CHAPTER 4
Cap
She was fast, but her aim needed work. The arrow missed, catching the edge of his hood and dragging it off.
Gripping his bow and arrow with one hand, he spun and ducked, tugging the hood back over his face. He rose with his bow drawn, releasing as soon as he was pointed toward her again.
“Why so desperate to hide your face?” she taunted. “Are you—”
She cut off with a cry of pain and dropped her bow as his arrow lodged itself in her left shoulder. A thread of guilt tried to wrap around his heart, but Cap ignored it. Anyone in league with the General was his enemy. And she had fired first.
“Cap!” Jean-haut’s voice rang out behind him. He heard the scrabbling noises of his friend’s hasty descent. “Cap, are you all right?”
Cap nocked another arrow and kept it trained on the young woman. He doubted that she could attack him again, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
“I’m fine.” The words were terse. “We need to get her down so we can search her and bind her wound, but I don’t trust her enough to get that close.”
Neither a hidden blade nor one of her arrows would require much effort at that range.
“You shot me. You actually shot me!” the woman gasped out. That fire lit her eyes again as she glared at him. “I should have known you wouldn’t be better than the rest of them.”
Jean-haut folded his arms across his chest as he examined her.
“If you’re concerned about blades, Cap, you’ll need Rouge.
You know I can’t do metal.” His eyes darted sideways.
“And she might not be willing in front of a stranger. Or at least, I assume you’re planning on releasing her when we’re finished. ”
“Of course I am,” Cap huffed, keeping his eyes on the messenger. “Just like all the others.”
All the others, except those who had refused to surrender. He regretted those, but giving up wasn’t an option for him.
Keeping his attention on the grimacing young woman, he cast a single eye over his friend. Jean-haut’s strength wouldn’t make up for his height when lifting an injured woman from a horse.
“If you cover her, I’ll take care of it.” Cap scowled. “I just hope you do a better job than a few minutes ago.”
Jean-haut sighed. “Between your sister and mine, I should have expected it. But she moved so fast! I think she was faster than you.”
Cap bristled at the suggestion, but he shoved it aside. It would do him no good to let his pride get in the way; if she was faster, that meant he needed to practice more. He couldn’t afford to be outperformed by General Valentin’s men. Or women.
Lowering his bow, Cap stepped closer to the woman and her horse. She lifted her eyes again. “Don’t you step on my bow,” she growled through clenched teeth.
He glanced at the ground in front of him. Her weapon lay there, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. It matched her dusty traveling outfit of sturdy yet fine materials and the quality of her horse’s tack. Someone well-to-do, then…or well paid.
Cap kept an eye on her foot while he crouched down to pick up the bow and slide it under his own. “Unclasp your quiver and drop it, and I’ll lift you down. Try anything, and my friend will shoot you.”
She glared back. Her horse danced to the side. “No, thank you. I’ll wait for the next traveler.”
And that next traveler could be a few minutes away. They needed to get off the road.
“You’ll pass out before then,” he replied dismissively. “You can fall off your horse, or you can accept my help and spare yourself the knock to the head. Your choice.”
The horse lifted its head and began to back up as she leaned in the saddle.
Lunging forward, Cap caught the bridle. He couldn’t let her escape, and he would rather not lead the horse into the trees with an injured rider.
Inspiration struck as he watched her indecisive glower.
“If you’re difficult, I can always snap your bow in two. ”
He wouldn’t; it would be a shame to damage such a fine weapon. But she didn’t know that.
“Fine,” she ground out. Dropping her right hand from her shoulder, she undid the buckle on her quiver belt. It clattered to the ground, and Cap once again moved cautiously forward to retrieve it.
When he reached for her, though, she jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me!”
He exhaled heavily through his nose. “And how do you expect me to help you down without touching you?”
“I’ll get myself down.”
He raised an eyebrow, but she set her right hand on the front of the saddle and leaned forward, balancing as she slowly lifted her right leg over. Her face twisted in a grimace, clearly biting back a cry of pain with the movement.
As she was lowering herself to the ground, her knee gave out. Cap jumped forward to catch her. A wail escaped her when her left shoulder rammed into his chest, but he wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her upright.
“Let go of me! What are you doing?” she protested when he pinned her to his chest with his left arm and began running his free hand along her sides. “You scoundrel!”
He grunted when her elbow found his stomach, but he didn’t release her. “Checking you for weapons. I don’t fancy a blade in my ribs.”
The confounded woman continued to struggle, but each twist was a little weaker than the last. When he was certain she had nothing dangerous concealed – unless it was someplace he didn’t dare check – he nodded to Jean-haut. “Grab the horse, and let’s get out of here.”
Cap bent down and put an arm under her knees, sliding his other arm around to support her shoulders, and hefted her into his arms. He felt a little ridiculous carrying a captive woman bridal style, but throwing her over his shoulder would have driven the arrow in farther.
“Put me down; I can walk.” Her protest was feeble, her voice growing weaker.
She gave a half-hearted wiggle, but her head drifted toward his shoulder.
Her dress was damp beneath his hand, but it should be the pain, not blood loss, sending her toward unconsciousness.
He didn’t want the death of this young woman on his conscience. Even if she did work for the General.
She was too tall and her hair was the wrong shade, but as he glanced down at her drooping eyelids, he was suddenly reminded of his sister.
A stab of homesickness pierced his chest. He loved the forests and the mountains where he and his band made their camp, but he missed his family.
He knew he wasn’t the only one. All the more reason to hope this woman carried useful information, because the sooner they put a stop to the General’s machinations, the sooner they could all go home.