The August Five Part 22

"Maybe we should visit them," Ellie said. "Someone might have seen Hywel."

"Sure, we can try," Tommy said. "Our former housekeeper, Mrs. Trueblood, probably lives along this ridge. She had kin all along here. I'd like to try to find her."

"Do you think she knows something?" Ellie asked.

"No, she was in the manor on the morning of the Rising," Tommy said.

"Then she might have seen Hywel in the manor herself," Ellie said.

"But we already know he was there, right?" Tommy said. "That doesn't get us anywhere. It's why he was up on this ridge that's the question."

By the time they reached Miller's Road on top of the ridge, it was nearly midday. They didn't have to go far to get to the Harrow Trailhead and the exact spot where Tommy had seen the rover and Hywel walk into the woods. They searched the road and the bushes along the trailhead.

"Maybe this is stupid," Ellie said. "It's not like the answer will be written in the dirt or carved in a tree."

"They were headed down Harrow Trail," Tommy said. "We could follow the path."

"How did Hywel seem at the time?" Ellie asked. "Was he upset?"

"He was in front of the soldiers, but they didn't have their weapons out," Tommy told her. "I a.s.sumed he was leading the search for the rebels. There was no indication that they were forcing him to go into the woods."

"It doesn't make any sense," Ellie said. "He goes to see your father, and then willingly takes a stroll into the woods with some soldiers?"

As they stared into the twilight world under the dense trees, Tommy realized he smelled peat smoke. They retraced their steps along the road until they could see black smoke rising above the trees to the north of them.

"Do you see that?" Tommy said. "I think that's the cottage where I left the injured girl, Emilie."

"How do you know her name?" Ellie asked.

"I ran into her in Sevenna," Tommy said. "She was working at a cabaret that my brother dragged me to."

"So she was all right?" Ellie asked. "That must have been a relief."

"I'm glad she recovered," Tommy said. "She was kind of a strange girl, though."

"You didn't like her?" Ellie said.

"It wasn't that," Tommy said. "She was really intense. She was interrogating me rather than having a conversation."

"Well, you are the son of the chief administrator," Ellie pointed out.

Tommy didn't want to tell Ellie about the shrine-not at that moment anyway. And he didn't want to tell her how unsafe he'd felt that night. Or that Emilie had lied about Mrs. Trueblood. It was better to focus on their search for Mr. Hywel.

"Maybe I'll change my name," Tommy said. "My father's probably going to disown me now."

"We can be orphans together," Ellie said. Her brow was furrowed and she glanced nervously up and down the road.

"What's wrong?" Tommy asked.

Ellie gazed into the darkness under the trees. "I'm getting the creeps thinking about Hywel's corpse up here. What do you think we should do?"

"Take the trail and see what's there," he said. "I know it seems futile-"

"But let's do it anyway," Ellie said.

They walked quietly down the trail, scanning the trees. The branches rustled in the brisk wind, and the weak sunlight provided barely enough visibility to avoid the roots and rocks along the path. Mounds of dead leaves and small hillocks of earth dotted the forest, and each one could be a grave. They padded along in the dim light for about half a mile without speaking.

"What's that?" Ellie said, grabbing his arm and pointing off to the left of the trail. Through a gap in the trees, he could see the edge of a roof.

"Maybe another cottage?" he said.

"Let's go talk to them," she said. "We're not going to find anything like this."

They left the trail and headed toward the structure, but it turned out to be a deserted, ramshackle cottage. Half the roof had caved in and the shutters were hanging from their hinges. They picked their way through fallen timbers and rubbish to the other side of the structure. The door was missing.

"Do you want to go inside?" Tommy asked.

"It would be easier to hide a body in there than dig a hole," Ellie said frankly.

They peered inside the ruined cottage. The roof over that half of the house was still intact, and it was too dark to see very clearly. Ellie slid off her pack and dug out a volt-cell lantern. She flicked it on and shone the beam of light across the threshold. Something metallic glinted in the far corner behind some old boards. Carefully, they crossed the room to see what might have been left by the previous tenants.

The glint came from the corner of a crate partially covered by a tarp. While Ellie held the lantern, Tommy tugged off the tarp. Underneath, there was a stack of metal shipping crates emblazoned with the Zunft symbol.

"Smugglers?" Tommy asked.

"Or the Zunft has been here recently," Ellie said.

"Maybe someone took these from Port Kenney after the Rising," Tommy said.

"What is this?" Ellie asked. She crouched down and held the lantern closer to the floor. There were boot prints in the dust. Near the wall, someone had discarded the b.u.t.ts of their cigars and reets.

"Someone must have been here a long time for such a large pile to acc.u.mulate," Ellie said.

"Did Hywel smoke reets?" Tommy asked.

"No, he hated the smell of them," Ellie said. "And why would he stay in here against his will? There's not even a door."

"Can I see the lantern?" Tommy asked.

Tommy crept along the edge of the room with Ellie close behind him. He carried the lantern into the darkest part of the room where a section of the floor had been swept clean of dust and other debris. Near the wall, there was a notch cut into the floor. They crouched down and set the lantern next to the wall. Inside the notch, there was a shiny padlock attached to a metal hook. Now that they were looking closely at the floor, they could see the edges of a trapdoor.

"There must be a cellar beneath us," Ellie said.

"And someone doesn't want us down there," Tommy said. "There was an old shovel outside. I'll use it to smash the lock."

Tommy handed Ellie the lantern and rushed back outside. He scanned the woods for signs of life, but nothing moved except the trees blowing in the wind. If this was a smugglers' shack, they weren't using it now. He grabbed the rusty shovel that lay on the ground near the door. When he came back inside, Ellie looked scared.

"I thought I heard something down there," she said.

"Maybe rats?" Tommy said.

"Or my vivid imagination," Ellie said.

Ellie stepped back as he slammed the shovel against the padlock until the metal hook broke off. Then he reached down and yanked up the trapdoor. The cellar below was utterly dark. The air wafting up smelled rotten. Neither of them moved for a long moment, unsure of what to do next. Ellie crouched near the edge and held the lantern over the hole. Now, they could see an old wooden ladder leading down into the cellar. Tommy heard a faint noise from below. A rustle, a scratch, and then another rustle.

"Please help me," said a voice from the darkness.

The feeble plea made Tommy jump, and Ellie was so startled that she nearly fell into the hole. Tommy grabbed her elbow to steady her, and the jarring motion on her arm made her drop the lantern into the cellar. Remarkably, it landed on soft dirt and didn't shatter. The light flickered for a moment and then regained its strength. The words had been m.u.f.fled but unmistakable. Someone was down there in that unforgiving darkness, and he was begging for help.

"I'll go see," Tommy said. He swung himself onto the ladder and climbed down quickly. The air was stifling, and Tommy had to stoop because of the low ceiling, which was matted with cobwebs. His eyes darted around the cellar and he found it hard to breathe inside the enclosed s.p.a.ce. Seeing no one, he had to fight the urge to scurry up the ladder when he heard a groan. A ragged figure hunched in the shadowy corner behind the ladder. It was a tall man with long red hair and a scraggly beard.

"There's someone here," he warned Ellie, who had reached the bottom rung of the ladder.

Ellie picked the lantern up from where it had fallen and shone it on the man. "Mr. Hywel!" she cried. "It's him, Tommy! It's Mr. Hywel."

The former chief administrator was dangerously thin and his skin was chalky beneath his ratty hair. His eyes seemed out of focus, and when he talked, it was like he didn't know they were there.

"Amy? Is that you?" Mr. Hywel whispered.

"Does he mean Ellie?" Tommy asked.

"Amy was his wife," Ellie said. "He's confused about where he is."

"Come on, Mr. Hywel," Tommy said. "Let's get you out of here."

"Amy? Where did you put my violin?"

"Who did this to you?" Ellie asked.

"The Zunft!" Hywel exclaimed.

"The Zunft kept you prisoner?" Tommy asked.

"Sh.o.r.e," Hywel whispered. "The man with two faces..."

"Did he say Sh.o.r.e?" Ellie asked. "Are you talking about Colston Sh.o.r.e?"

"He can't have survived for months without someone feeding him," Ellie said.

"He hasn't been eating much," Tommy said. The man was a sack of bones.

"Still, he couldn't have survived here alone," Ellie insisted.

Hywel muttered insensibly under his breath while Ellie and Tommy tried to maneuver him toward the ladder. Tommy's mind was racing. Mr. Hywel had been missing since August. It was now November. Someone must have been watching over him, they might be coming back at any moment. They had to get Hywel away from here immediately. But where should they go?

"Amy! The dogs are pawing at the windows!" Hywel ranted.

As Tommy helped Hywel onto the ladder, he thought about his father back in Sevenna, claiming victory over the cottagers now that the Cessation was over. If Colston really was responsible, then how could he justify this? How could he talk about honor and then imprison an innocent man?

Hywel was too weak to climb the ladder, and Tommy had to lift him while Ellie dragged him up from above. Once they got to the top of the ladder, Hywel collapsed on the floor of the ruined cottage. His breath sounded raspy.

"Let's get him some water," Tommy said, rummaging in the backpack for a jug.

Ellie held the jug to Hywel's lips, but he sputtered and called for his dead wife.

"Should we take him to your manor?" Ellie asked. "I'm not sure he'll make it that far."

"We need to get him away from here," Tommy said. "We'll figure something out on the way."

Tommy helped Hywel stand. He stood on one side, and Ellie stood on the other. Each of them put an arm around the man's back, and they managed to shuffle down to the trail. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached Miller's Road. The wind whipped through the trees, and Hywel was shivering uncontrollably. By now, they were practically dragging him and Hywel's eyes kept rolling back in his head.

"I'm not sure he can go any farther," Ellie said. "Or me. My spine feels like it's about to snap."

They dragged Hywel off the road and found a sheltered place at the base of a tree. Tommy covered the man with his coat and left the knapsack with Ellie.

"If you hear a rover, don't let the driver see you," Tommy said. "My father has the only rovers around here."

"I'll stay here no matter what," she said to him. "Don't forget where I am."

Tommy ran through the trees, oblivious to the branches scratching him through his shirtsleeves. He burst into the yard of the cottager's house-the same one where he had left Tamsin-and banged on the door. An older man with a gray beard opened the door a crack. He looked puzzled at the unexpected intrusion.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Please, I need to find Mrs. Trueblood," Tommy pleaded. "Greta Trueblood. Please, can you help me?"

Mr. Hywel stirred on the cot near the blazing fireplace in Anna Henry's cottage. Anna and Greta Trueblood exchanged worried glances while Ellie checked to see if he had woken up, but he was only mumbling in his sleep.

"Will he be all right, Mrs. Henry?" Ellie asked.

"With rest and food he should recover," Mrs. Henry said. "But it'll take some time for him to regain his strength."

Ellie sat back down at the table while Mrs. Trueblood poured her another cup of black tea. Mrs. Henry's young daughters were asleep in the back room, so they spoke in low tones. Outside, another Aeren storm lashed the ridge, but as Tommy sat near Mrs. Trueblood in the cozy warmth of the fire, he felt a strange sense of contentment. He wished he never had to go to Sevenna again, but then his father would win, and Tommy would never forgive himself.

"Are you sisters?" Tommy asked the two women sitting at the table. Anna looked to be in her mid 30s, while Greta was older, with graying hair and smile lines.

"My whole life, she's been telling me what to do," Mrs. Henry said.

"What would you have done without a sister like me?" Mrs. Trueblood replied.

"I'd have been very, very lost," Mrs. Henry said. There was a profound sadness in the woman's eyes. When Tommy had heard that her surname name was Henry, he'd wondered if there was a family connection to the Michael Henry who had been executed for his role in the August Rising. Michael Henry had been from Aeren, but it could also be a very common name.

"You're lucky that you went to Mr. Fields's house," Mrs. Trueblood said. "He knew that I moved in with Anna after I left Sh.o.r.e Manor. Not many people along Miller's Road would have been able to find me."

The man who had responded to Tommy's desperate knocking did indeed know Greta Trueblood, and he'd been happy to help Tommy find her. He'd followed Tommy through the forest to retrieve Ellie and Mr. Hywel, who was now unconscious under the oak tree. Mr. Fields had driven the three of them in his wagon to a cottage a mile up Miller's Road, where Tommy had been ecstatic to see Mrs. Trueblood again.

"Thank you for taking us in tonight," Ellie said to Mrs. Henry.

"You can stay here for a few days if you want," Mrs. Henry said. "It's probably best if he doesn't move around too much at first."