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Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. PART II
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. PART III
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. INTERLUDE
  35. PART IV
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. INTERLUDE
  45. PART V
  46. THIRTY-FIVE
  47. THIRTY-SIX
  48. THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. THIRTY-EIGHT
  50. PART VI
  51. THIRTY-NINE
  52. FORTY
  53. FORTY-ONE
  54. FORTY-TWO
  55. FORTY-THREE
  56. FORTY-FOUR
  57. FORTY-FIVE
  58. INTERLUDE
  59. PART VII
  60. FORTY-SIX
  61. FORTY-SEVEN
  62. FORTY-EIGHT
  63. FORTY-NINE
  64. FIFTY
  65. FIFTY-ONE
  66. FIFTY-TWO
  67. PART VIII
  68. FIFTY-THREE
  69. FIFTY-FOUR
  70. FIFTY-FIVE
  71. FIFTY-SIX
  72. EPILOGUE
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  75. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  76. Newsletter Sign-up

Guy rolled with the attack, rotating and withdrawing his sword back to his hip in a side-plow, and struck forward. The man had raised his sword high, giving Guy exactly the window he needed, driving the tip of his steel up under the man’s rib cage and then high, a burst of heavy blood blossoming down the sword’s fuller, letting Guy know he hit his mark. He pushed the man’s body away, easing his sword out. He could not help but notice a plume of steam that trailed off the blade from the hot blood meeting the crisp night air.

Those men had delayed him too long. Guy looked again for Locksley, but could not find him. The threat of Wendenal’s corruption seemed like a trifle now, compared to this madness.

No individual training mattered here. Wars are won with numbers, not finesse. Superior weaponry, superior armor, superior numbers. It doesn’t matter if the people are expert fencers or a mob. And Locksley had the numbers.

Guy tried to focus, to keep calm. If he panicked he would die, and his death would make him complicit in the burning of the Sherwood. He would not die helping Locksley do this.

All around him, the torture of steel and men clattered through the trees. Either Guy had traveled, or the bulk of the melee had moved away already. Someone ran through the commotion, his head ducked down, and disappeared again. Guy could barely distinguish ally from enemy—there were only shapes and fog. He gave the mist a slice with his sword, to no avail. He was at the disadvantage here with such a long weapon. He needed open space and clear vision.

A cluster of horrific shrieks from somewhere in the mist made Guy think of Will Scarlet, and the damage he could do with his two knives in a riot like this. He could plunge those blades into every shape like a ghost, no doubt careless of which side his victims fought for.

Every interaction was a roll of the dice. Survive one, you get to roll again. Every direction held a new player.

How many stood between him and Locksley, Guy did not know. It didn’t matter.

In most small skirmishes, the key was to pick the terrain, that they could be protected. That was how it went at Thieves Den. That was how it went at Bernesdale. Here, there was no wall behind them. No direction to aim their attention.