Aimed at Levi.
About thirty strides separated them, and the man had already proved he could hit a target at that distance.
Levi eased his hands up, spreading them away from his body. “I mean no harm to you or to any of your people.”
“You can come back and tell the council.” Leonard’s voice was hard, determined. How much had this man been punished for losing the prisoner on his watch?
“No!” Audrey’s voice cut through the air, and Leonard jerked with the sound. Thankfully, he didn’t release the arrow in the midst of his surprise.
The guard’s voice rang high as he yelled, “Stay back, Audrey. This man has done enough damage. Stay out of this for your own good.”
The words pinched in Levi’s chest. He spoke truth. Audrey would be much better off if she’d stayed far away from him. He kept his voice level. “I’ll return with you.” Anything else would put Audrey in worse straits.
“No.” This time Audrey’s tone sounded more defeated than determined.
I’m sorry. He couldn’t speak the words aloud, but maybe he would eventually be able to tell her. He hated that all her sacrifice would be for naught, yet what choice did he have? Especially with this guard pointing an arrow at him?
This must be God’s hand guiding him, stopping him from running when he should stand and face his punishment. Not that he’d really done anything wrong, not intentionally. He’d not hurt anyone, nor had he planned to. He’d not lied. Maybe he should have refused when Audrey told him to escape.
He started toward Leonard, keeping his hands raised and away from his sides. He didn’t dare glance at Audrey. He couldn’t bear the sadness, or maybe even the anger, that would be in her beautiful green eyes.
As he neared Leonard, the man pulled the bowstring tighter. If he released the arrow at this distance, the shaft might penetrate halfway through Levi, depending on what it struck on its way in.
“Stop there.”
Levi jerked to a halt, more than happy not to draw closer to this young guard whose eyes held a feral determination. Surely he didn’t plan to kill Levi now, then drag his body back to the village.
“Drop those bags and the knife. Move slowly.” Leonard’s voice was as tight as his bowstring.
Levi eased the satchels from his shoulder and dropped them to the ground, then moved one hand down to grasp the knife handle. He kept his movements painfully slow so he didn’t give this young guard a reason to release the arrow.
Leonard nodded to his left. “Toss it down the mountain.”
Below the boulder the man had been hiding behind, the slope dropped off steeply, forming a vertical cliff farther down. Levi tossed the blade far enough that it skittered over that steep incline.
“Now your other weapons.”
Levi met the man’s gaze, returning both hands to the positions away from his sides. “That was all I had.”
He was near enough to see the sweat glistening on Leonard’s brow, despite the cold. It took a great deal of strength to keep a bow drawn as long as he had, but the man looked as cagey as a cornered bobcat. How old was he, anyway? He didn’t look more than one- or two-and-twenty. The pressure to make up for letting his prisoner escape must be intense. Had Leonard spent the entire night out here, lying in wait, even when the rest of the searchers went home?
Levi kept his voice as steady as he could. “You don’t have to worry, Leonard. I’ll go back with you. I won’t try to escape again.”
“You won’t get away. Not this time.” The guard nearly snarled the words. Levi’s meaning clearly hadn’t penetrated.
The fellow stepped up the mountain and motioned for Levi to walk past him along the animal path. Finally, he eased a little of the tension on the bowstring, holding it only half drawn, and no longer pointed at Levi’s chest.
As he passed the man, Levi kept an eye on him from the corner of his gaze. A man as nervous as this guard might do something dangerous—either intentionally or not.
When Levi had taken three steps past him, Leonard moved back down to the trail.
Something flashed in the corner of Levi’s gaze, fartheroff the mountain. He glanced back, more from instinct than conscious intention. Audrey stepped from behind the tree that guarded the cave, clattering down the mountain with no attempt to conceal her approach.
A yelp of frustration sounded just behind him. Levi turned to see Leonard’s reaction to her approach. If he thought to hurt her or restrain her in any way...
The guard’s vexation must have thrown him off balance, and he took a step backward to catch his footing. The movement took him off the path, his foot landing down the slope and sideways on a loose stone.
He twisted to right himself, and a grunt slipped out as he scrambled for purchase with his other foot. The slope was too steep, though, with too many fist-sized rocks.
