‘Somehow, I think both those ships have already sailed.’ I give him a gentle nudge. ‘Go on.’
Thankfully, Bron is more pliable than Dante and walks away. I carefully slide the kitchen knife into a gap in the stone wall and follow them. Dante’s hand is already on the doorknob. He throws us both a grim look. ‘Ready?’
We nod. He yanks the door open and grabs the guard who’s standing with his back to us. Without even breaking sweat, Dante applies pressure to the guard’s solar plexus. His legs give way and Dante drags him inside. Then he leaves, with Bron at his heels.
I smile grimly after the pair of them, close the door and step over the prone guard’s body. I’m not leaving until I’ve done what I came here to do. I whip the hood off the first mare again, then move round the others doing the same, talking in a low, soothing voice.
‘There. It’s alright. We’ll be out of here soon.’
When I reach the last mare and take off her hood, I pause. With a shaky hand, I reach out and pat Pegasus’s muzzle. A light flickers in her eyes and she lets out a soft whinny. I’m depressed that she has been captured but I’m pleased that her spirit’s not been broken.
‘Hi, girl,’ I say.
I kneel down and fumble with the chains. I’ve just found the catch when I hear a voice behind me. ‘I might have known,’ Dante says. ‘Foolish girl.’
I don’t look up but finish freeing Pegasus, trying not to touch the wounds on her legs and neck as I remove the chains.
‘Don’t move yet, sweetheart,’ I tell her. ‘I need to get to the others first.’
Pegasus snickers in understanding. I pull out a sugar cube from my pocket and she starts munching it while I move to her neighbour.
‘That guard won’t be unconscious for long, you know,’ Dante continues.
‘Then you’d better make your escape quickly, hadn’t you?’ I say, managing this second set of chains more adroitly than the first.
He sighs. ‘I don’t know why I thought you were working for the Mayor. Even he wouldn’t have someone as crazy as you on his staff.’
I pause. ‘Yeah,’ I tell him. ‘I am crazy.’ I switch to the third mare.
I’ve just finished uncoupling her chains and giving her a sugar cube to keep her calm when I hear a clinking sound behind me. Dante grunts as he frees another mare, then he grins at me and holds out his palm. When he smiles, his face loses its predatory aspect; he almost appears friendly. I drop a sugar cube into his hand and he gives it to the animal. Four down, two to go.
‘You two will be the death of me,’ Bron says, also reappearing. He swallows, his eyes nervously darting around at the freed mares. ‘What if they attack?’
‘Here.’ I throw him a sugar cube. He holds it out to the nearest mare with an expression that suggests he’d rather drown himself than stand next to such a lethal animal. ‘Where did you get these from?’
Without thinking about it, I murmur, ‘Home.’
‘Jesus,’ he whispers. ‘You really are a dreamweaver.’
I unfasten the fifth mare’s chains while Dante completes the last one. I nod to Pegasus who throws up her head, her mane swinging in the air. She clip-clops towards me. ‘Good girl,’ I say. ‘Well done. Now get your friends to follow.’
Pegasus whinnies. The five remaining mares stare at me with differing measures of fear, hatred and hope. ‘Come on, darlings,’ I urge.
Bron hastily gets out of the way as, one by one, the mares line up behind Pegasus and start to follow.
‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.’ Bron’s astonishment is palpable. He looks at Dante, whose muscular body is a mass of knotted tension. I don’t hear his response. Instead I continue leading Pegasus and her retinue forwards. We move round the corner and towards the door.
‘Wait,’ Dante growls. He edges round the mares, taking care not to touch them. Glancing carefully in my direction, he says, ‘You told me to go first, remember?’
He opens the door again and sticks out his head. ‘There are a lot of people around. They might spook the mares. This could be bad.’
‘The mares will be fine,’ I say. ‘Just keep the damn Travellers away. You too, Bron.’
Dante nods and steps out while Bron squeaks what I think is a yes. I follow Dante, with Pegasus at my heels. When I emerge, blinking, into the bright sunlight, the scene is almost comical. The first person to spot us does a double take. Her mouth opens wide as if she’s about to scream but Dante darts over and murmurs something. Others back away, pressing themselves against the stone walls of the cottages as if their reassuring sturdiness will offer protection. Someone at the end of the street sees what’s going on and, after one frozen second of indecision, sprints away.