“Not near as much as you,” she said. “How goes the siege?”
“We’ve not been here long, but we’ve assaulted nearly every supply wagon that’s tried to slip past. Twice now we’ve even sneaked into Greg’s camp and stolen food.”
“Greg?”
“Sir Gregane,” Kaide said, glancing back at her. “He’s in charge of the troops. You think Sebastian would be brave enough to leave his castle?” Her brother laughed. “Not likely. He won’t venture out until both mine and Arthur’s heads are on stakes. But it won’t happen. We’ll only get bolder. A hungry army poses little threat, and if we’re lucky, I can assault…”
“Kaide,” Sandra said, grabbing his arm and stopping him. “I…Jerico and I were captured by a man named Luther. He leads an army to aid in the siege.”
Kaide’s jaw clenched tight, and she could see the anger her words brought. Not at her, but at the thought of all his plans crumbling in an instant.
“How many?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But at least four hundred, maybe five. He has paladins with him, too. Whatever chance we had, it’s gone now. We must withdraw.”
Kaide nodded, but she knew he was only thinking, not necessarily agreeing with her. Her brother’s hands clenched into fists, then loosened.
“You said you were captured. How did you escape?”
“They let me go,” she said. “I was to bring you a message. Luther said for you to not interfere, and if you left now, we’d be rewarded.”
“Rewarded?” Kaide snapped. “Rewarded? How? Will he give me Sebastian’s head? Will he give us vengeance for Ashvale? Of course not. They’ll keep their puppet lord alive, and when Arthur’s hanging in a gibbet, they’ll come for me. For us.” Kaide shook his head. “If he wants me gone, that means his victory is not so certain as you might think. I will not run now, not when Gregane’s army is so close to breaking. If Arthur would just ride out…”
“Jerico’s alive, too,” she said. “I thought you might like to know, being his friend and all.”
Kaide crossed his arms.
“Don’t look at me like that. Of course he is my friend, and I’m glad he lives. Where is he now?”
“I think he’s with Arthur.”
“How? They have the castle surrounded.”
“Do you think that’d stop him?”
Kaide laughed.
“No, I don’t. Then let us hope we meet him on the field of battle as we crush Sir Gregane from both sides. We’re not leaving, Sandra. I fear no man, no army. When we break this siege, Arthur will rally the rest of his host, and we’ll march south to the Castle of the Yellow Rose. We’ll hang Luther’s head next to Sebastian’s, how does that sound?”
“Sounds like a fool’s hope,” Sandra said, and she did her best to smile.
“A fool’s hope,” Kaide agreed. “We’ve lived on that for years. Perhaps, just once, we might find something more. If you’re thirsty, follow the path. I must return to camp and send a rider to discover how much time we have before this Luther fellow arrives.”
Sandra kissed his cheek, then let him go. Amid the thorns and brush, she watched him, and thought of Luther’s words.
Should he listen, well…Karak’s mercy will smile down upon him for it.
She would have to pray he was wrong.
20
Sir Gregane stood at the entrance of his tent and stared at the castle. The sun was starting to set, and from the high walls, he watched one of Arthur’s men wave a loaf of bread then duck below the ramparts before someone shot him with an arrow. Gregane rolled his eyes and stepped back into his tent.
“They’re still getting food,” he told his trusted advisor, a seasoned knight named Nicholls. “Damned if I know how, though. How many of their tunnels have we collapsed?”
“Eighteen, if I remember correctly,” Nicholls said. “Though to be honest, we’ve dug in so many I’ve lost track. Are you sure they aren’t waving the same loaf over and over again? It might be tough as stone by now, and they’re down to eating rats.”
“We’ll be there soon ourselves,” Gregane said, walking over to his desk and glancing over his most recent tally of their supplies. “Three wagons, all raided and burned to the ground. No survivors. Our private stores dwindle, yet our guards see nothing. What does it sound like to you?”
Nicholls sighed.
“It sounds like Kaide finally made his way here.”
“That’s what I think, too, and it hasn’t been for long, either. Four days, five at most. Yet look at what he’s done with so little time. I’ve already had to cut our rations in half. Morale wasn’t great to begin with, and now the men grumble behind my back when they think me too far to hear.”
Nicholls cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. Gregane knew he was about to hear something he wouldn’t like, but demanded that his friend spit it out anyway.
“What if we break siege?” Nicholls asked. “We’ve already beaten Arthur in the open field, and he was damn lucky to escape then. Why not fall back, resupply, and catch him on the road south? If we cannot deny them food, and it is our men dying in the night instead of theirs, what good is it if we stay?”
Gregane put his hand on the parchment before him and stared at the numbers as if he could make them grow through sheer force of will.
“We cannot,” he said. “Our lord gave us our orders, and we must follow them. The siege continues until victory, or our deaths. We have numbers, supplies, and time.”
“Forgive me, sir, but time is not on our side, and it seems everyone but our lord knows it.”
Gregane struck his desk with his fist.
“Do you think I don’t know that?” he asked. Embarrassed by his outburst, he looked away and took in a deep breath. “Kaide’s only gotten better at this…dishonorable way of combat. If we sit here, he’ll starve us of supplies. If I send out escorts, he’ll pick off my men one by one, and if I send too many, I risk leaving us vulnerable to an attack from Arthur. No, only one option remains. Is the battering ram finished?”
Nicholls blanched.
“It is, but we’ve yet to reinforce the top. Arthur’s archers…”
“Will not stop us,” Gregane said. “Is that understood? Come first light, we smash open his gates and hang his soldiers from the ramparts, along with their loaves of bread. If they want to flee through those caves of theirs, then so be it. We’ll claim the castle, and Arthur will have his second defeat. The common folk will not consider him their savior after that.”
“If you say so, sir.”
“I do. Now go.”
Nicholls left, and in the following silence, Gregane felt his frustration boil over.
“Damn you, Sebastian,” he said, scattering his reports to the dirt. Come morning, he would end it all, one way or another. And if he failed, then so be it. At least then the better lord had a chance of victory.
“First light,” he whispered. “First light, Arthur, we settle this. I pray you have the wisdom to surrender.”
Arthur wouldn’t, though. Not to him, and not to his brother. Much as it saddened him, their conflict was to the death, and they all knew it. Buckling his sword to his waist, he stepped out to observe the final preparations, and ensure every last detail was set. Next morning, hundreds of his men would die. The best he could do now was minimize the loss.
“A re you sure you’re still up to this?” Daniel asked him.
“No,” Darius said as he adjusted his plain shirt and slacks. “But we don’t have much choice, do we? The blood moon’s tomorrow, and I’m not expecting any knights to come riding in to the rescue.”
They stood by the bank of the river, on the opposite side of Tower Silver, with Darius and six other men dressed as common villagers. The only things uncommon about them were the swords they held, and Darius’s greatsword strapped to his back.
“The people of Durham will recognize you, even if Cyric doesn’t,” Gregory said softly, standing beside him in similar plain clothes. “Are you so certain they will protect us?”
“No, I’m not,” Darius said. “But I have to trust them. Whatever fear they have of me, I think they’ll fear Cyric more.”