Marysvale (26 page)

They walked over to the closest tree,
then turned and glared at me, making me feel
uncomfortable.

“
Well,” said Jane with a
sigh of mock irritation.

I was bewildered by what she meant, and
it must have shown because she added, “I don’t know how they do
things where you come from, John Casey, but here men tend to give
women privacy when they need it.”

“
Oh,” I said, blushing
furiously and feeling stupid. I turned the mare around so they
could have their solitude.

It didn’t take them long and Jane
signaled when they were finished by saying, “Thank you.”

I turned back around and stared at the
transformation that had occurred.

“
Well?” said Jane again,
this time a little self-conscious. “What do you think?”

She wore a simple, worn and faded, blue
linen gown that extended down to her elbows and all the way to her
ankles. The top half was laced up in the front and her hair was
pulled up under a white ruffled cap. Hannah dressed similarly,
except her dress was brown. I nearly replied, “You look like a
woman,” but reconsidered this response. Would she take it that she
didn’t look beautiful before? She most certainly did.

Their gowns looked like they had seen
better days and the clothes they changed from were in much better
shape. However, I felt positive that saying so would be the wrong
answer, no matter how true. I wished desperately to break into her
thoughts and find out what I was supposed to say. Finally, I
decided on, “Beautiful.”

She grinned. “Beautiful is a little
strong for our old frocks,” she said, confident that she had caught
me in a trap.

“
I wasn’t referring to the
gowns,” I replied.

This time it was her turn to blush.
Hannah simply nodded in agreement.

Late afternoon set in. Every time I
checked, there had been no change…until evening. Out of the four
Brean that I could see, two had changed positions.
How
odd,
I thought.
They haven’t moved all day. Why now?
A few moments later, I saw why. Quietly, and quickly, without any
exchanges, two different Brean came and replaced the remaining
two.

This behavior stunned and confused me.
I knew they were coordinated, however, this level of organization
required not only coordination, but planning; they had to work out
a rotation schedule. Even more troubling was the fact that they
were smart enough to guess that we were coming here. That must have
been why we weren’t pursued in the forest. They simply set up a
watch and waited for us to come to them.

I broke the bad news to the girls. “The
Brean aren’t leaving.”

I described what I had seen.

“
See,” exclaimed Hannah. “I
knew someone is controlling them; I told you so at Sarah’s
cabin.”

“
How do you know it’s a
person and not the monsters themselves?” I asked.

“
I just do.”

Jane agreed with Hannah. “I think she’s
right. If not, why would they be so concerned with us?”

“
Mmm…But how does anyone
know we’re coming?”

“
Maybe they warned whoever
is controlling them,” suggested Hannah.

“
So they can speak?” I asked
doubtfully.

“
I don’t know; I haven’t
bothered to ask them yet,” came her sarcastic reply.

“
Look at it this way,”
reasoned Jane. “Everything that has happened has benefited Mr.
Wright and his friends. Now they control everything and live like
kings. Don’t you think the timing and the way things unfolded so
long ago are suspicious?”

“
Perhaps.”

I thought about Mr. Martin and Governor
Potts. Potts had been a public figurehead, but he wasn’t the real
power—that belonged to Mr. Martin.

I continued, “Then you think Mr. Wright
controls them? No one else comes to mind?”

“
What do you mean?” asked
Jane.

I briefly explained how Martin had
controlled Syre and how Potts was simply an expendable
puppet.

“
Should the necessity arise,
Potts could easily be replaced, leaving the true leaders protected
from any scandal or bad decision.”

Jane frowned. “I haven’t thought of
that.”

She looked at Hannah and both silently
searched their minds for possible matches.

“
I can think of some who are
extremely rich now because of what happened; but it’s hard to think
of anyone, other than Mr. Wright, who is controlling the town,”
said Jane.

“
Besides,” added Hannah.
“However it happened in the beginning, he controls everything now.
I don’t think anyone can get rid of him at this point, even if they
wanted to.”

I could tell I’d planted a seed of
doubt. Neither one sounded totally convinced that Wright was the
only true power.

“
Oh no,” I
gasped.

A wide-eyed Hannah asked, “What is
it?”

“
They’re moving.”

“
Why?” she asked, in a high,
fearful voice.

“
I don’t know.”

“
Are they leaving?” asked
Jane hopefully.

“
No, they’re coming this
way,” I said, with only a hint of panic.

Turning pale, she asked, “All of
them?”

I nodded solemnly.

L
EAVING
their hiding places, the Brean slowly advanced
forward, thoroughly checking for any sights, sounds, or
smells.

“
I think they’ve figured out
that we should have been here by now,” I said.

As they moved outward, gaps appeared in
their net, but they weren’t wide enough yet to run
through.

“
Follow me,” I said. “I
believe if we move back far enough, there may be an opening, and we
can pass through. We’ll be detected, but it will give us enough of
a lead to beat them to the gates.”

I loosened my rifle, just in case it
would be needed.

“
No!” exclaimed Jane. “If
you shoot one, the guards will take you prisoner. It’s best to
leave it here. Besides, they will confiscate it for the protection
of the town.”

We didn’t have time to argue, so I
propped it against a tree and memorized where it was.

The girls mounted up on Smoke, and I
noticed, when they straddled, that I could see their pants
underneath their gowns.

Jane, seeing my expression, explained
before I could ask.

“
If something happens, and
we have to ride far, we don’t want to be rubbed raw.”

I shrugged, turned the mare around, and
instantly felt sick. I thought that it couldn’t get any worse; but
again I was wrong.

Advancing toward us were more Brean.
Only a few, and easy to bypass, but we would be detected. I leapt
off my mount and frantically transferred the packs over to Smoke
and my horse.

“
What are you doing?” asked
Jane.

“
Freeing up the packhorse,”
I answered.

The remaining, unnecessary items were
quickly secured to it.

“
This is too much weight!”
exclaimed Jane.

“
We don’t have to go far. If
you have to, cut it loose,” I said curtly.

I aimed the packhorse in the direction
I wanted it to go.

“
What are you doing?” asked
Hannah, in a voice that told me that she knew perfectly well what I
was doing.

“
I don’t want to do this
anymore than you do, Hannah, but either he dies alone, and possibly
saves our lives, or he dies with us all. If you have a better plan,
now would be the time to share it.”

With no reply for an answer, I picked
up a long branch and tied it to his tail. With another stick, I
whipped him hard, while at the same time letting the branch fall
down around his legs. He bolted. I leapt back on my horse, watched
him run, and waited.

Please let this work,
I prayed
silently.

To my chagrin, the fleeing bay started
to slow, already tiring. I feared it would just give up and stop.
Fortunately, if you can call it that, the sound of the packhorse
crashing through the undergrowth reached the Brean. For a moment,
they strained their senses, trying to determine what it was.
Finally, one of them emitted a howl that rent the air. In unison,
their heads snapped up, and they gave chase. The scared packhorse,
perhaps sensing its demise, renewed its speed and fled valiantly,
but the Brean came at it from all sides. It had served its purpose.
A large gap opened, giving us a clear path to the gate. Using the
distraction of the packhorse, we kicked our mounts into action and
ran.

Tree branches whipped out at us,
snagging clothes and scratching at exposed skin. I hunched low in
the saddle, trying to avoid what I could.

We burst into a field where the trees
had been cleared all the way around the town and long grass grew in
the space. The massive stone wall surrounding the town, about 20
feet in height, loomed up before us. A guard tower had been placed
every hundred yards or so. We aimed for a dark wooden gate,
reinforced with long, horizontal iron strips.

A high-pitched cry came from somewhere
off to our side. Our ruse was up; we had been spotted. Angry roars
erupted from too many Brean to count.

The chase was on.

Dark, hairy forms tore through the
foliage and into the clearing. They came at us from both sides.
Their long legs quickly propelled them, narrowing the distance.
They ran hunched, their arms swinging furiously.

The growling and snarls drew
closer.

Despite the weight, Smoke’s strength
and heart shone through and the distance between me and the girls
grew significantly. My mare, though better than most horses,
struggled and already started to slow.

Jane, approaching the wall, yelled at
the top of her lungs, “OPEN THE GATE! OPEN THE GATE!” over and
over. Hannah joined in the frantic call.

Guards, watching the scene unfold below
them, scurried along the top of the wall to and fro, but the gate
remained closed.

Jane looked as if she had no intention
of slowing or turning. I wondered if Smoke would suddenly stop and
throw them, or obediently charge into the solid doors.

Still, they remained closed.

I pulled a knife, ready to cut the
packs loose—not that it would do much good. The mare’s strength was
spent and there was nowhere to go anyway. We were surrounded by
wall and monsters.

A protesting groan came from the rusty
iron hinges. A crack appeared between the two wooden doors and grew
as the gate creaked inward, at a painfully slow pace.

It opened in time for Smoke and the
girls to fly through, but there was still some distance before I’d
reach it.

The Brean drew closer. Their panting
and growls grew louder.

Horrifically, the gate stopped opening
and reversed course. My heart leapt in my chest.
They’re going
to lock me out,
I thought in a panic.

I cut the packs loose, and they fell
into the long grass.

Frantically, I coaxed the mare to run
faster. Perhaps, sensing that her choice was either make the gate
or face the monsters, she responded immediately and gave me more
speed. The portal shrunk narrower and narrower. As we approached
the entrance, I lifted my legs, afraid they would hit the closing
doors. It was a good move—the now empty stirrups caught the edge of
the wood and violently whipped up behind me; I was glad my feet
weren’t in them. Just barely, we squeezed through.

On the other side of the wall, guards
struggled to close the heavy doors. They were almost shut when the
first of the Brean slammed into them in a fit of rage and pounding
fists. Seconds later, more Brean joined in. With the momentum of
the gate thwarted, a small war ensued between the Brean and the
humans. I leapt down and added my weight to the struggle. If they
didn’t get the entrance secured quickly, the guards would be
overwhelmed within moments. Hannah and Jane enlisted their
strength, as did every man within shouting distance. Slowly, behind
a mass of bodies, the doors crept the last few inches and closed.
Heavy timbers lowered into place with a loud, booming thud, barring
out the snarling monsters.