Red Heir - Lisa Henry Page 0,41

into his room and peered carefully out the window that overlooked the entrance to the stable yard. He only caught a glimpse of the men on horseback heading for the front entrance, but a glimpse was all he needed: soldiers.

“Shit.” He motioned for Cue to shut and latch the door.

Someone banged on the door downstairs. “Crown Guard! Open up!”

Loth pushed the window open and peered down into the stable yard. “How hard does that ground look to you, Cue?”

Cue looked at the ground, and looked at Loth, and then looked at the ground again. “There’s only one way to find out.”

“Good boy,” Loth said, and then they jumped.

Chapter Ten

Loth and Cue darted into the trees surrounding the inn’s yard and then ducked down into the undergrowth and watched. Calarian slung a long, shapely leg over the windowsill, and slipped as smoothly and silently down the outside of the inn as a trickle of water. He barely made a sound when he landed in a crouch in the dirt. Then he stood and reached back for Ada, the first time Loth had seen her at any type of disadvantage through her lack of height. But she didn’t hesitate, falling into Calarian’s careful arms, and he lowered her gracefully to the ground.

Dave and Scott had been in an attic room. Dave dropped from the window like a rock but seemed none the worse for wear. Pie, sitting on Loth’s shoulder, chirped happily to see Dave land safely.

Scott wobbled on the attic windowsill, tipped into space, changed his mind and veered backwards, scrabbled for a hold, and then, with a loud cry of “Catch me, Dave!” launched himself forward, arms spread wide. “AAARRGH!”

Dave stepped neatly sideways, and Scott’s thin scream was cut off with a thump when he hit the ground. Dave stood next to him, arms firmly at his sides, and let out an unconvincing, “Sorry. Missed.”

Loth would have laughed if he hadn’t been so busy trying not to get caught.

Calarian nudged Scott with the toe of his boot curiously, his hands on his hips.

Ada jogged towards the tree line with Dave ambling along beside her. Calarian jogged after them.

“Hey,” Calarian said, settling into the undergrowth beside Loth and Cue. “You guys made it.”

He held out his hand for a fist bump, and both Loth and Cue obliged.

Over by the inn, Scott groaned.

“Oh, he’s not dead then,” Dave said.

“Nah.” Calarian sounded disappointed.

Loth sighed. “You know we’re going to have to rescue him. If the soldiers find him and he’s not dead, he’ll sell us out in a heartbeat.”

Calarian raised a single brow. “We could give him a moment. See if he succumbs to his injuries?”

Over by the inn wall, Scott staggered to his feet. “You guys?” he yelled, peering around in the gathering darkness. “Where are you guys?”

“That fucking idiot,” Ada muttered. “Dave, go and grab him before the soldiers hear him.”

Dave lumbered out of the tree line like a bull. He charged at Scott, grabbed him, and tucked him under his arm before lumbering back into the trees. Dave had only stepped back into the trees when the first of the soldiers appeared in the yard.

Fuck.

So much for getting the horses from the stables then.

As silently as they could, thankful for nightfall, they slipped further into the trees.

“What now?” Ada asked in an undertone. “We can’t stay on the road now, and we don’t even have a map.”

Cue lifted his chin. “I... I might know a place.”

Loth lost track of time, but he thought they walked for about half an hour, following a twisting trail through the dark woods. Cue led the way, with Pie fluttering around his head like a manic firefly. He stopped a few times, his forehead creasing as though he was trying to remember the way.

“It looks different at night,” he said once, before choosing a fork in the path.

Loth really hoped he actually knew what he was doing, but he wasn’t very optimistic. And then, just when he was about to suggest that Cue was leading them in circles, the trees opened up and Loth saw it:

It was a manor house, built of dark stone that gleamed in the moonlight. It must have been magnificent at one point. The grounds were overgrown, one whole wall had been overtaken entirely by creeping ivy, and at least one of the chimney stacks had collapsed. It was clear that the house was abandoned; there was no light coming from inside.

Loth’s boots crunched against broken roof tiles as the group