The Robber Knight's Secret

53. Thunder at the Doors

"Do you take me for a fool, Captain?"

"N-no, Sir, certainly not."

"Then answer this question yourself. Did I know?"

"Yessir! Of course you did, Sir!"

"Very good. Now let's move on to what's important, shall we?"

"Um... the Margrave trying to distract us isn't important?"

"Not really. The important question is not whether or not he's trying to distract us. The important question is: what is he trying to distract us from? Soldier!"

Linhart jumped. Unlike Reuben, he hadn't noticed the soldier coming up behind them. Reuben turned to face the man, who was panting from running.

"Where?" he asked, simply.

"The attacks occurred in the south, south-east and north, Sir."

"Ah, I see." He nodded thoughtfully. "Just as I thought."

"Well, I don't see," Linhart admitted, frowning. "What are they doing?"

"The south, south-east and north, Captain. Think! Whatever they want to distract us from must be in the west. What's in the west?"

"The setting sun?"

Reuben smiled grimly. "That, and the castle gates."

"But they can't get through the gates with ladders and grappling hooks anymore they could beat down a wall with them!"

"No," Reuben agreed, "they certainly couldn't. Not with grappling hooks. Be silent."

"What—"

"Be silent, I say!"

Linhart immediately quit breathing, and all the other men on the wall followed suit. Reuben plucked an unlit torch out of its bracket on the outside of the north tower, and closed his lids. He strained his ears, and there it was again, the faint squeaking and scuffling that betrayed them, even in the dark. They were far too close for comfort already.

"Shield your eyes!"

Striking a flint against the wall, Reuben caught the spark on the torch without looking. Pressing his eyes more tightly shut against the sudden flare of light, he focused more closely on his surroundings. The wind still came from the same direction, conveying the noise, pointing the way.

"Yah!"

With a roar, Reuben tossed the torch into the air. He waited just two seconds before he opened his eyes. Already, the torch was a tiny spot of light in the vast blackness around them, spinning through the air like a firefly caught in a storm. All the Luntberg soldiers were staring at him, complete incomprehension on their faces—at least until they heard the shouts from down below.

With deep satisfaction, Reuben watched how the upturned faces of several dozen enemy soldiers, just a moment ago hidden in the darkness, appeared in the glowing radius around the torch that was plummeting towards the ground. With a thunk it hit the roof of a large wooden construction they had been rolling uphill towards the castle, and bounced off, coming to rest in the dirt.

"Shoot them!" Reuben bellowed. Quite a few of his supposed warriors continued to stare at him, dumbfounded. But at least two dozen men and women raised their crossbows and fired. Several of the enemy soldiers fell to the ground, clutching wounds.

"Go on! Again! Shoot them! Shoot them all before they get that blasted thing up here!" Reuben strode along the line of his fighters, shaking those who hadn't grasped the situation yet out of their daze. "Shoot them, or I'll cut off your balls and feed them to the pigs!"