Ivar's Escape (Assassins of Gravas #2) - N.J. Walters Page 0,15

The driver’s head was down as he clicked his tongue to get the mulkey moving. The beast of burden was known for its ability to work hard while requiring little water. They could also be stubborn.

Delphi ran and used her momentum to jump to the wheel of the wagon and then onto the driver’s seat. She struck hard and fast, slamming the pommel of her knife into the driver’s head. He gave a short cry and toppled over. She caught him before he fell out of the wagon, jumped down, and was about to lower his body to the ground when she sensed someone behind her.

She whirled around with her blade in motion and barely stopped before jamming it into Ivar’s neck. He held his hands up. A thin line seeped blood from the shallow cut on his skin. She glared at him before slowly lowering the blade. “You could have died. And if you had, after all the trouble I’ve gone through to break you out, I’d kill you.”

His lips quirked but he nodded solemnly. “It won’t happen again.” He lowered the man to the ground. “Where do you want him?”

“Over there.” She removed the man’s cloak first. “Hurry.” They were too open here. Seconds later, he was back. She indicated the back of the wagon. “Get in.”

He wrinkled his nose. “I smell bad, but this is worse. What is this?”

“The refuse wagon.” The man went around at night, scooping up the garbage left outside people’s homes and carted it far away from the community. It was the one thing she could agree with Balthazar on. The inhabitants of Tortuga smelled bad enough without adding garbage to the mix.

Not that there was a whole lot of it as people tended to reuse and repurpose just about everything they could and sell what had any value.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered.

“Don’t be precious. Get in before you get us caught.” She vaulted to the driver’s seat and picked up the reins. She clicked her tongue in the exact manner the man had and the mulkey began to move.

The back of the wagon dipped as Ivar climbed in. They were barely around the turn from the prison when they were hailed. “Hey. Wait. I want this gone.”

Keeping her head lowered, she disguised her voice, making it low and rough. “Toss ’er in.” She barely slowed. Better to keep going. If she had to stop, the man would die for the sin of getting rid of the trash. And there’d already been enough bodies.

There was some swearing and then the back of the wagon dipped as though something large had been thrown in. She tensed, but Ivar didn’t cry out. Whatever had been tossed on the load, she hoped it hadn’t hit him.

They passed the edge of the town without being stopped again. As soon as the buildings were out of sight, she halted and jumped down. “This is where we get out.” She tapped the side of the wagon.

Ivar rolled out and gagged. “Thank the gods. I thought I’d die from the stench.”

It was pretty bad back there. Wearing the refuse man’s cloak over her own was bad enough. She whipped it off and placed it on the seat.

“What got thrown in? Sounded heavy.” Ivar rummaged around and raised his hand. “The bottom half of a barrel.”

“Huh, he could have burned the wood and used the staves.” Then the stench hit and Ivar dropped it. “He’s been using it in place of a toilet.”

She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing at the disgust in his voice.

“Thank the gods it didn’t land on me.”

“I have to get the wagon turned around.” Grabbing the mulkey’s harness, she clicked her tongue and guided the animal in a circle until it was facing back toward the town. A quick smack on his hindquarter had him moving off at a trot.

“What now?” he asked.

She peered up at the sky and gauged the time. They were cutting it close. “Now, we walk.”

Chapter Five

Exhaustion dragged at him, but he’d never admit it aloud. Putting one foot in front of the other, he followed Del. He inhaled the air, breathing in the fresh, clean scent. Okay, maybe not quite clean, but the stench was coming from him and not the air. After being stuck in prison for weeks and escaping in a refuse wagon, it was pure heaven.

“You holding up?” she asked, her gaze constantly moving. Good thing one of them was paying attention. His