The Legacy of Mount Drood

Chapter 26

The stunning turn of events moved very quickly from frozen disbelief to urgent, self-preservation for all concerned. Hella shrieked commands to her soldiers who began recklessly loosing arrows in all directions while Gar took the opportunity to begin hacking them down from behind. He cursed a bloody path toward the Queen who was waving her branch about frantically and screaming.

Jep grabbed Gwendolise by the arm and ran her at full tilt toward the forest with Rodney in hot pursuit, followed by Prize. William quickly shoved Mary toward the woods, waving Derrick after them. Mokum wasted no time in fleeing, scurrying across the yard on his short legs and dodging the errant rain of arrows. Derrick tried desperately to get Dolly moving but the poor animal just gave him a mournful look and fell to its knees, uttering a weak bray.

The strain of the climb had been too much for her aging heart and it was almost merciful when several arrows ended the increasing pain. Derrick fell across her still form, sobbing; an arrow had found its mark in his side and he patted Dolly lovingly on the head before joining her with a sorrowful sigh.

Emboldened by the lack of resistance, the attackers swarmed into the courtyard, herding the remaining troops into a small knot around Hella in her royal chair. The leader swaggered forward, his bruised and swollen face set in a smug grimace.

"Well now, if it isn't 'er Majesty, the lady wot wants clean, private accommodations—and entertaiment." Bully Bill strutted up to the chair and leered into Hella's inflamed scowl. "Followin' you lot was like tracking a 'erd 'o elephants over fresh laid eggs. I figured you was up to sumthin' I'd be interested in. An' I was right weren't I?" He chucked her under the chin and received a slash of branch across his swollen face for his impudence.

The reaction was swift and brutal. Bully Bill's fist smashed into Hella's face, splitting her cheek and knocking her eyes loopy. She cried out, clutching the damage and feeling the warm blood seep between her fingers.

"Little different when yer on the other end 'o the stick, eh?" He wiped tenderly at the scratches the branch had left on his face.

Consiflore, who had managed to slip behind the chair and out of sight of Bill, weighed his advantages of staying with Hella or making a break for the woods—he chose the latter, managing about twenty feet before three of Bill's gang lit out after him.

Gar, overwhelmed and wrestled to the ground, sat on the cobblestones, hands tied loosely behind his back, watching the Count's flight and the Queen's humiliation. Around the courtyard the bodies of a dozen or so lay bent and twisted in the aspect of death; all of Hella's soldiers and three of the attackers. He sized up the remaining four men who were guarding him, deciding that when the moment was right, he would attack and slaughter the lot of them before they could say, oops.

*****

Jep pulled the dead branch down in front of he and Gwendolise to help cover their position in the depression next to a huge tree's gnarled roots. They lay still, forcing their breath into tiny gasps, listening for their pursuers. Gwendolise squeezed his hand and leaned her mouth close to his ear.

"Where are the stones and the key?"

"I don't know." He whispered back. "They were in the pack on the mule..."

"Maybe Der—"

"Shhh!" He placed his fingers on her lips and pressed her closer to the ground. The distinct snapping of dry dead twigs cracked the silence of the forest. Jep peered over the root, scanning the dense woods. There! A form flitting from tree to tree, heading their way.

He cast about for some kind of weapon finding only the stub of a broken branch. Clutching it fiercely, Jep prepared to leap out if the figure came near enough. Rodney was cursing his fortune, stopping every few feet to listen for sounds of his quarry. If that stupid Gar had listened to him, they would have had the key and the stones before any of this disaster took place.

He stole a glance around the trunk of the tree, seeing nothing. The minute he found them, he would kill them and take his chances on finding the mine. A sound off to his left made him freeze where he was, and he held his breath as it came nearer.

William pulled Mary to the ground with a thud, scrabbling for cover behind some withered scrub. He covered her attempted protest with one hand and pointed with the other. Through the trees, they watched as Rodney, holding his position rigidly, waited as Prize crossed in front of him.

Mary jerked involuntarily when Rodney sprang from behind the tree and grabbed her around the neck, swinging her from side to side in sharp, angry movements. Suddenly, a man brandishing a sword appeared and he aimed a blow to Rodney's side, grunting in angry dismay as Rodney swung the hapless Prize around as a shield, allowing her to take the full brunt of the thrust across her chest.

With a gasp of surprise, she gathered the slashed, blood-soaked material of her cloak in both fists and slithered from Rodney's grasp, crumpling on the forest floor like a broken doll. A quick stab to the chest dispatched the assailant while he was watching his unintended target sink to the ground. An arrow slapped noisily off the trunk near Rodney's head, and cursing aloud, he turned and fled deeper into the trees.

Mary was holding her throat and making soft gagging sounds that William tried to discourage by holding her head close to his chest. He watched the woods for further signs of danger, ducking as two more men stopped to gaze at the bodies, and then dart off in the direction Rodney had taken.

"It's alright, they're gone."

"Oh William, that was- that... what a horrible way to die. That poor woman."

"Don't feel too sorry for her, she was a big part of causing all this."

"But how- why would she—"

"Mary, it doesn't matter right now. What matters is how do we avoid the same fate, and where are the others?"

"I'm right here," Mokum spoke up suddenly from his roost on a branch above them.

"OHHhh! By the gods, Mokum, you shortened my life by half." William stood, helping a trembling Mary to her feet and reached up a hand to the tiny Huth. "You saw..." He jerked his head toward the bodies.

"Aye," Mokum frowned, taking the hand and swinging down to the ground. "Thy pursuers seem not to know on which side they fare the best."

"I'm beginning to question that myself. Listen, do you know where Jep is?"

"Only that he and Gwendolise ran into this place as did we." Mokum shifted something from beneath his coat and handed it to William. "Here, I want no part of this. "'Tis best you keep it until- until..."

William took the box and stared at it. Inside was the cause of all the grief and horror they had witnessed over the past while, and still held the potential for more. He lifted the lid and stared at the Key in wonder. "We must find Jep. This madness has got to end."