Page 20

Chapter 20

Avery

S omething bright and insistent and unpleasant shot through Avery. She was warm and sleepy. She didn’t want sharp awareness to pierce through her cozy cocoon of unconsciousness. Not when it brought irritating sound and aching pains in seemingly every muscle.

“Nuisance bird!” an angry voice shouted nearby.

The mocking laugh of a parrot responded, moving through the air above her. Was that Frank?

She pried her eyes open a slit, still not willing to move. Who was yelling at him? It didn’t sound like Elliot.

“Worst part of Glandore, those awful birds,” a male voice muttered. “Even worse than the infernal roses everywhere.”

Awareness flooded in, increasing her aches. Avery barely bit back a groan. The name of the owner’s voice came back to her—Clyde. Or as she thought of him, the thickest of the three abductors. They had seemed thrown by ending up with two women instead of one and had debated what to do with her and Mattie for long enough that she’d learned their names. The other minion was Ty—also known as the lazy one—and the leader was Rene. She had not, however, learned why they had been abducted.

As soon as sleeping potion during the ride had been suggested, she had known it would turn out unpleasantly. But even so—how long had she been flopping around on horseback to feel this achy?

She subtly sniffed the air. Was that salt? Had they made it all the way to the sea? No wonder her body was protesting. There was a limit to how long you could keep someone unconscious with sleeping potion, so they must have ridden night and day to reach it so quickly.

She stirred slightly, keeping her movement small and her eyes slitted. To her surprise, she didn’t feel any bonds. Apparently they trusted in their sleeping potion more than they should have.

She moved her head slightly and caught a whiff of something that drove off the last of the fog in her brain. It almost smelled like…tea! It took everything Avery had not to sit bolt upright at the realization.

There was a sachet of Mattie’s tea lying on the ground near her face, half-hidden in her hair. But where had it come from? Was Mattie awake?

But if Avery moved her head slightly, she could see Mattie lying still on the ground beside her.

“Incompetent fools!” a familiar parrot voice called from the distance—apparently the bird was getting in one last insult as he flew away.

“Frank,” she breathed, finally realizing where the tea must have come from.

He had dropped it by her head, thus enabling her to wake up earlier than expected. Did that mean Elliot was nearby?

Her blood quickened at the idea of allies. But Frank flew faster than Nutmeg could run—at least for any sustained length of time. So further help might still be some way off. She had to assume she was on her own.

She wiggled her toes, flexing her right leg in her boot. It pressed against something hard, and she bit back a smile. Secure in the efficacy of the sleeping potion, their abductors hadn’t even bothered to give them a thorough search for weapons. Or perhaps they had thought that anything hidden in someone’s boot was too small to be a danger.

She tried opening her eyes slightly wider and was momentarily distracted by the sight of the ocean. It was all she could do not to gasp. She had seen it before, of course, but its vastness always struck her afresh every time.

Apparently, her three abductors were equally taken with the water. It wasn’t yet dark, but they were sitting on the sand in a loose semi-circle around a small campfire, all three of them facing toward the sea. The sand continued for only a short way behind them before turning into grass. They had hobbled the horses on the edge of the green, the packs and the two unconscious captives dumped with them.

Avery smiled. She still had no idea why they’d been abducted in the first place, but finally something was working in her favor.

She wiggled around slowly and carefully, ready at any moment to freeze and feign sleep. Finally she managed to grasp the small pouch of tea in her teeth. The scent wafting from it made her eyes sting, but at least she was no longer in the slightest danger of falling back asleep.

She flung her head, tossing the pouch the short distance toward Mattie. Her aim was off, and Avery held her breath as she waited to see if it was close enough. Slowly, however, Mattie began to stir, catapulting Avery into action.

Up until that point, she’d been holding her basic position in case any of the abductors turned around. But with Mattie on her way to consciousness, it was better to seize the element of surprise in case Mattie woke more noisily than Avery had done.

Sitting upright, she retrieved the herbalist’s dagger in a single, smooth movement. Despite her speed, she tried to move quietly, not wanting to give herself away earlier than necessary.

None of the abductors noticed her small movements over the sound of the waves, and even a series of sighs from Mattie didn’t rouse them.

Avery shook her head. They had hurried too fast to the coast and must now have been nearly as sore as, and more tired than, she was.

Mattie’s eyes flickered open, and Avery stared at her, a dramatic finger pressed to her lips in a gesture of silence. Mattie’s eyes widened, and she nodded.

Avery rolled into a crouch, creeping toward the fire and the men around it. With the herbalist’s dagger, she only needed to get the smallest scratch on each of them, and their roles would be reversed. But as soon as the men realized what was happening and drew their swords, getting that scratch with her tiny dagger would prove difficult. She could throw it, but the moment she did that, she lost control of it, so that was only a last resort.

The loud crash of a particularly large wave made her flinch, but it also covered the final sounds of her approach. Rene was sitting in the center, and she approached behind him, plunging the tiny blade into the back of his right shoulder.

Rene gave a shout, surging to his feet, but he didn’t make it all the way. His cry died, and he sank back down to sit in the sand again. Two breaths later, he keeled over sideways and began to snore.

But Avery’s advantage was well and truly lost. Both Clyde and Ty had leaped up with outraged cries, drawing swords from their waists.

Avery swallowed, shifting her grip on her tiny dagger. Her eyes flicked between the two men, unsure which to tackle first or how to approach them.

The two stalked around the fire from opposite directions, closing in on her. She backed away, her mind racing but no solutions presenting themselves.

Loud, angry cawing made them all flinch and look up. Frank shot toward Clyde in a blur of yellow, green, blue, and red. Avery cried a warning as Clyde swung his sword at the parrot, but Frank was already pulling away.

As soon as Clyde turned back to Avery, however, the parrot dove again. Seeing her opportunity, Avery ran toward the distracted man. He was bellowing and cursing, waving his sword wildly through the air as he tried to fend off Frank’s beak and claws.

As Frank plummeted again, Avery also dove forward, the hand with the dagger extended. As Clyde slashed through the air, trying to cut Frank, she stabbed the tip of the dagger through his clothing into the side of his calf.

Clyde gave a bellow that slowly lost force. He swayed, trying to slash at both her and Frank with the sword and failing at both due to the unsteadiness of his hand. Avery spun, knowing her focus on Clyde had left her back open to Ty.

But when she turned, Ty wasn’t looming over her. Scrambling to her feet, she found him laid out, groaning, on the sand. Mattie strode over to join Avery, a look of satisfaction on her face.

Avery raised her eyebrows at her, and Mattie grinned. “If they didn’t want a braining, they shouldn’t have left their pots lying around so handy.”

Avery laughed as she caught sight of a black saucepan in the sand near Ty’s head. Apparently Mattie was an excellent throw.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Actually, I want to apologize,” Mattie said. “You’ve had to go through all this just because you visited me at the wrong time. Besides, I think you’re the one we have to thank.” Mattie looked from the two sleeping men to the dagger in Avery’s hand, one eyebrow rising.

“It was a gift,” she said. “From?—”

Mattie held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. The official roving merchant policy on Oakdenian treated blades doesn’t apply until I have definite information. And I’m fairly certain both of those men just thought this was a good moment for a nap.”

Avery’s lips twitched. “Indeed. An understandable mistake on their parts.” She paused, her smile escaping a little as she looked at Mattie. “Do you think Ty might also be feeling sleepy?” She raised the dagger’s blade and wiggled it a little.

“You know,” Mattie said contemplatively, “I think he might be. He has just ridden a long way almost without break, after all.”

“I’ll just make sure he’s comfortable.” Avery moved toward him, making sure to kick his sword out of his reach on the way.

But as she crouched over him, the thunder of hooves reached her ears. She paused, looking up. It was possible Rene and his men had stopped here because they were meeting someone, but she hoped?—

Elliot and Nutmeg streaked into view, and she beamed, some of the tension that still remained in her shoulders melting away. They were all together again, as they should be.

She blinked at the thought, unsettled by it. She was Avery—the solitary roving merchant. She couldn’t feel alone and incomplete without a companion by her side—let alone a companion who wanted nothing more than to buy a house and live in it for the rest of his life.

But there was no sign of anything settled or boring in Elliot’s face as he leaped from Nutmeg’s back while she was still moving, landing on his feet and sprinting toward Avery. His expression blazed with a combination of relief and warning, and for a heady moment, Avery thought he was going to sweep her into his arms.

But as he dove to his knees, sliding through the sand toward her, his hand came around her wrist, halting the progress of her dagger toward the still-groaning Ty.

“Wait!” he cried. “Don’t stab him.”

Avery frowned at him. He’d dashed in to protect her attackers?

Before she could grow too irritated, he continued.

“Unless you already have all the answers we want, keep one of them awake.”

Oh. Avery pulled her hand back. She should have thought of that herself.

“They must have some rope,” Elliot called to Mattie. “See if you can find me a length.”

He hauled Ty to his feet, keeping the man’s arms in a restraining grip behind his back. Ty protested weakly but from the way he staggered and shook his head, he was still confused from the direct hit he’d taken.

Mattie had no trouble locating rope, and they soon had all three of them securely bound, including the still sleeping Rene and Clyde. Avery had no idea how long they would remain asleep, but the dose from the dagger’s blade couldn’t be strong, so she wasn’t taking any risks.

As soon as he had finished tying the last of them, Elliot stood and strode toward her. The fire was back in his eyes, and she nearly backed away. But Avery of the roving merchants wasn’t a coward—even when it came to emotions she wasn’t ready to acknowledge.

Elliot didn’t break stride until he was close enough to wrap both arms around her and pull her hard against his chest. He held her against him with one hand, cradling the back of her head with the other as he rested his cheek against her hair. Despite the tension between them, and the strength of his hands, she felt him relax, breathing out a deep sigh.

“I was so worried,” he murmured. “Are you hurt?”

Avery let herself sink into his embrace, trying to blink back the tears that pricked at her eyes. Was this moment what she had hoped for when she told Elliot to follow them? When had his arms started to feel like the safest place she could imagine?

“I’m a bit sore from the pace of the journey,” she said softly. “But I’m all right.” She drew back, suddenly wanting to see his face. “But what about you? You must have ridden just as hard to keep pace with us on your own! Is Nutmeg…” She looked toward the grass, glad for an excuse to escape the intensity and warmth in Elliot’s gaze.

“She’s fine,” he said. “I pushed her hard, but we were equally eager to find you.”

Nutmeg gave a loud whinny in time with his words, making Avery laugh weakly. Her mare was either following their conversation, or she was rallying the other horses.

Her gaze moved back to the sand, catching on Mattie who was watching them with amusement but not an ounce of surprise. Avery’s arms shot out, pushing Elliot back as she quickly stepped away herself.

She cleared her throat, considering possible excuses. But they all sounded too weak to be uttered aloud, so instead she raised her head and turned toward Ty.

Elliot stepped forward before she could say anything, however, and shoved Ty, sending him stumbling backward until he lost his balance and sat down hard in the sand.

“Unlike you, I have no interest in hostages,” he said in a harder voice than Avery had ever heard him use. “But I’ll take some if necessary and see how you like being dragged across a kingdom. Or you could tell us why you broke into the record keeper’s hall and kidnapped two women. If I find your answer convincing, we’ll leave you and your friends here and ride away without looking back.” He leaned in, his face threatening. “Which is an outcome to be hoped for, believe me.”

“That sounds too soft to me,” Mattie said. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to just leave them here?”

She was staring at Ty with narrowed eyes, and the man seemed more intimidated by her than he was by Elliot and Avery combined.

“String him up and throw away the key,” Frank squawked, making Ty flinch again.

“I think you mean…” Avery gave up on her explanation. They were never well received by the bird.

“We were paid,” Ty said, not even attempting to put up any resistance. “Same as why we always do things.”

Elliot leaned over and seized his collar, pulling him up slightly. “Paid by who?”

Ty shrugged. “That I don’t know. Rene might know. Or he might not. I don’t ask for details. All I know is that we were supposed to stop the merchant woman from returning to Bolivere. I don’t even know which woman is the one we wanted.” He looked at Avery and Mattie, but his eyes didn’t hold much interest. Clearly he thought the trouble of the job had overtaken the pay.

“Bolivere!?” Avery looked apologetically at Mattie. “My apologies, it looks like we had it wrong. You’re the one who has suffered because of me.”

“How intriguing.” Mattie looked at Ty with disgust. “And what were you planning to do to us to prevent Avery returning to Bolivere?”

“No need to look like that,” Ty said, disgruntled. “We weren’t going to kill you or nothing. We could have done that just outside the capital, if that was our plan.” He shook his head. “I don’t hold with killing, and neither does Clyde.”

For a minute Avery wondered if she’d slightly misjudged him, and then he added, “Brings too much attention from the guards. No amount of pay is worth being locked up for the rest of our lives—what good would the money do then, hey?”

“No good at all,” Mattie said dryly.

Elliot stepped away from Ty, drawing the two women in for a quiet exchange out of earshot of their captive.

“We’re not near any villages or towns out here. We could try to take them with us, but three captives is a large number for only the three of us.”

“They’ve already lost their pay,” Mattie said decisively. “Leave their hands tied, and set their horses free—with their packs tied to their backs. They can get an experience of the discomfort they handed out to us.”

Elliot looked at Avery, clearly thinking that the two abducted women deserved the final say.

“Seems reasonable to me,” she said cheerfully.

Ty’s manner had been convincing, and if they weren’t setting the men free to go murdering their way across the kingdom, she didn’t want to be saddled with them any longer.

“Gut the lot of them!” Frank squawked, making Ty edge backward in the sand.

“He’s a very bloodthirsty parrot,” Elliot said with a frown at him. “But I’ll admit he earned his spot in your rescue. He was the one who packed the sachet of tea.”

“Well, color me surprised,” Mattie said. “I always thought he was a useless bag of feathers. It’s good to keep learning new things, though. Keeps you young.” She brushed her hands together, clearly done with the whole situation. “Shall we be on our way, then?”

Avery nodded quickly. “I have no desire to talk with either of the other two. Let’s leave before they wake up. If we head north, we’ll find the hamlet where my uncle and aunt now live. After what Ty said, I don’t want any more delays reaching Bolivere, so I don’t think we should backtrack to the capital and the river.” She sent Mattie an apologetic look. “But Uncle Ewan and Aunt Sylvia will be able to put you up comfortably and organize safe passage back to your home. They might even accompany you after what just happened. The roving merchants will want to look into how the abductors broke into the record-keeping hall so easily—and how they even knew I was there in the first place.”

“You’re not curious about either of those things?” Mattie asked, sounding as if she already knew the answer.

“Of course I am,” Avery said. “But I’m more concerned about Bolivere right now. My aunt and uncle will also be able to give me and Elliot fresh supplies, so we’ll all benefit from a visit to them.”

Elliot looked interested at the prospect of meeting her family, and Mattie expressed relief at getting to the closest roving merchant home as quickly as possible, so the three of them set to work.

Elliot and Mattie selected mounts from among the hobbled horses, keeping them to one side while they secured the abductors’ packs to the backs of the remaining horses before setting them free and driving them off in all directions.

Ty attempted to protest but was reminded by Frank—in grisly detail—of what his fate could still be instead. The list of possibilities effectively shut down any further protests.

The three of them were soon riding away from the beach together, Frank soaring overhead. Even keeping to a sedate pace, they made much better progress on horseback than they would have on foot and had soon left the abductors far behind.

Part of Avery felt concerned about leaving the men free, but Elliot had made a good point. It wouldn’t have been a simple matter for the three of them to handle three prisoners, and neither would her aunt and uncle’s hamlet be equipped to detain them.

The risk from leaving them free was worth it not to be delayed further. Knowing the men had been hired to keep her from reaching Bolivere only made her more anxious to get there, and their unplanned trip to the coast had taken them far off route.