calm and parried each attack.
Rage was not gaining me anything; he was too good. I needed a deception, trickery of some sort. I also had to stop the bleeding in my arm. Where was the power of the Grail when I needed it? It remained silent, nestled in the bottom of the satchel hanging across my back.
I moved out from the wall to my right, keeping him at bay with my sword. Then I stepped in as close as I could get to the corner of the hut. I took a wild swing at him to draw him in, and as I hoped, he reared back to bring his sword around in a mighty arc. Instead of blocking it this time, I ducked and the blade whistled over my head. When the sword hit the corner of the hut, it bit into the soft timber and was stuck there. His eyes went wide as he yanked desperately to free his blade. Not giving him the chance, I ducked under his arm and rose up, driving the hilt of my sword as hard as I could into the side of his head. It connected with a solid thump and the man’s eyes rolled up in his head. He slumped to the ground unconscious.
Breathing hard, I worked his sword free from the side of the hut and tossed it as far as I could into the woods. I searched him quickly, removed a dagger from his belt and threw it away as well.
Racing back to where I’d last seen Maryam, I came around the side of the building and found her sprawled on the ground. She had lost her daggers and rolled over, crawling on her hands and knees, desperately trying to reach them. The soldier closed in on her, his sword raised. She was helpless and about to die unless I could reach her in time.
But I didn’t have to, for an arrow suddenly appeared in the center of the soldier’s chest. He looked down in shock at the instrument of his death, and then tumbled backward to the dirt.
I spun around to see Robard standing there. Maryam looked up from the ground in wonder.
“Robard?” she said, her face breaking into a wide smile.
“Hello, Assassin,” he said, grinning. “Did you miss me?”
13
My mouth hung open as if I’d been struck dumb. He smiled and gave us a jaunty little salute. A black-clad blur rushed past me, and Maryam took Robard in a fierce embrace. Momentarily startled by the force of her attention, he held his arms out gingerly to the side while she wrapped hers around his back.
“You came back,” she said, unable to keep the joy from her voice.
“I did. Um. Maryam?” he said.
“Yes,” she said, looking up at him but still not releasing her hold.
“I can’t breathe,” he said.
She laughed and buried her head in his chest, hugging him tighter.
“Assassin?” he coughed. “I’m serious. Can’t breathe.”
She let go of him then and stepped back, her face aglow. “You’re really here. You came back,” she said.
“Yes, I came back. The two of you wouldn’t likely make your way back to England without me.”
“Couldn’t find a ship in Perpignan?” I asked.
“Not a one!” He laughed. “No. In truth, I followed the High Counsel and his troops toward Perpignan and had the chance to see some of their work up close. The afternoon after they left us on the beach, they burned a village to the ground. Dragged all the people out of their homes and shops and torched it completely. Even their church. I could only watch from the woods. I don’t know what he said to those people, but I’ve heard men like him before. He enjoyed terrifying them. He delighted in burning them out of their homes.”
I nodded, understanding exactly what he was saying.
Robard shrugged.
“When they didn’t find Celia in Perpignan, they headed back this way. I knew you had headed in the same direction and decided if you were going to tangle with this High Counsel fellow, you were going to need some help.”
I smiled. Robard had a conscience after all. His bravery had never been in doubt, but I was deeply touched by his compassion.
Maryam still stared at Robard, gripping his arms. Robard smiled at her.
“Maryam?” he asked.
“Hmm. Yes?” she replied.
“May I have my arms back?”
She finally released him. “You came back,” she said, as if she had just woken from a dream.
“Yes, I did. Now we have work,” he said gently.
As happy as we were to see Robard, Angel was happiest of all. She burst out of the woods where she had been guarding the mother and the two children and raced to Robard’s side, jumping and barking happily at him. He laughed and scooped her up in his arms.
“I guess I just couldn’t leave you behind, girl,” he joked. He put her down and she raced around us madly, turning back and forth and barking.
The woman and her children emerged from the woods and rushed to the side of the father, who still lay where Maryam had left him.
“Maryam, maybe you should assist them while Robard and I attend to these soldiers,” I said quietly.
She nodded and with a last glance at Robard, trotted to the side of the woman. Angel loped after Maryam, and Robard stared after them.
“What happened to the big Frenchman I had the fight with?” he asked.
“Philippe! You found him?”
“Yes.”
“He encountered a squad of the High Counsel’s men. There was a fight and he killed four of them, but he died from his wounds.”
“Killed four? By himself?” Robard said, incredulous.
I nodded.
“Tough man, that Frank,” he added, impressed.
“Yes, he was.”
“I guess it’s lucky I got here in time to be of use.”
“Yes. But how did you find us?”
“You were easy enough to follow. Your boots leave a distinctive track. And I knew you were headed north. So I just followed the main trail. Don’t forget, I lived my whole life in a forest. I know how to track people.”
“Have you seen anyone else about? Any of the High Counsel’s men? Any Templar regimentos?”
“No. Since I left the spot where you camped last night, I’ve seen no one.”
“We don’t have much time to waste. Can you help me hide these men in the woods? I don’t want them to be easily discovered if the High Counsel sends someone looking for them.”
Robard nodded and we walked to the spot where I had left the man between the buildings.
Only he was no longer there. Robard pulled another arrow from his wallet and nocked it immediately. We peered around the corner of the hut, but the man was nowhere to be found.
“This is not good,” I muttered.
“No, it’s not,” Robard agreed. “We need to get moving. If he has friends nearby. .”
We quickly trotted to the center of the village.
The man who had been beaten by the two soldiers was coming around. Maryam held a water skin to his lips and his wife dabbed at the cuts on his face with a damp cloth. The young girl and boy stood off to the side, the boy holding his small hand to his face where an ugly purplish bruise was forming around his eye. My breath caught as I thought of the little one’s brave attempt to defend his father.
“Is he going to be all right?” Robard asked.
“I think he’ll survive. He has some broken ribs, but those are the worst of his injuries,” Maryam said. She looked up at my bleeding arm and with her dagger cut a small piece of cloth from the hem of my tunic. Covering the wound, which was not serious, she tied it tightly.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
