Free Orphan of Destiny by Michael Spradlin

themselves from the angry crowd and were after us.
    We rode off, trying hard to make a difficult trail for them to follow.
    “They are better mounted!” Robard exclaimed over the sound of hoofbeats. “It won’t be long until they overtake us!” He was right. With the exception of the knights’ horse I rode, Robard’s and Maryam’s animals were smaller and much less hardy than the warhorses ridden by the pursuing knights. What we gained in their ability to maneuver more easily through the wooded countryside was lost by the greater speed and endurance of our enemies’ chargers.
    “You better think of something quick!” Maryam yelled. “My poor horse is about to give out.”
    We rode down the edge of another rise, and off to our left, I spotted a heavily overgrown thicket, dense with shrubs and saplings and evergreens. Though it was winter, these trees still held dead leaves, and the ground cover would hide us well.
    “Hold!” I said, reining my horse to a stop. “This way.” I steered us into the thicket. Luckily we had ridden over some of the same ground on our trip into Dover. And I remembered a small ravine cutting through the forest floor not far ahead. If I was lucky, maybe I could trick Sir Hugh.
    “The two of you wait here,” I said. “Keep the horses and yourselves hidden.” Maryam and Robard raised no argument and dismounted quickly. I took the satchel from my shoulder and tossed it to Robard. “If I don’t come back, if Sir Hugh catches me, you know what you must do. Take it to Father William at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Rosslyn. Don’t come for me. He’ll kill me anyway. He must not have this.”
    “What are you going to do?” Maryam asked.
    “Don’t worry. I have a plan.” I smiled. “Come on, Angel.” I turned the horse and started to trot away. “Robard, keep an arrow ready. You’ll hear me coming back to the thicket before you can see me in this light. I’ll yell ‘Beauseant’—that way you’ll know it’s me. All right?”
    “How will I know it isn’t Sir Hugh hollering ‘Beauseant’ as he’s about to charge us? You Templars love that word. You think you’re all such great fighters. What if—”
    “Robard!” I nearly yelled, trying to keep my voice under control.
    “What?” he answered. Robard often became incessantly chatty when he was fighting. Or about to fight. Or finished fighting.
    “Just keep alert. I won’t be gone long.”
    Angel and I left them there in the woods and made our way back to the point where we’d cut away toward the thicket. I turned the horse and pushed him hard, hoping I wouldn’t get lost in the dark. Along the way, I made no effort to disguise my route, snapping the branches off of passing trees and steering him through muddy ground whenever I could find it. Whenever I stopped to listen, I heard no one, but I knew they were coming and had an advantage with Angel at my side. She would hear and smell them long before they reached me.
    We rode through another dense copse of trees. The muted moonlight revealed the entrance to the small ravine cutting through the forest floor, and I hoped to use it to our advantage. Without giving myself enough time to question my plan, I steered the horse down the steep slope and called for Angel to follow. We navigated the twisting gorge until we found a suitable spot. Time was our enemy. It would only be a few minutes until they tracked me here.
    Sir Hugh was mad in his pursuit of me and desperate to recover the Grail. But I also believed he would be cautious. For one thing, though I had made a thorough effort to lead them directly here, he could not surmise which of us lay waiting in the darkness, and it might just be Robard with his longbow. His timidity would give me a few extra minutes. All the time I needed for my scheme to work.
    The ravine was rocky, pocked with boulders and scrub trees and bushes. I walked forward a few yards until I found what I was looking for. A tree branch had