Fistandantilus Reborn - Douglas Niles [76]
“Here, let me help with that,” Emilo offered genially. He sauntered toward the men, who backed away, each unconsciously revealing the location of his valuables as he placed a hand at belt, side pouch, or, in one case, the top of his boot.
Ignoring their distress, the kender skipped through the group of suspicious bandits. “Here!” he cried, flipping a steel piece to Bolt. “And another!” This time the glittering coin tumbled past Zack’s outstretched hand, bouncing onto the road, then rolling between Bolt’s legs.
“That’s mine!”
“Keep yer paws off it!”
Immediately the two bandits lunged, colliding heavily, then falling to the ground where they exchanged sharp punches. Rolling back and forth, spitting and swearing, the pair thrashed from one side of the road to the other. Steel flashed in the darkness, and Danyal saw that Zack had drawn his wicked knife.
“No blades!” Kelryn Darewind’s voice cracked through the night, and the one-eyed bandit, cursing loudly, tossed his dagger aside and delivered his fist into Bolt’s blunt nose.
“Hi again!”
Danyal whirled at the sudden voice, almost falling down as he saw that somehow Emilo Haversack had sauntered around the large boulder and now stood behind the youth and the historian, regarding them curiously.
“You stirred them up pretty good,” Danyal noted, grimacing as Bolt bit down on Zack’s wrist, drawing a howl of outrage from his writhing opponent.
“Yes,” the kender agreed, nodding with a certain sense of justified pride. “I’d like to stay and watch, but don’t you think we should be going?”
“Tsk-we’re prisoners,” Foryth Teel chided. “We’re not allowed to-“
“We’re not prisoners right now!” hissed Danyal urgently, seeing a design behind the kender’s antics and hoping there was more to the plan than simply running as fast as they could into the night. “He’s right. Let’s go!”
“But-“
“Come on!” Danyal insisted, grabbing Foryth’s hand and pulling. The historian reluctantly stumbled along, though he cast a glance at the bandits, almost as if he hoped Kelryn might see them and put a stop to this nonsense about escape.
For his own part, the lad felt certain their argument and departure would draw the attention of the bandits, but a quick look showed that Kelryn had joined the ring at the edge of the fight, which was building to a climax as Zack tore his bleeding hand from Bolt’s mouth and tried to get a stranglehold around the burly man’s neck.
“This way,” Emilo said, leading them up the road. “I picked this spot on purpose.”
The sounds of the fight receded in the distance as they sprinted into the night. Danyal was tense and fearful, expecting a shout of alarm at any moment, but if anything the intranecine duel raged with increasing intensity.
“Here.” Emilo Haversack halted quickly, pointing to a niche between two rocks on the downhill side of the road. “Sit down, and you’ll be safe.”
“What? How?” demanded Danyal, who thought that the place offered precious little concealment, and even then barely enough for one person.
Any further objections, however, were overcome by a sound of real alarm down the roadway. Kelryn’s voice barked through the chaos. “Find them. Bring them to me!”
“You go first! I’ll follow!” whispered the kender, prodding Foryth toward the place he had indicated.
With a sigh, the historian stepped off the road-and immediately vanished from sight. Danyal heard an “oof” of alarm, but even that sound swiftly faded into the night.
“Now you go!” urged the kender. Hearing the sounds of running feet, the lad didn’t hesitate. He stepped after Foryth