Page 54 of Ties of Legacy

She darted between bookshelves, finally choosing one near the back of the room to stop. Crouching down, she frantically started pulling books from shelves. She could hear the men talking as they methodically searched between shelves, clearly aware she had nowhere to run.

As soon as she had cleared enough space, she pulled the wrapped lamp from the satchel and thrust it to the back of the shelf. There wasn’t time to put the books back properly, so sheshoved them in front of the lamp in a pile, hoping it would be enough.

The soft rustle of feathers alerted her as Frank glided over to join her.

“Get back out of sight,” she whispered urgently to him. “And as soon as you can, go find Elliot. He’ll come after us.”

Being a bird, Frank didn’t always show a lot of sense, but he knew enough to stay quiet, merely bobbing his head in acknowledgment of her words, his wings twitching.

“And tell Elliot this is here!” she added, pointing at the hidden lamp. “It’s very important that you tell him about it!”

Frank took off, flapping out of sight just as one of the men rounded her row of shelves. Avery stood and took several steps toward him, distancing herself from the hidden lamp.

The man gave a shout and broke into a run. She had just enough time to seize a book from the closest shelf and smash it over his head. The man staggered but managed to keep his feet. She tried to use the opportunity to retrieve the herbalist’s dagger from her boot, but her attacker seized her wrist before she could reach it, wrenching her arm behind her back. She cried out in pain, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

“Don’t be trying any more silly tricks,” he growled, dragging her back toward the library door.

Avery didn’t struggle, knowing it would do little good. If she wanted to escape, she needed to wait for a more opportune moment. Her earlier resistance had only been to distract from her true purpose among the shelves—and to vent some of her fury.

When she reached Mattie, the two women’s eyes met, both assessing the other for injuries.

“I’m afraid I hit him with one of your books,” Avery said apologetically.

“Good girl,” Mattie said approvingly.

“Shut it, both of you,” the first man warned. He had handed Mattie over to the third man and was peering down the corridor outside. “Try anything or start yelling, and you’ll regret it.”

Avery had every intention of trying something the second they were out in public, but the man holding her arms behind her back suddenly seized her and threw her over his shoulder. Startled, she instinctively tried to kick at him, but it did little good.

Mattie and Avery were carried together down the long hallway and out the open front door. A covered cart waited on the street outside, making Avery suck in her breath. It would be a lot harder to attract attention from inside a cart.

Mattie was pushed into the cart first, her captor climbing in with her. Avery heard the hiss of drawn steel and winced. It wasn’t going to be as easy to escape on the street as she had hoped.

The man carrying her dumped her on the back of the cart. When he stepped away, she felt a surge of hope, but the man deeper inside the cart’s tray spoke menacingly.

“Try anything, and I’ll slice her.”

Avery gulped, staring into the darkness inside the cart to make out the outline of the man and the knife he was holding against Mattie’s skin.

The man who had been carrying Avery closed the back of the cart, leaving only a small gap to see through. Avery felt the dip as he climbed onto the front with the leader.

For the first time, the shock ebbed enough to allow true fear to rear its head, making her tremble uncontrollably. She peered out the back as the cart’s wheels began to roll across the cobblestones, her eyes trained on the side of Mattie’s house.

Finally she caught movement as Elliot emerged from down the side. His eyes flicked idly toward the cart, catching on herface. He stopped, his mouth dropping open and his expression hardening.

“Stop!” he shouted loudly, sprinting toward her. “Stop!” His boots pounded against the stone as he drew nearer.

But the driver cursed, and the cart lurched into faster motion. Already underway, its momentum quickly increased, the gap between Elliot and Avery lengthening again.

The two horses harnessed in front of the cart couldn’t keep up the pace indefinitely, but Elliot would tire before they did. Already he was flagging.

Avery’s eyes widened as she realized it wasn’t exhaustion causing him to stumble. The further he followed them, the further from the lamp he got. He had no hope of catching them, so he needed to stop before he was completely incapacitated.

Avery leaned out the back of the cart, gesturing wildly. “Stop!” she cried. “Go back! Go back!”

She was trying to wave him off, but at first he only looked more determined. But when he stumbled again, his feet appearing to give way beneath him, he finally slowed.

He sank to the road, his anguished gaze still locked onto Avery.

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