The Crown Tower

CHAPTER 21

The halting of the cart woke Royce, and he wished it hadn’t. He was in agony, feeling like a horse had fallen on him.

Oh, right.

Royce opened his eye-only one responded; the other was swollen shut. Everything was dark and silent. Hadrian was still beside him and the canvas still over their heads. He reached up and pulled, but the tarp was tied. He felt around and discovered Alverstone had made the trip with him. The handle was crusted with dry mud.

How long have we been traveling?

With little effort, Royce cut a long slice through the canvas. Cold fresh air spilled in and overhead he saw stars. The rain and clouds were gone. Royce inched up and peered over the sides.

Buildings. Dirty wooden shacks with mud splattered halfway up the sides. They were on a narrow dirt road, deep with ruts and still decorated in puddles. Royce turned his head, which made him woozy. More buildings. They were in a city. A crappy, miserable-looking town. A place he didn’t recognize. The buildings to either side were dark, the street deserted. Looking forward, he saw the driver of the cart was gone. No soldiers either.

They were alone.

Maybe it wasn’t soldiers at all. The wagon was small. It looked like a peasant’s cart.

Royce heard him then. Hadrian was still breathing.

Weak and wheezing, his breath struggled like he had a garrote tied around his throat. If they had lived this long, they might yet have a chance.

Using the sides of the wagon, Royce drew himself upright. The pain in his midsection screamed again. He ignored it. His arms were all that held him up and they were shaking so badly they made the wagon quiver. He could think of no other way out of the wagon. He couldn’t climb.

How long have we been in that wagon? How long does he have left?

Hadrian sounded like he was choking, or close to it.

For perhaps the first time in decades, Royce acted without a plan. Merrick had taught him never to make a move without a goal and a means of getting there. At that moment he had neither, just a vague sense that Hadrian was dying, and he needed to do something to stop that-and there was only one thing to do. He pulled himself up on the side guard and let himself fall over.

He couldn’t help crying out as he hit the ground. The jolt was almost enough to send him back into unconsciousness, but this time he couldn’t let that happen. He sucked in a breath and pushed up with his good leg. On palms and one knee, dragging one leg, he crawled to the closest door and hammered the foot of it with his fist. No sound, no light. He moved back out into the street. The agony was becoming too much. He couldn’t think. His clothes had dried stiff, but there was a new wetness to his shirt. He was bleeding again.

In desperation he cried out, “Help!” It didn’t sound like his voice. He couldn’t recall having used that word since boyhood. He hated the sound, hated the taste it left. “Help us!”

He heard the slap of shutters against the upper-story windows. Whatever doors may have been open were now bolted. No one wanted anything to do with them.

Royce lay in the street, his palms slapping the dirt, and he whispered, “At least save him … He didn’t do anything wrong. He just tried to help.” Tears formed in his eyes as he said it. “He doesn’t deserve to die with me.”

In one last effort, Royce threw his head back and cried, “Help us!”

He felt a hand on his arm, gentle and soft. “I’ve got you. You’ll be all right now-you’re safe.”

Royce opened his eyes. The darkness was back again, closing in. The sea of pain was swallowing him once more, but in the haze at the center of the dark tunnel he saw a woman. Long dark hair, almond-shaped eyes, a kind face. She pulled him to her.

“Hadrian … in the wagon. You have to-”

“Dixon, hurry. Get the other one out of the cart.”

Boots splashed through mud. Royce heard Hadrian cry out in pain.

“How is he? Is he okay?” she called.

“Alive-took an arrow,” said a man’s voice, deep and husky. “I think he’ll live.”

“Get them both inside, then fetch the doctor-Linderman, from the Merchant Quarter, not Basil.”

“On it.”

The rain continued to fall, though Royce hardly felt it anymore. He was passing out again.

“Save Hadrian,” Royce begged. “He…”

“I know,” the woman said. “I know everything, and I’m going to save both of you. You’ll see. I’ve been waiting for you-I’ve been waiting for so very long.”