Shadow Chaser (31 page)

I pulled myself up, threw my right leg over, and climbed on top, taking care not to impale myself on the spiky figures. I had to throw my arms out and bend my knees to keep my balance and avoid injury.

“Harold,” Kli-Kli whined, jumping up and down desperately, “I can’t reach!”

The goblin was too short to climb up on his own. I was seriously tempted just to leave him there. It would certainly have made things a lot simpler, that’s for sure!

But I gritted my teeth in annoyance and started unraveling the spider’s web. I had to help the goblin, otherwise Kli-Kli would never forgive me for abandoning him, and he’d throw a fit of hysterics right there under the wall.

“Hold on to the rope,” I hissed, lowering the spider’s web.

A shadow appeared beside me. It was Ell.

“Why the delay?”

“That damned goblin’s showed up! Kli-Kli, set one foot above the other!”

“That’s … what … I’m … doing!” the jester panted. Of course, he wasn’t getting anywhere, just swaying from side to side, like a sack full of stones.

I tightened my grip on the rope, at the same time trying to keep my balance on the wall. The slightest deviation to the right or the left, and those spikes were waiting for me.

“Let me help,” said Ell. And he gave me a hand, ignoring the spikes.

What a sight! Two shadows standing on a wall, trying to pull up a third. Fortunately for us, there was no moon or stars, and no spectators, otherwise we would have been in really big trouble.

Eventually Kli-Kli appeared on the top of the wall, panting hard.

“What are you doing here, goblin?” Ell’s tone of voice wasn’t exactly friendly.

“Obvious, isn’t it? I’m taking a breath of fresh air. Why do they build such high walls around here? I wouldn’t have bothered to come if I’d known. The villains! It’s incredible! They deserve to be robbed just for that!”

“Leave the talk until we get down!” I said, stepping over the spikes.

The elf flitted down like a silent, weightless shadow and stood below me.

I had to hang on with my hands, on the other side of the wall, then open my fingers and drop onto the grass. Of course, I could have jumped, like Ell, but what for? Why risk my legs when there was no need? It would really mess things up if I broke anything.

Kli-Kli was still sniffling up on the wall.

“Kli-Kli!”

“Coming!” the goblin squealed, and came crashing down on top of me.

I managed to stretch my arms out and catch him just in time.

“And now explain what you’re doing here!” said Ell, moving closer.

“I’m helping Harold. And don’t you look at me like that, you’ll drill a hole right through me.”

“He’ll stick to you no matter what we do, right, thief?” Ell said with a thoughtful glance at Kli-Kli.

“Only as far as the house,” the goblin assured Ell hastily. “Just what were you thinking of doing?”

“Tying you up.”

“I am the royal jester, and I will not allow any tusky-mouthed elf to tie me up! I’m warning you! I’ll bite and I’ll scream!”

“I’m wasting time with you two,” I exclaimed angrily. “You can discuss what to do next without me!”

“All right, let him go with you.” The elf had only two ways out of the situation. He could slit the goblin’s throat, or let him go. “But remember, Kli-Kli, if anything happens, I’ll personally skin you alive.”

“No need for threats … I get the idea. Anything happens, and I’m done for!”

“Good luck, Harold, we won’t be far away.”

“What’s happening with the patrols?”

It was very dark that night under the thick crowns of the trees, but I thought I saw Ell grin.

“We took out three of them, so the west wing’s free.” The yellow-eyed elf picked up his powerful crook-backed bow off the grass.

Fewer guards meant fewer problems. Now I had to run round the edge of the estate and make my approach to the windows of the west wing. It had to be the windows, because the central entrance was out of bounds—just like all the other doors leading in and out of the manor house, in fact.

According to Deler, who had drunk wine with the count’s servants, there were guards standing watch at almost every door—the usual arrangement for people afraid of a sudden attack. That left the windows, and only the ones at the back of the house, because there was only one patrol there, and the chances of being spotted were far smaller than anywhere else.

It wasn’t possible to break straight into the east wing of the house—there were bars on the windows of the second floor there. There was only one way to do it—get into the house through the west wing, walk along the incredibly long corridor to the balcony that overlooked the reception hall, and from there along the corridor with the pictures as far as the count’s bedroom.

“Time to go. Kli-Kli, try to keep up!”

It was dark; the massive tree trunks in front of us were black silhouettes. And then the lights of the house came into view. The only lighted torches were beside the central entrance of the mansion house, and there were four guards standing there. Or, rather, one was standing and the other three were sitting on the steps and making conversation. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about—I was too far away.

“They’re not sleeping, the skunks,” Kli-Kli hissed in disappointment.

“That’s their job.”

“Ah, no, I meant the ones in the house.”

There was light in the second-floor windows. They weren’t sleeping, and that meant I could run into problems. The Nameless One take those night birds! In my line of work there’s nothing worse than people who don’t go to bed when any decent law-abiding citizen ought to.

“Where to now, Harold?”

“See those little trees way over there?”

“Well?”

“We run over to them, then across to the wall of the building and up to the window.”

“They’ll see us!”

“Don’t talk so much, and do what I do, then they won’t see us. Or you can stay here in the park and wait for me, I don’t mind.”

“I think I can avoid attracting any unwanted attention,” the jester replied quickly.

The open space between the park and the house was about forty yards across. Mostly short-cut grass and beds (or, rather, entire fields) of roses. I tried to run across all this as quickly as possible.

There was total silence all around, not a sound but the light wind that had sprung up, rustling the crowns of the trees. No birds calling, no crickets singing. Kli-Kli and I had to trail straight through the flowerbeds, trampling the bushes of white and yellow roses cruelly with our heels. I could just imagine the curses that the gardener would call down on our heads the next day! The roses took their revenge by surrounding me with the scent of cheap women’s perfume. Disgusting!

The wall of the house suddenly rose up in front of me and I leaned against it in relief, catching my breath. Kli-Kli puffed and panted beside me.

“You scamper along faster than a royal messenger. I didn’t know a thief’s work was so hard.”

“And nerve-wracking, too. Keep up!”

The wall stretched away to the right of us. I crept along in front, with Kli-Kli right behind me, almost stepping on my heels. Unfortunately for us, there was no grass. Someone had thoughtfully scattered little stones on the ground, so we had to move very carefully—as if we were walking over dry brushwood.

The darkness was pitch-black, as if we were deep underground. Of course, it was hard for anyone to make out Kli-Kli and me now, but the trouble with darkness is that you can’t see the enemy, either. Just as we reached the corner of the building, a patrol of guards appeared out of the gloom. I froze instantly, and Kli-Kli blundered into my back with a grunt of surprise.

In the next three seconds I managed to do three things at once: pull my hood up over my head, stop the goblin’s mouth with my free hand, and try to melt into the wall—there was enough shadow there to hide ten Nameless Ones.

To give Kli-Kli his due, he never even twitched.

The three guards walked slowly toward us, talking to each other. That would have been fine, but one of them was holding a torch. In a few seconds the goblin and I would be in plain view.

“And I says to him, why are you acting like such a bonehead? You lost, didn’t you? So pay up!”

“And what did he say?”

“What did he say? He went for his knife, and—”

“Listen, Hart, if the captain of the watch finds out who killed Radish…”

“He won’t find out, if you keep your mouth shut. And it’s not my fault! Why bet on a cock fight, if you can’t cover your losses?”

“Radish is a fine one, grabbing his knife like that.… He was always a fool, and he died a fool! I won’t tell anyone, don’t you worry.”

“Thanks, friend,” the first guard said with feeling.

I started slithering slowly along the wall, covering myself and Kli-Kli with my cloak. I had to take my hand away from the goblin’s face, there was no other way I could load the crossbow. I held the little darling in my hand and tried to pull back the lever with as little noise as possible, drawing the string toward myself. A faint click told me that the bolts had slipped into position. If Sagot was feeling well-disposed, I’d have enough time to silence two of them, but that still left the third one, and the lad would have a sword.

The guards drew level with our flimsy cover and my finger involuntarily tightened on the trigger.

“Kind of cool tonight,” muttered the one with the torch.

“We’ll finish this round and drop into the guard room. I’ve got a little bottle tucked away there, ’specially for a moment like this.”

“What if Meilo nabs us?”

“He won’t,” the first guard answered jauntily.

The lads tramped past us and went on their way. Not one of them even looked in our direction. After all, what danger could possibly be lurking over by the wall?

“Meilo? He’d nab his own father, never mind a thickhead like you!”

“There’s no sign of Klos and his two.”

“Klos and his lads were unlucky today, Meilo sent them into the park—to protect milord from the savage squirrels!” the torch-bearer chortled.

“They should have been back ages ago. Maybe something’s happened?”

“Of course something’s happened! Do you think you’re the only one with any brains? Klos has a little bottle of his own, stashed away under a tree somewhere. And more than one! I reckon the lads will be sleeping the rest of the night on the grass.”

I’m afraid that after meeting Ell and Egrassa, Klos and company are never going to wake up again.

“Shall we go and look for them?”

“What for? Do you feel like wandering around in the dark?”

The guards’ voices faded away into the distance.

“Phew,” Kli-Kli sighed. “Are all guards born blind, or is it just them?”

“It varies. We’re almost there.”

All we had to do now was turn the corner and run along the far wall of the building until we reached the right window. I lay down on the ground and warily stuck my nose round the corner to check that the way was clear.

No one there.

There wasn’t a single light on at this side of the house.

“Here.”

I took out the cobweb and flung the free end of the rope upward, aiming at the balcony jutting out above our heads. The magic rope took a solid grip on the stone, without any grapnels or hooks. For my own peace of mind, I tugged on it a few times, checking the reliability of my stairway to the heavens. I couldn’t pull it off—I certainly hadn’t wasted my gold on that marvel.

“Stay here. Don’t make any noise and don’t even think of getting up to any tricks!” I said, glaring at the goblin menacingly.

“Yes, Harold.”

“And no matter what happens, don’t you dare climb up after me.”

“No, Harold.”

“If I’m not back in an hour, find Markauz and clear out of here.”

“Yes, Harold.” The little goblin looked like the most miserable creature in the whole of Siala.

“I’m going up. If anything happens, whistle. Only quietly.”

“But Harold, I don’t—”

“Kli-Kli, just do as I tell you.”

“All right, Harold,” the goblin agreed meekly.

I opened the clasp holding the cloak on my shoulders. It was a good cloak, no doubt about that; it was ink-black, like all my clothes, but climbing up a wall in it, especially a high wall, was rather awkward.

“Keep your eyes peeled,” was my final instruction to the jester before I jerked on the spider web and sent it a mental instruction.

The rope shuddered and started lifting me upward. All I had to do was brace my feet against the wall and watch the balcony moving toward me.

About halfway up, when I was poised between heaven and earth, I heard a loud hiss below me, something between a red-hot frying pan and an expiring viper. I had to stop and look down. Kli-Kli had almost all his fingers stuck into his mouth and his cheeks were puffed out, as if he was trying to look like a bugler.