Читать книгу Theopolda's Quest - Linda Wisely - Страница 15

"What are you supposed to be?" Sagan began, as he lifted his sword and pointed it at the masked man. Through the doorway Will could be seen lying flat on a table in the middle of the room, dressed only in his breaches.

The two monks pointed their swords at Abduls chest, pushed him back through the door, and shut it quickly behind them.

"King Ferdinand will be very angry that you are interfering with my duties," Abdul said calmly, as he removed the hideous wooden mask.

Sagan ran over to Will's limp body. "Will, Will, wake up!" Sagan began to shake him, fearing he was dead.

Will's eyes opened, but they stared vacantly at Sagan. Sagan tried to pull him to his feet, but he just fell back down onto the table.

"What have you done to him?" He turned and demanded of Abdul.

"He is just slightly paralyzed," Abdul said angrily. "You have interrupted my ceremony."

Sagan's nose scrunched up. There was a strong smell coming from Will of spices and herbs. As he looked around for something to subdue Abdul, he saw a vial on the counter labeled cobra venom and several darts laying beside it. This must be what he gave Will, it should keep him quiet for a while.

Sagan dipped one of the darts into the vial and quickly plunged it into Abduls leg, before he had time to react. Abdul immediately went into a siezure and then stopped breathing. Sagan looked on in surprise. He shook the Egyptian a little, but soon realized Abdul was dead. Good grief, I didn't mean to kill the man!

He looked around the room for Will's clothes, which were lying on the floor by a chair. He picked them up, and with the monk's help, was able to push and pull the clothes onto Will's unconscious body. Then he assisted the monks in standing Will up on his feet. They each put an arm around Will's waist and began to drag him towards the door.

"Hurry, get him into the tunnels. I am going to find Brother Justus, in case he needs my help freeing Theo."

They hurried down the hall with Will's body sagging between them.

Sagan began to look for the way to the tower. Each time he found steps going up, he took them. Castle Nuovo was a huge castle, much like a maze. Fortunately he didn't meet anyone.

Up in the tower Theo paced, waiting for Brother Justus. She could hear the guard snoring outside the door. It seemed like hours that she stood near the door with her rapier in her hand, ready for a fight.

Suddenly the door burst open. The guard had already been knocked out and two monks were busy tying his hands and feet.

Brother Justus grabbed Theo by the arm. "Muoviti (hurry)," he whispered.

They ran down the steep stone steps as fast as Brother Justus could pull Theo. When they got to the bottom, he let go of her arm and said over his shoulder, "Follow me. Don't make a sound!"

The monks were behind them now, and they all hurried through the halls, constantly on watch for a stray guard. Up ahead a dim figure could be seen moving stealthily towards them. They lifted their swords in readiness for a fight. Recognizing Sagan, Theo motioned the guards to stand back. As he reached her side, Theo grabbed him and gave him a big hug.

"You nearly scared me to death!" she whispered.

When they got to the dungeons, Theo saw the guard still knocked out and tied up in the corner. As they ran down the hall past the other jail cells, the prisoners began to yell, "Hey, let us out, let us out!"

Brother Justus grabbed the keys that were still dangling from Will and Sagan's cell door and handed them to the monk nearest him.

"Let them out and make sure they come with us into the tunnel. Where's Will?" Brother Justus whispered to Sagan.

"He's already in the tunnels," Sagan said, as he dropped into the dark escape hole.

Finally they were all back in the tunnels following Brother Justus. Up ahead in the dim light, they saw two monks waiting with Will on the floor beside them.

"What's wrong with Will? Is he hurt?" Theo said, as she ran to his side.

"Not hurt exactly. I don't really know what's the matter with him. He was like this when we found him," Sagan informed her.

Brother Justus bent down and began to shake Will. "Will, wake up. Will!"

Will looked up into a blurry face. That voice seemed familiar. He tried to talk but all that came out was, "Wah, bra, gurgle mah?"

Sagan squatted down beside him. "He's better than he was. He couldn't even talk when I found him."

Theo sat down on the stone floor and cradled Will's head on her lap, looking into his face anxiously. She felt like her heart was breaking. If anything happened to Will...

Brother Justus motioned for Sagan to help him lift Will up to a standing position. Now his legs were holding a little weight, but his head was still lolling around.

"We'll take care of him later. Right now we have to get to our horses as fast as we can."

They came to a point where the tunnel split. Theo, Brother Justus, and Sagan, with Will still hanging between them, turned to the north and the monks turned left. The five prisoners they had helped escape looked at Brother Justus, questioning which way to go.

"Follow us. This tunnel leads out of the city."

They moved as quickly as possible, alert to any sound that would indicate that they were being followed. The prisoners had dropped behind out of sight. Suddenly they heard shouts and metal striking metal. Sagan turned as if put Will down and join the battle, but Brother Justus motioned for him to stand still.

It was only a few minutes but it seemed like an eternity before the fighting had stopped and feet could be heard running towards them. They were getting louder and louder. Brother Justus had pulled them into a side tunnel, out of sight. Theo was holding her breath as Brother Justus peered carefully around the rock. They had leaned Will against a wall and had swords ready to fight. Sagan was between Theo and Brother Justus, legs braced, teeth clenched for battle. When one man was almost upon them, Brother Justus stepped out into the hall, sword lifted.

"Don't kill me! I'm on your side," the man yelled just in time. Sagan grabbed him and pulled his arms behind his back.

"I'm one of the prisoners. Don't you recognize me? We killed the two soldiers that had followed us."

"Where are the other prisoners?" Brother Justus asked quickly, looking back down the tunnel.

"Herman got killed in the skirmish. The other three are hiding the soldier's bodies in another tunnel. They should be along in a minute," the prisoner said in a quivering voice as Sagan released him.

Behind Theo, Will began to try to stand and mumbled, "Where 'm I?"

"You're safe with us now Will, just take it easy. We've got you," Sagan said reassuringly.

"Va be-e-ne-e-e (okay)," Will muttered.

Theo came close to them, and looking at Will, said in a hushed voice, " Is he going to be all right?"

"I hope so," Brother Justus told her. "We have to hurry."

"What should I do?" the prisoner asked.

"Wait here for the others, then follow us out. Turn left at the next tunnel. It will lead you straight out. Then you are free to go wherever you want. God bless and keep you safe." Brother Justus helped Sagan with Will. They went on as fast as they could with Will stumbling between them and Theo following closely behind.

The tunnel seemed to go on and on. It was a few miles until they could surface out of the aquaducts to where Phillipe' waited with the horses.

Finally they walked up some steps into the night. There was a full moon and stars were twinkling in the clear, dark sky. In the trees, horses could be heard whinnying. Philllipe' stepped out of the darkness.

"Who goes there?" Theo demanded, pointing her rapier in the direction of the tall, young man standing in the shadows.

"He's with us," Brother Justus said quickly. "This young man is Philllipe'. He has been a real help to us in making this escape."

Brother Justus and Sagan put Will down gently onto a flat rock that was shining in the moonlight. He was half sitting and half lying.

Theo went to him, and picking up his hand, tried to talk to him. "Will, do you know who I am?"

"Theo?" Will peered up at her.

"You can talk to him later. We need to leave now," Brother Justus prodded Theo.

"Put Will in front of you on your horse Sagan, and we'll lead his horse until he is able to ride," Brother Justus instructed. "Phillipe', do you think you can find your way safely back to the monastery?"

"Si (yes), I'm going to hang out here until morning, and then I'll just walk back to the monastery."

They mounted the horses Brother Justus had bought for them and rode into the night.

"Where are we going?" Theo asked.

"We are still going to La Luna Blu Inn, as originally planned. It's even a better plan now, because no one will think to look for us there since it is pretty isolated. We must get as far away as possible. Just follow me and don't talk anymore than necessary," Brother Justus said. He tried to smile because he didn't want the kids to see that he was afraid, but it looked like a grimace. Theo and Sagan looked at each other. They knew by that look that the situation was serious.

Most of the night they held to the main road going north toward the center of Italy. The road was well worn and deserted. Even thieves and ruffians slept in the early hours of the morning.

As the sky began to lighten, Brother Justus motioned them to ride into the trees. They wearily dismounted. Will was starting to come out of the effects of the cobra venom and asking questions of Sagan, who quietly told him the events of the night.

"My whole body aches!" Theo said, rubbing her backside and hobbling.

Her knees hurt terribly from not having ridden for several weeks. When at the monastery, they were used to riding around the vineyards daily to inspect the grapes for bugs and ripeness. But this night's ride had been much rougher than she was used to.

Sagan and Brother Justus helped Will down off of Sagan's horse. After making individual visits into the brush to relieve themselves, they sat down and leaned against the trees in exhaustion.

"What now? Do you think anyone will try to follow us this far?" Sagan asked.

"I am hopeful that they will not have any idea which direction we went. We were underground for several miles, and there are many turns and tunnels down there."

"Is it much further to the inn?" Theo asked.

"Not much more than a half day's ride. The terrain will be rougher though, as we are leaving the main rode and will be traveling through the forest part of the way. I think we should take a short nap before we go on, since we have been up all night. By that time, I hope Will can ride his horse the rest of the way," Brother Justus said, settling himself more comfortably in the soft leaves on the ground under a tree. "I think we will be safe here hidden in this dense brush." In no time they heard his soft snoring.

After what seemed only minutes to the tired young people, Brother Justus was waking them up and motioning them to get on their horses.

"Will, do you think you can ride by yourself now? It will be a lot easier on Sagan's horse if you can."

"Yes, I am doing pretty well. I'm just a little weak. I think I will feel better if I move around a little more." Will got up and walked around awkwardly.

Theo mounted the beautiful Palimino who Philllipe' had introduced to her as Safron. Phillipe' obviously loved horses and had made sure to tell each of them their horses names as they mounted last night. Safron had a sweet temperament and a smooth gate.

The horse that they had led behind them for Will was a big, black, Friesian stallion called Jasper. Will always liked to ride a spirited horse. As Will mounted him with Sagan's help, Jasper stepped sideways, nervously.

"Do you think you are ready to ride a spirited horse like Jasper? You can ride my bay, Almond, if you want," Sagan asked with concern.

But Will, even though not quite as strong as usual, easily reined in Jasper. "Thanks Sagan, but I love this horse already."

Sagan patted Almond on the neck. Almond was a robust, hardy, Bardigiano horse. The Bardigiano horses were small, agile, sure-footed horses named after the town of Bardi, in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. They were brought into Italy by the Belgian Gauls during their invasions into Italy during the Roman times. Even though he had to be winded from carrying two men, he stood quietly as Sagan mounted and obeyed quickly to move ahead.

All of the horses had drank from the nearby stream and grazed on soft green grass while the people slept.

Brother Justus gently kicked his fat, old, white gelding in the flanks. "Snow here is my speed, and thick enough to pad my backside. Come on kids, we better get going."