Warwolfe (de Wolfe Pack Book 0)(127)

It was enough of a startling move to cause horses to rear up and men to come to a halt purely out of fear. But the middle and rear portion of the army kept coming, running into those who had stopped, and now there was a great commotion as the army folded up on itself because they couldn’t go any further. When those in the rear tried to back up, more arrows hit the ground on the road behind them, blocking their escape.

Effectively, the army had been trapped.

Gaetan reloaded his crossbow and began to advance on the uncertain huddle of men. “Give me Alary of Mercia!” he shouted.

The men looked at each other fearfully, hissing and whispering, but Alary was not immediately produced. Gaetan advanced on them until he was about twenty feet in front of them. He leveled off his crossbow at one of the warriors on horseback.

“Give me Alary of Mercia or you men will die in a hail of arrows,” he said, looking to the well-armed warrior. “And you shall be the first.”

The warrior sat tall in the saddle. “I am not afraid to die.”

Gaetan’s answer was to let the arrow fly, right into the man’s throat. He hit the ground, dying a slow and agonizing death as Gaetan reloaded.

“Know that I have a thousand men in the trees with their arrows sighted on all of you,” he said loudly. “I would speak with Alary. That is all I wish. But if you do not produce him, then be prepared to die.”

The confusing situation, for Alary’s army, had just become deadly serious. There were more whispers about as Gaetan pointed his crossbow at another mounted warrior, who turned to run but there were so many men behind him that he couldn’t. Therefore, he leapt from the saddle and hid behind his horse to protect himself. Gaetan cocked an eyebrow at the cowardly warrior.

“Is this how a Saxon fights?” he asked. “Hiding from his enemy?”

“What madness is this?”

A man suddenly came up through the center of the army but he had a very big shield in front of him. Obviously, he’d seen the arrow take down the first mounted warrior and he was smart about his approach. He looked at the man dying on the ground, his features contorted with anger.

“By what right to you kill my men?” he demanded. “Who are you?”

Gaetan focused on the man; he was moderately tall, and slender, with a massive scar across his face running from his left temple, across his nose, and ending by the right side of his jaw. His hair was dark and he was rather unattractive. More than that, he had a sinister look about him. Gaetan took several long moments to digest the appearance of Alary of Mercia.

“Your men,” he said. “You must be Alary.”

Alary was in no mood for whatever this man wanted. He was positively enormous, dressed in mail and heavy tunic, with a sword on his side, a kite-shaped shield slung across his back, and a wicked-looking crossbow in hand. It took him a moment to realize he was looking at a Norman knight, for no Saxon warriors dressed as this man did. The light of recognition went on and the anger on his face changed to astonishment.

“He was right,” he said as if a great idea had just occurred to him. “His brethren were about!”

Gaetan heard him and he was fairly certain he knew what he meant. “You have something that belongs to me, Anglais,” he said. “You took him. I want him back.”

Alary kept the shield up but he took a few steps in Gaetan’s direction as if to get a better look at him. “So it is true. You have come for my Norman.”

“I have.”

Alary seemed to be both impressed and amazed by the fact. “How astonishing that you made it this far,” he said. But his eyes glittered rather knowingly. “Let me guess; my sister is with you. It was she who told you were to find me and, consequently, the prisoner I took from her. Is that it? She has asked you to avenge her?”

Gaetan wasn’t surprised that Alary could figure out what was happening. The man knew he was being followed as far back as Westerham and Lady Gunnora’s messenger those weeks back had clearly mentioned Ghislaine. It didn’t take a great intellect to figure out that the Normans and Ghislaine must have been working together. But Gaetan didn’t want to give the man any more information than he’d already guessed. They’d entered into a deadly game and Gaetan didn’t want to give Alary any more ammunition against him. The man probably already knew too much.

Therefore, he played it cool.

“There is no vengeance involved,” he said. “I have simply come to take my man. You will bring him forth.”

Alary didn’t move. He had a smirk on his face, as if he knew exactly why Gaetan was here and all of his secrets, besides. In fact, he was almost jovial.

“We will get to your man in a moment,” he said. “I want to know how you and my sister found one another. Did she come to you for help? Please, tell me everything. I am most curious to know how my sister has betrayed me.”

Gaetan wasn’t pleased with the man’s stalling tactics. He suspected there was some end to it but, at the moment, he couldn’t figure out what that could be. Still, he wouldn’t put it past Alary to try and undermine him somehow. He had to be vigilant.

“Your curiosity will have to wait,” he said. “It is growing dark and, soon, we will be standing here in total darkness and my army in the trees will not be able to see who they are hitting with their arrows. You will lose many men if I give the word so it would be in your best interest to give me my man. That is all I have come for.”