The Gorgon (42 page)

"Ha!" came the
triumphant cry. "Think not to escape me again, wench, for now I have
you!"

Hair hanging wildly in her face,
Summer managed to right herself, struggling ferociously against the iron grip
to her arm. Through all of the twisting and gasping and retrained screams, her
hair moved from her vision and she suddenly found herself face to face with
Breck Kerry.

He smiled lewdly at her, a smile
she had come to hate terribly over the past three days. Instinctively, without
thought, she brought a clawed hand to bear on his pimpled face and with a
powerful, vicious surge, raked her sharp nails across his reddened cheek in an
act of self-defense.

Breck screamed like a woman,
releasing his hold on her arm. Whimpering in panic, Summer stumbled away from
him, struggling with every ounce of strength to reach Bose as he engaged
several men on the chalky dirt road. Crying his name, fumbling in a blind
panic, she was entirely focused on his armored charger when something grabbed
her about the ankles. Falling heavily, Breck's bleeding, furious face loomed
over her and she opened her mouth to scream at the terrible sight of him.

A scream of terror that never
came as a blow to the head jarred her into blissful darkness. Heaving and
panting, Breck grabbed his unconscious quarry by the arms, slinging her limp
form over his shoulder. He began to shout Bose's name, struggling to be heard
over the sounds of battle. But no amount of shouting would gain him the man's
attention until Bose happened to turn in his direction, his panicked black eyes
searching for his wife. He found her lying across Breck Kerry's shoulder.

His sword clattered to the
ground. The shield did not and he fought off several heavy blows before Breck's
order to cease was obeyed. Slowly, the mass of men came to an unsteady halt as
all concerned focused on the red-haired knight bearing the lifeless lady. And
none more focused upon the man's face than Bose himself.

The shield fell beside the
discarded sword as Bose swiftly dismounted, shoving his fist into the face of a
man who attempted to stop him. As the wounded soldier fell away, Bose's black
eyes were smoldering as he focused on Breck.

"Give her to me." It
was not a request; it was a command.

Shifting Summer's weight, Breck
wiped at the blood on his cheek. "I have come to claim my bride, de Moray,
and to escort you back to Chaldon to stand trial for thievery."

Bose maintained his advance on
the small man, shoving aside another soldier who was foolish enough to get in
his way. Ignoring the knight's statement, he extended his arms demandingly.

"Give her to me now."

Breck stumbled back, away from
the approaching knight, tripping over his feet in the process. Bose seemed to
lose a measure of his composure as Breck struggled to regain his balance,
fearful that his wife would be dropped to the unforgiving ground below. He
slowed his advance somewhat, but not entirely. He meant to regain Summer and
was determined to accomplish his goal.

"Come no closer, de Moray,
or I might not be able to keep your lover from falling to the ground the next
time," his threat was confident. "There is no way to know what she
would strike upon landing. Her head. Her beautiful face. Would you see her come
to ruin?"

Bose's expression darkened as he
slowed his pace. "You damnable bastard," he growled, an accusation
and not a display of emotion. "You've no quarrel against her. Give her to
me this instant."

Breck cocked an eyebrow.
"Not until I extract a promise first."

Bose came to a stop. Standing a
few feet in front of Breck, there was nothing more he could say or do to turn
the situation in his favor. Already, the circumstance was out of control.

"What is it?"

Breck eyed him. "I will
return her to you for safekeeping if you promise to return to Chaldon
peacefully. Do I have your vow in the matter?"

"Aye."

"Any deviation will be
swiftly met. Against the lady, of course."

"I gave you my word, Kerry.
Now give me my wife."

Breck's eyebrows rose in genuine
surprise. "Wife? Do... do you mean to tell me that you have actually
married her?"

Bose regained some of his lost
composure as Breck seemed to falter, focusing on the startled man with a true
conviction. "She was my betrothed before she was erroneously pledged to
you," he said coolly. "Did you truly believe I would abduct her from Chaldon
for any other reason but to marry her? To consummate our marriage so that you
could never have her? A foolish belief if those were indeed your hopes, Kerry.
I have done all of that and more."

Breck's red face washed a deeper
shade of color. "I... I knew you left Chaldon to elude me, of course. But
I also knew, eventually, you would have to return to Ravendark and therein
would lie your capture." Taking a deep breath, he shifted Summer again
upon his tiring shoulder. "After you are executed for your deed, I will
annul the marriage and the lady will become my legal wife. And I shall take
pleasure in endeavoring to erase all memory of you upon her mind and body.
Especially her body."

His men chuckled rudely but Bose
refused to react. Consummately controlled, he maintained a steady expression.

"I have given you my vow to
return peacefully to Chaldon," he rumbled. "You will give me my
wife."

Still chortling with his
lascivious thoughts, Breck shifted Summer's body from his armored shoulder and
practically threw the woman into Bose's waiting arms. Cradling his wife to him
tenderly, his heart sank when he noticed blood trickling from her left ear.

"God's Beard," he
muttered, smoothing the hair away from her pale face. "She needs a physic,
Kerry. I have a man who tends my soldiers and..."

Breck waved him off
disinterestedly, more concerned with regaining his wandering charger.
"We've no time to spare. The surgeon at Chaldon will attend her."

For the first time since the
ambush, Bose's cheeks colored with his surging fury and concern. "For the
sake of Mercy, Kerry, allow me to send to Ravendark for my surgeon. He's less
than two miles away and I refuse to allow Summer to be carried over miles,
injured, simply because you are intent to return me to Chaldon as soon as
possible. She needs to be tended to immediately."

An obedient soldier had captured
Breck's unruly charger, handing the reins to his smug liege. "If she is
still breathing, she can make it back to Chaldon. Moreover, your surgeon will
have his hands full when your men hap across the patrol I was forced to subdue.
The patrol that was waiting for you, I suspect, to escort you home."

Bose's expression hardened.
Momentarily diverted from Summer's injured state, he found himself disturbed by
Breck's callous statement; no wonder a welcoming escort of soldiers had not
await him as he approached the fortress. Kerry had disposed of them all in his
murderous determination to capture their evasive liege.  "Subdue? Or
murder?"

Breck mounted his great beast.
"I had no choice but to disable them. Not only would they have made your
capture quite difficult, but they would have alerted the troops within
Ravendark's walls to my presence. I could not take that chance."

Bose sighed faintly, with tremendous
disgust. "Where are my men, Kerry? What have you done with them?"

Breck tilted his head toward the
southeast. "In the woods beyond. Adgar put up an admirable fight, but he
was simply overwhelmed by our number. A shame, truly. He was a fine knight."

Bose closed his eyes tightly,
briefly, in a painful display of emotion. Adgar Ross, a knight whose
intelligence and wisdom had been an immense source of comfort, had been a great
asset to Bose's company of fighting men. Already, Bose missed the man and his
quiet sense of humor and as the news filtered deep into his heart, the more
enraged he became at the senseless, needless action.

"You did not have to kill
him," his bass-toned voice was scarcely audible. "'Twas me you
wanted. There was no need to take Adgar's life."

Breck gathered his reins, fussing
with the leather straps. "Aye, it was completely necessary," he
replied carelessly, gesturing for his men to escort the two captives to de
Moray's subdued charger. "Mount up, Sir Bose. If we ride hard, we can make
it to Chaldon come sunrise and be done with this unpleasantness."

Bose stared at the sinister
knight, feeling the piercing jab of a collection of broadswords against his
backside. Afraid Summer would be taken from him if he did not comply, he kissed
her softly and gathered his reins as an escort of armed men surrounded him.

The horses began to move and
Summer abruptly stirred, breaking Bose from his train of thought. Features
etched with great concern, he patted her cheek lightly in an attempt to bring
her out of unconsciousness.

"Summer?" he whispered,
kissing the hand that flailed against his face. "Can you hear me, love?
Open your eyes and look at me."

She sighed raggedly, batting at
the left side of her head. "Bose?" she murmured thickly. "What...
what ha-happened?"

Her golden eyes rolled open,
glazed and cloudy and he smiled, partially with relief and partially to ease
her dazed mind. "A small setback, love. Nothing to worry over. We are
returning to Chaldon."

The half-lidded eyes suddenly
opened wide. "Breck!" she gasped, her hand still to the left side of
her head. "He f-found us! He grabbed me and...Good Lord, my head hurts
terribly."

A massive hand stroked her hair
gently as Bose attempted to mask his anxiety; a blow to the head, no matter how
weak or insignificant, was not a good thing and he struggled to contain his
concerned demeanor. "I know, love. I am sorry I could not protect you
better."

Rubbing at her ear, she shushed
him softly. In spite of her throbbing head, she was coming to think rationally
and she sat up slightly, the sway of the horse and the pounding inside her
skull causing her stomach to twist.

"You were correct all
along," she murmured, glancing about at the Kerry guards and swallowing
her nausea. "Breck and my father were indeed on our trail. But I d-do not
see any du Bonne men. Where are they?"

Bose shook his head, holding her
tightly, protectively, as she endeavored to sit upright on his thighs.
"There aren't any," his reply was soft. "'Twould seem that only
Breck and his troops have managed to capture us. I'd be very interested to know
where Edward du Bonne's interests lie in all of this."

"Where my f-father is
concerned, it is difficult to know," she shifted slightly, attempting to
find a measure of comfort as her upset stomach and dismal thoughts took hold.
"What will happen n-now?"

Behind her, she felt his heavy
sigh on the top of her head. "Breck intends to return me to Chaldon to
stand trial for thievery. You, I would assume, will be held at the fortress
until my trial is over and the sentencing is carried out."

She did not like the sound of his
response. Fighting off dread and panic, she clutched at the massive arm wound
tightly around her waist. "Good Lord, B-Bose, what does that mean? What
sentence?"

"Probably death."

Her body stiffened and he clapped
a hand over her mouth before the scream could escape her lips. Mouth pressed
close to her ear, Bose's breath was hot upon her flesh.

"Calm yourself, love. You
know as well as I that Stephan will not allow this to happen. God willing,
neither will your father when he sees the truth of the matter," when he
saw the splatter of tears on his armored gauntlet, he squeezed her gently.
"No tears, Summer. Please. I need you to be calm and brave for me, love.
We've far too much ahead of us to allow emotions to interfere with our
determination."

Although she sobbed softly once
or twice, she nonetheless endeavored to dry her eyes. "You n-never said
y-you would b-b-be ki..k-killed. You n-never s-said...."

He squeezed her tightly, silencing
her stammering words. "But you knew it was entirely probable that I would
be tried for the crime of abducting you, be it kidnap or robbery or thievery.
But the fact that we have consummated our marriage will weigh heavily in our
favor. If I am forced to answer to the charges and the magistrate rules in our
favor, at the very worst I'll be ordered to repay your dowry to Breck in
compensation for the loss of his bride."

She sniffled pathetically.
"B-But if you are found guilty, they'll do what they do to all thieves.
They'll... t-t-they'll execute you."

Bose did not reply, eyeing Breck
as the man turned around and noticed that Summer had regained consciousness.
When the pock-faced knight returned his attention to the road ahead, Bose
endeavored to answer his wife's fearful statement. "You knew this from the
inception, love. With all that we have undertaken, you've always known the
potential consequences. Why panic now?"

"B-Because we weren't
captured before. And b-because I believed you would return us to Ravendark
before Breck or my father could find us. I suppose I never truly believed we
would be facing these circumstances."

He was quiet for a moment.
"Then I am sorry to have disappointed you," his voice was husky.
"I suppose I was a victim of my own confidence. I, too, believed we could
make it to the safety of Ravendark and thereby elude capture. Yet with
everything that could potentially befall us, I believed my marriage to you to
far outweigh the repercussions of our actions. You were the only matter of
import."