Chapters (76)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART I
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- PART II
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- PART III
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- INTERLUDE
- PART IV
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- INTERLUDE
- PART V
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART VI
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- INTERLUDE
- PART VII
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- PART VIII
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
“They must have come this way,” Bolt insisted with his usual urgency, looking to Reginold for support. “Why not keep going until we come to a fork?”
“If they went off path,” Reginold explained, breathing warm air onto his hands, “we’ll lose them. And if they’re even halfway smart—which might be generous—that’s exactly what they did. So if the tracks are still here, we go forward. If they’re not, we’d be going in the entirely wrong direction. And losing more time.”
Morg grunted his agreement, but it sounded much like his grunts of annoyance. The man liked to grunt.
Guy stole what opportunities he could to listen to Devon’s memories of his time at Locksley, and the men they were chasing. They could only speak alone, as Guy had yet to divulge Devon’s past to the rest of his regiment. The day would come when de Lacy’s reckless policy became public knowledge, but that danger was best delayed as long as possible. Guy had threatened some truly terrible things to Bassett and his four co-conspirators in the Common Guard, should they ever loose their tongues on the subject. He had given them each a second chance, but none of them could ever earn back his trust.
Devon described the outlaws one by one. He had barely known the hunter girl and the knifeman and only identified them as the Scarlet Twins, though they were lovers and not siblings. He had more to say about the men, Arthur a Bland and Alan-a-Dale. Alan was apparently more of a follower than anything, but Arthur was a nasty one. More than a few times Devon had been on the receiving end of a beating from Arthur during mock sparring lessons. Then there was John Little, Lord Walter’s right hand, famous for intimidating those in the community who didn’t fall in line. Devon told a story of a time he botched a job skinning a hare and John snatched the knife from his hand. “There’s naught to you but skin and bone, so I don’t know why it’s so hard for you to pull your weight,” Devon recalled.
“He made quick work of the hare, and could have gutted me just as quickly. Just as thoughtlessly.”
“All men can be harsh,” Guy said. “But are they killers? If Bassett doesn’t give them a fight, would they kill him in cold blood?”
Devon gave it serious consideration. “They would.”
“What makes you say that?”