the forest.
It seemed to take forever to get the children out. Everyone’s stomachs were knotted with anxiety, and ears strained to hear through the darkness, fearing the shouts of discovery.
A small boy started to whimper.
‘Shush, Dafyd,’ Lily soothed. ‘Your mama will come soon.’
At last the children were gone and it was the adults’ turn. The parents breathed a collective sigh of relief. At last the queue started to move faster. George directed the procedure, gently tapping each person on the shoulder to indicate that it was their turn to wriggle through the hatch.
‘Remember,’ warned Ethan quietly, ‘take a roundabout route to the caverns, and try not to leave any marks. The Sedahs have a skilled tracker. We should be safe there until the morning.’ Ethan shuddered at the memory of Sniffer snuffling at Princess Roana’s tracks.
The prisoners waited their turn patiently.
One by one they slid down the chute, hit the shovels with their feet and climbed over the side of the bin without touching the muck below. Each one was helped out by Saxon before slipping away into the forest behind the stables.
Ethan climbed out too, and at last George was theonly prisoner left in the barn. There was a loud crash as the huge farrier slid down the shute and hit the wheelbarrow with his heavy boots. It flung up, hitting the metal shovel with a loud clang. Everyone froze as the unexpected noise resonated through the night.
A few moments later, a crash echoed through the barn as the padlock banged against the door and a key grated noisily in the lock. George floundered in the quagmire of manure, mud and straw, struggling to get up. Ethan and Saxon hauled on his arms with all their might, trying to help him out.
The light of a lantern filtered through the barn and down the shute. There was a faint yell from above, and the sound of running footsteps. George scrambled out of the bin, grimacing ruefully at his clothes and boots covered in muck. Lily wrestled with the chute door, trying to close it.
‘Quick, help Lily close the chute,’ yelled Saxon. Ethan dragged the shovel out of the muck to help jam the door down.
But before the door could be closed, the thin guard slid down the chute with a warlike scream, brandishing his cutlass. Saxon grabbed the fork to use as a club. The guard flew out of the chute and landed flat on his back in the manure. The secondguard followed straight behind, landing with a splat, face-first in oozing horse dung.
Saxon stifled a giggle then picked up a load of manure with his fork and flung it at the guards. Ethan followed with another shovel full. The guards spluttered and swore as their faces were showered with disgusting filth. George roared with laughter then followed with more dung.
The guards were helpless, spitting and crying for breath, hampered by the drugged wine, the heavy muck and the unexpected attack. One dropped his cutlass and it sank out of sight in the quagmire. The other waved his around blindly, accidentally slashing his colleague on the arm. He screamed in terror, blood spurting through the thick brown ooze.
Aisha ran back and forward in excitement, nose sniffing and tail wagging. A guard’s leg waved dangerously close to her snout and she took a nip at his leg, hanging on grimly as the guard squealed in pain.
Ethan mouthed an instruction to George. ‘You stay here with me.’ He turned to the others. ‘Lily and Saxon, you go round the front and see if we can borrow some horses to escape on.’
Lily and Saxon crept around the building and intothe courtyard in front of the stables. The fire still blazed merrily, but the wine barrel lay on its side, with two mugs lying in the dirt next to an upturned chair. They ran past the fire and into the stables.
The horses’ names were painted on nameboards outside each stall.
‘We’ll take three horses – Caramel, Nutmeg and Toffee would be best, if they’re here,’ Lily ordered Saxon. ‘The bridles are kept on
It seemed to take forever to get the children out. Everyone’s stomachs were knotted with anxiety, and ears strained to hear through the darkness, fearing the shouts of discovery.
A small boy started to whimper.
‘Shush, Dafyd,’ Lily soothed. ‘Your mama will come soon.’
At last the children were gone and it was the adults’ turn. The parents breathed a collective sigh of relief. At last the queue started to move faster. George directed the procedure, gently tapping each person on the shoulder to indicate that it was their turn to wriggle through the hatch.
‘Remember,’ warned Ethan quietly, ‘take a roundabout route to the caverns, and try not to leave any marks. The Sedahs have a skilled tracker. We should be safe there until the morning.’ Ethan shuddered at the memory of Sniffer snuffling at Princess Roana’s tracks.
The prisoners waited their turn patiently.
One by one they slid down the chute, hit the shovels with their feet and climbed over the side of the bin without touching the muck below. Each one was helped out by Saxon before slipping away into the forest behind the stables.
Ethan climbed out too, and at last George was theonly prisoner left in the barn. There was a loud crash as the huge farrier slid down the shute and hit the wheelbarrow with his heavy boots. It flung up, hitting the metal shovel with a loud clang. Everyone froze as the unexpected noise resonated through the night.
A few moments later, a crash echoed through the barn as the padlock banged against the door and a key grated noisily in the lock. George floundered in the quagmire of manure, mud and straw, struggling to get up. Ethan and Saxon hauled on his arms with all their might, trying to help him out.
The light of a lantern filtered through the barn and down the shute. There was a faint yell from above, and the sound of running footsteps. George scrambled out of the bin, grimacing ruefully at his clothes and boots covered in muck. Lily wrestled with the chute door, trying to close it.
‘Quick, help Lily close the chute,’ yelled Saxon. Ethan dragged the shovel out of the muck to help jam the door down.
But before the door could be closed, the thin guard slid down the chute with a warlike scream, brandishing his cutlass. Saxon grabbed the fork to use as a club. The guard flew out of the chute and landed flat on his back in the manure. The secondguard followed straight behind, landing with a splat, face-first in oozing horse dung.
Saxon stifled a giggle then picked up a load of manure with his fork and flung it at the guards. Ethan followed with another shovel full. The guards spluttered and swore as their faces were showered with disgusting filth. George roared with laughter then followed with more dung.
The guards were helpless, spitting and crying for breath, hampered by the drugged wine, the heavy muck and the unexpected attack. One dropped his cutlass and it sank out of sight in the quagmire. The other waved his around blindly, accidentally slashing his colleague on the arm. He screamed in terror, blood spurting through the thick brown ooze.
Aisha ran back and forward in excitement, nose sniffing and tail wagging. A guard’s leg waved dangerously close to her snout and she took a nip at his leg, hanging on grimly as the guard squealed in pain.
Ethan mouthed an instruction to George. ‘You stay here with me.’ He turned to the others. ‘Lily and Saxon, you go round the front and see if we can borrow some horses to escape on.’
Lily and Saxon crept around the building and intothe courtyard in front of the stables. The fire still blazed merrily, but the wine barrel lay on its side, with two mugs lying in the dirt next to an upturned chair. They ran past the fire and into the stables.
The horses’ names were painted on nameboards outside each stall.
‘We’ll take three horses – Caramel, Nutmeg and Toffee would be best, if they’re here,’ Lily ordered Saxon. ‘The bridles are kept on
Similar Books
