Angie Arms - Flames series 04 (27 page)

Numb fingers began to slowly remove her clothes.  It was not as if he never saw her naked.  He saw more of her than any other man, except Cyrille.

When she stood naked before him, he moved quickly to her, and she forced herself to stand her ground.  When he touched her, she clamped her eyes closed, and kept them that way.  She worked hard to conjure up an image of Cyrille.  She wanted to imagine it was him touching her, but the feel of the men were too different. 

With Cyrille she felt that gentleness that ran to his soul.  His fingers were warm and soft, despite the calluses.  Warner’s were anything but gentle, though he was not rough by any means.  It was clear to her, he did not care for her pleasure, it was only his own he sought
, despite believing she loved him. 

He only ran a hand from her neck down to cup a breast, before he spun her around and pushed her onto the bed.  He followed behind her, pinning her in the corner on her hands and knees, as he grabbed her around the hips.  He was seated inside her before she could protest, and after a few short thrusts, he found his pleasure, and released her.

A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.  She sat back on her haunches still facing the corner, as she tried to gather herself.

“What is so amusing?”

“I am just happy this has happened,” she replied quickly. 

“It will happen again if I can count on you to help me when the time comes.  I will be getting Garrick this evening.  Now lie down.  We shall share the bed for a few hours before I leave.”

Grace did as he bid, facing the wall.  He lay down beside her, but thankfully did not hold her as Cyrille did.  She closed her eyes again, and remembered his strong arms around her.  As Warner fell into sleep, she imagined it was Cyrille’s soft rhythm, and warm breathe tickling her neck.

It was laughable the difference in the two men.  Warner did not make love, it was purely one sided.  She imagined having to feel him touching her for hours, but it began and ended so quickly, the relief was invigorating.  Not that she ever wanted him to touch her again. 

The time to release the Countess was before Warner awoke.  Together they would slip away and perhaps make it to her husband and safety before he caught up to them.  She lay with him for a while, listening to his breathing and thinking of Cyrille and what he would think of her now.  She was a whore, plain and simple.  She took money for her body.  It didn’t matter that she hadn’t actually mated with Warner that night, she danced for him, and was prepared to lie under him.  That she did such a thing now, to help rescue the Countess, made it no better.  Perhaps it was a step up from troubadour, she thought, as a tear escaped.  Cyrille would never accept her.  If she did travel with the Countess, and their path did lead her to the brothers, he would never feel anything for a person such as her.  He was born for so much better, and deserved someone such as the Countess.  The thought of him loving someone else made another tear escape. 
It does not matter
, she told herself, as she continued to wait.

Chapter 16

Kinsey

Halvor couldn’t believe it.  He just couldn’t believe Alena would do something so stupid, and place his sisters in danger.  His angry strides covered the length of the hall and back.  His handful of men waited nearby with Jillian seated, a blanket wrapped about her shoulders.  He felt he pushed his wife harder today than he should, so they could sleep under the roof of Kinsey.  Dusk was coming on quickly, the only men here, were the men he brought with him, so he couldn’t leave Jillian here alone, and he couldn’t go face the man who took Ryann alone, which left him with a dilemma, he did not have the men to do both. 

He raised his hands and ran both through his hair, pulling on the ends of it, feeling the tug of pain
, but it did not kill the desperation within his mind.  Frustrated, he dropped his arms and turned to look at the small number waiting for his decision.  Jillian was deathly pale, but she did not complain once throughout the journey.  There really was little choice in the matter.  She would have to go with them, because he would not leave her here without enough men capable of defending Kinsey. 

They
hurt Carling.  He had to tamp down his rage at that thought.  Rage had no place within him right now.  It would only slow down his strategizing and make his decisions less sane.  At first light they would leave in the direction both groups went.  He was reassured knowing Carling was not too hurt to go on the fool’s errand, but if he didn’t find them, they could all be dead.  Right now, all his sisters could be lying dead by the road somewhere, and the thought brought panic and grief rushing in on him, until the hall tilted unevenly.

He quickly focused on Jillian.  “We will rest here tonight
, and leave at first light to find my sisters first, then take back the Countess.”

She nodded, not even reluctantly.  She was strong, she proved it time and again.  He moved toward her, offered his arm and when she took it and stood
, he guided her to the chamber that was his.  He never really thought he would sleep under Garrick’s roof again.  He foolishly thought he left all this behind, but peace was quite the elusive thing.

“Garrick is going to kill us,” Marcus said, as he stared at the road that forked not once, but four times.  He stood in the middle of the path, his reins in his hands, as the others waited for some indication in which direction the two groups had gone.

Halvor was surprised Marcus
was not distraught over Alena’s plan.  Instead, he was less concerned for her, then for the Countess.  He went so far as to try to convince Halvor the women could take care of themselves.  Halvor had no such confidence.  He knew Alena was a good fighter, but going up against an army she had to be more than just a good fighter.  Marcus arrived before dawn on his lathered horse, appearing as if it was ready to fall from exhaustion. 

Now he turned to look up at Halvor.  His face
was more serious than Halvor ever saw it.  On it, was genuine fear for his own mortality.

“He will not kill us,” Halvor insisted
, but a new fear began inside him.  Marcus was the man who knew Garrick better than anyone else, looking at him now, Halvor knew he believed his fear was genuine.

“I see no tracks.  The rain has washed them out.”  With a desperate look to his eyes
, Marcus turned back to the road and shook his head. 

Halvor had been through a number of ca
mpaigns with Marcus, and never had he seen fear in the man.  He didn’t know the other man felt such a thing, but now he knew.  Marcus did fear, and that fear went by the name Garrick.

“We’ll split up, see if we can pick up the trail and meet back here in an hour,” Halvor said
, making the decision.  “Marcus you ride with us.  Split into twos, and keep your eyes open,” he told the other men.

Marcus sprung into the saddle and led the way down one path
, with Halvor and Jillian falling in behind.  Perhaps, it was the fear for his sisters, and now this new fear that Garrick would kill them if they did not get his wife back, but time slowed to a near standstill.  It seemed as if it took hours travelling along the road with Marcus, tediously checking every imprint or broken twig along the roadway.  Marcus was a good tracker, but not as good as Roland, and suddenly Halvor remembered the two men had left together.  He would have to remember to ask Marcus when he wasn’t at risk of being distracted from his task.

By the time Marcus halted them and jumped from his saddle
, the rain turned from a drizzle into a steady downpour.  If he didn’t find something soon, it would be washed away, and they may never know where they went. 

“They came this way,” Marcus said
, pointing to the ground, as if Halvor could see the evidence.  To Halvor the man only pointed to the ground.

“Alena’s horse.  She always keeps her on the edge of the road
, and there is half a print here.”  There was an undercurrent to Marcus’s words.

“What else?” Halvor asked, he heard desperation in his voice.

“They’re being followed, by someone who doesn’t want them to be tracked.  I’ve been confused over these marks on the road, with the rain I wasn’t sure, but someone is following behind them, erasing their trail.”

Marcus remounted and studied Halvor for a moment.  “We don’t have time to get the others.  The wom
en have enemies in front and behind them.”

Halvor cast a quick glance to Jillian.

“I’m fine,” she insisted.  She did look better today with color back in her cheeks and a bounce to her step that indicated she was recovering.

“Then let’s go.”

Alena stared at the foo
tprint in the mud.  The rain began earlier, making it difficult to follow behind the quickly moving army.  She did not consider their way would not be easily followed, but with the ever increasing fall of chilling rain, the marks were being washed away, and now she had one footprint to make a decision on.  They may have gone up the hill, or down.  Alena started up the hill, looking for any trace, any skid, and the same down, but there was nothing.  Even with the rain, she did not understand what happened to the trail.  Going up a hill, the horse’s hooves would dig in deeper, going down they would be likely to drag a back leg, to keep their momentum slow.  Yet, there was nothing. 

An army could not have vanished into thin air. 

“Does anyone know what lays either way,” she finally asked, rejoining the small group of women.  What a group they were in their men’s attire and armed to the teeth.  Even the youngest, Rowena, probably about eight years old, had a single balled mace strapped to her back, a sling shot, and several spiked balls to be shot from it, in a pouch tied at her waist, along with a dagger.  They armed all the little ones thus.  They would stay out of the fight, unless they saw they were absolutely needed, and even then they would keep their distance.  The daggers were there last resort, their last line of defense, before someone laid their hands on them. 

As Alena
waited, hoping one of them knew the answer to her question, she couldn’t help but feel the fear resting on her shoulders.  She should have come alone.  She did not care she would face an army alone, but she did care she had the safety of all these people resting on her shoulders.  How did commanders do their job, knowing men would die, fathers would never return home, and husbands would never hold their wives again? 

The air shifted.  She felt it on the back of her neck.  Her eyes darted to the surrounding foliage
, and suddenly realized she made a foolish error.  The woods here was thick, close to the road, and an enemy could easily be concealed in its thickness.  A flash from her left started her turning that way, only to have a figure rush at her from the right.  Chaos ensued.  “Run!” she yelled, as a body slammed into her, knocking her to the ground.  She was the only one off her horse, so it was their only chance, to turn and ride away.  Yet, they did not listen.  As she rolled away from her attacker, pulling her sword, she saw the others leaping from their horses, pulling their own weapons. 

Alena could only fight after that.  She brought down two within moments
, but they kept coming.  Steel echoed off steel, and cries echoed with the rain dripping from the leaves, as it continued to fall.  By the time the last man fell, Alena was exhausted.  Her arms were weighted down from wielding the sword, and the massive effort it took to slice into the attacking army.  It was an ambush, and she led them right into it. 

As she looked from the face of one woman to the other
, she saw the same fatigue lining their eyes, their exhaustion in their panting breaths, but there was not one face missing.  They came through the attack unscathed.  Then the chatter began.  The little girls started, bragging about their skill with their slingshots, and arguing which one of the men they took down.  Then the older women began, and Alena could not believe these cackling hens defeated an army, as they carried on about their skills, with some arguments over whose blade or blow took down this man or that.  They went so far as to begin going through the bodies, pointing to wounds, and arguing who was best.  If her heart was not still madly hammering within her chest, she might find humor, but instead she felt she was close to vomiting.  She slid her sword back in its sheath, and placed her hands on her hips, drawing in great gulps of air.  She thought they would all die, and it would be all her fault. 

“Lord Garrick,” the boy’s frantic voice swung Garrick around to find Will standing at the entrance to the armory.  His eyes looked frantic, his breathing labored.

“What has happened?” Garrick asked, knowing Will should be at Kinsey where his wife was.

“An army came and took the Countess,” he said hastily.  The boy stood erect before him, his head high, his hands clasped behind his back.  Garrick wondered if he knew he looked like his father when he stood in such a manner.

Garrick immediately moved toward the door.  “What army?” Garrick asked, in his mind he knew there were any number of men who would like to bring him to his knees.  Many tried, and Ryann was now a part of that danger.

“I do not know.  I saw which way they went.”

“When was this?” Garrick asked, flinging the door open and strolling out into the drizzle of the day.  “Get Lord Damien,” Garrick ordered to a passing servant.

“Yesterday.”  The kid jogged beside Garrick’s fast stride, as it carried him to the stable.  “Malik and Gold,” Garrick ordered, as soon as they crossed into the dim light of the stable. 

“Grab a saddle,” Garrick ordered, going to the tack room and grabbing his.  By the time he made it to the aisle, Malik was tied, and the stable hand was bringing Gold out.  “You’re going with me and will show me where they went.”

Garrick saw the fatigue flash in the boy’s eyes.  He rode hard after a trying ordeal.  But the boy had strength in his blood, for he nodded and went to work, with the help of several other stable hands, the two horses were quickly led from the stable.

“Ryann was taken,” Garrick called, as Damien rounded the corner of the Manor.  By the time Damien reached him, Garrick was in the saddle and Will expertly swung onto Gold.  Garrick felt a sense of pride in the boy, knowing his father would too.  “I will send word if you are needed.”  Then Garrick laid his heels to Malik and the horse shot from the courtyard. 

Malik was up for the challenge, as always.  The road soon grew dark, but Garrick pushed them on.  Gold was not used to such a grueling pace, but he was Malik’s offspring, so Garrick knew this would prove if Malik’s bloodline was strong.  Long into the night Garrick travelled the familiar road.  Villages fed over into farmland
, then back into villages as they moved.  Then the flicker of a campfire.  Without a word Garrick slid from his saddle and handed the reins to Will.  He quickly and quietly moved toward it,

The guard was ill placed, with the fire behind her.  With her back to him, he surprised her, his arms sliding around her, immobilizing her, while he placed his hand over her mouth.  He did not waste time as he moved among the small group lying about the fire. 

Alena.  The woman came quickly up from her blanket, her sword in her hand.  She learned some lessons well, others, like the placement of guards, not so much.  “Where’s Ryann?” Garrick demanded, as he pushed the woman he held away from him.

“I don’t know,” Alena said, quickly sheathing her sword, and moved toward him. 

“Will, come on in,” Garrick called to the boy, still waiting with the horses.

“We lost them closer toward Kinsey.  We tried to go after her, but were ambushed.  I decided to come get you.”

The sound of the approaching horses stopped Alena.  “It is Will.  He came to Scotts Manor,” Garrick explained, just as the horses came into view. 

“He made it all the way to Scotts Manor and all the way back here?” she asked, the sound of her voice was incredulous the kid could accomplish such a feat.

“He did,” Garrick replied, absentmindedly.  “Go tie them with the rest of the horses, then try to get you some rest,” Garrick ordered the boy.  Without a word Garrick moved in the opposite direction, out onto the road, with Alena falling into step beside him.

“What happened?” he finally asked, after they were a short distance from the camp that was quickly settling back down for the remainder of the night.