The Legacy of Mount Drood

Chapter 27

Consiflore had watched the battle between Rodney, Prize and one of the attackers from beneath a rotting log only twenty feet away. Petrified, he squeezed his eyes tight shut and bit hard on his finger to keep from making any sound, shivering from the imagined torture of the tiny grubs and insects that crawled about him.

When the other men arrived and left, he dragged himself from beneath the log and was about to run when he heard William's cry, and dropped back to the ground. Getting his hands on the stones and the key seemed less important than preserving his own skin, and to that end, he slithered backward until he was far enough away to leave unnoticed and headed in the opposite direction of all the others.

For the first time, Hella felt completely helpless. The man she had instructed her soldiers to abuse for her casual entertainment was now returning the deed with a perverse glee. Her men lay dead about her and Captain Gar seemed careless of her plight, watching unemotionally as Bully Bill, from his roost in her royal chair, forced her to beg for his favour on her hands and knees.

"I'm waitin', Your 'ighness." He prodded her head with the toe of his boot. "Wot's everybody chasin' then? There some kinda treasure buried 'ere abouts?"

"You're making a grave mista—"

"HAH! Ol' Bill h'aint made no mistake, m'lady. Treasure or no, I can still make all this worthwhile by keepin' you as a pet back at the Den. Would ya like that, eh? Would ya like bein' with ol' Bill back at the Den?" He let loose an ugly laugh and hooked his toe roughly under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

Hella cracked. The faintest thought of having to endure the likes of Bully Bill under any circumstances tipped her beleaguered mind over the brink. She grabbed his foot, and shrieking like a demented witch, dragged him, snorting with surprise, out of the chair and onto the ground where he smacked his head noisily on the cobblestones.

Instantly, Gar shook the loose rope from his hands and snatching his sword, leaped up, grabbing the nearest man by the neck and twisting until he heard it snap. The other two made the fatal error of pausing to choose which assault to counter, and while they dithered, they died—two quick blows from Gar's sword put an end to their hesitation.

He turned to the pair struggling on the ground just in time to see Hella, still shrieking madly, plunge Bill's bit of branch straight into his throat, twisting frantically as though stirring a pot of stew. After a moment, she stopped screaming, sagged forward, her face close to Bill's surprised eyes, and then fell sideways to the ground beside him.

"Commendable performance, Your Majesty, I'm very impressed."

Hella squinted up at the huge figure looming over her, struggling to organize her thoughts. "Since you still use the respectful form of address, I assume you still view me as your Queen." She extended her hand. "Help me up, Captain."

Gar chuckled, hesitated, then reached down and pulled her to her feet. In the evening dusk, the cut on her face looked black and ugly, much, he imagined as his own did without the patch. They stood and stared at one another silently, each taking the other's measure.

"He seemed to know you, an old beau perhaps?" Gar kicked at the lifeless form of Bill.

"Our paths crossed earlier. I warned him then about underestimating me." She gave Gar a defiant look.

"We seem to suffer similar fools." His reply shook her slightly.

"Your Majesty! Thank the gods you're safe." Consiflore staggered into the square wiping the sweat of fear and exertion from his flushed face. "I've managed to vanquish some of the villains back there." He boasted deceitfully, tipping his head back "Captain, you must rally the men immediately, the Queen needs to be moved to a safe place." He approached the pair, bowing deeply to Hella.

"I'd be a bit of a magician to rally this lot," Gar laughed, waving his sword around the square.

The Count looked stricken. "This is- is all our men- our soldiers?"

"You don't look too worse for wear from 'vanquishing', dear Count." Hella probed. "What happened to you when the fighting started here?"

Consiflore flushed, his eyes darting between the two. "I- I uh- I chased them- those two, the ones with the key- they- they..." He waved a limp hand toward the trees.

"They got away."

"No! Uh... yes, well they did. But I saw your friend," he turned accusingly toward Gar, "slay the woman, Prize."

Gar huffed an angry breath. He would have enjoyed that opportunity himself. Still, Rodney was out there somewhere and Mount Drood wasn't large enough to keep him hidden. "What of the others?"

"I- I saw the two from Graf- and the Huth. I think they saw Rodney... and uh..." He waved his hand as though fanning away his thoughts. Consiflore detested having to answer for his actions.

"What is our plan?" Hella demanded of the two men before her.

*****

"I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Me too!" The two women hugged one another tightly for security. "We didn't know what to do."

William and Jep clasped hands and breathed a sigh of relief over finding the other unharmed. Mokum came in for some thankful hugs as well, pleased to be included in such an emotionally rewarding ritual. They went on to relate their individual experiences since fleeing the courtyard, finishing with an inventory of personnel.

"What of Derrick?" Jep asked.

"He was with us in the courtyard. I thought he followed us when we fled." William shrugged helplessly.

"Who were those people? What happened back there?" Gwendolise felt her frustration growing with each step of the journey.

"They were denizens of a place called the Robber's Den. Mary and I spent an unfortunate night there while we were following you."

"But why- what—"

"William broke his nose protecting me," Mary broke in, boasting proudly. Jep cocked an eyebrow at his friend.

"It was more luck than skill. He was- he threatened Mary. We ran and hid with an old man for the night. He helped us escape in the morning. I think Queen Hella must have taken the same route as we did and she ran into the leader, Bully Bill. He was one of the attackers. I'll wager they're after the stones too."

"Yikes!" Jep slapped his forehead. "The stones- and the Key! Where are they? What happened to them?"

William slid the box from his coat and handed it to Jep." Thank Mokum. He rescued it from the courtyard."

"Derrick was the one," Mokum protested. "He hid with it after the ambush by that- that—Gar." His tiny body shook with unrestrained ire.

"So Derrick led Hella to Balfour! Of course! He figured it was the only way to help us—by setting them at one another's throats." William wiped his chin, nodding. "It nearly worked too. If that Bully Bill hadn't blundered in."

"Excuse me, gentlemen. Just what is our plan now?" Gwendolise inquired, eyebrows climbing.