Holly hurried down the hallway after Logan. "Logan, slow down, wait up!" she shouted.

He paused and turned to her, waiting until she caught up to him. "Did I miss something after I left?"

"No, I wanted to talk to you." She glanced up and down the corridor before yanking open a nearby door and pulling him inside.

He frowned in the semi darkness inside what appeared to be a small storage closet. "What do you need to talk about that requires locking me in a closet?"

"You are not locked in!"

He shrugged and reached for the door to open it but she jumped in front of him, flattening her body back against it. He rolled his eyes. "Really? I thought you just told me I wasn't locked in?"

"Technically you aren't, you're just being prevented from leaving right at this moment. I want to talk to you."

"Then talk and let me out of here," he told her, leaning back against the wall.

She remained in front of the door in case he tried to make a dash out the door. "I've noticed a couple of things that I think you need to explain, especially in light of the conversation I overheard between you and Crowley."

"There's nothing that I need to explain that is any of your business. Can I leave now?"

She pressed a hand into the center of his chest when he attempted to reach past her for the doorknob. "No! I'm not done yet! Is Crowley related to your father?" She frowned at him in the darkness. "Or is he your father?" If her hand wasn't still pressed to his chest she might have missed the way he flinched when she asked the questions.

"My mother never told anyone who my father is. If he was my father then I wouldn't know now would I?"

She settled back against the door, frowning at him. "I'm not buying that. You know why? Because I've noticed a few things." She plowed forward without giving him a chance to make any excuses. "I've noticed that you and Crowley look alike. Care to explain that?"

"Seriously, Holly, that's the bulk of your evidence? A lot of people have similar looks. How is that proof? You and Deva look alike, you could be related!"

She snorted. "It isn't just that you look alike, you have the same smile and ..." She sighed. "A lot of things that are currently escaping my brain."

He reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Holly, even if he was my father it wouldn't matter, would I? Let it go."

She stared up at him with a frown. "Why wouldn't it matter, why wouldn't you want him to acknowledge you as his son?"

He nudged her out of the way of the door and opened it. "I can't do anything that would cause my father to acknowledge me because I don't know who the man is."

She remained in the darkness inside the doorway, silently staring out at the corridor. She had been so certain about her deductions. She scowled, realizing he never actually said what he and Crowley had been discussing. Also, she'd asked him two questions, if he was related to Crowley through his father or if Crowley was his father. He'd jumped straight to denying that Crowley was his father. Odd. He was hiding something of that much she was sure and she wasn't going to give up until she figured out exactly what he was afraid of revealing.

***

"So, now what do we do?" Mitchell asked quietly from where they watched Morgan's army.

Halt remained silent for a moment. When he finally spoke, his words were quiet so there was no chance of being overheard. "Picking off men one by one is out of the question. There's too many of them."

Mitchell looked between them. "But ... you're Rangers."

Halt arched a brow at him. "We're not an army, Mitchell. We're slightly outnumbered, in case you hadn't noticed. We each carry twenty-four arrows, not enough to significantly reduce their numbers."

"They'd catch us for sure," Deva added.

"Isn't there that Ranger saying, one riot one Ranger? There's no riot and we've got two Rangers. I'd say we're the ones who out number them," Mitchell pointed out.

Halt's eyebrows rose and he shook his head. "Logical argument, but I'd still rather not risk it." He nudged Abelard forward, keeping to the trees so they remained out of sight as they followed the slow progression of the army as they moved down the road. Forcing the army to a complete stop was impossible. It was too large for the three of them to accomplish such a feat. They slowed them briefly with the tainted ale, but once it was discovered and dumped, they began moving steadily once more.

His study of the man Morgan gave him very little information beyond the obvious that he was cruel and sadistic. His gaze flicked briefly to watch the road through the trees. They'd managed to eliminate only a handful of the men in the line of soldiers. He halted Abelard when a shout went up from somewhere near the front of the procession. Unable to hear what was happening, he set the pony moving until they reached the front of the procession.

A farmer stood in the center of the road facing Morgan. Halt tipped his head as he listened to the exchange.

"Get these beasts out of the road!" Morgan shouted.

The farmer stuttered an apology, waving a hand at the small herd of sheep that somehow decided the center of the road was a decent place for a nice nap.

A small grin lifted the corners of Halt's lips. It dropped away a second later when Morgan threatened the life of the man and his sheep if he didn't get out of the road immediately.

Halt reached out and lifted his longbow from where it rested across his legs. In one, fluid, easy motion gained from years of practice, he raised the bow and nocked an arrow. He remained still, waiting to see what Morgan would do. Revealing their presence wasn't part of their plan, but he wasn't going to let an innocent man die simply so he and the others could remain out of sight.

A shout from the center of the procession drew the attention of everyone, including Morgan. The leader cursed, threw the farmer a last angry look and ordered him to move out of the road once more, then spurred his horse toward the commotion. With a small frown, Halt lowered his bow, but remained ready in case he needed to target Morgan when he returned.

Deva, with Mitchell beside her, moved their horses up beside Halt, a large smile on her face. "You know what, Holly plans aren't all that bad an idea sometimes."

Halt whipped around to look at her. "You went and set something on fire?"

She shrugged. "Maaaybe a supply wagon accidently caught on fire, you know, somehow." Her grin widened. "Hey, Morgan is distracted for the moment and the sheep seem to have decided it's time to move along. Maybe they don't like the smell of smoke." She bounced her eyebrows at him.

Halt glanced back at the road. The sheep were bleating and shuffling off down the road. She was right they seemed frightened by the threat of fire nearby. "Hopefully he'll be smart enough to move the critters off the road the moment there's space on the side of the road."

Morgan's enraged shouts drew their attention. The man was cursing his men's stupidity and hurling some rather colorful insults down on their heads, all while they were attempting to put out the flames. Some of which, Halt noted, were spreading to nearby wagons, if the size or the flames reaching into the sky and the amount of smoke was anything to go by.

Though he didn't want to admit it, sometimes the situation did indeed call for fire. He was never going to tell Holly that. Ever.

***

Halt pinned them with a glare. "You are both staying here."

"Why can't I go? Mitchell, okay I get that he'd be like a stampede of cattle through the forest." Deva waved a hand at Mitchell as she explained.

"Wow, gee thanks, Dev. You know I'm fairly skilled at moving silently. I don't blunder around like my father."

She dropped her arm. "Fine, I'll let you have that much, but you're still no Ranger."

He threw his arms in the air and turned away, going to sit down.

Halt's lips flattened into a line as he stared steadily at her. "I'm the mentor and you are the apprentice. Therefore what I tell you is law. Go and sit down. Keep quiet." He turned away and disappeared into the darkness around their little camp.

"I'm the mentor you're the apprentice, blah, blah, blah," Deva mocked once she was certain he was gone.

Mitchell shook his head at her. "He is your mentor. You should have some respect."

"He won't let me do anything! He treats me like a child. No ... he treats me like a little girl." she harrumphed and folded her arms over her chest.

"No offense, but in case you haven't noticed you are a girl."

"Shut up, Mitchell or I'll put an arrow in a very uncomfortable place!"

***

Halt slipped silently up to the edge of the camp and stilled, waiting and watching. After a long moment of silence, he slid forward into the fringes of the camp and moved through it until he made his way to Morgan's large tent near the center of the camp.

He carefully moved around behind the bulk of the tent and settled into the shadows, head cocked to one side as he listened to the voices inside.

"I don't care for all of these delays," Morgan's voice reached Halt.

"We're doing the best we can, sir."

"All of this is unnatural. Someone is attempting to keep us from reaching the castle. Why in blazes can't your men find the culprits?"

"We have tried numerous times, but found no trace of anyone lurking around. There's no sign anyone is following us," the soldier answered in a nervous twang.

He winced when he heard the sound of something falling to the ground. It appeared Morgan had a temper. There was no corresponding shout of pain so he'd either thrown something to the ground or missed his target.

"It must be those damned Rangers!"

"Sir?"

"Duncan's damnable Rangers, the foresters in those mottled cloaks. They always manage to show up exactly when Duncan needs them to do so. I'm not going to let them stop me from gaining the vengeance I deserve! They ruined my father's efforts to gain the throne and I won't let them destroy mine!"

Halt didn't feel the need to stick around any longer, he moved away from the tent back in the direction of their camp. He hadn't gone far when a cry went up. He didn't know how, but it appeared as if he'd been spotted. He resisted the urge to run for cover and remained still a moment. Men were hurrying in his direction, he glanced to the tree line. He had little time to make it and vanish. Nothing for it, he couldn't remain here he had no cover. He made a dash toward the trees.

One of Morgan's men lunged for him, then jerked back, an arrow protruding from his chest.

It appeared his apprentice hadn't followed his order to remain put. A good thing, he supposed. The second he broke into the cover of the trees, he sprinted back to camp, hoping Deva followed.

Deva and Mitchell appeared seconds after he stepped into camp, neither asked questions and as a group they quickly packed the few things they'd unpacked, mounted their horses and rode away from Morgan and his men before they could be found.

As they left their little camp, he called to them quietly, "Straight back to the castle. Keep moving and don't stop unless I do." There was no more time to slow the army, they'd been discovered and Morgan's men would be more alert now that they knew who they were dealing with.

Their only response was a thunder of hoof beats as they raced along behind him.

They needed to make it back to the castle. The princess needed to know exactly who they were dealing with.