Sherwood Rogue

Chapter Ten

I heard a crossbow being cocked and sat up, shooting an arrow off in that direction. A cry of pain answered it. A shadow moving in the woods caught my eye and I shot my next arrow at it. Another cry echoed through the forest.

"Where are they?" Mark asked. I felt him at my back, ready to shoot.

A crossbow bolt zinged past my ear and thudded into something soft. Mark grunted. I turned to see him drop his bow, clutching his neck. The barb of the bolt stuck out between his fingers, the fletching protruding out the other side. As I watched, horrified, a second bolt struck his chest and Mark went down. For a second, all I could do was watch as blood spurted from his wounds and his body twitched, eyes wide open, staring at the sky.

Another marksman released a bolt. I threw myself into the mud as it flew over my head.

Scrambling to my knees, I fired my own arrows at shadows in the trees. It seemed I could see them when it should have been impossible. There were some lucky strikes, verified by sounds of pain.

"How many?" I asked myself, searching the forest's edge. I couldn't see any more targets, and I was running low on arrows.

"Cowards!" I screamed, throwing down my bow and drawing my sword. "Stop hiding and face me like men!" I turned in a slow circle, listening and watching for any movement. There had to be more.

A twig snapped behind me and I whirled to see a soldier wearing Nottingham colors holding a drawn sword.

"Are you the last?" I asked. The man didn't answer, so I raised my voice. "Well, you're all cowards. You send your comrade out to die while you hide like children?!"

"I am the last," the soldier said with the quiet dignity of youthful pride.

"Then you are a brave, foolish boy."

"Are you so sure of yourself that I am going to die?" he asked, haughty with that same pride.

I shrugged, moving away from Mark. I didn't know if he was still alive, but I had to be sure no one would give me trouble getting him back to camp.

"The sheriff won't be happy you've killed five of his soldiers. And you, just a filthy poacher."

That showed just how ignorant he was. What mere poacher carried a sword like mine? A sword identical to his.

"Come now," I chided. "Name-calling won't get you anywhere with me. What were you looking for out here if it wasn't poachers?"

I drew a little closer to him as he moved toward me, raising his sword.

"We're looking for Robin Hood's men." He laughed harshly. "We intend for that outlaw to come 'home' and find all his men hanged. Then he will hang, too."

The fool, I thought. His arrogance makes him a fool.

I laughed. "I don't know much about Robin Hood, but you won't catch him so easily."

"Easily?" Our swords touched. A little chime of metal on metal sounded through the air. "We've got every man combing this forest.

They won't escape us for long. Robin Hood will have no warning of what he's going to find."

"No warning from you," I scoffed, and took a swing at him.

His eyes widened as he blocked, finally catching on. "You're an outlaw, as well as a poacher!"

"Don't make it sound like an insult," I told him, laughing. I made quick work of it. He was young and didn't know what he was doing. I finished him off, knowing if I didn't, he would sound the alarm. I made sure to grab his sword before I ran back to Mark.