sound angry, but he was worried. I knew he would fight the knights with his bare hands before he’d let any harm come to her.

“Perhaps she’s finding an escape route,” I said hopefully. “We need to get out of here. Maryam can more than take care of herself.”

We remained hidden from the knights’ view as best we could. Our enemies appeared comfortable with keeping us pinned down by crossbows. They fired a shot in our direction on occasion, but we were well concealed. Robard had no clear shot or time to stand and draw, so we waited.

“Maybe they’ve caught her,” Robard mused, concern in his voice.

“No. If they had, Sir Hugh would be using her as a means to get us to surrender. He doesn’t have her.”

Robard muttered quiet curses under his breath. Our situation was beginning to wear on him.

“You should have let me shoot Sir Hugh in the alley,” he complained bitterly.

I said nothing. It was time to act.

“Let’s go,” I said. “Waiting gets us nothing. We have to get out of here somehow.”

My wound made bending at the waist painful, but standing upright meant instant death, so I crouched as best I could and scrambled toward the south end of the marketplace. A bolt skittered across the cobblestone in front of me, and I dove behind a cart.

Robard landed beside me an instant later. “We’re wasting time,” he muttered.

I tried to rise to get a view of where the knights had placed themselves, but another bolt bit into the wood just inches from my face, and I ducked again.

“They’re getting closer,” I yelped.

“I say we rush them!” Robard said through gritted teeth, anger at our situation beginning to get the best of him.

Then, though I would not have wished it in this manner, our deliverance arrived. From out of the darkness a fiery torch came spinning our way, followed quickly by another. The first landed harmlessly on the cobblestone and burned out, but the other clattered against a canvas-covered stall, and the material began to smolder, then burn. Sir Hugh was willing to burn down the marketplace to get to us. I wanted to rush and put it out before it caught, not wishing some poor vendor to lose his livelihood, but I held fast, for fear of the crossbowmen.

The breeze fanned the flames. In a few short moments the wood frame of the stall caught as well. Then the next stall caught, and a full-on conflagration took hold.

“Robard,” I said, “this is our chance! Wait for the smoke to thicken a little, then move off toward the south end.” When the time came and the air was dense with the smell of fire, Robard stood and aimed his bow.

“Robard. . what. .” But he loosed his arrow before I could finish, and an instant later came the answering cry of agony where it found its mark. He quickly ducked as two bolts flew through the air where he’d stood just moments before.

“How did you. .,” I asked. Wondering how he could hit a target he couldn’t see.

“I measured where he stood and marked it in my memory,” he explained. “That’s one less knight. I suggest we move. You’re looking weaker, Tristan. Can you make it?”

“This way,” I said, ignoring his question, for in truth my side ached miserably. But with the smoke swirling around us and the flames licking the night sky, I ran in my crablike gait from stall to stall. With any luck, we’d have a few precious seconds before our movement was revealed.

We paused behind a large vegetable cart and waited. We were nearly to the very end of the marketplace and the flames were moving toward us. With the fire behind us we had no other option. The blaze cast a glow in the darkness, and beyond us on the street we could see two knights guarding the nearest exit, crossbows ready, waiting for us to show ourselves. If we rushed them, they would shoot us down before we took a step. And if Robard stood and drew his bow, he might get one of them, but the other would have a clear shot at him.

I coughed as the smoke thickened. The knights strained to find where the sound had come from over the crackling noise.

Then our luck turned. From out of the night came shouts of alarm. It was the townspeople. “Fire! Fire!” rang through the night. And down the street, in the shadows beyond, I spotted movement as dozens of men and women rushed toward the marketplace.

“Robard, this is our chance,” I said.

“What about Maryam?”

“One thing at a time.” I grabbed hold of the handle on the cart we were hiding behind and pushed. Robard joined in, and the wheels spun as we steered it directly toward the knights twenty yards away. Distracted by the gathering crowd, they didn’t notice us at first, but then one turned as we were almost upon him and fired his crossbow. The bolt bounced harmlessly off the wooden cart, but his companion’s shot bit hard into the wood, next to my hand. I gasped in alarm and pushed harder, the cart gaining speed. With no time to span their crossbows, the knights dropped them to the ground and were about to draw their swords when we crashed into them.

We were immediately surrounded by a crowd of frantic Doverites, clamoring and shouting. I spotted Sir Hugh astride his horse, trying to force his way through the crowd to reach us.

“The knight there, on horseback, he’s responsible for the fire!” I shouted, pointing frantically.

One man looked at me, confused and upset. “Him! Him!” I shouted, pointing at Sir Hugh again. “He ordered the marketplace burned!” A few men heard me and took off after him. Sir Hugh was trying desperately to rally the remaining knights to come after us, but the whole area was a sea of confusion, with more people pouring into the streets every second. At least now there was an angry crowd between him and us.