Oath and Kingdom [The Swordbreaker Archives]

Chapter 14: The Goat and the Raven

 A hand grasped her mouth before she could scream. Another wrapped around her so she could not wriggle free, his elbow pressed into the wound at her collar. A figure stood above her, obscured by a black cloak. No eyes visible. He shifted her up and out onto the balcony, where an Aves swooped down and grabbed both of them.

Lynette never met an Aves before, and now one, along with an unknown assailant, was kidnapping her. Her vision heightened as adrenaline pumped through her.

She refused to let this happen again. If she died now, she would not live to see her dreams.

She felt herself grow heavy as she was lifted into the air. They flew over the wall and the moat, Lynette squirming the entire way. She swung hard, her feet colliding with something as she used their collective weight to throw off the Aves.

As they ascended over the orchards, she took one more swing, freeing herself from their grasp and plummeting to the ground. She caught a branch of one of the trees and made her way down to the ground with a thud.

She did not allow herself to get her bearings, quickly running towards the outer wall. She slipped into a small stream and through a wall gap in the grates. Loki and Lynette snuck out this way once before to visit his home. The only way off the castle grounds.

She ran for the woods, the wingbeats of the Aves not far behind. She veered into a thicker part of the woods, collecting her bearings as the Aves lost sight of her. Seeing an opportunity, she bolted for a familiar cabin.

Before she could reach the cabin, she spotted Loki in his favorite spot. A small platform hidden in the branches of a tree.

She slammed into the tree trunk, startling him as some of the branches shook. He poked his head over the side, startled to see her.

He quickly jumped down, landing gracefully next to her. "What are you doing outside of the castle walls? It is dangerous out here."

"I was captured but I managed to free myself in the orchards and made my way here. It is me they are after. They are still around so we do not have much time."

"Wait, what are we going to do? My dad is pretty drunk. I do not think he could fight a child."

"Then we need to run. If the castle is not safe, then nowhere is. We need to run, and keep running."

Loki nodded, unable to process the information for a brief moment. He took her by the hand, leading her to the stable around the back. "We need a horse. I can not afford to take more than one, so we will have to ride together."

Loki quickly ran into the stable and grabbed a horse and bridled it. He quickly mounted, pulling her up behind him. They started north, running through the soft forest hills as fast as the horse could take them.

As Loki steered the horse, Lynette watched for the Aves and any signs of anyone in pursuit on horseback. She could see movement far off as the Aves tried to follow, but this horse was use to the woods. He could easily navigate through them.

The Aves quickly lost sight of them through the trees and veered off another way. Lynette could hear them through the woods, but their voices softened with distance. Loki shifted slightly, pushing his horse in a different direction.

"They will expect us to go to the next village. Luckily I know a place hidden in the woods. We sometimes store food there for the winter. I will look for the carriage entrance and we can hide in there for a while."

Lynette nodded. "We need to figure out what to do. The king will know by now. I could not see what they did to get there, but there are certainly a few dead guards.