“What are you doing here, Jake?” I asked.
“Rescuing you, of course.” He looked from face to face. “Oh, is that the problem? I’m not here with Anhalt, I came to set you free.”
“And how do we know this isn’t part of your cousin’s grand plan?” asked Miles, his voice hard.
“Cousin?” Sarah sounded as stunned as I felt.
“Yes, didn’t you know?” Miles glanced down at her. “Jake and Anhalt are first cousins.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I directed the question at Jake but felt like it applied equally to Miles.
Both men shrugged.
“Everyone knows it,” said Miles.
“It’s hardly something I’m proud of,” said Jake at the same time.
The two noblemen weighed each other with their eyes.
“We might be family, but I bear no love for Anhalt. He’s injured me more than anyone else,” said Jake.
Miles nodded an acknowledgement of this point and exhaled. His tense shoulders relaxed in a clear gesture of belief.
“Jake’s father was the last count,” he explained to us. “Jake grew up expecting to one day take his father’s place, but when he died, Anhalt came forward claiming the title was his. The magistrates upheld his claim, and the court hasn’t quite known what to do with Jake ever since.”
“I still had my knighthood, so they couldn’t entirely throw me out,” said Jake. “Many of them were suspicious of Anhalt’s claim, but there was nothing they could do. I think seeing me makes them uncomfortable, it reminds them that no one is truly secure.”
He paused to take a deep breath.
“I considered leaving, going to seek my fortune in Arcadia or Northhelm, but I couldn’t allow Anhalt to enjoy my father’s place. It’s an insult to his memory. So I’ve been waiting and watching, biding my time, gathering intelligence. At this point, I know that Anhalt has bewitched my people here in the castle, and I’m sure he used an enchantment on the magistrates too. But I need to prove it.”
“That jewel he wears around his neck,” said Sarah, her voice rising with excitement. “I’m sure that’s how he does it.”
Jake nodded. “I agree. I got word yesterday morning that Anhalt had something big planned for today.” He looked over at me. “That’s why my steward interrupted us. I rode straight out here and have been lying in wait, hoping that Anhalt might finally misstep.”
He shook his head.
“He’s been very cautious until now, but he’s definitely gone too far. With your testimony, the queen won’t hesitate to have him arrested.”
It was a shocking story, and yet it fit with everything we had already guessed. My uneasiness grew.
“Unless he gets to Ava before us and manages to use that jewel to bewitch her, too,” I said.
Sarah’s expression changed from excitement to horror, but Jake just nodded his head. He was already thinking the same thing.
“One of my father’s old servants broke his leg,” he said. “He was stuck in bed for two weeks, and he said that, after a few days, he felt like he was waking up from a dream. Anhalt’s hold on him had broken. As soon as he could hobble around, he managed to sneak away and find me. According to him, it starts out like a gentle suggestion, and the more time the person spends around Anhalt, the stronger the compulsion to obey him becomes. So he won’t be able to enchant the king or queen in the space of a moment. He’ll need time. But a few days might be enough, which is why I was so glad to see you here at the door. How did you find your way back so quickly?”
I explained the trick with the beads, and he looked suitably impressed.
“You may well have saved the kingdom, Evelyn,” he said, and I couldn’t help but flush at the warmth in his voice. I just wished he had explained all of this to me before. I would have believed him. I think.
“How did you get the key?” asked Miles.
“I always had it,” said Jake with a grin. “My cousin stole my title – I didn’t exactly hand over my keys when I left.”
“Talking about your cousin, do you have any idea where he is now?” I asked.
Jake frowned. “Unfortunately no. I focused all my attention on getting down here and rescuing you.”
I knew he meant all of us when he said you, but somehow his statement felt personal and I flushed again. I shook my head. I needed to stay focused.
“Well, first things first, I want to find a proper weapon.”
Miles echoed my sentiments, but I noticed that Sarah shrank back a little, her eyes fixed on the knife in my hand. This wasn’t a good time for her to fall apart.
“Come on then,” said Jake, “I’ll take you to the armoury.” Neither of the men had noticed Sarah’s hesitation, and after a moment she shook herself and followed behind us. I blew out a quiet breath of relief.
Chapter 15 - Sarah
I trailed behind the others afraid of how I would respond to the sight of a room full of weapons. As it turned out, however, that would have been the lesser of two evils.
We were creeping through a room, several flights up from the dungeon when a door suddenly opened, and a group of guards came in. The one in front was looking back over his shoulder, laughing with his comrades, so it took him a minute to see us. Unfortunately, even with that advantage, we were outnumbered and out armed.
Evelyn, as always, was in the lead. Before the man in front realised what had happened, she had knocked him to the ground and stabbed him in the shoulder. She drew his sword from his scabbard, but I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the knife protruding from his body. My stomach heaved, and I scurried to the back of the room, cowering in a corner.
A scream from Evelyn pulled my eyes back to the fight. She was now holding the downed soldier’s sword, but a second soldier had managed to stab her in the upper thigh. I opened my mouth to yell her name, but Jake got there first.
“Evelyn!” His voice was rough with fear, and he was running towards her, his own sword drawn. “Get back.”
She beat off a second thrust from her attacker and managed to fall back behind Jake. Miles was close behind him and he also called her name.
“Quick, give me the sword.”
She hesitated for the briefest moment and then threw it to him. Moving slowly and wincing, she began to make her way back towards me.
Despite my concern over her injury, I was distracted by the sight of Miles going into battle. Now that I thought about it, I supposed all nobleman’s sons received some training in combat, but he had never mentioned it, and I had never considered it before. For a second I felt afraid for him, and then my fears were forgotten.
He looked like he was on the dance floor instead of in the middle of a fight. His sword moved so quickly and with so much elegance that I almost forgot it was a weapon. I had seen Evelyn fight plenty of times before, but Jake and Miles fighting side by side had a different sort of elegance from her efficient moves.
The incoming soldiers were hampered by the width of the doorway and Jake and Miles picked them off one by one, their blades flying beneath the soldier’s guards with deceptive ease. Finally there were no more opponents standing. I expected them to come back towards us at that point, but they both took off running down the corridor outside. I could only assume they were chasing someone who had gone to raise an alarm.
I suddenly remembered Evelyn was wounded and turned to her. She had reached me but was also staring after our departed allies.
“Well, thank goodness Miles can fight,” she said. Her voice was strained. It was hard to tell whether from the pain or from anger with herself for getting wounded in the first place.
I drew a deep breath and attempted to steel myself before looking at the wound on her leg. It was deep and the blood was gushing down over her knee. To my surprise, instead of feeling sick, I felt only fear for the blood she was losing.
“Sit down,” I said, the worry making my voice sharp.
She obeyed, swaying as she did so, and I wondered if she had
been about to fall. I flipped up my skirt and tore a long piece of material from the petticoat underneath. I folded it into a wad and pressed it against the wound.
“Hold this in place,” I said.
As soon as she had a firm pressure on it, I bent down to tear off another piece. This one I used as a bandage, wrapping it several times around her leg. I knotted it as tightly as I could and stepped back.
Looking down at my hands I saw they were covered in blood. I waited for the nausea to surface, but I felt nothing except pride. My eyes welled with tears of gratitude. A wave of confidence washed over me. I wasn’t weak. When it really mattered, I could do what needed to be done.
Evelyn was watching me, surprise in her eyes.
“Well done,” she said. “And thank you.”
I nodded at her, not quite trusting myself to speak.
I was still regaining my composure when Miles and Jake came racing back into the room. Jake didn’t stop until he was kneeling beside Evelyn, carefully checking my bandage. Miles, however, hung back, his eyes darting between my hands and Evelyn’s injury.
When his eyes settled on my face they were full of pride. He understood my small victory and the knowledge that he knew me so well nearly brought another rush of tears to my eyes. I shook them away.
“What now?” I asked, worried for Evelyn and worried that Anhalt might be escaping us.
“One of them tried to run for help but we caught him.” Miles’ voice was grim.
“He was heading for the front entrance, though,” said Jake. “It’s possible my cousin hasn’t left yet.”
“We have to get going then,” said Evelyn. She attempted to pull herself to her feet but sank back with a groan.
“Useless,” she muttered to herself.
Jake and Miles both came over and placed themselves on either side of her. Between the three of them, they got her to her feet. She insisted she was fine, although her face had lost all colour, and we were able to move forward with her arms slung over the shoulders of the men.
I could tell that all four of us found the slow pace agonising, but no one said anything. When we passed the soldier lying in the corridor, I averted my face but was pleased not to feel faint.
Several corridors later, Jake signalled that we should halt and pointed towards a door.
“That’s the entrance hall,” he said.
Sure enough, we could hear the sounds of feet and several raised voices coming from the other side. After my last experience with attempting to peek through a doorway, I had no desire to approach it.
Thankfully, Miles didn’t feel any nervousness. He strode forward and eased the door open a crack. After a moment, he slid it closed again and returned to us.
“He’s there,” he whispered, his eyes burning with anticipation. “But he’s calling for his horse to be brought round, so if we want to stop him leaving we need to move now.”
“How many others?”
“Ten soldiers and several servants.”
We all looked at each other. This time I was sure Evelyn was blaming herself for her injury.
“Maybe we should try to sneak out to the stables. We could find horses and try to beat him back to the castle.” I suspected that both Miles and Jake were looking for a fight, but I hated the idea of Miles going back into danger.
“But what about Evelyn?” asked Jake. “She can hardly ride a horse with a wound like that. And we can’t leave her here unprotected. No, we have to stop him now.”
I could read the truth in his eyes. After all this time, he wasn’t leaving without confronting his cousin. I sighed.
“What do you think, Miles? Can we take those odds?” asked Jake.
The two men exchanged a calculating look.
“If their level of training is the same as the ones we just fought, we can do it,” said Miles.
“Just make sure you don’t do any permanent injury to any of the servants,” said Jake. “They’re not mercenaries like the soldiers, and they’re not following Anhalt by choice.”
Miles nodded his agreement, but I could read the concern in his eyes. It certainly complicated matters.
Jake carefully transferred Evelyn’s weight on to my shoulder, and both men told us to wait in the corridor. Then they turned and rushed into the entrance way.
Immediate sounds of fighting broke out. I didn’t even need to meet Evelyn’s gaze to know she felt the same way I did. There was no way we were staying out here.
Moving slowly, I helped her to hobble towards the now open doorway. We paused at the threshold to take in the scene before us. Jake and Miles’ momentum had carried the fighting away from the door. They were battling hard in the centre of the entryway. The servants had all disappeared, and I was glad they were safe.
Evelyn said something to me but I couldn’t hear her over the echoing sounds of the fight. I followed her gaze and saw that she had spotted Anhalt lurking near the castle door. He looked bemused but not really concerned. He obviously felt he had enough soldiers present to subdue Miles and Jake.
With unspoken agreement, we began to make our way around the edges of the room. It was hard going with no one but me to support Evelyn, but slowly we made progress. I tried to keep my eyes in front of me, but they kept being drawn back to the fight in the middle of the room.
Every time a sword got near Miles, I gasped, and I could almost feel Evelyn rolling her eyes. I kept resolving not to do it and then, only a moment later, it would escape me again. I tried biting my tongue, but then I nearly tripped over a decorative suit of armour. After that, I stopped worrying about it and returned my attention to our own progress.
No one seemed to have noticed us, and we made it all the way to the front doors without incident. We were standing not far behind Anhalt now, but his eyes were locked on the battle in front of him. As his soldiers fell, one by one, his expression lost most of its confidence. When there were only two left fighting, he took a hurried step back.
Evelyn and I exchanged a look of determination. Carefully balancing on my shoulder, she reached down and retrieved the knife that she had returned to her boot.
Before I realised what she was intending, she pushed off from me and attempted to throw herself towards Anhalt. When her weight came down on her wounded leg, however, she crumpled. Instinctively throwing out her hands to catch herself, the knife went sailing out of her grip and slid across the floor.
I froze, expecting Anhalt to turn and see Evelyn lying practically at his feet, but instead his focus was fixed on the far side of the hall.
At the exact same moment as Evelyn’s blade had hit the stone floor, the door across the room had burst open. A stream of people poured in.
For a moment I thought they were more soldiers. Many of them were carrying swords but it only took a minute to realise these weren’t trained mercenaries. These were the castle servants. Obviously the ones who were in the entryway before had gone to fetch them.
They swarmed around Miles and Jake, forming a barrier between them and Anhalt. The two men tried to fight them off but were overwhelmed by sheer numbers, hampered as they were by their desire not to permanently injure a bewitched servant.
My eyes flew back to Anhalt, whose smile had returned, and then to the knife lying on the floor some distance away. I realised that the sight of Anhalt made me feel more sick than the weapon. I threw myself across the room.
Diving at the knife, I felt my hand close around the handle.
“Evelyn!” I screamed and then slid the knife back across the floor towards her.
She turned just in time and caught the handle as it slid past her. Lunging up, all her weight on her good leg, she stabbed towards Anhalt.
He staggered backwards, clutching at his chest, but there was no wound there. For half a second I thought Evelyn had missed. And then I realised that she had caught the tip of the blade in one of the links of his golden chain. As she ripped downwards, the metal snapped and the jewel fell, striking the stone floor hard with a loud r
inging sound. It bounced slowly into the air, baleful shafts of red light flashing from its spinning facets.
The scene seemed to freeze before me. Anhalt, still clutching at his chest, stared at the gem in shock. The sound had somehow rung out above every other sound in the hall, and the fighters had all frozen, several in mid swing.
Almost in unison, the servants wheeled around to stare towards the red stone. Then, one by one, they lowered their weapons, gazing at each other in confusion.
“What’s going on?” I could hear several of them asking each other.
Another cried, “My Lord!” and bowed to Jake.
Seeing that Miles and Jake were out of danger, I hurried towards Evelyn who had fallen heavily onto her wounded leg. She was barely conscious when I reached her. I knelt beside her, grasping her hand.
“It worked!” I said. “How did you know it would?”
“I didn’t.” Her voice was faint. “But I had to try something.”
I pulled her head into my lap and continued to talk to her, trying to prevent her slipping into unconsciousness. Jake appeared at my side, looking frantic with worry. He was soon barking orders to the milling servants. Red seeped freely from her bandage, and I bit the inside of my cheeks in concern.
Several hands lifted Evelyn from my lap, and Jake assured me that the man now issuing orders was the castle doctor. I wanted to go with them, but I also didn’t want to push my newfound ability to handle blood and gore. Instead I looked around for Miles, wanting to make sure he was unharmed.
I had hardly begun looking when he pushed through the crowd.
“Where is he?” he asked, looking around.
“Where is who?” I felt exhausted, and my brain struggled to keep up with the events of the last few minutes.
“Anhalt,” said Miles, still gazing around the hall.
I gasped, and my eyes flew to the place where the gem and chain had fallen.
“Look,” I said, “the jewel is gone too!”
Jake swore and ran out of the hall. Miles took off after him. I considered following them but couldn’t think what possible help I could be. I tried instead to calculate how many hours it had been since I’d slept. I couldn’t seem to work it out. At last, I simply sat down where I stood.
Happily Ever Afters Page 10