Remembered (32 page)

“You will stay out of this,” Kellus answered. “I don’t need
to watch your back, as well as my own.”

“No, Kellus, you’re my brother. We’ll take care of this
together,” Markum argued. “Whatever your plan, I’ll be with you.”

“I’ll be with you too,” Max piped up.

“No,” Kellus said firmly. “This is between Lionel and me. I
will not involve my family in this. And I most certainly will not have blood on
either of my brother’s hands.”

“You are not going to kill Lionel, Kellus,” Tol broke in.
“You’re not going to cause more grief.”

“Are you mad—?”

Tol cut him off. “I know the pain you have endured, but no
matter how old you grow, you will always be my son, and I’ll not allow you to
throw your life away for revenge.”

“Then, what would you have me do?” Kellus asked, his voice
growing louder. “I owe my wife justice. I will not allow that bastard to get
away with this.”

“I think you should return to the Citadom on Monday morning
as an apprentice,” Tol said. “I think you should play the part—”

“NO!” Kellus yelled.

“It’s the only way, son!” Tol yelled back. “Think it through.
If you engage Lionel, what will be your justification? You must return on
Monday—”

“NO!” Kellus yelled louder. “I will not be parted from her
again.”

“Listen!” Tol hollered. “Please,” he added in a softer tone.
“Do you trust Nordorum?”

“Yes, with my life,” Kellus answered.

“Go back in uniform. Play the part, and when you have the
opportunity, approach Nordorum alone. Plead your case to him. Let the law
work,” Tol said.

“No, father,” Kellus argued, shaking his head. “I won’t kill
Lionel if you ask me not to, but I won’t go back to the Citadom. We’ll leave
tomorrow. Annie and I will go away somewhere.”

“And what about the rest of us, Kellus?” Tol asked. “If you
leave, Lionel will grow suspicious again. Remember last time? He sent an
imposter to threaten us with arrest if we didn’t turn you over. He’ll kill next
time, Kellus. Every person at this table is at risk now. What about your mother
and your brothers and sisters? We cannot all run from this.”

“He’s right,” Annie piped in. “We can’t endanger all their
lives.”

Kellus pursed his lips and shook his head.

“So, this is the plan, then?” Max asked.

“Yes, Kellus will go back on Monday morning. When he sees
the chance to talk to Nordorum alone, he’ll tell him everything,” Tol said in a
manner that told them all the argument was no longer opened for debate.

“And what if we can’t trust Nordorum?” Markum asked. “What
if Nordorum is part of this? What will happen to Kellus then?”

“He’s not,” Kellus answered quietly. “I’m sure of it.”

“Then let us place our trust in Nordorum,” Tol added.

“He’s right, Kellus,” Annie said. “You can’t kill Lionel
without the truth dying with him. How could you justify it? And we can’t run
without endangering our family.”

“I know,” Kellus mumbled, wincing. “But how can I leave you
again?”

“It will only be for a short time, son,” Tol assured him.
“We’ll take care of Annie in the meantime.”

Kellus nodded, his shoulders sagged, he was reluctant, yet
resigned.

When they were finished eating, Kellus picked Annie up in
his arms and carried her outside to the family garden, following their brothers
and sisters.

He put her down on the grass and turned to Markum. “What did
you want to do?” he asked, his light-hearted mood having returned. “We have
only about one hour of sunlight left.”

“Have you seen your wife swordfight?” Markum asked, winking
at Annie.

“What … my wife swordfights?” Kellus questioned, eyeing
Annie suspiciously.

“I forgot to tell you that,” she replied, smiling back at
him.

“Yes, you did,” he answered.

“Not nearly as good as Cora, though,” Markum added.

“Cora swordfights?’ Kellus asked.

“And Zifini,” Markum replied.

“What else have I missed?” he mumbled. He draped his arm
over Zifini’s shoulder. “I don’t know what horrifies me more, the thought of my
little sister, or my beautiful wife playing with swords.”

“Watch yourself, Kellus,” Zifini snapped. “We do not play.”

“Never mind your sister or your wife. Challenge Cora,”
Markum said. “I promise you’ll be impressed.”

“Maybe I will,” Kellus answered.

“Can you handle me, brother-in-law,” Cora replied, winking
at him.

Max ran towards them holding an armful of wasters. He handed
one to Cora, one to Kellus, and let the rest spill to the ground. An amused
grin spread across his face.

Kellus faced Cora and held up his waster. “On guard, little
sister-in-law,” he said tauntingly.

He was much gentler with her than Markum had ever been; his
heart was not completely in it.

“Come on, Kellus, give her game!” Markum yelled from the
sidelines.

“I don’t think I can,” Kellus answered. “It’s unnatural to
engage not only a woman, but my own sister-in-law. I don’t think I have the
stomach for this.”

“Then watch me,” Markum said, taking the waster from Kellus.

Markum turned to face Cora and swung his wooden sword towards
her, but she blocked him easily.

They began moving in circles, thrusting, blocking, and
jumping backwards and forwards.

“I’m astonished,” Kellus laughed from several feet away.
“Cora, where did you learn that?”

“Do you have the stomach to face me now?” Cora teased.

“I’d like to try,” Kellus admitted.

Markum handed the waster back to Kellus.

He was not gentle this time. His skill was greater than
Markum’s, but Cora held her own. After two minutes of Cora blocking every move,
Kellus became intense. They moved towards the house, Kellus aiming to back Cora
up against the wall, but she wasn’t falling for that again. He swung low, but
she jumped over the waster and swung at Kellus’s head. He blocked her attack
and pushed her sword down with his own.

Cora jumped back and ducked just as Kellus’s sword came
towards her head. He laughed out loud again, clearly impressed. “Who am I
fighting next? He asked, shaking Cora’s hand.

“I’ll fight you,” Annie answered. She took Cora’s waster and
faced him.

“This should be interesting,” he said, shaking his head in
disbelief.

He swung at her right shoulder, but she blocked him. He thrust
forward, but she jumped to the side. She swung low at his left leg, he blocked
and swung at her right shoulder again, and again, she blocked him.

He dropped his wooden sword and moved towards her, his jaw
locked tight, his nostrils flaring hungrily. He grabbed the back of her neck,
pulled her to him, and pressed his mouth to her with lustful greed.

“We didn’t learn
that
move yet, did we?” Cora asked,
causing the others to laugh.

“Ugh, I wouldn’t want to face you in a fight, brother,”
Markum added.

Kellus broke away and laughed. “Forgive me for my lack of
self-control,” he said. He turned to Annie and whispered. “That was
unendurable. You look so lovely with a sword in your hands. You don’t need
skill, love. You could simply take your opponents breath away with your
beauty.”

She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she
whispered into his ear. She turned her head forward and attacked his lips.

“If the lovers would finish their attempt at making the rest
of us regurgitate our dinner, I’d like to see Kellus and Markum spar,” Cora
said.

“If he kisses me, I’ll kill him,” Markum exclaimed.

“Don’t worry about that,” Kellus replied, picking up a
waster. “I’d rather have my head severed than have to endure kissing your ugly
face.”

Watching them spar was like watching a well-choreographed
dance. They moved so fast it was hard to believe that neither one was getting
severely hurt. Wooden swords became a blur of speed, both men moving gracefully
in dizzying circles.

After ten minutes, Markum was on his back, the tip of
Kellus’s wooden sword under his chin.

Kellus threw the sword aside and jumped on Markum, lying
flat out on top of him. He placed his hand over Markum’s mouth then kissed that
hand passionately, making inappropriate moaning sounds.

“Get off me, fool,” Markum yelled, his voice muffled under
Kellus’s hand and mouth.

Kellus jumped to his feet and held a hand out to his
brother.

“Clown,” Markum snapped as he stood up.

“That I am, but you love me regardless,” Kellus replied with
a playful grin.

Markum stopped short and stared at Kellus. “It’s good to
hear you laugh again,” he said emotionally.

Kellus threw one arm over his brother’s shoulder casually.
“It’s feels good to laugh again,” he replied. “Thanks for your patience when I
couldn’t,” he added sincerely.

“Always,” Markum answered, grabbing his brother’s shoulder
affectionately.

Annie followed Kellus to the carriage parked out front,
hardly believing that the weekend was over so soon.

Tol was already seated on top, readjusting the reins
impatiently.

She buried her face in Kellus’s chest. “I can’t stand this,”
she blurted out selfishly. She had managed to stay composed all weekend for his
sake, knowing the only thing that would cause him further distress than leaving
her, would be her reaction to the separation.

“Annie,” he breathed, stroking her hair. “Don’t be sad,
love. I’ll be back within the week, maybe even less, and then we’ll never be
parted again.”

“Never?” she asked.

“You have my word,” he promised.

She smiled up at him. “I had no right to make you feel bad,
I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Believe me, love, I feel the same way. It’s
torture to walk away from you.”

“Kellus, we have to leave,” Tol called down. “You’re due
back in thirty minutes. Already you’ll be late.”

“I don’t care what time I get to that cursed place,” Kellus
called back.

“I understand that, son, but it’s the last time. Let’s do
this right as best we can,” Tol replied.

Kellus turned back to Annie and ran his finger under her
eye. “You look so tired,” he said. “Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to stay up
all night.”

“No,” she disagreed. “It was the very best idea.”

“Go, love…go back to bed for the day,” he murmured, winking
at her. “You’ll need your energy for when I return. No doubt, I’ll need another
whole night to quench my desire for you.”

“Ahhhh, my ears are bleeding,” Tol called down, wincing and
rolling his eyes.

Kellus placed his knuckle under Annie’s chin and gave her
one last lingering kiss on the lips. He climbed up to the top of the carriage
next to his father. “Is there something about what married couples do in
privacy that you need to know, Tol?” he asked. “Or were you just eavesdropping
on a private conversation for amusement?”

“Amusement?” Tol asked doubtfully. “I’m only thankful that
young Cora didn’t over-hear that drivel. It would have taken her hours to
recover. And if there was something that I needed you to explain, son, you
wouldn’t be sitting here.” Tol pulled on the reins and slowly turned the rig
around.

“Of course,” Kellus agreed. “I just thought that maybe, in
your old age, your memory of such things had dimmed.”

“No, no, no,” Tol laughed, shaking his head. “I have
absolute recall of those things, especially after last night. You can ask Sara
if you doubt me.”

“Stop it!” Kellus moaned painfully, covering his ears with both
hands. “Please stop. That’s my mother you speak of.”

Tol laughed. He was obviously proud of the way he had
horrified his son. “What can I say, Kellus? You’re not the only man in the
family married to a beautiful woman.”

Annie watched as they rode down the hill towards the Ocean
Road, bantering back and forth to one another. At the corner, Kellus turned to
wave one last time.

She walked back to the house, up the stairs, and into her
room, feeling miserable.

She slept most of the day away, getting up only to use the
bathroom and, later, to eat the food that Cora had brought up to her.

Max sat at the table alone, eating toast, when Annie entered
the kitchen the following morning.

“Good morning,” he said, smiling at her. “That was a really
long sleep you had,”

“I didn’t sleep the whole time,” she explained. “I just felt
like being alone.”

“He’ll be back in a few days,” he answered sympathetically.

“Thanks, Max, but I actually feel much better today. I think
I just needed rest.”

“Morning,” Markum mumbled, walking into the kitchen. “Do you
want to train today? It’s a good day for it: no work and no Kellus taking a fit
of passion every time Annie picks up a sword.”

They waited for Cora and Zifini to finish breakfast, before
heading outside to begin their lessons.

Markum decided that it was time they got the feel of real
weapons. Cora and Zifini were given spare swords, which were kept in a long
cupboard by the kitchen door. Max borrowed Tol’s, and Annie was handed a long,
silver blade with a gold hilt adorned with three black stones down the middle.
“Your husband’s,” Markum explained. “I’m sure he won’t mind if you borrow it,
seeing how amused he was with your new skills.”

“Was that what that was?” Cora asked. “I thought that was
just an excuse to act like a love-sick fool in front of an audience.”

Markum pulled Zifini four feet away from the others. “I’d
like you to spread out, give yourselves space. I want you all to practice the
moves and counter moves I taught you earlier in the week, but I don’t want to
see anyone lose a limb in the process,” Markum explained.

When Markum was convinced that they had swung the blades in
every direction enough times, he paired them up to spar with one another.
“Please be very careful, all of you,” he added.