Ruth A. Casie (21 page)

The men were equally skilled, neither with an advantage. Both well trained, neither would have a problem maintaining the grueling pace.

Facing the hearth, Bryce glanced at Lisbeth with the Steltons and maneuvered the fight toward them.

Alex, aware of his intent, changed up the rhythm and drove Bryce toward the terrace doors. He knew Bryce had every intention of making this a short and lethal fight.

“Ah, am I too close to the witch?” He nicked Alex across his sword arm. A nasty smile spread across Bryce’s face. His attacks became more aggressive.

Alex countered and kept up the barrage.

Bryce parried Alex’s blow and pushed him off. Alex stepped forward and thrust his shoulder into Bryce’s chest, forcing him back. They both exploded through the doors onto the terrace.

The cold air met their heated bodies and raised an eerie steam around them.

Alex took the advantage and pressed forward, striking a downward blow. Bryce pushed Alex’s sword away and followed with an overhead attack and a downward thrust. The tip of his blade drew a thin line of blood across Alex’s cheek. Alex sidestepped and pushed Bryce back to the far corner where the terrace floor sloped down. “Lucky for me you didn’t use poison. I’d be dead by now and you’d win the bet.”

Bryce said nothing.

Alex attacked with a lateral cut. Bryce knocked the blade away with his own. Alex countered the thrust and bought his elbow up. With his sword hanging vertically in front of him, he transferred his grip, and held the blade with two hands. With the hilt high over his head, Alex readied the crosspiece to strike Bryce in the head.

Bryce stepped back defensively. He was on a sheet of ice. He held his sword in both hands horizontally over his head and caught the crosspiece of Alex’s hilt with the edge of his blade. Alex pulled hard on his sword. Bryce bent forward and lost his footing on the ice, a look of surprise and confusion on his face. Alex moved in and took the advantage. He freed his sword and shoved his pommel up and struck Bryce hard under the chin. Bryce’s head snapped back; the momentum and unsteady footing sent him flying. His sword clattered on the ground. His head hit the terrace stone. Alex stood over him, his sword raised to deliver the death blow.

“Hold,” the king bellowed. He came through the terrace door. Gareth followed close behind.

Alex stopped, his sword in midair. The sound of fast-approaching horses reached him. The others had finally arrived.

Edward stood looking at his two knights. “Inside. Now.” Before he headed for the door he turned. “You too, Bryce.” He pointed to Bryce, who lay dazed at Alex’s feet. Gareth brought Bryce and set him on the floor.

“Before you two kill each other, explain.” The king looked at Alex. Gareth stood next to him. “Gareth, what duty do you have today?”

“Lord Alex stationed me at your side, sire.”

“And have you left your station?”

“No, sire.”

The king turned to Alex. “Who released you from the dungeon, Alex and why did you return?”

“Bryce released me, sire.” Winded and exhausted, Alex approached the king. “I’ve come with great news. Your protectors and their men have been found. They’re alive and well. The rumor of the Glen Kirk curse has been greatly exaggerated, as you thought. You see, they’ve merely been detained. Lord Ramon has been negotiating a ransom on your behalf with their abductors.”

“My behalf? Abductors? I know of no ransom. Who dared to take them?” He looked at Bryce lying on the hall floor. “Ramon!” the king bellowed. “Where is he?” he asked his guards.

“Sire, he left the grounds when the fight began.”

“Get him and bring him to me.”

Bryce got to his feet before the king. “What are you and Gareth up to, Alex? I didn’t release you.”

Alex ignored the lies. “You abducted the king’s men, raided your own farms and put the blame on the Scots.”

“How preposterous. Your Majesty, surely you’re not going to take the word of this traitor.”

Alex’s brothers filtered silently into the room followed by the freed protectors.

“Sire.” Hubert bent his knee to his King.

“Hubert, where have you been?”

Bryce shook with anger and glared at Alex.

“Go on, man—tell me what happened,” said the king.

“I was abducted and held for ransom.”

“How are you here?”

“Alex and his brothers came with the Scots and released us.”

The king looked at the protectors with a shrewd eye. “Go on, give me the details.”

“I and my man were separated from our hunting party and attacked by a pack of thieves. They took us to Scotland and held us there for ransom. At least that’s where I thought I was held, sire.” He paused until the king waved him to continue. “My captors gave me paper and ink to write to you of my plight, which I did.”

“And when I didn’t respond?”

“Oh, sire, but you did. You sent Ramon Mitchell. He explained you regretted the situation and you and your advisors were working to free us. You said negotiations were somewhat difficult since there was no monarch in Scotland.”

He leveled his eye at the other protector. “And you have a similar story?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied. “I was out with my men on patrol when we were attacked. The end result was the same. Out of nowhere men appeared. We didn’t hear them approach—they were just there. They surprised and captured us. It was clear their intent was to take us hostage.”

“What was interesting sire, in each situation the men had gone out with Mitchell, who conveniently left them and went on his way,” offered Alex.

“Go on.”

Hubert continued. “Ramon visited us every month until recently, when he visited us more often. He told us negotiations were going better than you expected, and by the end of this month we would be free and there would be a new monarch on the throne of Scotland.”

The king stiffened at the mention of the throne. He leveled his stare at Bryce.

“Jamie. What news from your man?” asked the king.

Alex spun around and faced his brother-in-law. “Jamie?”

“Your Majesty.” Jamie bowed. “While he wasn’t privy to the abduction, he reported seeing the protectors. They were held by the Mitchells. He also found that Lord Ramon arranged the accident that killed Lord Wesley and Lady Darla.”

“Good work, Jamie. You are everything I was led to believe. Your debt to Wesley and Darla has been paid.” He looked admiringly at Jamie. “You are a loyal man, Jamie Collins. I wish you were one of mine.”

“That is a great compliment coming from the King of England. I will cherish it, sir.”

Jamie turned to Alex. “Gareth did not go to London alone to tell your king about Wesley and Darla. I went with him.”

“Yes, I thought you quite brazen,” said Edward. “You came to me with your assumptions and asked for a boon.” He turned to Alex. “He wanted to find the murderer. He was certain the accident was contrived.”

“Before you say anything, Alex, you must know that I was sworn to secrecy. Many times I wanted to tell you of my work with King Edward. You are as important to me as any brother. I hope you understand.” The sincerity of his words was not lost on Alex.

Edward faced his knight. “Why, Bryce?”

“Wesley was dealing with the Scots. He even married Laura to one of them rather than settle her on me.” Bryce waved his hand in disgust. “He was the traitor. What more evidence do you need?”

“You killed Wesley and Darla? Why?” asked Alex.

Ramon stood in the doorway, a guard on either side of him. He shrugged off their hands. “I killed them.”

Everyone’s attention shifted to the door.

“Yes, Father called Ramon a traitor right before Ramon killed him,” Lisbeth declared still in the care of Alex’s family.

“So, you did hear him. You were fortunate I didn’t know.” Ramon turned to the king.

Lisbeth shivered.
He must never know.
She drew her shawl close.

“They stood in my way. With them gone I asked you to make me her protector. I would have married her to Bryce. But you sent others. Each time I petitioned you, you told me no.” Ramon looked from Alex to the king. “She should have been Bryce’s.”

Ramon lunged for Edward.

Alex, out of reach, couldn’t take action. Gareth stepped in front of the king, his knife already drawn. With a smooth easy stroke he slit the old man’s throat.

Ramon struggled for breath as he choked and drowned in his blood.

Gareth looked down at him and wiped his knife on the dying man’s shirt. “No pain is enough.” He said his eyes cold and hard. “If I could I would kill you every day for eternity.”

Bryce took advantage of the distraction and charged at Alex. Alex spun out of the way, grabbing the jeweled dagger out of Bryce’s belt. With his free hand he pulled Bryce’s head back by his hair and held the edge of the thin blade at his neck. He hesitated.

“Ah, the knight has a heart. So, I win the bet after all.”

Alex drew the knife’s edge across Bryce’s throat. The doomed man stiffened. A thin red line emerged across his neck.

“I think not. You’ll not die with honor.” Alex signaled Gareth and his soldiers to take Bryce away.

“You know what she is?” Bryce announced.

Lisbeth stood up and faced Bryce. She didn’t care who knew. Alex was safe.

“What am I, Bryce?” she said definitely.

“Hubert had it right. You’re a...a...a...” stammered Bryce as if his tongue was thick and swollen.

A
witch
. She threw the echoing words into Bryce’s head.

Panic etched Bryce’s features. His mouth flapped but he made no sound as he coughed and choked. He fell to the floor.

She chanted her spell for Bryce’s ears only. Weakened by raising the death coach she quickly tired. Softly the whispered words of another’s joined hers. Alex’s strong baritone voice took over the chant. To the outside world all was quiet.

Bryce, gasping for breath, weak and confused, he swiveled his head between Alex and Lisbeth. Hatred blazed in his eyes. He collapsed where he was.

* * *

Lisbeth ran to Alex. He still held the jeweled dagger. She reached out for the blade. Its tip was broken.

“No, Lisbeth.” He pulled the blade out of her reach. “Don’t touch the knife. It’s poisoned.”

He laid the knife on the table. Alex, Jamie and the king stood around her as she took the piece of steel she’d removed from Alex’s wound out of the pouch and placed the broken piece at the knife’s end. She gently pushed the pieces together.

“It’s a perfect fit.”

“I wonder what the writing on the blade says. Do you have any idea?” asked the king.

“Tannin the Hawk,” said Lisbeth.

King Edward looked at his disgraced knight. Bryce stared back with cold vacant eyes.

Chapter Twenty

The commotion over and the castle asleep, Alex didn’t have to look up to know when Lisbeth walked into the library where he sat staring at the family crest. Bryce’s broken dagger lay beside it.

“I know the blade is somehow connected to the crest.” He finally looked up at her. He noticed she held her wedding necklace. He gave her a questioning look.

She stared alternately at the crest and her necklace. Slowly she slipped the gem into its center.

Alex shot out of his chair to stop her but he was too late. The stone was a perfect fit. He put his arm around her. They both watched as the center of the crest began to brighten.

“I know this story,” she said to him softly. “My mother told me the story of the seventh son of the seventh son and how a great curse befell the family.” She looked into Alex’s eyes. “I had no idea it was your family’s story. She told it to me so often that it is a part of me.” She closed her eyes as if to read it from the back of her eyelids.

“Thirteen hundred years ago, in a time of mist and magic, a feud between two rival chieftains, Tannin the Hawk and William the Brave, turned deadly. Tannin was a mean-spirited, ruthless man. William was courageous and brave. He came to the aid of many. He was also the proud seventh son of a seventh son. A rarity indeed, but one that happened in his family line from time to time.

“Some think it was a disagreement over land rights. Others say a woman was involved. Who’s to say how it started or why? Tannin, in a fit of anger, wiggled his fingers and chanted the words that levied a curse on William. For all eternity every son born to William the Brave would bear one of the deadly sins.

“William worked quickly but was not able to completely undo Tannin’s words. He could only soften them. The curse would not fall on every son, but rather on the seven sons of a seventh son. To end the curse, each of these brothers would be given the opportunity to combat their sin and rise above it. When all had succeeded William would have one chance to vanquish Tannin and end the curse forever.” She ran her hand over the crest and opened her eyes. “You must be the son they have been waiting for.” She looked at the dagger. “I’m not certain of the dagger’s significance, but you are right, it’s connected. See how it glows like the center of the crest.”

Alex removed the stone and the glow faded. “I’m proud of who I am and what I’ve done.”

“And you should be,” she said. “Pride is only a sin when you become arrogant and conceited, like Bryce.”

He took her in his arms. “I have never been as frightened as I was today knowing what you planned.”

“And did you know?”

“Yes, but I didn’t see the vision. I just knew what you were doing and knew I had to stop you.”

“Ramon was the caped creature in my vision. More than not wanting to remember him I didn’t want to remember him killing Father. I needed to show the king who the real traitor was.”

“If you had succeeded, you would have forced Edward’s hand. All I could do was put a haze over the vision so it only appeared to be a great mist. You wagered a great deal.”

“I only wager when I know I will win.” She gave him a smile. “I wagered you would be safe. That was all that mattered.”

“And Bryce. The king, and everyone else, believes it was the poison.”

“Perhaps that’s best.”

“You may be right. I was concerned when you couldn’t complete what you started.”

“On the contrary, the day I removed the blade from your side I saw a vision in the basin. I knew then that you had to vanquish your assassin. If you didn’t all would be lost.”

“I could have lost you forever.” He drew her close and held her tight. “I love you, Lisbeth—more than anything, I love you,” he whispered into her ear. He eased her face up to his and sealed his declaration with a kiss.

Two Weeks Later

Alex’s parents entered the library where he was still fussing with his surcoat and belt.

“Here, let me fix that for you.” His mother adjusted his belt and brushed the hair from his eyes.

Alex chuckled. “It’s been a long time since you’ve straightened my clothes. I think it was the first time you took me to court and presented me to the king.”

“I had no choice. You kept tormenting your brothers so. They roughed you up a bit. When I turned to check on you before we entered, I was appalled to see what you looked like. It seems I was always straightening your tunic and fixing your hair. Well,” she patted him on his chest. “From now on Lisbeth can do it.” She looked over Alex’s shoulder. “Philip, we must go.” She gave Alex a long look. “You’ll do. Your father and I will meet you in the Hall.”

“Are those tears I see?” Phillip asked his wife as they left the room.

“I always cry at weddings. He really is like you—all proud and unbearable.”

“He has a good woman to help him, like I do.” Alex saw his father squeeze his mother’s hand.

“I’m the lucky one,” she said as the door closed behind them.

No
, thought Alex.
I’m the lucky one
.

His brothers came in. Each carried a tankard of ale.

“Alex, drink your last as a single man with us.”

He took the brew and looked at his brothers hard and long.

“Alex, you look ready to bolt. Surly it’s not Lisbeth and marriage that has you brooding,” his brother Cameron teased.

Alex laughed. “No.” He raised his ale in a salute to the family crest and drank deeply. “The Stelton Legacy must be faced.”

His brothers settled down and listened. “Alex, the legacy has been a mystery for centuries.”

Alex related the story of Tannin the Hawk and William the Brave to his brothers. “My sin was pride.”

“Yes, we know that much about you—all proud and full of yourself,” said Cameron. There was a rumble of chuckles from his brothers.

“I battled my demon and have been greatly rewarded. I could have lost everything if it hadn’t been for Lisbeth. You each have your own challenge to face.”

“So, it begins,” said Geoffrey, the oldest brother, propped up against the desk.

“Yes, when you complete your quest you will find something that completes another part of the crest.” He waited for his words to sink in. “And, in the end, hope that our ancestor William the Brave comes out the victor.”

“Alex, this beautiful woman won’t wait forever.” Philip came to the door.

“Father’s right. You don’t want to give her any excuse to cry off.”

The men left the room. Alex and Edwin lingered behind.

“I want what you have, Alex. A home, land, a woman. I want it all.”

“Edwin, Mother’s property and income are already yours. Do you really want more?”

Edwin looked at him, a pained expression on his face. “It isn’t enough.”

“My challenge was to overcome my excessive pride and to know the value of my own worth. I completed my quest but I almost lost Lisbeth.”

“It isn’t enough.” The young man went on ahead.

Alex looked after his brother. Greed would be his challenge. He hoped Edwin would do well. But now there were more important things for him to take care of. He squared his shoulders, opened the door to the Great Hall, took his place, and waited for his bride.

* * *

“Lord Alex.” Philip announced and ushered Alex in front of a solid man in elegant robes. Bennett and Cameron joined him.

“Kneel sir,” the cleric, sword in hand, demanded of Alex. “Kneel and prepare for the sword of courage. Take your rightful place and humble yourself before your king and maker. As you bravely and solemnly come here today, you have shown to all present that you are worthy and ready to care for this woman, Lisbeth, you have chosen from this day forward. To take thy woman’s hand is an act of bravery only supplanted by the call to arms. Do you understand and accept this, sir?”

“Yes, I understand.”

The robed man easily handled the sword. “Three times I tap thee, once in the name of our king...”

A shout rang up from the attending audience.

“...once in the name of our bishop, and once in the name of our holy protector. Now that you have knelt and been christened and tapped, I declare thee ready to receive your bride. Now this is the day and time appointed for betrothal, Lord Alex and Lady Lisbeth are here with family, friends, and neighbors, standing together.”

* * *

“Lass, Wesley and Darla would be proud,” Jamie whispered while they stood waiting to enter.

Lisbeth looked up at Jamie, tears filling her lids. Unable to speak, she squeezed his arm.

“I knew all along you two were perfect for each other.”

She followed his gaze to a pair of satchels that stood in the entranceway. “He promised he would bring me back to the lodge himself when the threat was over.”

Jamie flashed a concerned look.

She smoothed her skirt and fixed the circlet of pears she wore. “We leave after the wedding feast. We’ll be back here in a fortnight.”

“I knew he was a man of his word.” He kissed her forehead. “I like him even more.”

The door opened. Everyone turned as Lisbeth glided into the room wearing her magenta-and-gold gown.

“She’s exquisite,” she heard Alex mutter under his breath.

“Indeed,” Cameron, his best man, agreed.

The service was a blur. She had eyes only for Alex. The next thing she knew she was in his arms. The ceremony over, they stood with everyone around them with a goblet of wine in their hands.

“Alex, a toast to your new bride,” demanded Jamie.

Alex searched Lisbeth’s eyes “Mine,” he said in a tender voice. The room was hushed.

Lisbeth put down their goblets. “Forever,” she replied and sealed their oaths with a kiss.

* * * * *