The Beast of Renald (The Northern Knights)

by Amber Dane

  Caroline blinked back her tears. She would spill her grief for Nesta and the closeness lost betwixt her husband and herself later.

  A dark cloud of gloom hung heavily over Renald castle and all within over the next few days. Caroline’s heart broke with each passing day as anxiety became her close friend as she watched Darc come and go without much said between them. The sun was bright this day but she felt no warmth from the sun that shown through the kitchen windows.

  She had not eaten well in the past few days due to the sickness that had been coming for the past few days. She thought it was because of all that had happened. But now, for the first time since the murders; she had a bit of an appetite and had ventured into the kitchen for a bite. The noon day meal had been cleared away as early eve approached and Cook was just finishing up her platter.

  Though the smell of the food made her stomach lurch, Caroline knew she had to eat something of substance and she swallowed back the wave of sickness.

  Walking back toward the stairs she was stopped by Gan. The hairs on the back of her neck rose when he stepped too close. When she had woken at dawn, Melbert had not been there, but the other guard had been. She had wondered at first, but had said naught for he had been with Melbert all week. But now he was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked, hoping the thick-necked guard did not hear the nervousness in her tone.

  ‘My lady, your husband requests your presence.’ Gan drawled.

  Caroline’s fingers gripped the platter tighter, panic starting in her belly. She opened her mouth and saw the other guard come around the corner. Slight relief filled her as he approached.

  ‘I will take the tray, my lady.’ The man said and took it from her hands. She hesitated. Then the guard smiled. He’d been ordered by Darc along with Melbert to be at her side. If her husband had suspicions about him he would not have set the soldier to her side. Right? Caroline thought. But looking back at Gan, she was not so sure.

  ‘Where is my husband?’ she lifted her chin and asked him.

  Both men responded. ‘By the maze.’

  Caroline frowned.

  The soldier turned on the step. ‘All is well, my lady. I would take you, but he ordered me to stay with your son.’

  At that Caroline relaxed a little. She was letting her overworked imagination get the best of her with all that had happened. She smoothed her hands down the front of her gown and with a nod fell into step a few paces away from Gan as they headed for the castle doors.

  ‘Where is Melbert?’ she asked Gan.

  ‘He hurt his leg during the drills this morn, my lady.’ Gan replied without a pause in step.

  Worry quickly made Caroline forget about her uneasiness. ‘Is he alright? How bad is it? Oh, is he in much pain? I must go see him.’

  She had quickly grown fond of the boy in the sennight he had been in her company.

  Gan arced his hand in a dismissive wave. ‘He is being seen too. Not much pain at all. He’s a tough lad.’

  The grin on Gan’s face brought the uneasy feeling back to her gut and Caroline glanced nervously down around the gate house once again. Everything looked normal.

  ‘Come my lady, my lord waits.’

  Caroline gave him a wary glance. She could not shake the feeling of danger that rattled her.

  She had wondered at first why Darc wanted her to meet him here. He would not have sent the man for her if he did not trust him. Though she was a mite uncomfortable as she followed behind Gan’s large bulky frame and grew even more disconcerted the more he kept looking back over his shoulder watching her, Caroline continued to follow him nonetheless.

  She did not trust Gan, but she trusted her husband. And that is what made her feet move.

  At the clearing, she hesitated. They were just on the other side of the garden, near the maze but on the outside of the wall.

  Why would Darc wish her to come here?

  Caroline turned to question Gan again and saw that he had already started his trek back in the direction they had come. The feeling she had spread within her chest and just as she started to call out to him, relief flooded her at the sight of Darc coming up over the rise. A shaky smile came to her lips and with her hand to her chest, Caroline let out a sigh of relief. She had been nervous over naught.

  Darc was almost upon her and her heart skipped a beat at his towering form. Her spirits soared with the hope he was coming to bridge the peace. Even though he need not have gone through such mysterious measures to make an apology.

  A sense of calm settled over her. She raised her hand to wave at him and froze with it mid-air. The chill returned and washed over her. Caroline found something strangely unnerving about his approach.

  ‘Twas too late when she realized what it was for he was in front of her and her breath left her in a whoosh. It had been his gait and now ‘twas his face.

  No scar.

  Frozen at the unbelievable and uncanny similarities between this stranger and her husband, her hesitation gave the man the opportunity he needed.

  ‘Lady Caroline,’ he all but breathed fire on the hiss that escaped his mouth and a sly smile lit upon those familiar lips before the cloth sack came down over her head.

  Caroline came out of her shocked stupor too late, struggling against arms like bands of steel around her. Gan had returned for she could smell him. She opened her mouth and screamed a terror-filled cry. Bits of dirt from the woven sack filled her mouth and she gagged long enough to hear the stranger’s words.

  ‘Cuff the bitch.’

  And she knew no more.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  The putrid stench filling her nostrils woke Caroline and she blinked open her eyes to pain on the side of her head. Dust motes danced in the only shaft of light coming through a crack near the wooden door. She groaned and sat up from her place on the floor. Something moved next to her and she tugged on her gown, gasping when her feet touched the cold floor. Her slippers had been removed. Caroline rose to her feet.

  The room she was in was small. A low earthen roof, floor and walls told her ‘twas a cell. ‘Twas too dark to see in the corners and she was glad for she had no desire to see what lay there. The face of the man she had thought was Darc came rushing back to her mind.

  Her husband had failed to tell her that they were twins.

  Raven.

  Those eyes…Caroline rubbed at the bumps that rose up on her arms. She swallowed as fear threatened to overwhelm her. And she did her best to push it aside. If she let it rule her now, she would never find a way out of here. She cursed Gan, then herself for following that traitorous bastard Norman. She had never liked him and now with even more good reason.

  Frustrated, Caroline stood in the middle of the room when she finished searching every inch of the cell only to realize there was no way out.

  Questions ran through her mind. What did he want with her? How long had she been out? Had Darc noticed she was gone?

  She remembered being hit on her temple, hence the splitting headache which would not relent. And her dry mouth, it hurt to swallow and the dirt that had fallen into her mouth had not helped.

  She remained standing watching the shaft of light disappear as it got darker and darker. She was really scared now, hearing things move in the corners.

  Rat droppings filled one corner and though the floor was dirty, the smell came from the other side of the door. Still it was powerful enough to cause her to scrunch her nose and hold her gown over it long enough to take in deeper breaths. Smelled like something was rotting.

  She wished someone; anyone would come before the room went totally dark.

  She got her wish a little while later when she heard keys rattling in the lock.

  She backed up on her stiff legs near one corner, her eyes not leaving the door as it swung open wide.

  She glared at Gan wanting to slap his fat face when he walked in. Then she turned her eyes on Raven as he entered.

  It made her ill that he looked so much lik
e Darc. A diabolic grin spread upon his lips.

  ‘He did not tell you.’ he stated with a chuckle and Caroline took another step back. Their voices were different, his deep, but not as deep as Darc’s nor as heavily accented. He gave her an aloof look, but Caroline knew it was anything but from the cunning and evil man.

  He continued, ‘We are identical. Minus the hideous scar. You must forgive me for your current lacking comforts. It will be rectified later. Your comfort is my utmost priority.’

  Caroline let out a hard breath ignoring his sarcasm. ‘What do you want, dog?’

  He arched a dark brow. ‘There will be none of that lest you want to be hit again.’ His warning was not just in his tone but in the look he shot her. Caroline fisted her hands in her gown against her thighs.

  Satisfied at her silence he came closer. ‘Worry not so much, my lady, for I am sure my brother is running his horse into the earth to find you as we speak.’

  ‘He will not come.’ Caroline hissed and jerked her shoulder away from his fingers as he reached out to touch her.

  ‘You lie badly. He will come.’

  ‘No he will not!’ Caroline shouted at him. Darc had shown fondness to her of late but he was by far not besotted with her. And the strain betwixt them now was proof of that.

  ‘Aye, he will. You have bewitched my him. My man has told me in great detail of how he follows you closer than those dogs of his. My lady. The whole castle knows when you reach your peak.’

  Red-hot fire burned Caroline’s cheeks and her eyes flicked quickly to Gan and his leering expression made her sick. She returned her gaze back to Raven. She would have to work harder at not letting her emotions show to this man.

  ‘Mmm, how sweet.’ He murmured close to her ear and she moved the inches left away from him. He laughed at her and Caroline wanted to take one of those glinting axes which sat at his waist belt and cut him with it.

  She lifted her chin and slid back short tendrils from her face that had come loose. Her embarrassment was replaced with her fury. He’d goaded her into revealing the truth without uttering a word.

  Raven circled her, then stopped in front of her. Caroline knew he purposely blocked her path.

  ‘Aye.’ Raven lifted a curl that dangled near her ear. ‘Far from a beauty you might be. But you have this uniqueness…Something about you that draws a man's complete and undivided attention and whet’s the appetite.’

  His words hung in the air and she knew he awaited her reaction. Caroline did not care for this dribble he was spouting and she gave him a sly grin of her own before she turned and gave him her back. The sound of his voice made her sick.

  He laughed. ‘A woman of false denial. Come now. Would you not prefer this handsome face to that of your disfigured beast?’

  ‘Never.’

  He jerked her around roughly by her shoulder to face him. ‘Suit yourself.’ He said and she watched as he took one of the small axes and slit open his tunic from the split neck to his waist and yanked it open. She recoiled from what she saw with a gasp. The grin spreading across his face frightened her.

  Caroline drew back wishing she could hide, but she could not turn from the hideous sight before her. The disease had all but ravaged his chest and stomach with lesions and sores. She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and nose and willed herself not to become sick. He laughed.

  ‘It will only get worse from what I am told. What I would not give to spread this thief of life disease to you. Would be a fitting coupe de grace upon my brother.’ He spread his arms and gave her a gallant bow.

  Looking at his dark head, all Caroline could think was she would kill him ere he touched one finger to her. Then he lifted his head, those magnetic blue eyes meeting hers and she was not so sure.

  How could she bring herself to kill him? He looked so much like Darc, like mirror images.

  Then her gaze dropped to his grinning lips. What was she thinking?

  He was leaner, more gaunt and less broad in the shoulders. Being on the run showed itself in his appearance and in his less than quick reflexes. Whatever ailed him, showed its mark upon his exposed flesh. And the smell, oh God, Caroline wanted to gag.

  Aye, she could and would kill him before he got close enough to rape her. She would just avoid looking into at his face when it came time to thrust his axe into his chest.

  He read the murder in her eyes and for a brief moment, the arrogance drained from his face.

  ‘Calm yourself, wench. It is most fortunate for you that I have no desire to find out for myself what charms lay between your thighs that have ensnared my brother so. You do not possess Adelay’s beauty and entice me not in the least. But I digress. Your stay will be short if all goes according to my plan. Be a good prisoner will you then?’

  ‘Norman dog. What do you want?’ she screeched.

  ‘You do not listen well. It would be nothing for me to put a lash to your backside and split it open. I will not warn you again. What I want is your husband. Dead, of course.’

  Caroline stiffened and anger caused her to cry out as she flew at him.

  After the shock and surprise of her attack wore off, Raven cracked her with the back of his hand. Not too hard, but enough to stun and spin her thoughts.

  Caroline watched him through narrowed eyes as he wiped at his bloody lip with the torn sleeve of his tunic.

  ‘Hellcat! Do not try that again, bitch.’

  Caroline hissed at him in mockery and he stepped backwards toward the door.

  He told his men, without taking his eyes off her. ‘No one enters but me. Lock it.’

  Caroline rose to her feet, yelling at him. ‘I cannot wait till he kills you!’

  ‘Lock it, now!’ Raven bellowed again to the men.

  The loud bang and sound of keys and a lock being turned hurt Caroline’s still throbbing head and ears. She paced the small area as she prayed. If Raven’s plan did work, whatever it was and Darc did come for her, she prayed for his safety. For in Raven’s eyes she had seen a true madman.

  Caroline lay her sore and aching body down on the lumpy pallet Raven’s men had brought in along with a small table for her meals, she supposed, a few hours after their first visit. She had at first refused to acknowledge the small tokens of comfort, but after hours of standing and the numbness in her legs, she had given in. Bone weary and her mind exhausted she was asleep within minutes, the darkness and rats forgotten. She slept, restless as images of blood and fighting filled her dreams.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  After what Caroline could only deduce by the light and darkness, three days had passed since Raven had taken her.

  Three days Darc failed to show and mind numbing fear gripped her emotions as did the heartache that he had not come.

  Caroline wanted to believe there had to be a reason.

  A sound in the corner drew her attention and she swallowed back a burp of bile. The rats scurried too close, their beady eyes watching her for their chance to snatch at her feet for crumbs.

  How could he live like this? Caroline thought. She feared she might catch some disease from how filthy this place was. Then there would be no reason for Darc to save her. But she refused to give in to her hysteria.

  She kept the filthy rodents at bay by not leaving a single crumb on her platter. She would not have eaten at all if not for the babe she now knew she carried. Her flux had not come and that sickness she had been feeling was almost daily now.

  Raven’s men only entered to leave and retrieve her platters. She did not care, the less she saw of these men the better she had first believed. But now she hoped to get her hands on the tall one’s belt and risk a chance to snatch the keys from him.

  She walked the soreness from her muscles as she rolled her head on her shoulders and stretched her limbs to work out the stiffness from her body.

  ‘Twas how Raven and his soldiers found her when they burst into her cell.

  Her numbness was immediately forgotten when her gaze fell upon Raven’s tal
l frame. The three days had been no better for him. His fine tunic was more than a little ruffled today and blood stains were on the them. Her anxiety turned to cold fear at the sight and when his scarred hands removed two of the small axes at his waist, she noted one still held a stain of blood yet on the blade. She backed up. Why was he holding them?

  ‘I see, my lady, temptation won out and you succumbed to my meager comforts.’

  Caroline mumbled a vulgar oath beneath her breath. He laughed flippantly and drawled on.

  ‘Full of fire you are! William chose well for my brother. It is almost a pity he will not be able to enjoy it much longer. I will soon be shouting my victory to the world.’

  What did he mean by that? She thought as she watched him. She wished she had a weapon of her own. Angry at the games this man was playing she could not keep her tongue still. ‘Whatever you do to me it will not work nor will it make him come to you. All your planning has been for naught. I told you he would not come. Do your worst. You have lost.’ Caroline said, her voice hoarse and cracking under her emotion.

  ‘You have it all wrong, my lady. I am indeed very much the victor. It is not about me having you. Planting the seed of doubt, distrust… Ah, that is what I am after. It is about my brother believing that I tasted you.’ He twirled his axes through his fingers with expert skill which kept her gaze riveted on the action. The small handles and shining blades weaved threateningly among his deft fingers too easily for her liking.

  ‘What is it that you mean?’ Caroline asked.

  Raven chuckled at her baffled expression. ‘Ah, you still do not see. Let me elaborate. You see, even after my death, when my brother lays my head at William’s feet, the very thought of believing that I fucked you will eat away to his soul. He will never know if that brat you carry is his or mine.’

  Caroline’s horrified gasp filled the room and she lowered her hand from her mouth. His eyes followed her hand as she instinctively moved it to her belly. His intent gleamed in his sharp eyes.

  ‘Aye, I know you are with child. My spies were very thorough.’