The Camelot Spell - Laura Anne Gilman [42]
They could smell the somewhat musty odor of the guards’ bodies rising off their skin before Daffyd barked out a command, and the two men stood aside, letting them exit without harm.
They walked down the short hallway without seeing anyone and were outside in the courtyard before any alarm was raised.
“Praise the gods,” Ailis whispered, but Newt merely tightened his grip on her arm.
“We’re not safe yet,” he said. “I’m going to go get the horses.” If the guards didn’t move, if Daffyd really was bound by his own spell…they had a chance, if everything played out well. And if not…“You two, start down the road like you’re walking away. Just do it!”
They looked like they wanted to argue, but Newt turned and started walking slowly, casually toward the stables before they could say anything.
“Come on,” Gerard said when Ailis hesitated. “Come on. He can handle the horses. We need to get out of here.”
They had taken their belongings with them, not trusting their safety, so there was nothing to do but put one foot in front of the other until they were out of the shadow of the Grange, back on the main road, out in the deepening shadows of the afternoon.
“Walk faster,” Gerard said, stretching his own legs now to cover more ground.
“But Newt—”
“Will be riding. Stop worrying about him!”
They increased their pace, watching the workers in the fields out of the corner of their eyes, alert for even a hint of an alarm. But the workers remained bent over the crops, intent on their work. Gerard felt the weight of shame drape over him for running away like this. A knight was supposed to rescue those in need and certainly anyone trapped by Daffyd’s spell deserved to be freed. But…he wasn’t a knight. Yet. They had barely escaped themselves. How could he help anyone else?
“When this is over,” he promised them, even though they couldn’t hear, “we’ll come back. Arthur himself will break that spell and free you.”
There was a hollow thudding noise behind them before Ailis could respond, and Newt arrived, riding his own horse and leading Gerard’s and a third by the reins.
“You stole a horse?” Gerard was horrified.
“I borrowed it,” Newt said. “We’ll make better time if we’re all mounted. Besides, I think she has a fascination for your noble steed.”
In fact, the mare did seem attached to Gerard’s horse, staying close to him as they waited for their riders to mount. With a glance at Newt, Ailis took the reins from him and swung herself into the saddle of the dark brown mare. The saddle was uncomfortable, but the beast seemed to have a sweet enough mouth, and after a flick of one delicate ear, she responded well to Ailis’s commands.
Gerard stopped long enough to take the talisman and wrap it carefully in a length of cloth, securing it safely before swinging himself up and into his own saddle.
“One talisman captured,” he said with satisfaction, gathering up the reins and urging his horse into a slow walk. “One third of the way there.”
“But we’re already on the fourth day,” Newt said grimly. “Where does the map say we should go next?”
Even the horses seemed to look at Gerard, who pulled the map out of its packet and unrolled it. He stared at it for a long moment, then looked up at them.
“It’s not glowing anywhere.”
SEVEN
They finally settled on heading east by the simple expedient of Newt tossing his dagger, a handspan of sharpened metal with a horn handle, into the map and determining that they would head toward wherever it landed. When Ailis withdrew the dagger, she ran her fingers over the narrow hole, frowning slightly. And she gasped when a spark jumped off the map into her finger, then back down again into the map, sealing the rip behind it.
She looked carefully at the map, rolled it up, and handed it back to Gerard. She mounted her mare and turned her in the right direction, waiting until Gerard was ready before touching