The Silver Crown

48.

I felt the bolt from the crossbow hit my right shoulder and jerk me back in midair. I clenched my teeth together and forced myself to relax, knowing that I couldn't be rigid when I hit the ground. I tucked my chin and my arms into my chest, protecting them. I landed with a crushing blow on the hard packed dirt. I coughed as the air was knocked out of my lungs.

My shoulder throbbed, but when I rolled over to look down the path at my fleeing family, I saw my tan horse running alongside Marek's wine colored horse. Marek, his head turned and looking my way, was still seated upright on his horse. He turned around and he and his horse disappeared around the corner, the foliage on the trees blocking him from view. He was all right. They were all right.

Two riders galloped past me, still in hot pursuit, but the rest of them had gotten a good head start and Marek was an expert rider. Still, I sent a prayer to the Goddess that they would make it to safety at the fort. Arovia would need them in the days to come.

I pulled myself to my feet, gritting my teeth through the throbbing pain in my shoulder. Three horses trotted over to where I stood. The riders pulled up, stopping feet from my swaying form. I blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the haze that the pain was causing but it didn't disappear.

One of the brothers reached down and grasped the front of my dress. He pulled me up and swung me onto the back of his horse. Silently the horses walked back to the compound. The thud of their shod hooves was too loud in my ears, whether because of the trauma from my wound or the aching in my heart, I didn't know. I was injured and in shock. Everything around me seemed like a dream. I blinked a few times but nothing really came into focus.

After what could have been a few seconds or several minutes I spied a pile of clothes lying off to one side of the road. Remembering, I slid from the back of the horse before the Red Priest could stop me and stumbled over to Peter. I knelt by his side and grasped his hand.

"Kade," he gasped out. "Kade, help me." His eyes were wide and his breaths were sobs.

"I can't do anything," I said, my voice small. "I failed you." I repeated it over and over, my voice staying quiet but getting more and more hysterical. "I failed you. I failed you."

Peter put his hand up to my face. I trailed off and met his eyes. They were soft and sad and blue. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

Then a hand gripped the back of my neck and pulled me away. "No," I screamed. I couldn't just leave him there, halfway to death's realm. I couldn't let him die alone.

The priest pulled me away from the only father figure I had ever known and tossed me over the front of his horse.

From my position, I saw another priest approach the king. He nudged him a few times with his boot and then yelled back, "He won't make it two more minutes. We can send a acolyte back for his body later." He hurried back to his horse and mounted. The other priest jumped up behind me, and, keeping a restraining hand on my back, trotted the horse back to the compound. I gritted my teeth and against the bouncing motion and closed my eyes, dizzy and nauseous.

At the gate, many priests were gathered around the ruins of the stables or at the top of the wall, watching me being dragged back to the one place I had once been desperate to get back to but hated more than anything.

Inside the wall again, the priest slid off his horse and seized the back of my black cloak. He yanked me from the animal's back and shoved me onto the ground. I looked up to see Camus Nox and Icas Hart, standing united in front of me.

"Well, shit," I said, too delirious with pain to realize that I had said it very loudly.

"'Well, shit' is correct," Icas said with badly concealed rage. His eyes were black, his fists clenched.