Elinor. Bettina, Catriona, Hannah, and Peter each carried a large canvas bag filled with strips of linen for tying and gagging their prisoners. Elinor’s canvas bag was filled with paper, pen, and ink, along with the six spider pictures she’d drawn. She had also strapped on her sword belt.
Nevis had his usual sword at his hip and two knives in his boots. As they strode through the forest toward the castle, they passed by the hole they had dug to hide any confiscated weapons they couldn’t use. They stopped at the edge of the forest, close to the guardhouse.
The thirty guards worked in two shifts—fifteen guarding during the day and the other fifteen at night. So right now, the night-shift guards were inside the house sleeping.
“Ready, Elam? Kurt?” Nevis asked the boys and they nodded. Kurt dashed behind some trees to undress and soon a dark gray bunny came hopping out from beneath the bushes.
The three of them darted toward the guardhouse. Nevis hid around the corner, while Elam and Kurt approached the door. It was a long, rectangular building with many windows, but fortunately all the shutters were closed so the guards inside could sleep during the day.
Elam knocked on the door.
Standing close to a shutter, Nevis could hear some rustling noises inside as the guards stirred.
“Go away!” one of the guards yelled.
Elam pounded even harder on the door.
“Dammit,” one of the guards growled. “Sheldon, go see who it is.”
“Why me?” a whiny voice answered.
“Because I told you to!”
“Aye, Captain,” Sheldon grumbled.
As the guard shuffled toward the door, Nevis moved to the building’s corner and from his boot, he drew a knife that had a hard metal knob on the handle.
Sheldon opened the door and let out a big yawn. “Why the hell did you wake us up?”
“Quentin is missing!” Elam said in a frantic voice. “He didn’t come to work today.”
“What else is new?” The guard yawned again. “Go tell one of the day guards.”
“I couldn’t find any,” Elam said. “Can you help us? We’re worried about him.”
“Go look for him!” the captain shouted.
“Who, me?” Sheldon cried.
“Yes, you!” the captain yelled. “Take care of it and make sure we’re not disturbed again.”
“Aye,” another guard complained. “We’re all exhausted. If I ever catch that cat, I’m going to wring its neck!”
That cat? Nevis wondered what Gavin had done to upset the guards.
“I’m going to wring Quentin’s neck,” Sheldon grumbled. “Wait here. I need to get my boots on.”
While Elam waited, Nevis peeked around the corner. The door was still partially open, and Kurt slipped inside the building unnoticed by the sleepy guards.
Sheldon returned and, with a yawn, he shut the door behind him. “So where do you think Quentin could be?” He walked forward a few steps, and, with a wave of his hand, Elam tripped him.
As Sheldon landed on his face, Nevis dashed forward and clonked him on the back of the head. He hefted the unconscious man over his shoulder, and then he and Elam ran toward the edge of the woods.
When Nevis dropped the guard on the ground, Elinor and Bettina quickly tied his hands and feet while Catriona gagged him. Then the three women dragged him a bit farther into the woods.
Nevis and the others waited at the edge of the woods, and soon they heard loud voices filtering through the closed shutters.
“Ouch!” a guard shouted. “Something bit me!”
“What is it? Ouch, it just bit me!”
“What the hell?” the captain growled. “I can’t see in the dark.” He flung open some shutters.
“It’s a rabbit!”
“Where? Ouch! Dammit, he bit me.”
“Kill the damned thing!” the captain shouted.
“But it might be Kurt,” a guard protested.
“Then chase it out of here!” the captain ordered.
“Aye, Captain.” Footsteps ran to the door; then a guard flung it open.
Kurt bounded outside, headed for the forest, with two guards chasing him, shouting and waving their swords. As soon as they reached the forest, Elam tripped one and then the other. With a quick clonk to the head, Nevis knocked both guards out. Elinor and the others quickly tied and gagged them.
The captain peered out the door. There was no one in sight, so he let out a big sigh. “At last we can get some sleep.”
That’s what you think, Nevis thought as the captain slammed the door shut, then closed all the shutters.
Nevis threw one of the unconscious guards over his shoulder, while Elam and the women dragged the other guard. Soon they deposited the two guards next to the first one.
Quentin pranced