Flame Thrower (29 page)

“You’re a coward, Ryan. You hide behind magic instead of fighting me fairly,” Gareth sneered, hoping his end would come soon so he could finally be free from the guilt and pain. If he taunted Ryan, maybe he’d give him a swift death and he’d be free.

“Actually, I’m not the coward, Gareth. You are the one that hid behind your Father while your sister was tortured, whipped and raped. I think you should think about your accusation again.”

From outside, Tillian found the strength to hysterically scream, trying to get out of Wallace’s grasp. “Gareth!”

Gareth laughed as tears rolled down his face. At least she cared enough to fight for him. It was more than he’d done for her. Gareth then smiled sadly and said loud enough for her to hear, “Goodbye, Tillian. I know you don’t believe me, but I do love you and always have.” The net tightened. “
Umph
,” he grunted as the pressure squeezed the breath out of him.

Ryan watched with an eerie sense of detachment. With a flick of his wrist, he waved at Gareth and the net began to glow a burning red when the heat increased and burned into his flesh.

Without looking back, Ryan strode from the tent just when the magic became fully engaged and he walked over to Tillian who was inconsolable in Wallace’s arms. “Why? Why couldn’t you spare him? Why?” she sobbed

“Because he sold you, abandoned you and raped my sister. No. He dies for his actions, Tillie.” Ryan caressed her cheek with the back of his hand in an act of absolute control. He was shaking with fury and still unleashed magic. This simple contact soothed him and he found whatever solace he could find. “We need to leave, Wallace.” With strong arms, Ryan mounted his horse and gently transferred Tillian from Wallace to his waiting arms, making sure she was comfortable before he headed out of the silent camp. It grated on him that she was in so much pain that all she could do was hold the pommel and pray she didn’t fall off. Knowing the ride back would take some time, he cast a numbing spell that would ease most of the pain and make the journey more bearable. It was all he could do right now.

When they reached the edge of camp, a blood curdling scream shattered the silence of the night as Gareth burned under the net wrapped tight around his body. “Oh no, Ryan!” Tillian wailed from the saddle. “What have you done!”

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Tillian,” he said while cradled her such a way as to not jar the dagger in her back until he could remove it without causing more damage. “I’d hoped to spare you this memory, but that man signed his own death warrant when he supported these horrendous actions.”

“Was there no other way?” she sobbed.

He pressed his lips to her head and paused. “No.”

Another scream of agony broke through the night. The pavilion began to burn when the heat from the net touched the flammable fabric. Tillian began wheezing with grief and she tried to stop the tears while she listened to her brother die a slow and painful death. She heard Ryan whisper again that he was sorry, but his words brought no comfort when she watched her brother’s pyre go up in flames.

“Let’s go.” Ryan kicked his horse into a gentle canter that carried them farther away and the screams faded to a faint sound in the night. Once they were a safe distance away, he leaned down and spoke quietly. “I told you I would not lose you, Tillian. Why would you do this and sneak away?” His voice cracked as he spoke the next words. “You scared me. I never want to be that scared again.”

“You gave me no choice.”

“I tried to spare you this. I tried to keep you from being hurt by your family ever again,” he said passionately in her ear. “This can’t ever happen again. I don’t ever want to fear for your safety as I’ve feared tonight.”

Tillian felt his panic and his remorse, but was in too much pain to argue at the moment. “I won’t do it again.” Tillian turned her head to look at him in the darkness and could see his face was still pinched in torment. “I hoped you’d come in time, but prayed you’d spare Gareth if you were given a chance. Once you knew Crysin was safe. I would have sacrificed myself to save her.”

“I told you, you are very important to me, Tillian. You are my Queen and my wife. I’ll not easily let that go.” Once they achieved the crest of the hill they were traveling, Ryan stopped his horse and turned to face the camp sleeping below as the tent in the center burned up in an inferno of flame. He knew it would cause her more pain to delay, but he needed to finish this.

“Did you find Crysin?” Tillian asked while she remorsefully watched the fire below. Luckily, Ryan had ridden far enough away that she could no longer hear Gareth’s screams...or he had already died. She needed to talk to save her from the looming abyss of grief that pulled at her with the loss of Gareth…her brother. Wallace was a respectful distance away and she felt his presence as well but it provided little comfort.

“I did. She was galloping towards us and practically flew into my arms. She said you were very brave, coming there alone and without protection.” He kissed her forehead after he spoke. While they talked, he’d been gathering his magic and preparing to release it.

“I only did what I wished Gareth would have done for me...and didn’t,” she whispered in reply.

Ryan frowned against her skin, but then released his held breath. “I’m not Gareth. I’ll always protect those I love—which now includes you.”

Out of the night, the thunder of many horses could suddenly be heard just before they raced past the three sitting off to the side. Once the King and his guard raced from the castle, the generals dispatched the small army which planned to attack later that day. One of his generals skidded to a stop before him. “Sir, what is the update below?” The man noticed Tillian’s condition but didn’t press.

“You can halt here, Gerard. I’ve got the entire encampment under control,” Ryan confidently replied. “All their mounts are secured off to the side away from this area. Could you please collect them so they are not injured?”

“Immediately.” Gerard nodded. “I’ll tell the men.” Then he spun his horse in a smooth pivot and trotted back to the arm that now stood in formation waiting for orders.

Ryan looked back to the camp and sighed. It was time to finish this and send a message to Irfan that he wasn’t so easily trifled with. His hand left Tillian’s side and rose in a benediction towards the camp. A slow hum vibrated from his palm, putting Tillian on alert.

“Ryan, what are you doing?” She panicked when she realized he meant to destroy the camp and the defenseless men below. Until a month ago, those men were her people, Folkans. Now they were the enemy, but she still didn’t want their death brought on because of her.

He flicked his hand then completed a twisting motion, then turned his palm flat pointed toward the earth. In a sweeping motion, he pressed fast toward the ground and waited.

“It is done.” He suddenly looked down at her. “I suggest you close your eyes.” Just as her lids were pinched shut, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble. Tillian couldn’t resist the temptation to look just as the earth beneath the camp suddenly turned to quicksand with each tent and their occupants sank below the sand in a silent disappearance. “Nooo,” she screamed. She struggled in his grasp and felt the stabbing pain from the dagger.

Every tent, including the one burning, disappeared into the ground when the earth swallowed everything not growing in the soil. Ryan felt his power completely run its course and looked below. There wasn’t anything left to show there had been two hundred men camped here. Nothing at all.

“Oh...no...no...Ryan, what have you done?” She was distraught with the vision she just witnessed.

“I won’t apologize, Tillian. I will tell you they were dead before they were buried, if that brings you any consolation.” His horse began moving then, carrying them back towards home with Wallace at their side.

“Those were innocent men!” Tillian wasn’t in a state of mind to recall that those innocent men contributed to the kidnapping of a Princess and condoned her rape.

“I won’t apologize,” he repeated and felt her stiffen in his arms until the pain became unbearable and she collapsed against him. Crysin waited two miles down the road in a secluded spot surrounded by twenty men. She’d sat there patiently while he collected Tillian, waiting for her brother to save her and take her home. She smiled sadly when he approached, feeling the weight of the moment upon her heart.

Looking down at the tiny woman in his arms, who tried to be strong through the excruciating pain, he frowned. She was his life now. He would not apologize for doing what he just did, but he did feel remorse for making Tillian distraught. When his gaze fell on his sister, he was determined. He didn’t feel badly for protecting the two women he loved most, but he was sorry she witnessed his actions.

The ride was painful, as each step the horse took jolted the knife in her back and shot pain through her entire body. Crysin rode up next to him and read her pain easily. “What happened?”

“That bastard threw a dagger at her turned back. Her own brother!” he growled. “I need to get her home so I can heal her.” The two shared a look, but he shook his head, telling her he wouldn’t risk doing a healing out here. If she was mortally stabbed, he might, but she would survive if he got her home quickly.

Crysin felt as if a dagger were stabbed in her as well, for she couldn’t imagine the edge Gareth must have been pushed to do such a thing. Knowing his feelings for his sister, it must have been true desperation. Seeing the fire still dancing in her brother’s eyes, she knew Gareth was dead and there was nothing left to discuss.

“Then ride,” Crysin replied to his retreating back as he galloped off into darkness with her right behind.

* * * *

Ryan paced outside the hall, staring out into the courtyard below. The people of the castle had lives that moved forward while his world was frozen while he waited for Tillian to wake up from his healing. It had cost a lot to do it, and brought on significant pain. Yet he did it, to heal her. The shock of such magic was too much and she’d passed out shortly thereafter. Glancing back at the room where she slept he could feel she was recovering. The healers were checking her over so now he waited.

His attention was pulled back to watching women stroll the garden, men laughing in groups while they moved to their next task. While he watched, a servant bustled from one building to the next with bundles in their arms. It was soothing to watch such mundane chores play out before him. It made him feel normal.

The bedroom door opened and healer emerged. “She will be fine, my liege. You successfully removed the dagger and stopped the bleeding, so she should suffer no ill effects other than a small scar,” the Royal Healer stated to Ryan and smiled. He was patient with the healers but the man could tell he just wanted to be with his wife.

“What of my sister?” he whispered.

“She, too, will recover just fine. She actually wasn’t badly abused so most of her recovery will be emotional.”

Ryan paused trying to control his anxiety so it would not show but failed. “Can I see my wife now?” he asked in a tightly controlled tone.

“Aye, she is resting, Sir. She awoke just now and is asking for you anyway.” The healer stepped to the side allowing him entry, and chuckled when Ryan pushed into the room and firmly shut the door behind him.

Ryan froze, taking in the sight of Tillian once more bundled in a bed looking worn and tired. She had been through enough healings to last a lifetime and he vowed to keep her out of a healer’s touch ever again. Well, and this thought brought a smile, that was until their children arrived. He wanted a horde of them.

The sound of the door had her opening her eyes which were filled with relief at seeing Ryan. This spurred him out of his paralysis and he kneeled at her side.

“I hear you’ll be just fine,” he said softly while he stroked the hair away from her face.

“Yes, so I hear.” She watched as his brown eyes roamed the length of her body, checking for her health. It wasn’t until she was bathed in the intense stare, that she could see his eyes no longer burned with raging magic. She exhaled with relief at seeing him once more in control. The only sign of any stress was the deep worry lines that creased his brow. “I’m all right, Ryan,” she added when his frown increased.

“I can’t tell you how scared I was, Tillian. What were you thinking?”

She could still see his distress, which had relaxed a little with the news she would be fine. Yet Tillian wasn’t ready yet to talk about why she did what she did, and asked instead. “How’s your sister?”

His head nodded. “Gareth was gentle so she wasn’t too badly injured. Emotionally, yes, but not physically.” Ryan cupped her face with his hand. “What were you thinking?”

When she realized he wasn’t going to let that question go, she sighed. “I wasn’t. You wouldn’t listen to me, but I guess I wasn’t listening to you either. I was fixated on the terror Crysin probably felt and the hope she most likely clung to that someone would come to her rescue. That is what drove me. I also was frantic with the possibility that you could be injured, so I stupidly thought that I was protecting you.” Tillian’s eyes closed to block out the horrific memories replaying in her mind talking about it all. “I didn’t factor in you’d follow until I saw the gate guard’s suspicion. I knew he’d raise the alarm and that is where I miscalculated. I thought I could get there and avoid having you or Gareth injured.” A tear escaped her tightly closed lids. “Now look what I’ve done.”