Chapter 77

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

Ellery

For the first time, I was nervous about a robbery, but that was because there was far more than my life on the line here. Before, Scarlet could have slipped away if they caught me, and she still might, but it would be more difficult for her with so many of the king's guards escorting the caravan.

And there were a lot of them. At the front rode six guards on horseback; two horses pulled the first carriage with two guards on the bench, and an additional four guards rode with it, two on each side.

Another carriage appeared behind it. That carriage was escorted by four guards on the sides and two in the driver's seat. All of them wore chain mail and helmets.

Sweat had cleaved my shirt to my skin hours ago; I couldn't imagine what these men felt like under those helmets. A few had removed their helmets and settled them on their pommels to expose their flushed, damp faces.

The horses' hooves dug up the earth as they kicked up dust that floated around those who came later in the line. Dirt coated their helmets, faces, and chain mail.

It hung heavily in the air and provided more cover for us. Since I couldn't use my fog ability, and no one else involved in the robbery possessed the power, this dust cloud would help obscure us.

When the last of the procession rounded the bend, I tensed while waiting for them to get closer. The final carriage was our target. There was a chance it contained the least carisle as it was most likely the last one they filled, but it would be the easiest to take from the guards.

Judging by the four chests strapped to the top of it, there was plenty of carisle to make a difference in the towns, and we could still retain enough to build the army Ryker wanted. Unable to see inside the carriage, it was impossible to judge the amount of money within, but there had to be more.

My heart hammered, and adrenaline flooded me as the carriage rolled closer and my anticipation built. I'd never liked stealing, but I liked the rush that came with it, and I'd forgotten how good it felt.

I didn't dare tear my eyes away from the last vehicle as it came closer. The bad thing about the final carriage was it had four guards at the back too, but we'd anticipated it would have more coverage and planned for that.

" Now ," I whispered to Scarlet.

She released the rock she'd held. It clattered and banged against the trunk before slicing through some brush below and hitting the ground.

A few guards glanced toward the rock, but most ignored the sound. Between the poltergeists and other creatures in the woods, the forest was never quiet, and there were always strange noises.

They were wrong to ignore this noise because a rope shot up across the earth as soon as the rock hit the ground. Tucker's followers had pulled the hidden barrier up from where we'd buried it under the dirt.

The sudden movement caused the horses carrying the last carriage to reel backward as the rope skimmed their front legs. The driver shouted, "Whoa! Whoa!"

It didn't do any good as the horses continued to prance backward while the ten guards surrounding the carriage tried to rein in their mounts. Lifting my bow, I fired off four arrows in rapid succession.

One of the arrows pierced through the chain mail of the rider closest to me and hit him in the shoulder. The impact knocked him from his horse.

My second arrow caught another in the upper chest and knocked him backward. His helmeted head collided with the horse's rump; the impact caused it to jump forward as those holding the rope jerked it up and down. They succeeded in spooking the animal backward.

The guard scrambled to hold onto the terrified horse as it wheeled and bolted into the trees. His screams for the animal to stop faded into the distance.

My third arrow pierced through another guard's thigh. He tried to yank the arrow free as he grappled to keep control of his mount.

The chain mail of the fourth guard blocked my arrow, and he spun toward where Scarlet and I sat in the trees. He already had his crossbow raised when he turned on us and fired.

Scarlet ducked while I leaned back to put the trunk between myself and the bolt that crashed through the leaves and sliced over branches. It would have embedded in my forehead if I'd still been sitting forward.

While I'd been working to disable some of the guards closest to me, Tucker and Ryker were doing the same on the other side of the road. They'd managed to take out more guards, but some of the ones from the front of the caravan were recovering and coming for us.

Shrugging my bow onto my back, I yanked the rope from the tree and plunged off the branch. Guards shouted as they struggled to regain control of the situation.

I had to get off this rope; this was when I was most vulnerable, when a single arrow could take me out and make it impossible to continue. A few of them fired those arrows and a bolt; one of them sliced across my back, shredding my clothes and spilling my blood. Another whistled near my ear, but the rest were all off target.

It felt as if I swung on the rope forever while arcing across the road and slicing through the cloud of dust, but it was only a second or two before I released the rope and landed with a small thud amid chests full of money. The guards at the front were still trying to get the horses under control when they twisted to look at me.

"Kill whoever that is!" one of them barked.