Sir Hugh had killed another innocent, and I had failed to stop him. I spun around, expecting Sir Hugh and his men to suddenly appear, but the church was still deserted. I ran back up the aisle between the pews and cracked open the front door. There was no one in sight. Where was he? Why was he tormenting me? He had to realize I was here. Why would he not show himself?
I couldn’t gather his reason for killing Father William and leaving his body in the church if he wasn’t watching for me at all times. Had he grown sloppy? Did he think I was a fool who would blindly stumble into his trap anyway?
With a deep breath, I darted out of the church and across the square, and took shelter in an alley between rows of shops. The town was still quiet. I wondered if Sir Hugh had forced everyone out, leaving it easier to guard and control until I arrived. But it was unlikely he could evacuate an entire village of even this modest size, filled with testy Scots, with so few knights.
Following the alley to the next street, I kept my back to the wall and peered around the corner. I studied every doorway, rooftop and potential hiding place, but I could see nothing or no one in evidence. For a moment I wished Angel were with me, for her nose and hearing would have been a keen advantage.
Not willing to rush headlong into a trap, I took another circuitous route back to the wall where my scaling ladder lay hidden. Making sure no one was following or lying in wait to ambush me, I replaced the log against the wall and climbed over and down the other side. I had used up most of the night, and light was gathering in the east. It was going to be a bitterly cold day, but I hardly noticed the falling temperature.
As fast as I could, I worked my way back up to the camp where I had left Maryam and Robard. With Father William dead, I had no idea what to do with the Grail. But I would worry about it later. Getting away from here was my first priority.
When I reached the point where I could look down on the village, I was shocked to see that the knights guarding the entrance had vanished. All that remained were their tents and cook fires. Where had they gone?
As the sun rose, snowflakes drifted out of the sky. The wind picked up, and my face and hands grew cold. A feeling of dread came over me as I approached the copse of trees where I’d left Maryam and Robard. Where was Angel? She would have smelled me coming and should have burst to my side in greeting. Something was very, very wrong.
For a moment, the woods thickened and I thought perhaps I was lost. Then I heard a familiar snort and burst through a clump of underbrush to find Charlemagne tethered to a tree. He nickered at my approach and I patted him on the withers. He was saddled and ready to ride, but the bags of food Tuck had packed for us, as well as the bundle of arrows that I’d carried lashed to the back of my saddle, were gone.
Had Robard and Maryam taken my words to heart? Perhaps I had spent too much time in Rosslyn and they assumed I’d been captured, and had followed my instructions to escape. No. That couldn’t be it. Robard and Maryam would never follow my instructions. They would have come to find me if they were able. Something must have spooked them. I was no tracker but would have to see if I could find where they had gone.
I climbed into the saddle and was about to spur Charlemagne away when I spotted one of Robard’s arrows lying on the ground, just outside our camp. I could have easily missed it, but I stopped and studied it for a moment. It was not stuck in the ground, point first. It was lying flat, pointing to the south, back in the direction we had come the day before.
The arrow gave me pause. It might have accidentally fallen from one of the bundles they carried on their saddles. Or perhaps it had tumbled unexpectedly from their wallets as they mounted their horses.
But I was sure it hadn’t. Robard treated his shafts like gold. He would not be so careless. The arrow was a signal. They had headed south.
I steered Charlemagne through the woods, and the sun was coming up, but the snow fell more heavily. I pulled my cowl up around my neck and rode on.
I approached the promontory we had climbed the day before where the River Esk ran below. The wind picked up and the snow stung my face, but as I drew closer to the high ridge, I spied a small group of figures on horseback in front of me. I reined Charlemagne to a halt a few paces away.
Before me Sir Hugh sat mounted in the center of a line of knights. On either side of him, still on their horses, were Robard and Maryam, with their hands bound behind their backs.