Luck in the Shadows Read Free

distance to the dark side of the wood stack.
I haven’t come this far to be abandoned for weakness,
he berated himself.
Maker Dalna, hold your hand over me now!
    Drawing in a deep, silent breath, he darted forward. He got within arm’s length of the wood stack before a tall figure stepped from the shadow of the forge a scant few feet away.
    “Who’s that?” the man demanded, pulling something from his belt. “Stand and speak, you!”
    Alec dove for the stack, throwing himself down behind it. Something hard dug into his chest as he landed. Grabbing at it, he closed his hand around the smooth haft of an ax. Then he was rolling to avoid the heavy club the man was swinging at his head.Gripping the ax like a quarter staff, Alec managed to deflect the sentry’s arcing swing. He was badly overmatched, however, and what little strength he had left after days of mistreatment soon faded as blow after blow rained down. Leaping back, he caught sight of Rolan near the stable door. Instead of coming to his aid, however, the bard faded back into the shadows.
    That’s it then,
he thought.
I got into trouble and he’s left me
.
    Driven by fury born of utter despair, Alec flew at the startled sentry, driving the man back with wild swings of the ax’s double blade. If he was going to die in this terrible place, he’d go down fighting under an open sky.
    His adversary recovered quickly and was pressing in for the kill when they were both surprised by a clattering uproar nearby. The stable door slammed back and Rolan burst out mounted bareback on an enormous black horse. A pack of ostlers, stable boys, and guards spilled out after him, raising the alarm.
    “The gate, damn it! Open the gate!” Rolan shouted, leading his pursuers in a fool’s chase around the courtyard.
    Distracted, the sentry made a clumsy parry and Alec sprang under his guard with a savage swing. The blade struck home and the man went down screaming. Dropping the ax, Alec dashed to the gate, heaved the heavy bar out of its brackets, and pushed the doors wide.
    Now what?
    Looking around, he found Rolan occupied at the far end of the yard.
    A guard had him by one ankle, and a stable hand was leaping for the horse’s bridle. Spotting the open gate, he reined the horse back on its haunches and kicked the beast into a furious gallop straight across the yard. His mount sprang effortlessly over the well and bolted for the gate. Hauling back on the reins, Rolan twisted the fingers of one hand into the black’s mane and leaned over its neck, other arm extended.
    “Come on!” he yelled.
    Alec reached up just in time. Rolan’s fingers clamped around his wrist, wrenching him off his feet and across the horse’s broad back. Clambering upright, he locked his arms around Rolan’s waist as they thundered though the gate and down the road beyond.
    They skirted the little village nestled against the walls of thekeep and flew on along the road down the wooded mountainside below Asengai’s domain.
    After several miles, Rolan left the road and plunged into the thick forest that flanked it. Safe among the trees, he reined their mount to a halt.
    “Here, take these,” he whispered, shoving a bundle of some sort into Alec’s hands.
    It was a cloak. The coarse fabric smelled rankly of the stable but the boy wrapped himself in it gratefully, drawing his bare feet up against the horse’s steaming sides to warm them.
    They sat in silence, and after a moment Alec realized that they must be waiting for something. Presently they heard the clatter of hooves approaching. It was too dark to count the riders as they passed, but judging by the sound, there were at least half a dozen. Waiting until they were all well past, Rolan turned the black again to the road and started back in the direction of the keep.
    “We’re going the wrong way,” Alec whispered, tugging at Rolan’s sleeve.
    “Don’t worry,” his companion replied with a soft chuckle.
    A few moments later he turned aside