feeling that if he lingered here, in the streets, he would soon be recognized. And when this mob recognized him, it would tear him to bits.
As Thor turned down street after street, his feet slipping in the mud of the cool summer night, he finally reached the stone wall of the outer ramparts. He stuck close, running alongside it, just beneath the eyes of the watchful soldiers who stood every few feet.
As he neared Reese’s window, he reached down and picked up a smooth rock. Luckily, the one weapon they had forgotten to strip him of was his old, trusted sling, and he extracted it from his waist, placed the stone, reached back, and hurled it.
With his flawless aim, Thor managed to send the stone flying over the castle wall and perfectly into the open-air window of Reese’s room. Thor heard the stone clack into the inner wall, then waited, ducking low along the wall to escape detection by the King’s guards, who flinched at the noise.
Nothing happened for several moments, and Thor’s heart dropped, as he wondered if Reese was not in his room after all. If not, Thor would have to flee this place; there was no other way for him to gain safe harbor. He held his breath, his heart pounding, as he waited, watching the opening by Reese’s window.
After what felt like an eternity, Thor was about to turn away, when he saw a figure lean his head out the window, brace both palms on the windowsill, and look around with a puzzled expression.
Thor stood, darting out several steps away from the wall, and waved one arm high.
Reese looked down and noticed him. Reese’s face lit up in recognition, visible in the torchlight even from here, and, Thor was relieved to see joy on his face. That told him all he needed to know: Reese would not turn him in.
Reese signaled for him to wait, and Thor hurried back to the wall, squatting low just as a guard turned his way.
Thor waited for he did not know how long, ready at any moment to flee from the guards, until finally Reese appeared, bursting through a door in the outer wall, breathing hard as he looked both ways and spotted Thor.
Reese hurried over and embraced him. Thor was overjoyed. He heard a squeaking, and looked down to see, to his delight, Krohn, bundled up in Reese’s shirt. Krohn nearly jumped out of the shirt as Reese reached down and handed him to Thor.
Krohn leapt into Thor’s arms as Thor hugged him back, whining and squealing and licking Thor’s face.
Reese smiled.
“When they took you away, he tried to follow you, and I took him to make sure he was safe.”
Thor clasped Reese’s forearm, in appreciation. Then he laughed, as Krohn kept licking him.
“I missed you too, boy,” Thor laughed, kissing him back. “Quiet now, or the guards will hear us.”
Krohn quieted, as if he understood.
“How did you escape?” Reese asked, surprised.
Thor shrugged. He did not quite know what to say. He still felt uncomfortable speaking about his powers, which he did not understand. He didn’t want others to think of him as some kind of freak.
“I got lucky I guess,” he responded. “I saw an opportunity and I took it.”
“I’m amazed a mob did not tear you apart,” Reese said.
“It’s dark,” Thor said. “I don’t think anyone recognized me. Not yet, anyway.”
“Do you know that every soldier in the kingdom is looking for you? Do you know that my father has been stabbed?”
Thor nodded, serious. “Is he okay?”
Reese’s face fell.
“No,” he answered, grim. “He is dying.”
Thor felt devastated, as if it were his own father.
“You know I had nothing to do with it, don’t you?” Thor asked, hopeful. He didn’t care what anyone else thought, but he needed his best friend, MacGil’s youngest son, to know that he was innocent.
“Of course,” Reese said. “Or else I would not be standing here.”
Thor felt a wave of relief, and clasped Reese on the shoulder gratefully.
“But the rest of the kingdom will not be so trusting as I,” Reese added. “The safest place for you is far from here. I will give you my fastest horse, a pack of supplies, and send you far away. You must hide out, until this all dies down, until they find the true killer. No one is thinking clearly now.”
Thor shook his head.
“I cannot leave,” he said. “That would make me seem guilty. I need others to know I did not do this. I cannot