Chapter 15
R egina couldn’t sleep that night, being so worried about Lightning as well as the rest of her birds. She tossed and turned so much that she finally decided it was senseless to lie there any longer. She got up in the middle of the night and dressed, meaning to go check on her birds. Roger had offered to stay in the mews overnight since she didn’t trust that Cassian would hear the thief if he should come back again for another bird. Sadly, Hunter told her no. He said it would only scare the thief away and he needed to put out bait to catch him. He told her to trust him because he had a plan.
“I won’t let my birds be used as bait. Why did I ever let Hunter convince me that this was a good idea? I should have brought the birds to my chamber to sleep with me here,” she spoke to herself, wondering now why she hadn’t. As much as she wanted to give Hunter free reign with whatever plan he had, she still felt like it was only putting her birds at risk. Nay, she had to protect Hera, Dewdrop, and Cloud. They were like her children and she would never abandon a child. Regina put on a cloak and lit a candle, hurrying from her room.
It was dark in the castle with an occasional wall torch mounted on a sconce every so often. It only gave enough light to see the ground, not to mention the mice that scurried to and fro. “Well, now I know where to get some mice for my birds,” she mumbled. Everything was silent in an eerie sort of way. She realized that everyone was sleeping. This was probably the time when the thief wandered about stealing whatever he could get in his sticky hands.
She made her way out of the keep and across the courtyard, not seeing the night guards atop the battlements. Something seemed amiss. For her own peace of mind, she needed to check on Hera, Cloud, and Dewdrop. She couldn’t stand the thought of someone stealing another one of her birds. Her heart still ached for Lightning, making her feel like she wanted to retch. She couldn’t even imagine possibly never seeing her sweet peregrine falcon again. Hope swelled within her, wanting to believe that Hunter and Luke could really could find the bird before it was too late. She needed to have faith because without it, she would have nothing left to cling to.
Regina pulled open the door of the mews, the bells atop the door jangling softly. Still, she did not even hear a peep from her babies within. Odd, since they usually sensed her approaching. When they heard the bells over the door and knew someone entered, they usually at least fidgeted atop their perches. Her heart thumped hard against her chest as her eyes scanned the area, trying to locate her birds with only the light of the lone candle in her hand. Then she spied three stiff forms atop the perches. Usually her birds flapped their wings when she entered the mews and made little noises of anticipation. Tonight, they were as still as corpses.
She stepped forward and gasped when someone pulled her to the side and clamped their hand over her mouth.
“Keep quiet, Ladybird. Or you’ll ruin the plan.”
Relief rushed through her when she realized it was only Hunter. He’d dismissed the idea of Roger spending the night in the mews because he’d obviously planned on staying here himself. Hunter blew out her candle and pulled her into the corner of the mews, hunkering down with her in the pitch black.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
“If I’m correct, we are about to catch a thief,” he whispered back.
“I hope so.” She waited in the dark with Hunter, but nothing was happening. They stayed there for what seemed like at least an hour before she decided she really needed to go and comfort her birds. As she started to speak, Hunter held up his finger to her lips.
“Listen,” he whispered.
“I don’t hear anything.” As soon as she said it, she did hear something. It was the sound of metal clinking. If she wasn’t mistaken, she knew this sound. “It’s a cage. Someone is here to steal another bird.”
“Wait for it,” he told her with his hand on her arm.
Sure enough, she saw the door to Cassian’s attached room open. The man walked out with not one, but two cages in his hands. He balanced a lit candle in a jar atop them.
“What is he doing?” she whispered.
“Shhh.” Hunter held up his hand to keep her quiet.
Cassian put down the cages and then turned back to most likely get another cage from his room. Horror swept through Regina. The man was taking the birds somewhere and she had not given him permission to do so.
The door to the mews opened, the bell above the door jangling softly as when she’d entered. Cassian had his back to the main entrance but when the bells sounded, he looked up and turned around.
“He heard it,” she whispered, shocked and not understanding this at all.
“It’s about time you came. I told you to be here an hour ago,” complained Cassian. “What took so long?”
“I had to make sure that damned thief-taker went to bed first,” grumbled the voice of another man. “I waited for a while after I saw him enter the keep, just to be sure he wouldn’t return.”
Regina realized that Hunter must have sneaked back out here when no one was watching.
“We’ll have to move quickly. I want to take all three of them out of here tonight,” instructed Cassian.
Regina gasped. Hunter quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Did you hear something?” Cassian looked around.
“Nay. I didn’t hear nothing,” said the man in the cloak who had entered through the front door. He held up a lantern and looked around. Hunter covered Regina with his body, keeping them hidden in the shadows.
“It’s probably the damned birds,” grumbled Cassian. “Lately, they don’t even want me to touch them, the stupid things.”
“I don’t like this idea,” said the man in the cloak. “Stealing birds from nobles is a crime punishable by death. This is was never part of my plan.”
“Nay, but it is my plan exactly and you cannot object unless you want me to turn you in.”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“Wouldn’t I?” asked Cassian. “It was a stroke of luck when you dropped that brooch and I found it.”
“I want the brooch back. Where is it? That is worth a lot of money.”
Cassian paused before he answered. “I don’t know. I lost it.”
“Damn you! That would have brought me good coin. Enough to live on for a long time.”
“Don’t worry, you simpkin. We don’t even need the jewelry. These birds will bring in more than enough. We’ll be living like kings for the rest of our lives.” Cassian slipped the falconer’s glove onto his hand. “Have you got the horse and cart waiting?”
“Yes, it’s ready.”
“What about the night guards? Did you take care of them?”
“Yes. I spiked their ale with bitter nightshade. We’ll have a few hours before they are back to normal.”
“What? Why didn’t you use the hemlock like I told you?” spat Cassian.
“Because, I know that could kill them and I don’t want anyone to die. I can’t believe you used it on Roger.”
“Yes, and I used a good amount, too. That boy must have an iron stomach to have healed so quickly. The amount I gave him should have killed him.” Cassian chuckled lowly.
So that’s why Roger was sick, Regina realized. It had been foul play to keep him away from the mews. She wanted to strangle Cassian for admitting that he’d tried to kill the boy. She was only thankful that she’d told Sage about Roger being ill before they left for the hunt. Sage was a healer and she must have had a hand in curing him.
“I can’t believe they didn’t put a guard on the mews,” said the mystery man.
“Naw. I convinced them that I’d watch over the birds better.”
“Even though they think you can’t hear?”
“They’re stupid, the lot of them. I could convince them of anything. Come here and hold the cage while I put the birds inside.”
Regina wasn’t about to let anyone steal her birds, no matter what plan Hunter may have. Not able to sit there and do nothing any longer, she jumped up and made her presence known.
“Stop!” she cried. “Leave my birds alone, you thieves.”
“Regina, nay,” she heard Hunter groan from behind her.
Before she knew what was happening, the stranger in the cloak grabbed her and held a blade to her throat.
“Release her!” Hunter jumped up with his sword at the ready, but stopped when he saw in the dim light that the thief had Regina and was pressing the sharp edge of a dagger to her throat.
“Drop the sword,” warned the man in the cloak. His face was hidden and Hunter couldn’t see his identity.
“All right. Just don’t hurt her.” Hunter threw down his sword.
“Dammit, these aren’t even real birds!” spat Cassian, ripping the stuffed image of a bird from the perch that Hunter and Luke had made from covering old shoes with leather and feathers, similar to the way Regina had constructed the birds’ lure for training. “We were set up. Damn it, let’s get out of here anon.” Cassian hurried toward the door. As the man in the cloak pulled Regina out of the mews with him, Hunter reached into his boot to retrieve his throwing dagger. He saw Cassian pull a sharp blade from under his cloak and lunge for Hunter. Hunter raised his knife, struggling with Cassian to free the blade from the man’s hand. In the struggle Cassian tripped and fell against Hunter. Hunter raised his arms to protect himself and his blade stuck right into the man’s chest. Cassian fell to the ground with blood streaming from his mouth.
Hunter bent down and turned the man over, seeing his bulging eyes. “Where are they taking her?” he bellowed.
“I’ll never…tell you…Mercenary.” The man died with his eyes open.
“Damn it!” swore Hunter, not meaning to kill the man. He’d been hoping to get information as well as a confession out of him. Now, his only hope was to find Regina’s abductor on his own. Hunter retrieved his sword and ran out into the courtyard, looking around for the man who took Regina.
“Hunter,” he heard a muffled cry, and looked across the courtyard to see Regina struggling with the man who had taken her. They were disappearing behind the keep. He realized they were probably headed for the postern door as a means of escape. He’d heard the man say there was a horse and cart waiting. The castle’s drawbridge was up and the gate down. He had to move quickly if he was going to save Regina.
“Lower the drawbridge,” he shouted, but remembered hearing the abductor say that the night guards had been poisoned so they wouldn’t be able to help him. “Damn!” he spat, taking off on foot after Regina. Sure enough, when he got to the postern gate, it was open. He was still far from it but could see a horse and cart outside the exit with someone waiting in it.
He darted to the postern gate and crossed through just as the wagon lurched and started to move with two people and Regina inside. Hunter wasn’t about to let someone take or possibly kill the woman he loved. He ran after the wagon, diving for the back of it. He caught it, but his sword went clattering to the ground.
“Faster!” cried the man in back still holding onto Regina. Hunter pulled himself up into the wagon as it bumped and jostled back and forth. Once inside the wagon, he dove for the man, managing to knock the knife out of his hand. He pushed Regina to the side for her own safety and punched the man in the face.
“Save yourself, Regina. Jump off the wagon, now.” Hunter continued to fight and struggle with her abductor. The man was stronger than Hunter had thought he’d be.
“Nay! I won’t let anyone get away with stealing my bird,” said Regina, making Hunter realize that she wasn’t about to listen to him. Why should he be surprised?
Regina was determined to help Hunter catch her abductors, and the last thing she was going to do was to jump off the wagon and leave Hunter alone with two of the thieves. As Hunter and the man fought, she made her way to the front of the wagon, holding on to the side as the cart as it bounced back and forth over the rugged terrain.
She lifted one leg and crawled over the side of the wagon onto the driver’s seat. The driver looked over at her and she realized it was a woman. Somehow, that gave her even more confidence. She made a fist and swung, hitting the woman in the mouth. The driver fell off the wagon, and the horse ran wild pulling the cart with it.
“Oh, no!” she cried, trying to reach for the reins but she just couldn’t get them. She looked over her shoulder to see Hunter and her abductor still fighting in back of the wagon. When she looked back at the horse, in the moonlight she saw a big hole in the road approaching fast. “Nay!” she cried. The wagon hit the hole, busting a wheel and causing the cart to be half-dragged. The horse continued to run, pulling them behind it. She fell forward and thankfully managed to grab the reins. With one yank, she yelled out. “Whoa! Whoa!”
When the horse stopped and the wagon settled, she looked back to realize that Hunter and her abductor must have fallen out. She jumped from the wagon and ran back to lend her help. That’s when she saw Hunter on the ground on top of the man, holding the man’s hands behind his back. He clasped the thief’s wrists with iron shackles.
Hunter looked up at her and his eyes opened wide. “Regina, behind you!”
She turned to find the woman driver raising a large rock above her head. Regina tried to cover her head but was too late. The rock came down hard, smashing into her skull. Regina’s head throbbed with pain and she felt blood leaking down the back of her neck. Then, everything went black in front of her eyes. Her legs went limp and she hit the ground, unconscious.