When Lightning Strikes (26 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Navarre staggered up the long passageway back towards the bedchamber. Luckily, he had purposely left his torch stuck in a nook in the stones before entering the dungeon earlier so he could enter as quietly as possible and take the woman and the gypsy unawares. Now that torch was his guiding light as he made his way back.

He leaned heavily against one wall and tore a piece of his tunic free to bind his wound. It was bleeding badly and he was feeling weak from the loss of blood. But it was not going to stop him from hunting down his prey.

Right now his mind was on the task at hand. First, he must alert Thomas that “Melissande” had been stolen away by none other than his dear half-brother. Thomas would be forced to have the gypsy brought back here and locked below the keep in one of the dark cells for the crime of fornicating with the wife of a noble. The lowborn cur would be at his mercy to torture as he pleased until death was naught but a welcome relief.

As for the woman…she would either submit herself willingly to his advances and his offer to pose as his wife, or she would die as well. But not before he had partaken through force of what carnal pleasures her body had to offer him.

He finished wrapping his wound as tightly as he could bear and walked the remainder of the passage back to the bedchamber. He carefully closed the entrance behind him and headed out the door to alert Thomas and the guards.

Sarah’s breath was coming in gasps and her heart was pounding in her throat as they raced through the darkness at breakneck speed. She was afraid….more afraid than she could ever remember feeling. She hoped the horse could see what was ahead   because she sure couldn’t! There was a fair amount of moonlight, but it certainly wasn’t like having streetlights.

She looked over at Dominic as they raced along. She could barely make out his features enough to see that his face showed no fear. She was glad. At least she felt a little safer having him beside her. She supposed this kind of thing was somewhat common to people in this century; running for your life in the middle of the night in utter darkness. Or at least it was probably common to the poor, the peasants and perhaps the thieves and beggars who were forced to steal and run to survive.

They rode on for what seemed like a long while. It couldn’t have been too long because the horses needed to break, but it was long enough to get them far away from Navarre’s home and his treachery but she knew they would come after them. Running was only a temporary solution. And if Navarre had his way he would kill Dominic and drag her back with him to make her suffer. Then he would no doubt find some way to do her in when the time was right and he thought he could get away with it, passing it off as yet another tragedy in his tumultuous life.

Dominic slowed the pace of his horse and Sarah followed his lead gently pulling back on the reins – hoping she wouldn’t hurt the horse or kill herself trying to get the animal to safely stop. The horse seemed to know what to do and came to a gradual stop. Its skin was damp with its exertion and she could see its breath coming out in steamy jets from its nostrils.

Dominic turned to her. “Are you oh-kay?”

Sarah nodded.

“Good. We will rest here for a moment and then move on. Marco should be along at any time now. He is waiting for us.”

Sarah’s brows knit together with worry. “Won’t they…. I mean Navarre and his men follow us back to your camp?”

“Marco has already moved camp. We will reach them soon enough.”

He looked off into the distance struggling to see anything in the dim light, and Sarah could tell where his thoughts were as he slid down from his horse.

He reached over to her. “Let me help you. We must walk the horses until they are not breathing so heavily and give them time to cool.”

She moved her horse closer to his and he offered her his hand to help her down. He reached up and patted the horse’s sweaty flank and handed her the reins and began walking beside her.

He reached over and his fingers traced the curve of her cheek and traveled down her neck to the place where his galbi hung between her breasts. As he pulled back from her she could see the storm clouds brewing in his eyes despite his loving gesture.

“Dominic, promise me you won’t try to go back there after Navarre.”

He stared at her in silence, his face looking like stone in the pale moonlight.

“He didn’t touch me. I am fine and you and I are together. Please. Just leave well enough alone. Revenge is not worth the risk of losing you!” Her eyes took on a pleading look.

“Sarah, I know what you say is truth. But in those moments before we had to run all I could think of was cutting him to pieces. Damn! It was a chance I have waited for and it was lost to me. God forgive me but it is so. And after what he did…what he tried to do to you, I cannot simply walk away and forget so easily. You are my wife.”

His eyes traveled to the ground. “And I suppose in truth, this goes well beyond my love for you. The bastard has been a thorn in my side for my entire life.”

“I know. Believe me, there is no one who knows more about what a snake he is than I do.”

She paused, remembering the diary and hoping that by now it was safely in Thomas’s hands. Maybe if she could delay Dominic’s trying to go after Navarre long enough, Thomas would take care of the problem for them. Surely once he found out about his ‘son’ he would not let him go on unpunished or name him as his rightful heir. She mustn’t let Dominic know about the diary until enough time passed for Thomas to get it and hopefully take some action.

“Promise me that you won’t do anything right away. Can we just wait for awhile and see if your emotions cool down after some time goes by?”

He looked puzzled. “Cool down? What does ‘cool down’ mean?

“It means to lessen. You know. You get mad and you feel hot…flustered. And then you ‘cool down’ after some time passes. It’s figurative…I mean…it’s just using words that you would use regarding a thing to express an emotion instead.” She sighed, certain he couldn’t possibly understand what she was trying to say

He smiled and nodded still looking a little lost.

“Oh-kay.”
He paused for a moment more. “I’ll try to ‘cool down’. At least until I get you to safety.” He smiled at her. “Did I say it properly - this word ‘I’ll’? I hear you do this much of the time. Shortening two words into one.”

Sarah smiled.
God how she loved him.

“Yes.” She wished they weren’t in this predicament because she would probably just jump all over him right here and now. But that of course, would have to come later.

“Come. The horses have rested long enough for now and we still have a short way to go.”

A few seconds later a rider appeared in the distance. Dominic smiled. It was Marco. He rode up, dismounted and began walking towards them.

“I see you have recovered your wife, and with your head still intact, no less!” He chuckled. His ability to remain calm and take things in stride after the events of the day amazed Sarah.

He walked over to Sarah and took her hand in his own.

“You are well then too I see?” he smiled.

“Yes. I am fine.” She smiled warmly at him. It felt good to see his familiar face.
Strange. She barely knew him and yet somehow she felt like he was family. He was like a brother to Dominic after all – and now in light of that she supposed he was like an adopted brother-in-law to her too.

“This is good, then.” He walked back over to his mount and jumped on its back motioning to them.

“We must move to catch up with the troupe now, no? They are headed to the north of here. It will take us some time to reach them.”

Dominic nodded, helping Sarah back onto her horse and then jumping back into the saddle of his own. “Yes, we must move before Navarre’s men come for us.”  He sighed. “And come for us they will.”

The three of them rode off with the moonlight to guide them. After awhile they could see movement off in the distance and a few torches. As they approached, Sarah could make out several wagons, horses and people riding and walking along side as they moved, slowly but steadily.

“We will have to move faster than this to keep ahead of them. It is not likely they will wait til morn to begin their pursuit.” Dominic said.

They caught up to the procession moving along and they all stopped moving temporarily to greet them as they rode up along side. Sarah could see more clearly now as a few of them traveling on foot held torches.

Indiri
peeked her head out from one of the wagons. Her eyes welled with tears that glistened in the firelight.  She wanted to leap from the wagon but didn’t dare attempt the four- foot jump at her age. “God be praised that you have made it back to us safely, my sons,” she said.

She looked over at Sarah and smiled.

“It is good to see you again as well, child…and no surprise to me, mind you. I told you, you would stay.”

Her eyes traveled to the galbi that hung at Sarah’s neck. She winked and her eyes crinkled as she slid back behind the canopy of the wagon.

Sarah looked down at the galbi and her fingers reached up to touch it. Many of them stood there staring at her. She felt slightly afraid. Perhaps they were angry with her. After all – they must know the truth by now. That she was no noble woman to be ransomed off. She was married to Dominic now and he had risked his own life and their safety to rescue her.

Dominic’s voice broke the silence as he spoke to them all.

“I will answer your questions later…now we must make haste because they will come looking for me and my wife. Navarre de Lyonne will not let this go. We must put out the torches so we may travel under cover of darkness.”

The troupe members nodded in agreement. But one of the men yelled back at Dominic “Mara would not have allowed something such as this to happen! How could you put us in such danger for a woman?
A gadge!” Fala and Shaia stepped forward and stood beside the man.

Dominic sighed. “You are correct. Mara would never put any of us in danger. But I can also assure you that before she died she foresaw this union.”

Fala stepped forward and she spoke.

“How do we know this? YOU say it is so but how do we know that is what Mara said.”

Her voice trembled and she hated herself for allowing her emotions to show. She didn’t want Nico to think that he had hurt her. She had shared her bed - every talent she knew to bring his body to shuddering heights of pleasure. She had invited her sister to join them so he would stay interested. And now he had married this outsider! Her mouth set in a tight line.

Dominic stared at her carefully before he answered. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Indiri’s voice rang out. She poked her head out of the wagon and was helped to the ground by her son.

“What he speaks is the truth. I too have foreseen of this. Dominic is my godson – and I am telling you as his godmother and as the keeper of the runes that what he says is so. He was meant by the fates to be with the woman named Sarah Dou-glass.”

Sarah’s mouth opened. How had Indiri known that her last name was Douglas? She never told her. Just as she had somehow known the words that her own mother had spoken on the night she was zapped by the lightning and brought here to this time and place.

Dominic sighed as he addressed all of them. “I have protected you while Mara was alive and led you well and supported you after her death, and I hope that you will stand by me in this. If you will not, then although it will pain me greatly…I will take my wife and leave.”

Marco dismounted and walked over. Dominic dismounted from his horse as well and Marco reached forward taking his shoulder as he spoke. “You will not leave. I will stand by you as our leader and as my friend.” He turned to the troupe. “Who is with me?”

One by one, the men of the troupe began to come forward hugging and patting Dominic on the shoulder and pledging to stand by him, some more happily than others – but doing it all the same. Afterward, they came over to where Sarah sat on her horse and each one of them reached up and took her hand in an offering of friendship and acceptance.

Only Fala and Shaia stood their distance in the end. Dominic would have to handle them later.

“I give you all my thanks. You are…my family. For now we must keep moving. We can hide ourselves in Normandy for a time if need be.”

Dominic and Marco mounted back up, as did any of the other riders who had dismounted and they began moving the procession again – this time at a faster pace.

Dominic moved his horse closer to Sarah’s.

“They will accept you, now and you will be safe. Fala and Shaia are not to be trusted, but I will see to it that they do not bother you.”

Sarah nodded at him. She was still nervous. What if they hadn’t really meant what they said? She sighed. This day had been one of the longest and most dangerous of her life. She was so beat she could just lie down on the ground at this point and pass out. But they had to keep going.

She wished that she could tell Dominic about the diary and that they may not be in such grave danger as they thought but now wasn’t the time. And there was always the risk that Thomas hadn’t gotten the book yet or read up to the part that told of Navarre’s conception.