The Woman Inside (29 page)

“This is certainly an emergency.” Allyson stood and searched her green and
russet gown. The winter velvet was dusty, but intact. She swore. “They took my
knives.”

“Be glad that was all they took.” Ceylon set her jaw and stood up. She had no
doubts about Eville’s intentions with her. As for Allyson ... he would want
revenge.

Allyson’s eyes narrowed. “I’d slit my own throat first.”

No she wouldn’t. Allyson was a fighter. Ceylon peeked through the cracks in
the door. Two men sat dicing at a crate-table. Both were unwashed and
rough-looking. One man sat on a keg, the other on a smaller box. A lantern hung
above them, providing the only light in the windowless room.

The voices of more men carried from the ceiling above. Slivers of light shown
through the rough planks, and she could see the outline of boots.

“We’re almost ready,” one man said above them. “The boat is waiting. I say we
forget the wait and go. This is dangerous.”

Eville’s voice said, “I’m not leaving here without my revenge. That dog took
my hand--I’ll have his life for it.”

“It won’t work. He’ll know it’s a trap.”

“Do you think he’ll care? The man’s been known to walk through fire. He won’t
stop until he gets his woman back--or dies.”

The cowardly one swore.

“Shut up! The tunnel will collapse after we go through. He’ll die and we’ll
get away, so quit wetting yourself, Scrabble.”

Fear made Ceylon tremble. Four men out there, no weapons in here. She didn’t
count the hair sticks, for she considered them next to useless considering the
odds. Allyson might be a plucky fighter, but without a blade she’d be lucky to
take one man down.

They were going to die.

A pounding began on the door upstairs. The dicing men looked up, tensed.
“This is it,” one said. “He’s here!”

There was no time to think. She spun toward Allyson, who stood beside the
door with a heavy stone crock, and fumbled with her locket. “Here! Swallow
these.” She held the pills out to Allyson with an unsteady hand.

Allyson wrinkled her nose, reluctant to put down her weapon. “This is no time
for physic, Ceylon.”

In no mood for playfulness, Ceylon gestured impatiently. “These will make you
seem as if you’re dead. Uric and Roland carry the antidote. If I leave my open
locket on your neck they will know what happened. Maybe you’ll have time to warn
them about the tunnel.”

“But I can’t--”

“Don’t argue,” Ceylon hissed. “If we’re both taken then we’re all doomed! You
have to warn Uric, Allyson. Please.” She offered the pills again.

There was a heartbeat of hesitation. The noise upstairs intensified as the
door splintered. Men ran down the stairs. “Bar the door to slow them,” Allyson
snapped as she grabbed the pills and stuffed them in her mouth. She grabbed
crates and jars, shoved them up against the door. There wasn’t much to use.

The poison worked swiftly. In less than a minute Allyson sagged to the floor.
Ceylon caught her, helped her lie down.

“This better work,” she slurred.

“It will,” Ceylon whispered as Allyson’s eyes shut. Already her breathing was
shallow, almost gone.

Splinters went flying as their captors broke down the door and dragged her
out.

“She’s dead,” she shrilled as Eville clamped his hand around her wrist.
“You’ve killed her!”

“Shut up,” he snarled as he spun her around and placed a knife at her throat.
“The bitch is just shamming.”

His breath nearly knocked her down, but Ceylon twisted to see as another man
drug Allyson’s body out and dumped it on the ground, face first. She didn’t
move.

“She’s dead,” he said.

Ceylon recognized him as the one called Scrabble. “I told you!”

Eville swore. “Leave her!” he backed toward a tunnel, dragging Ceylon with
him. The two others in the room had already bolted down the tunnel, but Eville
waited until he could see Uric. Scrabble stood just before him, his thin face
and bald head gleaming with sweat. He danced on his feet, sword drawn as Uric’s
savage face came into view.

Ceylon had never seen him so terrifying. He wore armor and his blond hair was
tied in a tail. By the look in his face he would stop at nothing to get
revenge.

“Give up the woman.” The command was forged steel.

“Come and get her,” Eville sneered.

Uric flicked a gaze at Allyson’s body, flicked his hand. A crossbow bolt sang
through the air and buried itself in Scrabble’s chest.

He gurgled and went down.

“That’s enough!” Eville’s knife bit into Ceylon’s throat. The arm with the
missing hand clamped around her middle. “Another step and she learns to smile
out her throat.”

He waited a moment, then relaxed as Uric remained still. He laughed and
shifted his grip on Ceylon. “Such a pretty little wife you’ve got here. I’ve
wanted her for the longest time. Pity you got to her first.” He slowly drew the
blade across her neck, opening a thin scratch. “I wanted to be the one to make
her bleed,” he whispered.

Uric’s face hardened. Murder glowed in his eyes.

Ceylon shuddered. Her heart was beating so fast she was half-afraid it would
suddenly stop. “Why?” The word came out a frightened moan.

Eville jerked her closer. “Bitch! You know why! Just look what daddy dearest
has done; named you his heir. I always knew who you were.” Eyes on Uric, he
licked the side of her face.

She gagged.

He grinned against her temple. “I used to watch the old man bedding your
mother. They put on quite a show. Had a good view from my hole in the wall, too.
They never caught on.” His eyes narrowed. “I heard all about you.” His ugly tone
said it all.

“So you thought you’d take her and secure your title, since Tennyson would
never give her to you.”

Eville snorted. “Hardly. I just thought it would be fun to screw my sister. I
was going to lock her away someplace where I could get to her but dear old dad
would never find her.” He smiled.

“You’ll have to go through me first.” Uric took a step forward.

The smile grew. “I’m counting on it.”

Uric waited as Eville slowly backed down the tunnel. The blood pounded in his
temples as every instinct told him run after them. He knew that Eville wanted
him to follow, to watch. Master spy Dun had reached Uric in time to reveal
Eville’s planned escape. Men waited in the shadows at the other end of the long
tunnel, ready to take him out as soon as they had a clear shot.

He hoped they didn’t kill him. He wanted the pleasure for himself.

The minute Eville was out of sight Roland dashed from the stairs behind Uric
and ran to Allyson. He rolled her over and hissed. Blood ran from her nose and
her eyes were swelling shut. Lantern light glinted off the gold locket around
her throat--the open locket.

He swore and fumbled, trying to dig underneath his armor.

“I got it!” Raven ran forward and knelt down. Since he wore no armor he had
easy access to his vial. “Pry her mouth open.” He uncorked the vial and poured
the stuff between her lips.

For a moment nothing happened. Then, “What--” Allyson broke off as she
coughed on some of the medicine. “What kind of sewage did you give me?”

“Quiet,” Roland said gruffly as he supported her shivering upper body. “You
shouldn’t have taken Ceylon’s poison to start with.”

Her blackened eyes widened a slit. “Don’t use the tunnel! It’s made to
collapse.”

“We know.” Uric glared at her, thinking of the danger to Ceylon if the fool
she was with made a mistake and caved the tunnel in on himself.

“But....” she looked confused.

“Master Spy Dun told us,” he said as Roland picked her up. “At least this
little stunt kept them from taking you both. Ceylon might have saved your life,
because Eville would have killed you if you’d tried to slow him down.”

“I’m not helpless!” She winced as the force of her voice hurt her face.

“Shut up,” Roland snapped. “We’re in no mood.”

She was bright enough to comply.

Uric could only hope that Ceylon was wise enough to do the same until they
could get to her.

Chapter 11

Ceylon wasn’t about to endanger her baby by struggling with Eville, not
unless she had a better than fair chance at him. She was terrified of what he
might do to her until she had a chance to escape him, but she couldn’t take the
chance of losing her child. She wouldn’t.

The old smuggler’s tunnel was as black as a mine shaft. The only light came
from the lantern in front of them. Obviously she wasn’t the only one fearfully
expecting Uric to run after them, for Eville kept his knife handy and one eye on
the tunnel behind them.

“Why doesn’t he come, eh?” His hand twisted in her hair as he hauled her
along. The knife was held in that same hand. He sounded frustrated, perhaps a
little worried. “Is he a coward? Or maybe he doesn’t want another man’s
leavings?”

She didn’t answer.

He paused, causing her to stumble into him. Since she faced mostly backward
she had an excellent view of the empty tunnel behind them.

“Uric, you coward! Show your face,” Eville yelled. Dirt drifted down from the
ceiling.

“Hush!” The man ahead of them hissed. “You’ll kill us all! This tunnel isn’t
very stable anymore, remember?”

Eville swore, but started walking. “He’d better show. I’m not giving up my
revenge that easily.”

“Fine! So long as you don’t bring the whole place down on our heads.”

Ceylon shuddered.

They reached the end of the tunnel and emerged in the underground sewers.
There was a boat waiting on water. Two of the three men who’d ran ahead of them
were busy at the oars and the rope that tied it to the dock. The remaining man
stood ready with a crossbow, his eye on the tunnel.

Ceylon took a great gulp of air before she realized where they were. Nausea
threatened to bring her to her knees.

Eville took one look at her and hastily shoved her away. “Not on me, stupid!
Puke over there.” ‘There’ was the inner wall of the walkway that ran along the
sewer.

The bile rose in her throat, but she fought it down. She glanced at Eville.
He was distracted by his men and the empty tunnel and had little attention for
her. Stealthily, she slipped her hair sticks from her hair and held them ready,
concealed by her body and her loose hair. She’d only get one chance at this.

Eville turned, reached for her. Suddenly he jerked. A surprised, angry
expression appeared on his face as the bloody head of a crossbow bolt protruded
from his chest.

Stunned, Ceylon watched as he slumped to the ground. A similar cry came from
the boat as the lookout dropped his crossbow and clutched at a bolt in his neck.
His body tumbled into the water.

Dante emerged from the darkness, a crossbow in his hand. The soldiers behind
him ran to arrest the men on the boat who’d raised their hands in surrender.

She’d never been so glad to see anyone in her life.

“Are you all right?” Dante knelt beside her and helped her to her feet. He
grimaced at the hair sticks she’d forgotten she held and slipped them from her
slack hands. They disappeared inside his tunic. “Let’s get you out of here.” He
kicked the moaning Eville, an expression of disgust on his face. “Uric will deal
with this trash.”

Relief swamped her. “Then Allyson did warn him.”

He frowned. “Allyson? I don’t know what you mean. Master Spy Dun was the one
who discovered Eville’s plan and helped us find the tunnel. Allyson had nothing
to do with it.”

Ceylon sighed. She had a feeling she was going to hear about this.

* * * *

Dante kept Ceylon distracted as he led her away. She never saw Uric enter the
sewer.

Uric caught Dante’s eye and nodded. Ceylon didn’t need to see what came
next.

Eville was still moaning and whining when Uric caught up to him. Uric grabbed
him by the shirt and hauled him up, ignoring his cry. The man deserved to
suffer.

“How does your revenge feel now, eh?” He shook Eville, almost enjoying his
suffering. “Dante did a good job of paying you back for shooting Ceylon. Now
it’s my turn.” He smiled. It wasn’t pleasant. He turned Eville toward the
tunnel, gave him a shove. The man’s good arm dangled uselessly, too damaged by
the bolt to work. There was a wet stain at his crotch, spreading down his
leg.

Uric’s lip curled. “All right, my little bed-wetter, here’s your one chance.
Run down that tunnel. If you can get to the other side before it collapses on
you, I’ll let you go.”

Eville paled. Sweat gleamed on his face. “It’s too long!”

“I can kill you now.” Uric drew his sword.

Eville took off at a run. Uric let him get a good five seconds into the
tunnel, then strolled over and pulled the lever at the entrance. The roar of
falling rock meshed with the sound of a man’s scream. Dust swirled from the
entrance, and Uric stepped back, coughing. When it settled there was only rock
where the mouth of the passage had been. Tiny pebbles bounced down, finding a
place to settle.

It was over.

* * * *

“Ceylon!” Uric strode to them and pulled her into a hug. His fierce grip had
to be uncomfortable for her, since he was wearing armor, but she didn’t
protest.

He pulled back and looked at her. “What did you think you were doing, giving
that poison to Allyson? You might have killed her!”

“I was trying to help?” she said tentatively.

He scowled at her. “Next time leave the fighting to us, is that clear? We had
it under control.” He didn’t mean to lecture her, but his worry needed an
outlet. Unfortunately for her the cause made a handy target.

She opened her mouth to protest and he kissed her. It was much more
satisfying than yelling at her.

Ceylon must have agreed, for she melted in his arms.

“Let’s go home,” he whispered. They had some loving to do.

Much later, they relaxed in a huge tub in a room off the kitchen. The tub did
double duty on wash day.