Knight Fall (The Champion Chronicles Book 1) Read Free Page B

darkness.  He was trying to be careful, but he knew that he wasn’t able to move as quietly as he would like.  The fear and adrenaline that had coursed through his system was now going away, making him tired and not as sharp as he thought he was.
    The odd thing about the movement was that if it had been high noon, he might not have noticed it.  But the shadows and gray dreariness of dusk made quick movements just that much more noticeable.  It came from the corner of his eye and suddenly the weariness was gone and his muscles reacted without him actually thinking about it.  He leaped towards Elissa, pushing her forward just as an arrow buzzed past his head.  They dove into the underbrush, but away from the river.  The bank of the river was still too steep and high.  They could jump down into the river, but risk breaking a leg on an unseen rock.  Conner kept pushing Elissa, who let out a steady stream of whimpers and whines.
    Under cover of both underbrush and darkness, they made it safely to the small beach at the river’s edge.  Although they couldn’t be seen, Conner knew that they were heard and that their pursuers were not far behind.
    “Can you swim?” Conner asked.
    Elissa nodded her head, her eyes wide in fear, her lips trembling.
    “Go, then!  Straight across.  Once you get there, hide in the bushes.”  Conner quickly strung his bow and knocked an arrow.
    “What are you doing?”
    “If we both go, they’ll easily pick us off from the bank.  I’ll stay here and keep them company.”
    She gripped his arm tightly.  “What if you don’t…?”
    “I will,” Conner interrupted.  His eyes scanned the forest for movement.  He knew he wouldn’t actually be able to see them in the darkness.  But he would be able to see movement.  He lifted his bow towards what he thought was a body and let an arrow fly.  It struck something hard with a thud.  But there was no cry or the sound of a falling body.  At the least, he hoped it would slow them down if they knew that he still had his bow.
    She hadn’t moved, so he pulled her hands off his arm.  “You must go.  If I don’t get across, head down river.  There is a village about a half days walk.  Just follow the river and you’ll get to it.  You can’t miss it.  It’s where the Meadow River runs into the Tyre River.”  He pushed her away and pulled out another arrow.  He only had five left.
    Her lips moved, as if she were trying to say something, but no words came out.  Finally, she turned away and ran into the water.  Conner turned away from her to scan the trees, looking and waiting for someone to show a face.
    And there it was.  It was a white face that barely visible behind a tree limb.  He lifted his bow, and aimed at where the man’s chest should be.  He let loose and the face disappeared.  Movement to his left caught his eye.  A shadowed body appeared and he thought he heard the sound of an arrow flying through the air.  A quick aim and then another arrow was released and this time he heard the thud of the body falling to the ground.  He crouched low, listening and watching.  His eyes straining to see through the darkness, but there were no more shadowed bodies or faces visible.  Knowing he couldn’t swim while holding the bow, he loosed his remaining arrows into the trees and then ran into the river, diving under the cold water, swimming as far and as fast as he could.

 
    Chapter Two
     
    Brace guided his exhausted horse underneath the portcullis before it was fully raised up.  As soon as he was through, it dropped with a crash.  He glanced back, thinking the guard let it drop just a little bit too early.  If his mount wasn’t nearly dead, it would have been spooked and would likely have bucked him off.  Instead, the horse simply let out a snort and dropped its head.  A squire took the reins as the Knight Captain slipped off.
    The courtyard was dimly lit by a handful of torches hanging from the stone walls