Rogue Angel - The Spirit Banner Part 42

To her surprise, when he was finished, Holuin repeated the charges, this time in English. Now she understood what had gotten the others riled up; the list included trespa.s.sing, grave robbing, disturbing the dead and murder.

Annja listened just long enough to understand that she wasn't going to be able to talk her way out of this one easily. She was eyeing the edge of the platform in front of her, deciding whether she could draw her sword and make it up there before she was dragged down by the crowd around her, when the leader finished speaking.

His gaze drifted over her, lingering for just a second, as if he could tell exactly what she was thinking, then honed in on Ransom and Santiago. "How do you plead?" he asked.

One of the escorts dragged Ransom back to his feet, where he spent another minute or two trying to catch his breath. When he finally managed to do so, he straightened and told the man exactly what he thought of his charges and where he could put them.

A crowd had formed around them by this time, as word spread through the camp about what was happening. The Mongols cheered, though for what Ransom had said or for what the Voice of the Wolf was going to do about it, Annja didn't know.

Somehow, she suspected the latter.

She shot a glance at Davenport, but he was watching Holuin and didn't notice. She looked at the platform again, gauging the distance, planting her feet so that she would be ready when the moment was right.

"Bind them," the leader ordered and her opportunity vanished in an eyeblink.

Still, she tried, anyway, kicking out with her legs as those around grabbed her arms and attempted to wrap them with rope. For just a moment she thought she might stand a chance, might be able to fight her way clear enough to draw her sword and cause some real damage, but then several of those closest to her simply threw themselves onto her and she went down beneath their combined weight. An elbow, or maybe it was a knee, smacked her in the head and darkness closed in for the second time in as many days.

W HEN HEN A A NNJA CAME TO NNJA CAME TO , she was on her knees next to Davenport at the edge of a wide circle in the forest behind the camp. Her legs were numb, so she must have been kneeling in the cold for at least ten minutes or more. When he sensed she was awake, Davenport used his hands to ease her up off of him and it was then that she realized that each of them had their hands bound together in front. , she was on her knees next to Davenport at the edge of a wide circle in the forest behind the camp. Her legs were numb, so she must have been kneeling in the cold for at least ten minutes or more. When he sensed she was awake, Davenport used his hands to ease her up off of him and it was then that she realized that each of them had their hands bound together in front.

A shout rang out, grabbing her attention, and she looked around groggily to find Holuin standing off to one side. Next to him was a line of eight archers. All of them, the leader included, were looking at something on the other side of the circle.

What she saw when she turned in that direction wiped any sense of confusion from her mind, letting her see and hear everything with stunning clarity.

Ransom and Santiago had been tied to two trees directly opposite the archers, their arms and legs stretched out so that both men resembled human X Xs. As Annja watched, the two men stopped struggling against their bonds and instead began to try to reason with their captors.

"Look," Ransom said. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I'm sorry for anything I've done to offend. Can't we talk about this, work something out?"

Annja could see the thick sheen of sweat on his skin even from this distance, and she knew he had to be terrified, though he was obviously trying hard not to show it.

Santiago, on the other hand, didn't care who knew he was scared out of his mind. He was already pleading, begging them to let him go; he was sorry; so sorry, he'd go away and never come back and would do whatever they wanted him to do to make up for what he had done; he'd never meant to hurt anyone and-

The leader barked out a command and the archers raised their bows.

Santiago's pleading turned to a mewling cry as he twitched and twisted, trying to get himself free, his eyes on the arrows now pointed in his direction. Ransom had more backbone, standing still and watching to see what would happen next.

Make it quick, Annja thought, surprised at her own sense of mercy toward her enemies.

But it was far from quick.

As far as they could make it, in fact.

When Holuin's arm flashed down, all eight archers released their arrows as one. They had chosen their targets well and every single projectile found a home. How could they miss, at this distance? Annja thought. Rather than striking some vulnerable area and ending things instantly, however, each and every arrow struck at some point on the captives' outstretched limbs, digging their sharpened points into hands and wrists, feet and ankles.

As the pain ripped through their bodies, both men screamed.

They were still screaming when Holuin gave the command again.

This time the arrows moved a bit farther down each limb, striking elbows and biceps, shins and knees.

He must have been in agony, but somehow Ransom summoned his strength. "Wait," he said. "Just wait. I can make you all incredibly wealthy. I can make you princes, kings..."

It was no use. The leader shouted again, and once more the arrows flew, once more the captives screamed.

Annja couldn't watch any more. She turned away, burying her face in her hands.

I T TOOK BOTH MEN T TOOK BOTH MEN a long time to die. a long time to die.

At last there was silence and Annja looked up to find her former enemies impaled by scores of arrows, so many that it was hard to recognize which man was which.

Next to her, Davenport was praying under his breath.

No way was she going out like that. No freakin' way! Think, Annja, think! she told herself.

Her hands were bound in front of her, allowing her to draw her sword, but what good would it do against so many? She'd be cut down by those archers before she took two steps.

Better to die with your sword in hand than as a human pincushion, though.

But she wasn't ready to die, not if she could find a way out of this.

Nothing came to her.

She was still trying to come up with something, anything, when Holuin spoke again.

"Bring the other captives forward."

As the guards closed in toward her, Annja surged to her feet, and stumbled forward, drawing her sword as she did so.

Hope surged. She would get out of this or die trying!

The exertion was too much, though. She was suffering from a concussion, possibly even a skull fracture, and she'd been kneeling in the cold for who knew how long? The strength had slowly leeched from her body, her legs cramping into immobility, and the combination finally took its toll. The sword flashed into being in front of her at the same time her legs decided they no longer wanted to cooperate and down she went.

The impact with the frozen earth knocked the sword from her grasp and it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Hands grabbed her, dragged her unceremoniously to her feet and hustled her toward the other end of the clearing where the bodies of Santiago and Ransom still hung against the trees.

"Help! Somebody help us!" Davenport was yelling, as if there was someone to hear him in the middle of the Mongolian wilderness.

Think, Annja, think!

In an attempt to gain more time, Annja let her whole body go limp. Her guards weren't expecting the sudden increase in weight as she toppled forward into the snow.

They were relaxed as they bent to pick her up, probably believing she had fainted with fear, and that was all the edge she needed.

She waited, knowing timing was the key, and when the one on her left was close enough she reared backward as hard as she could, striking the bridge of his nose with the back of her head. There was an audible crunch as his nose broke and the guard toppled to the side, howling in pain.

Annja barely noticed. She was already moving again, swinging both hands like a club toward the guard on her right. He was staring at his partner in surprise and never saw it coming; he caught the blow right across his temple.

His eyes rolled up in his head and he dropped to the ground like a felled tree.