Trail of Fate by Michael Spradlin Page A

together in a silent clap. I stood awestruck. Robard ducked down and trot ted back to us.
    â€œHa ha!” he said exuberantly when he reached us. “I knew I could make it!”
    â€œMagnificent, Robard, truly a fantastic shot,” I said.
    We both looked at Maryam, and I expected to see glumness or chagrin on her face, but there was none. In fact she was smiling ear to ear. She made a quick and fluid movement of her arms, and her daggers materialized in her hands.
    â€œWell done, archer. I did not believe you had it in you!” She flipped the daggers in the air, taking each by the blade, and held them out to Robard hilt first. “A wager is a wager. Your choice.”
    Robard looked at her and smiled. He unstrung his bow, rested the stave on the ground and leaned against it, studying her intently.
    â€œI’m going to need a while to choose. For the time being, you keep them. When I’ve decided which one I want, I’ll let you know. Fair enough?” He looked at her with his head tilted at a jaunty angle.
    â€œAs you wish,” Maryam said. She spun them in the air again, and they vanished within the folds of her sleeves.
    Robard’s success gave me a sense of hope. Maybe we could make this work after all.
    â€œWhat now?” asked Robard.
    â€œI think it’s best to wait until dark to attempt the next phase of the plan,” I said. “We’ll have a better chance of moving about undetected.”
    Maryam and Robard agreed, and we crept deeper into the woods. We found a dense copse of evergreens where we secreted ourselves. Robard offered to keep the first watch while the rest of us napped. Before we closed our eyes, we shared the remaining bit of food we had left. Ideally we would be inside the castle before it was time for our next meal.
    The mountain air was much cooler now. I pulled my tunic tight up around my neck and leaned back against a tree. Before I knew it, Robard was shaking me awake. Darkness had fallen.
    I looked up at Robard, confused and still in the twilight of sleep. It had been near dusk when I lay down. He had let me doze much longer than I had intended.
    â€œI thought you needed the rest. Might help you come up with better plans,” he said, smiling.
    Apparently Robard considered himself a court jester. Still, I was grateful.
    â€œHave you seen anything?” I asked.
    â€œA group of riders came by about two hours ago, but since then, nothing. There is firelight through those trees though. No more than half a league from here, at the base of the trail leading to the southwest wall of the fortress. It’s where I’d station my men if I were him.”
    â€œWe better wake Maryam and get started,” I said.
    â€œAre you sure you don’t want to reconsider? It’s not too late.”
    â€œNo . . . I made a promise. It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t try to help. Sir Thomas always taught me that a Templar keeps his word. The order is sworn to protect the weak.”
    â€œI wouldn’t exactly call Celia weak, and I’m curious as to what you think you can do from inside that the people already there can’t. Think this through, squire. If you go any farther, if you get inside, you are committed. If you show yourself to the High Counsel now, your deception is revealed. Just be sure.”
    Robard was right. I would add to my ever growing list of enemies: Sir Hugh, the King’s Guards and King Richard, and, if I helped Celia, the High Counsel. And if he truly was the High Counsel to an archbishop, then he was highly connected to the church and would make a powerful foe. And it also meant he probably knew all the local regimentos of the Templars. He could probably send Sir Hugh straight to me if he so desired.
    And there was another thing. Something I hadn’t mentioned to either Maryam or Robard. I feared Sir Hugh was closing in on us. There was nothing to base my fear on other than a tickle along the