The Chosen (31 page)

The group found an inn and paid for two rooms for the night.

“You kids planning on staying long?” The ancient innkeeper asked in a wheezing tone as he handed them keys to their rooms.

David smiled. “Just passing through.”

Upstairs, he advised his group, “Get a good night’s sleep. We have a very long and very busy day tomorrow.”

Clouds hung low in the sky the next morning. Those didn’t bother David so much as the ones that hugged the ground. It was so foggy he could barely see three meters in front of him.

“Wonderful,” David muttered as he looked out the window. “This is going to make things difficult.”

“How so?” Matt asked pulling on his boots.

David reached for his own. “With this fog I won’t be able to tell where I am until I’m practically on top of something, which means we’ll all be making a lot of noise.” He slid one of his feet into his boots only to encounter something alive. He jerked his foot out and peered inside. Lacey hissed back at him. David sighed and held out his boot. "Matt..."

“True,” his friend agreed as he retrieved his pet from his leader's boot. “But we can make the best of it.”

“We’ll have to,” David replied grimly. “Any reason you couldn’t have left Lacey at home?” he asked irritably.

Matt shrugged. “I couldn’t find a volunteer to take care of her,” he lamented.

“I see that it’s not only the sky that’s dark today.” Daniel commented dryly from across the room.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means your mood is as dark as those clouds. Usually that’s Kathryn’s job.” He poked his head out the window. “It looks like rain.”

David scowled. “Just wonderful.”

Downstairs they found the three girls already having breakfast. “I think we should go to the marketplace first,” Natalie chirped as soon they sat down.

David seriously considered strangling her for being so cheerful on such an ugly day. He noticed Kathryn frowning slightly at him and realized she was probably picking up on his sour mood like Matt and Daniel had. Sighing he reminded himself that he was their leader and had to set a good example for his family to follow. Swallowing his irritation at the world he refocused on Natalie.

“After all,” Natalie continued. “There’s so much to learn in a different marketplace.” The server came and brought the boys their breakfast

“That’s a good idea,” David agreed as he eyed his breakfast.

Breakfast was little more than lukewarm porridge and stiff bread, but it was filling and the team ate heartily.

By the time they had finished eating the fog had lifted some, lifting David’s own spirits considerably. “Kathryn and Daniel can start at the south end of the market,” he decided as they left the inn. “The rest of us will start here.” He watched as Kathryn gave Destiny, who was perched on the roof of the inn, a subtle hand motion which sent the bird flying off toward the castle, eventually disappearing over the cliffs behind the stronghold.

Kathryn and Daniel headed for the south end without comment, trusting David’s leadership. Matt wandered off on his own, focusing on the apothecary and spice market.

Now the Dragons were in their element. Immediately Natalie began to browse the various shops and vendor’s stalls, chattering the whole while. David and Jenna followed a bit more slowly, but making their own conversation and picking up on the slight clues revealed in the body language of the local villagers.

In a radian David learned that Sebastian was a tyrant. Not that any of the villagers would actually come out and say such a thing, but the way they ducked their heads or shifted uncomfortably when face with polite queries about their protector told David all he needed to know.

Natalie was inspecting a piece of pottery when the sound of thunder reached her ears. At first she looked up, thinking the sky was about to send a torrent of rain down on them, but quickly realized the thunder she as hearing was the sound of horsemen…very excited horsemen.

Turning to the right she caught sight of three fully dressed knights barreling down the center of the marketplace. The villagers were scrambling to get out of the way, throwing their wares and purchases into the air trying to escape the path of the knights. Natalie felt someone grab her arm and pull her further back into the stall just as the three knights rushed past, apparently oblivious to the destruction and havoc they were causing.

When the dust had settled the marketplace began to thrive again. Dusting herself off Natalie asked the stall keeper, “Does that happen often?”

He shrugged. “More and more since the woman arrived.”

Natalie’s ears perked up, but she kept forced herself to keep her voice calm. “What woman?”

Again the man shrugged. “Some woman arrived here about a fortnight ago.”

“Have you ever seen her?”

“Why would a noble lady show her face in a place like this?” The man waved an arm around.

Natalie ducked her head. “Good point.” She quickly made her purchase and left to find David.

He and Jenna were further down at a grain stall. Jenna was haggling over some barley and David was there to make sure she got a good price. As she approached, Natalie couldn’t ignore how handsome and intimidating David was. He stood just behind Jenna, slightly off to the right, with his hands folded across his chest and a serious expression on his face. His wavy black hair was gently dancing in the wind. Oh, if only she could get him to notice her! He was perfect for her, and the fact that he was of a noble family only made it that much easier. Yet for over seven months he had steadily ignored her, or at least treated her the same way he treated every other Dragon. It was frustrating her to no end.

Gently Natalie pulled David away and slowly walked down street. “Apparently,” she said softly and adding in a small flick of her hair to keep his attention, “There’s a noble lady staying in the castle who arrived about a fortnight ago.”

David nodded. “It seems that Duke Sebastian has heavily stepped up security at the castle. The common people can’t even get near the drawbridge.”

“What’s your next move?”

“I need someone to get inside.”

“Didn’t you just hear yourself? How can we get inside if we can’t get near the drawbridge?”

“I’m hoping Kathryn can manage it.”

Just the mention of her nemesis caused Natalie to scowl “What is it with Kathryn and questions?” she asked remembering their ride in, and then remembering something else, she turned on David. “I’ve been wanting to ask you this since you set up our teams. Why did you put Amy on Kathryn’s team when the rest of us had no one we were familiar with? Why the favoritism?” She probably shouldn’t be second-guessing his decisions, not while on a mission, and
especially
not when she was trying to get him to notice her in more than a platonic way, but that little bit of information had been niggling at her for
months
.

David looked at her sternly. “What I am about to say goes no further than you and me. Got it?”

She rolled her eyes. “I got it, it’s a secret.”

“I put Amy on Kathryn’s team because she’s the only one Kathryn trusts enough to confide in or allow to help her. Also, because you make friends easier than Kathryn, I knew you could handle being alone. Besides, it’s not entirely true that Kathryn is the only one who knows someone on the team. Luke was my best friend at the school and he’s on my team.”

“What’s Kathryn’s problem with trusting?” Natalie demanded hotly, ignoring David’s last comment. “Why can’t she learn to trust like the rest of us?”

“Kathryn’s past is what caused her to lose the ability to trust,” David told her firmly, “Until she decides to reveal it to you or anyone else don’t, I repeat, do not push her to answer your questions.”

Natalie moved away in a huff. “Fine. But I still don’t like it.”

David let out an exasperated sigh. He had brought Natalie along hoping that she would end her feud with Kathryn but it was appearing to have been for naught. Praying fervently that the two would make up, David went to find Daniel, Matt and Kathryn, hoping they had learned more than he had.

“Are you sure you can do this?” David whispered.

“I don’t think it will be a problem,” Kathryn replied calmly as she removed her sword and daggers leaving her armed only with her bow and fighting knives.

David, who had been forced to order her to bring her sword, frowned when he realized she wasn’t taking them with her. “You have no worries about the guards?”

When David had caught up with Kathryn and Daniel earlier that day he found they had learned the exact number of guards that were patrolling the castle. An even better show of good fortune was when Daniel found a guard who was mentally weak enough for Natalie to swoop in and distract him enough for him to estimate how much time was left before the evening shifts would begin to see if he had time for a drink. Normally, even a weak minded knight would prove difficult to glean information out of, but Natalie’s charms and flirtatious, David might have even considered them suggestive, gestures were very persuasive in turning his thoughts quite blatantly to how much time he had before his watch started.  The effort of keeping the thoughts of other knights and patrons in the tavern separate from his target was far more than Daniel had ever attempted since leaving school and took a toll on him but he still managed a very disgusted grimace before saying, “I will
never
get those images out of my head,” as they melted away into the crowd.

Now, the team was poised on the cliffs, waiting for the shift to change and Kathryn to penetrate the castle’s defenses for reconnaissance.

“I don’t like the idea of you going in with just your bow and knives,” David admitted.

“The sword will only slow me down,” Kathryn protested as he tried to hand it back to her. She didn’t want that thing anywhere near her.  “Besides,” she said as she slipped her bow and quiver off her shoulder and handed it to David, “the fewer encumbrances the better.”

“You’re not taking your bow?” David asked in disbelief.

Kathryn looked into his protesting face and sighed. “I have a lot of climbing to do in a short amount of time and it will just get in the way”

“Then at least take a dagger,” he insisted.

“I don’t need it,” she hissed back. She lifted Destiny to a perch and said, “Silence.”

Destiny bobbed her head up and down a few times and opened her beak wide as if getting ready to let out a victory call. Instead only her tongue appeared in the dark void between her beaks. Not a sound came out.

Matt, who had been watching the strange interaction, muttered quietly to himself, “That is just weird.”

Kathryn shot him a wry grin.

“Fifteen minutes,” Jenna whispered from above. She and Natalie were keeping an eye on the time as well as watching the guards in case the change happened at a slightly different time. Daniel was further away watching for patrols in the cliffs.

“Got to go.” Kathryn slid down from the ledge and disappeared into the darkness before David could protest again.

The leader of the Dragons looked at Matt who was eyeing Destiny with suspicion. "Please tell me that you didn't bring Lacey," he hissed.

Matt looked hurt. "I couldn't just leave her in the room."

David suppressed a curse. "Well make sure she stays hidden," he ordered. "The last thing we need is for Destiny to go after her or Natalie to scream and give away our position."

Matt grimaced. "Good point, I'll see if I can get her to stay in my pocket."

"No," David ground out. "You will make her stay. I've tolerated her terrorizing Natalie Matt, but I won't let her risk our lives."

He waited until Matt acknowledged his ultimatum before moving upward to join the two girls. “Anyone spotted her yet?”

“She just left,” Natalie reminded him sourly. “She’s hasn’t even reached the first wall.” She paused and then added. “I still think that
I
should have been the one to go,” she complained irritably. “After all,
I’m
the one who distracted the drunk knight so that Daniel could peak into his thoughts. Not to mention I have intelligence training.”

“Oh, sure,” Matt agreed sarcastically from below. “Let’s send the one person who hasn’t been participating in the extra training sessions these last seven months, and who doesn’t have intrusion skills, over four castle walls we aren’t sure she can climb in daylight, let alone the dead of night, so that she can sneak past a castle swarming with trained knights, who are on alert for trouble. We’d end up having to rescue both you
and
the princess,” he predicted. “At least we know that Kathryn can do it.”

“How do you know that I can’t?” she hissed back.

Daniel coughed hard, announcing his return. “Seriously? After seven months, Natalie, we pretty much know what everyone else is capable of in this family.”

“And climbing castle walls and becoming a night wraith aren’t in your skill set,” Jenna added.

“Kathryn isn’t trained in intelligence,” Natalie protested with a sniff. “She doesn’t know what to listen for. I should have gone with her at least.”

“So you can distract her with your interrogations like you do at home and get the both of you killed?” Matt suggested mockingly. “Brilliant idea.”

Silence fell over the cliffs so abruptly, David wondered if his companions were all still with him or if they’d somehow fallen off the precipice without him knowing.