Garinor looked at Midnight and Dodger and decided he would stick with Dodger’s plan. The Lioness, Arine, had entrusted his safety to Dodger and so Garinor sided with him.
“Thanks, Midnight, but I think Dodger’s right. You should go with the others and help with the fighting.”
Midnight frowned but nodded. “Very well. I just hope you arrive safely.” He turned to the others. “Let’s go then and help our friends.”
Garinor and Dodger took the horse and headed to the north, keeping their steps quiet to ensure they wouldn’t be discovered along the way. The trek itself was easy, but the sounds of battle echoing through the air kept them on edge. Dodger in particular, whose friends were engaged in that battle, struggled to keep himself in check.
“But this is why you need to be taken off separately,” he explained. “Too easy for one of us to forget all about protecting you and run off to our friends.”
“I’m sorry you can’t be there to help them.”
“We all have our parts to play.” His eyes darted around the area, making sure they weren’t being followed, but movement in the western trees caught his attention. “Prepare,” he whispered.
Garinor saw the movement too and he was surprised that part of Dodger’s preparation wasn’t to draw his sword. Garinor kept his sword down as well, but he felt foolish.
From the trees came Midnight, running in panic with seven of the prince’s guard behind him. “Help me!” he cried out in terror.
Dodger whipped around to Garinor. “The horse. Immediately. Get out of here.”
“But—”
“There’s no time; it’s a trap. Go!” He shoved Garinor gracelessly and then turned to face the eight men running toward him. “You won’t fool me with that act, Midnight.”
Garinor climbed onto the horse, listening carefully as he did so. Midnight laughed into the air and drew his sword. “It would have been easier and less bloody if you had just taken me with you in the first place. But no matter.” He turned to the others behind him. “Get them!”
Garinor hesitated only a moment longer. He saw Dodger crouch down, ready to spring into action as if he was going to wrestle all eight men instead of battling them outright. But he could also see that some of the men were coming toward him, swords sheathed. It gave Garinor an idea.
He snapped the reins of the horse and the men chasing him sprinted for a few paces, trying to leap and catch him before he was too far away. Once they gave up the pursuit and turned back to deal with Dodger, Garinor pulled the horse sharply around and dashed back into the fray. As he approached, he could see Dodger springing about from one attacker to another, confusing them, disarming them, and causing them to turn and inadvertently strike their companions. It was an amazing feat of agility, but even Garinor knew he wouldn’t be able to keep at it for long.
Midnight saw the boy riding back to them and he laughed again. “He comes to turn himself in! Brilliant!”
Garinor aimed the horse directly at Midnight, planning to run him down if he didn’t move out of the way. One of the swordsmen broke off from trying to subdue Dodger and aimed his sword at the horse’s legs. Midnight saw this maneuver and ushered him away. “No, you fool, if the horse flips the boy and kills him, the prince will have our heads.”
Garinor charged ahead and he called out to his protector. “Dodger, come on, hurry!” He veered the horse to the left, closer to the battling fighters, and he saw Dodger leap out of the group and toward the horse. His hand clutched one of the stirrups and he cried out for Garinor to hurry away.
Garinor turned the horse to the right, hoping that the momentum would swing Dodger’s legs out of the horse’s way and maybe give him a chance to pull them up off the ground, then they pelted off to the north again, the prince’s men all shouting angrily.
When they were out of range, Garinor slowed the horse to a stop and helped Dodger onto its back. Unhappy, the horse bucked at the added weight after the running and the frightened charge into battle. It reared up on its legs and spilled the two of them to the ground. With a loud whinny, the horse then sprinted off, leaving them on the dirt.
“No, wait!” Garinor called out, but it was no use. The horse was gone.
Dodger dusted himself off and helped Garinor to his feet. “You are remarkable, you know that? Coming back like that to save me. I’m in your debt.”
Garinor shrugged. “I did what I had to do. I couldn’t leave you there to fight them all off on your own. It wouldn’t have been right.”
He clapped Garinor on the shoulder. “A mighty king you will be. But come, we must get moving.”
“If Midnight cropped up once, he’s sure to do it again,” Garinor said.
“And he’ll have an easy route to follow to get to us, as well.” He looked around at the soft dirt and sighed.
“Let’s lead him astray then.” He pointed to the horse’s hoof prints and laughed. “Midnight will probably think we were riding the horse, so let’s veer off and hide those tracks and create others.”
“That’s a great plan. You’ll make a good tracker. But first we have to find a nonchalant way of covering that,” he said, pointing to the spot that marked their fall from the horse. They spent the next couple of hours hiding their tracks and creating errant ones for the prince’s men to find. Dodger was careful to point out that they needed to ensure that they didn’t leave what he called a ghost path. He held up his hand with his fingers spread wide. “See, if we send out tracks in these four directions, but not this one,” and he lowered his index finger, “then an experienced tracker will go that way, assuming the path exists even though it’s been hidden.”
It was an exhausting day setting up all the deterrents, but they also amused themselves with it. One of their paths snaked off to the west then curled northeast and linked up with another pathway. But at last they devoted their energy to hiding their route and then seeking shelter for the night.
Garinor was impressed with Dodger’s agility and stamina. He could easily scramble up a tree like a squirrel and rummage around for stray fruit or nuts. They shared a cold meal that night and found a niche in the trees, which they camouflaged with a few loose branches and leaves. It wasn’t the most ideal arrangement, but it would do for a night.