Svyatoslav winced. The only other who'd betrayed him so blatantly had been Rostislav, treacherous Rostislav who had nearly had his throne and his life. Overwhelmed by memory, the prince snatched up the goblet from his bedside table and hurled it across the room in anguish and rage. That time, the traitor had escaped him. And now he'd been forced by law to let Alexei go, too!
But if Alexei didn't leave his lands in time… Svyatoslav smiled thinly.
I've lost Rostislav. But Alexei, I will at least have your life!
He'd tried outracing them. He'd tried simply telling them, «It's quite all right, you can tell your royal master I'm well on my way.» But the cursed guards had stuck with him faithfully. Alexei glanced at the weapons hanging at their saddle bows, so well-worn, so close to hand, and winced. Would they never give up? Ahead of him now, the road twisted, skirting the wall of forest—
The forest? Alexei looked at his unwelcome escort again, more closely. The men were uneasy—and more than uneasy. The superstitious fools were actually afraid of the forest!
And aren't you? wondered a malicious little inner voice. After all, didn't you lose men to it?
«Nonsense!» he muttered. «These damned guards probably killed them, that's what.»
All right, no time for hesitation. The road wasn't going to get much closer to the trees, and there was the hint of a path trailing into the forest.
With a wild cry, Alexei spurred his horse into the sea of trees. Behind him, he could hear startled shouts, but then, almost as though he'd plunged into a sea indeed, all noise was shut off behind him. Alexei forced his frightened mount on along the dangerous, narrow path, frantically ducking and dodging branches that seemed determined to sweep him from the saddle. There, now, there was some kind of wide-trunked tree whose branches drooped to form a perfect screen. Alexei hastily reined in his horse, pulling the reluctant animal under the shield of branches with him, hand ready to close over the horse's nose to keep it from whinnying. Heart racing, Alexei stood listening frantically to the crashes of mounted soldiers following him.
«I don't see him, sir," said one. «The forest being what it is, I think we've lost him.»
The desperate Alexei prayed, Yes, yes, you've lost me, go away!
And to his heartfelt relief, he heard, «Bah, our orders weren't to follow him in here. Let the forest take care of him!»
They were leaving, they were actually leaving, and he was safe.
Too safe: safe from a way out of the forest.
Somewhere amid all this heavy greenness there were roads, Alexei knew, roads that would lead him to some nice, civilized city where he'd never have to see another tree. But he'd been riding for what seemed like days, and for all he knew, he'd been going in one great circle. Give the horse its head? No chance! If he did that, the fool beast would almost certainly take him right back to Danilo's estate.
The trees grew thick together on either side of the overgrown path he was following, forcing him to keep twisting in the saddle to avoid having a hip or thigh bruised against rough bark. Leaves hung heavily on the wide-spread branches, motionless in the still air, screening out the sky. Somewhere up there, Alexei knew, the sun must still be shining. Down here, it was perpetual dim green twilight. Where were the birds? Birdsong to break the stillness would have been a joy. But he guessed that whatever birds there were had been frightened away by his presence. Silence shrouded him, without even the familiar clop of hoof to relieve it; the horse was picking its delicate way over muffling layers of damp, rotting leaves. The overripe stench of them made him gag and raise a screening hand to his face. God, for a breeze!
What was that? A quick, sharp rattle of a sound—he could have sworn he heard a laugh‑Dammit, I'm getting as bad as those dolts of soldiers!
Was he? Something was watching him; that was no superstitious fancy. Something inhuman, something hostile, was watching him. He knew it. Something was virtually breathing down his neck, playing with him, preparing to strike—
Alexei whirled in the saddle, staring back over his shoulder, half expecting to see the trees quietly closing in behind him.
Nothing.
Of course, nothing, he told himself angrily. Don't be a fool.
But the blood was surging in his ears, his heart pounding so sharply he thought it must burst… It was the forest pursuing him, the forest itself that didn't want him here…
With a startled snort, Alexei's horse almost fell out of underbrush onto a road, an undeniable road, and he could have kissed the beast. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know where the road led, but surely it had to get him out of the forest!
But which was the right way? The branches even overhung the road, and in this cursed sunless gloom, he couldn't even begin to judge direction. Gnawing on his lip, Alexei picked a direction at random, forcing his horse forward. The animal didn't seem very happy about his choice, its ears flicking nervously until he could have shouted at it to be still. Save for the clop of its hoofs on dirt and the continued surging of blood in his ears, there still wasn't a sound, not even the faintest stirring of wind in leaves. The sense of being watched, of riding ever deeper into nameless peril, grew till he could have screamed.
Suddenly Alexei's nerve broke. He whirled his horse about so sharply the animal reared in protest, then kicked it into a frenzied run—
Just as something heavy came hurtling down on him out of the trees. Alexei was sent flying from the saddle, landing on his back with an impact that knocked the breath from him. Dazed, he saw men peering down at him‑dirty, ragged, perfectly human robbers—but his attention was on his horse, galloping off with an eagerness that said it wasn't going to stop till it was safe in Stargorod. Galloping off with all his possessions and his hopes of getting out of the forest!
«No!» he gasped, and again, in rising panic, «No!» Oh, God, the thought of being trapped here forever — «Damn you!» It was a shriek. «You've stranded me. Damn you!»
Blazing with mindless rage and sheer terror, in that mad instant blaming these fools for everything that had gone wrong, Alexei sprang to his feet, sword in hand, and descended on the amazed robbers like a demon out of the old tales. He was dimly aware of knives flashing out, improvised clubs being raised, but just then he didn't care what weapons these peasants bore.
«Damn you!» he repeated, and when one of them, better-armed than the rest, dared to lunge at him with long knife raised, Alexei swung his blade, two-handed, and felt a savage surge of joy at the impact of steel on flesh. His victim fell, spouting blood, nearly decapitated, and the other robbers cried out angrily. The sound penetrated Alexei's killing rage, and he looked down at his ghastly handiwork in sudden horror. He'd never had to kill anyone before; not like this, not with his own hands. God, the mess of it, the ugly, reeking mess… But he didn't dare be sick, as his churning stomach was insisting, because these creatures would almost certainly murder him if he showed any weakness.
Yes, but why did they all seem more shocked now than angry? Surely they'd seen violent death before. Oh, fine, thought Alexei in sudden realization, that was their leader I just killed. And now they're going to kill me.
The fading of his killing frenzy had left him fairly shaking with reaction. Alexei thought of those dirty peasant hands tearing him limb from limb, and all at once wanted nothing so much as to beg their mercy. Not that he would ever dishonor himself like that! But right now, he had to think of something clever, and fast.
And to his amazement, Alexei heard himself saying, in a cold, casual voice, «The fool is dead.»