He turned back to where the horses were...

Posted at 5:37 AM, Tuesday, January 26, 2010

He turned back to where the horses were tetheredShaking his head, visibly disconsolate, he mounted his grey and rode down the path along which they had come As far as the bend in the trail He dismounted and tethered the horseAfter a moment's thought he left his sword where it was, hanging from the saddleHe was aware that it was a decision that might cost him his lifeHe'd seen the wooded slopes beside the pass though; a sword would be awkward and noisy when he began to climb Cutting to the west he soon found himself among the treesHe doubled back south and up, as far off the line of the pass as the terrain allowedIt was hard, sweaty going, and he had to hurry, but Devin was fit and he'd always been quick and agile, compensations for a lack of sizeHe scrambled up the steep slopes, weaving among mountain trees and dark serrano bushes, grasping copy mulberry handbag roots wedged deep into the slanting soil Part of the way up, the trees briefly gave out before a short, steep cliff to the south and westHe could go up or he could go around, angling back toward the passDevin tried to guess his bearings but it was difficult, no sounds reached him this far off the trailHe couldn't be sure if he was already above the place where the Quileian cloth was spread for lunchTwenty minutes, he'd told themHe gritted his teeth, offered a quick prayer to Adaon, and began to climb the rockIt occurred to him that there was something profoundly incongruous about an Asolini farmer's son from the northern marshes struggling up a cliff-face in the Braccio Range He wasn't an Asolini farmer's son thoughHe was from Tigana and his father was, and his Prince had asked him to do this thing Devin skittered sideways along the rock-face trying rolex watch knock off not to dislodge any pebblesHe reached an outcrop of stone, changed grip, hung free for a second, and then boosted himself straight up and onto itHe scrambled quickly across some level ground, dropped flat on his stomach and, breathing hard, looked up to the south And then straight downHe caught his breath, realizing how lucky he'd beenThere was a single figure hiding behind a boulder almost directly below himDevin had quite certainly been visible on the last part of his climb where the cliff-face broke clear of the treesHis silence had served him well though, for the figure below was oblivious to him, avidly intent on the group feasting on the pathDevin couldn't see them, but their voices carried to him nowThe sun moved behind a cloud and Devin instinctively flattened himself, just as the assassin glanced up to gauge the change in the light For coco chanel earrings an archer it would matter, Devin knewIt was a long shot, downhill and partly screened by the guardsThere would also be time, most likely, for only one arrowHe wondered if the tips were poisoned Very carefully he started crawling uphill, trying to work his way further around behind the assassinHis brain was racing as he slipped into a higher stand of treesHow was he going to get close enough to deal with an archer? Just then he heard the sound of Alessan's pipes followed, a measure later, by Erlein's harpA moment after that a number of voices started in on one of the oldest, most rollicking highland ballads of allAbout a legendary band of mountain outlaws who had ruled these hills and crags with arrogant impunity until they were surprised and defeated by Quileia and Certando together Thirty brave men rode apace from the north And forty Quileians tiffany bracelets met them side by sideThere in the mountains each pledged to the otherAnd Gan Burdash high in his roost defied! The booming voice of Marius led the others into the refrainBy then Devin had remembered something and he knew what he was going to try to doHe was aware that there was more than an element of lunacy in his planning, but he also knew he didn't have much time, or many options His heart was poundingHe wiped his hands dry on his breeches and began moving more quickly through the trees along the line of the ridge he'd climbedBehind him was the singing; beneath him now, perhaps fifteen feet east of this higher ridge and twenty feet below was an assassin with a bowThe sun came out from behind the clouds Devin was above and behind the Quileian nowHad he been carrying a bow and been at all accomplished with one he would have had the other at his gucci knockoffs m