He tasted dreadful and kissed enthusiastically, but very sloppily. The poor fool never saw the rock coming. I struck him heavily behind his right ear with the stone and he dropped instantly, out cold.
Father stepped into the light cast by the fire as I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve, cast the rock aside, and spat onto the ground, eager to rid myself of any reminders of Sneeds. “Well, it’s about time you got here,” I hissed.
His bright red hair shone in the firelight. “Honestly, Laurel, I thought you would’ve been able to escape yourself by now. I knew they must’ve found a way to keep you here.” He indicted my metal collar and chain.
“I did get away. Twice, actually, but they have a tracker who, unfortunately, is pretty good. Keep your voice down—he’s in that tent. Here, help me.”
I briefly explained what I was doing and pulled the chain from the fire. Father proudly inspected my work. “I toldeveryone there was no reason to worry about you,” he boasted. Together, we heaved on opposite sides of the chain and finally managed to break apart the heated and weakened link. It tinkled down on the rocks beside the fire pit. I still had the collar and six feet of chain attached to me, but I was free at last!
“Who’s your boyfriend here?” Father sniggered, poking Sneeds’s limp form with the toe of his boot.
“Oh, just the latest of the guards they set for me. They’re having a hard time finding men willing. This will be the fifth one I’ve downed. Watch out or I may catch up to your record.”
Father grinned, pleased. “Good to know you’re using your feminine charm for all the right reasons.” He glanced bemusedly at Sneeds again, whose face and knees were pressed into the dirt, rump raised comically in the air. “Good thing I never had to kiss any of my guards. It probably wouldn’t have gone over as well.”
Smothering a laugh at his jest, I whispered, “Let’s get out of here,” thrilled with our success.
“In a minute,” Father said, pulling a throwing knife from his belt and tossing it in the air. It flipped over a few times and he deftly caught it again. “I have an old friend to visit, to repay him for treating my daughter so well during her stay. Goes by the name of Blackwell. You know him?”
“Want me to lead the way?” I asked. A smile spread over my face at the prospect.
Father gestured me on. I pulled two more throwing knives from Father’s belt as I passed him and spun them between my fingers with easy familiarity. Oh, how I’d missed the heavy feel of these weapons in my hands. Suddenly, I no longer felt like a helpless victim, but powerful and in control.
CHAPTER 14
Along the way to the sheriff’s immense tent, we had to dodge out of sight of the few night guards, but that was simple enough. We used to play Escape and Evade regularly back in Sherwood Forest. Father ducked inside while I kept watch, and after a few minutes, Father emerged. He pushed the sheriff forward with a knife at his back. “Well, well, well, Blackwell, we meet again,” Father hissed in an undertone. “My daughter had such a pleasant time here that we must return the favor! We’d like to issue you an invitation to come visitourcamp.”
I couldn’t help the grin that tugged at my mouth. The sheriff stood barefoot in the cold dirt, pinstriped nightclothes stretched tight across his round middle. His hair stuck up in wild tufts and a faint crease from his pillow still marked his cheek. His eyes, bleary and furious, darted around the camp as though searching for someone to blame for the indignity of being hauled out before his own men like this. Father smiled at me. “Is there anything you wish to say to your host, my dear?”
I stepped forward and punched the sheriff across the jaw. “I think that sums it up.”
Father dug the tip of his knife into the sheriff’s back to urge him to walk forward. “Move it along there, Blackwell,” he jeered. “I can’t wait to say a few things to you myself.”
“You cad,” spat the sheriff quietly. “You think you can get away with this?” He then raised his voice to a booming shout. “It’s Robin Hood! He’s here! Raise the alarm!”
“Run, Laurel!” Father cried, and dragged the sheriff backward with an arm around his throat, knife still at his back. I didn’t need to be told twice. I turned and raced away, holding the end of the chain in one hand and my knives in the other as I sprinted for the protection of the forest.
Dorian stepped out in front of me, directly in my path. Without hesitation, I dropped and slid between his outstretched legs. With one smooth motion, I flung the end of my chain around one of his feet as I did so. Then I leapt up and continued to run, sharply jerking the chain coiled around Dorian’s ankle as I did so. His leg was swept out from under him and he crashed to the ground.
“Over here!” I heard him call to his comrades. I turned and hurled one of my knives. The blade buried itself deep into his thigh as he struggled to his feet. He collapsed again, grabbing his leg and screaming in pain. Served him right.
I raced on. I would need to find a way to cover my tracks—Baron would be on my tail before long. But right now, my primary focus was putting as many miles as I could between myself and my enemies. I wasn’t concerned about Father—he was used to getting himself out of sticky situations.
I fingered my single remaining throwing knife. If anyone pursued me, I would have to make it count.
All that night, I alternated jogging as long as I could with walking for the briefest amounts of time it took to get my wind back. The chain still hindered me, but a blacksmith could fix that for me once I got back.
Dawn rose and still I journeyed northward but this time, I veered to the west slightly.This time, I would be sure to not take the most direct path as that had come back to bite me last time. I did my best to cover my tracks while I walked. Sometimes I would walk in the stream, or else backtrack in my footsteps after leaving a false trail and shinny up a tree to swing down far away and continue on in a different direction.
Remembering the ease with which Baron had found me before, I didn’t stop to rest all that day. I knew I needed to go much farther than anyone would have thought possible. So I pressed on, through meadows and forests, and at nightfall, I came to the outskirts of a small village near the base of a mountain. I stumbled upon a cottage, wondering how much farther I could go before I collapsed, when an old woman came out of the house, blinking rapidly then squinting at me.
“May the saints bless me!” she cried. “You can’t be the daughter of Robin Hood?”
“Shhh!” I implored. The last thing I wanted right now was to have all the townsfolk shouting about my identity.
“Are you his daughter?” she continued in a voice only slightly more muted. “He helped me many years ago.”
“Yes, I am. Please, good mother, I need a place to hide.”
