The Crusader ("The Crusader" Prequel to "Kingdom Come") (48 page)

Corbin
aimed the gun at Kieran's head. "You have interfered for the last
time," he said with malice. "I don't know who you are and I've no
idea why you insist on calling me Simon. But if killing you is what it takes to
accomplish my goal, then I shall. Now, I will ask this only once; will you go
peaceably?"

"With
the lady at my side?"

"No."

"Then
you have your answer."

Corbin
cocked an eyebrow. "Very well, hero. Have it your way."

A gun
went off. Rory screamed, her voice echoing off the rocks, but even as she
continued screaming, she realized that Kieran had not been shot. He was still
on one knee, his arms outstretched, watching Corbin fall face-first into the
sand. Bud, David, Kieran and Rory all stared in astonishment as Justin Darlow,
standing just behind Corbin, lowered the small caliber revolver in his left
hand.

Darlow
felt the stunned gazes as he continued to look upon the man he had just killed.
When he did look up, his attention was directed at Rory.

"A
man like Corbin only understands violence. I've known enough Corbins in my
lifetime to know that. I simply couldn't let him kill your knight in cold
blood," his gaze found Kieran. Weakly, he shook his head. "I don't
know why I believe you are who they say you are. But I do. How did you come
back to life?"

Kieran
wavered dangerously, falling on his rump as Rory dropped to his side,
supporting him. The disbelief, the disorientation glazing his expression, was
blatant.

"Through
the miracle of love," he murmured, barely heard above the driving rain.
"My... my lady and I will not be separated. I thank you for your
assistance."

Darlow
simply nodded.  Behind him, David’s awed voice filled the air.

"You
killed him," he hissed. "By damn, Darlow, you
killed
him."

Darlow
turned to David. "I realize that and I don't particularly care. I was
protecting the knight from Corbin's crazed assault and I am confident any jury
will find that I did it to protect us all," he glanced over his shoulder
at the lady and her knight, once again in a tight embrace as rain and lightning
exploded around them. "He's a madman, you know. I just couldn't stand by
and allow him to commit cold-blooded murder. And he would have, too. Can't you
see that the lady and her knight cannot be separated?"

"What
about that speech you gave Rory about the purity of English heritage and all
that?" Bud was on his feet, a huge bruise on his cheek. "Now you're
saying that she and Kieran belong together?"

Darlow
nodded faintly. "You know they do, too."

Bud
simply stared at the man who had been willing to kill for the power of love; odd
how Sir Kieran Hage seemed to provoke the strongest of emotions wherever he
went. Glancing to the sand where Corbin lay, he realized that it was finally
over with the man. But the fact remained that Kieran was very ill and the need
to get him to a hospital took precedence over all other thoughts at the moment.

"Come
on," he motioned to Darlow and to the soldiers who had thus far stood
silent and basically unmoving. Even the Marine who had been aiming his weapon
at David had lowered it. "We've got to get him to a doctor. There's a
small hospital not too far from here, about an hour up...."

Bud
never finished his sentence. A huge burst of lightning suddenly lit up the sky,
a jagged bolt crashing down on the outcropping of rocks where Kieran and Rory
were huddled.  Chunks of rock went flying and even as Bud screamed Rory's name,
trying to protect himself from the white-hot projectiles, he knew his cries
were in vain. He knew, before the smoke even settled, that she never heard him. 
Straining to look through the dust and rain, he could see that there was
nothing left upon that slick pile of rocks.  No bodies, no crown… nothing. 
Everything was gone.

If
you go, I go with you.

She had.