The Rock of Ivanore (12 page)

Read The Rock of Ivanore Online

Authors: Laurisa White Reyes

BOOK: The Rock of Ivanore
5.6Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

“He isn't here,” Marcus answered without even trying to mask his irritation. “I told you before, he's gone.”

Jerrid glanced at Marcus's exhausted, dirt-smeared face and quickly closed the door behind him. “Where has he gone?” Jerrid asked, almost in a whisper.

Marcus felt a strange uneasiness creeping into him as though a cold wind had blown over him. He looked toward the window expecting to find it open. It was shut tight. “I don't know,” Marcus answered.

Jerrid took a step forward, closing the space between them. “Jayson didn't tell you why he was in such a hurry to leave, or where he was going?”

“No.”

The lies came more freely now. Marcus felt driven to them, in fact, as though they were shielding him from some unseen danger.

Jerrid's eyes remained fixed on Marcus for several moments. “It's peculiar, don't you think, that Ivanore was kidnapped by a half-breed?” Jerrid said, as he turned to leave. “There should be a handsome reward for the villain.”

Jerrid opened the door. He paused and said, “Jayson is a half-breed, isn't he?” Then he stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him.

Twenty-four

nce the sound of Jerrid's footsteps had faded away, Xerxes sprung back to life. “What's this about the half-breed?” he screeched.

Marcus tried to hush him. “Quiet! They'll hear you!”

“It's not me they'll hear!” Xerxes retorted. “I thought you said the book said nothing about who kidnapped Ivanore! And what does Jayson have to do with all this?”

“He's not responsible! He can't be!” Marcus dropped his face into his hands and moaned. “Besides, I swore an oath to protect his identity.”

The muffled sound of voices drifted into the room through the closed window. Marcus went to it, opening it just a crack. Below him, in front of the inn, were Arik and his men.

“What's going on out there? Who is shouting?” demanded Xerxes.

“It's Arik, that awful man I started telling you about. He approached me earlier and asked if I had seen a half-breed. I'm certain he's looking for Jayson. Just a minute . . .”

Marcus drew a shallow breath and held it. As he forced himself to expel the air from his lungs, heat rose into his cheeks. “Jerrid is with them!” he said. “I can't make out what he is saying. He's pointing at this window!”

Arik turned his face upward to where Marcus watched from the window, and for a brief moment their eyes locked. Marcus turned quickly from the window.

“Jerrid's betrayed us!”

Marcus grabbed his satchel and hastily stuffed his belongings into it, and then he picked up Xerxes with his free hand. Last of all, he snatched up the key.

“Where are we going?” asked Xerxes. “We can't just leave! There are bills to be paid!”

Marcus threw open the door and descended the wooden staircase two steps at a time. When he reached the bottom, he paused beside the entrance and ventured a quick look outside.

“Arik is coming this way! We'll have to leave through the alley.”

Marcus had just slipped through the kitchen door when Arik burst into the inn.

“Search the rooms!” he bellowed so loudly that Marcus could hear his voice through the exterior wall. “I want that boy alive!”

*   *   *

Gathered at the table in the inn's dining hall were Kelvin, Tristan, Zody, and Clovis. They had been discussing their earlier discovery at the library when Arik and the Mardoks stormed in. Arik strode across the room, drew his sword, and stabbed their table with it, leaving the sword standing upright from its center. The crowded dining room grew silent as all eyes turned to the center table.

“Tell me where he is, and I may spare your miserable lives,” he said. “You there!”

Tristan struggled to swallow the lump of bread he had been chewing. His mouth had gone dry. “Me?” he said, tugging at his yellow scarf to loosen it somewhat.

“Where is the lad I spoke with this morning?”

“I haven't seen him in the last hour . . . sir.”

Arik's attention turned toward Clovis. “I asked you where your companion is!” Arik's voice strained with frustration. Clovis stammered, unable to get even a word out. “Speak up, boy!” Arik shouted.

“M-my n-ose is b-bleeding.” Indeed, Clovis's nose had begun to drip blood as if on command.

Disgusted, Arik raised his hand to strike him, but Tristan stood quickly, placing himself between Arik and Clovis.

“Don't touch him,” said Tristan in a calm, steady voice that surprised them all. “Like the rest of us, he hasn't seen Marcus since this morning.”

“I saw him half an hour ago.”

Zody, who had been silent until now, was shaking like the last leaf on an autumn vine. Arik's sword had buried
its point only inches from his plate.

“Quiet!” commanded Tristan, but the command had come too late.

Arik walked around the table and laid a heavy hand on Zody's quivering shoulder. “Go on,” he said.

Perspiration coated Zody's freckled forehead and dripped into his eyes. “He was with Kelvin.”

Arik removed his hand. Zody sighed with visible relief.

“And where is this Kelvin?”

The boys glanced about the room. Kelvin had been dining with them only moments before. Now he was nowhere to be seen.

Twenty-five

arcus quickly made his way toward the back of the inn, where the alley crossed a narrow residential road. Noams pulled their handcarts laden with fruit, corn, and other goods, not bothering even to look up at the tall stranger. Marcus took a moment to catch his breath.

Xerxes clicked his beak. “Do you really think you can hide from those men? You're like a giant here!”

“I don't intend to hide!” snapped Marcus. The tension of the day's events was wearing on him. Suddenly a hand fell on his shoulder. He quickly turned and drew back, ready for a fight.

It was Kelvin. “I was in the dining hall when I saw you run out the back way. When Arik came in, I knew you were in trouble.”

Seeing Kelvin's face was like a balm to Marcus's frayed nerves, but he was still angry about their scuffle. “Have you come to say good-bye?” asked Marcus sarcastically.

“I'm coming with you,” answered Kelvin, patting the skin parcel tucked beneath his arm. There was no time for apologies now. Marcus glanced back toward the road. All they had to do was cross it and head out beyond the crags. The high boulders would make traveling more difficult, but they would also block them from Arik's view until they were a safe distance from Noam.

“We had better go before Arik's men decide to search the alley,” said Kelvin.

“Too late!” Marcus cried.

Behind them two Mardoks shouted and began running toward them. Kelvin grabbed Marcus's arm and dragged him across the street toward the hills. Just as they reached the other side, the Mardoks emerged from the alley. Kelvin dove behind a grassy knoll and pulled Marcus down beside him.

“What are you doing?” hissed Marcus. “We can't stay here! They'll kill us!”

“Not today,” said Kelvin, unwrapping the parcel to reveal a worn but sturdy crossbow and a dozen arrows. “I thought we might be needing these.”

“Clovis's bow!” said Marcus.

Kelvin ran his hand admiringly down the length of the stock. “I'd trade my dagger for this any day.”

“You can't take Clovis's only weapon!” snapped Marcus. “His father would kill him for losing it. Take it back and find something else!”

“There isn't time!”

In a single swift movement Kelvin got to his knees, lined an arrow in his sight, and let it fly. It pierced the first Mardok at the hip, crippling it with pain. Kelvin reached for another arrow, but the second Mardok jumped atop the knoll, bared his teeth, and growled. Kelvin held the bow at waist level and released the string. The arrow entered the creature's stomach and continued out its back, lodging itself in a passing wagon. The injured creature howled in agony and collapsed in a limp heap, dead.

Marcus nodded furiously. “All right. We'll just
borrow
it for awhile. Clovis will understand—I hope.”

Kelvin grabbed Marcus and shoved him back toward the road. The wagoneer had stopped to investigate the arrow sticking out of his wagon.

“Get in!” shouted Kelvin. Marcus obeyed, heaving himself into the wagon bed just as Kelvin snatched up the reins.

“Hey! Wait!” the wagoneer called out, but Kelvin ignored the man's pleas. This was no time for manners.

“Uhta! Uhta!” Kelvin shouted. The horses lurched forward, nearly throwing Marcus out onto the road, but he managed to pull himself in and huddled beside a pile of animal skins as the wagon gathered speed.

He glanced over the side of the wagon just in time to see Arik run into the middle of the road. Marcus thought surely he would pursue them, but Arik just stood there watching them with hate-filled eyes. Marcus met his gaze. Neither he nor Arik looked away until they had long disappeared from each others' sights.

Twenty-six

rik did not waste any time after watching his prize disappear in a stolen wagon. He turned on his heels and marched through the alley back into the inn. He announced his presence by grabbing Clovis by the hair and pulling him to his feet.

“Your friends have deserted you!” he shouted, not even attempting to hide his scorn. “They have gone to warn my enemy, but that is of no concern to me now.” He threw Clovis toward the corner of the room, where the boy landed on his knees, whimpering in fear. His nosebleed had slowed to a trickle by now.

Tristan hurried to Clovis's side. He untied his scarf and pinched Clovis's nose with it. “What do you want
from us?” he demanded of Arik. “We don't know where they've gone!”

At the table, a Mardok grabbed Zody by the arm. The beast's massive fingers easily encircled the boy's slender limb. Though Zody struggled to free himself, he was no match for the Mardok's strength.

Arik raised the tip of his sword and tucked it just beneath Zody's chin. “I already know where they are going,” he said. “The objective now is to get there before they do. And if I fail. . .” Arik quickly withdrew his blade, leaving a thin, shallow cut on Zody's chin. Zody cried out in pain.

Other books

Death of a Peer by Ngaio Marsh
Verity by Claire Farrell
With This Ring (1) by Savannah Leigh
Across the River by Alice Taylor
Genetic Attraction by Tara Lain
Rex by Beth Michele