even now.'
'If he does not have her, then he knows what happened to her,' Cait countered. 'He knows, and you must make him tell us.'
'Ketmia, please, this is not the way.' He looked to Rognvald for help. 'We must leave at once.'
'I think the bandit was lying, too,' Rognvald said. 'He may not have Alethea now, but I believe he knows what happened to her.'
Cait held tight to the bridle. 'I am not leaving until I learn what happened to my sister.'
'And I am telling you that if we do not depart at once, we will join her in her fate.'
'You seem very well acquainted with these brigands. It seems to me you know them better than you led us to believe.'
'It is because I know them that I say we must go,' growled the prince, losing patience. 'If you do not believe me, then believe your own eyes.' He indicated the cave entrance where three more of Ali's men, carrying swords and lances, had joined the first two; behind them, others could be seen moving in the dark interior of the cave.
Frustrated beyond words, Cait gave out a strangled shriek and stormed to her horse. She mounted quickly, and started away. Rognvald waited until she had passed him, then fell in behind her. They had ridden only a few hundred paces when there came a cry from the cave.
'Sharifah!'
Cait heard it and glanced back. Over her shoulder, she saw a slender, dark-haired figure racing towards them. The cry sounded again, and she swung around for a better look. Her heart clutched in her breast.
'Abu!'
Instinctively, she jerked hard on the reins; her horse halted and reared. 'Rognvald!' she shouted. 'It is Abu!'
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Rognvald's sword was in his hand before her cry had ceased. He flew past her, shouting, 'Ride on, Cait!'
Ali Waqqar appeared at the mouth of the cave, saw Abu darting away, and roared a command at his men, who stood looking on in flat-footed indecision. He roared again and started shoving men right and left, knocking two or three over; those still on their feet leapt after the fleeing youth.
Abu put his head down and ran as if all the hounds of hell were snarling at his heels.
Rognvald, naked blade high in the air, raised himself in the saddle; he swept by the young man and made instead for his pursuers, closing on them with blinding swiftness. With a rattling battle cry, he drove headlong into them, scattering attackers in all directions. Wheeling his horse and making long, looping slashes with his sword, he kept the wary bandits at bay.
More brigands boiled out of the cave. Ali Waqqar stood in the centre of a confused knot of men, shouting and shoving. And then, even as Cait looked on, the chaos suddenly resolved into an attacking force. They came forth in an angry rush, shouting, swords flailing.
Heedless of Rognvald's command, Cait hastened to Abu's rescue, galloping across the rough, rocky ground, reining up hard as she reached him. With a tremendous bound, the young man flung himself on to the back her horse, shouting, 'Fly! Fly!'
She turned her mount and felt one bony arm encircle her waist. 'Fly! Fly!' Abu screamed. Away they flew: Cait, head down, lashing with the reins, and her passenger bouncing like a sack of meal and clinging on for dear life. She found the path by which they had come and headed out across the narrow valley.
Prince Hasan sped past them, racing to Rognvald's aid. 'Make for the ridge!' he cried as he thundered by. 'Summon the knights! We will hold them at the ford.'
His shout dissolved into a whirring sound-like the sizzling buzz of an angry hornet-and suddenly the prince jolted upright in the saddle as an arrow instantly appeared in his upper chest. Grasping the shaft with his free hand, he wrenched it out and threw it carelessly aside, continuing his headlong plunge into the fight. Another vicious whirr sounded in the air, ending with a meaty thud. Abu gave a startled cry. 'Go, sharifah! Fly!' Cait urged her horse to greater speed, streaking away over the rocky ground.
Two more arrows fizzed past before she was out of range. She struck the path and raced to the broken stone slab, passed through the gap, and splashed across the ford, speeding along the stream to the base of the ridge where she was met by the knights who had seen her approach in haste and had come down armed and ready for battle.
As soon as she was near enough, she shouted, 'Go! Rognvald and Hasan need you!'
Yngvar was the first to reach her. 'Where are they, my lady?'
'Follow the stream,' she gasped, breathless from her. ride. 'You will find them beyond the ford. They are attacked. For God's sake, hurry!'
Yngvar turned to the others. 'Ready arms!' he cried. 'Follow me!'
With a shout, the knights clattered off. The last was Dag, who paused long enough to ask, 'Would you have me stay to protect you, my lady?'
'No. We will be safe here. Go!'
The knight bounded away. Cait watched as the warriors raced out along the stream; in the near distance, she could see the pool which marked the fording place and, beyond it, the divided slab. Yngvar and Rodrigo reached the tumbled stone, and disappeared through the gap. The others pounded through one after another and were gone. 'They will return soon,' she said with more hope than conviction. 'You will need a mount, Abu.'
When he did not answer, she swivelled in the saddle to look behind her. Abu, one hand still holding to her cloak, sat with his head down as if contemplating the tip of the arrow which had passed through his upper back and now protruded between the bloody fingers of his other hand.
Cait slid from the saddle and caught the wounded youth as he toppled to the ground. She laid him down as gently as she could; forcing calm to her shaking hands, she rolled him on to his side.
The arrow had found its mark in his back just below the shoulder to emerge on the other side between two upper ribs. The iron arrowhead was small, but it was barbed; pulling it out the way it had gone in would do far worse damage, so she thought it best to break off the fletched end and remove it from the front. Grasping the slender wooden shaft in her hand, she tried to break it; the movement brought a groan of pain from Abu, so she decided to leave it for the moment.
'Ahh, God forgive,' he gasped, his voice thin and brittle. 'I am sorry, sharifah. You were proud of me once. I wanted you to be proud of me again. I failed. I am sorry.'
'Never say it.' Removing her cloak, she shook it out and draped it over him. 'I am proud of you, Abu. If not for your markers, we would never have found our way. Rest here a little while I go and fetch Halhuli. The arrow must come out.'
She made to move away, but his hand snaked out and snatched hold of her sleeve.
'You need help, Abu. I will go and quickly return. I will -'
Abu threw aside the cloak and struggled on to an elbow; the effort sent blood spilling from the wound in a scarlet rush. His face contorted with pain. 'Thea,' he said, squeezing his eyes shut. 'I must tell you about Thea.'
'I am listening.' She lowered him back to the ground and replaced the cloak.
'Thea is not here,' he said, gasping. 'She escaped… ran away. I helped her.' He opened his eyes, imploring her to understand.
'Where, Abu? Where did she go?'
Before he could answer he was taken with a fit of coughing which left him panting for breath and unable to speak. 'Rest easy,' she told him. 'I will get some water.'
She dashed to her mount and untied the small waterskin from beside the saddle, and brought it to him. Kneeling down, she drew the stopper and allowed a little water to flow out on to his lips. 'Here,' she said, lifting his head, 'drink.'
He sipped a mouthful of water and then looked at her, his eyes big and bright with pain. 'Listen, sharifah,
