A Thief's Shadow

Mouse Trap

Cal had never actually been in a carriage before. He'd led one and ridden by one, but never sat in one. Technically he wasn't supposed to be the one inside of the carriage, but they were just picking up the woman who would be Nikolas's "lady". Apparently she was a real lady, and one who had ridden with the real Cyrus to his portion of the kingdom before. They were the only knights who had tried so hard to be realistic. They didn't actually have to try; it was more of a coincidence. The lady they were picking up had a fetish for red-haired men, so she was naturally friends with Nikolas, the Lord Cyrus look-alike.

Along with the look-alike and real lady, the lady had given them real armor cloth from Cyrus. They didn't ask how she got it. Despite all of their advantages, it was unlikely that they would be the ones to capture the wraith thief. They'd drawn the shortest stick, so they were heading out last. All of the previous parties had gone through the border without the gold and gems they'd taken with them stolen, and even when they camped overnight nothing had happened. They'd assumed the wraith thief was gone, so they waited a day between the last departures simply to have more time free of patrolling. It was going to be a very uneventful day, so where they were luckier than everyone else was their lady. She was very nice, though not so nice to look at.

Many people thought it was attractive for women to be large, but Cal was content with his girlfriend. She was very thin but strong, short, and worked alongside her father at their woodcarving shop. She'd taught him how to carve wood and he'd shown her everything he knew about fighting with and without a sword. When they'd first met at school they'd simply tutored each other with the subjects each wasn't good at. They were engaged now and were thinking about having a small wedding once summer came around. Just family. Cal smiled at the thought of it. If only she could experience the carriage ride with him.

The all-too-short ride came to a halt as they arrived at the Lady Catherine's house. Cal quickly hopped out of the carriage and swapped places with Nikolas, who had been riding on a horse by the carriage. Nikolas held the carriage door open. They were barely on time. The Lady Catherine immediately burst through the door of her mansion wearing a massive, baby-like smile. Curtsying to Nikolas, she threw several heavy bags onto the pack horse, which already held their much smaller bags. Only Nikolas's bag contained any gold and jewels. The lady knew what they were doing, so she'd probably packed realistically as well.

Nikolai threw the whip and the carriage horses began to trot forward with Cal riding by their side. He knew he'd make new friends without much trouble, but he hadn't expected it to occur so quickly. It was a pleasant surprise. He and Nikolai talked nonstop throughout the fairly short journey, only going silent once and a while to try and make out what Nikolas and the Lady were talking about. It was pretty obvious when Cal and Nikolai had stopped talking, so occasionally Nikolas or the Lady Catherine would loudly comment on how annoying the knights were. The laughter and chatting became more and more muted as they neared the border, until Cal and Nikolai were only whispering the occasional joke.

Leading the horses to a stop, Nikolai hopped down from his perch and opened the door for the lady and fake lord. His ridiculous purple helmet plume fluttering in the icy wind, Cal searched the forest for any sign of darkness, a shadow, anything. There was nothing. He glanced back at the carriage as the Lady Catherine complained about how cold it was and how she looked forward to a view of the ocean instead of snow. Nikolas's expression was one of perfect annoyance. The kind of annoyance that showed you'd had to put up with complaints for hours and had basically given up on the thought of silence. Cal didn't let his eyes linger on them. He watched the carriage carefully along with the gray and white forest behind it. Nothing. Nothing except...

A shadow flickered under the carriage. A shadow that shouldn't be there. He was seeing things. He must be. There was no way that they, the last of a long string of carriages leaving the border, were being robbed by the wraith thief. Yet there was no such thing as being too careful. Cal hopped down from his horse, landing lightly, and peered under the carriage. Something, or someone, slid out from beneath and began to run. Cal leapt back onto the horse and saw the wraith thief sprinting into the forest. It was going to be a hard chase, but Cal had a hunch.

"We've been robbed! It's him! Follow me!" Cal nudged the horse into running while yelling back at the knights. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the two Nicks unbinding the lead horses and sprinting after him. They were going to have to take the long way around to the thief's destination – the destination Cal assumed he was heading to – but they also had much quicker transportation. Leaning forward on the horse to avoid the miniature spears of ice formed by the frozen air, Cal watched the white forest pass by. Deep within it he could see a black form moving. It was moving much quicker than he'd expected a man could run. Perhaps it was a wraith after all.

Superstition was only an excuse for failure. Cal repeated his father's favorite phrase in his head over and over. There was no such thing as magic and ghosts, only a smart man and a stupid one. The thudding of hooves became a drumbeat along with the beat of his heart. All he needed was a melody to go along with it. The screaming whispers of the wind would work as a harmony, after all. Cal shook his head; he needed to concentrate. The horse was working hard to maintain the pace it had, so he should be working hard to plan. Once they intersected the thief he would jump off the horse and tackle him to the ground. If the thief was troublesome, his fellow knights would be close behind him. Cal checked behind him just in case. They were only a few yards behind him.

The road began to curve towards yet another intersection through the forest, and Cal could see the wraith sprinting to cross it in time. Cal was shocked. The thief was going to beat him. He was riding the fastest horse he'd ever ridden, and the thief was faster. One road curved and one was straight, sure, but the forest was a complicated mess of dying and living branches. He must be a wraith of some kind. Cal knew he wasn't going to make it in time. He pulled the horse away from the intersection. They would have to meet up with the thief at the next one. As he pulled away Cal saw a stampede of horses running towards the intersection at breakneck speed. The General led the way. They'd guessed that the last group would be the one to be stolen from and brought backup.

Cal didn't have time to think about the now much larger group following him. He watched the shadow moving through the forest and continued to push the horse. If his horse twisted its ankle or fell for any reason, he was dead. The General wouldn't stop. The other knights probably wouldn't stop unless it was Nikolas or Nikolai. Cal shook the thoughts to the back of his head and watched the next intersection. The shadow flashed past it before he even reached it, and there were no more intersections. They would have to follow on foot.

He didn't understand why they were working so hard to catch one simple rogue. Reasoning quickly made its way through his thought process. They could use the thief as an example to other rogues, or to find out where the rogue thieves gathered, or, in the small probability that the thief was part of the Guild of Shadows, they could torture the location of the Guild out of him. Slowing the horse, Cal swiftly tied it to a tree. They were trained not to run away, but he wasn't going to trust his luck. Without a second glance he sprinted through the forest after the retreating form of the wraith. The thief had been running for much longer than them; surely he would tire first.

The darkness of night came quickly during winter. Cal's legs were burning after ten minutes of running, but he kept going until it was no longer possible to see his feet. The wraith continued to run silently through the forest. How someone could run so fast for so long, he would never know. Cal made his way to a clearing and waited. The General wouldn't be giving up the hunt now. They would resume the chase in the morning, no matter how pointless it was.

Nikolas and Nikolai found him first. They nodded, exhausted, then flopped onto the frozen ground beside him. Cal remained on his feet. Exhaustion was better than frostbite. Close behind the two knights, the General burst into the clearing. He held a torch in one hand and carried a folded up tent on his back. They were camping overnight, just as he'd thought. As the rest of the General's elite knights arrived, Cal helped set up camp. He fell onto a spread of thin bedding and let the darkness of sleep claim him. Dinner could wait.

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