Page 76 of Arrows and Gems
His eyes widened, and he pulled the strap away from his chest.
“Two.”
His breathing quickened, but he seemed unwilling to part with the satchel.
Helena clamped her jaw and took a deep breath. He couldn’t call her bluff. She couldn’t be bluffing. “Thr—”
“Wait!” he squeaked. Bringing his other hand up, he ripped the strap over his head and threw the satchel toward the drop off. Then he snatched up the reins, pulled his horse in a circle so tight its nose almost touched his hip, and bent low over the horse’s neck as it took off in a gallop.
Immediately, Helena lowered her bow and released the tension on the string. She took in a deep gasping breath, then another.
“Margit! Are you all right?” Tucker’s hand landed on her shoulder, but she couldn’t respond.
After another rapid breath, she gasped out, “I thought he was going to make me shoot him. I thought—” She squeezed her eyes shut.
Tucker jiggled her shoulder and pulled her in for a one-armed hug. “It’s all right. I’ve never hurt anybody on purpose either. And I think Cap would be glad you pulled that off without spilling blood.”
She laughed shakily. “Good thing he’s made himself so well-known. I don’t think it would have worked otherwise.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but Rouge’s voice cut him off. “Tucker. Come here and be a squirrel.”
His arm fell from Helena’s shoulders as he straightened. “What for?”
Rouge stood at the side of the road, hands on her hips as she peered down the drop off. “The satchel didn’t go far, but I can’t reach it. You’re better at climbing than I am.”
“Why bother?” Helena frowned as Tucker scurried over. “I don’t care about his satchel; I just needed a reason for stopping him.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be observant?” Rouge replied with a raised eyebrow. She pointed after the young guard. “That boy was more scared of giving up his satchel than he was of you. It was only the panic of an imminent arrow that spurred him to give it up.”
Would Helena have given up her satchel when Cap demanded it?
No, but she was a confident archer.
She recalled the way the guard had protested when she shifted her aim to his knee but then clung to the satchel when she demanded it.
An eager smile spread across her face. “Do you think Tucker can get it without hurting himself?”
“Almost there!” Tucker’s voice answered from below. “You’ll have it in a minute.”
“Keep an eye out, Margit,” Rouge said, fingering the hilt of her sword as she glanced behind. “That boy might be fetching friends.”
Helena lifted her bow. “Out of the frying pan, into the fire?”
“You bought us time, Margit.” Rouge spared her a glance before checking on Tucker’s progress. “Since we don’t know his origin or his destination, he might have brought help more quickly if you had let him pass.”
“But would he have, if I hadn’t stopped him?”
Rouge shook her head slowly. “He knew we were suspicious. But we can’t know what would have happened, so forget it. All we can do is deal with what did happen.” A grin spread across her face as Tucker’s hand gripped the edge of the road. “And that may include something valuable enough to make the risk worth it.”
CHAPTER 27
Cap
Cap looked up at the overcast sky and tugged his hood a little lower. He was grateful that the weather gave him an excuse to wear the hood, but he hoped it wouldn’t actually snow before he and his companions returned to their friends. Snow left tracks, and it was harder to walk through.
And he would have enough walking once they handed off the horses.
He, Jean-haut, and Adrien each had a lead rope tied to a second horse behind the one he rode. Adrien led the line, his fatherly face and friendly expression easing the concerns of those who crossed their paths. Jean-haut followed with a big grin and a friendly nod.
