Chapter 06
6. Black Wolf (6)
“Go on ahead.”
Hans spoke as soon as she confirmed that Joseph was already in the saddle.
The distant haze of dust had drawn alarmingly close.
Joseph frowned.
“And what about you?”
She stared toward the onrushing enemy.
If they crossed just one more ridge, they would be in Imperial territory.
Surely nothing serious would happen this close to the border—but the pursuit behind them was far too fierce to ignore.
“I’ll buy us some time.”
“Ha!”
Joseph gave a sharp, incredulous laugh and jerked his chin at her.
“No trick of yours will stop them. Get on the horse! Better to put distance between us while we can.”
But Hans, half-listening, turned back toward the cabin.
Usually she would have answered with a sarcastic retort that might have eased his worry.
Instead, she trudged silently back inside.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed!”
“I said go!”
Hans shouted, pulling a blazing log from the fireplace.
Through the wide-open window she waved Joseph on as if to say Why are you still here?
Then she began setting fires all around the house.
She even stepped outside and waved her arms, clearly intending to lure the pursuers.
Dozens of arrows thudded into the wooden door, but Hans ducked back just in time.
Next she set fire to the brush and dry grass surrounding the cabin.
Her promise to buy time was no idle boast; soon a wall of flames roared up.
Even as arrows rained down, Hans pushed the door wide to block the enemy’s view of Joseph.
“She’s out of her mind,” Joseph muttered, half a laugh escaping him.
No one sane would do such a thing under a hail of arrows.
“You once said I wasn’t worth my keep, remember? Well, I’m earning it now. Go!”
She meant to give her last measure of service, then vanish.
Hans stepped to his horse and stroked its mane.
How many times had she risked her life to save this animal for her fastidious employer, who could never abandon his beloved steed?
And she had tended the horse herself all along, since Joseph had no attendant.
Perhaps that was why she felt a certain fondness.
“Pleasure to have met you,” she murmured.
At her gentle touch, Joseph’s horse, Andreas, lowered his head with a soft nicker—just as a few more arrows sliced past.
Hans leapt back and slapped the horse’s flank.
“Go! Andreas!”
The horse reared and struck the ground with a sharp whinny.
At last, she thought with a light smile, this tiresome connection with Duke Seid is over.
Despite the urgency, Hans trusted her backup: Gray and dozens of Black Wolf operatives were hidden nearby, waiting to protect her and the Duke.
Only Anze, disguised, needed to show his face.
Now the Hans persona was ready to disappear as well.
People of high rank hated sharing secrets; betrayal after usefulness was a law of nature.
Even if Hans had learned nothing significant, the principle was the same.
Experience had taught Anze that finishing a mission with one’s own death kept everything clean.
End of shift!
Anze smiled faintly and waved.
We were never fond of each other—let’s not meet again…
She glanced toward the distant border and turned to fetch her own horse—when it happened.
“Uh?”
Without her consent her body lifted into the air.
In the next instant she found herself seated on Andreas.
“Your Grace? I just told you I had something to do!”
Seriously, can we split up already? Aren’t you sick of me?
You don’t even like me, so why—!
Let me clock out!
“No matter how useless you are, you’re better alive than dead. And since you and Andreas seem close behind my back, who’ll care for him if you’re gone?”
No wonder Andreas’s coat shone and his temper had mellowed lately.
Joseph chuckled and pulled the reins.
Hans flailed in midair, but his iron grip on her collar made resistance pointless.
“Your Grace, you misunderstand. This horse and I are not close at all.”
She muttered resentfully, eyes lingering on the burning cabin as it receded.
It had been nothing—just a few sugar cubes and the occasional carrot to soothe a bad-tempered horse that reminded her of Joseph.
How had that turned into such a misunderstanding?
Ignoring her indignant protests, Joseph nudged Andreas’s flank, and the horse shot forward like an arrow.
At this speed they would not only outrun the pursuers, but even the hidden Black Wolves would struggle to keep up.
My shift!
“Your Grace! Could we at least—”
An arrow hissed past before she could beg him to slow.
At the same moment she found herself face-to-face with him at dangerously close range.
Beneath the silver hair falling across his brow, his piercing blue eyes seemed to look straight through her.
Her heart lurched. Their faces were far too close.
“You acted fearless under a rain of arrows, but one stray shot makes you jump,” Joseph said dryly, clicking his tongue.
He drew her tightly against him.
Her slender frame fit neatly under his arm.
Despite the mild weather, she rarely bathed properly, using the chill as an excuse.
Now the faint, oddly warm scent from her tangled hair reminded him—
Like a cat…
Long ago he’d picked up a stray in the garden that smelled just like this.
I must be sleep-deprived, he thought, frowning, though he’d slept soundly the night before.
When he loosened his grip, Andreas’s sudden burst of speed made Hans yelp and clutch him in panic.
So clumsy, as always.
“You do want to live, don’t you? All that solemn bravado earlier, and now look at you.”
His teasing smile made her scowl.
“I wasn’t being dramatic. I had a plan, you know.”
“Sure you did,” he said lightly.
He crouched low and tapped Andreas’s flank again.
The already swift horse accelerated, wind cutting past them.
Hans was nearly folded into his chest.
She had intended to vanish quietly once the mission ended, leaving no trace as Black Wolf protocol required.
The border wasn’t far now; Gray would handle the rest.
The pursuit would be a perfect excuse to disappear.
Anze cast a wary glance around. The pursuers were falling farther behind.
A little more and they would reach the Imperial border post.
She adjusted her disguise, fingers brushing the short brown-dyed hair that hid her true black locks.
Even with Mary the hairdresser’s help, she couldn’t relax—not when she was practically nose-to-nose with Joseph.
She squirmed, trying to slip from his hold.
“First you acted like you wanted to die under arrows; now you’d rather fall off a horse? If that’s the case, I won’t stop you.”
Joseph eased his arm.
Her body tipped dangerously.
“Ahhh!”
“Tsk.”
He caught her waist again and tightened his grip.
She clung to him with desperate strength—pretending to be dead was one thing, actually dying another.
In the distance the border’s tall watchtower came into view, and Joseph frowned.
“I thought we’d make it in a day.”
But the river that marked the frontier between the Kingdom and the Empire had swollen from recent heavy rains.
The unexpected sight furrowed his brow.
Normally the river was shallow and calm, the ferry a small craft that barely held the ferryman and a couple of passengers.
Crossing these wild waters in such a boat now looked perilous—especially with a horse.
“What about the horse?”
Even more so with Andreas.
Most travelers would sell their animals cheaply and cross on foot, and the ferryman eyed the sleek, well-built horse as if already calculating its price.
“No.”
Hans stepped protectively in front of Andreas and glared at the ferryman.
To Joseph it was almost laughable.
She squinted and snapped at strangers, yet devoted such fierce care to a horse.
“I was willing to bargain,” the ferryman huffed, offended. “Suit yourselves.”
He pushed the boat into mid-river, making it clear he had no intention of helping.
“So,” Joseph asked, watching the boat drift away, “did you actually plan how we’re crossing?”
Hans only lifted a shoulder.
“You wouldn’t sell Andreas either, would you, Your Grace?”
“….”
This one could probably float downstream on that sharp tongue alone.
“So, your plan?”
Joseph stroked Andreas’s neck, coaxing him gently while pressing Hans for an answer.
Even his iron stamina was starting to fray.
