Ghostwalker (Book 1) (11 page)

Regvar scratched his head. “So how many are there?”

“At least two. Maybe three. And her.”

“So what do we do?” asked Queltin impatiently. He squirmed as he pressed the cloth against his face once more. “Another assault? It didn’t work too well last time.”

Montrose rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No,” he said. “I think I have a better idea.”

Chapter 8

Jade stood up from where she was hiding as Kendril entered the kitchen. He moved quickly through the dark room towards the back door.

“What’s going on?” she asked, just as Maklavir appeared in the doorway as well.

“Change of plans,” said Kendril. He glanced carefully out the back door, his pistol held at the ready. For several moments he peered out into the night, then turned back inside. “Looks clear.”

Maklavir stumbled awkwardly through the dark kitchen, stifling an obscenity as he smashed his knee against a low cabinet. “You’re sure we can’t light just
one
candle?” he asked miserably.

“No,” replied the Ghostwalker sharply. He took hold of the table he had set in front of the back door, moving it carefully and quietly to one side. “And keep your voice down. Jade, I need you to watch the door.”

The girl gave a confused look. “I thought I
was
watching the door.”

“The
front
door,” Kendril clarified. He cleared the table away from the back door, peering outside once again. “Maklavir, get over here.”

“I’m trying,” said the diplomat calmly, piecing his way through the darkness. “I can’t see my bloody hand in front of my bloody face in here.”

Kendril leaned up against the wall. “Stables are about twenty yards away. We’ll have to crawl there.”

Maklavir stopped short. “
Crawl
? In the mud?”

Jade glanced in a confused fashion from Kendril to Maklavir. “Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on here?”

“We’re getting out, that’s what’s going on.” Kendril grabbed Maklavir, and pulled him against the wall on the other side of the door. “Maklavir here says he can blow through the stockade wall.”

“Blow through the wall?” Jade repeated dumbly. “With what, gunpowder?”

“Yes. Well,” said Maklavir hurriedly, “I
might
be able to. I won’t know for sure until I see the wall up close.”

Kendril snapped his head towards the diplomat. “
Might
? You told me it would be no problem.”

Maklavir peered nervously outside. “Yes, well you were talking about a suicidal attack. Besides, I don’t
think
it will be a problem. The sooner I can examine the wall the sooner I can tell for sure.”

“My,” said Jade with a smile, “it looks like you two have come up with a fantastic plan here.”

Kendril ignored her. He looked at Maklavir, jerking his thumb towards the back door.

“Get going.”

“Um, yes.” Maklavir tapped the hilt of his sword nervously. “I don’t suppose I could simply walk to the stable, and just duck down quite a bit?”

Kendril sighed heavily. “Maklavir, it’s mostly grass. Hardly any mud at all. Now would you
please
get going?”

The diplomat moved to the door, giving Kendril a cold glance. “This is a silk shirt I’m wearing. If any of my clothes get damaged, I’m holding you responsible.”

“Maklavir…”

Smoothing his shirt, Maklavir nodded. “All right, all right, I’m going.” He slipped out the door, falling onto his hands and knees after inspecting the wet grass carefully.

Kendril glanced back at the common room. He bit his lip, his mind quickly running through different options.

“All right,” he said after a moment. “I want you to follow Maklavir. Out the back and to the stable.”

Jade gave the Ghostwalker a surprised look. “What about you?”

Kendril moved quickly to the door leading back into the common room. “I’m going to stay here. If they make another move on the inn, I’ll try to hold them off.” He shrugged. “Hopefully they’ll think we’re all still in here.”

Jade nodded. “I see. Here, you’ll need this,” she said, holding out the pistol Kendril had given her earlier.

The Ghostwalker shook his head. “Keep it for now. We’re not out of the woods yet.” He paused for a moment. “Or
into
the woods, as the case may be.”

She shoved the pistol carefully back into her trouser belt. “So you just want me to wait in the stable?”

Kendril tried to see if he could spot Maklavir’s shape from where he stood, but it was too dark to see. “Yes. Assuming this crazy plan actually works, run for the wall as soon as it blows. Get out as fast as you can, and don’t look back. And get Simon, too. He might need to be calmed a bit. Loud noises tend to scare him.”

Jade took a deep breath. “All right. And we’ll meet you outside the wall?”

Kendril gave her a stern glance. “Don’t wait for me. I’ll find
you
. Just keep going.”

She looked at the man she had only known for less than two days, and felt a sudden pang of fear. “Promise me you will,” she said quickly, without even thinking.

Kendril was silent for a moment, as if taken by surprise.

“Just…just promise me you’ll come, okay?” she said, feeling suddenly embarrassed. 

“Jade,” said Kendril in a low voice, “I’ll come. You have my word.” He smiled. “Besides, I want my mule back.”

“Everyone still in place?”

“Aye.” Regvar moved to the window, staring out between the wooden panes. “Derik and Calham are still at their posts.”

Montrose nodded. “Good. Now let’s get moving. Queltin, soak those rags, and be quick about it. Regvar, find some flints. Make sure they spark.”

“Right boss.” The second henchman began rummaging through the supplies on the shelf. “Got some.”

There were four liquor bottles all together, taken off the shelf behind the store counter. Queltin and Regvar had lined them up carefully on the ground.

Montrose took a step back, watching Queltin carefully as he soaked four white rags in the alcohol, then stuffed one into the top of each bottle.

“All right,” he said quietly. “You both know the drill. Any questions?”

Both henchmen were silent.

“Good,” the one-eyed bounty hunter grunted. “Let’s get to it, then.”

The horse was right where Maklavir had left him, chomping quietly on some hay. Maklavir had won the animal in a game of chance about a year before, and the steed had served him faithfully ever since.

“How are you doing, Veritas?” he whispered, walking carefully across the straw-covered ground towards the beast. The horse whinnied quietly in response. He quickly checked the saddlebag, and removed several small pouches, all tied tightly with string. Smiling, he turned.

There was a man standing there, pistol in hand.

Maklavir dropped the pouches in surprise and reached frantically for his sword. He tripped backwards onto the ground, losing his grip on the hilt of his weapon.

There was a soft giggle. “It’s
me
, Maklavir,” came the voice.

The diplomat gave a sigh of relief. “Ah, Jade. Talin’s ashes, you nearly scared the life out of me. Where’s Kendril?”

She knelt down next to him, brushing some of the straw off his shoulders. “Back in the inn. He told me to come out here with you.” She picked up one of the pouches of gunpowder, eyeing it uncertainly. “Do you really think this will work?”

Maklavir rose to his feet, picking pieces of straw off his clothes. “There’s only one way to find out.”

The four men splashed through the muddy street, trying to move as quickly and quietly as they could. Regvar and Queltin were in front, both clutching a bottle in each hand, a rag sticking out the top. Behind them Montrose and Uther followed close behind, their crossbows trained at the front door of the inn.

Without a word Regvar and Queltin both broke off to the right, skirting the front of the inn and ducking out of sight of the door and the windows. Queltin stopped at the corner of the inn, while Regvar continued running along the side towards the back. Montrose and Uther remained in the middle of the street, each watching the tavern in front of them for any signs of life.

Setting one bottle down in the mud, Queltin pulled out his flint, and began striking it, his back turned to the cold breeze. After a few moments he lifted a bottle in one hand, the rag beginning to burn brightly.

Montrose smiled to himself. This time they wouldn’t fail.

Kendril leaned against the entryway between the kitchen and the common room, trying to watch both the front and the back doors at the same time. If the men outside had seen either Jade or Maklavir move to the stable, they had certainly not done anything about it yet.

He chewed on his lower lip, tapping his fingers repetitively on the door jam. He hated waiting like this. The men across the street would strike again, he knew. It was only a matter of time. He just hoped—

A sudden movement caught his attention, centering his vision on the front door. A light bobbed up the stone steps outside, then turned in the air, almost like someone was holding a candle or lantern of some kind--

Kendril hurled himself to one side as a flaming bottle tumbled in through the front door. It crashed and exploded against a table, splashing burning liquid onto the chairs and floor nearby.

The door to the pantry flung open as Kendril leapt over the bar, ducking low behind a table. The innkeeper stared out in dismay, his eyes wide with horror.

“My inn!” he cried, his hands covering his face. “They’re burning my inn!”

The fire had already begun to burn up one of the sidewalls, and smoke was quickly filling the common room.

Kendril gritted his teeth. He couldn’t put this out. It was too intense. He waved his pistol towards the front door. “Get out!” he yelled over the crackling of the flames.

The innkeeper stepped into the room, staring at the fire as though in shock. “My inn, my inn!” he kept repeating over and over.

The tavern maid came out of the pantry, and quickly caught the man by his arm. “Jorath!” she shouted, tugging him towards the door. “Jorath, please! We have to go!”

Kendril turned to the kitchen door, but just as he did so he caught sight of a man at the inn’s back door. He lifted his pistol, but was already too late.

Another burning bottle flew into the kitchen and shattered on the counter that Maklavir had been hiding behind before. Burning liquid spewed everywhere.

Kendril ducked back into the common room and watched as the tavern maid finally managed to pull the innkeeper out the front door. The fire was blazing out of control now, and smoke was already starting to sting his eyes. Coughing, Kendril began moving around the bar just as another bottle came crashing through a window into the common room, adding to the inferno.

Kendril took an uncertain step back. The flames were blocking the front door. He turned to the kitchen, but stopped cold at the entrance. Fire was already dancing madly across the kitchen cabinets.

He was trapped.

“I got him,” called Uther as he tracked the second of two people who had just emerged from the inn. A moment later he fired crossbow. The shot pegged the man squarely in the throat and knocked him back against the stone steps of the inn.

The woman screamed, falling onto the dying man’s body.

“Get her,” snarled Montrose.

Queltin appeared out of the shadows, his sword in hand. He grabbed the woman by her hair, yanking her roughly out into the street.

Montrose strode over. Uther hurriedly reloaded the crossbow behind him.

The woman could only scream shrilly as Montrose jerked her head around, then spat onto the ground.

“It’s not her,” he said, pushing the tavern maid back to the ground. He turned back to the henchman behind him. “Uther, get around and help Regvar cover the back. I don’t want anyone getting out.”

Still fumbling with his crossbow, Uther dashed for the rear of the inn. Fire was blazing brightly through the front window, and smoke was pouring out the open front door.

Queltin pulled the woman up by her hair, swinging back his sword to strike at her neck. The woman gave out a shrill scream, pulling at the arm that held her hair.

Montrose glanced over.“Queltin!” he snarled. “Let her go.”

Almost reluctantly, the henchman let go of her hair and lowered his sword.

The woman fell down into the mud, then tottered to her feet. She ran off down the street.

Lifting his crossbow again, Montrose turned back to the inn.

“What’s going on?”

Jade looked out through the stable door, which was open just a crack. She gasped. “The inn’s on fire!”

“Wonderful,” said Maklavir sarcastically as he tied a matchcord to one of the powder bags. “It’s absolutely absurd to expect me to work under these kind of conditions.”

“There’s a man, too. He has his back to us. It looks like he’s watching the inn.” Jade turned, looking anxiously at the diplomat behind her. “Kendril’s still in there! We need to help him, Maklavir.”

He snorted, flicking one last piece of straw off his shirtsleeve. “Somehow I doubt that Kendril is in any need of help from either of us. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a wall to blow up.”

The fire, he had to admit, was a pretty good idea. Why storm a building when you can just get everyone inside to come out to you? If they didn’t, of course, they’d all burn to death, but that saved the trouble of killing them. And Kendril had no doubt that both exits of the inn were covered. Even if he risked the flames to get out, he would no doubt be shot down as soon as he made it outside.

Which left him, all things considered, in a pretty rough spot.

Kendril turned from the kitchen, coughing from the smoke that was filling the common room. Flames danced crazily over the wooden floor, and fire was crawling rapidly up the walls. The chairs and tables were a raging furnace. As soon as the support beams caught fire, the whole second story of the inn would come crashing down. It was just a matter of time.