“I’m afraid one day when I’m a rabbit that the dog will eat me.”
Bettina sighed. “They keep the dog half-starved so he’ll be mean.”
Nevis patted the bag that Ruth had brought from the kitchen. “That’s why our plan should work. Ready?”
Elam and Bettina nodded. After taking the canvas bag from Nevis, they slowly approached the guards. The dog growled and tugged at his leash.
“What are you doing here?” one of the guards demanded. “Go back to the village and work.”
“We brought a gift for you.” Bettina pulled out two large fish. “Here!” She tossed them to the guards.
The fish landed at the guards’ feet, and just as they leaned over to look at them, Elinor whisked Catriona’s blindfold off.
Bam! The fish exploded, knocking the guards off their feet. The dog pulled loose and charged toward Bettina and Elam. He pulled a ham bone from the bag and threw it to the side. The dog immediately changed direction and dashed to the bone. While he happily gnawed away, Bettina and Elam tied and gagged the two guards.
Nevis and his Spiders ran toward them. After retrieving the keys from one of the guards, he unlocked the door. They dragged the guards in and locked them in the dungeon.
Now that they were in the castle, Nevis was tempted to change his plan and hunt down Cahira.
“Something wrong?” Elinor asked when he hesitated.
“No.” He headed for the dungeon door. “We follow the plan.” First they would capture the guards at the front door, then he would help Brody deal with Cahira and the Chameleon.
After running back to the forest, he and his Spiders made their way to the front of the castle. The ocean was visible now, and he shielded his eyes from the noonday sun to scan its surface. No sign of the armada yet, but they should be here soon.
He glanced up at the highest tower of the castle. There was a lone guard up there. No doubt he would be the first to spot the invading ships. He might also see Nevis and his Spiders moving through the front garden.
“Elam will come with me,” Nevis told his group. “The rest of you will remain hidden here in the woods.”
“That’s not fair,” Quentin grumbled.
Nevis gave him a stern look. “You said you would follow orders.”
Quentin quickly saluted. “Then I’ll be in charge here, right?”
Hannah scoffed. “Why would you be in charge? You’re the youngest.”
“Elinor is in charge until we get back.” Nevis pointed at the guard on the lookout tower. “Make him trip. Then we’ll run for that hedge there.”
“Aye, Colonel.” Elam waved a hand at the guard, who promptly fell over.
Nevis and Elam dashed for the cover of a large hedge clipped to look like an ocean wave. They followed the hedge toward the front door.
“We’ll do the usual trip and clobber,” Nevis whispered as he spotted the two guards.
Elam nodded, gripping his knife tightly.
Suddenly, the door opened and a group of young people emerged. Nevis winced. It was the Embraced army. Seven of them, fully armed. Dammit to hell! He knew from his years of being in the military that no matter how well he executed his plans, there was always some unknown variable that would screw things up. He knew it, but it still pissed him off whenever it happened.
“Why do we have to practice now?” the youngest boy whined.
“The general ordered it,” Alfred grumbled. He pointed at the balcony overhead. “The queen is having lunch up there soon, so Kendric wants us to show off our skills.”
Nevis looked at Elam and shook his head. There was no way the two of them could handle the guards and the Embraced army. While the soldiers did their warm-up exercises, he and Elam sneaked back down the hedge. When Elam caused the lookout guard to trip once again, they ran back to the rest of the Spiders.
“What do we do now?” Elinor asked.
Nevis glanced at the castle. The back door was open, so he could still sneak in to help Brody. He turned his head to gaze at the ocean. Or he could stay here to help Leo.
“We wait,” he told the Spiders. “And when the right opportunity comes, we seize it.”
Chapter 23
Brody exhaled with relief as Ruth locked the door on a storage closet. Inside he had stashed the two guards stationed outside the throne room and the last of the patrolling guards. He assumed Nevis had eliminated the guards at the front and back doors to the castle. That