Page 97 of Robin and Marian
He couldn’t get to them fast enough. Guy would do it! He’d kill her! He’d said it himself—he found pleasure in the hunt—he craved power over those he felt most deserved it. Robin’s Jet Ski hit the rocks and he struggled out of his seat, abandoning it in the tall grass at the water’s edge and flailing into the water to get to them. Midge’s bow might actually come in handy. Robin felt like he was going into a medieval battle when he threw it over his shoulder and rushed into the opening of the forest.
The trees swayed over him, creaking ominously, their dark branches scraping against the sky like fingers. It was a full moon that night, which made it possible to find Guy and Marian’s tracks pressed into the soft forest floor. He followed their voices next.
He heard everything Guy told Marian as it echoed through the wind. He saw him pick up the bow, the green paint dripping from his body. Robin got ready to shout out a warning, then stopped, studying his cousin’s form. Guy wasn’t getting his target. There was no need to give himself away yet. And still he flinched when the arrow punctured the tree next to Marian.
“You’re mine,” Guy shouted out at her.
Robin counted out the arrows left in Guy’s quiver—three—and he picked up his bow. His wrist might be broken, but he still had the use of his fingers on that hand; His aim would be off, but it would be enough of a distraction. “Hey!” he called to Guy from across the way.
Marian let out a strangled cry and he yelled for her to stay where she was.
“You’ve come to kill me?” Guy asked the air. He hadn’t spotted Robin yet, but Marian had called it. This had been Alan’s plan all along. Robin was surprised that for all of Guy’s supposed cunning, he hadn’t considered that the man he’d been blackmailing all these years might want to get rid of him.
“We don’t have to do this,” Robin shouted back. “We could walk away and get the sheriff.”
Guy laughed. “You won’t kill me. I’m still smarter than you.”
“I’m not the one covered in green paint and half naked in the forest!”
Guy swiveled on his heel and shot at him. It landed in a hollow log by his foot. Two arrows left. Robin sucked in his breath, his pulse rushing behind his ears. This was really happening. He didn’t want his cousin to know yet that he had a weapon—he’d need him to get closer to do any damage. It was a brutal, startling thought. He didn’t want to kill Guy, but he’d do anything to protect Marian. The moonlight sparkled against the tears on her cheeks. She hid behind a sapling, but it was tiny and slanted. It wasn’t good cover.
“Robin,” Guy called out. He looked like a crazed Popeye with his one squinty eye. “Come out! Marian misses you. You gonna hide out there all night?”
“I’ll give her a big, sloppy kiss when this is all over,” Robin said.
His cousin shot at him again. It landed closer this time, but Guy was off his game. Robin had a pretty good strategy going. Say something snarky, get shot at, deplete Guy’s supply of arrows. There was only one arrow left.
The branches shook on the tree where Marian hid, and looking over, Robin saw her pulling the arrow from the tree. She was going to use it as a weapon. Fear funneled through him when he saw her movement had caught Guy’s eye, too, and the hideous Green Man swiveled, going after her.
“Hey, Guy!” Robin tried to distract him. But his cousin was on to his tricks. He ignored Robin with the arrogance of a man who didn’t know his enemy could fight back. He tipped the arrow in his hand, stalking out Marian with it. Robin slammed his bow on the rock like a crossbow and, using his feet to hold it in place, he pulled the string back with numb fingers and let the arrow go. It met its target. Guy screamed out and landed in the dirt. He turned with a snarl and tried to dig the arrow from his leg. He snapped off the end instead.
“Guy!” Robin’s voice carried through the forest. “Let’s stop this.”
Guy didn’t let him finish. He lurched off the ground and, screaming fiercely, rushed Marian. She cried out and backed away, her feet giving out from under her. His stomach clenching, Robin let loose another arrow. This one went into Guy’s arm. It could be darts for all the good it did. Robin picked up his bow and ran after Guy.
“Marian!” He wasn’t sure what he was going to say. She wasn’t able to move very fast, and he saw she’d been hurt. She had snagged the arrow that Guy had shot at her, but she didn’t stand a chance against her deranged attacker. “Just run! Just run!”
But she couldn’t get far before Guy was on her. Still a good twenty feet away, Robin landed in the dirt and set the bow against his knee, his tattoo of the trickster staring up at him, the feeling of helplessness he’d felt when it had been branded into his skin washed over him. The worst was the sound of Marian’s cries. Guy had his hand around Marian’s neck, yanking her head back so that his target—her heart—was exposed. Marian clawed helplessly at his arm. Fear worked Robin’s hands as Guy raised his arrow high in the air to stab her.
Robin let his arrow go, guiding its path with his eyes. It landed into Guy’s back. Guy reared like a wild beast and let Marian go. She twisted away.
“Guy!” None of his arrows had hit anything vital. There was still a chance to turn back. “We can get you some medical help! Just put down that arrow.”
It was the wrong thing to say because it reminded Guy that he still held the weapon in his hand, and his eyes latched onto Robin. He loped after him in a hot fury, a fierce sight, but nothing to what Robin had faced in prison. Standing in response, Robin steadied himself, waiting for Guy to reach him before he stepped to the side and let Guy run into a tree.
Guy grunted at the impact and then screamed out. “I hate you!I hate you!” It was like a curse to raise him from the dead and, raising the arrow, he came at him again.
Robin knocked it out of his hand with his bow and then rammed the bow into his chin. Guy fell back and teetered on the edge of the ravine where Marian had fallen before. His voice changed to fear. “Robin!”
But there was nothing his cousin could do, and Guy fell backwards into the pit and landed with a distinct crunch.
Marian let out a sob and moved toward him.
Robin held his hand out to her. “No, no, don’t come over here.” He went after his cousin instead, crawling into the ravine. He saw that Guy’s head rested awkwardly on a deer skull, his black eyes staring blankly into the canopy above. Robin felt his neck. It was broken. Guy had died on impact. It was too much. The horror of it felt heavy through Robin’s veins; it pressed down on him, deadened him until he felt nothing. Robin pulled from the ravine, trying to escape what he’d done.
Marian was by his side in an instant. She hadn’t taken his advice, but she seemed more disturbed by the tears stinging his eyes than Guy’s dead body and she wrapped her arms around Robin, hiding her face in his chest, her body shaking. He tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing, but his insides were twisted in shock. “Why did he hate me so much?”
She didn’t answer, likely couldn’t answer. Her arms that were meant to lend him comfort now demanded his protection as she clutched onto him tightly, her whole body wracked with sobs. They both held onto each other. He used the reality of her to stabilize the distorted world around him. It wouldn’t hold still. It would never be the same again.
