“She will,” the third said. “I will make her if I have to.”
Neil swallowed, feeling his knuckles itch. He couldn’t go out there swinging now. He needed to be strategic about this, find a way to take them out one after the other.
He did not move. Patience had kept him alive, and for now, he would rely wholly on it. A cup rolled, and the guards cursed it. Laughter rose again.
The first guard rose, swaying on his feet. “I need to take a piss. Out of the way before I wet me boots.”
“Take a friend,” the second said.
“I have me own friend.” The first patted his trousers. “Nay need for two.”
They all howled in laughter as he wandered into the shadows, humming a tune.
Neil waited until the guard was twenty paces away and the trees swallowed him. Then he crept along the tent, the canvas brushing his shoulder, and counted the drunken rhythm.
Before the guard could register what was happening, Neil pounced on him. He jammed an arm against his throat and clamped a hand over his mouth. The guard jerked once.
Neil planted his feet and drew the dagger across the guard’s throat in one swift motion. The guard tried to fight back to no avail. Neil lowered him into the shrubs once his body went limp.
“Again, tell me exactly what ye plan to do to her,” he muttered to the darkness, his tone taunting. “I am listening.”
“Is everything all right? Tam?” a voice called from the fire.
“Probably had too much ale,” another responded.
Neil tiptoed along the rear of the camp, sucking in a breath when a tent line brushed his cheek. Then he passed a pile of crates and paused. A sword leaned there, half wrapped in oily cloth.
Nae fine, but sound.
He slid it free and felt its weight.
“Now,” he whispered, “might as well get this over with.”
Two guards stayed by the fire. One was waving his cup, while the other probed the fire with a stick. The horses snorted, growing uneasy.
“Tam,” the second guard called louder. “Ye napping over there?”
“Go fetch him,” the third said. “We cannae let him lie in his own puddle.”
“Nae a chance,” the second huffed. “I daenae need to see what I can live without seeing.”
Neil used their talk like rain. He crossed to the horse line in three steady strides and pressed a palm to the nearest neck. The beast twitched and then settled.
“Easy, lad,” he murmured. “I am taking ye for a ride, that is all.”
A saddle waited at the ring, but he left it for now. He would not wake the line before he was ready to take one clean.
“Think,” he muttered to himself. “Count.”
He marked the distance from the horse to the fire, then the fire to the gap that led to the trees.
“Tam,” the second guard called. “If ye’re truly napping, I will come kick ye.”
The third laughed. “Do it.”
“Lazy swine,” the second snorted, pushing to his feet.
Neil slid back into the shadows. He wanted the second guard to come alone and take the same path. He needed two gone before he reached for the saddle.
