Her Knight's Quest: A Warriors of the Mist Novel (23 page)

He then picked up his gear and started for the door. “If you decide to come, meet me at the gate. Time grows short.”

Sigil caught up with Murdoch a few steps down the hall and planted himself directly in front of him. “I give you my word, for what it’s worth, that I will not betray you. I’ll be there.”

“Good. Go get packed. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

*  *  *

As soon as Sigil was out of sight, Murdoch stopped in front of Alina’s door and knocked. She answered immediately and stood back to let him in.

“You finished your meeting with Gideon early! I’ve been counting the minutes until . . .” Her words trailed off as she stared at the packs in his hand. Her smile faded.

“You’re leaving.”

It wasn’t a question, but he nodded anyway. “Duncan sent word with Kiva that he’s returning with a child who is being hunted by Keirthan. He might need help protecting her.”

“Then of course you must go.”

At least she looked as disappointed as he felt.

“I am truly sorry, Alina, but I should only be gone a few days. When I return, we can still”—he paused to look past her toward the four-poster bed in the far corner—“share our time together. That is, if you haven’t changed your mind by then.”

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

She stepped forward to wrap her arms around his waist and laid her face against his chest. He held her close, savoring the opportunity to pretend she truly belonged to him, that they had a chance at a future together.

But they didn’t. By now Sigil and Gideon would be waiting for him at the front gate. For years, duty was all he’d had to keep him going. That was no longer enough, not when he’d had a taste of what it would be like to be a normal man with a woman who might learn to love him. He forced himself to step back, to let her go. But Alina held on, refusing to let him retreat. Stubborn woman.

“Sir Murdoch, have you not forgotten something?” Her smile was flirtatious, her stance all feminine temptation.

He looked around the room. What could it be?

She took pity on him and explained. “Were you going to leave without kissing me? I think that would be most ungentlemanly of you.”

Murdoch liked this bolder version of Alina. He bowed his head. “My apologies. I will hasten to correct that oversight.”

Then he lost himself in the beauty of the moment. Despite the difference in their size, they fit together perfectly. Her kiss was an ambrosia unlike anything else he’d ever tasted. Would that he could feast upon her sweetness for the rest of his days—and nights.

For these few stolen moments, his duty would simply have to wait a little longer.

Chapter 24

D
uncan jumped back from the scrying bowl, already drawing his sword. “We’re under attack. Stay here!”

As usual the woman didn’t listen. Lavinia was only a few steps behind him as he cut through her office. He wasn’t surprised that she ignored him when her friends and the abbey itself were in danger. He gave up and waited for her to catch up. Together the two of them ran toward the front of the abbey. He ignored the shouts and screams as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Lavinia, what did you see?”

“It’s Ifre. His men are gathered at the base of the hillside. I saw through the captain’s eyes that they were waiting for something to happen. Through the connection between my brother and his captain, Ifre ordered them to hold back while he unleashed his weapon against the abbey.”

She was short of breath, but he couldn’t afford to slow down. He’d figure the rest out for himself. Keirthan had obviously traced his coins back to the abbey and sent his men after Lavinia.

Keirthan was battering the walls of the abbey with a stronger version of the same weapon he’d used against Scim. The way the entire building shook with each impact left little doubt that he’d found a way to increase its power. How many of the people had been sacrificed to extend the weapon’s range this far?

Keirthan probably thought the sisters would surrender meekly rather than see the place destroyed. Well, both the duke and his guard were in for a surprise. It was doubtful that they expected to encounter an armed resistance.

Even if the explosions did weaken the abbey’s walls, weak walls didn’t change the fact the duke’s men could only approach by way of the switchback trail. Armed with bows and arrows, the abbey’s guards could pick off attackers at a distance.

If any made it all the way to the courtyard outside the abbey door, then Duncan would be waiting to dispatch them with his sword. But he was getting ahead of himself. He ran to join the abbey’s guards where he could assess the situation.

At the end of the hall, he looked back toward Lavinia. She’d hiked the skirts of her robes, enabling her to run faster. She was only a few feet behind him again.

He held up a hand to stop her. “Gather the sisters and take them to the warded workroom. Do it now, Lavinia, while the guards and I deal with the attack.”

She wanted to argue. It was clear in the stubborn set of her mouth, but she nodded. Rather than turn back, she ran straight toward him. Instead of arguing, she clasped his face with both hands and tugged him close for a quick kiss.

“Stay safe, Duncan.”

Then she was gone, already shouting orders to the sisters. Despite the dire circumstances, he couldn’t help but grin. In all of his long life, he’d never once had a woman kiss him before he headed into battle. He found he liked it.

Another crash against the walls snapped him out of the momentary distraction. Time to make sure Keirthan’s men didn’t make it past the front door of the abbey.

*  *  *

Duncan found Josup standing in the courtyard tying off a bandage on the arm of one of the other guards. When he was finished, the wounded man picked up his bow and arrows and loped back toward the wall.

Duncan sheathed his weapon for the moment. “What happened to him? Have they breached our defenses?”

“Not yet. He got hit with a piece of falling rock. The wound was more bloody than serious. As far as we can tell, the duke’s men are still at the bottom of the hill.”

Josup gave Duncan a considering look. “All those drills you insisted on have proven valuable. Everyone knew right where to go and what to watch for.”

They both instinctively ducked as the abbey took another blast. Josup looked disgusted. “I was a soldier before I decided I’d live longer as a caravan guard, and I’ve fought in my fair share of battles. Never saw the like of those bolts of light coming out of nowhere.”

“I don’t think anyone has. They’re coming from Duke Keirthan himself. His blood magic.”

When the ground quit shaking, they ran for the ladder that would take them to the best vantage point to see what was happening on the trail below. He prayed Keirthan would soon run out of bolts to lob at the abbey. When that happened, the real fighting would begin.

From above, it was easy to see that the walls had been hit hard, but they were still sound. No gaping holes had opened up that would allow Keirthan’s men easy access to the abbey’s interior. Duncan silently prayed to the Lady of the River that they would continue to hold.

As he watched, three more flashes of white-hot light came soaring down from above. The first one hit the wall below where he stood. The jolt sent Josup toppling backward over the edge, but Duncan hauled him back up to safety.

The other man grinned at him. “Thank you. That was close.”

The second blast flew overhead to land in the middle of Sister Berta’s herb garden. The elderly woman wouldn’t be happy about the damage it caused, but at least it had missed the well and the guards.

The third volley hit the top of the trail, sending an avalanche of rock and dirt rolling down the hillside. If the damage was bad enough, it might impede the duke’s men’s ability to reach the abbey. Duncan might be glad about that part, but not if it also damaged the road enough to make it difficult for him and Sarra to ride back down.

For the moment, a blessed silence settled over the hillside. Josup and Duncan both looked up on the bluff overhead where their lookout was perched. The man’s hands moved in a flurry of gestures that Josup understood.

“They’re coming, riding two by two. There’re about twenty of them.”

It could have been worse. “Signal the bowmen.”

Josup used the same hand signals to tell the others that the enemy was on the move. It would be a few minutes before they got into range.

“I’ll check on the sisters. Send a runner if you need me before I get back.”

Josup nodded as he nocked an arrow, keeping it aimed at the last turn in the trail below. They’d already discussed strategy. The plan was to wait until the enemy had made the final turn before attacking. They wanted to trap the bastards in a withering fire of arrows, blocking any retreat to safety and at the same time preventing them from reaching the abbey.

Duncan hustled back down the ladder and ducked inside the door near the abbey’s kitchen. He checked each room as he passed it to make sure there were no stragglers. Before the real fighting began, he needed to know that all of the women had taken refuge in the workroom. As long as the sisters were safely tucked in behind Lavinia’s powerful wards, he and the guards could concentrate on fighting without having to worry about them.

He paused to listen. Silence. The kitchen was empty, pots still simmering over the fire. No movement from the dining hall, no heartbeats within the immediate vicinity. Good. He headed down the hallway toward the workroom and spotted Lavinia standing outside the door.

“Lavinia? Why aren’t you inside with the others?”

Her eyes were wide with fear, but her voice was calm. “Because I’m waiting for Joetta to finish counting to make sure we found everyone. Once I’m sure all of the sisters are inside, I’ll join them and reset the wards. How are things outside?”

The pressure in his chest eased. “The blasts have stopped for now, but there’s no way to know if they’ll begin again. Maybe they won’t because the duke’s men have started up the trail. Once you’re inside, promise you won’t open the door unless you know it’s me or Josup.”

She licked her lips, her hands nervously clenching and unclenching. “I promise, and we will all pray for the safety of you and the guards.”

“I’ll let the men know.”

When he started back, she called after him, “They are connected to the duke through the emblem they wear on a chain around their necks. Remove those, and you break the link. Bring the talismans to me, and I’ll destroy them.”

He nodded but didn’t tell her that he had no intention of letting the duke’s men get close enough for him to grab them by their necklaces. Even so, it was helpful to know the enemy’s weakness.

Outside, the guards remained poised to fire. He rejoined Josup. “The sisters are all safely behind a stout door.”

Knowing the guards shared his basic distrust of magic, he didn’t mention that it was warded. It was enough for the men to know that for the moment the women were safe.

He did share the information about the duke’s emblem. “If you can shoot through those, it will weaken their connection to their master.”

Come to think of it, that explained what had happened to the warrior who had nearly sacrificed his own life to save Murdoch and Lady Alina from Fagan. Destroying the two coins had caused enough of an explosion. He could only imagine what that backlash would do to a man’s mind.

A movement on the trail caught his attention. The first of the troopers had reached the last turn.

“Hold steady. Wait for my signal.”

Josup passed along the order, each man whispering to the next one along the wall. It wouldn’t be long now. Duncan silently counted the men as they came into sight. Already two-thirds of the troop were on their final approach to the abbey.

They rode in eerie silence, looking neither to the left nor to the right. Why weren’t they watching for an attack? Only their leader appeared to be aware of his surroundings. Duncan’s skin crawled at the realization that these men had been ensorcelled by their master, their free will taken from them.

“What is wrong with them?” Josup whispered.

“I’ve seen this before. The duke has taken possession of them through those necklaces they each wear. They will fight without question until they are dead. They don’t talk.”

He shuddered at the memory. “They don’t even scream when wounded. To a man, they’ll bleed out and die without a whimper.”

Josup immediately made a gesture meant to ward off evil. Duncan didn’t blame him, but now wasn’t the time for superstition. It was time to fight.

“Fire!”

The arrows flew and the dying began.

*  *  *

It didn’t take long. With the guards firing from above, it was more of a slaughter than a battle. The horses panicked from the sting of arrows and the smell of blood. Several of the duke’s men were unseated and died beneath the hooves of their horses, which were struggling to break free of the attack.

A few riders, through luck or skill, made it to the top unscathed; Duncan, Josup, and several of the other guards waited for them. Normally, fighting from horseback gave the rider the advantage over a man on foot. But in the confined space, the horses had little room to maneuver.

The captain dismounted while ordering his men to do the same. They formed up in a line, swords drawn. There were only six of them, but no one made it into the duke’s personal guard without being an accomplished swordsman. They had earned the right to act confident.

But then none of them had ever faced off against one of the Damned before.

Duncan offered the captain a mocking salute, and the fight began in earnest. The man was better than good; he was highly skilled with a real talent for reading Duncan’s intentions before he could carry them out. It had been a long time since he’d crossed swords with someone of the captain’s caliber. Normally, as an avatar of the gods, Duncan’s speed and skill far outstripped those of a mere mortal, but right now he was struggling to hold the man at bay. It niggled at him, but he had to keep his mind in the battle.

His own men were caught up in a vicious battle against the enemy, but he couldn’t help them, not yet. From out of nowhere, Kiva swept past Duncan to attack the duke’s men from above. Even with his gods-enhanced strength and speed, the bird must have nearly killed himself to have completed the trip to Gideon that quickly; he had to have flown day and night, not stopping except to deliver Duncan’s message. Yet here he was, doing his best to lend his aid to the battle. Duncan sent his gratitude as he dodged another attack himself. If he didn’t concentrate on his own opponent, the captain might get past him. The man was capable of slaughtering Josup and his men, leaving Lavinia and the sisters at his mercy.

That was not going to happen—not while Duncan had a breath in his body. He feinted to the right and then back to the left, drawing the captain off balance long enough for Duncan to score a telling hit, drawing first blood. Just as he feared, his opponent ignored the wound, ignored the pain, ignored everything except his desire to kill Duncan.

As the man lunged toward Duncan in another attack, the necklace around his neck swung out from his chest, momentarily drawing Duncan’s attention. Mayhap he should consider Lavinia’s suggestion and attempt to sever the connection between Ifre Keirthan and his men.

He caught the chain with the tip of his sword and yanked up hard. The maneuver left him open and vulnerable, and his sword slid free of the chain just as the captain’s blade connected with Duncan’s right side. Unlike his ensorcelled opponent, he had a harder time ignoring the painful blow to his ribs.

He aimed at the chain again. This time it slid down to the thicker portion of his blade. Putting all of his power behind his effort, he yanked up and away from the man’s neck once, twice, and again. On the third time, the chain snapped, and the talisman fell to the ground as the captain stumbled backward, trying to regain his balance. Duncan retreated several steps to see what would happen next.