Page 9 of Heart of the Hunter (Band of Bastards #3)
H unter had to calm the beast inside him that wanted to rip the men apart, limb from limb. His blood boiled as he listened to the guards question her, certain that it was only a matter of time before one of them forced himself on Anora.
At least Anora had the good sense to come up with a plausible story as to why she lingered in the forest alone in the middle of the night.
And she did her best to keep the men distracted, which allowed him to get close enough to them to do something about the situation.
He knelt behind a thicket of underbrush and gently rustled the leaves, then intentionally snapped a twig underfoot.
As expected, the guard whose attention was only partially on Anora stepped closer to the spot where Hunter was hidden behind the brush.
He looked intently into the forest and slowly turned his ear toward the woods as he rested a hand on his sword hilt and listened for whatever lurked in the trees.
“Psst,” Hunter hissed from his crouched position an arm’s length from the man.
When the guard looked down in his direction, he lunged forward and stabbed his dagger into the man’s stomach and twisted.
The man gasped as Hunter’s blade cut through the flesh of his gut and stumbled backwards as his hand fell from the hilt of his sword to grasp at the blood that soaked through his tunic.
Hunter punched him hard, withdrew his knife as he shoved him aside, and advanced on the other guard.
The second guard turned toward the commotion with Anora’s cap still in his hands.
His eyes went wide when he saw Hunter lunge toward him.
Anora shoved him hard from behind as he dropped the cap to fumble for his sword.
Hunter’s fist connected with the man’s nose as he lurched forward and it broke with a satisfying crunch before he could draw his weapon, then he delivered several more blows to the side of his head and jaw.
As the guard fell to the ground, sword still sheathed, Hunter grabbed Anora by the hand and pulled her along behind him as he broke into a run.
The noise of the attack attracted the attention of more guards on the wall walk above them.
He heard the raised voices from atop of the castle wall and the thud of an arrow hitting a tree at the edge of the forest. He darted through the forest with Anora in tow as he veered left and right to remain in the cover of the thickets and underbrush as they ran.
Men yelled orders and he knew if he didn’t get her to his horse quickly, they would soon be overtaken by the castle guards.
He pushed on through the forest, making his way toward the small clearing where he’d left his mount and let out a shrill whistle as they approached.
Instantly, branches cracked and snapped as his horse broke through the thick underbrush to get to his master.
Shadow appeared like an apparition in the gray cloak of night, his nostrils flared, and ears turned forward attentively as he barreled toward Hunter.
The animal slid to a halt in front of him and huffed out a breath as he stomped a hoof anxiously.
Shadow wouldn’t be happy to have an extra rider for their hasty withdrawal from the castle, but there was no other option.
Hunter swung up on Shadow’s back then held out an arm for Anora to leverage herself on to the horse’s back behind him.
She clasped her hand around his forearm but fumbled as she tried to get her foot into the stirrup to gain purchase.
He was about to get off the horse and throw her up into the saddle when she managed to secure her foot in the stirrup and sprung up to straddle Shadow behind him.
Hunter pivoted the mount and branches cracked with a pop as the animal’s big body cleared a path through the dense undergrowth. He avoided the road as he pushed Shadow through the forest to put more distance between them and the castle.
They’d not ridden far when Anora tugged on his tunic. “We cannot leave Willow!”
“Who is Willow?”
“My horse.”
He should have known she had a horse somewhere. His first instinct was to deny her request, but they would move faster if they each had a horse instead of doubled up on Shadow. “Where is she?”
“The road leading to the main gate.”
He felt his jaw drop. “You left your horse on the main road?”
“Don’t shout at me,” she chided.
“How did you plan to get to her? Walk out the front gate of the castle you weren’t supposed to be in to start with and ask the stable hand to bring it around?
” Hunter took her silence to mean that she heard clearly the disdain in his voice.
Had she been anyone else, he would have dumped her off his horse and let her retrieve the mount herself.
“Sarcasm? Now?” she asked, her tone loud with anger.
“Keep your voice down,” he commanded. “We are not out of danger. I wager there are guards on horseback galloping out of the front gate now.”
“Then we best hurry or they will get to Willow first. I will not leave her behind.”
He sighed in resignation because he knew he would bend to her will regardless of how foolish her demands.
“How far up the road did you leave her?” he grumbled.
He’d already turned in the direction of the main road when she said that was where her horse was tied, despite the imminent danger that awaited them.
“Perhaps a furlong up the road, no more.”
“Did you bother to hide her in the woods, or did you just leave her alongside the road?” The mare would likely whinny once she heard other horses in the vicinity and it wouldn’t matter how far away from the road she was tied.
“I’m not a complete dolt. She is in a hidden meadow out of sight of the road.”
He knew the place—as did everyone familiar with the area, who had even the slightest discerning eye.
There was a visible break in the trees from how often riders used the small clearing to take a bit of respite if not a guest at the castle.
“Prepare yourself for the probability they’ve already found her. ”
As they crested the hillock on the edge of the meadow, Hunter could hear horses as they approached on the main road. “We’ll have to leave her,” he declared. It was too much of a risk and the mare was not a trained warhorse—easy to replace in his mind.
“We will not!” Anora protested as he veered the horse away from the meadow.
Hunter groaned. He should have known she’d have a soft heart for her mare and would refuse to leave her pet behind.
Not that any harm would come to the horse.
She may not be a trained warhorse, but the mare still had value and would be added to the stable of horses at the castle.
“I’ll steal her back later, if she matters that much to you. ”
“Stop! I will not leave Willow behind.”
Hunter could feel Anora shifting her weight to jump from Shadow’s back.
He pulled up on the reins because he feared she would not hesitate to do something so foolish, even as the garrison of guards swarmed the forest around the castle looking for them.
Before she could dismount, he brought Shadow to a stop and swung a leg over the neck of the horse to jump to the ground “Get in the saddle and take the reins. I’ll get your damned horse.
Wait here and don’t go anywhere until I return but be ready to ride. ”
She scooted over the back of the saddle and took the reins from his hands. “What if you don’t return?”
He didn’t have time to answer the absurd question if he were going to retrieve the mare before the castle guards found her.
Were it not for Anora, he’d have completed his mission and been gone with no one the wiser.
As it was, he was breaking his hard-learned rules that made him the best at what he did: never get distracted from the mission; never let someone else jeopardize the mission; never get emotionally attached to the mission; leave no trace; never be afraid to sacrifice whatever necessary to avoid detection and capture.
Yet here he was, risking his hide to save a replaceable horse for the woman who sabotaged his mission because she nosed around where she didn’t belong.
If not for her, he would have done a more thorough search of the castle until he found solid evidence to prove the baron was creating alliances with Marcher lords known to be hostile to the king. The missive he found before their escape was helpful, but not the proof he needed.
The shouts of mounted guards carried over the meadow as orders were given for a small contingent to check the clearing for any sign of the intruders.
Hunter spotted the mare tied to a tree on the far edge of the clearing, closest to the road, and broke into a full run.
He cursed her inexperience for choosing an obvious place to leave her mare, for tying the horse instead of leaving it free and ready to escape—though in fairness, the mare was not trained to stay where left or come when beckoned—and for placing the horse on the end of the meadow nearest to the road instead of nearest to the escape route under the cover of the forest.
He broke the thin branch with the reins looped in a tangled mess around it, then threw the reins over the mare’s neck, branch and all.
He leapt up on her back as he turned her head sharply and nudged her hard in the flanks.
The shouting increased as the guards entered the meadow just as Hunter and Willow were bounding into the trees on the other side.
To his surprise, the mare was adequately agile and more fleet of foot than expected.