Legendary Warrior

by Donna Fletcher

  “I have things to discuss with Thomas.”

  She instinctively knew what things he would discuss, but she said nothing. He had made a choice and now she would make hers.

  They dressed and hugged tightly.

  “I love you, Ree, and I always will, no matter what happens.”

  She squeezed him to her as best she could. Her strength was meager compared to his, but strength came in different ways. “And I love you and always will, always my heart will belong to you.”

  He smiled and kissed her. “Thank you, I needed badly to hear you pledge your heart to me.” He reluctantly stepped away from her, holding her hand until finally he was too far away to keep hold of it. “I look forward to the evening meal together, so go finish your work.”

  “I will see you in the great hall later.”

  He closed the door on her smile, looking forward to the evening ahead.

  Reena returned to the map, working on the last cell in the dungeon. She was adding the two metal rings in the stone wall when she stopped and stared at what she had just drawn.

  What were two metal rings doing in the wall, and at such odd angles? She had not given it thought when she had first seen them in the cell, though she had thought it odd that one cell contained two metal rings when the others did not. Of course the rings could have fallen out of the walls in the other cells.

  She shook her head, doubting the possibility. The rings were held by metal stakes driven into the stone wall. They were there permanently; therefore, the other cells never contained them.

  They also were set at odd angles to chain someone to the wall. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right, then back and forth she went, raising her hands as if grasping the metal rings until . . .

  Her eyes widened and she jumped off the chair and ran out of the room.

  Neither Magnus nor Thomas was in the great hall. She thought to see if Brigid would join her, then she realized her friend feared the dark too much to investigate the dungeon. She would, however, let Brigid know of her whereabouts so Magnus would not worry if she should be late for supper.

  She found Brigid in the cook room, Horace sitting right beside her as she busily stirred a batter in a wooden bowl.

  “You what?” Brigid said so loudly that all in the room turned to stare.

  Reena kept her voice low. “I am going down to the dungeons to take a look at one of the cells. I think I may have discovered something, and I wish to see if I am right.”

  “You are crazy.”

  “Nay, I tell you of where I go to be safe and ease Magnus’s concern.”

  Brigid put the bowl down on the table, Horace’s eyes following its descent. “Magnus will be angry.”

  “It is safe in the keep, what could happen to me?”

  “I do not know, but the dungeons do not sound like a place you should go to alone. Why not wait for Magnus to return? He went with Thomas to Daniel the bowman’s cottage. They should return shortly.”

  “I do not want to wait, I must see this for myself now, to see if what I believe is true.” Reena headed to the door. “Tell Magnus where I am as soon as he returns.”

  “At once I shall tell him, and don’t be surprised if he follows you.”

  “That will be good—then I can show him my discovery.” She gave a wave and was off in a hurry.

  “I do not like this, Horace,” Brigid said to the dog, whose eyes remained fixed on the bowl. “I do not like it at all.”

  Reena grabbed a torch from the metal sconce on the wall before descending the stairs down into the dungeon. Her steps slowed as the damp darkness reached up to grab at her, and she had to drive back her fear to proceed. While the flame of the torch chased away the darkness in front of her, it but circled and crept up to follow behind her.

  It seemed that there had been more light when Magnus had brought her here, but he was much taller than she, and he had carried the torch high, casting more light around them. She remembered several torches being lit along the wall where the cells were located, but none were lit now. Then she recalled how Magnus had told her that he had had them lighted for their visit to the dungeon so that she would have sufficient light for her work.

  She had not taken the thick darkness into consideration when she had begun her decent down into the dungeon, but she was here now and would not turn back. Besides, she was much too excited to abandon her investigation.

  She made her way along the familiar path, having trailed it many times in her mind while mapping it. She stopped suddenly, thinking she heard a noise, and she shivered at the thought that rats could be her only companions in this dismal, dark place.

  The thought set her into action, moving more hastily to the cell in question so that she could ascertain whether her idea held any merit or she was crazy, as Brigid had suggested. Either way, she would have her answer.

  She entered the cell and held the torch high, the light chasing the darkness to impatiently hover in wait in the corners. She spotted the metal rings and hurried over to the wall. With no place to put the torch inside the cell, Reena had to hold on to it, making her examination of the rings more difficult. She needed two hands.

  She tugged at the one ring but nothing happened; she knew it would take two hands to accomplish anything. The lack of mortar around the stones led her to believe she was correct in her thought about the rings, but she needed to prove it to herself.

  Another noise had her turning her head, but all she saw was darkness, and she wished Magnus were here with her, not only to help but also to comfort. She felt safe with him near, but then she was in his keep and safe from harm, so there was nothing to fear.

  She returned her attention to the metal rings in order to determine her best course of action. She realized she would get nowhere on her own: she needed Magnus’s help, she needed his strength. It was best she return to the hall and wait for him.

  That was when she heard footsteps and sighed with relief—Magnus was here and would help her.

  “Look what I have found,” she said, her smile wide as she turned, holding the torch high. Her smile vanished in an instant when her eyes set upon Peter Kilkern.

  “You are intelligent for a woman.”

  She ignored his insult and focused on her situation. Kilkern had her trapped; there was no chance of escape. He blocked the entrance to the cell, and he most certainly had not come here alone. Her heart began to beat faster, and she forced her fear to remain hidden. She would not let Kilkern think her frightened. Her only chance was to survive until Magnus arrived to rescue her. He would rescue her, she had no doubt.

  “Your father built the escape route from this cell, did he not?”

  Kilkern was a fair-sized man and impeccable in his dress, but now he stood before her dirt-smeared and disheveled from crawling through the secret escape passage in order to enter the keep.

  “How did you learn of it?” Kilkern asked, sounding impressed. “No one but my father or I knew of its existence. He had it built in case he required a hasty escape or if he should ever have found himself imprisoned in his own cell. He never thought that one day it would be used to gain entrance to the keep.”

  She shrugged as if it had taken nothing on her part to discover the secret passageway. She attempted to hold her tongue and not remind him that his father had met his end in the torture chamber only a few feet away from the passage he had built to help him escape.

  “The metal rings are fashioned in a way to grasp hold and pull, opening the escape route, and I would imagine your father had metal rings placed on the opposite side to help in replacing the outside wall so no one would be the wiser.”

  Kilkern clapped his dirty hands slowly. “I applaud your brilliance. I would never have thought that a woman could have the depth of intelligence that you do.”

  She wanted to keep him talking; she needed time, time for Magnus to rescue her.

  “How often have you been in the keep without anyone’s knowledge?”

  “I saw n
o reason to come here until I was ready, and besides, Magnus’s men keep watchful eyes on the land. If it were not for the trench, purposely overgrown with shrub, my father had built to aid his escape, I would never have been able to gain entrance here without notice. I spent the winter months making plans and, more importantly, gaining the king’s support. Now when Magnus cannot produce the map of Dunhurnal land and I can, the matter will be completely and permanently resolved. Then I shall enjoy myself with that beautiful peasant woman until I tire of her and—” His eyes narrowed and his expression turned to one of complete rage. “I shall make every tenant pay dearly for having deserted my land. That is, of course, after I kill Magnus and you?” He placed a finger to his cheek as if in thought. “After you create a map designating my land as encompassing Dunhurnal land, I shall torture you for a while, then dispose of you. Your punishment for seeking the Legend’s help.”

  Reena refused to show him any fear, though her legs trembled violently. Nor would she plead for mercy. He was without care or sanity, a madman, and there was no reasoning with a madman. She stood tall and straight and with confidence the Legend would come for her: he would rescue her. She held firm to her recurring thought, giving her the courage to face her plight.

  “What of your plan when you entered the keep?” she asked, knowing she gained time by keeping him in a discussion. “What did you hope to gain?”

  “Beware the belly of the beast,” he said with a laughing grin.

  She realized then his intentions. “You planned on kidnapping Brigid and me as soon as Magnus left to meet with you. You had no intentions of meeting with him. You not being there to welcome him would be an insult and a revelation that something was amiss and he would return—”

  He interrupted to correct her. “You have it partially correct, Magnus would return to find you on his own torture rack and he would gladly surrender the map and marriage agreement to save you, thus surrendering himself. The original map would be immediately disposed of, and you would draw me one that would satisfy the king, thus making Dunhurnal land rightfully mine.”

  “You altered your plan when you discovered we loved each other.”

  “It was obvious to many, but it was confirmed by the men who tracked you while you mapped, they reporting back to me that you and Magnus spent a night alone in a cave. The Legend was now vulnerable and I revised my plan, as I must do again due to your curiosity. I had not expected you to deliver yourself so easily into my hands. You have made my plan much simpler and alleviated my need to spend a night in this dreadful place.”

  He stepped aside, a nasty grin distorting his features and making him appear a frightening demon.

  Reena kept firm control of her fear, reminding herself over and over that Magnus would come for her. Even when two of Kilkern’s men entered the cell, grabbed her, and dragged her to the torture chamber she didn’t doubt he would rescue her. She knew he would and she held firm to her belief in the man she loved.

  “Chain her to the rack,” Kilkern ordered and stood to the side while the men did as instructed.

  She did not fight: her efforts would have proven useless, and she would have wasted valuable energy and courage she would need to survive.

  “You go willing to the rack thinking Magnus will rescue you.” Kilkern laughed. “He could not rescue his own mother, how then can he rescue you?”

  She thought to remind him that Magnus’s mother was his mother as well, but it was better not to enrage an already enraged beast. Discussion with him was her only weapon—or perhaps it was her shield.

  “How can you hope to leave here after you are done and not have Magnus’s men slaughter you?”

  “Who will lead them once Magnus is dead? Without a leader warriors have nothing. They will pledge their allegiance to me or they will die.”

  The metal wrist clamps did not fit her small wrists as they should. When Kilkern’s men stretched her arms up above her head, her wrists rubbed against the metal and continued to scrape as they fastened her to the table.

  She could feel her skin being rubbed raw, and she knew it would not be long before her wrists and ankles bled. That would serve Kilkern well, for her bloody and painful condition would infuriate Magnus when he saw her.

  “His men will stop you,” Reena said confidently.

  He laughed. “Their leader will be dead and they will have no choice but to surrender to me.”

  “Thomas will never surrender.”

  “That large idiot of a warrior that Magnus calls a friend will be done away with fast enough, and his death will only hasten the cooperation of the other warriors. I will make an example of one or two of the villagers, and fear will then have them obeying me without question.”

  Kilkern’s vengefulness knew no bounds. She only hoped he remained the arrogant fool he was, for his plan was doomed to fail. Brigid would make certain Magnus and Thomas knew of her whereabouts and Magnus would come for her. He would rescue her, and she clung to that thought every time Kilkern ordered his men to tighten her chains.

  The torture rack was situated so that it caught the eye of anyone entering, which was Kilkern’s purpose. He expected Magnus to lose all sense and reason when he saw her lying there in pain and bleeding.

  And the pain came fast and furiously, rushing through her arms and legs and flooding her with a tremendous pressure that felt as if her limbs were about to be ripped from her body.

  She attempted to remain silent, not wanting to give him the pleasure of seeing her suffer. Then a thought came to her.

  She let out a bloodcurdling scream.

  Chapter 32

  Magnus entered the keep, his thoughts on Reena. He looked forward to talking with her this evening, sharing the evening meal and sleeping with her wrapped in his arms.

  He suddenly could not wait to see her. He hurried to the stairs and climbed the steps in quick strides, promising himself he would only take a minute of her time. A hug and kiss was all he wanted and then he would leave her to map.

  He knocked on her door, and when he got no response, he smiled. She was lost in her mapping as usual. He entered quietly and was surprised to see she was not at her desk or anywhere in her room.

  She had mentioned mapping the dungeon, and he walked over to her table and was surprised to see that one of the candleholders that lined the edge sat on the drawing. Reena never sat a candleholder on her maps for fear of wax or flame destroying it. Whatever had made her leave it here?

  He studied the map hoping it would give him a clue to her hasty departure when he noticed the metal rings in the one cell. It did not take him long to rush out of the room.

  She would hear of her foolishness from him. Whatever had possessed her to go to the dungeon alone? He rushed into the great hall at the same time Thomas entered from the front doors with Brigid close behind, followed by Horace, who was barking and growling uncontrollably.

  Magnus had never seen the dog so upset and so ready to attack.

  “He started a few minutes ago and I cannot calm him down,” Brigid said. “It is so unlike him.”

  Horace jumped up and down in front of Magnus, turned to run, and then jumped up in front of him again.

  “He tries to tell you something,” Thomas said.

  “Brigid, do you know where Reena is?” Magnus asked, though only to confirm his own thought.

  “Aye, she foolishly went to the dungeons insisting she had discovered something of great importance. I told her I would inform you and Thomas as to her whereabouts as soon as you both returned.”

  “Trouble,” Thomas said.

  Magnus nodded. “Kilkern is in the keep.”

  “What?” both Thomas and Brigid asked in unison.

  Magnus detailed his opinion on the situation and Brigid grew upset.

  “He will hurt her,” she said, close to tears.

  “He will not have the chance.” Magnus turned to Thomas and nodded for the man to step away from Brigid so that they could talk in private. He instructed Thomas
as to what was to be done, then he turned back to Brigid. “I need you to do something. Do you feel strong enough to help Reena?”

  Brigid swallowed back her fear. “I often wished I had had a second chance to have helped my husband when Kilkern attacked him. I do not wish to regret not helping Reena. I will do whatever you wish of me.”

  “This is what I need of you. It involves Horace,” Magnus explained, then, making certain all was understood, he hurried to the dungeon, Brigid keeping a firm hand on Horace.

  Thomas took Brigid’s free hand. “I am sorry that you regret not helping your husband, but I am not sorry that you did not, for if you had helped him Kilkern would surely have killed you, and then I would have never known you. I love you, Brigid.”

  “Oh, Thomas, I love you too,” she said and squeezed his hand.

  He hugged her tight, then stepped away. “Now we must help Reena. Do as Magnus instructed—no more or less, understood?”

  “I understand, and do not worry, Thomas. I know Magnus and you will save Reena. I will do nothing foolish. I will wait and release Horace at the signal.”

  “Good, then I go save your friend and mine.”

  Magnus heard the muted scream as soon as he reached the partially open door to the dungeon. It speared his stomach like a red-hot iron ready for branding; he took a quick flight down the steps, torch in hand and ready for battle. He knew it was necessary for him to remain as calm and in control of his anger as possible. Reena would only be in more danger if he allowed his anger to interfere, a difficult task knowing she suffered because of him.

  His only weapon was the knife in the sheath at his side, but it mattered not, for he would kill Kilkern with his bare hands if necessary.

  He rushed down past the empty prison cells and into the torture chamber, where he stopped abruptly, his eyes going immediately to Reena. Her wrists and ankles bled raw from the scraping of the metal against skin, and her slim body was drenched with the pain of being pulled in opposite directions.

  “The Legend is here,” Reena said, smiling through her pain.