he thought of something else. But nearly everyone in Amarias believes the Youth Guard members are heroes, not criminals. He didn’t have time to think about it more, because the Patrol member shoved him forward.
“Even the girl?” Anton protested weakly. He was pressed against the far wall, as if he wanted to disappear into the shadows.
“Her?” The Patrol member laughed a deep, coarse laugh. “She was the ringleader, old man.”
“Lies,” Rae said, her voice like ice. “Like everything else the king and his men have ever said.”
The Patrol member stepped forward, hand raised. He’s going to slap her, Jesse realized.
In the second it took him to make that realization, he saw movement beside him. Silas ran forward, grabbed the Patrol member, and slammed him against the wall so hard it shook.
Immediately, Telemachus let go of Rae and pulled Silas off. For a moment, Jesse was sure that Telemachus had straightened up, losing his hunch.
Rae tried to run, but Harrod blocked the staircase. “Oh, no you don’t, young lady,” he said, fat arms crossed.
“See?” the Patrol member said. “First, the girl speaks evil words about the king, and then this one attacks a member of the king’s law-keeping force. Highest treason!”
One of the doors in the hallway opened slightly. Anton closed it firmly. “Stay where you are,” he ordered the orphans inside.
It was useless to fight back now. If the Patrol said they were criminals, then they were criminals.
The Patrol member took lengths of rope from his sack. He had come prepared. “I hereby bind you, in….”
“In the name of King Selen,” Jesse finished. “We know.”
“That’s enough from you, or I’ll tie your mouth shut too,” the Patrol member said. He paused. “That’s not a bad idea. Wouldn’t want to disturb the good citizens nearby.”
The Patrol member gagged and bound them, tying the four of them together by a rope around their necks. Then he tied their hands together behind their backs, leaving their legs free. The process took considerable time, since Rae decided not to be compliant. Finally, he nodded to Telemachus. “You, boy. Help me get these ruffians back to the compound.”
Telemachus turned to Harrod. “Can I?”
But it was Anton who answered. “It seems we have very little choice. Be back by morning. And stay safe.”
Telemachus gave a surly nod and shoved Parvel toward the stairs. That jerked the rest of them forward. Jesse tried to reach up and rub his sore neck before he remembered that his hands were tied too.
Between the Patrol member at one end and Telemachus at the other, Jesse hardly had to walk. They dragged their line of prisoners down the dark, empty road.
Suddenly, Jesse found himself jerked to a halt. In front of him, Rae had stopped. Somehow, she had managed to work her gag loose. “I warn you,” she said, between clenched teeth, “you will not be able to force me to come with you…not without a fight.”
Someone laughed, and for a minute, Jesse couldn’t place who it was. When the voice laughed again, he blinked in surprise. It was Telemachus—but it wasn’t the same low, surly laugh he had heard early. It sounded almost…friendly.
“Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” he said. He straightened up, his hunched back disappearing. Now he was even taller than before, almost like the giants Jesse had heard about in stories.
Instead of shoving them down the road, Telemachus rolled up his sleeve. “You are among friends,” he said.
There, faint, but still visible in the moonlight, was a broken circle with an A. The symbol of the Youth Guard.
Chapter 4
They couldn’t talk in the street. That, at least, is how the Patrol member explained the need to continue on to the barracks. He did take off their ropes. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Necessary for the deception, you know.”
At first, Jesse thought Parvel would give the order for them to flee into the darkness, leaving their two former captors behind. Rae certainly looked ready to bolt. But they kept walking, and Parvel said nothing.
“Can we trust them?” Jesse muttered to Parvel.
“We’re still alive,” was all he said. “I think it would be best to see what happens.”
That didn’t seem like a secure plan to Jesse, but he had learned to trust his leader’s instincts, so he followed Telemachus and the Patrol member.
Here’s where we’ll see our proof, Jesse thought as they approached the gate to the barracks. Most Patrol outposts were small, a few houses inside a compound. This one, though, was within sight of the gates of Davior, the capital of District Two. It had room to house at least a dozen patrol members.
“Who’s there?” a raspy voice from behind the thick gates demanded.
“It’s Ira, of course,” the Patrol member holding Jesse said. “Back with the children from the refuge. We’ll question them, but I think our informant was just trying to stir up trouble for them. They seem harmless.”
The door creaked open, and the other Patrol member laughed. “I take it those priests weren’t slaughtered in their beds by the time you got there, then.”
Ira’s voice became sharp. “No, and you should be grateful. You know the priests do no harm and should be protected.”
A wheezing laugh from the other. “So you always say. If it weren’t for you, that house of refuge would have been shut down years ago. Well, I say they don’t do us good either. No bribes, no drinks. Nothing but their crazy tales and ancient morality.”
“If more people had their ancient morality, we might have fewer people in our jail,” Ira pointed out.
The wheezing man apparently had no comeback for that. He just grunted and let them pass.
“This way,” Ira said in a low tone. “My wife will have food ready, if I know her.”
“And good food, too,” Telemachus added, sounding excited, as if they were coming as late-night dinner guests.
So Ira was married. Jesse knew that not many Patrol members had a family. Most were young and ready for adventure—the king liked it better that way. Some though, often supervisors or officers, were allowed to marry before their years of service were up.
Sure enough, a small woman with a wide smile opened the door to meet them. “Come inside,” she said, beaming at them. “If I know my husband, you’ve had a harrowing night. But you are welcome here.”
“Thank you,” Parvel said warmly. Jesse glanced back at Silas and Rae. They didn’t look welcome. In fact, they looked ready to bolt into the darkness.
“I’m sure you’re hungry,” the woman said, shutting the door behind them. “Those
