Waterfall (33 page)

We found four of the Paratore knights’ horses, munching on scrub oak, seemingly unperturbed that their masters had all been slain. The Forelli horses were long gone and would probably return to the castello stables on their own.

“M’lord, God has smiled upon us,” Luca said to Marcello, grinning over at him.

Marcello returned his smile and immediately retrieved the nearest mount. Luca and I did the same, leading them back to the clearing. The men handed the reins to me, and although the horses shied and shifted, not liking the smell of blood, I held them fast. Marcello and Luca moved quickly, stripping the dead men of their crimson vests and pulling them over their shoulders.

“Can’t say I ever thought I’d see you in red,” Luca taunted Marcello.

“It chafes, even through my shirt,” Marcello joked. He bent to grab a man’s heels and dragged him into the brush. Luca followed suit, and in short order, all the dead Paratore men were hidden from sight.

Marcello turned and took the reins of his horse from me. I handed Luca his and then mounted my mare, ignoring Marcello’s approach to assist me. He looked at my bare ankle and calf and flashed me a wolfish smile with cocked brow. I shook my head. Showing these guys the skin exposed in summer capris got the same reaction as walking around in a bikini at home.

I laughed under my breath and kicked my horse in the flanks, knowing the men could easily catch up with me. Besides, we had to hurry. If we weren’t inside the castle gates before word reached them that the Paratore forces had been overrun by Sienese, we’d never get in. We’d lost precious minutes, battling the six soldiers.

Soon we were on the cobblestone entry road. As agreed, we paused so that the men could get situated, posing as wounded soldiers. It helped that there was blood upon both of them. Luca went as far as to lie across the saddle, arms dangling. Marcello hunched forward, as if barely holding on. I pressed on as fast as I dared and paused before the massive castle gates.

“Allow me entry at once!” I cried, looking over my shoulder as if I were being pursued. “I am Lady Gabriella Betarrini. Lord Paratore has sent me to retrieve my sister!”

Four knights stared down at me from the wall above. The little peephole window slid open, and a man peered out at us.

“Do not tarry,” I said. “We narrowly escaped a Sienese patrol. Let us in!”

The man’s small eyes shifted to the crimson on Marcello’s shoulder and then to Luca. “I do not know those men.”

Marcello groaned and shifted.

“They said that they are mercenaries, hired by Lord Paratore,” I said hurriedly. “But they are no account to me. I simply believed you may wish to take in your own wounded.”

Still, the man paused.

“Leave them here if need be,” I bit out, “but allow me entrance immediately. You try my patience.” I lifted my chin and clamped my lips together. “Lord Paratore will certainly be hearing-“

The man groaned and slid the tiny door shut. Perhaps he was a henpecked husband, and he’d decided to risk Lord Paratore’s wrath rather than my whining.

I heard the bolt lock clang, and the beam begin to slide. I allowed the corner of my lip to curl in victory, but then bit the side of my cheek, regaining my angry edge. I needed to stay in character. I moved forward into the courtyard as if I intended to drop the soldiers’ reins into the gateman’s hands.

It was then I saw four knights, hands on the hilts of their swords, advancing, two from either side. “No!” I cried, digging my heels into the sides of my horse cruelly hard. “You are spooking my mare!” I pulled hard on the reins, and as she reared, I leaned hard, forward, determined to keep my seat. The men paused, surprised, confused, and when the horse came down on all four hooves, I pressed her forward, as if she was out of my control, trotting away, dragging the two mounts behind me. We were quickly on the other side of the courtyard. “Now,” I said lowly.

Marcello and Luca sprang from their horses, each drawing their weapons as I ran to the door and opened it. Marcello and Luca entered. I slammed and barricaded it behind us, just as the men rammed up against it in pursuit.

“This way,” I said, grabbing my skirts and whirling, running down the hall to the door that led to the dungeon.

“Luca, I need to find a way to keep those gates open, or our hope of escape dies,” Marcello said.

Luca nodded once. “I will go with Gabriella.”

The men gripped hands briefly, and Marcello turned toward me and nudged my chin. “Do as he says, She-Wolf. I shall see you when this is all at an end.”

I nodded, half wanting to cry out at the thought of his leaving me. Didn’t we need to stay together? Weren’t we a team? But I knew what gaining this castle meant, to him and many more.

“Do you know of another way out of here?” he asked.

I thought back to my last visit. Did I remember someone leaving from the side, toward the back? When I looked back to see Lia in the window?

“There might be a passageway, back there and to the left.” I pointed.

I watched, still a little stunned as he turned on his heel and ran to the back of the building, in search of my alternative exit.

You had to go and fall for a guy who goes all-in for a cause….

“Come,” Luca said, easing through the door. We crept down the stairs, taking a sputtering torch with us. At the bottom, Luca lit another torch, which he handed to me as we moved forward.

They hadn’t even bothered to lock the dungeon. A shiver of fear rolled down my back. What if they had moved her? What if she wasn’t here? What if she was? What if her hands were paralyzed after spending a night hanging from them?

Luca stepped into the room at the bottom of the stairs and then stood stock-still. I peeked around the corner. Of course, it had to be him. Of all of the Paratore knights…

The hulking knight came to his feet and drew his sword. Another movement caught my eye. It was Lord Vannucci. He, too, rose.

“Now, see here,” I said, edging past Luca. “I am here to retrieve my sister. Lord Paratore promised me her release.” I blinked, relieved to see her not still dangling from the chain. She was in a cell behind the Hulk, sitting up at the sound of my voice. But seeing her, clearly miserable, helped me find my anger and push back my fear. I strode over to Lord Vannucci. “Release her. Now. And send us off with the promised gold as well. We must be away.”

Lord Vannucci didn’t move. He just stared at me so steadily, so coldly, I again imagined he was seeing right through me. “Who is he?” he asked, flicking his eyes toward Luca.

“It matters not,” I said, edging a bit between Luca and him. If he recognized him as Marcello’s captain…

“It matters to me,” he said, eyes narrowing.

“We are in love,” Luca said, stepping forward and slipping a hand around my waist. I struggled to keep my expression in order, lifting my chin as if I was verifying his words as truth. “Once we are safely in Firenze, we shall exchange our vows.”

Lia was now at the front of the cell, hands wrapped around the bars. I took in a little breath and cast her an encouraging smile.

Lord Vannucci stepped over to me and said lowly, “I thought it was Sir Forelli who had lost his heart to you.”

“Indeed, he did,” I said, letting a wicked smile turn up the corners of my mouth. “He was so lovesick, he never saw that my heart had been claimed by another. It aided me in opening the gates this night.” I stopped in front of him and looked up into his face. “I have done what you and Lord Paratore asked of me. Now honor our bargain.”

He whipped out his hand so fast I didn’t even realize it was his hand until I felt it pressing cruelly into the sides of my throat. I heard the slide of Luca’s sword, as well as the massive knight’s, but my eyes remained locked on Lord Vannucci’s. “You think me a fool,” he ground out. “You are lying.”

Lia cried out as he turned me around and rushed me to the stone wall, knocking me against it. I could see Luca doing his best to battle the massive Paratore knight, but he was not faring very well.

“What deception is going on here? Tell me now, and you may just survive this night.”

He released the pressure on my throat a little, and I hunched over, gasping for breath. I eased one hand under my cape, as if holding my chest, still trying to recover, but as I did so, I unsheathed my knife and then sprang away, raising the dagger between us.

“You little deceiver,” he snarled, advancing upon me as if he wasn’t scared at all.

“You are the deceiver, pretending friendship, alliance with the Sienese, supping with them, and then betraying them to the Florentines.” I pulled my sword from the back sheath, even as I dodged a swipe from the Paratore knight, who was aiming for Luca.

I heard Lia gasp, but my eyes remained on my most lethal enemy as he moved to pull an ax from the wall. My eyes widened.

“‘Tis a pity, slicing such a delectable creature to bits,” he said, moving toward me again. “But at least I’ll have her sister for myself.”

His words stopped me cold. I stood my ground and let him approach, timing his footsteps, calculating how fast that ax might come, probably gaining speed as it arced downward-

He whirled and brought the ax around, full force. I pulled back just enough, sucking in my breath, feeling it slice through my cape, as Lia screamed.

But as Lord Vannucci pulled up on the ax, intent on bringing it down on my head this time, I made my own strike, slicing through the leather of his pants and cutting his thigh.

He glanced down at his leg and his face became a mask of fury. “You little witch,” he bit out, raising his ax with powerful arms and bringing it down so fast that I felt the wind across my forehead and nose. He didn’t let up then. He continued his attack, bringing it past me, beside me, over me again and again, never letting up, never giving me an opportunity to strike again, as I barely found time to take my next defensive stance.

I bumped into a stool, bent, threw my blade at him and then pulled the stool around to toss it at him. I was getting weaker and more desperate. I was shocked when he ducked in the wrong direction, perhaps thrown off by the fact that his ax was again whirling around in an arc, and the stool slammed into his nose. He let the ax sink to the ground and stumbled backward, holding his bloodspurting nose.

“Gabi!” Lia cried.

I glanced over to her and then to Luca, who was up against the wall, his leg pushing against the hulking knight who was trying to shove his sword into Lucas throat. Luca’s leg trembled; sweat rolled down his flushed face. The knight’s face was red and sweaty too, determined.

I grabbed another ax off the wall, whirled, and slammed the beastly, heavy thing between the shoulder blades of Luca’s attacker. He recoiled, tottered backward, and fell to the ground, the ax still lodged in his back.

I looked up at Lia, who had her face in her hands, staring at me with wide eyes. And in that moment, I felt torn between two worlds. My sister was gazing at me as if she wondered who had taken control of my body, and I was looking at my hands, dirty, blood spattered, as if they might belong to someone else, indeed. What was I doing? How on earth had I come to killing three men?

“Gabriella!” Luca cried, wrenching me to one side, just as Lord Vannucci swung his ax past me.

I fell against the cell door and looked back to see Luca charge against the man, pushing him across the floor, his long ax of no use in such close proximity. He rammed him into the wall and then punched him across the face. Lord Vannucci was instantly unconscious. He sagged to the floor.

With trembling fingers I pulled the ring of keys from the giant’s belt, afraid that he might not be dead, the ax still lodged in his back, like in some freaky horror movie.

Luca, panting, wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and then stumbled over to the stairwell. He held his breath for a second, listening.

“Anyone coming?” I whispered.

“Nay,” he whispered back. “But we best be up top as soon as possible. I doubt the Paratore guards are feigning their own demise, assisting Marcello to open the gates.” He smiled, teasing me.

“Hey!” I cried. “I did my part. Twasn’t as easy as it appeared.”

He continued to grin. “I’m certain of it.” His eyes shifted from me to Lia as I finally found the right key, shoved it in and turned it.

Lia came through the door and drew me into a fierce hug.

I hugged her back, then turned to Luca.

“Saints in heaven,” he said, crossing himself even as he shook his head. “We might fight our way out of here, but then Marcello and I will spend the rest of our lives defending the gates, with two ladies as lovely as you behind them.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Ever the charmer, this one. “Sir Luca Forelli, I present my sister, Lady Evangelia Betarrini.”

He crossed the room as if he had all the time in the world, took her hand, looked into her eyes, and then bent to kiss her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers.

I sighed when I heard Lids breath catch. It was enough that I was torn, with my feelings for Marcello. I didn’t need Lia all messed up too.

“Luca,” I said, more sharply than I intended. I paused, eased my tone a bit. “We need to get up to the courtyard, right?”

His eyes sharpened, and the dreamy haze disappeared. My knight was back. He turned, hurried over to the wall of weapons, and began shoving daggers into his belt. I did the same. “Are you decent with a sword too, m’lady?” he asked over his shoulder to Lia.

“Me? Nay,” Lia said.

“She’s an archer, remember?” I said, wrapping a dagger sheath around my calf and tying it off.

“Ahh, right,” he said, eyebrow cocked. “Most excellent.”

“Yeah, yeah, Romeo,” I muttered, grabbing the leather quiver of arrows from him and handing them to Lia. She already had the bow in her hands and was looking at it like it was some museum artifact-which, of course, it could’ve been. “Come on.”

My mind was on Marcello again. We ran up the stairs and out the building from the side, edging around it.

Guards at the top of the castle parapet were charging forward, to the front gates, when we first heard it. The sound was loud enough that it reverberated in our chests, a tremendous pounding. They were here, the Sienese, attempting to storm the gates, to break them with a massive battering ram. The sound became rhythmic within a minute’s time, a tremendous pounding, a battle between trees.