The Lords of Valdeon (43 page)

"We have company, my prince!"

Marcellus gestured to the west. An ebony airship sailed low upon the horizon, its hull skipping inches above the cliffs. The sails swelled like storm clouds against the clearing sky. A massive crimson beast bared its fangs from their folds. Julian’s new allies from the north — the Jackal — had somehow followed them. It wasn't too difficult to guess who had led them to Marianna. He'd hoped they'd lost their changeling nanny in the streets of San Leonora. Curse the foul creature and may it meet a painful end!

Marcellus shifted uneasily beside him. "Are you certain these men are our allies, my prince?"

"I'm certain of nothing when it comes to Lord Gorman. These Jackal have grown too attentive. Take us in all haste to the fields beyond the airship port. I have a Lion to cage."

Chapter Thirty-Eight

They found the door to the McCloud home open. Emma, her cloak trailing wet upon the floor, stood just inside the house. Her eyes were riveted upon the closed door of the headmaster's study. Body tense and teeth bared, she kept still like a huntress trying desperately not to startle a thicket of pheasant.

"Emma?"

She turned to Seth, relief swimming in her eyes. Emma came to him. Her strong fingers dug into his arms. Then her gaze was drawn to his left hand where the Lion Ring glistened under the bright lamplight. Shaking her head, she dropped her chin to her chest. Moaning like a wounded beast, she let her hands fall away.

"You have taken up your father's ring then."

Gone was the friendly singsong tone of the woman from Horner Isle. Harsh Tslavic vowels stabbed into his heart just as surely as her lies. She looked at him at last. In her features was stony acceptance. This was a version of Emma he'd never met.

"I cannot say I am pleased, but it is a man's life you've chosen." Her smile was fleeting when Seth made no reply. "You've come for Pavel. He's shut inside his den. Have a care, Seth. He's a cornered beast and as such is more dangerous."

"Riley, will you fetch the constable? Justice is overlong in coming to Pavel Sandor."

Riley came to stand by his shoulder. "Emma's right, Seth. He's a killer. You have a care now."

He passed through the open door and hurried toward the police station across the square. The smart thing to do was to wait until he returned with Constable McTavish. Seth wasn't inclined to wait. Sandor was going to explain a few things or be very sorry he hadn't.

The door handle wasn't locked when he turned it. Seth pushed open the door. A cheery fire burned in the grate, sending shadows dancing upon the walls. The false headmaster sat in his chair behind the desk as he always did during the evenings. Despite his bleeding shoulder, it was almost as if Fergus McCloud had not transformed into Andara's deadliest assassin. Then the man looked at him with the cold eyes of a killer. He lifted a pistol from under the desk and held it toward them.

"Tell me who you really are."

"Not Fergus McCloud, if that’s what you mean." Sandor's eyes narrowed as a spiteful grin came to his lips. "Oh, there was such a man. I met him on the airship headed to Marianna. He was thrilled to be embarking on an adventure. I ended his adventure quickly. No one will ever find that body."

"I'll cut the head off this vile snake!" Dante reached for his dagger.

Sandor stretched out the pistol and aimed it in a perfect line toward Dante's head. "Patience, Lion's squire. Your turn will come soon enough. Test my patience further and we will have done with you now."

Seth stepped between them, pulling the killer's attention back upon him. Sandor's laugh exploded in obscene shrills.

"Shocked? You think me a monster? Remember, we’re related. I am your Mother’s cousin, after all. Stifle your Islander Puritanism, boy. Rest assured, I never touched your sainted mother. Though I wanted her, she would not let me so much as touch her hand." Pavel’s eyes grew distant. "I hoped she would learn to love me eventually. How could I compete with you, the Leo’s child? You were a constant reminder I was not her lover."

All these years, Sandor had seen Seth as a rival for Anne's affection. His incestuous desire and playacting as another man for decades must have driven him mad.

"If you loved my mother, why did you poison her?"

"Loved? What a child you are. She wanted to leave and make a mockery of all our sacrifices. I gave her a kinder justice than the one she would have found on Andara. Do you know what they do to treacherous women who carry babes of mixed Tslavian and Valdeonian blood such as yours, half-breed?" Pavel gave him a disgusted sneer. "They tie these traitors to a boulder and push the stone into the nearest body of water. If by some miracle the mother escapes and gives birth to such an abomination, the baby is poisoned."

"Tslavians are cruel creatures." He slapped an angry fist against his leg. After all he'd learned about control in the past few weeks, he'd failed to stop the man from goading him.

"My countrymen at least give the bastard children a merciful death. Valdeonians bury the babes alive. Ask the Lion's squire. He cannot deny it."

Dante turned from Seth's gaze. His jaw tightened as he shot Sandor a murderous glare. It was true then. Seth shook his head and took a step back. What kind of a world was he about to enter?

"Our ranger overseer has stopped me from killing you all these years, but even he can’t protect you now. You see, I have new friends. They understand my need to leave these cursed Isles. I will return to my holdings in Tslavia and back to my old life." Sandor's finger tightened on the trigger. "Goodbye, Seth. Give my best to your mother when you see her."

"My father will avenge me."

"I very much doubt it."

Sandor grunted, dropping the pistol to the ground. A knife jutted from his shoulder in the very spot Leo had wounded him. He glared at a point in the room to their right. Screaming with powerless rage, he dove for the pistol. Seth was quicker. He kicked the weapon toward Dante, who picked it up and aimed it at Sandor.

"You always were overly fond of your own voice, Pavel. It is my pleasure to remind you who is really the deadliest assassin in Andara." Emma crouched in a warrior's stance beside the wall, a second dagger at the ready in her sure hand. "Never turn your back on me, my husband."

She moved on graceful feet to stand beside Seth. Taking his hand, she squeezed it fondly. Emma was another soul who'd given her life to protect him. He remembered the cold indifference Sandor had shown her each day. She could have easily killed her bullying husband, but for Seth's sake she endured.

"I warned you what would happen if you threatened him again, my husband."

"This must be a happy moment for you, wife. You turn traitor to your own people for the love of this half-breed!" Pavel Sandor growled like a caged animal. "Will our king forgive you for breaking your sacred oath, my lady? Or will the death you deserve be his gift to you?"

"Silence your lying tongue, Pavel. Do you forget who taught you that game? I stopped fearing death long ago."

Emma lifted her aging hand to touch Seth's cheek. In her eyes, he saw a glimmer of the woman who helped raise him. Gentle fingers smoothed along his cheek. Then she pinched him hard.

"You must forgive your mother, Seth. Pavel's lies kept your parents apart. Our king ordered him to hide her from Edmund until their marriage could be annulled. My husband saw his chance and tricked Anne into coming to Marianna, because he wanted her." Emma spat in Sandor’s face. "He fed her lies about imaginary pursuers, pretending to be her protector to keep Anne with him. Pavel had her terrified to leave Marianna."

"And the ranger? I know you have spoken with him, Emma."

"He never revealed his face to me or to Pavel. Be wary of him, Seth. He has his own reasons for keeping you alive."

Riley burst into the room with Constable McTavish in tow. The constable's expression darkened as he took in the scene. Riley, Seth noted, was frowning at Emma. She shrugged and stepped away from Seth. Once again, the little woolie farmer knew more than he let on.

"Fergus McCloud or whoever you are, you’re under arrest for murder, fraud, and anything else I can think of." Constable McTavish pulled his prisoner roughly from the floor. "If you behave yourself, I’ll let Doctor McFadden treat those wounds."

The constable searched Sandor, pulling another pistol and a few daggers from his clothing. Satisfied he'd found all the villain's hidden weapons, he pulled Sandor toward the door. It was over. Anne’s killer had been brought to justice. Now he could live in peace with Leo.

Sandor gripped the door frame, pulling against the constable's hold. Spittle ran down his chin as he fought wildly to face Seth. The constable stopped pulling on his prisoner when Seth nodded.

"You have no idea of the dangers you face if you leave this island, boy! Your mother’s people will shun you. Your father’s people will kill you. The rangers, well, they will have a far worse fate in store."

Emma move between them. The tip of her dagger poked out of the cuff on her sleeve. Riley came to stand beside her, his own weapon drawn. "Sleep with one eye open, Pavel Sandor. Always remember I serve the Lion."

Dante put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Your father would have killed him, Cub. Your head rules your heart."

"Pavel was forced to give his life up for mine by this mysterious ranger. The sacrifice sickened his mind. I can understand his bitterness, though what he did to my mother I cannot."

Emma spun around and grabbed Seth’s face in her hands. "How will you ever survive in the world, my little Seth? Pavel is a beast and doesn’t deserve your pity!"

Riley regarded her, mistrust firmly fixed upon his face. "If you didn’t love him, Emma, then why did you stay?"

"I still saw my duty as protecting my lady Anne." Emma cast a furtive glance at Seth. "I was jealous at first. And yes, I wanted to see them both dead. All my hate left me the night you were born. One look upon your sweet face, I knew I had an important duty. Your mother and I became close friends, tied by the same goal. I swore the most sacred oath I could to protect you until it was time."

Emma began ripping papers out of drawers and tossing them into the fireplace. "Take him back to his father. Tell Leo I stay to erase all trace of Seth and his mother on Marianna."

"One thing troubles me." Dante let go of the hold he had upon Seth's arm once they were outside again. "Sandor was not afraid to kill you. Surely he knew your father would seek him out?"

"Unless he believed there was no reason to fear Edmund. Hurry! Let’s get back to Father."

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Dampness from the rain-soaked ground splattered their boots as they ran across the fields toward the McPherson Farm. The speed given to Seth as he'd raced to the Lookout earlier wouldn't come to him now. It was infuriating to have these special powers but not be able to summon them when his need was great.

Bounding onto the lane, they ran to the top of the hill overlooking the yard. Darkness once again had engulfed the farm, extinguishing Seth’s hope his father would appear on the porch to greet them. In their urgent rush to find Leo, they'd left their borrowed lantern back at the McCloud house. He strained to see through the night. Dark clouds rolled over them, strangling the few threads of moonlight. Riley came to a stop beside Seth, panting to catch his breath. Dante stood at Seth's other side. He pulled his dagger, listening intently. Something was moving in the darkness below. Seth pulled his sword and stepped toward it.

"Don’t rush in like a mad fool, Cub."

Dante grabbed his arm and led them into a clump of trees close to the yard. They crouched low among the trunks and scrub. None of them had thought to grab a traveler's lantern on Main Row. He couldn't see inside the farmhouse. The blackness before them was too dense at this distance.

Then the Lion Ring came alive on his finger, sending pulses of energy through his body. Seth’s vision began to clear. Shapes revealed themselves within rays of light. Riley’s frightened face came into focus beneath the dying leaves of autumn. The deadly silver of Dante’s dagger was ready to kill. Trampled grass and broken branches revealed others had stood in their hiding spot less than an hour before them.

Smashing glass and tumbling kitchen utensils boomed in the night like cannon fire within the farmhouse. Shattered window glass littered the trampled ground at its base. The door flew from its hinges. A shrouded figure staggered through the ruined opening. Blood-like fluid oozed through the cloth hanging from its torso. The creature paused a moment upon the steps, turning its hood toward the clump of trees where they crouched. A low mewing filled the yard. Then it turned away quickly and ran into the night.

"Father!" Seth burst from the trees and raced across the yard.

"No, Cub! It isn’t safe!" Dante shouted after him.

Glass crunched beneath Seth’s boots as he dove into the kitchen. Shattered dishes and pieces of broken furniture were everywhere. In the middle of the floor a dead body sprawled across the bloody boards. It was dressed in a dark shroud like the other killer who had run into the fields. Seth rolled the body over with his foot and immediately wished he hadn't. An emaciated face with gray-blue skin stared up at him through dead orbs. Thick liquid smelling of rot dripped from its mouth. The flesh from many kills still clung to its dagger-like teeth. What manner of evil had spawned such creatures?

"Father!"

He swung his sword back toward the door as crunching footsteps came into the house. Dante and Riley stood in the clutter, their own weapons at the ready. Blank faces took in the ruined kitchen.

"What in the green, green fields is that thing?" Riley pointed his blade tip toward the creature at Seth's feet.

"Nothing you want to meet in the dark, Curl Top. Hurry. Come away. It isn’t safe here." Dante threw his free hand forward to catch Seth.

"I have to find my father."

He pushed the hand away with a strangled sob. Stumbling on debris littering the hall, he pushed on toward his father’s bedchamber. Another dead creature stretched across the doorway. Beyond the corpse was the still form of Leo.