Dream of Me/Believe in Me (93 page)

Daria was in the chapel. Krysta hesitated to disturb her as she knelt at prayer, her thin back rigidly straight, her face concealed by her bowed head. Such reverence was admirable, no doubt, yet it made Krysta uneasy somehow. She shook that off and resolved to wait patiently, but scarcely had she begun to do so than Daria raised her head and saw her. For a moment, the shadows of the chapel
concealed the older woman's expression. When she moved, her face fell into light and she was smiling.

“My dear, at last. Dare I hope you have a few spare moments?”

“As many as you need. I am sorry to have taken so long. Every time I turn around, there seems to be something to do.”

“Isn't that the way of it?” Daria rose and came to where Krysta was standing near the door.

“You are so good to help your maid prepare for her wedding,” Daria went on. “And to give her such cloth as you have done. Very few would be so generous.”

The words were kind enough, yet Krysta somehow received the impression that Daria did not approve of what she had done. Perhaps she had been more giving than was usual, but Hawk had expressed pleasure at her actions.

“I hope you will be here for Edvard and Aelfgyth's wedding,” Krysta said courteously.

They had just stepped outside the chapel. Daria stopped and looked at her closely. “Have you said anything to Hawk of my plans?”

In truth, it had not occurred to Krysta to do so simply because she had been so busy. But upon reflection, she realized she would not have said anything to him even had she not given her word to Daria. He was likely to be relieved if not delighted by his half-sister's impending departure, and Krysta was loath to raise his hopes until it was certain they would not be dashed. But that was an unkind thought and she put it from her mind.

“No, I haven't. Have you thought more about what you intend to do?”

“Oh, yes,” Daria said as they began walking. “Indeed, I have thought of nothing else.”

“And your mind is … unchanged?”

“Unalterably. I have waited for this far too long to consider any other course.”

She was smiling again or perhaps still. Her expression seemed fixed.

“Where would you like to begin?” Krysta asked, hoping this would not take too long. Even knowing that Daria would be leaving Hawkforte did not make her company easy to bear. Still, Krysta was resolved to keep such sentiment to herself.

“First I must find Father Elbert and tell him I will be with you.”

Krysta wondered if Daria always felt it necessary to tell her priest of her whereabouts but said nothing. Perhaps they merely had plans. Father Elbert was found coming up the road from the town. He appeared deep in thought and started when he saw them.

“Father,” Daria said very clearly, “I shall be showing Lady Krysta around the manor. I do hope that it will not inconvenience you?”

The priest's gaze darted to Krysta and just as quickly darted away. He frowned. “No … I suppose not.” He met Daria's eyes, swallowed, and went on more firmly. “Of course not, my lady, no inconvenience at all.”

“Good.” Daria looked at him for a moment, resumed her fixed smile, and turned to Krysta. “I suggest we start with the storerooms.”

Already well acquainted with them and not eager to spend the last few hours of daylight roaming the dark chambers below ground, Krysta nonetheless agreed. She followed Daria around to a back entrance behind the great hall and from there down a flight of stairs. The foundations of Hawkforte's stronghold were sunk deep into the ground and walled in stone. At the bottom of the steps, Daria took tinder and flint from the small alcove where they were kept, and lit a torch kept in an iron bracket. Its
light was welcome but could not dispel the chill air, so very different from the pleasant warmth above.

“I do have a fairly good idea of what is down here,” Krysta said, hoping to avoid an extended stay.

Daria smiled. In the long shadows cast by the torch, her face looked as though it were cracking. “I'm sure you do, but there are one or two things I doubt you've found yet.”

She led the way briskly down a passage. Krysta had no choice but to follow.

T
HE STONE FLOOR SLOPED DOWN STEEPLY
. The air grew ever more chill and dank. Something skittered away around a corner. Krysta shivered and wished she had thought to bring a cloak. She had been down here only once before, with Edvard, and they had not lingered. She and Daria were already beyond the area where barrels of mead and ale were stored, yet Daria did not slow her pace. Krysta was bewildered, wondering what could possibly be kept so far removed from everything else and in such damp surroundings. Most anything would rot, and that which would not would still be very inconvenient to reach.

“Are we going much farther?” she asked as Daria showed no sign of stopping.

The older woman glanced back over her shoulder but her face was obscured by the shadows. “Not too much now. I think you'll find this very interesting.”

Krysta heard the lapping of water up ahead and frowned. She tried to determine their direction but the passage had twisted and turned so many times that she was disoriented. “Are we near the sea?”

Daria held up the torch. Water glinted just ahead. “Not the sea, an underground river that runs to it. This is the way out of Hawkforte should it ever come under siege. I'm surprised Hawk hasn't shown it to you yet.” She came closer so that the light of the torch shone directly on Krysta. “He hasn't, has he?”

“No, but he did say something about showing me an escape route. We just haven't had a chance yet.”

“Well, good, I've saved him the trouble. But this is only the beginning. There is much more of interest right near here.” They moved off along the course of the river where the ground climbed slightly. “Did you know that there was a stronghold on this site long before Hawkforte was built?”

“No, I didn't.” Krysta was genuinely pleased to be learning so much. She was about to say so when Daria went on.

“Likely it belonged to the Romans. They were idolaters, you know, before they converted to the true way. Signs of their pagan worship are still to be seen down here.” She pointed to an elaborately carved stone well sunk into the ground. The stone face of a horned man seemed to gaze back at them. “A place where such worship takes place remains doomed forever.”

“It must have been a very long time ago,” Krysta said gently. She did not wish to contradict Daria, and she did admit that the dark underground passages had an eerie feel to them, but she doubted they were cursed in any way.

“I tried to tell Hawk that,” Daria went on as though she had not heard. “I said this was not a place to be held by decent men but he refused to hear me.”

“He may have thought it most important to hold this land against the Danes no matter what happened here in the past.”

“Perhaps,” Daria said, then fell silent as they came to
a place where the passage turned off to the left. She stepped back against the wall. “Go ahead, I will hold the light for you.”

Krysta looked at her quizzically. “What is there to see?”

“I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.” Daria gestured with the torch.

Krysta turned the corner. At first, she saw nothing. Daria was no longer close behind her, and the dimmer light of the torch did little to illuminate the chamber ahead. Only when her eyes had adjusted to the darkness could Krysta make out the contours of a room hewn out of rock. It was small and dank, chill with a wind off the sea creeping around the rocks.

“What is this for?” she asked, turning, and was surprised to see that Daria had stepped even farther back. The walls of the chamber narrowed near where she was standing, almost as though fitted for a—

Clank.

The light vanished, save for a tiny sliver left just barely visible. Krysta rushed forward, slamming up against a heavy wooden door. At the level of her eyes, an opening had been cut but it was so small she could see very little.

Yet she could make out Daria's twisted face, contorted with glee.

“Fool! Stupid, ridiculous fool! How I prayed this would work and my prayers have been answered! Truly, the Lord smiles upon those who serve Him.”

Shock roared through Krysta, disbelief warring with the sickening realization of her peril. Even as her mind screamed, she spoke with forced calm. “My lady, what a good joke this is. Truly I have been played the fool. But now, I pray you, let me out and we will share this amusement with others.”

“Silence!” Daria shrieked. “You think to make me the
fool, so sweet and placating you try to be! It will not work. All the weeks of scheming, thinking how it was to be done, playing the simpering dolt and then waiting—waiting and waiting!—for you finally to remember you had promised to go with me. I bided my time, hard though it was, and I have been vindicated. Here you will remain, Norse whore! Here you will rot!”

Terror clawed within Krysta, a cold and clammy horror that almost doubled her over. She fought it with every ounce of her strength. She had made a terrible mistake but this was no time to think of that. Now she must use all the guile she possessed to escape the clutches of the madwoman.

“Daria, please, I am quite frightened enough. Your point is well and thoroughly made. I do not know Hawkforte anywhere near as well as I should. Truly, you must stay on here as long as you possibly can bear so that I may be properly instructed.”

“Stay on? Twice times fool! I despise this place! I hate it with every fiber of my being. I, who should have had a great manor of my own, was cast instead upon the pity of my loathed half-brother and forced to play his servant. But no more! I will have my due at last. I will—”

She broke off suddenly, as though aware she said too much. A sneer twisted her mouth. “Don't worry, fool, it will not take you so very long to die. Much as I would like to think of you suffering here, dying slowly of thirst and hunger, I cannot take the risk of that. Only a few hours and then the flames of eternal damnation will consume you.”

She lingered a moment longer, staring at Krysta where she stood frozen in the small opening of the door. With a wild laugh, Daria departed. The light faded with her and Krysta was left alone in the utter dark.

Her heart was pounding. She heard it with startling clarity just as she smelled the damp rot of the cell and felt the chill air sink through her gown to bore deep within her
body. Perhaps her mind, denied the stimulation of vision, was exaggerating all else. That was a rational thought and she held on to it with all her power, for beyond it, like a beast lying in wait for her, was madness.

She shut her eyes and saw fragments of dancing light behind her lids. When she opened them again, the darkness outside was deeper than that which dwelled within her. Shaking, she reached out a hand and touched the closed door. Contact with the solid wood seemed to anchor her in some small way.

Her rapid breathing and the drumbeat of her heart shattered the silence of centuries. Desperately, she tried not to think of how very far she was from light and hope, weighed down by unknowable tons of rock and dirt, as though buried alive. And so alone … so horribly, terrify-ingly alone.

Yet not alone. The thought, little more than faint possibility, that had begun in her days before solidified suddenly into certainty. She was with child. Another being shared this cell with her and would share her fate, her tiny and yet so dearly loved child.

Fierce protectiveness such as she had never known surged within her so powerfully as to push aside terror. Krysta took a deep, steadying breath.
Only a few hours.

Hours in darkness and despair could render her too benumbed to resist. That must not happen. She needed to find something, anything, with which to defend herself… and her child.

Slowly, methodically, Krysta began to search the chamber with her hands, going inch by inch from floor to ceiling.

H
AWK RETURNED FROM HUNTING IN EARLY EVE
-ning. He and Dragon shared a sauna before parting in front of the great hall. While there yet was light,
Dragon intended to inspect his ship and make sure all was in readiness for his departure the next day. Hawk had it in his mind to find Krysta and pleasantly while away the hour or so before supper.

He didn't get very far in that direction before he was intercepted by Edvard with Aelfgyth close on his heels. “Your pardon, lord,” the steward said, “but if I might speak with you?”

Coming up close behind her betrothed, Aelfgyth dug her elbow into his side as though to remind him he was not alone in seeking the Hawk's notice. “If
we
might speak with you,” Edvard corrected himself.

Hawk was inclined to look on the young couple with favor. He nodded and prepared to listen with patience, although he ached to find his bride.

“I have told Aelfgyth there is no reason for alarm,” Edvard said with a quick glance at the woman who stood at his side. “But she is concerned nonetheless and I thought you might reassure her—”

“I last saw the Lady Krysta full three hours ago,” Aelfgyth said. “An hour since I went looking for her. The gown she has so generously given is finished and I wanted her to see it. But I cannot find her. I have searched the kitchens, her own quarters, the weaving shed, the stables, and everywhere else I could think of and still there is no sign of her.”