Page 127 of The Robber Knight
The words were a hoarse whisper. Ayla turnedand stepped into one of the guard towers that flanked thegatehouse. Inside, the air smelled of the smoke of the single torchthat hung on the wall, giving off flickering light and throwing theshadows of the spiral stairs onto the wall in a menacing manner,like the jagged teeth of some giant beast about to swallow her up.Ayla had never been up one of the towers at night before, neverstood on the wall in the dark before. Well, she told herself, atleast up on the wall there would be some more light. Oh yes, therecertainly would be.
Slowly, she ascended the spiral staircase.Halfway up, though the smell of the smoke should have decreased, itgained in intensity and her stomach twisted. It was just as she hadfeared.
Having reached the top of the tower, shestepped out onto the wall, turning towards the valley from wherethe smell of smoke came, along with a fierce red glow. Long shestood there, gazing over the parapet out onto the nocturnallandscape, at the origin of the red glow. Long she stood there andwatched her village burn.
The flames were all she could see. They wereso blindingly bright that they plunged all the surrounding landinto utter darkness. Now and again, she could make out blackfigures passing in front of the flames, hurrying about, carrying,hacking, laying fire.
Carrioncrows, she thought.
But then, one black shape began todistinguish himself from the others. He was getting larger. Aylarealized that whoever it was, he was moving up to the castle.Alone.
The man spurred his horse to a lazy trot andadvanced up the slope. The flames behind him threw his shadow allover the mountainside and against the castle wall, making himappear like a black giant. Yet as he came closer, Ayla could seethat he was in fact not wearing black—it had only appeared thus, incontrast with the brightly burning flames.
In fact, he was wearing red.
Red as fire.
Red as blood.
Ayla watched with fear and revulsion as thered robber knight, the same robber knight who had taken Eleanorfrom her, the same robber knight who now had burnt her village tothe ground, brought his horse to a halt only a few dozen yards awayfrom the castle wall and looked at her.
It had come down to this.
Him and her.
He raised his hand.
“Greetings, Milady. So nice to see youagain.”
Friend andFoe
“I can't say I feel the same,” Ayla replied. Shewondered how she managed to keep her voice as calm as it was.Inside, she felt like boiling. Or exploding. Or...
“Before you get any ideas,” Sir Luca said,“you should know that I come under a flag of truce.” He held up awhite linen handkerchief. “Here, you see?”
“You call that a flag of truce?”
“Well, it's not very big, I admit, but it'swhite enough. I think it works.”
Ayla gritted her teeth. “I wasn't referringto the size of your flag, but rather to the fact that while wespeak, your soldiers are setting my village ablaze!”
“Ah, but it is your village no longer,Milady. By right of conquest it belongs to the Margrave now. So mymen can do whatever they damn well please.”
Ayla sucked in a breath. She was sorelytempted to call one of her archers and have him shoot this man. Butshe knew she wouldn't do it. She didn't have it in her to bedishonorable. And anyway, the Margrave would just send someoneworse to replace him—though he would probably have to search forquite a while to find such an individual, if indeed oneexisted.
“Since you come here under aflag of truce,” she said, speaking the words withall the disgust she could muster, “what is it that you wish todiscuss?”
“You have to ask? I thought it would beobvious.”
“Just pretend I'm very dumb.”
The red knight nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, Ithink I could do that.”
She heard his suppressed laughter and againhad to fight an urge to call for her soldiers. No, she wouldn'tcall them. She had to fight this battle on her own. It might not dofor the men to hear what he had to say, or what she had to say tohim in return.
“State your business, Sir Knight, or begone.What is it you want?”
“What I want? Why, to dictate the terms ofyour surrender, of course.”
