She smiled and took it. “You didn’t go into town tonight?” she asked, keeping her voice as low as possible.
Ferrin and the others lay in their usual places on the floor of the wagon, giving the appearance of bedding down for the night. He wanted Bladder to feel at ease in his conversation with Telsa. Closest to the back, Ferrin watched Telsa through one eye as she poured on the charm.
The task wasn’t proving too difficult. The man was clearly as desperate as she was for the attention.
“No. I, uh . . .” He glanced over his shoulder at the other men around the fire. “I let someone else go in my place.” He finished lowering the front side of the canvas, keeping the guards around the fire from seeing inside the wagon. Unfortunately, it also took away most of the light the fire was providing.
Telsa grinned. It hardly needed prodding. “And why would you do something like that? I thought you enjoyed going into town, looking at all those other women. I’m sure you have a girl waiting for you in every city.”
Ferrin almost shook his head. She was terrible at this. Strangely enough, Bladder didn’t seem to notice.
“I do not!” Bladder grabbed his mouth and turned to see if anyone was watching. He quickly moved around to the back of the cage. “There’s only one woman I have eyes for.”
Good, Ferrin thought. Then open the door and do something about it. What was taking her so long? The man would have bent over backward and stood on his head if she’d asked him.
“There are no other women,” he said, glancing at his feet embarrassingly. He actually seemed genuinely interested in her. Perhaps, if they had had more time, she could have persuaded the man to help, but time was the one thing they didn’t have.
Come on, Telsa, lure him in. We don’t have all night. Ferrin grunted and turned over, hoping to encourage her to move along.
“Is the woman you have eyes for me?”
“You know it is.”
She giggled.
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
Ferrin ground his teeth. He stretched his leg and kicked her in the process. If she didn’t hurry this up, they were going to lose their chance.
Bladder cleared his throat. “Of course. I think you’re one of the finest women I’ve ever seen.”
“You do? ’Cause I think you’re one of the most handsome men I’ve ever met.”
Rascal released a loud cough from the front.
Telsa tensed. “You want to take a walk in the woods?”
“What? We can’t do—”
“You can tell them I had to relieve myself.”
The short guard glanced nervously back at the fire. Some of the men were still chatting. Most sounded like they had turned in for the night.
“Well . . . I guess it would be all right.” Bladder pulled the ring of keys from his belt and started to unlock the door. He went as slowly as possible, not wanting to arouse suspicion.
Ferrin’s muscles tightened, his heart pounding. This was it. Some of the others shifted nervously. He hoped they didn’t do anything stupid to give them away. His mind raced through what was coming as he waited for the key to finish its rotation in the lock.
The lock snapped, and Bladder slowly pulled back on the metal bars, taking care not to make too much noise. He glanced at the other wielders as they pretended to sleep. Ferrin hoped that none of the others had opened their eyes. If he got spooked, it was over.
“Well, aren’t you going to help me down? Here, be a gentleman.” Telsa raised her arms out for Bladder to come lift her out of the cart. “There might be a reward in it for you.”
That was all it took. Bladder lost all interest in the other wielders and started up the stairs to get his hands around her waist.
Ferrin leaped from his place on the floor and grabbed the man by the arms, yanking him inside the wagon. At the same time, Telsa latched on to Bladder’s mouth to keep him from screaming, and all three went down in a lump. Hopefully, no one outside had been watching as the man disappeared into the back of the prison transport. The tarp covering the front kept their activities blocked from view.
“Tie him up for now,” Ferrin said, kneeling over the guard.
“With what?” Beese asked, as he quickly ushered his son toward the open door.
“Good point.” Ferrin scanned their empty wagon. Nothing but straw bedding.
“He won’t say anything,” Telsa said as she sat beside Bladder, her hand still covering his mouth.
Bladder nodded.
Ferrin looked at the guard, then back to Telsa. “We can’t take that chance.”
Rascal stepped forward and kicked the guard in the side of the face. Bladder’s head snapped to the right, then slumped unconscious into Telsa’s lap. The young woman looked horrified.
“They don’t call me Rascal for nothing,” he said, guiding Sasha toward the back behind Beese and Cory.
Ferrin left Telsa holding Bladder and headed for the door, the others moving aside to give him room. “Now, remember. No one move until you hear my signal.” Ferrin’s heart was pounding even louder. Over a month of waiting and they were finally about to escape. “Wait for me to draw them off. Hopefully, that will give you enough time to get out of here. Take the guard’s keys and unlock as many of the wagons as you can. Use the confusion to head north through the woods. The mountains are going to be your best chance for hiding.”
Rascal moved to the corner and tried peeking around the edge of the canvas. “Do you think you can make it to the horses before they spot you? That’s a lot of ground to cover.”
“I have to, or none of this works . . . which reminds me.” Ferrin stepped over to the unconscious guard and removed the whistle from around his neck. He didn’t want the same thing to happen to him as before when his horse had stopped mid-gallop. He just hoped the same signals Goat Face had used worked for all the horses.
Ferrin walked to the back of the cage and peered around the canvas. So far, no one was looking. His hands were shaking. This was it.
“Good luck to you,” Rascal offered with a smile that said he didn’t like Ferrin’s chances.
Ferrin took one last look at the dirty, desperate faces staring back at him. It would probably be the last time he would ever see them again. There were tears in his eyes, as well as in many of the others’. Even Narissa looked a little shaken as she dabbed at her right cheek. It was hard not to feel a strong bond with these people—more family now than anything—considering the experiences they’d shared.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have time for a proper farewell. So, with a simple nod of encouragement, he slipped from the cage and melted into the surrounding woods.
Chapter 9
FERRIN CIRCLED ON cat’s feet around the back of the wagons. This time, he made sure to stay clear of the nettle vines that wove through the thicker brush. He was thankful that the horses had been corralled on the east side of the camp. It meant he could use the wagons as a shield between him and the Tower guards.
He kept his eyes and ears open for the three sentries posted just beyond the outskirts of the firelight. The last thing Ferrin wanted was to accidentally run into one of them while they were out patrolling.
The wagon closest to the corral was coming up on his right. A ruckus inside forced him to drop to his stomach, soaking the front of his clothes from the early onset of dew. He held his breath and waited. When nothing else happened, he kept going.
A few of the horses raised their heads as he neared.
“Whoa,” he whispered, gently stroking the side of the nearest. “It’s all right.” Ferrin could see parts of the campfire in between the animals. Most of the men were already under their blankets.