‘What did he give you?’ asked the tallest of the three.
Blake’s hand went protectively over the parcel. She should have left while she had the chance, but Harlan was not easy to walk away from. Her heart sped up as she ran through all the possible ways the situation would play out. The men would not leave without the food, she knew that for sure. She also knew Harlan would not stand idle while three men robbed her.
The best thing she could do for everybody involved was run.
She took off as fast as she could in the opposite direction. If she could make it to the village, they would be less likely to assault her in view of others. Feet pounded behind her. She could hear the laboured breath of the men as they drew closer. The soft thud of an arrow piercing flesh followed by a cry of pain made her stop.
Blake turned to see an arrow protruding from one of the men’s thighs. His two friends stared in stunned silence. It was clear Harlan had been trying to stop him, not kill him. One of them looked at her, eyes filled with accusation, as if she had shot the arrow herself. The other went to help his injured friend.
‘Give me the package,’ said the man staring at her.
She shook her head and backed away, annoyed at herself for stopping when Harlan had gifted her time.
The man approached so quickly she did not have a chance to run. He went to grab her, and she punched his hand away. He reached for her again, catching her by the arm this time. Not only did she not have a weapon to fight with, but she barely had any strength. Before she could swing a leg at him, he threw her to the ground and reached inside her cloak, searching for the parcel.
She struggled beneath him. ‘He’ll kill you.’
Just as he took hold of the parcel, an arrow struck her attacker’s temple. He did not cry or make a sound.
That shot had definitely meant to kill.
The man tipped forwards, and with her remaining strength, Blake shoved him off her. She lay there panting and trying not to cry while the other men stared wide-eyed at their dead friend.
‘Run,’ she said, ‘before he kills you.’
The injured man held tightly to his remaining companion, and the pair hurried away.
Blake turned to look at the man dead beside her. His cheeks were as sunken as her own. His family would expect him to return home. At what point would they start to worry?
When she looked back at the wall, she saw only the faint glow of torches. How Harlan had hit the man in the dark from that distance she had no idea. She could feel him watching her though, an arrow trained in her direction just in case. He needed to know she was all right. He needed her to get up.
She could give him that.
Blake rose slowly, forcing her legs to work. She stuffed the parcel back into her cloak with numb fingers and tried not to sway on her feet or do anything that would make him question her ability to make it home. He could not afford to take more risks than he had.
He had brought her food.
He had killed so she could eat.
So with strong, steady steps, she turned away from the wall and walked home.
‘What happened?’ her mother asked the second she walked in. ‘You’re so pale.’
Blake sank down into a chair and pulled out the parcel, placing it on the table in front of her.
‘What is that?’ Lyndal asked.
Blake blinked back tears. ‘Food.’ She closed her eyes to block out her mother’s concerned expression. ‘Harlan dropped it over the wall.’
Lyndal unwrapped the parcel just as Eda stepped into the room to see what was going on. They all stared down at its contents.
A chunk of butter, two green carrots, and a piece of black bread. That was what the merchant’s life had been worth.
Blake did not return to the wall again.
Chapter 38
Ten days after the wall incident, when every scrap of the food was gone, Blake sharpened an old kitchen knife into something of use and went out into the forest to hunt for the only thing available to them—aureate grubs.
