Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (41 page)

Footsteps retreated.

Back in bed, Lars wrapped his massive arms around me. "Why do you wear a witch's bracelet?"

I fingered the bracelet. "It was my great-aunt's. It won't come off and I don't know how to use it right."

"Minerva. Valkyrie. Witch. You have complicated my life immensely this day." He rolled away onto his back. "Tell me why I should ally with your cousin."

My mouth was dry. "You shouldn't."

Another pause. I could feel his surprise.

"Why ever not?"

"Ced
ric terrifies me. You should fear him too."

"Rowena—what a pretty name, I have never said it before. Rowena, Cedric claims you are his. Is this not so?"

I sighed. That annoying custom of ownership. How far back should we go here? "Gareth claims the same and he has the prior claim. But it was not done in church as is required in the south. So Cedric does not recognize it."

"Why should I fear him?" There was confidence in Lars'
s voice. "I fear nobody."

"You asked if I were a witch. I'm not, but Cedric is a master of the dark arts and he is getting stronger every day. He has me under his control and I can only stay free of him by keeping distant. If you send me back to him, I will lose my freedom forever."

Lars scanned my face. "This is a bad thing for you?"

"Would it not be so for you? Women are no different. And another thing…Gareth may accept this news that you have only protected me and nothing else, but don't ever tell Cedric I was here in your bed. Not if you value your life."

Lars raised up on one elbow. "You really are afraid of this cousin of yours."

I shivered. "I know what he is capable of. I've seen the alter he worships at. I saw him kill Sargon and his own brother Ivan. I was there, lying beside Ivan when the sword pierced his heart. He'd kill you without a thought."

"And that would bother you?"

"No man is an island," I mumbled.

"So you would have me continue to ally with Norland."

"For my sake, certainly. But to be honest, I don't know if it will make a difference. In the long run Cedric will win. I don't know a man who could stop him. I thought maybe Sargon could, but I was wrong."

"He is not that powerful," Lars said with disdain.

"You don't understand." Tears pooled in my eyes. "It's not a physical thing, although he is a powerful man and I think you underestimate him there. You saw what he did to Sargon and that was natural enough. But now that he has magic at his disposal, he doesn't care about fairness. He never did." My voice broke.

"Rowena." Lars gathered me up in his arms. "Calm down. You are safe here." He kissed my forehead and held me tight.

We stayed like that for a minute or so. I felt warm and safe in his arms. Oh, what a day this had been, a day spun on its head.

"I'm so thirsty," I said, sniffing.

He cursed, let go of me and leapt to his feet. He pulled open the door and spoke to someone. Lars returned with two goblets. He gave one to me and I drank it. He took some of his, then passed it to me. I finished his off too.

"Now sleep," he said. "We have some time yet."

I slept in the arms of this warm, gentle giant.

Sometime later I awoke with a start. The sun was high in the sky.

I sat straight up in bed.

"What is it?" Lars asked.

"Cedric's coming." I replied. "I can feel him calling." I covered my face with my hands. "It's too soon. I didn't think it would be this soon."

I heard a sharp intake of air beside me. "Tell me what you feel."

At least he took me seriously now. I tried to describe what was happening to my mind, but it was hard to break free enough to do so. "He's close. He's sending out—I guess you would call them
feelers—
to locate me. He knows I'm here in this dwelling, but he can't see where exactly. Yet. He's trying to pull me out."

Lars sat up. "What do you mean, pull you out?"

I rocked back and forth. "Give me a moment. I need to concentrate." I pressed the base of my palms to my eyes as Cedric's magnetic pull increased, and a little line of pain with it. "He's trying to pull me out of this building, into the open. He doesn't want to encounter you if he can help it. He thinks you might interfere." I stared at him. "How does he know that?"

Lars snorted. "He is no fool. It is my land. I have a reputation."

I gasped. "It's getting stronger. He can't be more than a mile away. I have to leave." I swept back the covers, rushed to my feet and threw on my ripped muslin dress. Where were my boots?

Lars jumped out of bed. "You cannot leave. That would be foolish. A woman alone in these parts, you'd be dead in a day. Be reasonable."

I stopped long enough to meet his eyes. "You don't understand, Lars. He'll destroy you to get to me. I've got to ride out for the sake of your men. Please help me."

He cursed and threw on his clothes. His weapons were on the floor. He grabbed them and swung open the door.

I was through it, then sprinting across a room filled with men still lying on pallets. I didn't stop, but shot out the main doors. The stables were to my left. I ran for them, calling to Lightning in my mind.

Behind me, Lars yelled for his men. There was a noisy commotion.

"Riders coming," yelled the guard on duty. Men poured from the fortress, shouting orders and gathering arms.

I had Lightning by the bridle and was leading her out when I felt the triumphant call. I cried out and fell to my knees.

Lars was to me in a second. He pulled me up and held me to him.

"Hold me tight." I begged him. "Don't let me free. I can't control this."

Screams erupted from the courtyard. An unusual hush followed.

I looked out the gates and saw riders, hundreds of them dressed in black, riding black horses. As before, their features were indistinct. They surrounded the walls, forming a solid line with no break, but did not enter the yard.

Then I saw Cedric. He looked bigger than ever and as strong as a lion as he cantered through the gate on the giant palomino. He came alone. He wore green and gold, the ceremonial colors of Huel. His eyes found me immediately and I cried out. Lars wrapped his arms around me from behind, locking them in front, holding me firm.

Cedric stopped and dismounted. He took one step and shifted his eyes to Lars. "You have my wife. Release her."

"I take orders from no one," Lars replied with derision.

Cedric smiled, his eyes that brilliant green color again, with no depth to them, no soul. "I take it you do not accept my overture for allegiance then."

There was a dangerous silence all around us.

Cedric's expression changed as his eyes moved from Lars to me, gathering in the way I was being held.

"You have my wife!" he yelled, the fury barely checked.

"And I mean to keep her," Lars shot back, his eyes gleaming.

Oh God, these males and their macho egos. Would it ever end?

"Then prepare to fight," Cedric said in an icy voice.

Lars reached for his sword. That was a mistake. As his right arm released me, I was jerked forward by Cedric's power. I screamed and fell to my knees. An invisible curtain had fallen behind me, a bubble of power that surrounded Cedric and me like a force field. Lars tried to reach for me, but his arm hit an imperceptible wall. I could hear the men cry out as their weapons bounced off it.

Cedric waited for me to come to him. He folded his arms and smiled, ready to enjoy my humiliation. I fought it with everything in me, staying on my knees, avoiding his eyes.

He beckoned me once more. I resisted, turning around on my knees and facing Lars, who was yelling instructions to his men, frantic to find a way to get through. I sensed Cedric's impatience and I hated him for it, hated that he would force subservience on me. The pain in my head was so excruciating that I curled up in a fetal position on the ground, unable to move or think.

Cedric strutted forward, closed his huge hand over my wrist and roughly yanked me up. The pain in my head released the instant he touched me. I opened my eyes as he swung me up into his arms and carried me to the horse as if I were no weight at all. The bubble shifted behind us, but protected us still. Men fell in behind, though they could not breach it.

My wrist hurt from being pulled. The bracelet had made an imprint in my skin
. I held it to my chest and massaged my wrist.

Cedric drew the palomino closer. Soon he would lift me onto it.

I wished with all my heart to be somewhere else, my favorite place.

The air turned bright yellow around us.

"Lady Rowena!" I heard Lars cry out.

There was a snap and I was tossed into the sky.

Chapter 40

I landed in a heap on hard floor. It wasn't a graceful landing.

The sky was still spinning and my stomach fought nausea. I lay on my back, looked around and tried to take in what the hell had just happened.

I was in the library at Castle Sargon. Alone. But not for long.

Kendra dashed in from the adjacent bedroom. "Thank God! Are you alright?" She reached down and pulled me up. Then she hugged me hard.

"I'm fine. Let me sit down for a moment in the next room."

I was still light-headed.

When we reached the bed, I plunked down on it. "I don't ever want to do that, ever again," I said with conviction.

"Tell me what happened. I've been worried sick."

I told her most of it. I left out the Lars gift-from-heaven part.

She shook her head, then filled me in on her story. "After you vanished, I didn't know what to do. I called your name over and over, and started walking south down the riverside, retracing our steps.

"You must have been scared."

"Terrified. It was pitch black. Then Logan and a search party found me. Thane had sent them out looking for us."

I smiled.

"They brought me back to the castle and I went right to bed," Kendra continued. "When I awoke this morning, almost everyone was gone. Even Logan. George says Thane is already at the battlefield with his troops. I didn't know what to do so I waited for you here. Figured it was the first place you would go."

My heart caught on one word. "Battlefield? Kendra, we have to stop this."

"I thought you would say that. But how?"

I scrambled to my feet and dashed toward the wardrobe. "Not sure yet, but we've got to find them. I'll figure something out when we get there. But first, help me find something to wear."

She leaped to her feet beside me and rummaged through the wardrobe.

"Find anything?" I asked.

"Nope. You've wrecked everything."

My eyes landed on the dark cherry dress. "It might fit."

"Isn't it rather fancy for riding?"

I shrugged. "Thane is going into battle. I should probably attempt to look regal for the sake of the men. Besides, everything else I have is ripped or dirty. I don't want to join his side looking like a tavern wench."

"A tavern wench after a big brawl."

I scowled. "Help me into it."

It was a struggle, but we succeeded. Kendra laced the dress loosely.

"Your hair will cover the back," she said.

"Now to the stables." I picked up my skirt and ran.

Ten minutes later we were saddled and leaving through the front gates.

"Good thing these two fillies were left behind," I said. "Two small for the men, I guess. Do you know where they are?"

"George said they would likely meet on the border with Huel, by the river."

The river…Thane at war with my family from Huel.

My stomach twisted. How would this day turn out?

"Let's go," I called to Kendra as I kicked the horse forward.

We rode hard for some time. Like most young horses, ours were anxious to run. I felt their excitement and tried to caress their minds with reassurance.

As we traveled, I scanned the horizon for any sign of troops. None yet, but the evidence of recent footprints—male and equine—were everywhere. I knew this landscape well. Many times, I had traveled between Castle Sargon and Huel. For some strange reason, this felt like it would be the last.

A chill ran down my spine.

As we neared the river, I saw soldiers far in the distance. We were close to the clearing, just a ride up the long hill to the forest edge.

I motioned Kendra. "Keep close."

When we crested the hill, I pulled the filly to a stop. From this vantage point, I could see for several miles. "Holy hell, Kendra. Look at this."

Thousands of men milled around on our side of the river. White tents sprouted like mushrooms on the verdant meadow that had been my first sight of Land's End. Colored pennants flanked a row of tents midway.