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to make his bounty and go, which means your head— or all of ours— on a pike. ”

John grinned, leaning back. “We can’t be caught. ”

I hit him. “Don’t be a fool, ” I snapped.

His eyes narrowed at me and I gave a yelp when he pinched me.

“Enough, ” Rob said, cutting in with sharp eyes for John.

“Scar, keep your ears open.

” He tried to stand again and

looked at me. “Do I have your leave now, milady?”

“Don’t call me that. ”

“Even a thief deserves some respect. ” He gave me one of the warm, heroic smiles that made my cheeks fl ush, and I ducked my face under my worn felt hat. “John, make sure she eats something. I have to get hunting. ” He walked out of the room, and with a glance to John and me, Much followed him.

“I’m not hungry!” I told Rob’s back. “Or some whelp that needs looking after, for that matter. ”

John slid closer to me with a smile that meant he’d listen to Rob over me.

“When shall we break into the jail, then?” John asked.

“Midnight. The guard changes then, and you’ll fair certain look less conspicuous in that crowd. ”

“So you think I look like a guard? I’ll take that nicely. ” He took a drink of his beer, his eyes shining at me over the brim. I fl icked my eyes over him. “Brutish and stupid? Yes, you look quite like a guard. ”

The shininess cooled. “Never nothing kind to say, Scarlet. ”

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“Only ’cause you think I can’t go in alone. You have no idea what I can do. I’m quicker’n lightning. ”

“I know you can handle yourself. Other people are the tough part. ”

“I ain’t made of glass, John. Someone hits me and I don’t shatter. ”

“Listen good, Scarlet. Long as I’m around, if someone wants to hurt you and I can stop it, I will. ”

I fl icked my eyes over to him, and he were staring at me in that way that I hate, like if he looked long enough he’d see everything I were. “I’m going to throw some knives around. ”

“No, no, no, ” Tuck called, pushing through the door frame and blocking my exit. He had a platter of food. “Robin says you eat. ”

“Bugger off , ” I snapped.

He scowled. “Scarlet, you wouldn’t refuse my food, would you? Drive an old man to drink?”

“You’re already a drunk and a terrible cook. ”

“Now that’s just mean. Sit. Eat, ” he told me. “And I’ll have a drink while I watch you. ” He smiled, and his cheeks caught the light and fi lled with good-natured redness. He herded me back to the table, and John pushed closer so that they caged me in. Tuck put a bowl of venison stew in front of me. I knew the more I ate the less they’d stare at me, so I choked down a few bites before they started chatting with each other. I chose that moment to duck under the table and slide out the back way before they could catch me.

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It’s not like I don’t eat. I eat. I just don’t like charity and I don’t like them thinking they can put their noses into my life. Rob wants us all to be like a family, but I don’t. I want them kept far away from me.

Besides, I had errands to run. I managed to get a few loaves of bread from the sheriff ’s baker and some clothes off the line from the keep’s laundress, and it weren’t like I had any use for that. Friar Tuck’s Inn were in Edwinstowe, the small town that were closest to our camp in the forest, and we knew the people there the best, so I knew who needed what. The thatched houses were so close together, like huddled-up children, and it always made them seem weak, vulnerable. Like they could be crushed. I left little packages in front of the doors; the people looked for them in the morning, and I knew, in some bit of a way, it bucked them up.

I did as much as I could, but it weren’t like I could get everyone something every night. That seemed like the cruelest part. I tried not to think ’bout the people that woke up and rushed to the door and didn’t fi nd nothing; it made my chest hurt. 212-47765_ch01_1P.indd 11

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C H A P T E R

I
went back to the inn to meet John a while before midnight; Edwinstowe were to the north of Nottingham and we had ground to cover to get to Castle Rock. John weren’t there yet, and I didn’t go in, just leaned against the tree and blended in. John came out of the inn with Bess, one of the prettier, bustier wenches at Tuck’s. He were grinning and let her push him against the wall, pressing her mouth to his. Despite all the noise of the forest, I could hear every sloppy motion of the deep, open kiss. She dug her fi ngers in his hair, and he chuckled.

He pulled away with a wide smile. “I have to go now, m’love. Why don’t I sneak into your window later on?”

“I’ll leave the usual sign. ”

He pushed her back to the inn. “Off with you, then. ”

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trees. I didn’t say anything, and he just nodded with a grin and pushed away from the wall.

“No remarks?” he asked when the inn were out of sight. The road were rough beneath my shoes, and without a lamp, the clouded-over moon were the only light, shining silver and soft on the way. It were like the road we walked near every day were gone, and we were walking to a fey and foreign place instead of the sheriff ’s keep. I could just bare see John.

“I suppose you want me to say what a tart she is. Or you are? But really, every time you climb in her window, you make her think that’s all she’s good for. Bess is a nice girl. ”

“You must have known all sorts in London. ”

I didn’t say. I don’t yap ’bout London. And besides, he didn’t answer me ’bout Bess.

“You ran out pretty quick from Tuck’s. ”

“I do that when I’m being bossed ’bout, ” I said, cutting a glare to him.

“So how are we getting into the castle?”

I looked up. “Good night for a climb. ”

“Aw, Scar, ” he moaned. “I hate climbing, and you know that. And it’s not a good night. You did that on purpose. ”

I didn’t say that neither. I walked faster.

k

They call Nottingham Castle the Castle Rock for good reason; it’s built on a big pile of rocks. One side is sheer rocks and the other side is a series of heavy fortifi ed baileys. Most would 212-47765_ch01_1P.indd 13

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think that’s the way to go, but I see rocks and I can’t help but climb ’em. The rocks are the fortifi cations, not the walls on top. An army can’t scale rocks, can it? And castles are built to keep armies out, not thieves.

Rob used to live there, before the Crusades— and before the sheriff , with Prince John’s approval— took over the keep. They called Rob’s father a traitor after he died and said his lands were forfeit to the En glish Crown. It weren’t that he were a traitor in truth, but there were lands and there were no Rob here to defend them, so the Crown took what it could— and yet they call
me
a thief. When Rob heard his father died, he came back and found there weren’t nothing here but pain and suff ering all around. While he were off defending his country, they were taking his birthright. Rob used to be an earl, if you can believe it. It’s why he feels so par tic u lar ’bout his people, and why they feel so partic u lar about him. Most still call him Your Grace. He’ll be an earl again when King Richard comes back for sure. Rob’s the one who taught us most of the ins and outs of the castle, but some I’ve found on my own, from listening and watching and general poking round.

“Scar?” I heard in the distance. I looked down. John weren’t far up at all. “Don’t go so fast. ”

I smiled. “I’ll wait for you at the top. ” ’Course, I weren’t honestly going to the top. Three quarters up there were a secret entrance. But he didn’t need to know that; I could get in and out with Freddy before he would even be up there. 212-47765_ch01_1P.indd 14

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Climbing up were quick and steady by the bright light of the moon, making the handholds gleam like the moon were pointing them out to me. There were a big rock overhanging the tunnel entrance, hiding it from sight, and I scrambled under. From there it would all be dark and lightless, but that were well enough— I had no need to see the crawlers hiding in the rock.

The tunnel were small and bits were caving in, but it were still intact, and I kept low and ran the length of it. It went right to the apartments in the main bailey up on the top of the rock, and from there it were an easy, shadowy walk down to the prison on the middle bailey. The castle were set up like a giant twisting staircase, and each bailey were the fl at of the stair, a walled, defensible castle unto itself. The top bailey were the best protected and held the people and the storerooms; the lowest were guards, and the middle bailey held just about everything else. Now, the prison had one entrance in the front, and that were all. Under the ground in the middle bailey, the prison didn’t have any windows. It did, however, have an air vent that were almost my size exact.

I slid down headfi rst, holding inside the vent to see if anyone were in the hallway. It were clear, and I dropped onto my hands and tucked down, staying quiet and sticking to the walls. There were rats all over the place, and the squeaks and claws covered my noises.

“
The Hood!
” I heard someone whisper. I wheeled my head 212-47765_ch01_1P.indd 15

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around. A prisoner stood, plastered to the bars. “Are you looking for the boy?”

I nodded, keeping my head down. He pointed me to the end of the row. I could see the guard straight ahead, turned away from me, and Freddy’s cell were off to the left. It were perfect. I slid my pick from the inside of my belt as I snuck closer. Freddy were curled on his fi lthy bedroll. He looked even younger there, and a big bruise showed on his face.

The locks weren’t diffi

cult to pick, but it still took a few

moments, and it weren’t even the hard part. Going painful slow, I yawned the door open, drawing out the squeak till it were quiet. With a breath, I snuck into the cell and pulled Freddy up, shushing him as he woke and pulling him onto my shoulders. He didn’t question me, holding on tight as I walked him out and shut the door slow behind.

I ran him back to the air vent and pushed him up, then scrambled up the wall myself. He wriggled up without being told, but at the top of the vent he turned back. “Where do I go?”

“Stay against the wall. ”

He cleared the top, and I heard Freddy give a yelp in the dark beyond. With the fear of God in me, I scrambled up to the top in time to see John lean forward and grab my arm. His grip were bruising. “I will kill you later, Scar. ”

I rolled my eyes. “Follow me. ”

We came up the gauntlet to the upper bailey, ducking into the alley that stood between the thick wall and the artisan shops. At the end of the shops, there were a gap to cross over to the 212-47765_ch01_1P.indd 16

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apartments. I edged along the wall, waving them back until I got a clear lookabout.

The daub wall were rough against my back. Sneaking slow, I went to the wooden post at the corner and peered around it. I whipped my head back, the breath rushing from my chest. I froze.

“I expect this will garner results, Gisbourne. ”

The name burned through me like a falling star. My throat felt like a hand were closing hard around it, pressing my pipes in, strapping my lungs closed.

I hadn’t seen him in four years, and now here he were, less than an arm’s length ’way from me. I’d run from him and kept running, and now it seemed fate’d run straight back around to slam our lives together.

“If by ‘results’ you mean a gang of thieves to string up while the adoring people watch, I assure you it will, ” came the smooth, dark voice.

I screwed my eyes shut; his voice ate through me like acid. I felt sweat jump out of my skin, and my chest burned from not breathing. My fi st found its way tight round a knife, and I sucked in a tiny breath.

“But when, Gisbourne?”

He laughed. “Very soon. ”

“Make sure of it. The Hood and his men are the scourge of the forest. Prince John himself has written me that these thieves must be put down like dogs. The people protect them, and I can’t
fi nd
them. ”

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“I can. Thieves are prey like any other, Sheriff . I hunt them, I track them, and I kill them. ”

My heart dropped out from my chest, and my hands set to shaking.

“Good. I’ll see you to your apartments, then. ”

The two of them crossed the bailey with a fl ank of guards and I crouched low, part because I didn’t want them to turn and see me none and part because my knees had gone fair wobbling. I waited until they were inside the apartments and then signaled to John. He and Freddy slid up beside me, and I jumped when Freddy touched my arm.

“The tunnel is behind the residences, ” I whispered. I glanced back to watch a guard stay out front, pacing, and I sucked down a breath. “When he paces in the other direction, we can go one at a time. ”

John sighed heavy. “Christ, Scar. I’m good for something. ”

He kicked a bit of a cracked cobblestone loose and picked it up. He heaved it back the way we came, and the guard went on alert. A moment later he jogged toward the noise.

“Go!” John ordered.

I scowled but began to run. John picked Freddy up under one arm and kept pace with me, fl ying ’cross the open courtyard to round back of the residences, tucked safe in shadow. That were the only rub about the tunnel; it were far from everything in the castle.

We made it to the tunnel, and I felt relief shake through me. John closed the trap door behind us, and once in the dark I heaved a sigh.

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