While Angels Slept (25 page)

Dagan’s
movements were slow, deliberate, as he kept himself between Cantia and Val. 
Cantia was trying very hard to reach the woman but it was difficult considering
she had the burden of a small boy and a crippled girl.  Dagan admired the
woman’s pluck.

“I understand
and appreciate your loyalty, but you will forgive me when I deny you again,” he
said evenly. “Send your son to get your palfrey. I’ve already killed two this
night and a third would not be such an effort if I feel my wants are not being
met.”

Cantia’s rage
took a dousing. She stared at the man. “Why are you doing this?” she finally
asked, hoarsely. “What have we done that would make you do this to us?”

Dagan struggled
against his innate sense of regret, of uncertainty. It was difficult to stay on
course. “Nothing, my lady,” he said after a moment. “But you must understand
that you do not have any choice in the matter. The decision has been made. I
would be best if you do not resist.”

“Please... do
not do this.”

“Tell your son
to retrieve your horse. Do it now.”

Sickened,
terrified, she swallowed her resistance and sent Hunt to gather the mare. In
her arms, Arabel was sniffling and trembling, and she squeezed the girl
reassuringly. The truth was that her arms were beginning to hurt, carrying the
girl around, but she would not let on.  The only other alternative was for
Dagan to carry her and Cantia wasn’t about to let the man touch her.

Frightened and
edgy, Cantia found herself wondering how she could get herself and the children
out of this.  As it turned out, Geoff wasn’t the one to worry about at all. It
had been Charles and a rogue knight. The irony of the situation was
unfathomable. She wondered if she would live long enough to tell Tevin.

As she stood
several feet away from Dagan, inspecting the man, trying to determine her next
course of action, a shrieking sound pierced the air a split second before
something hit Dagan in the chest and the man grunted, hurling to the ground. 
Startled, Cantia screamed, realizing there was a big arrow protruding from
Dagan’s torso.  Behind her, she could hear Hunt yelling, the yellow dog
barking, and the palfrey nickering fearfully.

As she turned
around, she could see men rushing from the trees.  They were shrouded by
shadows and it was difficult to get a good look at them, but she could hear Hunt
hollering and panic swamped her.

“Hunt!” she
screamed. “Hunt, come to me! Run!”

It was a futile
call because Hunt was already being swallowed up by the phantom men. They were
everywhere, like a swarm of locusts, and she could hear their frightening chatter.
They only used the light of the moon to guide them as they overcame their
victims. Next thing Cantia realized, someone put a blanket over her head as she
tried to get away with Arabel in her arms. Struggling, fighting, Arabel was
taken from her and she could hear the young girl screaming.

Terrified,
Cantia fought like a wildcat as someone picked her up and hauled her off,
wrapped up in a hot, smelly blanket so she couldn’t see or get her arms free.
She began screaming for the children, calling their name, before finally
resorting to begging for their lives.  But her abductors never said a word to
her.  They just kept running.  

As quickly as
they had emerged, they disappeared back into the darkness, leaving two dead
knights in their wake.

CHAPTER TWELVE

It was nearing
noon on a day that was showing the promise of warmer weather. A cloudless sky
glistened overhead and Tevin found himself gazing from the lancet window,
looking up to the sky and wondering how Cantia was faring. The solar of
Rochester had a west-facing window and he leaned against the sill, watching the
birds flock over the river, hearing the distant bells of the boats.  It was
lovely and serene, but it meant absolutely nothing to him without Cantia by his
side.

He hadn’t been
away from her for more than twelve hours but, as he had predicted, he missed
her more with each breath he took.  It was a physical pain, manifesting itself
in his chest until he could scarcely breathe.  He turned away from the window,
his thoughts moving from Cantia to Geoff and thankful for the fact that his
cousin had drank himself into a stupor the night before and was still sleeping off
the excess.  The man hadn’t given the effort of thought to the missing Lady
Penden or to Val, and Tevin was grateful.  The delay had given him time to
think up a plausible reason for the missing.  He was prepared.

So he went back
to his map table, studying the area north of the Dartford crossing where two of
Geoff’s men, who had been in the area only yesterday, had come to Rochester with
tales of an armed build up.  An army was gathering and Tevin was preparing to
send more of his trusted men into the area as spies to see what more
information they could gather. 

He immediately
thought of Simon and John for the duty, those two disobedient knights who had
shrugged the escort duty to Dagan and Gavril.  He hadn’t seen the men since
yesterday but he knew they were around, more than likely attempting to wait out
their liege’s displeasure.  He smirked when he thought of sending the pair on a
scout mission into dangerous territory. Perhaps running in to an ambush or
having arrows shot at their head would make them sorry they had disobeyed their
liege on the relatively easy escort mission.

As he settled
down to figure out a covert route for his men to take where they could make a
quick escape, Myles appeared in the doorway.

“Tevin,” his
voice was low, swift. “You must come immediately.”

Tevin didn’t
give thought to the fact that the man did not address him formally. He was more
concerned with the tone of his voice.

“What is the
matter?”  he asked.

Myles’
expression tightened. “No questions,” he hissed. “You must come.
Now
.”

He ducked out of
the doorway, heading for the keep entry.  Tevin follow, more curious than
concerned, as they made their way out of the keep and headed towards the
knight’s quarters. Myles was walking quickly, stiffly, all coiled up like a
spring ready to pop as they crossed the ward and approached the thick stone
building that housed the knights.   Built against the perimeter wall of
Rochester, it was a squat, imposing structure.

It was
moderately dark inside due to the fact that the building had no windows except
for big ventilations holes up by the roof line. The floor plan consisted of a
large common room and six smaller sleeping chambers. It was dusty and dark at
any given time. There were a few senior men at arms crowded in to the common
room, eyeing Tevin with some concern as he entered.  Tevin didn’t particularly
notice the expressions, as he was more focused on Myles as the man led him into
a tiny corridor and indicated the first room to the right.

Tevin stuck his
head into the chamber, his gaze first envisioning a darkened room and nothing
more.  Then, he saw a big yellow dog lying next to the small bed and it took
him a moment to realize it was George. George lifted his head when he saw
Tevin, big sad doggy eyes gazing up at him as the tail thumped wearily against
the floor.  The last Tevin had seen of the dog, he had left with Cantia and the
rest of the group. Startled to realize the dog had returned, his gaze moved to
the bed.

Val lay upon the
mattress, bruised and beaten.  Lying on her right side, she had a massive
compress of some kind against her head and neck.  Tevin must have made some
kind of noise because her eyes opened and she turned stiffly to look at him as
he collapsed to his knees beside the bed.  Tevin’s face was white with terror.

“Val,” he
hissed. “What are you doing here?”

Val’s eyes
filled with tears and she grasped her brother’s hand.  Her lovely face was
scraped from where she had fallen on it and the lump on the back of her head
was causing her horrific pain. She clutched at Tevin.

“Oh, Tevin,” she
wept. “We... we were ambushed.  They killed Dagan and Gavril, and took Cantia
and the children.”

Tevin felt as if
he had been hit in the gut. He couldn’t breathe and he could feel his face
flushing hot, then cold again. He began to shake uncontrollably, holding on to
Val’s hand with a death grip.

“What happened?”
he struggled with everything he possessed to remain calm. “Did you see who it
was? Did they bear colors or anything else of note?”

Val was weeping
in pain and sorrow. “Nay,” she breathed. “I was knocked unconscious and when I
woke up, Dagan and Gavril were dead and Cantia missing.   I… my head… it was
difficult to move so I do not know how long I lay in the grass before rising to
my feet. It was night time when the attack happened and at least dawn when I
awoke. I started to walk back to Rochester and found Dagan’s charger a little
way up the road. I was able to ride him back here so I could tell you what
happened.”

Tevin could see
how badly she was injured. He stroked her head, gently, though his hand was
trembling. “I can only imagine how much pain you are in,” he murmured. “You
were very brave, Val.”

Val’s eyes
spilled over. “I am so sorry, Tevin,” she whispered. “I never saw what hit me.
I had no chance to defend Arabel or Cantia.”

He shook his
head, soothing her. “It is not your fault,” he said, but his voice was
tremulous. He tried to keep his head, asking questions that might help them
make sense of it all. “You heard or saw nothing before you lost consciousness?”

“Nothing. All
was peaceful.”

Tevin could feel
men next to him and behind him, listening to Val’s story.  He could feel their
concern, their rage, waiting orders from Winterton on how to proceed. From the
corner of his eye, Tevin caught sight of heavy, dirty boots. He knew those
boots and fury surged through him as he turned in the direction of Simon.  John
was standing slightly behind him, both knights distressed with what they were
hearing.

But their
distress wasn’t nearly what Tevin’s was. Veins stood out on his forehead as he
faced his insubordinate knights and struggled not to explode in all directions.

“
You
were
supposed to escort them,” he jabbed a big finger at the men. “By what right did
you disobey my order and give the duty to Sutton and de Reigate?”

John took a step
back from his furious liege but Simon stood his ground. “We reasoned that, as
new knights, they were in need of earning your trust and escorting the ladies
was an opportunity to do that,” he said steadily. “Moreover, de Gael was
expecting to gather a force against Matilda and we would serve you better in
battle than in an escort.”

Tevin was
quickly veering out of control, looking for something, or someone, to focus his
grief on.  His body tensed as he took a menacing step in their direction.

“I will decide
how you will better serve me,” he snarled. “You were expected to ride escort
and now see what has happened? Dagan and Gavril have been killed and Lady
Cantia and my daughter missing.”

Tevin was as
furious as anyone had ever seen him, Simon and John included. They had both
served Tevin long enough to know that the only thing they could do was beg
forgiveness; otherwise, the situation would get violent. Du Reims was known to
have a vicious temper when roused.

“Forgive, my
lord,” Simon dropped his head submissively. “Certainly we would have done all
in our power to have prevented such a thing. We beg your forgiveness.”

Tevin wasn’t
satisfied. If anything, the submissive gesture only infuriated him more and as he
lifted a hand to grab Simon by the hair, Myles intervened.

“Nay, Tevin,” he
said calmly, turning the coiled man back towards his sister. “It was not their
fault. Had they been there, they would more than likely have been killed as
well. At the moment, we have more important things to deal with.”

Tevin allowed
Myles to refocus him on Val, mostly because he knew, at some level, the man was
correct. Simon and John, disobedient as they had been, were not responsible.  So
he returned his attention to his sister, feeling the cracks in his composure
grow deeper and more pronounced. He was shattering and there was nothing he
could do to stop it. Somehow, he ended up back on his knees beside Val with
Myles kneeling beside him.  

“Val,” Myles put
his big hand on Val’s head, tenderly. “How long were you riding before this
happened?”

Val thought a
moment. “About… about an hour. Not long.”

Myles looked at
Tevin. “That cannot be too far away,” he murmured. “I will assemble a strike
force immediately.”

Tevin could only
nod.  He wasn’t sure he was capable of much more, fighting against emotions on
a level he had never before experienced. All he knew was that he wanted to
collapse in sorrow, yet in the same breath, he wanted to kill like he’d never
wanted to kill in his life. It was an odd combination.

As he was
laboring against intense grief, he noticed Myles as the man kissed Val on the
forehead and quit the room, but he didn’t give the gesture a second thought. He
could hear Myles snapping orders to the others as he went, clearing out the
rooms and getting the men moving. Somewhere in the chaos, the voices of Simon
and John could be heard, and a whole host of men at arms were being roused.  The
viscount’s trusted men were in action once again, doing what they did best, but
the viscount himself was unmoving. Tevin remained on his knees beside his
sister, becoming more despondent by the moment.

Val watched her
brother, seeing the turmoil in his eyes. “There was no blood that I could see,”
she told him. “Our baggage was missing as well. It was a robbery, I am sure,
taking Cantia and the children simply because….”

“Because she is
the most beautiful woman they have ever seen,” his lower lip began to tremble
as he closed his eyes tightly against the horrific mental images that were
swamping him. The tears came and Val watched as her brother, the most powerful
man she’d ever known, succumbed to bone-numbing grief. When his dark eyes
opened, they were intense against his pale face.