Ashes in the Wind (75 page)

“Damn you, bastard!” Cole shouted in high fury, and the air fairly crackled with his rage.

Dazed, Alaina slowly straightened, tasting blood in her mouth. Jacques jerked her arm, his fingers biting into her soft flesh, and yanked her along behind him until they reached a small room formed in the interior of the cave. A dim lantern hung from the stone wall, and a pallet had been thrown upon the floor. Jacques swung her upon it and sneered as he began to loosen his cravat.

“Take off your clothes and spread yourself for my pleasure, Mrs. Latimer. My hour of revenge has come.’

The maddened strength of the beast increased, and Cole’s arm bulged as he strained at the bars. For a moment, Saul watched in awe, amazed by the ferocity of the man. The doctor’s face was contorted with rage and sheer, visible determination. Looking on, Saul could only come to the conclusion that if this was what it took to move heaven and earth and bend it beneath one’s will, then a little help might hasten the matter along.

Saul threw himself into the task wholeheartedly, adding his strength to Cole’s. He had seen the bars give a little when Gunn had tried them. Perhaps there was hope after all.

Saul’s bare arms knotted into great strands of muscle which stood out like knots on a tree trunk. The metal groaned and seemed to give away a bit,
and they both took heart, each firming their grip and trying harder, straining, heaving, corded veins bulging, and faces twisted in weird grimaces. Beneath their combined effort, the rod bent with a rasping moan, then suddenly snapped, sending both men almost sprawling. Cole was at the door immediately, wiggling his lean frame through the widened hole. If Saul could not follow, then he would return for him—after he found Alaina.

An almost silent hiss came from the wooden door, drawing Cole’s wary but immediate attention as the slight, small form of Mindy stepped into the light. She was carrying Cole’s Remington.

Cole was beside her in an instant, demanding in a whisper, “Where is Olie?”

“Riber. Gone ’round cliff onto riber. Many man come from cave. Olie, Peter, all men from house, Brag, sheriff—fight them.”

Cole tossed the pistol through the bars to Saul and ran into the shadows where he had seen Jacques take Alaina. As much as he could understand from Mindy’s muddled speech, Olie, Braegar, the sheriff, and the men from the house had gone by way of the river to gain entrance to the cave, but somewhere along the way had been met by Jacques’s men. The outcome of that confrontation was yet unclear, but none in the cave seemed aware of the attack.

He ran like a cat through the night, as swiftly and as dangerously as one from the wilds of Africa, driven on by the torturing vision of Alaina struggling in Jacques’s arms.

A weak light shone from up ahead, and he was spurred on as he heard the rending of cloth and
Alaina’s muffed cries. The sound sent cold, merciless fury charging through every pore in his body, and he hardly cleared the corner of the tiny room, barely saw his wife straining away from Jacques’s kisses, before he threw himself at the half naked man who, on seeing him, gave a cry of dismay and stumbled back. But Jacques was unable to avoid the forceful assault of the enraged beast who had appeared out of the blackness.

Shivering and sobbing in relief, Alaina clutched the separated parts of her chemise together as she pressed against the stone wall in an effort to escape the frenzied thrashing of the men who were locked in mortal combat. Jacques’s face was a twisted mask of hatred, and his foul, whiskey-laden breath slashed in and out between yellow, gritted teeth. He was small and wiry, but he had the strength of his insane rage combined with the fear that he might be thwarted again. Then, Cole’s fist slammed into his jaw, and Jacques sagged limp, frustrating the doctor’s desire for further castigation of the man. But as he flung Jacques off with a snarl of disgust, there suddenly came a shot from the part of the cavern where they had been earlier imprisoned, and Cole, realizing that Saul was in trouble, caught Alaina’s arm as she was yanking it through the sleeve of her gown and pulled her with him. He ran back through the darkened tunnel. Alaina managed to close her bodice over her meagerly clad bosom
as her feet flew beside his. There was no assurance of what awaited them, and she was determined to retain a bit of her modesty.

As they entered the main gate, they skidded to a halt, finding Saul standing off the two white men as well as Gunn and Tamara with the still smoking Remington.

“You fool!” Tamara shrieked. “There’s three men here with guns. You’ll never escape!”

“Well, ah gots dis heah gun dat maybe can take a couple o’ you wid me. Maybe you first, ma’m, if’n yo’ don’t bring dat chile to its mama.”

Tamara faltered in indecision and glared at Alaina.

Saul crooked a large finger at her. “Com’on. Dat’s Miz Alaina’s chile, and she wants it.”

“This is only temporary,” Tamara stated when she handed the child over to Alaina. “I’ll have her back before the night is done.”

“Over my dead body,” Alaina replied with finality.

“
Saul
!”

The bellow echoed in the cave, drawing everyone’s notice to the massive bulk of Gunn who strode forward, his arms raised in a challenge. He had left the Winchester leaning against a barrel.

“Saul! Gunn fight Saul! You win, you go free!”

“Kill him, you fool!” Tamara shrieked. “Kill Saul! He can’t go free!”

“No!” Gunn’s voice rang out again. He turned to his companions and warned, “Saul fight Gunn! Alone! Anyone come, Gunn break!” The twisting motion of his huge hands was aptly graphic.

Saul tossed the pistol to Cole, and as it came around on them, the two men, who had leaped forward to seize the doctor, stumbled back in haste. Cole retreated, keeping Alaina and the babe behind him, then gave a nod to Saul when their backs were to the wall.

The black tore off the remains of his sleeveless work shirt and cast them from him, while Gunn rent
the brocade vest in two. Saul spread his hands wide. The gesture was like a signal and both men charged, coming together with a clap as their chests met. They stood toe to toe and strained in a battle of pure strength. Neither could gain the advantage, and they broke apart and began to hammer each other with blows that would have shattered the bones of lesser men, again with no apparent effect.

Like great, black titans, glaring red-eyed with the heat of maddened battle lust, they crashed together again and became a twisting, writhing, struggling mass of muscle. They were locked shoulder to shoulder, head to head, their legs spread wide to provide traction. They took air into their lungs with wheezing gasps as they strained at each other, their backs arched. Then suddenly Saul twisted, and his right arm snaked beneath the left one of Gunn. Locking his hands above the other’s back, he levered downward. Gunn began to slip, but he would not yield. The arm bent backward and upward, farther and farther. Gunn gave a grunt of pain, and the snap of breaking bone echoed loud in the stillness.

Gunn sank to the floor of the cave, and Saul braced himself on hand and knees, his head hanging between his arms as his chest heaved in deep gulps of air. Gunn dragged himself across the cavern to lean against the stacks of cargo, then rose to stand erect, his arm hanging at an odd angle and a dull, intent look on his face.

Alaina turned as she heard a sound from behind them and screamed a warning to Cole. He faced the threat, as an enraged Jacques, gun in hand, came tearing from the offshoot of the cave. He dove head first
at Cole, and the Remington skittered across the floor as Cole was thrown backward by the sudden assault. Saul caught it up at a run and yanked Alaina out of harm’s way as Jacques’s pistol waved toward her. Cole’s hand struck the gun up just as it fired, and the shot roused a long peal of echoes throughout the cavern. Cole caught Jacques’s wrist as the muzzle swung toward Alaina again. The two men rolled on the ground, locked together as Jacques worked the pistol with blind intent. The bullets whined and thudded, while its explosions joined into a continuous thunder. A spout of coal oil sprang from a barrel as a bullet whined through it, and a lantern was shot from its perch above it. The lamp fell crashing to the floor, and in a moment, a gush of flames roared up from the small rivulet of
oil. Nearby was the menacing presence of a small keg of gunpowder.

The gun clicked empty, and Cole released the wrist and, now unhampered, rolled onto his back, dragging Jacques with him. His fist again met the other’s face, and the river pirate was spun away, whimpering as he clutched a broken mouth.

Suddenly a black arm seized Jacques from behind and dragged him backward, bawling in fear. With his good arm, Gunn wrapped the man in a tight embrace and held firm, though Jacques frantically sought escape.

“Gunn say Saul go free! Gunn never break promise! They go! We stay!”

Jacques shrieked a reply that ended in a quick tightening of Gunn’s arm, then Jacques’s head rolled limp, and when released, his body sagged slowly to the ground, his neck obviously broken.

Gunn gestured to Saul. “Go!”

“Yassuh!” Saul was eager to comply.

Cole swept the cave with a glance. He could see no sign of his stepmother, but his eye caught a new threat. The flames were working along the path of coal oil to the keg of gunpowder. He sprinted toward Alaina and Saul, shouting for them to run. As he caught up with them, he grabbed Glynis from Alaina’s arms and pulled his wife along behind him in the direction of the tunnel. Mindy had hidden herself again by the door, waiting there to make sure they got out, and had the portal open for them.

A part of Cole’s urgency seized them, and the bruised, aching Saul could hardly match the pace of Alaina’s slim feet. Cole chanced a glance back over his shoulder and saw the fire was feeding around the bottom of the keg. He roared a warning to Saul who flung himself upon Mindy, as Cole dove for Alaina. He sheltered the small form of his daughter beneath him, pulling Alaina under him as well. Then suddenly a deafening roar and a searing blast of heat swept through the cave as the small keg exploded. Barrels, drums, bales, crates ricocheted off the stone walls, bursting and spreading their contents for the hungry flames.

Cole ignored the searing sting of flying ash that settled on his back and, hauling the others to their feet, urged them on into the tunnel that led to Roberta’s room. Cole chose not to inform them that as the heat increased below, the draft would build, and the tunnel would become a chimney. Anything in it would be destroyed, and all too soon the house above them would just be dry tinder for the flames.

They took the stairs at a frantic pace, Mindy in Saul’s arms, and Alaina being pushed ahead of Cole who held their daughter in a firm grasp. The child was crying and frightened, but there was no time to console her. There was a thunderous crash far below them, and a shower of sparks spiraled up toward them, bringing the uncomfortable heat with it.

“The door’s been blown open,” Cole roared. “We’ve got to get out of here, or be roasted alive!”

Alaina was winded, and her side ached. Still, she kept forcing her trembling legs to climb. It was much harder going up the stairs, than it had been going down, and Cole pushed her ever onward, his hand on her buttock as he ascended the steps close behind her. Then smoke began to billow up, choking them and stinging their eyes.

The mirror door was closed. Alaina took the baby from her husband and pointed to the timber on the landing below. Cole leaped down and twisted the latch as she directed, but nothing happened. Then, as they watched, the cables slowly slipped out of the guides and hung free and useless. The ends had been neatly snipped through.

“Tamara!” Cole roared the name like a curse. He should have known that she had left the cave and escaped up the stairs.

“We’re trapped!” Alaina gasped.

Saul stood Mindy beside Alaina, then stepped back and thrust a heavy foot at the portal until the recalcitrant door opened for them. They burst into Roberta’s room, gasping for air, but in another moment they were sounding an alarm throughout the house.

As they led the way across the front porch, Olie, Braegar, and Peter, and the sheriff were just bringing around a wagonload of trussed-up river pirates and the victorious field hands.

Olie ran forward as soon as he caught sight of Cole and worriedly explained his tardiness. “When I come behind Saul, I knew it weren’t no good in tryin’ to get through dat way, so I sent Peter to fetch the sheriff and Doctor Darvey, then went by the river to see if I could find the entrance to the cave. By the time I got ’round the cliff, dere was a whole bargeload of men on the river, and I had me a fine tussle with them ‘til the sheriff come.”

“It’s all right, Olie,” Cole assured the man. “We’re safe now, and the pirates are caught, thanks to you.”

As they watched, great gouts of. flame began shooting up from the cliff face and far above it, announcing the conflagration to all who could see for miles around. A shrill whistle pierced the roar of the flames and grew lower in pitch as a small flame sprouted from the roof of the western tower and, widening, sent the lesser roof crashing in a shower of sparks down the side of the house. Unhampered, the flames shot high and howled as if in greedy delight. The windows of the house glowed red, then white. The panes shattered outward, sending a leaping spurt of fire up the bricks to lap hungrily at the eaves.

The flames lit the roof, and Braegar caught Cole’s arm, pointing upward. High above them on the narrow widow’s walk that capped the roof, a strange figure pranced about in a grotesque dance. Her long, black hair swirled about her head as the
wind whipped it wildly about. She wore a blood-red dress, and several of the onlookers murmured Roberta’s name in stunned awe. The three who had survived the cave ordeal knew the face, and it was not Roberta’s. Tamara waved her arms as if supplicating the heavens as she shrieked into the night sky. Then turning, she saw the mass of white upturned faces below her and flung out an arm accusingly. Her high-pitched scream could be heard over the roar of the flames.

“Latimer House is mine forever! You can’t take it from me! None of you will have it now!”