"Of course, you may." Donovan turned to Jarin. "Pity you're taking him with you. I'll miss him."
"You'll have your precious lady to think about when I leave," the sorcerer replied. "And whatever is left of a rival to remind you of your victory."
"Yes, I look forward to that." Donovan stared at Mark with hatred.
Mark returned the glare, gritting his teeth. I will come back from death and take you to hell with me!
6.
Mark's scream reached the upper floors of the castle, startling Eleonor awake. She jumped to her feet, terrified, as the scream continued.
"Mark!"
She rushed to the door only to find it locked. She checked the window, but the jump would break her legs.
She fell to her knees, sobbing desperately as another scream came up from the depths of the castle.
***
"Jeff, Seb, cover us," Dave said as they huddled up in a corner of the castle courtyard, their hoods still up to cover their faces. "To the dungeon, Brendan."
Brendan nodded and quickly guided him and Randy inside. Mark's screams came and went, and became louder as they went down the narrow staircase. There were no guards outside of the dungeon door.
The three archers stopped and exchanged a nod. Dave kicked the door open while Brendan and Randy took aim and shot. Brendan's arrow hit the executioner in the back, Randy's arrow killed Rowan.
Theodore hid behind his men, not knowing what to do.
"No!" The sorcerer screamed in anger as the youth collapsed with an arrow protruding from his neck.
Randy didn't waste time, repeating her feat and hitting the sorcerer's throat, breaking the spell he'd been weaving before it was completed.
Dave pointed his arrow at Donovan, who was frozen in horror and hatred, as Brendan and Randy entered the torture chamber. Randy kicked the sorcerer to make sure he was dead and glanced at Rowan.
"He's so young," she said, frowning. "Why was he so eager to watch this?"
Mark was breathless and bloodied, but not too damaged. He still had his hands and eyes, but the executioner had whipped him and broken his knee.
"He hates me," he managed to say while Brendan untied him. "He's in love with Eleonor. Guess love drove him crazy." He sat with a moan on the table, helped by Brendan.
"Well, he's dead now." Randy shrugged and nocked another arrow, aiming it at Donovan. "What do we do with him?"
"Are you the sixth man?" the lord asked, glaring at her.
"Yes. You must be the beloved Duke." She scoffed. "Hey guys, from what you told me, I imagined him more handsome!"
"He's got the power of money and nobility," Mark said somberly.
"Let's take him with us as a safe way out," Dave said.
"Fine." Randy put the arrow back in her quiver and the bow on her shoulder. She pulled out her knife and pointed it at Donovan's throat, taking him with her.
Brendan helped Mark to stand and limp away from the table.
Randy pushed Donovan up the stairs as Dave kept his arrow pointed on Theodore and the guards. As soon as the five of them were out, Dave locked the dungeon door and helped Brendan to carry Mark.
Jeffrey waited for them in the courtyard. As soon as Donovan emerged, still held hostage by Randy, Jeff rushed forward and took Dave's place by Mark's side.
"Seb went to find Lady Eleonor," he said quickly as Dave let go of Mark with a nod and exchanged places with Randy.
"Everything is quiet," Randy noticed, leaving the Duke in Dave's custody.
"Of course, our dear Theodore is still stuck in the dungeon..." Dave said, sarcastic. "Do you really think anyone else would try to stop us?"
"Not with this captain of the guard, no." Jeffrey smiled. "Are you all right, Mark?" he added, worried.
"I'll be fine," Mark said, then gritted his teeth and tried to ease the pain on his broken knee.
Two guards emerged from one of the towers, fighting backwards with Sebastian, who screamed obscenities at them. Eleonor was right behind him and she eluded the fight walking against the tower's wall.
Randy went to help Sebastian, unsheathing her sword, while from the main building Theodore rushed out with more guards. Someone must have opened the dungeon's door.
Dave repositioned the blade of his knife on Donovan's throat, spilling a drop of blood. "Tell them to leave," he whispered threateningly.
"If you kill me, you'll be defenseless," Donovan replied calmly.
"Maybe, but it will be such a pleasure!" Mark took Brendan's knife and lunged forward, stabbing Donovan under the rib cage.
Dave cursed and let go of the Duke who collapsed to the ground with a moan.
"Jeff, take Eleonor away, we'll cover you!" Mark ordered.
Jeff gave him his bow and quiver before taking Eleonor's hand and dragging her away.
"You can't fight," Brendan protested as Mark leaned against the castle wall to nock an arrow.
A mounted guard charged them. Mark's arrow sent him flying off the saddle and Brendan was quick to grab the horse's reins.
"Get on the damn saddle," he ordered his friend. "You can't fight. Just get out of here!"
He helped Mark on the horse and slapped the animal's rump as soon as Mark was steady on the saddle.
Dave, Brendan, Randy and Sebastian slowly fell back, defending themselves and their friends' retreat. Theodore managed a slash at Dave's chest and was immediately pushed back by a furious Sebastian.
As she ran for the drawbridge, Randy cut the ropes of the gate that closed with a final thump, keeping the soldiers in as the archers ran out.
***
Gwen and Debby were waiting anxiously in the forest for the outlaws' return. Gwen paced the clearing while Debby sat on a rock, listening carefully.
"A horse is coming!" The blacksmith's daughter rose and looked towards the sound.
Eleonor and Mark were on horseback, led by Jeff who helped Mark to get off the saddle without putting any weight on the broken knee.
"Be right back," he said quickly, jumping on the saddle and spurring the horse.
"Dave is wounded," Mark said, sitting on the ground with a very worried Eleonor and Gwen by his side. Debby rushed to a nearby stream with a bucket and came back with fresh water. She and Gwen started cleaning the blood off Mark's torso.
"He whipped you!" Eleonor frowned and caressed the flesh wounds.
"And broke my knee," Mark said. "I won't be able to fight for some time. But considering what he was aiming at... I'm glad he planned on torturing me all day before taking my eyes and hands off and let you in the room."
Gwen gasped in shock and Debby pursed her lips. Seeing that Gwen was doing fine, she went back to looking to the forest until the horse emerged again, carrying Dave, held by Sebastian. Brendan, Randy and Jeff walked.
Dave was very pale as they laid him down. He had lost too much blood. The relatively slight cut to the stomach affected his breathing and had damaged his muscles. Dave had no control over his legs that shook uncontrollably.
"Dave, don't you quit on me!" Sebastian pleaded.
"I'm afraid I'm done, Seb," Dave whispered, his eyelids too heavy to stay open.
"Don't leave me alone!"
"You're not alone, Seb..."
Debby and Gwen cleaned the wound, but it was already too late. Dave moaned and writhed in Sebastian's lap as all color drained from his face, and then he lay still.
"Come, Seb." Randy grabbed his arm before he started shaking his now still cousin.
Sebastian jumped to his feet and escaped her grasp to run to the forest. They heard him screaming in pain and loss.
Debby was openly crying and Gwen looked consternated.
"Do you think Donovan is dead too?" Jeffrey asked gloomily as the women went back to tending Mark's wounds.
"He has good healers," Brendan said bitterly.
Sebastian screamed again and Gwen looked up, worried.
"Why don't you go looking for him?" Randy suggested, leaning on her longbow.
"He's grieving for his cousin," Gwen said shyly.
"But you love him and he needs you now," Randy replied.
Gwen looked at Eleonor who nodded, then ran after Sebastian.
"Help me take care of Dave," Brendan told Jeffrey.
"Why don't we put Mark in bed first?" Jeffrey suggested. "The women can't move him on their own..."
Brendan nodded. They took Mark inside the cave and lay him on the bed.
"You need rest," Eleonor told him, touching his forehead. "You might have some fever to burn out."
He slowly nodded. "Forgive me."
"You saved me." Her smile was frail. "Get some deserved rest."
Debby helped Jeff and Brendan to deal with Dave's body. Randy sat on the rock outside of the cave, frowning at the forest where Sebastian and Gwen had vanished. Eleonor stood beside her with an admiring look on her face.
"What?" Randy snapped.
"You're a great fighter," Eleonor said.
"Yes, well, Mark doesn't need a warrior woman," Randy replied grumpily.
"You're in love with Mark?" Eleonor asked, surprised.
"I like him." Randy shrugged. "He's nice. But he loves you."
"He's not the only handsome young man here," Eleonor reminded her.
"Jeff was already busy when I joined, and Mark had this thing for you," Randy said, thoughtful. "Then came Gwen who fell for Sebastian, who doesn't consider me a woman anyway, and David is dead. There's only Brendan left, but I saved his life. He might do it out of gratitude. Besides, I'm not here to stay."
Eleonor frowned in worry. "So you're going to leave?"
"As soon as we make sure wretched Donovan is dead."
"I'll miss you." The lady put a hand on the shoulder of the seated warrior woman.
"Miss you too," Randy grumpily admitted. "But I haven't found a place to call home yet."
***
Mark was looking better, albeit still bed-ridden when Brendan entered the archers' cave. Eleonor was by Mark's side, sharing a loaf of bread with him. Gwen was in another corner, cuddling a still frowning Sebastian. Jeff had gone to the village, escorting Debby back home.
"Where's Randy?" Brendan asked, looking around and not seeing the warrior woman.
"She went to the village to get drunk," Eleonor answered. "Then, she said, she'll rid us of her presence."
"Is that what she really said?" Mark asked her, puzzled.
"Yes." Eleonor smiled at him, then looked at Brendan again.
Brendan snorted. He didn't want Randy to leave, and not just because she'd saved him.
"Guess some drinking would do me good too," he muttered as an excuse, ignoring Eleonor's knowing smile.
He finally found Randy in a village tavern. It was half-empty since it was midday and everybody was busy with either their shops or the wood-cutting. Randy was by the counter, having her goblet filled again with ale.
"Isn't there anybody else who wants to drink with me?" She raised the goblet with an unsteady hand, not looking at anyone, not even the innkeeper.
Brendan reached her and stopped her shaky toast. "I think you had enough for today."
"Oh, hello." She didn't really look at him. "Join me!"
She freed her wrist, but he grabbed her goblet and put it back down on the counter with a loud thump that startled her.
"Let's go," he said through clenched teeth, grabbing her arm. "There's nothing to drink about. Dave is dead and we're practically lordless."
"Why, isn't Mark sitting in his lord's place?" she complained. "Besides, I'm leaving, aren't you happy?"
"No. Enough, Randy."
He paid the innkeeper who nodded his approval and dragged her out of the tavern. The fresh air outside seemed to give her back some strength and focus.
"Hey!" She stopped in the middle of the road and glared at him. "What do you want?"
"I want you to stop," he answered. "Stop playing the man, stop denying your womanhood. You'd be a much better woman if you could accept it."
"I don't want to be a woman, I'm a warrior," she said, frowning.
"And you are a warrior. What I want you to understand is that you're also a woman and nobody will ever punish you for it. So please stop pretending."
"Give me one good reason." She crossed her arms over her bosom and stared at him defiantly.
"I love you," he said.
She stepped back, eyes wide in sudden panic.
"Only because I saved your life? Is this why you want to change me?" she protested.
"I don't want to change you," he replied patiently. "I only want you to remember you're a woman when you're with me." He took her in his arms. "Please. Do I have to challenge you in swordfight to have you? I'm an archer, not a swordsman. Must I force myself on you?"
She freed herself and stepped back again.
"Don't you dare. I'd cut your throat as soon as you're finished."
"I don't want to hurt you, Randy. Are you afraid of me?"
"I'm not. And your words hurt enough."
She couldn't step away since she was now flat against the tavern's wall. She probably wasn't sober enough to either challenge him or run away. He reached for her.
"Then I'll shut up. But give me a chance," he said, taking her face in his hands.
And before she could object, he kissed her. He felt her stiffen against him, then relax. Her mouth opened to welcome him. The long, passionate kiss left both breathless.
"I won't touch you if you don't want me to," he whispered, losing himself in her baby blues.
"If you're not lying, do what you please with me," she said, her chest still heaving.
"I only know I've never felt like this in my whole life..."
"Then go ahead."
He kissed her again.
"Hey, Brendan, you moved to kissing boys?" someone shouted.
Blushing, Brendan pulled away from her and smiled as she chuckled.
"Let's get out of here," she suggested with a wink. "I wouldn't want your friends to think you love men..."
Brendan grinned and took her hand as they rushed back to the cover of the trees and bushes of the nearby forest.
7.
"How are you doing today, my lord?" Theodore stopped by Donovan's bed, standing at attention as the physician left the Duke's bedroom.
"I'm recovering." Donovan settled uncomfortably on his mattress, silently cursing the wound that hadn't proved mortal but had incapacitated him. "What news do you bring?"
"Lady Eleonor is back to her castle and has married Mark as expected," Theodore reported, looking straight ahead. "Brendan and Sebastian are with him, and have taken their lovers along. Jeffrey is still at the village, he married the blacksmith's daughter."
"I don't care about him," Donovan muttered. "But Mark must pay. So he married my cousin while I struggled for life, huh?"
"And he has become the lord of her castle." Theodore nodded. "And has made his best friend captain of the guard."
Donovan knew about Mark's rise to castle lord. His relatives had written letters to him, complaining that Logris had ended up in non-noble hands and blaming him for mishandling his cousin's dowry.
"I should wage war on Logris and take him down," he grumbled. But his relatives wouldn't want him to damage the castle and lands. "But no, a war might kill him before I can lay my hands on him again. I want to tear him to pieces personally!"
"Very well, my lord. What shall I do, then?" Theodore asked.
Donovan glared at him. Theodore was good at following orders, but had no initiative. That was what had allowed Mark to earn himself a castle and a beautiful wife.
I should have kept him in my service, Donovan thought, irritated. If he hadn't played with Mark's girlfriend, seducing her just to prove to his captain that he was more powerful, they'd never have reached that point of mutual hatred.
He wondered if Mark had stolen Eleonor from him in retaliation for what had happened between them. But then, his cousin was one of the most beautiful noble maidens around
, so Mark could have easily fallen for her even though she was related to Donovan.
"I need a few more days to fully recover," he said. "Go fetch Clarissa the Witch."
"Yes, my lord." Theodore bowed and left.
Rowan had given him the idea of using magic. It hadn't turned out well for the teen, but magic had indeed allowed him to get Eleonor back and have Mark in the dungeon again. He'd strike a deal with another magic user and exact his revenge.
***
"You certainly made a name for yourself," Brendan said. "But then, you were never just a bowman."
"I was a guards' captain," Mark replied, thoughtful. "I had some swordfight training, but nothing that compares to what the Duke had."
They both stood on the battlements of Logris Castle, wearing Eleonor's coat of arms. The king had approved the match by request of the lady of Logris, who had eloquently pleaded her case at the court before going back to her father's castle, and even though Donovan was still alive, Mark and Brendan felt quite confident Eleonor's relatives wouldn't try anything.
The old captain of the guard in Logris had passed the baton to Brendan after checking his credentials with a mock duel in the castle courtyard, much like the Lovenback captain had done with Mark.
"So how do you like it, sitting in the lord's place?" Brendan smiled at Mark's frown.
"Sometimes I really hate it," Mark admitted. His flesh wounds might have almost vanished, but his knee was still badly set and he'd probably limp for the time being, unless he found a real healer with some magic. "Sometimes I understand better why Donovan did some of the things he did, but at the same time I hope I'm not being a bad lord like he had become."
"I think you're doing fine. Eleonor knows how to run a castle on her own, but she needs a male figure by her side to keep it, so... you're what she needs."
"A useless husband?" Mark smiled despite himself.
"Not completely useless, I hope," Brendan chuckled. "I assume she still wants you in her bed, or she'd have kicked you out of the castle and wouldn't have bothered marrying you."
"And how are you doing with your warrior woman lover?" Mark asked. "Is she training you to be the best swordsman that ever was?"
"That and more. When you won't need us anymore, we'll leave and find fame and fortune throughout the northern kingdoms!"
Tales of the Northern Kingdoms volume 2 Page 13