Page 79 of Ties of Legacy

“Do you remember telling me about the cave when I was four?” Elliot asked Corbett as they walked.

Corbett frowned. “Were you only four? I don’t remember that.”

“Of course you don’t,” Elliot answered morosely. “You weren’t the one who got nightmares from it.”

Corbett winced—probably thinking of the curly-haired boy he’d left behind. He had looked about four.

“And now there’s a real dragon,” Corbett said. “Perhaps it’s my punishment.”

Elliot looked at him with a frown. He’d almost sounded serious.

“I hope you don’t mean that,” Elliot said. “From everything I heard at the manor yesterday evening, you’ve been working tirelessly to conserve and protect my inheritance as well as to watch over the town. This creature hasn’t come to punish you.”

Corbett smiled. “My thanks. I wasn’t serious.” He paused and then spoke more stiffly. “I’ve been careful not to give any more aid or support to the townsfolk than what your father was accustomed to giving on a regular basis. Your fortune wasn’tused to fund any large projects, as you saw yourself with the dam. But maintaining the facade required keeping the day-to-day life of the town as normal as possible. However, I realize that you have the right to question even that expenditure given the standing orders came from your father and not?—”

“Stop!” Elliot raised a hand in alarm. “I have no intention of criticizing the care you’ve given either the estate or the town. I’m very well aware that if anyone is deserving of criticism, it’s me.”

“I’m merely relieved you’ve returned in time,” Corbett said. “I, too, have no intention of casting criticisms.”

The man in front of them held up a hand for silence, and they both went still. They had nearly reached the mouth of the cave, and he gestured for them all to gather into a group.

“There’s something to be said for attacking now, even though it’s not yet as bright as it will be later,” he said. “If we move now, we have some hope of catching the creature while it’s still asleep. We’ll attack in formation as practiced, keeping Corbett and His Lordship in the center.”

“No,” Elliot said quickly. “I didn’t come here to create a weakness. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I know how to wield a sword, and I don’t need anyone protecting me. Protect yourselves, and make sure we finish the job we came here for. If anything happens to me, the consequences are also mine.”

The leader hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Very well, then. Men, you know the plan.”

They all drew their weapons as quietly and carefully as possible. The one holding the lamp was joined at the front by three bowmen, each with an arrow already nocked. Behind them, the remaining men formed into two rows of swordsmen, with Corbett and Elliot in the second row. Keeping in formation, they all advanced toward the pitch darkness beyond the cave mouth.

“If the Legacy wasn’t interfering,” Corbett breathed, “we could have had archers in the trees, waiting to take the beast down when he next emerged from his cave. We could have dealt with him months ago. But the arrows never land.”

“So why do we have…?” Elliot trailed off, nodding toward the front row.

“A distraction,” Corbett said simply before falling silent.

Elliot would have liked to know if it was a distraction for the creature or the Legacy, but he stayed quiet as they stepped into the cave. All his senses were on high alert in the dimly flickering light from their single lamp.

At least its light hadn’t gone out, and from the sighs of relief around him, that wasn’t something to be taken for granted. The people from Bolivere had waited six months for the lamp, but they still hadn’t been sure it would work.

His respect for anyone who had entered the cave without a light went up enormously. Even with the light, the place was full of flickering shadows that made him twitch and jump at every step. It smelled dank in a way he didn’t remember from his childhood. Back then, it had always seemed dry and dusty, and the change had his instincts screaming at him to run.

He locked his legs and forced himself forward. He couldn’t lead the townsfolk into battle, but he could at least avoid fleeing in fear.

A rasping sound made them all freeze, their ears collectively straining as it came again. Was it the sound of the creature’s breaths?

Elliot peered hopefully ahead. Had they really caught the creature while it was sleeping?

The men in front started forward again, and Elliot followed in step with his row. The rough stone walls of the natural cave widened into a cavern, the air inside it unnaturally dark and tainted with a rotten stench that nearly overpowered him.

The archers reached the cavern first, carrying the light of the lamp with them. Elliot managed a single glimpse of something large and furred sprawled across the floor before the first arrows were released. Every one of them was aimed true, gliding straight toward the sleeping creature. And every one of them curved, landing uselessly on either side of the beast or coming up short.

Corbett gave a disappointed exhale as the creature sprang instantly from sleep to growling wakefulness. Elliot had been picturing something akin to a bear, but the creature looked like a wolf, although it was closer to a bear in size. Its fur was matted and coarse, its form twisted, and the look in its eyes was just as crazed as the reports had claimed.

It lunged at the archers, snapping its teeth. They were already scattering to either side, though, revealing the first row of swordsmen. The man holding the lamp stepped back to join their number, keeping the light trained on the wolf.

It seemed confused by the flickering glow, flinching whenever it tried to train its eyes on the group of men. The second row raised their weapons in a solid line of steel and began to advance again. Elliot stepped forward with them until he realized his line was stationary. He moved back to his place, glancing at Corbett.

“We’re guarding the way out,” he murmured. “In case the creature breaks past the others.”

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