AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And at least one horse was gone…for she’d seen the remains, torn into shreds by the possessed beasts. ’Twas clear to Judith the pack of dogs weren’t hungry and desirous of eating, but that they were well and truly maddened. Wild animals only killed what was necessary for survival, but these creatures were different. Bent only on destruction.
Judith’s hope was to climb high enough that they’d forget about her and eventually leave. Then she must take the chance and climb back down, and hope…what? That she could somehow make her way to help? She had no horse to ride. She wasn’t certain where to go. She and Piall had traveled nearly two hours from Clarendon. Judith didn’t know the way back. They’d passed no town or village on the way, although she remembered Piall pointing out the direction of Marchmonte.
She drew in a deep breath, inhaling the fresh pine scent. Cease your worrying. You are resourceful and smart. You will find a way out of this.
With that private lecture, Judith gathered her resolve and climbed still higher. The snarling and barking continued below, but she was safely far away from the beasts.
When she reached the nest, Judith once more tied herself to the pine trunk. To her relief, the two eyases were still alive but no longer as desperate for food. They seemed to have settled to rest.
She used the advantage of height in the tree to decide which direction she must go once she was able to climb down. Hills rolled in seemingly infinite waves, and the scrub of trees studding the rocky hills didn’t appear welcoming. There was a roadway in the distance, and Judith realized it was her best opportunity. If she could find her way to the road, eventually it would lead her to help.
Now, all she could do was wait. She opened her wineskin and drank—but not as much as she wanted to. There was no telling how long she’d be trapped here, and she’d need water. Nibbling on a piece of bread, Judith had another idea. If she could climb from this branch to another tree, and then to another and another…mayhap she could elude the dogs that way.
But when she looked around, she saw there weren’t any other tree’s branches close enough that would bear her weight.
The little niggle of worry began to spread into something larger and heavier. Once more Judith forced herself to ignore it. The dogs had to leave sooner or later.
And when they did, she’d find her way down and away. She would. She must.
Now she had naught left to do but wait. So, tied securely to the tree, she let her head tip back against the trunk and closed her eyes.
Tabby always enjoyed watching her grandpapa do his work for the Lilyfare hawks. One of her earliest memories was the sight of him sitting on a short wooden stool near the fire, a myriad of candles around him as he carefully stitched a pair of jesses for Lady Judith’s father.
Her grandpapa had a great love for the raptors and was grateful for his position as Master Falconer for the Lord of Kentworth and now the lord’s daughter, Lady Judith. Since it was illegal for any but the gentry to own the large hunting birds, Tessing was able to spend as much time with the falcons and peregrines as he chose. He had a goshawk for his own hunting purposes, but Lady Judith’s Hecate and Fencer were very nearly as much his as they were hers.
After Tabby settled the injured rabbit in a small basket next to her pallet, she came to her grandpapa for advice. It was through him she’d learned how to care for the injured creatures she found.
“I pulled an arrow from his leg,” she told Tessing, watching as he cleaned out the mews. The floor was covered with sawdust and hay, along with the castings regurgitated by the birds. “The bleeding has stopped and I wrapped it up gently with a cloth. But methinks a poultice might serve him better. What did you put on Hecate?”
“A paste of dried woad and lavender,” he replied. “Pull its fur away from the wound to make certain it doesn’t stick inside as it heals. ”
“Aye. And for food, I’ve pulled some arugula and dandelion leaves and left them where he can reach. ”
“And where is Bear during this? Surely you don’t want him to decide to gnaw on a rabbit leg?” Tessing teased.
Tabby frowned, thinking of the man named Nevril who’d made a similar jest. “What is it with men—is it always only food that sits in their minds?”
“Food, ale—and copulatin’,” her grandfather replied with a wheezing laugh. He must have found that particularly amusing, for he kept chuckling even as he continued sweeping up the pellets on the floor.
“And their bloody swords,” Tabby added tartly. As she went to adjust the rows of leather jesses—long strips that connected the raptor’s feet to his master’s gloves—there was an alarmed shout in the bailey.
This was nothing unusual—someone was always shouting, warning, arguing or otherwise making a loud noise. But the tone had her and Tessing both hurrying out of the mews to see what caused the commotion.
A cluster of men-at-arms and knights stood talking and gesticulating. The first person Tabby recognized was Sir Holbert, Lady Judith’s master-at-arms. He seemed to be the one speaking most animatedly.
“God’s stones,” breathed Tessing. He reached over and curled his fingers around Tabby’s arm. He was pointing to a sight right next to the men, right by the stables. A trio of grooms and one man-at-arms were gathered around a horse. “That’s Crusty. ”
“Nay,” she gasped, looking around in hopes of seeing Lady Judith. “My lady…. ” Tabby’s heart thudded so hard she thought she might be ill. She ran over, her eyes fixed on the battered, staggering mare.
Because the grooms were already attending to Crusty, Tabatha didn’t get close enough to see much more than a gash in the mare?
?s side and another injury on her right flank. But ’twas clear something awful had befallen both the horse and her mistress.
“Sir Piall!” Tabby cried and spun, rushing over to Sir Holbert.
He heard and immediately turned on her. “Tabby—where is Lady Judith?” His eyes were dull with worry and fear, and she saw he’d already begun to prepare himself to ride out, having donned his mail and cloth hauberk. He was carrying a shield. “Has she yet returned?”
“She and Sir Piall went to capture a hawk,” she told him, aware that the attention of every man in the group was fixed on her. “I don’t know where they went. ”
