Gabriel agreed and everyone prepared to leave. I instructed the men to reach out with their minds in the hope that some of the children were open to being contacted mentally. But it was not until we began running through the bare, cold forest, approaching towards the edge of the village where they had been callously left to freeze by Sebastian, that my call was answered.
I connected with two older girls who were shepherding the others through the forest. They were confused, unsure as to why Sebastian had cast them out of their home. Having been incarcerated in their dungeon since birth, they knew little of the outside world. They did not know what to do, or where to go. They were unsurprised that I could talk to them through their minds. Their surrogate father, Sebastian, had told them many times of the powers they were to gain in future life.
It was an effort to remove the disgust from my mind at the way they proffered love upon Sebastian as their father despite his treatment of them. They were afraid they had displeased him. Why did he not want them anymore? I calmly told the elder to remain where they were, telling her we were coming and I would see to it they received food, care and shelter.
Aware of their position now, I increased my speed. It was exhilarating to be able to run so fast, although I could not maintain it for long. I thought of Gabriel and the blurring speed with which he had carried Juliet up the stairs at his home. I was faster. As a consequence, I soon met up with the sobbing children. They were huddled together, vainly attempting to generate warmth. My men and I surrounded them in a circle to prevent any escape. Some of them started to cry, fearful of our presence. The older girls clutched the younger ones protectively to their sides, eyeing us with fear and suspicion. I had never seen such ragged children since I ventured into the dark depths of London with my friends to visit the gin shops. They were starved, their little bones almost poking through their pale translucent skin. They wore no shoes on their dirt smeared feet which were turning blue from resting in the snow. My heart was filled with pity as I stared at their bewildered, dirty faces.
I spoke directly to the oldest child, a girl of fourteen who stared at me indignantly, pulling the youngest next to her closely. I sensed her courage and will to face me down to protect the others, and I could not help but admire her fortitude. She reminded me of Juliet. I spoke to her with respect, addressing her as the leader of the small band of urchins.
‘I wish you no harm, Josephine. You must let me help you. I have been sent by our Queen to ensure you are all safe and cared for.’ I could feel her distrust sting me with the sharpness of an arrow as I stood over her. It was vital that I gained her trust. The children were freezing and would soon become ill, perhaps even die.
‘I do not know who you are, how can I trust you? We trusted our father to care for us, yet he has cast us out into the darkness. We must return to the village and beg him to take us back. I don’t understand . . . he has always taken care of us . . .’
‘He is not your father,’ I snapped, unable to contain my anger any longer. I was unused to handling stubborn children. ‘You must not call him that. He does not deserve that honour. He has deceived you all. He took you from your mother’s arms and locked you up in a prison for all of these years. You have gained your freedom thanks to the sacrifice of your noble Queen. You must allow me to protect you or her sacrifice will be for nothing.’
She gave me a pout. She was shivering uncontrollably from the severe chill. I could sense weariness and confusion were threatening to overwhelm her. The child’s green eyes had filled with tears when I had scolded her and I felt sorry for it. I softened my voice and held her gaze. ‘Josephine, look into my mind. You will find I do not lie to you.’
I felt her reach into my consciousness, nervously, tentatively brushing it with her own. I showed her Juliet and Sebastian’s true identities. She covered her mouth with a shriek at the discovery. I felt her pain. Her tears began to flow freely. I placed my hand on her arm and squeezed. ‘I am sorry to reveal everything to you, but I need your help to get the others to shelter. They trust you more than they do me. Will you help me, Josephine?’
The girl standing next to her, Katrina, was bewildered, annoyed. ‘What is he talking about, Josephine. We must return to our father. We have displeased him in some way. We must make him forgive us. I won’t go . . .’
‘We must go with this man, Katrina. You remember how our father showed us the Queen. She has sent this man, her knight, to help us. He speaks the truth. I can feel it. Our father is a murderer and a butcher. We must never go back to him. We can never go back. Bring the others while I take the little ones. Quickly, before we freeze to death I will not talk of it anymore.’
I nodded at Josephine with approval. The younger girl glared at me, her bright, violet eyes a vivid colour against my heightened vision in the dark. But thankfully, she did as Josephine asked.
I felt a tug on my trouser leg. Startled, I looked down to find a fair headed urchin standing next to me. Her height rested just above my knee. She pulled on my trouser leg once again, ignoring my frown. Evidently, she was determined to gain my attention. I peered down at her with raised eyebrows.
‘You love the pretty lady,’ she stated, smiled up at me. She was clutching a small, battered china doll. I remembered her from Juliet’s vision. ‘You are sad and don’t know where she has gone. I know where she’s gone.’
Surprised, I bent down to talk to her. If she knew where Sebastian had taken Juliet, I must find it out. But as I bent, she flung her arms around my neck and gestured for me to pick her up. I had never held a child in my life. I had never wished to, but her shivering body clung on to me so much I felt compelled.
I stood at my full height, finding it easier to hold her. Wrapping my arms around her in case she might fall, I was at a loss as to what to do. Much to the humour of some of the men, I held her awkwardly. She pressed her small icy cold cheek against mine, seeking warmth. But there was not much to be had from the body of a vampire. Her small body was shivering in my arms. I began to rub her back just as I had seen the nannies do with children in the park. It had always seemed to provide a child with comfort. I spoke softly to her, ‘Where is Juliet, little one?’
‘She is with the red ones. I’m cold.’
I turned to her, giving her a confused look.
She sat back off my shoulder, frowning at me. ‘I don’t like the red ones. They know how to hurt us when we are bad. Our father threatens us with them when we are naughty children. I don’t want to talk about them. He says they can hurt our minds.’ The child flung herself across my chest and clung on to my neck tightly. She began to cry. I hushed her softly, rubbing her back again, hoping to bring comfort against the terrible memory. As she wept, she buried her tiny face into my shoulder.
‘Shh, I will not let them near you. I will protect you,’ I promised.
I felt Gabriel’s presence by my side. ‘She means the Caratacos demons have Juliet.’
‘Demons exist?’
‘We are not the only ones cursed with existence, Nathan. Sebastian must be in league with them. They also want influence in the human world. They know how to exert control over our kind. They will be blocking her powers for him, thus preventing her from making contact with you. Something he is unable to do himself. I did not anticipate this turn of events. We must get to her. They will help her heal more quickly. If he takes Juliet, we will never be able to retrieve her.’
I tightened my grip on the child feeling my own need for comfort.
‘You must save the pretty Queen from the red ones or they will help him take her body and soul,’ the child whispered in my ear.
‘What is your name, little one?’
‘Emily.’
I opened my mouth to ask her the meaning of her words when a black shadow suddenly crossed my vision. It was followed by a breath of icy cold air swiping across the side of my face. Gabriel swung around, his sword drawn. The children screamed and pressed close together. All of my men followed Gabriel’s example, drawin
g their swords. We tightened the circle around the girls. Emily buried her head against my shoulder once more and clung to me as though her life depended on it. ‘They are coming for us. I don’t want to go back.’
‘I will not let them have you,’ I assured her confidently in a whisper. I had known Sebastian would not be true to his word. He would never let the children go free. It had all been a ruse to force Juliet into his arms. Whoever or whatever now surrounded us had been sent by Sebastian to recapture the children. I was certain of it. I put Emily down, telling her to stay with Josephine. I unsheathed my own sword to stand with my men, scanning between the snow laden bare trees of the silent woods. But all I heard was the piercing shriek of a barn owl. I watched its ghostly white form lift from a nearby tree and fly off deep into the wood. I looked at Gabriel, confused. He and the others stood tense, poised, ready to strike. They seemed to know exactly what they were dealing with.
‘Hunter Demons,’ Gabriel whispered to me. ‘You must have your wits about you. They are fast. I knew Sebastian would not let the children go so easily.’
I stared into the forest ahead. Translucent, black shadows, without substance or true form darted between the trees, moving around and between us. My men struck out with lightening speed. Two of the demons fell at our feet, materializing into their gruesome yellow and black spotted human forms, disguised by black hooded cloaks. One of my men went forward to finish the life of one. It shot forth spittle from its mouth that hissed and burned in the air. He stepped back to avoid the spray while swinging his blade in a precise, elegant arc to sever the demon’s head from its body.
I heard Gabriel shout, ‘Be careful of the venom, Nathan. It causes unbearable pain. You will never fully recover from the injury it inflicts. Some believe it is a fate worse than death.’
I slashed out at a demon that passed by me so quickly it had me spinning around. ‘Point taken, Gabriel,’ I grunted. ‘I wouldn’t want to disappoint you as a weakened opponent.’
I heard him chuckle as he caught another, cleanly cutting his blade through its neck. My attention was suddenly distracted by a loud cry from Josephine. ‘They have Emily, they’ve taken Emily.’
I turned swiftly to Josephine. She was pointing into the forest. Turning back to follow her line, I caught sight of the offender. The demon was in physical form, carrying Emily away at speed. Without a moment of hesitation, I took off after the creature. I had made the child a promise and I intended to keep it.
Chapter Eleven
I ran through the forest, chasing after the creature that had spirited Emily away. Moonlight poked through an opening through heavy cloud to cast light upon the demon, aiding my pursuit. Unable to take its shadow form and move at speed when carrying the child, I caught up with it easily. I ploughed into the monster from the side with my shoulder. All three of us fell with a crunch into the snow.
I climbed over the demon’s back as Emily, still clasping her doll, struggled to free herself out from beneath him. His black hood had fallen aside, uncovering a shiny yellow head with black spots. I tried to force his head back into an uncomfortable position to raise him from Emily, but there was no hair for me to grip. The more I wrestled him, the more his grip upon the child loosened, but his skin was too moist and slippery for me to gain a secure hold.
The demon turned his head sideways at an inhuman angle, intent on spitting his acidic venom in my face with a long, lithe, reptilian tongue. I quickly rolled over onto my back, forcing the creature backwards on top of me. I would have simply torn out his throat but for the venom that ran through his veins. As I completed the movement, he finally lost hold of the child.
I rose to one knee, holding the demon with his back pressed against me. I pinned my forearm across his throat. Squeezing as hard as I could, I shouted at Emily to move away. The demon struggled violently, clawing at my gloved hands with his black talon fingernails as I began to pull again at his head. I forced him down into the snow, placing my foot against a tree trunk to maintain my position, trying to assist my grip under his slippery chin. With one more sharp wrench, I pulled his head from his neck.
The Hunter Demon’s body slumped at my feet. From the open wound where his head had once been attached, a torrent of greenish yellow blood spilled onto the white snow. I watched his body spasm and twitch with shock. Then become still. I looked down at the lifeless head I still held in my hands, disbelieving of my new strength. Suddenly, I felt a burning in my hands as flames spread rapidly over the surface of the demon’s head. With a startled cry, I dropped the head into the snow next to the body. Jumping to my feet, I found Emily standing behind a tree peeking out at me. I beckoned for her to come out, reassuring her that she was now safe. Together we watched the head and body of the demon spontaneously combust and burn, dissolving into grey ash inside the black woollen cloak.
I wiped at my hands with snow, removing flakes of charred yellow skin, then brushed down my long riding coat. I humorously decided that if I was to ride to Juliet’s rescue I would be properly neat for the event. As I straightened my neck tie, I felt Emily clinging to my leg and bent down to lift her into my arms. I held her close, relieved that I had retrieved her small fragile form from the demon’s clutches. I picked up the black hooded cloak and shook it free from the demon’s ashes before swirling it around Emily in an effort to warm her freezing, shaking body.
‘I see you saved your doll,’ I said politely. ‘She must be very precious to you?’
‘My mummy gave her to me before they took her away. She is called Victoria. She used to be pretty, but she’s dirty now.’
Her small voice was downcast.
‘I will buy you another one,’ I told her, pleased with my solution, but she began to cry.
‘I don’t want another one. I want Victoria.’
Of course the child wanted to keep the last gift her mother had given her. Had I not been just the same when my own parents died? I had treasured every gift they had given me. How could I have been so heartless?
‘Hush, Emily,’ I soothed. ‘Then you must keep her. Perhaps we can clean her up a little, buy her a new dress. We will make her more presentable for society,’ I said with a grin.
She giggled as she wiped at her tears. Her small eyes began to close. She was tired from the day’s exhausting events. Emily buried her head against my chest once more as I did my best to shield her from the bitter, cold weather. I had to get her back to the others quickly.
‘Emily, would you like to see how fast I can run?’
She lifted her head and looked at me with curious interest. After a moment’s thought, she nodded.
‘You must hold on tight.’
She wound her small hands around my neck, still clutching her doll. I broke out into a fast run. The cold air brushed hard and tight against me as snow began to fall once more. I pressed Emily’s face into my coat to protect her from its harshness. Within minutes we had covered the distance and found ourselves back at the group.
The demons had gone, skilfully dispatched by my men. Gabriel nodded to me with approval as I came to stand before him.
‘You did well, but Sebastian will send more. We must get the children to safety.’
It was now snowing heavily. The decline in the weather increased my anxiety for the girls to have warm shelter. ‘Your home is too far away. Is there not somewhere nearer we can take them?’ I ventured, looking down with concern at the small shivering bodies before me.
Gabriel fell silent as he ran a hand through his snow covered hair, contemplating a safe haven for the girls. ‘There are some farmsteads to the west of here. I know two of the farmers. I am sure they will help us.’
‘Good. I want you to take the girls with four other men whilst I go to retrieve Juliet.’
Gabriel stretched out his hand, slapping it down onto my arm to halt me.
‘No. I must come with you. Jason can lead the men. Juliet will need us both.’
I looked down at his hand on my arm. My temper was such tha
t if he did not remove it I had a mind to sever it from his arm. I raised my dark, narrowed eyes towards him, but he did not heed my warning. Had I not still held Emily tightly in my arms, I would have forced him to remove his hold.
‘I am leader here, Gabriel. I want you to protect the children. Take your hand from my arm,’ I hissed with contempt.
Gabriel moved his hand as he smiled with heavy sarcasm.
‘You seek to remove me from your quest to make Juliet yours. You will not be rid of me so easily, Nathan.’
‘I do not doubt it, Gabriel, but I am all Juliet needs. You will have your day with me, but now is not the time for challenges. We must be united or our Queen will die. You know the owners of these, farmsteads, as you so quaintly call them. You are the only one able to secure their help. Do not let me down.’
He was suitably silent, his smile fading when he realised the logic of my command. I began talking to Emily once more.
‘Emily, I must leave you with this man. He is called Gabriel. He will take care of you and the others. Promise you will do as he tells you.’
She shook her head. I raised my eyebrows at her in surprise. ‘But I don’t want to go with him. I want to stay with you.’
She flung herself against my chest. I looked down at her not sure what to make of her outburst, whether to be flattered or dismayed.
‘But Emily, I thought you wanted me to find our Queen and rescue her from the red ones? You wouldn’t want me to let her down, would you?’
‘No.’
‘Then you’ll do as I ask?’
She nodded clutching her doll to her small chest as though for comfort.
‘Good girl.’
I looked over at Gabriel with a wicked smile twitching at my lips. I whispered in Emily’s ear, knowing fine well his hybrid hearing would catch it clearly, ‘Besides, he is always getting up to mischief. I need you to keep an eye on him for me. Can you do that?’
Knight of Swords: The Swords Trilogy Page 10