“I ran like a coward.”
He had to fix this or they would lose a steady pair of hands with a bow. The kid didn’t need forgiveness. He needed direction and purpose.
“You’ve got two days,” Hugh said.
The kid’s gaze snapped to him.
“In two days I need you up and moving. Once you’re up, go to the barracks and find Yvonne Faure. She will evaluate your archery skills. If you do well enough, you’ll be given a bow and assigned to the auxiliaries. For every bastard you shoot down, another Courtney will live.”
He turned and walked out. Elara followed him.
Deidre sat on the stone floor in the hallway, her back to the wall, her arms locked around her knees. She looked up at him. “I want a bow.”
Elara crouched by her. “What about your aunt and uncle?”
Deidre shook her head. “I don’t want to go with them. I want to stay here.”
“But they are your family.”
“I don’t know them. I want to stay here. It’s safe here. Can you make them let me stay?”
“We will ask.” Elara sighed. “But they are not here now, so let’s worry about this later.”
“Do I still get a bow?”
“Why do you want one?” Elara asked.
“So I can kill the monsters if they come here.”
“A bow can be arranged,” Hugh said.
“Have you ever shot a bow?” Elara asked.
“No.”
“Don’t worry. Hugh will teach you. But if you decide that the bow isn’t for you, come and see me. I may teach you some things as well.”
“Go downstairs and wait for me,” Hugh said. “We’ll see about getting you a bow.”
The child jumped to her feet and dashed down the hallway. He watched her go. There was something disturbingly familiar about the look in her eyes, like a small feral animal backed into a corner. Rene used to look like that.
“We have no legal standing,” Elara said. “We can’t keep her.”
“We can bargain,” Hugh said.
She eyed him. “Do you actually care, Preceptor?”
“Don’t know the meaning of the word,” he said.
Hugh leaned against the step leading from the upper bailey to the keep and watched Stoyan stab the armor on a wooden mannequin. Or rather he watched Stoyan try. The centurion executed another beautiful slash. The blade glanced off the breastplate. The two Iron Dogs who were Stoyan’s second and third watched him.
Lamar leaned next to Hugh.
“Have you gotten anywhere with the Remaining?” Hugh asked him quietly.
“Nope. Nobody is talking.” Lamar shrugged his wide shoulders. “Everything is great, everyone is friendly and welcoming. The minute we try to ask any leading questions, they clam up.” He shifted on his feet. “You ever get a feeling we stumbled into a cult? Because I do.”
“As long as they keep us fed and clothed, I can deal with a cult.”
Stoyan stabbed the armor, putting all of his weight behind it. The point of the sword penetrated. He leaned forward, examined the nick, and spat.
“What about Elara?” Hugh asked. “Anything on her?”
“No.”
“There are thousands of people in that village. You’re telling me none of them have anything to say about her?”
Lamar shook his head.
Stoyan attacked the armor’s side, aiming at the armpit.
“Look on the bright side,” Lamar said. “They aren’t having much luck figuring out what’s in our barrels either.”
“Did they ask?”
“They did.”
Hugh grinned. Clever girl.
Stoyan moved back, resting his sword on his shoulder, and critically examined the armor.
Bale turned the corner.
“Here comes trouble,” Lamar murmured.
The berserker walked up to the weapons rack and pulled a mace out.
“Perhaps going from the bottom?” one of Stoyan’s people suggested. “An up stroke?”
“Possibly,” Stoyan said.
Bale charged.
The Iron Dogs jumped out of the way. The red-headed berserker smashed the breastplate with the mace, denting it.
“Damn it!” Stoyan barked.
Bale pounded the armor with his mace, denting it with every blow. Clang. Clang. Clang.
Stoyan threw his sword on the ground. “Fine. Just fucking smash it then. Smash everything.”
“How many maces do we have?” Hugh asked.
“Not that many,” Lamar said.
“Get more.”
“Will do.”
The old truck rolled through the gates of the castle, flanked by two Iron Dogs on horseback, the escort Hugh had sent for protection. The water engine spat noise and screeched. The driver got out without shutting it off. A bad sign.
“Go get Hugh,” she told Beth. “Tell him Deidre’s family is here.”
Elara put a smile on her face and walked out to the vehicle. The driver, an average size man with dark blond hair and skin ruddy from the weather waited for the passenger. A woman climbed out of the vehicle, dark-haired, white, thin. The two of them walked toward her, away from the truck’s noise. Both were closer to forty than to thirty. The man wore jeans, a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and a black-and-white baseball cap. The woman wore a blue T-shirt over a pair of washed-out jeans.
“Hello,” Elara said.
“We’re here for Deidre,” the man said.
Right. No pleasantries, then. “And you are?” Elara asked.
“I’m her mother’s brother,” the man said.
“My name is Elara,” she said and held her hand out.
Neither of the two shook it.
“I’m going to need some proof of identity before I release the child to you,” she said.
The man looked like he was about to say something unpleasant, but the woman reached out and put her hand on his arm. He shut his mouth, pulled out a wallet, and held out his driver’s license. Wayne Braiden Harmon. The name matched what Deidre told her. The woman produced her own driver’s license. Jane Melissa Harmon.
“We are deeply sorry for your loss,” Elara said.
“Thank you,” Jane said.
“I’m not sure how much you were told,” Elara said. “Redhill was attacked by monsters. They slaughtered everyone inside. Deidre happened to be outside of the walls when it happened, and she and a young man escaped. A monster chased them through the woods in the middle of the night. The young man almost died.”
Jane bit her lip.
“The child is deeply traumatized. We were hoping you could allow her to stay with us for a couple of days, just to settle her down. We would be happy to put you up for the night.”
“That’s kind of you,” Jane said. “But we would like to take Deidre home.”
“She will get settled with us,” Wayne said.
This wasn’t going well. “Please reconsider,” Elara said. “She just lost her father and mother.”
Hugh came around the tower, leading Bucky. Deidre was riding on the huge stallion’s back. She saw her aunt and uncle and went still like a baby rabbit caught in the open.
Elara’s heart turned over in her chest.
Hugh walked over to them, reached for Deidre, gently took her off the horse and set her on her feet.
“Hi, honey,” Elara threw him a smile. Help me, Hugh. “This is Wayne and Jane Harmon. This is my husband, Hugh. He is the one who saved your niece.”
“Hey there.” Hugh offered his charming grin and held his hand out. Wayne Harmon met Hugh’s gaze and held it for a long moment. Hugh showed no signs of moving. Finally the sheer force of his presence won out and Wayne shook his hand. Hope fluttered in her.
“Your niece is very brave,” Hugh said.
The brave niece looked like she was about to bolt at any second.
“I was just explaining that Deidre isn’t in any shape to travel,” Elara said.
Wayne ignored her and crouched. “Hi, Deidre. Remember me? It’s uncle Wayne.”
Deidre didn’t move.
“It will be okay,” Jane told her. “Everything will be okay now. You’re coming home with us.”
Deidre shook her head. “No. I want to stay here.”
“You can’t stay here,” Wayne said. “You have to come with us. You remember Michelle, your cousin? She’s waiting for you. We have a big yellow dog named Tyler. You’ll like him. He’s big and fluffy. Come on, sweetheart.”
Deidre stayed completely still.