The Lethal Flame (Flame Series) (19 page)

“Keri,” Charles said, as he sank his bulk into the chair next to him.  “You have seen her, is she well?” he asked eagerly.  “How do you know her?”

Damien’s frown stopped the questions.  Charles had welcomed him graciously into his home but all he could do now was take a deep breath and tell him of killing his son-in-law, imprisoning his only child, and then his inaction that resulted in Keri being carted off to be tried as a witch. 

“Tell me Sir Damien, did you come here to kill me?”

Damien looked away, down at the table, at the grain of the wood, the way it looped and swirled about in an organized yet chaotic way.  Isn’t that what his life had become, chaos he tried his best to bring order to? He redirected his gaze back toward Keri’s father, “I came under the King’s order.”

“Do you do all that the king asks of you?”

“Do you not,” Damien countered with steel in his voice.  “I am a knight in direct service to the king, it is what I do.”

“What of her children?” he asked scowling at him.  “A boy and a girl wasn’t it?”

“How is it that you do not know?”

“I have only heard news, she did not leave here making plans for family reunions,” the man replied sadly.  He waved his hand, “the children?” he urged.

“I sent them to safety.”

The man looked surprised.  “What would make it unsafe for the children?”

“Tell me first how it is you do not know your grandchildren.”

The man before him sighed and appeared to age before his very eyes.  “I did not raise Keri as one would a typical lady.  I let her train with my men, she hunted with us, and she was always at my side as a son would be.  Longer, actually, since she was not sent away to complete service.  When the king ordered her married I realized my mistake too late.  She left here hating me, promising to never forgive me.”

Damien took a deep breath and plunged in, telling Keri’s father what he knew of his daughter’s marriage and finally of the accusations she was a witch.

“Richard asked about your granddaughter Waverly.  That and Kennet’s young age makes them both targets until this is all settled.”

“All settled?” Charles asked.  “Will it be settled when my daughter is dead?  Is that what you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Damien admitted ashamed that he did not have a plan.  “They are well but I told Richard they died at Langley.”  Why had he let this man know he had lied to the king?  Though he was Keri’s dad he did not know yet if he was friend or foe, just like his daughter.

“Why would you help Keri’s children?  What’s in it for you?”

“Despite the things I have done in the name of the king I could not stand by and let harm come to her children.”

Charles stared at the knight sitting beside him.  It was obvious his daughter had some kind of hold over him. The stories told of the man hanging rebels and the lords that allowed them refuge then burning their keeps down around them did not sound like a man who would bother to save his grandchildren.  He had to wonder what happened between his daughter and this rough edged knight beside him.  Not anything of significance since he let her go.  So where did that leave him in getting her back?

Hours later Charles found sleep elusive and made his way to the hearth in the antechamber  designed to accommodate the lord and his guests without having to converse In the main hall.  By the giant hearth Damien stood staring into the flames making it look small in comparison to his solid frame before it.  At first he did not realize he had company but when he did he swung quickly, his sword arm ready to jump into action.  He only halfway relaxed as Charles moved closer.  He watched him with a cool indifference that was disconcerting before turning away to watch the flames once again.

“Troubles on your mind?” Charles asked stopping behind him.

A humorless laugh escaped the knight as he shook his head.

“How long did you say you were with Keri?”

Slowly Damien turned, his eyes calculating.  “What difference does it make?” he asked sounding almost defensive.

Charles shrugged, “Just wondering if you had a chance to get to know my daughter.  What kind of marriage she had before you…,
” he halted and looked up at Damien.  “Well, before you killed her husband.”

The man’s dark brows pulled together in a scowl.  “Two moons,” he suggested and seemed surprised by the answer.  “As for killing her husband I did her and all humanity a favor.”

Charles did not think Damien would ever appreciate all the information he gleaned from that one statement but he knew the man cared a great deal for his daughter.  “So what are you doing here Sir Damien?” Charles asked matter-of-factly.

“I told you,” Damien nearly snapped at him.

“You told me why the king sent you.  You just have not told me why you are here and not trying to get Keri back.”

Damien’s scowl deepened.  “To get her back would go against the king’s direct order.”

“How so?” Charles asked unaware the dangerous waters he was treading.

“Because he sent me after rebels here, and ordered her taken to Kirk for trial.”

“So you will stay here to fight rebels who do not exist while Keri stands alone to face the fire?”

“She is not my responsibility,” Damien stated angrily.

“You took her home, her husband, and her children.  I bet you have even bedded her.”

The knight jerked as if he had been struck.

“Do you have any feelings for my daughter?”  Charles’s voice had dropped from confrontational to conciliatory.

A battle exploded inside Damien’s head.  “I am servant to the king first.”

“So you used Keri?” Charles asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.  Charles was trying to figure out if his daughter was inconsequential to Damien or his Achilles heel.

Damien refused to look at him and was obviously growing uncomfortable under his scrutiny if his sudden inability to remain still was any indication.

“Did you use my daughter?” Charles snapped.  “Answer me you cur!”

Damien turned toward him a smile raised the corner of his mouth and
he finally shook his head. 

“How could you let them take her?”

Damien looked at him then looked quickly away with a shrug that told him nothing and yet everything.

“Do you want her back?”

Again silence was Charles’s only answer.

“Do you want my daughter back?” Charles yelled stepping closer.

Uncomfortably Damien looked down at him with a scowl etching deep furrows across his brow and he knew he could not conceal the sorrow threatening to rip his heart out from showing in his eyes. 

“Do you?”

“Yes!” Damien replied with the vehemence of a man who had lost all his strength.  “I want her back,” he continued in a near whisper.  “I have never wanted anything in my life like I want her.”  He walked to a nearby chair and sank into it.  “I’m scared to death and I don’t know why?”

Charles took the seat across from Damien.  “Are you afraid you’ll lose your position with the king?”

Damien nodded his head.

“Are you afraid your enemies will see you with Keri and see your weakness?”  Again Damien nodded.

“Are you afraid now that you have let her go, you’ll never see her again?”

Forlorn eyes fell on Charles but the man did not answer.

“We all have our weaknesses.  Some more obvious than others.  But to have a weakness is to be human.”

Damien slammed his fist down on the chair arm and the sound reverberated around the chamber as he shot to his feet.  “I don’t want a weakness.  I don’t want to feel this…  I don’t want this…,” he stammered swinging on Charles wanting desperately for someone to save him from his own torment. 

“Do you want to forget her?  To forget you ever knew her, to forget the time you spent with her.”

Charles could tell t
he question knifed through the younger man.  Never would Damien want to know a life without Keri. 

“Prepare your men to leave at dawn,” Charles said.  “We’ll ride for Kirk and put an end to this and we’ll kill anyone who stands in or way.”  Charles nodded as if he had just convinced himself of what needed to be done, then turned made his way back to his chamber. 

~   ~   ~   ~

A million hammers rang in Keri’s head when she first came awake.  She tried to turn quickly but arms caged her.  She heaved, her eyes rolling back into her head unable to make sense of what was happening to her.  The hands roughly flipped her over just in time for her stomach to relieve itself.  She saw the ground, the legs of the horse, felt the movement under her, felt the bones of the legs she lay across digging into her ribcage while a hand fisted in her hair in order to hold her head up and not vomit on him or the horse.  Liam.  Blackness rushed up and enveloped her again. 

The chill of the morning woke her, how many mornings had passed she did not know.  No blanket or comfort was given her.  She was merely pulled from the horse and left on the ground in the vicinity of the fire.  Liam sat across from her, watching her, twisting his dagger round and round in his hand, pressing a finger to the point of it from time to time.

After a moment the nauseousness thankfully left her and she raised herself to a sitting position, leafs clinging to her hair. 

“Well, well, if it’s not the little warrior,” Liam said with a great deal of disdain in his voice.  One of the men who had taken her from Haltwhistle chuckled. 

She remembered when she was only a child Liam had declared he would wed her one day and she would stop with her boyish ways.  Stop wearing boy’s clothes, stop training with the boys, stop riding and most importantly to stop playing with Alec and comport herself as a lady.  She vowed she would never and he had backhanded her.  It was the first time she had ever been struck in such a manner.  She had fought, landed and taken many blows but never had any of her opponents resorted to such a tactic.  She had been furious, had attacked him with her feet and fists but they had not been of any use against a boy so much larger than she.  Laying there near him made her want to try again.

“What do you want Liam?”

The man laughed.  “It’s amazing how things change.  When I left Bewcastle all I wanted in the world was to see your father and Alec pay for what they did.  Now that Alec is dead I find that’s not enough.  I want Charles to see you and his entire line wiped from the face of the earth before he dies.”

“All this because he sent you away?”

“You do not know what it was like after I was sent away,”  he said leaning forward so the changing light of morning played across his features turning them more angular, disconcerting because it made his face appear demonic.  “The things I had to do.  But one such as you would never understand.”

“You’re right,” Keri said.  “I would never know what it’s like to be a spineless worm.”

Keri had a moment of satisfaction as Liam sat before her speechless then a sardonic grin crossed his features.  “I cannot wait to see you under my blade.”

“We all have our dreams.”

Liam shot to his feet, the anger molted his skin with splotches of red as the light of day made its appearance.  Keri had to wonder if this might be her last day to see a sunrise.

Chapter 13

Damien stared down at the manacles in his hands.  The snow swirled around him and in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but think the harsh winter had arrived.  When he had first started on his journey he had hoped he would be done with his task by now and ensconced at a warm keep somewhere with plenty of food and a soft bed to get him through winter.  He had spent far too many winters freezing and going hungry on a battlefield.  Now that hope seemed insignificant, was it just two moons ago he had ridden on Langley and saw the vision of courage atop the battlements.  He prayed for her courage now because he felt fear rushing in on him, what would he do if he never found her?   He became furious with himself, with his decision to ride away from her that day and not slay those men who wanted to take her from him.

The shifting of the men behind him sent desperation spiraling through him.  What were his options?  His mind would not turn fast enough but he knew it had to work quickly because Keri was out there somewhere.  Was she alone?  Despite the fighter she was, being alone was still a very dangerous prospect for one of her gender.  If she was alone she would be looking for her children but he was the only one who knew where they were.  Was she out there looking for him now?  Would she go back to Haltwhistle?

The muffled crunch of footsteps sounded beside him.  “The men have found a body,” Charles’s voice said breaking into the panic of his mind.

“Four men took her from Haltwhistle,” he said turning to Charles who seemed to have his faculties together despite his missing daughter.  Damien on the other hand felt like rushing to his horse and climbing on his back and riding as hard as he could.  The problem was where would he go?  Where was Keri?

“Let’s ride to Kirk,” Charles said turning away.  Did the man know he, the mighty warrior, was incapable of making a decision?  How did he get to this point?  How could one woman bring him to his knees?

He went to his horse and mounted, surprisingly content to follow Keri’s father hoping beyond all hope he would lead them to Keri.

~   ~   ~   ~

Damien was surprised at the older man’s stamina, they rode hard toward Kirk, arriving there in a day and a half.  Plenty enough time for his senses to come back to him and he was ready for a fight so Charles’s order for the two armies to stay back came as a surprise and immediately his anger escalated.

“Why do we leave are men?” he gritted out.

“We don’t even know if Allister has her,” Charles explained in the face of his fury.  He had grown to like Damien and respected him for he had been listening to the stories his men told of their battles.  He saw the great warrior led firmly but fairly.  But what won him over was this man’s passion for his daughter.  It was that passion he saw now.

“This is why we must take down his walls and know for ourselves.”

Charles patiently shook his head.  “Why risk your men and the lives of innocents when the battle need not take place?  If we take only a handful the gates will likely not be closed against us.  The last I heard Allister is a loyal subject to Richard.

“You will go dine at the man’s table and drink ale with him?  He has gone to great lengths to see your daughter burn at the stake.”

“The men stay here,” he said firmly.  As an afterthought he said, “You can too.”

Damien shook his head, calming the fight he had in him. 

They were ushered into the main hall and given seats of honor upon the dais then were told Lord Allister would be along shortly.    This gave the two men a chance to look about themselves.  The hall was immaculate, appearing as if it was scrubbed from top to bottom daily along with everything in it.  Ale was brought to them by two comely serving wenches whose dresses were also well cleaned and cared for.  They brought out pitchers and mugs of ale, and a tray of bread and cheese but neither spoke, they did their jobs quietly then retreated far enough they could not hear what transpired at the head table until beckoned.

When Allister arrived in the hall a young woman followed in his wake then veered toward the kitchens.  Allister went to the two who had served them, said something that made one dart quickly away.  Neither had spoken nor offered curtsies or any other such acknowledgment to the man’s position.  The man could be considered handsome in a stiff kind of way with perfectly combed hair, immaculate clothing down to his boots to match the immaculate hall Damien noted.  He also noticed the way he moved and knew this man had once carried a shield and sword and still trained often. 

“Lord Charles,” the man said stepping to the table to greet his guests.  Charles had stood but Damien refused, lounging nearly insolently in his seat. 

Allister noticed immediately and a tick jerked his mouth upward in disapproval but no other sign of his ire showed until his blue eyes met Damien’s.  The flash of anger he saw there was enough to make anyone uneasy, Damien saw it as a challenge.

“What brings you to Kirk?” Allister asked taking his seat opposite them.

“I came to see my daughter before her trial.”

Bitterness washed over the man’s face.  “The Lady Keri never arrived.  I assu
med some foul play occurred because the men who were to escort her never arrived either.”

Damien didn’t like him.  He did not like the way he sat with his back ramrod straight and his shoulders back.  He didn’t like the cold calculation he saw nor the quick flashes of fury the man tried to conceal.  Most of all he did not like this man because he wished harm upon Keri.  The way his mouth ticked and his eyes filled with deep seated hate showed his true character as a sore loser.

“Are you sure she isn’t now hidden away in your dungeon?” Damien asked, his posture remained relaxed but he was anything but.

“Who are you?” the man asked crisply but his eyes fell onto the
plates that were being sat down before them.

“I am Sir Damien Le Forte.”

The girl who had entered the hall with Allister advanced to the table quietly to refill their tankards.  Allister seemingly had dismissed Damien because he seized the server’s wrist and held her firmly as a small gasp escaped her.  “This is not fresh bread,” he said as if he were talking to a child.  He pointed to the bread, “I want what cook will take from the ovens next or has just taken from them.”

“Yes my lord,” she said quickly, barely audible but Damien heard fear there.

He released her wrist and she hastily began to gather the trays she had just sat down.

“Leave them,” he snapped and the girl jumped, upsetting the contents of Charles’s
tray, spilling the bread onto the table.

In a flash Allister was out of his chair had the woman by her wrists and was pulling it painfully downward as the woman tried to remain standing.  Damien could see as the Lord moved her away from the table that the girl was trying to control the sobs that threatened.  All the way to the kitchen door he dragged her and then they disappeared.  It was a few moments later before Allister reappeared followed by one of the servers bearing a fresh tray of bread.

He came back to the table and took a seat and as if the conversation had not been interrupted said, “Sir Damien, I’ve heard of you.  King Richard’s champion and some would say henchman.”  He lifted his mug and drank, even that was a carefully controlled action.

Damien stared at him and repeated the question calmly, “Where is the Lady Keri?”

“I do not know where she is,” he said, his voice less controlled, his eyes flashed his fury.

“The men
who were to escort her, were they your men?” Charles interjected.

“Yes, Richard could not spare any men to bring her here.”

“Why are you going through this trouble?”

“Quite frankly I would be interested to see if this woman is a witch.  I find the creatures an abomination.”

“The men you sent, who were they?” Charles asked as if he were having an idle conversation with an old friend.

Allister shrugged, “I do not remember their names.  Two worked my dungeons but the other two were displaced knights from Flamborough.”

Was it a coincidence?  He had burned Flamborough, killed the lord who was openly disdainful of Richard.  What were the chances that two of the men who served there would have come for Keri?  Damien was ready to jump into action but again he found himself at a loss as to which direction to take.  He just knew he could not sit idly by with news of this magnitude.  This large of a threat to Keri.

It took all his patience to remain seated.  How he wanted to knock a few teeth down Allister’s throat if nothing else.  “You don’t believe she’s a witch any more than we do,” Damien accused hoping to bait the man.

“The trials will tell us what we need to know,” Allister stated flatly.

“Sir Damien, I think we found what we came for,” Charles said cheerfully as if there wasn’t a war ready to begin between the two men remaining at the table, the air crackling with tension.

Allister stood slowly, his hands clinched in fists and his eyes nearly bulged from his head as he stepped from the dais.  He was a man close to snapping and Damien was eager for the fight.

“It was good seeing you again Lord Allister,” Charles said as he nearly took hold of Damien’s arm to pull him away but thought better of it at the last minute.  Damien followed Charles, knowing Allister was not the man who could get Keri back and would be a waste of time.  Charles he hoped would have a plan because he felt the frustration building because he himself did not.

~   ~   ~   ~

“Where are you taking me?” Keri asked for what had to be the thousandth time that day.  They did not head toward Bewcastle, of that she was sure.  Liam continued to ignore her as he sharpened his dagger.  The man was obsessed with the little weapon, it was almost eerie to watch him stroke it with what appeared to be reverence. 

“You are the biggest pig’s ass,” she declared losing her patience with him.

Cold blue eyes filled with malice looked up at her from underneath the red and gold lashes that were the most attractive thing about the man’s face. 

“Is your plan so pitiful you are afraid to tell me?  Or perhaps you have no plan at all.”  At his continued silence she nodded, “That’s it isn’t it?  You have shit for brains and can’t come up with a real plan.”  Her voice was mocking and she saw the rage spread across his face.

“I have changed my mind.  I take you to Prince John.”

“Why?” Keri’s mind raced for an answer to her question.  What would the king’s brother want with her?

“To get my land back and have a place in John’s court.  He will reward me greatly if I help bring the infamous Damien Le Forte to his knees and it will be my pleasure for he took Flamborough from me.”

“You are not man enough to make him so much as flinch, let alone bring him to his knees.”

“Oh my naïve little friend,” he said with that mocking sneer.  “You are all I need to destroy him.”

Coldness seeped into her limbs and she narrowed her eyes in an effort to show this man before her that his words did not shock her.  They were using her as a weapon against Damien.  How could she allow such a thing?  Surely he did not care for her so much that she could be used against him. 

Keri laughed with genuine mirth.  “You are the village idiot,” she declared and the scorn came out.  “You always were the joke of Bewcastle.  The one who people teased just to see how far they could push you and your craziness.”

He flew at her, his rage made him sloppy and she got a kick in to his side that nearly doubled him over.   She made a grab for the knife but he knew what she was after and turned away so she could not grab it.  His fist caught her in the side of the head and she felt herself falling into an abyss.

~   ~   ~   ~

By the time the men made it back to Haltwhistle it was to find a missive from the king waiting on Damien.  He doubted Allister had had time to get a message of complaint to the king’s ears let alone for it to have arrived already summoning him to the king’s side.  It was decided Damien would go to the king, Cyrille and Charles would continue to search for Keri while Roland stayed to keep Haltwhistle secure until the king could send a new lord.

They left shortly after arriving.  Damien felt the need to make the journey with all do haste and hoped to not be far behind Charles and Cyrille.  He travelled only with Edwin and extra horses to make their journey quicker.  He wanted no delays and they arrived in Winchester within a couple days.

An excruciating two more days were spent waiting for the king to deign to meet with him after he had been sent for.  He controlled his temper as he was ushered into the throne room.

“Sir Damien how did you find matters at Bewcastle?” the King asked.

“Your holding is in the very capable and loyal hands of Lord Charles.” 

“Good to hear,” Richard replied with a satisfied nod of his head.

“There seems to be a situation at Wolverton.  There are not only speculations that Lord Melvin is planning a revolt but an entire take over since he is some distant relative of my fathers, or so he claims.”

“Wolverton your highness?”  His mind jumped with rage.  That was farther away from Keri and the danger she was in.