Robin Hood | Thief of Skandia

Chapter 7 (Escaping)

Song: Kill the Director by The Wombats

They reached the crest of the hill and Halt paused to look back. Erak stopped beside him, but he grabbed the bigger man's arm and shoved him roughly towards the two tethered horses.

'Keep going!' he yelled.

'I tethered my horse a few yards away from here, I'll catch up to you guys.' Robin shouted as she sprinted away.

In the valley below them, she could hear alarm horns sounding and, faintly, the sound of shouting. Closer to hand, on the slope of the hill below, she could see movement among the trees as those Temujai who had been concealed in listening posts around the hillside now broke cover and headed uphill in pursuit of the two intruders.

'Damned hornets' nest,' Robin muttered to herself as she untethered her horse. She estimated that there must be at least half a dozen riders on the hill below him, heading upwards. A larger party was obviously forming in the camp itself, with a view to heading round the base of the hill and catching them between two pursuing forces.

She was confident the ranger and his horse would be able to outrun them easily. But, burdened by the Skandian, she wasn't so sure. She'd seen the man's skill as a rider – which was virtually non-existent. Erak seemed to stay in the saddle by virtue of an enormous amount of willpower, and precious little else. Robin knew that she would have to come up with some kind of delaying tactic, to slow the pursuit down and give the two time to make it back to the larger Skandian force.

Strangely, although she had threatened to kill him yesterday, the thought of abandoning the Skandian or even Halt to the pursuing Temujai riders never occurred to her.

'Get going!' he yelled. 'Go! Go! Go!' Robin heard Halt yell to Erak as she rounded the corner.

Erak needed no second bidding. She saw him wheel the horse to face downhill, swaying dangerously out to one side as he did so and managing to retain his seat only by grabbing at the mane and gripping with his powerful legs round the horse's barrel of a body. Then, half in and half out of the saddle, he drove the former Temujai mount down the slope, skidding and sliding in the soft wet snow, swerving dangerously among the trees. At one stage, Erak neglected to duck as the horse drove under the snow-laden lower branches of a huge pine. There was an explosion of snow and both horse and rider emerged coated in thick white powder.

Halt swung smoothly into Abelard's saddle and the little horse spun neatly, moving at a dead gallop almost before he could draw breath. Halt sat easily as Abelard slid, checked, skidded and regained his footing, gaining on the other horse and rider with every stride.

He'll be lucky to survive another fifty metres, Robin thought, as Erak's mount, half out of control, swerved and skidded and slipped among the trees. It seemed only a matter of time before both horse and rider collided full tilt with one of the large pine trunks.

Halt urged Abelard to a greater effort and the horse responded instantly. They drew level with the plunging horse and rider and Halt, leaning down to one side, was able to grab the trailing reins. Erak had long since abandoned them and was clinging for dear life to the saddle bow.

Now, at least, Halt could exercise some small control over the headlong plunging of the other horse. Abelard, sure-footed and agile, led them through the trees and Halt left the choice to him entirely. Robin following close behind. The lead rein jerked and tugged at his arm but he clung to it desperately, forcing the other horse to follow in Abelard's tracks. Abelard, as he had been trained to do, chose the most direct and, at the same time, the clearest path down the mountain. They were two-thirds of the way down now and Halt was beginning to feel more positive about their chances of escape when he heard shouting and the sound of those damned horns from the hill crest behind them. He glanced quickly back but the thickly growing trees obscured his view. Nonetheless, he knew that the sudden burst of sound heralded the appearance of the pursuing Temujai at the top of the mountain.

A thin branch whipped across Robin's face, bringing tears to her eyes and punishing her for taking her eyes from the direction she was heading. She shook her head to get rid of the accompanying shower of snow that the branch had brought with it.

Halt turned to encourage the man. 'Keep hanging on!' he yelled and the Skandian promptly did exactly the opposite, releasing his grip with one hand so that he could wave an acknowledgement.

'Don't worry about me!' he yelled. 'I'm doing fine!'

Robin shook her head. 'I've seen sacks of potatoes that could sit a horse better than you' She called out, verbalising what Halt had been thinking. Erak's angry reply was taken out of his breath as his mount swerved. They wondered how the Skandian ever managed to keep his feet on the heaving deck of a wolfship. The trees were thinning around them now, she noticed. Then she heard the braying note of one of the Temujai horns out to their left and realised that the first of the parties coming round the base of the mountain from the encampment must be close to heading them off. It would be a near-run thing, she thought and smiled, now this was why she came to Skandia.

Robin looked to Halt who had just sent his shaggy horse bounding even faster. In front she heard a startled yell from Erak as he nearly lost his seat again. Another quick glance told her that the Skandian was still mounted, and they broke out onto the level ground between the hills.