Page 19

“Promise me. If we dinna come by the morn, take her to Stirling!”

“Colum, I’m not a knight in shining armor. I need to keep looking for the—”

“Give me yer word!”

She was lifeless against his chest. What chance did he even stand, alone, with a girl who was so shaken she couldn’t move?

Any chance he could give her. He couldn’t just leave her unprotected in a dangerous medieval world. “Okay. You have my word.”

What had he gotten himself into?

At a sudden cry from the surrounding horsemen, the enemy attacked. The little square filled with the sound of metal screeching against metal, horses’ hooves on stone, men yelling and grunting.

David maneuvered as best he could, shielding Anna from the warriors. It was hard to wield his sword when he couldn’t use the left side of his body and his legs, but he managed to wound one warrior, then another.

“Be ready!” yelled Colum.

There were seven horsemen left, and Colum and Iàcob kept fighting. But more hooves sounded in the distance. They had to get out of here.

Colum spurred his horse towards three horsemen, yelling a war cry. The horses snorted in fear and backed away, opening a street.

Opening an exit.

“Now!” yelled Colum, attacking the next horseman with his sword.

Steel glistened in the moonlight as David called, “Hya, Daisy!” He dug his heels into her sides, and she launched. He had to grip the reins and work his legs hard to keep himself and Anna from flying off.

Colum’s and Iàcob’s horses followed him. They rode hard, zigzagging between narrow streets full of stone- and timber-framed houses.

“Split now!” yelled Colum behind him. David turned Daisy to gallop to the right, and he heard Colum’s horse ride away. When he looked back, the street was empty.

He rode in the direction of the city gate. A few more long minutes passed, where his heart and Daisy’s drumming hooves were all he could hear. As the gate came into sight, he heard hoofbeats behind him. Men screamed for him to stop. Arrows flew.

“Close the gate!” came the cries.

The huge, heavy doors of the gate started to close, and he spurred Daisy on.

“Come on, girl! Come on!” he yelled, digging his heels into her sides.

They flew through the narrowing gap, and the doors shut behind them with a clang.

He kept spurring Daisy forward, his lungs burning. He couldn’t feel his hand that held Anna anymore. Her hair was in his face, tickling him. The moon came out and illuminated the field between the woods and Carlisle. He looked over his shoulder.

Riders. At least a dozen of them. They were several yards behind, thanks to having to reopen the gate, but they were gaining on him.

A few excruciating minutes later, he and Anna and Daisy flew into the blissful darkness of the woods. His ears were ringing, full of the rumble of the hooves, the rustle of the trees, and his own heavy breathing.

He reined Daisy in a different direction, hoping to lose their followers in the trees. After some time, he could hear nothing but the soft night sounds of the forest—owls hooting, small animals burrowing in the leaves. Finally, they arrived at the gathering of bushes and boulders where their little camp was.

They would wait at the cave, as agreed. Colum and Iàcob could have escaped when the gate was reopened. They could still find their way back here.

He dismounted and, holding Anna in place on his horse’s back, hid Daisy in a small grove surrounded by bushes and let her graze. Once the horse was tethered, he helped Anna dismount, as well. The arm he’d held her with tingled and he shook it to let blood flow again. Anna blinked, frowned, and looked at him lucidly for the first time.

Then she opened her mouth and screamed. Her shrill yell pierced the air like a siren.

David lurched to her and covered her mouth with one hand, the other arm holding her tightly.

“Shh!” he hissed, but she kept fighting, wriggling, kicking, and trying to bite his fingers. “I’m David. I’m with Colum, your cousin. I saved you, remember?”