Fire Glow

by Linda Ladd

  The guard grinned as she put her hand on his chest, staring in awe at her enchanting smile, while inordinately pleased by the exalted ranking she thought him to possess.

  The courtyard was full of people, a loud din of laughter and merrymaking permeating the night; Caitlin stood flirting with the young guard, while her heart pounded with the fear that the alarm would be given before the carriage could arrive. She watched the dancing figures cavorting around the huge bonfire in the middle of the courtyard, while Trey stood mutely behind her.

  She breathed in relief when the coach rattled to a stop in front of them, and she started down the steps toward it. The man driving it stepped down, ready to assist her inside, but he turned as a loud shouting came from the far reaches of the colonnade. The guard at the top ran with clattering boots down the stone balcony toward the alarm, and Trey took the steps to the carriage, dumping Christian into the seat, then backhanding the remaining guard with a great swing of his fist. The man went over like a felled tree, and Trey pushed Caitlin up into the carriage with Christian, then swung into the driver's perch.

  He slapped the reins on the horses' backs, his main thought to get beyond the wall before the gates could close off their flight. He maneuvered the horses slowly through the people on the outskirts of the crowd, but as he neared the entryway, he heard the outcry at their escape and the warning shots of the castle guards.

  No longer able to use caution, he whipped the reins, and Caitlin held fast to her groaning brother as the carriage surged forward. Peasants lunged to the sides of the walls to escape being run down, and the guards barely had time to grab their muskets as the carriage raced through them and out onto the road that led down the mountain.

  Crowds hugged either side of the road, and Trey pushed the horses harder, aware there would soon be a contingent of armed soldiers thundering in pursuit. Roger and the others would be waiting with horses in the central plaza at the Cathedral de Santiago, and he had very little time to get there, especially on these hilly, winding streets.

  Caitlin tried to hold Christian's wounded head against her breast as they bumped and jounced at a breakneck speed toward the city. She gently stroked her brother's battered face, her heart breaking at the thought of the cruelties he must have suffered. She leaned toward the window as they reached one side of the great plaza, appalled to see the hundreds of people filling every inch of the square.

  The carriage came to a standstill in their midst as hands grabbed the bridles of the horses, causing them to rear skittishly, and Trey cursed and stood, looking back as mounted pursuers closed in on the edge of the crowd not far behind them. He could see the captain gesturing several of his men around the outskirts of the plaza in order to surround them, and he jumped down in the keening throng, shoving through the crowd to wrench open the door.

  "Come on, Caitlin, we've got a better chance on foot!"

  Caitlin scrambled out, still grasping the sword, then helped him pull Christian over his shoulder. Trey took her by the arm and began to push a path through the rowdy drunken crowd. The din was deafening, with people laughing and yelling and fireworks exploding on the ground, but Trey kept his eyes on the bell tower of the cathedral. A glance backward told him that the soldiers were roughly parting the crowd behind them, and when they were halfway across the plaza, the soldiers opened fire on them, the crackling of musket fire sending panicked masses of humanity shouting and pressing in every direction.

  Caitlin cried out as those around them surged toward the central fountain, breaking Trey's hold on her arm. Before she could grab him again, she was swept away in a different direction, though she fought and tried desperately to break against the tide of peasants pressing at her. She heard Trey shouting her name, saw him trying frantically to get back to her, before her vision of him was blocked by the men and women pressing around her.

  Realizing she had no chance to get back to him, she let herself be taken along with the rushing crowd, trying to keep her footing as several fell around her and more shots rang out from across the square. She searched for Trey's head in the throng; she knew he was taking Christian toward the cathedral. Her only hope was to make her way there, and she started an angled course against the crowd, but turned as a woman screamed in terror just behind her. Three soldiers on horseback were bearing down on her, and the peasants around her fled from their paths. Caitlin ran toward a low stucco wall that faced the square where she could see barrels of wine stacked for the festival. She leapt atop one, but heard the ringing of hooves on the stones at her back just as a strong hand grabbed at her arm. She managed to jerk free, turning and swinging the sword in her hand with all her strength. The blade hit the shoulder of the man who had grabbed at her, knocking him from his horse, but two others were there to close in on her. She lunged at one, wounding him, then tried to find a foothold to scale the wall, but strong hands grasped the folds of her skirt and jerked her backward. She screamed as she fell, but the sound died on her lips as the back of her head hit the stone pavement with a sickening crack. White light flashed and faded as a deep black hole opened and sucked her unwillingly into unconsciousness.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Caitlin swam in fuzzy seas where lights of awareness hovered around the edges. She was vaguely aware that something plagued her hand, and she forced open leaded eyelids. She saw more darkness, felt pain throbbing dully in her head, and she lay very still. It was hard to think, to remember, but as something again tugged at her arm as if trying to awaken her, she stirred. With effort, she lifted her head to peer into the gloom.

  Its beady eyes glinted as the large rat touched her fingers, and Caitlin screamed in horror as she jerked upright. She went instinctively for her knife, but found only an empty scabbard. The rodent scurried away, and a great shudder of revulsion shook through Caitlin as she heard it scraping about in the darkness.

  Pain pierced her temples like a driven blade, and she held her head with both hands, trying to think where she was, what had happened. For the first time she was completely aware of the damp, dank air around her, and as her eyes slowly adjusted to the meager light, she saw a tiny barred window high above her head that let in a misty bar of sun. It fell in a slanted shaft to the floor, where filthy straw was scattered, alive and crawling with vermin.

  She was in a dungeon, she realized, shivering with uncontrollable horror; she was in El Morro! She tried to stand up, but she wavered on her feet, sick and dizzy. She could feel blood still oozing from the cut on her scalp, and she reached out to support herself. Her palm slid on the cold slime that covered the wall, and she shuddered with repugnance, wiping it quickly on her skirt. She stood still for a moment, looking around, and as her mind became clearer, other fears rose to grip her. How long had she been here? Where were Trey and Christian? Had they been captured?

  Ignoring the pounding of her head, she stepped gingerly across the straw-strewn floor to a low arched door barred with heavy black iron. A wide stone corridor ran outside, a flickering torch at its end revealing the faint outline of other cells identical to her own. There was no sound other than low moans, and the most terrible fear yet rose to choke her. She took hold of the bars, her eyes frightened.

  "Trey! Trey!"

  Her voice echoed down through the dungeons, and the pitiful groaning stopped. A muffled voice sobbed for mercy, but it was not that of her husband, and Caitlin went weak with relief. She leaned tiredly against the bars, then stiffened as she heard footsteps and masculine voices from a good distance away. They came toward her, and she backed away, her heart hammering as four men stopped just outside.

  A key scraped in the lock, and she could not help but press farther away as a burly guard bent and stepped inside, a smoky torch in his hand. Pedro de Enriquez entered behind him, and Caitlin stared fearfully at him. His chin was bound tightly in a white bandage, but the broken jaw had swollen grotesquely, distorting his face into a horrible bloated mask. His eyes glittered with hatred, a cruel smile twisting bruised lips.

/>   "So you are the Alexander bitch," he rasped out painfully. "I have waited long to have you here at my mercy."

  Caitlin swallowed down the stark cold terror writhing in her belly and raised her chin defiantly.

  "You could not keep my brother, and you cannot keep me," Caitlin answered, and a sound like a chuckle came from deep inside Enriquez's throat.

  "It is only a matter of time before he is recaptured, and Trey Cameron with him."

  Caitlin started visibly, and Enriquez smiled.

  "Ah, yes I know who he is, and I know that he is your husband—under our torture techniques, your men are quite articulate."

  Caitlin stared at him, and his eyes grew harder, his breathing coming fast and angry.

  "But do not fear, we left him alive, at least alive enough to deliver my ransom demands to your husband and brother. Your life for theirs. Simple enough, is it not?"

  "They will never trust you enough to surrender themselves," Caitlin whispered, and Enriquez's smile was evil.

  "But you underestimate your own worth," he said with a sneer. "They have already accepted my terms. They will come here at dawn tomorrow. But, either way, you will lose your head at sunrise."

  Caitlin watched him leave, her body frozen with fear as the torchlight slowly receded, leaving her alone in the dark. She began to tremble then as doubts assailed her. They would not turn themselves in; they would not do that. They would try to save her, perhaps, but they would never trust Enriquez. He lied to her for some reason. It was a trick.

  For hours she told herself that, all the while trying to prepare herself for her death at dawn. She would face it bravely, with dignity as her father had done, but as light began to filter into the aperture above her and clanking armor sounded in the silent bowels of the prison, fear squeezed her heart until she could not breathe.

  She stared at the barred door until it was jerked open and two soldiers entered. They grabbed her roughly, laughing as she tried to pull away. One hamlike hand bit into her shoulder, ripping her sleeve, and she cursed and slapped at them as they dragged her down the passageway to narrow stone steps that wound upward out of the dungeon.

  Still struggling, she was shoved out into the open courtyard, and she fell to her knees, only to be yanked up by her hair. She cried out in pain as she was pulled across the main courtyard to where a stone ramp rose in an angled ascent to the fortress wall.

  Caitlin knew the way well, and as she stumbled along between the two soldiers, her heart hammered out of control. It was barely light, patches of fog hanging eerily around them and shrouding the courtyard below, as she was taken to the high parapet above the sea, where her father had been executed. Caitlin jerked frantically against the tight grip on her arms as they stepped out on the wide wall. The wind was very strong at that height, whipping Caitlin's hair and snapping at her torn and tattered skirts. Only portions of the courtyard were visible far below, but she could see the lines of soldiers standing at attention for the execution. The sea was completely obscured in soft clouds of gray fog, but Caitlin's eyes looked only at the small bloodstained wooden block and the huge man who stood behind it. He wore tight black breeches and a black hood with eyeholes, and his massive bare chest and arms were covered with thick black hair. Caitlin began to tremble as he stared at her, his eyes lifeless behind his mask. She jumped as the drums began below, a single monotonous beat that frenzied the nerves.

  A low laugh sounded behind her, and Enriquez materialized out of the mist to stand at her side.

  "He is very good at his job, if you will remember," he told her conversationally. "Usually only one blow is all that is necessary. Really quite quick and painless. Your father did not suffer, nor will you." He gave a swollen, crooked caricature of a smile. "You see, I am really quite merciful. Did I not allow you and your brother to live for the last six years when I could have had you executed alongside your father? And you have seen fit to repay my generosity with constant treachery on the seas."

  A strange, inexplicable calm settled over Caitlin at his taunting words about her father, a new strength flowing into her.

  "And Christian will continue until he sees you dead," she said contemptuously.

  "Ah, I did not tell you, did I? Your husband and your brother have just arrived at our gates, already surrounded by my men. There." He pointed down into the misty courtyard. "You can see them being brought here now."

  Caitlin's heart stopped at the sight of the two men being led up the ramp in the midst of uniformed guards.

  "No, no, please," she called out brokenly, and Enriquez smiled.

  "You beg most prettily after all," he mocked. "But I do not feel charitable this day."

  Caitlin sobbed in despair as Trey and Christian were dragged up in front of her, their hands bound behind their backs. Caitlin's distressed eyes met Trey's and the curious calmness in them gave her pause before Enriquez moved in front of her, blocking her view of him. His voice was deliberately polite, and she pulled back as he lifted a tangled curl from her shoulder.

  "Did I not tell you that they would come for you? Such fools you English are." He turned to look at Trey. "Did you really expect me to let her go after what she has done to me?"

  Trey was silent, his blue eyes watchful, and Christian stared at the ground. Enriquez shook his head.

  "It is a pity indeed that I must return Christian Alexander to Spain, but I will not be cheated the pleasure of executing you, my dear. And I think it only fitting to let you watch your husband die before you meet your fate."

  He gestured at the guards, barely distinguishable in the misting fog, and as Trey was pushed roughly to his knees before the block, Caitlin fought desperately against the hands restraining her.

  "No, no, Trey!" she cried as the hooded executioner raised his ax, and as the sharp blade was held poised above Trey's head, Caitlin's legs collapsed from beneath her and she fell to her knees, dropping her face into her hands in black despair. She moaned in complete anguish and horror, but jerked her head up when there was no whistle of the ax but a harsh grunt. She stared in shock at the scene that met her eyes.

  Trey was on his feet now, and the axman was staggering backward while Christian jerked his sword from where he had thrust it deep into the hairy chest. While she stared in astonishment, the guards with Trey and Christian pulled their swords free; instead of going after their prisoners, they turned on the Spanish soldiers beside them. She realized then with a cry of joy that it was Roger and others from her crew in Spanish uniforms! Swords clashed all around her as Enriquez's guards realized what had happened. She heard Trey yell a warning to her, and she scrambled but Enriquez was quicker. Before she could get away, he grabbed her around the neck, and she felt his sword at a side of her throat.

  "I'll slit her gullet if you move a step," he warned through his injured jaw, and Trey stopped, his eyes on the sharp blade pressing into Caitlin's neck. Caitlin felt Enriquezs grip loosen slightly, and she went limp in his grasp, hoping to break his hold. Her unexpected action surprised Enriquez, and when he let her go, Caitlin turned and sent her fist up into his bound jaw with every bit of her strength. A coarse scream of pain rent the air, and his hands dropped away from her. She barely saw the flash of Trey's sword as the sharp steel pierced the Spaniard's abdomen. Enriquez fell away from her, and Trey grabbed his rapier and gave it to Caitlin. He knew the Glory would start her bombardment of the fortress at any minute, and he had to get Caitlin to one of the lower walls. He glanced to the courtyard, where soldiers were in a panic at seeing their governor fall. Trey yelled for Christian and the others to follow, then pulled Caitlin after him down the ramp to the lower seawall where cannon pointed out to sea.

  "Push them over," he cried, and the men in the front helped him, while others fought with the first wave of soldiers pounding up the ramp from below. Steel rang against steel, and Caitlin raised her rapier when more appeared from another direction.

  Trey fought at her side, his blade slicing a man across the chest, and Caitlin
thrust her own rapier into another's shoulder. The Spaniard staggered and fell sideways across the steps, but three more bounded up to take their dead comrades' places. Trey held off two, while Caitlin handled the third, but Trey groaned as a cutlass slashed his forearm. Caitlin whirled, plunging her blade into Trey's assailant's side as guns roared from a distant point in the foggy seas to one side of them.

  An explosion hit the fortress somewhere on the walls below them, crumbling the stones, but the next shot was a direct hit upon the crowded courtyard. Shrill screams of pain and confusion rose to them amid smoke and fire, and Trey grabbed Caitlin's hand, racing down a long series of steps. Their men followed with the Spanish soldiers in pursuit, until Trey stopped abruptly, pulling Caitlin up on the edge of the precipice.

  "We've got to jump. Richard's lowered the boats to pick us up!"

  Caitlin's breath caught, as she looked at, the gray fog totally obscuring the water far below. She froze.

  "I can't! I can't see the water! What if the tide—" Caitlin panicked, backing away as Roger and Christian ran up behind them. Neither hesitated but bound off the ledge, their arms flailing for balance as their men followed them one by one.

  "You have to, Caitlin! It's the only way out of here!" Trey yelled. Caitlin shook her head, paralyzed with fear, but Trey could wait no longer when Spanish soldiers appeared on both sides of them. He took her arm and ran forward, and Caitlin screamed as they went off the wall together and fell through endless clouds of fog. She instinctively began circling her arms for balance, and it seemed an eternity before she finally hit the water. Her head seemed to split in two as she plummeted downward like a lead anchor, the pressure opening the gash at the back of her head. Panic blotted out all else when she could not seem to fight her way to the surface, and she was sobbing hysterically when she finally burst from the water to gasp in heavenly breaths of air. Seconds later, Trey's arms closed around her.