Shades of the Past_ Book Six of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [24]
“And tell them to leave my house,” he says.
“Everyone, out!” the man yells. The three men covering them with crossbows from above leave the windows and come join the man in front of Illan.
“Where’s the other guy?” James asks.
“There is no other,” he tells them.
“We were told to expect five here,” Illan explains. “So where is he?”
“I assure you,” the man says, his nervousness rising, “there is no one else here.”
“Jiron, take Yern and Potbelly and search the house,” he says.
Dismounting, Jiron says “You got it.” With Yern and Potbelly beside him, he makes his way to the front door.
Raising his voice loudly, the man says, “I assure you, there is no one inside this house!”
Jiron pushes him out of the way and enters through the front door, the other two right behind.
“Miko, tie them up,” Illan says.
Getting down from his horse, Miko removes a coil of rope and begins securing the hands and feet of the four men.
“Lord Faetherton will not take too kindly to this intrusion,” the man warns Illan as Miko ties his hands behind his back.
“No, I suppose not,” he replies. “And as far as Faetherton is concerned, where might I find him?” When the man fails to respond, he says, “No matter. I’ll find him in due course.”
Suddenly, from the back of the house, the sound of a horse reaches them just before a man appears riding hard toward the gate. “Don’t let him leave!” orders Illan.
Aleya and Errin turn in the saddle and draw back their arrows. After taking aim, they let their arrows fly but the rider dodges and the arrows fly wide. A whine begins to be heard as several slingers twirl their slings before letting their slugs fly toward the fleeing man. One manages to strike him in the side and almost knocks him off his horse but he somehow keeps his balance.
“Shorty!” Jiron yells as he races from the back of the house.
At the gate, Shorty and Scar have been observing the events transpiring by the manor house. When they see the man racing toward them, Scar moves to close the gate while Shorty takes position in the road. Shorty removes a throwing knife and throws, catching the horse in the chest.
The horse stumbles and crashes to the ground, throwing the man several feet where he lands hard. Shorty runs over with another of his knives in hand but slows when he sees the man is not moving. As he draws close, he finds that the man broke his neck when he struck the ground.
Turning to the others at the manor house, he yells, “He’s dead!”
“Get him and his horse out of the road and behind the wall,” Illan hollers back to him.
Shorty nods and then he and Scar begin the gruesome job of dragging the dead man and horse to the wall.
“Who was that?” Illan asks, turning back to the man before him.
“Nobody,” he replies.
Illan eyes him a moment and then dismounts. To Caleb he says, “Go tell Shorty and Scar to continue keeping watch and to shut the gate.” When he runs off to do as bid, Illan turns to Nerrin and Moyil. “Go down there and bring the two guards back here with the others.”
“Yes, sir,” Nerrin says and then they begin running down to the gate.
“Delia, take our prisoners around back and keep an eye on them,” he tells her. “Don’t want them seen should anyone approach.”
“Right,” she replies and then gets her slingers to escort the prisoners to the rear of the house.
Illan gives James a glance then enters the house with James, Jiron and Miko right behind.
The front room looks just like any other lady’s drawing room with couches where visitors can rest and so forth. He makes his way deeper into the house, passing a side corridor and several doors before coming to what looks to have at one time been a strong wooden door. Axes or something had chopped away at it until a hole was wide enough for a man to enter.
“What’s in there?” Jiron asks.
“Some of the more important items my family holds dear,” he explains as he stops before