Page 78 of The Piper's Pursuit

He ran as fast as he could, his heart pumping hard as he sucked in air. He headed straight to the house where he’d left his sword. He could hear Otto behind him, crashing into a woman carrying an armful of copper pans, sending them clanging to the cobblestones, letting Steffan know that he was right behind him.

Steffan made it to the house. He ran through the open back door, down the corridor, and into the room where he’d left his sword. He snatched it off the floor, then dove out the window, landing on his shoulder. He rolled, jumped to his feet, and ran back the way he had come, back to Frau Goschen’s house.

As he ran, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Otto not far behind.

Steffan ran into the large cobblestone town square that opened up just outside Frau Goschen’s front door. He held up his sword, pointed at Otto, and yelled, “This man is trying to steal away the children in Frau Goschen’s house!”

People stopped what they were doing and stared. Otto also halted. The burly guard lowered his sword and glanced around with an angry glare.

“He works for an evil man who, even now, is inside threatening to harm her children!”

The people began muttering and looking at each other. A couple of men stepped forward and said, “What is going on here? Who are you?”

“I am Steffan, the son of Duke Wilhelm of Hagenheim.” He paused while another murmur went through the crowd. Then he pointed at Otto. “Help me stop this man!”

Suddenly Frau Goschen appeared at the front door, her eyes wild. She said, “That’s not true. No one is trying to steal children from this house.”

Frau Goschen was saying the words, but her body was stiff and her tone was tense. Then Steffan caught a glimpse of Hennek just behind her.

Steffan started walking toward Frau Goschen. Fear shone from her eyes, but she said nothing.

Otto was walking toward the house as well, but since Otto was closer, he would reach Frau Goschen first. Steffan increased his pace, but so did Otto.

“The children are safe with me,” Frau Goschen said, no doubt because Hennek was holding a knife to her back—or worse, to one of the children’s necks.

Steffan changed course and ran straight toward Otto, striking with his sword just two steps from Frau Goschen.

Otto’s sword met his as their blades clashed again and again. Otto bested him in strength, but Steffan was a bit faster. Still, it seemed impossible to disarm him. Every time he made a move to try, Otto’s grip stayed strong.

Otto started his own onslaught, pushing Steffan back. Steffan had to be careful not to lock swords with him, or else Otto might use his extra weight to shove him to the ground, which would mean certain death for Steffan.

Suddenly he heard the shouts and screams of children coming from behind Frau Goschen. The sound must have drawn Otto’s attention for a moment, because Steffan was able to slip his blade past Otto’s and nick him in the chin with his sword point.

Otto’s expression was full of rage, and he began to beat at Steffan’s sword indiscriminately, slashing and slicing. Steffan jumped forward and back, side to side, throwing Otto off-balance. Finally, Otto struck to the right as Steffan jumped out of the way and quickly stabbed Otto’s sword arm just above the wrist.

Otto’s arm moved down in a defensive gesture, giving Steffan the chance to strike his hand, knocking Otto’s sword to the ground.

They were quickly surrounded by men dressed in the colors of the Duke of Hagenheim. They grabbed Otto and subdued him. When Steffan looked up toward the doorway, he could see the children beating Hennek’s face and head. Two were on his back and shoulders, and others were kicking his legs and biting his arms and hands.

Steffan’s father strode toward him as his soldiers apprehended Otto and Hennek.

Twenty-Four

Katerina started running toward the children, but by the time she got there, they had Hennek on the ground, curled into a ball, his arms over his head. Frau Goschen was yelling and shaking her fist at him, looking as if she would have hit him if the children hadn’t covered him completely. They had him so well in hand that she looked back at Steffan and saw that he was embracing his father, while Otto was being dragged away, obviously injured.

Some of the duke’s men came and dragged Hennek away from the children, who seemed reluctant to stop pummeling him. One girl, who was probably about nine years old, kept screaming at him. A little boy, one of the youngest ones, stuck his tongue out at him. But Albrecht and Verena just watched as the guards apprehended him. They turned to each other, and triumphant smiles broke out on their faces. They hugged, then hugged the children, smiling and congratulating each other.

For his part, Hennek seemed relieved to be away from the children, who had given him a bloody lip and scratched his face and arms rather badly.

When Kat joined the children, they all cheered, and she cheered with them, kneeling to hug them.

“We did it, Katerina,” one of the little ones said. “We stopped the bad man from hurting Frau Goschen.”

“Yes, you did. I am so proud of you. You’re so brave and strong, all of you.”

The children beamed back at her before talking and laughing with each other and Frau Goschen. Perhaps getting the chance to fight back a little bit would help them be able to move past this terrible event in their lives.

Kat straightened and looked around for Steffan. He was surrounded by his father’s men, who kept asking him questions. He had lines of sweat running down through the powder from his hairline to his beard. The healing salve must have done its work, as he seemed to have all his strength back. She only hoped he didn’t reopen his wounds during the strenuous sword fight.