The Sorcerer of the North

27

"Are you mad?" Will's voice rose in pitch as he reacted to Orman's statement. "You think Malkallam will help you? He's a sworn enemy of your entire family!" But Orman merely shook his head, the effort seeming to take a lot out of him.

"Only if you believe in fairy tales," he said. "I don't believe Malkallam is behind all this. I don't believe he's a sorcerer. For years, the man worked as a healer-an herbalist-and a very good one. But then something went wrong and he disappeared from sight. People said he went into the forest and surrounded himself with dark forces and apparitions."

"What went wrong?" Will asked, and Orman shrugged. The minute he did so, he regretted it, giving vent to a little grunt of pain before he answered.

"Who knows? Maybe somewhere along the way, people started confusing his abilities with sorcery. It's happened before, you know-someone develops a skill that's a little out of the ordinary, and before too long, people start believing it's magic." He paused for breath and looked meaningfully at Will. "As a Ranger, you should understand that."

Will was forced to agree. It was exactly the way many people thought of Rangers. And, he realized, he and Alyss had already seen that a lot of Malkallam's so-called sorcery consisted of elaborate mechanical tricks. But still…

"Can you afford to risk it?" he asked. "You're assuming an awful lot, after all."

Orman gave him a thin smile. There was not a great deal of amusement in it.

"The question is, can I afford not to risk it? Malkallam is the only person within hundreds of kilometers who might have the skill to recognize this drug and find an antidote. Without him, I'll sink into a coma and eventually die."

Will frowned thoughtfully as he digested this statement. The castle lord was right, he realized. Malkallam was a last throw of the dice. There was no other way for Orman to turn.

The door opened to admit Xander. The moment the secretary entered the office, Will saw the look on his face and knew he had bad news.

"My lord, I couldn't reach her. Keren's men are everywhere," he said.

Orman cursed as another seizure struck him. As Xander moved toward his lord, Will stepped to block his way. He felt a cold hand tighten around his heart.

"You mean they stopped you?" he said, then added, with a scathing note of condemnation, "You didn't even try to reach her, did you?"

The little secretary met his gaze unflinchingly. "I didn't try once I saw them, because I knew they'd see me. And I didn't want to implicate the Lady Gwendolyn," he said.

Will reached out and grabbed the little man's jerkin in both hands, pulling him closer.

"You coward!" he told him. "What do you mean, implicate her?"

Xander still met his gaze without any sign of fear. He made no effort to break free from Will's grip.

"Think about it, Ranger. I'm seen hurrying to take some kind of message to Lady Gwendolyn. Then, within an hour, the three of us escape from the castle. Do you think Keren won't put two and two together and realize she's working with you?"

Slowly, Will released his grip and the secretary stepped back, smoothing his crumpled collar. He was right, Will thought. Any attempt to warn Alyss would only endanger her at the moment. Yet if she were to run into Buttle, if Buttle recognized her… somehow, he would have to get word to her.

"I've got to help her," he said.

Orman shook his head wearily. "It's too late for that," he said. "If Xander's right and Keren's men are everywhere, he may be about to make his move. We have only a few minutes to get out of here."

Will's anger boiled up and overflowed. "Is that all you can think about?" he demanded. "Your own precious skin? Well, to blazes with you! I don't run out on my friends when they need me."

Orman said nothing. But Will was surprised as Xander took a step toward him and laid a hand on his arm.

"Lord Orman is right," he said. "Your best chance is to get him out of here right away. If you're caught in the castle, there'll be nothing to stop Keren from killing all of you, don't you see?"

Will realized Xander had spoken the truth. His first task, now that he knew Orman was not a rebel, was to get him to safety. But to do that meant leaving Alyss in danger and he hated the idea of that.

"We're wasting time," Orman said quietly. "Look, your friend may be caught. Or she may not. But if they catch us too, there'll be no reason for Keren to keep her alive-particularly once he learns she's a Courier. But if he doesn't have me, he can't claim the castle, and he'll need to hedge his bets. You can even offer to trade me for Gwendolyn if you want. That'll ensure he looks after her." He paused, letting Will think about that. "I assume Gwendolyn isn't her real name?" he added.

"It's Alyss," Will said, distractedly. He was thinking about what Orman had said. It made sense. Once they were all prisoners, Keren would have no reason to let any of them live. But if he and Orman could get away, he could use Orman as a bargaining chip. As he had the thought, he wondered briefly if he would really trade the castle lord for Alyss. He decided that if it came to it, he would.

"All right," he said abruptly. "We'll do it." He paused, gathering his thoughts, then issued orders rapidly.

"Get your things together," he told Orman. "We're traveling light, so keep it to the bare essentials. Warm clothes, a good cloak and boots. We'll be sleeping rough, I should think. I'll go to the stables and saddle two horses." Will paused, glanced at the secretary and amended the statement. "Three horses. Xander, can you get Lord Orman to the keep's eastern entrance without attracting too much attention?"

The eastern entrance was the one that opened onto the courtyard, facing the stables. The little secretary nodded.

"There's a servants' staircase. We'll use that," he said. Will nodded agreement.

"Good. Be there in ten minutes. I'll have the horses ready inside the stable and when I see you, I'll bring them across."

"Then what?" Orman asked.

"Then we ride like hell for the gate," Will said. The other man's face twisted in a sardonic grin, in spite of his pain.

"It's not exactly a classic example of ingenuity, is it?" he said. Will shrugged.

"If you like, we'll dig a secret tunnel, or we could wear clever disguises. But by the time we do it, we'll all be dead. Our best bet is to move quickly and surprise them. I assume some of your men are still on the walls?"

Orman nodded. "Some will be my men. But not many."

"All right." Will glanced at Xander. "Get him out of here now, and use those back stairs. If Keren and his men come calling, I don't want you two trapped in here. But if they can't find you, it might buy us a little time. They might not realize we're on to them yet. Ten minutes," he repeated.

Both of the other men nodded agreement. He hurried to the door, opened it a crack and peered out. There was nobody in the outer room. Xander had apparently dismissed the sergeant major and his men. Will crossed quickly to the exterior door, checked again and went out. The corridor outside was deserted. There were two guards at the far end, but aside from an incurious glance in his direction, they took no notice of him. Forcing himself to walk calmly, he headed for the staircase and started down.

His nerves shrieked at him as he crossed the main hall and then the courtyard outside. Every fiber of his being wanted to run, to get to the stables as quickly as he could. But he forced himself to walk casually, to avoid attracting attention to himself, waiting all the time for some sign that the alarm had been raised.

Once inside the dim stable building, however, all pretense of casualness disappeared. He sprinted to Tug's stall, grabbing his saddle and bridle from the rail alongside. Both Tug and the dog heard him coming and were alerted by his behavior. Tug stood still as Will tossed the saddlecloth and saddle onto his back and fastened the girths. The dog stood guard, sensing that something was out of the ordinary. Once Tug was saddled and ready, Will took the component parts of his bow from the packsaddle and hurriedly clipped them together. His quiver of arrows was hanging nearby and he slung it over his saddle pommel, then led Tug out of the stall.

He hastily checked the adjacent stalls for two suitable mounts. His own packhorse was a sturdy enough animal but it would be too slow if there were any pursuit. There were several battlehorses available, but he ignored them. He didn't think Orman or Xander would be capable of handling the massive beasts. He'd noticed a good-looking bay mare earlier and he led her out now, hurriedly putting saddle and bridle on her. She was calm and docile, but she looked as she'd have a decent turn of speed. He tethered her beside Tug and hurried down the line of stalls, looking for a third horse.

At the far end of the stable, he found a gray gelding that wasn't too skittish. He saddled it, then checked the girth straps on the bay and the gelding. It wouldn't do to have the saddles slip when Orman and Xander tried to mount. With the horses ready, he moved to the able entrance and eased one side of the double doors open, peering through the narrow gap toward the keep. He saw a brief movement at the eastern door and realized it was Xander, standing just inside the half-open doorway, in the shadow of the interior. A dark figure as just visible behind him-Orman, he hoped, and then realized could well be one of Keren's men. He shrugged. There was only one way to find out.

"Fine," he muttered. He glanced at the dog, who was staring expectantly up at him, ears pricked and eyes questioning. "Follow," he said, then added: "Silent." He reinforced the word command with the hand signal he'd taught her. The dog, content now that she knew what was expected of her, dropped to her haunches, ready to move.

Hastily, Will fastened a lead rope to the other two horses, tying the end to Tug's saddle. Then he moved quickly to the door once more, easing one side wide open. He ran back, swung quickly up into Tug's saddle and touched the little horse with his heels.

There was a momentary drag on the lead rope as the mare and the gelding resisted the pull, then they were clattering out onto the cobbles behind Tug, moving already at a brisk trot. The dog slipped along beside Tug, a black-and-white shadow running belly low to the ground.

Xander was already helping Orman down the three steps that led to the keep door. The castle lord looked to be in bad condition, supported by his secretary's arm around his shoulders. There was a moment of confusion as Will hauled on the lead rope to bring the horses to a halt. Tug, sensing what he had in mind, braced his sturdy legs to stop the other horses. They plunged and pulled for a few seconds, then Xander gripped the mare's bridle and held her steady as Orman tried to pull himself up into the saddle. Will heard his quick, painful intake of air and heard also a voice from the battlements as the sudden swirl of movement caught the guards' attention. He slid an arrow from the quiver hanging over the pommel and laid it on the bowstring. Xander would have to help Orman by himself. It would be Will's task to take care of any opposition that might show itself.

As he had the thought, he heard muffled shouting from inside the keep tower, and the sound of running feet. He glanced down at Xander, struggling with the deadweight of his master as the mare stepped skittishly away in a small half-circle. Will urged Tug close beside the mare, held his bow in one hand, reached down with the other and heaved on Orman's belt, hauling him up into the saddle as Xander pushed from below. The castle lord groaned in pain, but he was mounted now and Xander was struggling to get his foot into the stirrup as the gelding danced nervously, affected by the tension and excitement.

Behind him, he heard the keep doorlock rattle, then the heavy door was flung open by someone inside. Twisting in the saddle, barely looking, he shot, slamming an arrow quivering into the wood of the doorjamb at face height. He heard a startled shout and the door slammed shut again.

"Come on!" he yelled. There was no more time to lose. He touched Tug with his heels and the little horse clattered away, dragging the others behind on the lead rope. He glanced over his shoulder, saw Xander half in and half out of the saddle, clinging desperately to the gelding's mane. He couldn't spare the little man any more time or thought. The gatehouse was before them and one of the sentries was running uncertainly toward the giant windlass that operated the portcullis. Will sent an arrow whistling past the man's ear and saw him drop to the cobbles for cover.

There was more shouting behind them now and from the corner of his eye, Will saw movement on the battlements ahead of them, and heard a crossbow bolt strike, skidding, on the stones in front of Tug.

Without conscious thought, seemingly without aiming, he shot again and a figure tumbled from the parapet into the courtyard, his crossbow clattering on the stones beside him.

Then the horses' hooves were thundering on the timber of the drawbridge and the drag on the lead rope was virtually gone as the gelding and mare, drawn by the excitement of the moment, kept pace with Tug. They shot into the darkness under the massive gate tower, then out into the winter sunshine. Within seconds, the hooves were drumming on the hard frozen ground at the end of the bridge and they were clear. He sensed the hiss of crossbow bolts in the air but there were only a few of them. They had taken the sentries by surprise-or they were mainly Orman's men and had refused to fire on their lord. He glanced back and saw that Xander had finally made it into the saddle. He was riding close beside Orman, the taller man hunched painfully in the saddle, but holding firmly to the pommel.

It would be some minutes before any pursuit was launched and Will knew where he wanted to be when they came after him.