Still, I kept staring at it, screwing up my eyes and trying to make the letters speak to me.
I continued to do so when a knock came at the door, Apollo grunted, “Come!” and I heard the door open. Apollo then commanded, “This one. Tie him up. Has the constable been called?”
“Yes, sir, and we’re searching for the horses,” a man’s voice replied.
“Good,” Apollo muttered but he sounded distracted and I knew the note had his attention again.
But as all this went on, somehow, some of the letters seemed to make sense to me, but mostly because they couldn’t be a coincidence.
“I think…” I began but trailed off.
“What?” Apollo asked.
“I think…” I repeated but said no more.
“Madeleine, what?” Apollo clipped, impatient.
“I, well, could this mean…?” I lifted a hand to point at the note, the tip of my finger sliding under the bottom line. “Ulfr, Ilsa at Treeburn Lodge, Vasterhague. And then the three other groups of letters. I don’t know…” I looked at the men on the floor then up at Apollo. “Maybe initials of first or last names of our attackers?”
He held my eyes, his jaw hard, then his gaze went back to the note.
Mine did too and they did this with me muttering, “But the top line. I don’t—”
I stopped talking abruptly and it felt like a cold hand squeezed my heart when it jumped out at me.
I knew Apollo got it at the same time, because he barked, “Leave him! Saddle our horses, now!”
“Sir?” the employee who was tying up the now groaning man on the floor asked.
“Horses. Immediately,” Apollo commanded and when the man didn’t move, he roared, “Now!”
The man jumped up and ran from the room.
My heart was now tripping over itself as Apollo grabbed my hand and yanked me into the bedroom.
“But…I don’t have a saddle,” I stupidly told his back.
He bent to pick up his scabbard from where I dropped it on the floor and let me go to buckle it on, stating, “It’s in the back of the sleigh.”
Oh.
Well then.
Still.
I felt frustration build, all of it concentrating in my neck, making it tight because, seriously, this world was awesome but there were times when cellphones would come in handy.
Like, big time, now.
“You need to go without me,” I whispered.
“I’ll not leave you unprotected,” he said, moving to his trunk and throwing it open.
That was very sweet. But it also wasn’t very smart.
“Honey, you’ll make better time if—”
He turned to me and the look on his face made me shut up.