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
“Thieves, outlaws,” FitzOdo said happily, wiping the blood from his face. “Just not yours. Fugitives from York. I’ve been tracking them ever since they crossed the border. They holed up here for the last few nights, but I knew I couldn’t take them on my own.”
Guy reeled. He marched toward the body that should have been Robin of Locksley, and saw immediately how mistaken he was. The distance, the shadow of the hill—his own expectations had tricked him. Glancing out to where Elena had fallen in the mud, he no longer saw the young girl but a short thin man with black hair. White-hot anger ripped through Guy’s muscles, which instantly surrendered to exhaustion. He dropped to the ground and sat, too furious to even react.
“You said they had a prisoner with them,” he said, staring at FitzOdo.
“I did lie about that.” The knight shrugged. “I heard you had come through Hallam, asking about a group of riders that had a Guardsman as a prisoner. I figured you might help me on principle, but … well you know how it is.” FitzOdo laughed, as if it were just a joke.
“You son of a bitch.”
“I ain’t never claimed otherwise,” FitzOdo sneered at him. “Still, you got a couple less murderers running loose, you can take that to heart. Mind if I take these two back to Tickhill, or are you so ass hurt about this you want to claim them for yourselves?”
“I want you to get out of here,” Guy said with an unnatural calm he did not feel. “Take them with you, and make haste.”
“As you say,” the knight balked. “Let me take some souvenirs first. Red Roger’ll want proof the other two are dead. And hey. I owe you one.” He flashed a vaguely apologetic look to each of them, and took no discouragement from the lack of response. “By and by, your friend is dead. No reason for a pack of thieves to keep a regular Guardsman as a prisoner. No offense. You can get a ransom for a knight, at least.”
FitzOdo cut off the heads of the two dead men, and made each of his captives carry one as he led them away. Guy and his regiment were left with nothing but a cold trail and the sickening sense they ought to start mourning the life of Jon Bassett.
THERE WAS LITTLE DISCUSSION as to whether or not they would continue their search.
“There’s no picking up the trail now,” Guy said. “If they still have him, they know we want him back. We’ll have to wait for them to contact us.”