Chapter 30

Everything is pear shaped

Racing toward the tree line Robin and his men were brought up short by Saqr and Nisoor. The two large, growling cheetahs had met them by the tree line and all of the men were unsure as to how to proceed next. Noor sat quietly on her horse.

"Noor you never taught me their safety words. Could you please call your birds off of my men?"

"Certainly Robin, yanaam, sleep little birds."

"Birds, birds, Robin those aren't birds if you haven't noticed." Allan commented sharply. Why was it that Robin was okay with this strange woman and her killer pets? Allan didn't even like housecats and now he was dealing with man eaters.

"No Allan, their names. Saqr is falcon and Nisoor is eagle. Their hunting cheetahs but she's named them after birds. I've brought Wafeyy back to you, Noor, apparently things have gone ugly?"

"I'm sorry Robin I didn't know until afterwards. Apparently she used way more of the mixture than she should have and then she drugged them in their presence rather than slipping it into their food in the kitchen. You did tell her that the results of foxglove and monkshood were almost immediate?"

"No I didn't even think about it. I just assumed she knew to do it from the kitchen. I didn't think she was cold enough to actually poison them and then stand there and watch. What do you mean too late? Guy isn't a problem and as far as Marion we'll just pop into the dungeon and get her. That's what we do Noor. Now Allan, tell me what you have in mind."

"Do you want clever or really clever Robin?" Allan asked with glee. He wasn't sure anyone realized just how much he enjoyed coming up with these parts of their operation. It more than made up for ill tempered and overgrown housecats.

"Robin?" Noor asked in a small voice. "There isn't a need for you to 'pop into the dungeons' as you call it."

"Did you already get her out Noor? I should have known - you were always a feisty one." Robin said with a laugh. Leave it to Noor to have already out thought him on his own ground.

"No, Robin. I didn't find out until it was too late. The Sheriff has already hung her. The body is on display on the North wall. I'm sorry I couldn't get to her to see if there was anything I could do. By the time they told me she had already hung for over an hour. When I got there no spirit was left to call back."

Robin looked at Noor in shock. Hung from the walls, hung from the walls, too late, no spirit left, too late, too late, nothing to call back. Robin was hearing the words but not the meaning. "Hold on Noor, I don't think I understood everything you said. In fact I don't know if I heard it all actually. This very loud noise just started in my ears and I could barely hear you."

"Loud noise, Robin?"

"Yeah, the sound of the world breaking in half distracted me for the last part. I think you just told me that the Sheriff hung Marion for killing Gisbourne. Everything after that is hazy still."

"I'm sorry Robin. I couldn't do anything. You know I would have if there would have been a chance. Her soul is gone." Noor always hated that look on men's faces; there was never a good way to comfort them.