Page 49 of The Piper's Pursuit

Finally, Ruger moved away from the other guards and pulled something out of his pocket, probably the dried meat jerky he often chewed on.

Steffan sprang up from the ground and leapt at Ruger.

Katerina jumped to her feet as Ruger reached behind his back for his sword. Kat held her breath.Don’t let him get his sword out before Steffan reaches him.

Ruger’s hand was on the hilt. He was drawing it upward, just getting the point freed from the scabbard.

Steffan grabbed the hilt as he knocked Ruger onto his back. Steffan was on top of Ruger. But who had possession of the sword?

Steffan raised the hilt up and stabbed downward.

The other two guards shouted, unsheathing their swords as they ran. Katerina ran toward them with nothing but her little chisel.

The children erupted from their beds and yelled, a war cry of child voices.

Steffan straightened to meet the other two guards. Katerina ran closer, ready to pounce on Ruger with her chisel, but Ruger didn’t move.

Steffan seemed taller than ever as he met the other two guards. He slammed his sword into the first one and shoved. The first guard stumbled back into the second one, and Steffan quickly took advantage and stabbed the guard in the neck.

That guard’s eyes went wide. His hands went loose and he dropped his sword.

The sound of children’s screams echoed from the passageway behind them as Katerina swooped down and snatched up the sword, then leapt back so she wouldn’t be in Steffan’s way.

He clashed blades with the third guard and yelled, “Go help the children!”

Should she defy his order and stay and help him kill the guard he was fighting? But he was a good swordsman, and someone needed to get the children to safety.

She turned and ran toward the passageway. She followed the sound of the yelling and screaming and entered the dark passage.

Sixteen

Katerina had never been in this tunnel, and it was too dark to see where she was going, but as long as she could hear the screams and yelling, she would head in that direction.

She kept her hand on the wall, stumbling over a rock, then hit a sharp curve that had her bumping into the wall, but she kept going.God, don’t let me fall into that pit Albrecht was talking about. And please let Steffan win his sword battle.

A man’s voice ahead made her speed up her pace. He was yelling and cursing.

A dim light flickered. Finally she was able to see where she was going, and the voices were getting louder.

As she rounded another bend, she could see, from the light of a torch, a guard with a child clinging to his back. The child was pulling the guard’s hair with one hand and slapping his face with the other, while various children attacked his front with picks and chisels. He stumbled, alternately grabbing at the child on his back and the one in front of him, but they always managed to dart out of his reach. Then the child on his back wrapped his arms around the man’s eyes.

The children in front redoubled their efforts to push him, until he got his hand around the throat of one little boy, probably about seven or eight years old. The boy fought, pounding at the guard’s arm, but the guard lifted him off the floor and showed no sign of letting go.

Kat rushed forward. Should she strike with her sword and risk hitting a child? Because now the children were grabbing the man’s arms, scratching at his hands to make him let go. He cursed and threatened, and then Kat saw the goal: a large gaping hole in the direction the children were pushing him.

The large man continued to stumble closer to it, and the clawing, biting children finally managed to get him to let go of the little boy whose neck he was squeezing. The boy fell to the ground, gasping and coughing and crying. But at least he was breathing.

Two more steps. One more step. Kat reached out and grabbed the child on his back just as the man fell. The child let go at the right moment and Katerina snatched him away from the edge of the pit.

Albrecht and the older girl, who must be Verena, appeared beside her.

“Are all the guards in the pit?” Kat asked.

Albrecht and Verena nodded.

She turned to the children who were gathered round.

“We did it!” Katerina’s heart was pounding so hard it hurt, but they were alive!