Sully hesitated for only the blink of an eye before hopping back on his horse. For a man his age, he moved remarkably fast. It didn’t hurt that his horse could’ve run circles around Lizzie. Within seconds, Sully was tearing off across the claim. “Go after him!” Warren shouted at one of the men. Their horses were farther away, tethered near the shanty, giving Sully a respectable lead.
Neither Cedric nor I were yielding easily to our captors. We were restrained in different ways, however. When Cedric resisted, he was met with brutal punches and hits. I saw him gasp as a foot slammed into his ribs, and later, a punch to the face made him spit blood. I fought frantically against Elias, desperate to help Cedric, but he shoved me down onto my knees and use his greater weight to keep me in place.
“Be still, you hellion.” To Warren, he asked, “What now?”
Warren looked weary more than anything else. “Take her to that hovel and tie her up for now. As for him . . .” His eye fell coldly on Cedric. “Over to the river, by one of the sluices. That’s where he’d most likely be working if raiders came. Then clean out the other sluices and do a little work on the outcropping—enough to look like some hasty, haphazard job. We’ll truss up the house later, not that anyone could tell the difference. The rest of you, come with me and see if we can catch up with that old fool.” As he started to walk away, Warren paused and added to Elias, “Don’t quite kill him. I’ll take care of that when I’m back. But make sure he doesn’t get up in the meantime.”
The group dispersed, and I realized they were going to make this look like the work of bandits who’d swooped in to kill whoever they found and seize whatever gold was easily accessible. “Cedric!” I screamed as two men literally dragged him off toward the river.
Elias slapped me, apparently bolder without Warren’s watchful eye. “Quiet.” He hauled me back to the shanty, and I kicked and fought him the whole time. Once inside, he tied up my hands and feet with climbing rope and left me on the floor. After a moment’s thought, he also tied an old cloth around my mouth. “You’re getting no less than you deserve,” he said coldly. “You could’ve had everything—now, you’re losing it all.”
I cursed him through the gag, but he only gave me that infuriating smirk before shutting the door behind him. I immediately began struggling against the ropes, but he’d made the knots tight. I paused, frustrated, and then heard Cedric’s scream of pain in the distance. Frantically I renewed my efforts, wiggling and flailing. The knife Cedric had used on the bacon was up on the table. If I could somehow get over to it—
Knife.
The Alanzan tree knife Cedric had given me on the ship was in my belt, concealed in the folds of the split skirt. I wore it every day, mostly out of habit, using it occasionally. My fingertips could just now graze it as I reached toward it. A little farther, and I’d be able to pull it out. The ropes at my wrists were tight, and I felt them chafing and cutting as I strained against them. At last I managed to release the knife from the belt, only to drop it. I rolled over and grabbed it with my hand. Now began the weary task of trying to cut my ropes from such an awkward angle, since my hands were bent in the wrong direction. No more cries from Cedric came, and that terrible silence drove me on more. At long last, I wore away at the ropes enough to free my hands with my own strength. Cutting the ones at my ankles and removing the gag was easy after that.
I sprang up and ran to the door, peeking out just in time to see Elias land a hard kick on something in the river before striding off. I knew what that “something” had to be, and my stomach turned. There were two other men destroying and cleaning out the sluices, and they too were finishing up their tasks. Elias waved them toward the outcropping and barked out words I couldn’t hear. Soon, they were all crowded at its base, gathering the fallen gold and picking near the bottom, just as frantic raiders might do in the hopes of making a quick score. As they moved around the back side of the outcropping, I made my move.
I didn’t care that I was exposed on open ground. I had to get to Cedric. The men continued working, never turning back to the river, and I splashed into one of its shallow parts unnoticed. There I found Cedric lying on his back, and I nearly fell forward weeping. His face was bloody and bruised, with one of his eyes swollen shut. I couldn’t assess the damage to the rest of his body, but there was an unnatural bend to his arm. For a moment, I feared the worst, but a ragged breath from him told me otherwise. And I knew there was no time for tears.
“What . . . you doing . . . ?” he gasped out when I slid an arm around him and raised him up. His good eye fluttered open.
“Getting you out of here.” I supported as much of his weight as I could and began leading him down the river. He was able to walk a little, but I did most of the work.
“You . . . you need to get out of here.”