Page 114 of The Robber Knight's Love
Then she heard the alarm sound and knew whatwas happening.
They were coming. They were coming in thedead of night.
EnemyAscending
“Milady!” Someone started hammering against herdoor. “Milady, come quickly! The enemy is approaching!”
Ayla scrambled out of her bed and reached forher dress.
“Milady!” Again, the fist hit the door. “Weneed you!”
No time! Grabbing a cloak that hung over thearmrest of a chair, she threw it over her thin nightgown and rushedout of the room. Outside, a soldier was waiting, carrying a torchin his hand. The acrid stench of the torch bit into Ayla's nose andshe almost choked from the smoke, but she didn't say a word aboutit. The expression on the soldier's face told her that just now,there were much more important matters to attend to.
“They are coming?” she demanded.
“Yes, Milady.”
“Lead the way.”
Without another word, the soldier hurriedahead, lighting her way through the pitch-black castle. The moonwasn't shining this night. It was hiding behind a thick clump ofclouds. If not for the flickering red light of the flame, Aylawould have been lost in her own castle.
“Where are they attacking?” she asked whilethey hurried down a flight of stairs. “How many are there?”
“I do not know, Milady. I was sent up here assoon as our guards spotted the enemy. Captain Linhart thought itbest to inform you at once and not waste any time counting theapproaching forces.”
“That was the right decision. How long did ittake you to come up here?”
“Only a few minutes, Milady. I used ourfastest horse. And we should be able to return in about the sametime. When I arrived, I gave orders to the stable boy to bring outtwo horses for us.”
“Well done, soldier.”
“Thank you, Milady. Here's the door.”
Holding up the torch, the soldier pushed thekeep door open for her. She stumbled out into the front yard andlooked upon a foreign world:
Apart from flickering red dots here andthere, Luntberg Castle was in utter darkness. The walls rose up onall sides, a deeper, more menacing black, competing with the stormygloom of the sky above. Men were running around, shouting andcursing, all carrying some small light, like fireflies about to beswallowed up by a giant predator. As the soldier emerged from thekeep behind her and the light of his torch shone a little morebrightly, Ayla could just make out the forms of two horses in theyard. In the dim light, she thought their large eyes glintedfearfully. Or maybe that was just the reflection of what was in herown eyes at that very moment.
She jumped into the saddle and didn't waitfor the soldier to do the same before she pressed her legs againstthe horse's sides and urged it forward, towards the first gate. Thestable boy who had been holding the horse's reins jumped back witha startled yelp, and horse and rider dashed off into thedarkness.
Ayla's vision narrowed, until all she couldsee were the two small flames burning on either side of the innercastle gate. Behind her, she could hear the clatter of the otherhorse's hoofs on the cobblestones, and she urged her ride to goeven faster. This was a race against time, and she was losing. Aylawas an experienced rider, but she wasn't used to the big horsesthat made up the majority of Luntberg's stable. Instead, she wasused to small, agile animals. To one animal in particular...
Furiously, she shook her head. No, shecouldn't allow her mind to dwell on Eleanor now. She had a taskbefore her.
Somewhere on the mountain path down into thevalley, the soldier caught up with her. He was obviously anexcellent rider, and perfectly capable of handling large animals,which was probably the reason why he had been chosen as courier.Ayla was angry because it meant he was faster than she, but she wasalso grateful. There were things she needed to know.
“How many men are at the barricade?” shepanted, not taking her eyes off the path. Letting the horse makeone false step would be deadly here.
“The usual watch of twenty,” came thesoldier's gruff reply.
No more than twenty. That was what Ayla hadexpected. It was also what she had feared.
Please, oh Lord, don'tlet the enemy attack in full force, she prayed,desperately.Please let this only be a smallskirmish.
She wished now that she had made the regularwatch bigger. But in her heart she knew she couldn't have. She hadonly sixty men at her disposal, and soldiers needed their sleep.She also couldn't have taken more men out of the castle, just incase the enemy found a different way to cross the river and made asurprise attack. It was as it had to be: twenty soldiers, nomore.
“What about the rest of the soldiers?” sheasked, desperately.
“Marching not far behind us, Milady. I leftinstructions with the sergeant to march as if the devil was burninghis ass off.”
