The Greenwood Shadow (25 page)

John nodded, and continued shaking his arms out. Impatient as ever, Evey stood and started pacing behind the half drawn curtains.

"Careful. Don't let anyone see you." he whispered.

When she judged that it had been about five minutes, she stopped her walk and began to study the remaining twenty feet of wall. It would be a slightly diagonal climb. Not so easy, but doable. She cracked her knuckles and reached for the first stone.

Someone burst through a door to her right and shut it again quickly. In the brief moment that it was open, Evey could hear sounds of pursuit.

It was a stupid thing to do, but her curiosity got the better of her. Cautiously she peered around the edge of the curtain that she had been standing behind. Before she could react, a sword was at her throat. She grabbed the dagger at her waist and tried to block, but it was no good. The swordsman had all the advantages.

"Marion?"

The sword dropped instantly.

"Isa... Robin? What are you doing here? Where's Will?"

Isaiah dropped into Sir Guy's chair, breathing heavily.

"I don't know. We got separated."

"But why are you on the balcony?!" She gestured toward the dungeons. "You're clear on the wrong side of the castle!"

"I had to run for it. I don't know my way around in there, do I?"

"Run from WHAT?"

She did best to keep her voice down. Isaiah was still breathing hard, and it took him a moment to answer.

"They were having a training drill. Loads of extra guards everywhere, getting ready for the birthday celebrations. We never stood a chance. Why are you here? I thought you'd be in the king's rooms."

"I was having a chat with my father-in-law," she answered with as much acid as she could muster.

"What?"

"We were only a little behind, but were doing fine. So what do we do now?"

As she asked, the entire world exploded at once. Torches flared to life around the courtyard. Soldiers ran here and there, screaming orders and searching for the intruders. The castle sounded as though it were in the throws of an epic battle. Isaiah considered the situation for only a moment before giving his reply.

"Get out of here. Plan's off. They'll find us any second now." As he spoke, he shoved a chair up against the door, wedging it firmly in front of the latch. "Get down and go over the north wall on the ropes."

Just at that moment, someone started banging at the door. The chair held it closed, but it was clear that it wouldn't last long. Evey grabbed the coil of rope from John and tied it firmly to the guard rail behind the king's throne.

"You're bigger, John. You better go first."

He looked like he was going to protest, but Isaiah waved him on. The banging became more persistent.

Isaiah drew his sword. "When he's down, you go next."'

"No. I climb faster. You go."

"Keep your promise!" he shouted.

She looked at him in surprise, then grumbled, "My bow. I need my bow."

"Well we don't have it."

She drew her other dagger and took up a stance next to him. She knew she wouldn't last long with just a couple of daggers, but she didn't care. Isaiah mumbled something and grabbed her hand.

He pulled her closer. She expected him to yell, and got a rebuttal ready, but when he spoke, his voice was unexpectedly quiet.

"This door will not hold. You'll never make it over that wall if someone doesn't distract them." He took the daggers from her and put them back in their sheaths. "I have to tell you something, just in case I don't make it."

She opened her mouth, but he silenced her.

"No. Just let me finish. Marion, I... I've loved you since the first time I met you. The way you disappeared into the woods and scared me half to death, and how you were so different from the other girls I've known."

"Isaiah, we're under attack. This isn't the time or the place-"

"Stop being so stubborn!" His voice cracked and he squeezed her hand a little too tightly. "I can't let you get hurt again. I can't. This is something I have to do. If you care about me at all, as your friend, your comrade in arms, as anything, please go. Now. Please."

She was stunned into complete silence. Reluctantly she climbed over the edge. The trip down the wall was much faster than the way up had been. Within a few seconds she reached the ground and followed John to the part of the wall where they had placed getaway ropes.

"NOW ROBIN!" she shouted as she ran. "Get down here!"

Just as she reached the base of the outer wall, she heard a crash and she knew the door had been broken open. Vowing to never be without her bow again, she climbed the rope as quickly as her arms would let her. John had already started down the other side when she pulled herself to the top. He was nearly at the bottom, so she waited for him to finish the climb.

The sound of battle distracted her, and she looked over to the balcony. Isaiah fought two soldiers who also had swords. He was much better than they were, and the battle went decidedly in his favor. She knew how good he was, and breathed a deep sigh of relief. He would be okay.

"Hurry it up," John called.

She reached down for the rope when a new sight caught her eye. Isaiah had just dispatched one of his opponents and focused on the other one. Evey saw the three crossbow men climb over the jumbled wreckage of the door and the chair. If she had her bow, she could have taken all three down in a matter of seconds, even with the uncertain lighting. They were so close, and yet she could do nothing.

She cried out in both fury and terror. Her hands reached for the quiver that wasn't there, and she cursed loudly. Then they found one of her daggers. She drew it as quickly as possible and launched it across the space between her and Isaiah. She watched helplessly as it landed in the dirt several dozen yards short of its intended mark.

Her yell had only served to distract Isaiah. He glanced over at her, but never saw the crossbow men coming. It hardly mattered, though. His sword couldn't deflect three bolts. A torn curtain and the entire length of the balcony lay between them, but even fifty feet was point blank range for a crossbow.

For Evey, everything happened in slow motion. She saw each bolt come free from the crossbows. She saw them fly through the air. She saw Isaiah freeze in mid-parry and drop his sword. His back was to her, but she saw him glance at her again, just for a brief moment before he fell to his knees, and then out of sight.

She knew she didn't black out. She would have fallen from the wall and broken every bone in her body. But she had no memory of what happened next. It was all vague flashes of moonlight through the trees, and shouts of pursuit through the castle grounds.

When she came to herself in one of their older, more hidden campsites she vaguely wondered if it had all been a dream. Had she just woken up with nightmares about the mission they were planning? She sat near the fire in a daze, becoming increasingly convinced that she had dreamed it all. John looked flushed from running, but that could easily be the result of a hunt.

Yes. It was definitely a dream. Will and Isaiah would be out scouting. They'd be back any time. She wondered if John was nervous about the jailbreak. She was too, obviously, but John wasn't the type to have nerves. At least, not that she could tell. He was never very talkative. There was something strange in his eyes, though. That didn't come from nerves. What was wrong with him?

Only moments later, Will came crashing through the brush, sounding like a herd of stampeding deer. He was thoroughly out of breath and cut in a dozen places. His cloak had been torn, and he had no weapon. So it hadn't been a dream after all.

"Will! I'm so glad you're okay." she called. Then, holding out a faint hope that she had seen wrong, she asked, "have you seen Robin?"

Will nodded, and she let out a pent up breath.

"Oh, good. Where is he?"

Will just looked at her.

"Well? Where is he?" she said more violently.

He stared at her again, trying to swallow. Tears began to form in his eyes. No. It wasn't true. It wasn't.

She grabbed a hold of his collar and shook him. "Tell me where he is!"

He just looked more aggrieved than ever, and shook his head solemnly.

"He's... he's gone."

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

"Marion, I... I loved you since the first time I met you."

The phrase repeated over and over in her brain. For most of the day she sat unmoving, staring at nothing, and hearing Isaiah's voice repeat. He had sacrificed himself for her. Every time she remembered that, fresh tears came to her eyes.

Deep inside, a tiny little voice screamed at her to come to her senses. She wasn't a crier. She didn't mope. This wasn't like her at all. But her best friend was gone. She would have to be an inhuman monster to feel nothing.

John handed her a plate with some bread and cheese on it. She vaguely knew that she should eat it. She hadn't had anything since right before the whole disaster started. But as much as her stomach needed it, she just couldn't. Not without Isaiah to share it with her.

She set the plate down and resumed her empty stare.

Will stood up and strode to her with determined steps. He picked up the plate in one hand, slapped her across the face with the other, and shoved the food back at her. The sting shook her from her stupor. She looked from the plate to him in utter confusion.

"Marion, I've got something to say. Maybe we haven't known Robin as long as you have. It makes sense that you feel his loss more keenly than we do. But this depressive stupor is, well, it's dangerous! There are better ways to grieve than slowly slipping into madness, and there are better times to do it than now."

Evey narrowed her eyes a little.

Will leaned in. "Unless you want to desecrate his memory, you had better snap out of it."

Everything in her brain turned on. She felt as though she just woke from a terrible night's sleep. She had control over herself again, though the ache inside didn't leave.

"Hello, Will," she said. Her voice still sounded horribly morose, but it was an improvement.

His tone had immediately softened. "Back with us, now?"

"Yeah."

"You better eat."

She stuffed bread into her mouth. "How long has it been?"

"Full day, almost. The sun'll be down in about an hour."

"Wow. I'm never like this. I never–"

John interrupted her.

"You never lost your...
friend
before either."

It was obvious that he wasn't sure quite how to label what Isaiah had been to her. She found that she wasn't entirely sure herself.

"No. I haven't. I should have... I should have done something."

"Don't start that." Will wagged his finger like an old grandmother. "Do not start that. It makes things worse. We couldn't have known what would happen."

Evey hardened her face into a glare. "Our inside man knew. I mean about the training. I'm sure he did."

Will shrugged.

Evey rose from her seat. "If I ever get my hands on him..."

"It's not his fault either," Will said.

She sunk back to her place. He probably had a point. Whether the man knew or not, he didn't expect it to be a factor. Anyway, the fact remained that the mission had been a complete failure on all accounts.

And Isaiah was still gone.

A flood of pain washed through her. Every organ felt like it was getting squeezed. A few tears still escaped, despite her efforts, but this time she kept a hold on her reason.

"So, what now?" Will asked.

"Who knows."

She hugged her knees and tried to ignore the way her insides were dissolving.

"Come on," Will insisted. "We've got to pick up the pieces and try again. What ideas do we have?"

"I said I don't know!"

Her yell shocked even herself.

"I don't have anything either," John answered, studiously ignoring her outburst.

"We could always try the same thing again, just on a day with no training drill."

Will was trying hard, but she just didn't want to hear it.

"No," she said.

"It wasn't the plan. Just the timing."

"No!" There was no way she was going to re-live everything. No. Way.

"Alright," Will conceded. "So, what then?"

"Just let me think!" she said irritably. But the truth was that she wanted to do the opposite. She didn't want to feel anything at all.

John and Will didn't dare speak again. She tried to lose herself in nothingness for a while, but she was soon interrupted. Something sounded like it was crashing about in the forest. Then it stopped. She wondered if she really was going crazy.

After a few minutes she heard it again.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?" Will replied.

"Well if you don't know what, then I'll take that as a no. Listen."