He ran faster than he had ever run in his life, terror clawing his stomach at what he would find when he reached the bear pit. His heart pumped wildly. He hollered for people to get out of his way, shoving them aside in his haste, knocking anyone over who did not move fast enough. When he reached the bear pit, he saw several others who had rushed to the clearing pointing with cries of shock and disbelief, their fear palpable.
Alex’s heart clawed up his throat, he could not breathe. An image, a vision, flashed in his head, of Kat lying in a pool of her own blood, her flesh gored by huge bloody claw marks. Nay, he refused to believe Kat was hurt, or dead; he would not let fear consume him. He charged into the growing crowd.
The huge lump in his throat suddenly dropped to his stomach. Kat was not hurt, but she had crawled out onto one of the pikes driven into the earth over the pit. The pikes were embedded every five feet, meeting in the center like slices of a pie, acting as a makeshift roof.
It was a courageous, though foolhardy, risk she took. For young Matthew had crawled out onto one of the spikes, and hanging by two hands into the pit, was dangerously within reach of the bear chained to the tall stake in the center. While the animal growled and pawed ineffectually at the young intruder, Kat hugged the spike and reached out to Matthew. She hollered for him to grab her hand, but the lad was too terrified to let go and reach out.
Kat was persistent, though, and inched farther out on the spike. Leaning over, her perch precarious, she stretched her hand out to the boy. The little fool, she was going to get herself and Matthew killed. Unwilling to startle Kat, Alex quietly stepped over the rope surrounding the pit and proceeded to crawl out onto the neighboring pike. Unlike Kat, he sat down on the rounded post, his hands balancing his weight in front of him as he scooted forward.
Alex watched Kat reach out again, farther this time, encouraging the frightened boy in a soothing, but confident tone. “Come, Matthew. Take my hand. You are very brave. I know you can do it. Just grab my hand and I will pull you up.”
Alex inhaled sharply. If either of them fell, they would surely be mauled to death. Frustration and fear gnawed at him. He could not just grab Kat and thrust her away from the danger as he wished. Nor command her to back away and let him rescue Matthew. He could only watch and plan as he came ever closer.
Just as Alex reached her, Matthew let go and reached out for her extended hand. Kat caught his wrist and held tight, but Matthew panicked and tugged hard on her arm. She teetered on the pike, her body slipping sideways away from Alex. Her face red and dripping with sweat, she struggled valiantly. Matthew cried out. Then Kat lost her perch and she and the boy plummeted into the dark pit.
Alex roared in agony and disbelief. Feral instinct surged up inside him and in one simultaneous motion he swung his leg over the pike, withdrew his sword and jumped down into the pit. He landed on his feet and fell to one knee, his sword hand stopping his fall. A huge furred claw swung out directly for his head. Alex lunged back and the bear’s curved claws passed his cheek, missing him by inches. So close a current of air swept his face and the putrid smell of the bear filled his nostrils.
His heart beat as though it would burst from his chest. Alex swung his sword at the bear, distracting the predator from the pair who had landed with a sickening thump nearby. Staying well out of the creature’s lethal range, Alex jabbed and slashed at the larger bear while moving around and away from Kat and Matthew huddled on the ground.
The gambit worked, for his blows annoyed the bear like a pesky bee. The animal followed Alex, roaring in frustration and batting at the sword with his paw. The bear’s chain clanked loudly, the rank smell of his hot breath too close for comfort.
Keeping his attention on the bear, Alex yelled, “Kat, are you hurt?”
He heard a groan and then her voice emerged as a croak. “Alex?”
“Aye, ’tis me. Are you all right? Are you able to move?”
“I believe so.”
“While I distract this brute, I need you and Matthew to move to the back of the pit out of the bear’s range.”
“Kat?” Alex called out when she did not respond.
“Matthew is unconscious. I’ll have to drag him.”
Alex listened as Kat grunted, dragging Matthew away.
“’Tis done. We are safe. The bear cannot reach us here.”
When Alex finally backed off, he heard another roar, but this time it was a roar of approval from the crowd. Alex thought cynically, I wonder what my chances were with the odds makers. Then he forgot everything and raced to Kat’s side.
She knelt beside Matthew, but when he approached, she jumped up and into his arms. Kat clung to him tightly, shaking. For his part, Alex squeezed her as though he would never let her go, their hearts pounding against one another as a single entity.
Reassured of her safety, he placed his palms on either side of her face and tipped her head back to look at her. “Praise God you are all right. For a moment I thought I’d lost you.”
He brushed her loose hair back, her relief shining in her face. “I too thought…” Kat gulped and then continued. “What are you doing here, Alex? How did you come to be here? I don’t understand.”
Now that the danger was over, Alex’s anger surged to the fore. He gripped her shoulders in a tight vise. “Aye, I know, you little fool! You would have been dead had I not come upon this travesty.”
Kat’s eyes blazed up at him, but he interrupted her before she opened her mouth. “Nay. We can discuss this later at a more opportune time.”
He knelt down beside Matthew and checked the boy’s limbs for broken bones. Kat knelt, too, and cradled Matthew’s head in her lap.
Her troubled eyes met Alex’s. “I feel a large bump on the back of his head.”
Alex nodded. “The blow to his head must have knocked him unconscious. I can find naught else wrong with him.” He tapped the boy’s face, trying to rouse him. “Matthew? Can you hear me? Wake up.”
The boy groaned, his eyelids flickering several times before he opened them. His pupils were unfocused. “My lord? What are you…? Where am I?”
“Do you not remember?”
Matthew closed his eyes, his brow puckered. “The dare. The boys dared me to climb out over the bear pit. But I fell. Lady Kat tried to—” His eyes flew open. “Lady Kat. Where is Lady Kat?” he cried out, trying to raise his head.
“Hush now. I am safe, Matthew,” Kat said, smoothing back the sweat-matted hair on his forehead. “We are all safe. You may thank Sir Alex for his brave rescue.” She looked up at Alex then, her smile brilliant.
Alex’s heart thumped, pride filling him at her praise. “Can you rise without assistance, Matthew? We’re still in the pit. I don’t know about you, but I have no wish to further my acquaintance with Sir Surly Bear.”
Matthew smiled. “Aye, my lord, I need no help.” Even so, Alex and Kat stood up and helped him rise. Though shaken, the boy was fine.
Alex looked around. The bear had quieted and settled down on his hindquarters against the pole. On the other side of the pit, the iron door remained locked. “Where is that blasted bear ward?”
“Aye, ’tis strange indeed,” Kat said, her expression perplexed.
“Well, I do not intend to wait for that fat idiot to let us out of here.” Alex stared at the stone wall before him, gauging its height. “The wall looks to be about twelve feet high. I can lift you both onto my shoulders so you can reach the top. Someone above can pull you out.”
“Alex, Kat, you both all right?”
Alex shaded his eyes and gazed up at the top of the pit. Rand peered down from the edge, Rose beside him, fear etching her face.
“Aye, Rand. We’re unharmed. But I need your help. I’m going to lift Kat and the boy onto my shoulders, and I want you to pull them up and out of the pit.”
“Of course. Whenever you’re ready.”
“Be careful, Alex,” Rose’s voice quavered.
Alex nodded and turned to Kat.
�
��You go first, then Matthew. I want him to see how easily ’tis done.”
“But what about you? How will you get out?” she asked, her expression unsure.
Alex withdrew his dagger, and using the pointed tip, gouged a hole in the mortar between two stones about waist high and another shoulder high. “I shall use this for a toehold and handhold. Then Rand can reach down and help me up.”
He hollered above and Rand stuck his head over the precipice, ready to assist them. Alex knelt down on one knee so Kat could use his other knee as a step. He assisted her onto his shoulders and stood up. “Are you ready?”
“Ready.” He held very still while she stood up straight above him. When she released his hands, he gripped her ankles. A few moments later her weight lifted from him, dirt and grass scrabbling down the wall as Rand pulled her out.
The bear had been silent and resting, but suddenly he became agitated, roaming the width of his chain back and forth, growling and tugging on it.
Alex looked at Matthew, who had remained very silent for some time now. “Are you ready, son?”
But the boy was staring at the disturbed bear. Alex grabbed his shoulders and turned Matthew so he faced him and not the animal. “The bear is chained and cannot harm us, so there is naught you need to fear.”
Matthew gulped, nodding.
“Do you trust me?”
The boy nodded more vigorously.
“Good. You have naught to worry about.”
The bear became more restless, the chain clanking with great force as he tugged and pawed violently at the iron ring attached to his hind leg.
“Alex?” Kat hollered down, her voice troubled.
“We’re ready,” he hollered back, his tone confident. Then he turned to Matthew and kneeling, he helped the boy climb onto his shoulders.
After he was lifted out, Kat poked her head over the edge of the pit. “Matthew is safe.” Her gaze strayed nervously to the bear. “Hurry, Alex. Get out of there.”
He looked over his shoulder. The bear’s agitation had not abated. Indeed, he seemed enraged now. Not twelve feet away, the bear tipped his head up and roared at him, tugging desperately on his chain. Alex felt like roaring back, but he had had enough of confined, dark spaces. Flipping the right side of his mantle over his back, he turned and put his foot in the makeshift foothold.
Kat, unnerved by the bear’s odd behavior, knelt on the ground, leaning over the dark precipice while she waited for Alex to climb up.
Beside her, Rand wrapped his arm around her and squeezed once, saying, “Don’t worry. He is going to be all right. This will be all over soon,” before he drew away.
When Alex lifted his foot and stepped up, for some reason Kat raised her head. She stared in stunned horror as the bear ripped free of his shackle and charged Alex.
She screamed. “Alex. Behind you.” The bear roared, drowning out her cry.
She watched as Alex jumped, tucked his body into a ball and rolled over several times on the ground, his sword clanking against the packed earth. Barely evading the bear’s charge, he sprang to his feet and withdrew his sword. Steel raised, he backed away, but the bear attacked swiftly. His huge paw swung out and Alex lunged to the right, slashing the bear’s chest as he did. Suddenly, Alex stumbled. Kat cried out as a collective gasp rose up behind her. Alex quickly recovered, putting the center pole between him and the bear to impede its attack. The crowd cheered.
The brown bear stood up on its hind legs and roared, using its height to intimidate his rival. Her heart pounding, Kat reached for her dagger, then cursed. For once she had not brought her dagger, just when she needed it most.
She reached for Rand’s sword, ordering, “Give me your sword. Alex needs my help.”
His hand clamped down on hers as she clutched his sword handle. “Nay. You will only distract him. He needs all his concentration to escape the bear. Watch and see.”
The bear charged then, and Alex dodged to the left, keeping the pole a barrier between them and striking out with his sword to keep it at bay. The bear attacked twice more while Kat watched on helplessly, her heart about to burst with the strain, fear clutched in her throat.
The combatants faced one another on opposite sides of the pit, the bear bleeding profusely. Kat watched, appalled, when Alex ripped the pin from his mantle and removed the voluminous green wool from his back. On her knees, she clutched the grass in her fist. Alex spread his cape open before him and moved slowly towards the center of the pit.
When the bear came at him once more, Alex flung his mantle over the beast’s head. Blinded, its sense of smell hampered, the animal stopped in its tracks and began shaking the fabric away. Alex ran past him and towards Kat. “Here. Catch.”
Instinctively, Kat reached out, caught his sword and tossed it on the ground beside her.
She turned back and grabbed Alex’s outstretched hand. Rand grabbed his other hand and they tugged him up with all their strength. Alex’s black head emerged, followed by the rest of his considerably heavy body. He crawled forward and collapsed face down. Kat flopped down beside him, her face looking to heaven as she tried to catch her breath.
“That was a close call, my friend,” Rand said.
Breathing easier, Kat turned to Alex. “Do you fare well, Alex?”
He did not answer, nor move either she realized.
Alarmed, she rolled onto her knees and shook his shoulder. “Alex? Answer me!”
She looked up at Rand. His gaze was fearful. “Help me roll him over.” She pushed on Alex’s right shoulder while Rand tugged. “Careful!”
At last, they rolled Alex onto his back.
“Jesu,” Kat cursed. She crossed her chest, but not because of her blasphemous verbal slip. A pool of blood saturated the grass next to Alex. Her gaze moved to him. Alex’s tunic was slashed open. Five claw marks ran down his left shoulder and upper chest, blood oozing from his gouged flesh. Rose began to cry loudly.
Chapter 22
“Will he live?”
Kat, her hands trembling, stared down at Alex on their bed. His chest and left shoulder were swathed in bandages, while light from the brazier and wall sconces flickered over his pale, still body. He had not regained consciousness yet. Indeed, he had not awoken when he was carried to the cart and placed in it, nor on the long interminable drive back to the palace as she cradled his head in her lap. Nor while the king’s physician treated his wound as she, Rand, and Rose watched on anxiously.
Closing a leather bag containing his instruments, powders, and glass vials of medicine, the gaunt physician turned to her, his brown eyes probing. “Though the wound is not extremely deep, he has lost a large amount of blood. And there is always the risk his wound will fester. But I have stopped the bleeding, which is good.”
Kat grimaced. She had some experience in treating wounds so the physician had merely confirmed what she already knew, but she had wanted reassurance.
The older man left instructions for preparing the poultice. “You will have to keep a close eye on him over the next few days. Change his dressings thrice a day and check his wound. Let me know if it begins to fester or his condition worsens. The king has asked me to personally oversee his recovery.”
Rose harrumphed after he left. “You would think that man believed he alone knew how to care for wounds. ’Tis women who have long treated and nursed their men’s injuries.”
Kat sat down on the bed beside Alex and brushed his hair off his dirt-begrimed forehead. He was warm to the touch, though not overly so. “I doubt the man intended to cast aspersions on your healing abilities, Rose.”
Rand smiled at Rose. “Well, I, for one, value your skills most highly, Rosie. The leg wound I incurred on Crusade never healed properly till you took me under your care. I shall forever be indebted to you.”
Her round cheeks flushed at his compliment, but her gaze darted away from direct eye contact with him. “You may thank Mother. She taught me everything I know.”
Rand bowed, acknowledging
her subtle rebuff. “Next I see her, you may be sure I shall compliment her on her teaching skills. Now, if you will pardon me? There is something I need to attend to. I will return soon to check on Alex.” He nodded to them and departed.
Kat retrieved a linen cloth from the table beside the bed. Dipping it into the basin of cool water, she wrung it out and began to wipe the dirt and sweat from Alex’s face and neck. His face was pale and lined with pain even in sleep, the creases beside his mouth and on his forehead pronounced.
Rose sat down on the other side of the bed and took Alex’s hand in hers. She gazed down at him, a frown upon her face. “I know what you are thinking, Kat. But Rand knows I despise that name. Ever since I was a young girl, the man has constantly tried to nettle me one way or another.”
“I wonder why that is?” Kat asked.
But Rose missed her tone, shrugging. “Alex was so brave today. After all he has been through, I cannot believe he was nearly killed by a bear.”
“Aye, ’tis strange,” Kat murmured, remembering another close call, when she and Alex had almost been struck by an arrow.
A knock on the entry door interrupted her thoughts. Rose left to answer it and returned a moment later. “I must go to the queen. She is most anxious to learn of Alex’s condition. I will send Jenny to the kitchens to get more water and bandages, and everything you need to prepare the poultices.” She stood at the side of the bed and looked down at Alex lying so drawn and pale. “My brother is not going to die! He has just been returned to us and we shall see him through this difficult time together, Kat.”
Aye. God willing.
Then Rose leaned down and kissed Alex on his forehead. “I will return as soon as I can.”
After Rose left, Kat opened the shutters and tossed the bloody water out. She kept the shutters open for a moment to air out the stuffy room. Once she poured fresh water into the basin, Kat returned to the bed, drawing Alex’s bedcovering down to his waist. His upper chest and left shoulder were bound in bandages, but his bare arms and lower torso were coated with dried sweat and blood.
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