Blood in Snow by Robert Evert

shook his head in amazement.
    “Only Vin!” he laughed.
    Pond frowned.
    Within minutes, the singing had begun to taper off, though through the growing darkness, Edmund couldn’t see why.
    Then Vin changed the song.
    “That’s the signal,” Edmund said.
    He hooted like an owl.
    Other hoots answered along the ridge.
    “Come on,” Edmund said to Pond. “As quietly as we can.”
    He and Becky began to stalk down the steep hillside. Pond followed slowly behind, his rapier still sheathed.
    When Edmund and Hendrick’s guards reached the valley, they found Vin sitting on top of his wagon, waving his hat at them. Eighty of the King’s men lay asleep in the snow, big smiles upon their dreamy faces.
    Edmund ran up to Vin and shook his hand.
    “I can’t believe it!” he whispered. “You did it! How long will they be like this?”
    Vin laughed. “Until morning at least!”
    “Morning!” Hendrick and Edmund exclaimed together.
    “Captain!” One of Hendrick’s guards and several of Rood’s men had raced to the wagons, ready to set them ablaze. But now they hesitated. “Look at all this stuff!”
    Swords still drawn, everyone made for the line of wagons full of blankets, heavy clothes, extra weapons, and enough food for an army.
    “We aren’t going to just burn it all, are we?”
    Edmund surveyed the wagons. Many were empty, their stores apparently depleted on the way to the Highlands. But the remaining supplies could feed Rood for months. Scores of horses stood in a makeshift corral near the banks of the lake. Several whinnied and snorted as Becky approached. “No, we aren’t going to burn any of it.”
    He turned to Vin. “Are you absolutely sure these men will stay asleep until morning?”
    Vin grinned. “I guarantee it.” He slapped one of the sleeping men hard across the face. The man didn’t stir. “They’ll wake up feeling refreshed and happy and won’t remember a thing from this evening!”
    “What did you do to them?” a guard asked. “Poison them?”
    “Something like that,” Vin said, winking.
    “Boy, remind me never to get you upset!”
    Several guards laughed.
    “So what are we going to do?” Hendrick asked.
    “Get some of your guards to hitch horses to the wagons,” Edmund replied.
    “All of the wagons? Even the empty ones?”
    “Yes.” Edmund examined the sleeping men, many of whom appeared to be craftsmen, as Bain had guessed. But most were clearly men-at-arms—muscled, well-armed, and young.
    “What about them?” Hendrick pointed his sword at those lying in the snow. “We don’t have enough rope to bind them all. And to be honest, sir, we don’t have the facilities in Rood to hold them. My men can’t guard all of them. I hate to say it, but maybe we should—”
    “We’re not going to kill them,” Edmund said.
    “If you don’t mind my saying, sir … we’ll have to fight them eventually, and then we’ll either kill them or they’ll kill us. Killing them in their sleep would be—”
    “We’re not going to kill sleeping men,” Edmund said firmly.
    He pondered the problem.
    If we can’t hold them prisoner and you won’t kill them, then what?
    An idea came.
    “Take off their clothes and remove their weapons, then pile these men into the empty wagons. We’re going to send them back south.”
    “Sir?”
    “Strip them naked and get them into the empty wagons,” Edmund said again. “We’ll have Becky chase the horses southward. By morning, they should be miles away.”
    “But won’t they just ride back here?”
    “Doubtful. Food and clothing will be their first concern, and they can only find that in the south. Plus, naked men will want warmth.”
    “Also in the south,” one of the guards said.
    “They’ll wonder what the hell happened!” another guard laughed. “They’ll think somebody cast a spell over them!”
    “They’ll be too terrified to come back!”
    Edmund and Vin exchanged glances.
    “All right!” Hendrick called out. “You heard him.