Trail of Fate (19 page)

She stepped back from me and I could see the slightest tear at the corner of her eye. “Good-bye, Tristan. Robard. Maryam. My people will not forget you. We will remember what you have done for us. If it hadn't been for all of you, the High Counsel would have caught us before we reached Montségur. And you helped us drive him away. Do not worry about Sir Hugh. I believe you. When he learns you are gone, he will lose all interest in us. ”

Robard and Maryam said nothing, too humbled and embarrassed to reply. They merely nodded repeatedly until Maryam finally hugged Celia.

“Good-bye, Celia,” Maryam whispered. “I'm so sorry about what happened when we first met. I hope you'll forgive me.”

“Don't take it personally, Celia,” Robard chimed in. “She usually tries to kill all of her friends first.”

Celia laughed as she hugged Robard. I still couldn't move until Maryam nudged me and whispered that it was time to go. Reluctantly, I stepped up onto the parapet and looked again over the side. Celia had called a few men from their posts to lower us by rope to the ground beneath the northeast wall. Facing away from Sir Hugh's forces attacking from the opposite side, we could pick our way down the cliff and, I hoped, make it to the valley below.

I would go first. Gripping the rope in my hand, I sat down on the parapet with my legs dangling over the wall. One of Celia's carpenters had fashioned another windlass, which would give us stability as we were lowered. The men took up the rope, and I looped it over and around my shoulders, being careful not to hurt the dog. She wiggled a little bit more inside her carrier and then stilled. In fact she might have even gone to sleep.

Maryam had taken the battle sword from me and carried it across her back. Robard had his bow and remaining arrows in his wallet. He also carried a pouch of food Celia's cooks had prepared for us. We all carried water skins, and Robard and Maryam each held a coil of the longest rope the Cathars could spare.

I took a breath, offered up a silent prayer, and nodded to the men working the rope. Gently I let myself go over the side. My last glimpse of Celia was of her ice-blue eyes watching me disappear from sight.

“I promise, Templar,” I heard her say. “We will remember this.”

A few seconds later I stood on the small ledge at the bottom of the fortress. Completely removed from the safety of the walls of Montségur.

A
s I stood at the base of the wall, waiting for Robard and Maryam to join me, I reflected on all I had learned since I had left St. Alban's. Templar laws. Sword fighting and battle tactics. I don't like ships. Hashshashin are not all bad once you get to know them. These were just a few bits of the knowledge now crowding about for space inside my brain. But along with the many new things I'd seen and done since I'd given up my sheltered existence, I had a revelation and it was this: climbing down a nearly vertical cliff is even harder than it looks.

We had about three feet of space at the bottom of the wall before the rocky ground broke off and plunged nearly straight down. The rope that had lowered us was untied from the windlass and dropped to me. We now had three lengths of rope, but even tied together they would not reach the bottom of the cliff.

“Madness,” Robard muttered under his breath, standing with his back planted firmly against the castle wall. His eyes were closed and his fists were clenched.

“What do you think, Tristan?” Maryam asked. “Tie the ropes together, or go in sections and tie off as we go?”

I was busy at the time, staring at the sheer wall and imagining what the impact of my body at the bottom would feel and sound like. Would Tristan and Maryam be able to hear it up above or would the sound of my death be carried away on the wind?

“What?” I answered.

“Templar, you got us into this!” Maryam shouted, suddenly angry. “Now wake up, pay attention and get us out of it!” She smacked me on the shoulder for emphasis.

“Madness,” Robard repeated.

“All right,” I said. “I think the best approach would be for you both to hold the rope while I climb down as far as I can. I'll find a place to tie it off, then Maryam, you come next.” A small boulder stuck up out of the ground at my feet. Testing it with my foot, it proved sturdy.

“This will work. Robard, once Maryam is down with me, lower your rope down and we'll tie it to hers. You can pull it back up, and then lower yourself down to us by using this rock like a windlass. We'll be able to hold on to you all the way down. With any luck, we can repeat this method all the way down the mountain. It will be easy, actually,” I claimed. In reality it wouldn't be easy at all, but Robard's eyes were growing wider by the minute, and I wanted to get us moving before he became too frozen to move.

“Madness,” Robard said again.

Luckily the side of the cliff was rough and uneven, giving me numerous foot- and handholds. It took me several minutes to climb down even a small way, but after a while I found a rhythm. Then God chose to smite me again, for the angle of the cliff became steeper and I found myself hugging the rock wall, unable to move down or to the side.

“Maryam, Robard! I'm stuck!” I hollered up at them.

“What do you mean,
stuck
?” Robard shouted back.

“How many different meanings of
stuck
are there? I can't move!”

There were no handholds nearby that I could see. My feet were wedged against the cliff and I held on to the rope with both hands, but my feet and legs trembled.

Maryam peered down at me. “Do you want us to pull you back up?” she shouted.

“No! Do you see anyplace where I might be able find a foothold ?”

Maryam was silent while she studied the surface around me.

“Hurry up and do something!” Robard shouted at Maryam. “He's getting heavy!”

“Tristan, about ten feet below you on your right I can see an outcropping. You should be able to reach it. You'll have to push out and swing over to it,” she yelled.

“What? Push out and swing? I'm barely hanging on as it is!” Push out and swing indeed! Even though Maryam and Robard held most of my weight, my legs and arms were losing strength.

“I didn't know Templars frightened so easily. You are tied off and we
are
holding on to the rope, after all,” she shouted down to me.

“Maryam!”

“Relax. Trust me. You can do it. Push out and to your right, then we'll let you down about ten feet. It's right there. You'll see!” She tried to sound encouraging. It didn't matter, though, because I definitely could not stay where I was.

Gently, I pushed out with my legs and tried to swing to my right. But I stumbled against the wall and tried to scrabble back into position with my feet. I couldn't regain my footing and slammed my shoulder against the rock, grimacing as it went numb.

“Ow!” I shouted.

Grabbing the rope as tightly as I could, I pushed back from the cliff face. My momentum swung me out into space. Robard let out more rope and I dropped another five or six feet. As I swung back toward the wall, I thrust outward with my legs to keep from smashing into it.

“You're right over it!” Maryam shouted. “You should be able to reach it with your feet.”

Feeling around with my foot, I found the outcropping of rock. It felt solid, with enough room for me to stand. My legs and arms shook from the strain, and I was glad the rope was tied securely around me or I would surely have tumbled the remaining way down.

Below me, another rock ledge jutted out from the side of the cliff. It looked wide enough for Maryam and I to stand on. There was also a small bush there, jutting out from the side of the mountain. I could tie the end of her rope to it as an anchor in case she slipped on the way down.

From up above, the sounds of shouts and cries came from Montségur. Sir Hugh was attacking again. The longer we delayed, the dearer the price to those in the fortress.

“Robard! I need about six feet of slack!” I shouted up to him. He complied, and I grasped the rope and pushed off with my legs, scrabbling downward. I managed to make it to the ledge in a few seconds.

“I've found a good spot!” I shouted up to Robard and Maryam. “Maryam, you come down next and then we'll help Robard!”

Robard released his grip on my rope and dropped it down to me. Wrapping it securely around the bush, I gave myself enough slack to move about on the ledge but not enough to fall.

Whereas I had struggled like a fish tossed up on the shore, Maryam took to the mountainside like a goat. It must have come from growing up in the desert with lots of rocks nearby. With the rope lashed around her waist she attacked the cliff fearlessly, and, in less than ten minutes, had made her way down the cliff to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me on the small ledge.

“Roomy,” she said sarcastically.

“Isn't it, though?” I said. “We're ready, Robard!” I shouted up to him.

We waited, but Robard didn't say anything back. And the rope didn't move.

“Robard?” I hollered up again.

“Yes?” came the reply.

“We're ready,” I repeated.

“I know,” he said.

“What are you waiting for?” Maryam shouted.

“I'm just thinking,” he said.

“About what?” she yelled back.

“About how much I don't like heights,” he said.

Maryam and I looked at each other. Oh no.

“Why didn't you say something?” I cried.

“Because I didn't think you'd actually be crazy enough to try this!” he yelled.

“We can't go back now! Come on!” Maryam shouted up to him.

“It's okay. I think I'll just go around,” he said.

Robard stood fifty feet above us, his eyes locked on ours. He didn't move.

“I can't climb down,” he said finally.

“Yes, you can!” Maryam assured him.

“No, I can't,” he asserted.

Maryam looked at me. “Now what?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“Robard, I know you're scared. But you have to do this,” she coaxed. “You'll be fine. Just keep your feet against the cliff and follow the sound of my voice. I'll talk you down.”

Robard silently shook his head in defiance.

We were wasting more time, but I couldn't leave him stranded on the side of the mountain. Then I had an idea. Robard had yet to release Maryam's rope and had his own length still looped over his shoulder.

“Robard, remember what I said earlier? Take your rope and loop it around the small boulder.” If I could just get him moving, maybe he'd start climbing.

“All right,” he said.

“Now tie your rope to the end of Maryam's, put one end around your shoulders and waist, then drop the other end down to us. We'll lower you down. You won't even have to climb!” I tried to put my most reassuring look on my face.

“I don't like the look on your face right now. You look as if you're trying to sell me a lame horse!” he shouted.

“Robard, please . . . I know you're frightened, but we need to get going. Celia won't be able to hold off Sir Hugh forever.”

Robard stood still a bit longer, but, gathering his will, slipped the coil of rope over his shoulders. He tied the two ends of the rope together and vanished from sight briefly, then returned to view and tossed the rope to us.

“I'm ready,” he said. “But squire, if you drop me, so help me, as soon as I recover from the fall, I will give you a thrashing like you've never imagined.”

“What if Maryam drops you?” I asked.

“Don't try to change the subject,” he insisted. He backed up toward the very edge of the rocks. Maryam and I took up the slack on the rope, and he slowly inched his way over.

Robard was considerably larger than the two of us, and it took all of our strength to control his descent. But slowly, he climbed farther down the mountainside. Maryam constantly reassured him.

“You're doing fine,” she said. “Keep coming, you're almost there.”

About twenty feet above us he paused for a moment, frozen in place.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Just a few more feet.” Maryam's voice was soothing.

Robard kept backing slowly toward us and I could see he was straining hard. The muscles across his back were hunched, and his legs trembled as he dug into the cliff with his feet.

“Relax,” I said. “You've almost got it.”

Then the rope went slack in our hands. Robard screamed, and we could only watch in quiet desperation as he lunged away from the wall and fell.

L
ook out!” Maryam shouted as she leaned toward the end of the small ledge. With only an instant to think and with Robard almost on top of me, I reached up and grabbed his left arm. He slammed into me, and I tried to take the blow with my back and shoulders so as not to crush Angel.

The force of Robard's impact knocked me to my knees. I struggled mightily to hold on to him in fear of what happened next. His momentum pulled us, and though I strained to keep him on the ledge, the space was too small and he was too heavy.

“Hang on!” I shouted.

I didn't need to tell Robard twice. As he fell past me, he threw his arms around my waist, and we continued to tumble down the side of the mountain until we jerked to a stop and crashed into the wall, knocking the wind out of me. My back ached as though a giant had used it to scrape the mud from his boots.

“Are you all right?” I asked Robard.

“When we get down from here, I am going to kill you,” he replied calmly. So he was not seriously injured.