I reached out to the mind of the individual trapped in the coffin. It was a terrified young woman. She was bound, gagged, and semi-naked. She was to be part of the ritual, offered as a human sacrifice to the gods for the joining of Sebastian and Juliet. Disappointment threatened to crush me.
No doubt the young woman was meant as a distraction, a way to slow me down while Sebastian took Juliet to the cliffs at the far end of the beach. Gabriel had told us of a hidden maze of caves, extending deep within the rock face. But he did not know to which cave Juliet would be taken. By the time I found her, I feared the ritual would be complete.
Despite my urgency, I would not let another woman be murdered by Sebastian. I would not forgive myself if this young woman died. Neither would Juliet if I did not try to help. I needed to move fast.
I had just indicated to Dylan my intention to free the girl from the coffin when a large group of men appeared on the ramp. They turned towards us clearly intent on violence. I sensed they were hybrids, determined to prevent us from reaching the carriage and the caves. I rode hard and fast towards them with my knights, unsheathing my sword. I brandished my weapon elegantly in my hand, amazed how it felt so natural to hold and use. I held it aloft as I approached the traitor hybrids rushing towards, their own weapons ready.
As our two armies met, I swung my sword in a perfect arc. The blade cut down against the vulnerable neck of one of the hybrids, severing his head from his shoulders. It rolled down to be kicked underfoot by his horse that journeyed on, its rider now a headless corpse.
I felt the blackness in my eyes, felt the feral beast rejoice in command of my soul as I took on my next opponent. I defended myself as he aimed a slash of his blade at my throat. We clashed, each pushing our sword against the other. Another hybrid rode at me, his weapon raised high. My teeth clenched as I increased my pressure against the man, conscious that I needed to remove his threat so I may deal with the other that approached me.
Had my heart still lived it would surely have burst with the surge of adrenaline pulsing around my veins. My eyes flicked back and forth from one opponent to the other. With a more concerted effort, I pushed back at the man seated on his horse, but he was a large man with much weight behind him. He refused to yield. I stole a glance ahead at the hearse as it moved further away, and another back at the onrushing rider with his sword ready to strike. I had to make a move before my head was taken. But what to do?
The solution was given to me. Byron Lysander appeared from nowhere, cleanly beheading the approaching hybrid.
I nodded at him, still struggling with the heavy man. Byron laughed, ‘My pleasure. I love a good fight. So glad I could join the party.’ He lifted his sword to engage another hybrid.
I needed to get to the carriage. I kicked at my horse’s flank, then twisted my left knee into its shoulder. The horse responded, turning sharply to the right, giving me the leverage I needed to unbalance my opponent. He reeled backwards. With a final sharp shove, he fell sideways from his horse. I slapped the animal’s rump. The horse ran off leaving the man unshielded from me.
He was attempting to stand, dazed. He saw me circling towards him on my horse and reached for his sword that lay on the ground beside him. I quickly leaned to place my blade at his throat. He froze still, then dropped his weapon. He put his shaking hand out, begging me to stop.
‘No, please. I don’t want to die.’
There was real fear in his eyes. But I could feel no sympathy for his plight.
‘Why should I spare the life of a traitor to our Queen and our people? The penalty is death. I do not bestow mercy upon those guilty of treason.’
His eyes widened with horror as I raised my sword. I brought it crashing down upon the side of his neck, severing his meaty head from his shoulders. It left me with a surge of satisfaction.
Byron was close by my side once more.
‘I need to get to the hearse,’ I told him.
Byron grinned. ‘Understood. Dylan and I will clear a path for you.’
The brothers took great glee in fending off the hybrids that came in my direction so I could concentrate on the business at hand; rescuing the girl. It seemed to be effortless to them. I couldn’t help wondering in what past encounters they had gained such effective skill.
I sheathed my sword and lowered my head so that I could ride more effectively. I left the battle behind to pursue the hearse. It was nearing the end of the long beach, close to reaching the caves. I was running out of time.
My horse did not let me down. We caught up and pulled alongside the front of the carriage. The coachman’s nose and mouth were covered by a black scarf to hide his identity. His eyes glared at me as I made to reach for him. He cracked his whip at the horses. The hearse lurched forward in a futile attempt to escape. I caught hold of the seat and pulled myself across. For a brief moment my body dangled precariously over the side as the carriage swayed under my weight. I thought I may drop to become trampled under the wheels. Using my strength, I managed to pull myself up before the coachman could attack me.
The man aimed the whip at me, but I ducked to avoid its lash. I stood up on the seat to tackle him. He was human, easy to overcome. I dug my sharp incisors swiftly into his throat, ripping it away. I tossed his dead body over the side and picked up the reins, forcing the horses to slow. We came to a hurried stop just before we hit the rocks at the end of the bay.
I wiped the blood from my mouth, wishing I had more time to savour it. I was hungry after the fight. Jumping down, I hurried to the back of the hearse to free the girl from the coffin. Byron, Dylan, and the others raced towards me on horseback, the hybrid army successfully dealt with. I pulled the coffin out to rest it on the sand and levered the lid off the mahogany casket to reveal the sobbing, hysterical girl inside.
I slipped one hand under her head of golden curls and the other under her back, gently lifting her up. At first she railed against me for her life, but I could only feel relief that I had saved her from Sebastian’s repulsive touch and murder. I quickly undid her bonds to pull her into my arms, holding her tightly in the hope of giving her comfort. Her fists beat against me as she cried into my shoulder. I hushed her with gentle words of reassurance that she was now safe as I guided her out of the coffin. Barely clothed, she was shivering in the chilly air. I removed my coat to place it around her. It swamped her slight body, serving to heighten her vulnerability. She slumped against me, the fright of her ordeal taking its toll. I swept the half fainting girl up into my arms as I waited for Dylan to bring his horse to a halt in front of me.
I looked down at the girl who could not have been more than twenty. Her countenance was pretty and alluring. She was just the sort of young woman I would have chased and taken to bed once upon a time back in London. Now the only woman I wanted in my bed and by my side was my beautiful Juliet.
I found my eyes drawn to the girl’s slender, pale throat. Her head was thrown back over my arm in her fainting spell, displaying its fragility to full affect. I moistened my lips with my tongue watching her tiny pulse beat as her blood called to me like a siren. It was a while since I had last taken a satisfying amount of blood, and the hearse driver had whetted my appetite. I needed to feed. I fought the craving hard, but could not tear my eyes from her throat. I would be damned if I would use her in so bad a fashion. I was not Sebastian. I would not cause her any further distress.
‘Hungry?’ Dylan said to me. I turned, startled to find him on his horse in front of me. He was grinning, raising his eyebrows with amusement at the guilty look on my face that betrayed my thoughts. ‘What a tasty morsel you have there. I fed already. Why don’t I take her from you before you do something you will regret?’
I nodded with relief as he dismounted. I handed the girl to him.
‘I will give her to one of the men. He will take her to safety. I want to be in this battle with Sebastian,’ he informed me.
‘Good. I would like to have you at my side.’
He appeared surpri
sed at my compliment, but pleased. He nodded, handing the girl to his man.
I turned towards the rocks. The entrance to the caves loomed just beyond them, dark and foreboding. The cliffs towered above. Dylan, Jason, and Gabriel came to stand beside me.
‘Juliet must already be inside the caves. We can’t let Sebastian join with our Queen. Whatever it takes, we will stop him, gentlemen,’ I informed them.
They nodded.
‘Whatever it takes,’ Jason repeated.
We waited until the others had dismounted, then ran towards the rocks.
Chapter Eighteen
We made light work of our passage over the threatening rocks that loomed tall and sharply abrasive in our path. As I anticipated, a small band of Sebastian’s followers guarded the entrance to the maze of caves. We engaged in fighting immediately. My impatience to reach Juliet was hot in my veins, and I killed mercilessly, hacking down any man who stood in my way, taking my fill of blood. Sebastian knew fine well I would not be stopped from breaching the caves. These men were human, they did not offer serious challenge for myself or my knights. He simply sought to delay us.
We entered the first cave. I pushed one of the last remaining guards backwards into a pool of water and raised my sword to run him through. He lifted his hands at me and shook them.
‘Wait, wait. I can tell you where she is.’
I paused, my sword poised in mid-air. I invaded his thoughts quickly to assess whether or not he spoke the truth. He was a dirty ruffian who tormented the good people of London with his thieving. The world would not miss him should I choose to complete my thrust. But he indeed spoke the truth. He would make finding Juliet easier than I first imagined. I probed deeper to locate her, but the man’s mind was a jumble of dark passages and turns.
I bent down to haul him to his feet by his collar. To prove my seriousness, I pulled him up to my face. He smelt of liquor and the streets. I snarled at him baring my incisors. Terror struck him dumb.
‘You will lead me to Juliet and pray that I reconsider ripping your life from your throat when we find her.’
He stared, then nodded profusely.
‘Good. Now where is she?’
He pointed with a shaking finger to a dark opening in the rock on the left of the small pool of water in which we stood. It was one of three different tunnel entrances around the pool, but I believed his instruction to be correct. I signalled to the others and picked up one of the fire torches that lit the cavern from the walls. It seemed the caves were used often by our Druid enemies.
I led the way, wading through ankle deep water, dragging the man with me. The water moved past our feet in a shallow stream as we walked through the tunnel. The air was damp and humid, it smelt musty. We were tense, anticipating an attack from our enemies. The walls of the tunnel pressed in around me. I had never liked enclosed spaces as a human. Now as a hybrid, I felt my anxiety keenly as I watched the light from my torch flicker across the damp rock walls.
At the end of the tunnel, we stepped onto a ledge that opened into a vast chamber. The small stream of water under our feet dropped over the ledge where we stood. It fell in a trickle, mimicking the noise of a dripping tap into another pool below. The sound echoed around the chamber walls. I held my torch aloft, hearing the murmur of voices, but the sound had travelled from the deeper caves beyond.
I shook the man, prompting for his next direction. He told me, ‘You must get to the bottom of this cave. Walk around the pool. To the left you will find steps up into a smaller cave. Go through it, then you will find more steps to a high ledge. Get up to it and go through a small tunnel into the last cave. There you will find the altar and the woman.’
I would have simply jumped from the ledge had it not been for the large pool below. The sharp rocks were shadows under the water’s clear surface. Thankfully, the Druids had been kind enough to provide steps that led down to the cavern floor. The steps were well worn. I wondered how many bloody sacrifices had been carried out in the caves. I pulled the ruffian down them, once more uncaring for his comfort. We followed another worn path around the pool.
At any other time on a visit, I would have liked to explore the caves. It would have been worth overcoming my claustrophobia to study their geology. As a child, I had been enthused by the study of nature. I had once wished to be a scientist of it, but at this moment, these caves were foes keeping me from Juliet. I had little time to be distracted by their tempting beauty.
As we entered the next, smaller cave, I became aware of male chanting. The sound was as nothing compared to the sudden piercing screams of a tormented woman. I stopped abruptly. Juliet. We did not have much more time. I looked at the maggot I still held in my grasp. He paled at the fierce glare I gave him.
He pointed across the small cavern, up to another ledge. Aiming my fist, I punched him hard against his jaw. He moved sideways with the force of the blow. I let him drop to the floor unconscious.
Unhindered by my burden, I crouched and jumped to the high wide ledge instead of running up the steps. My men wasted no time in following me. On the ledge the chanting became louder, more discernible through the tunnel in front of us. I felt Juliet’s presence fill my mind. She knew I was close. She screamed my name both in my mind and in a mighty echo around the walls of the linked sea caves. My heart leapt at the fear in her voice. I froze with horror.
Dylan and Byron exchanged nervous looks. Dylan’s voice was urgent, ‘We must hurry, Nathan.’ I nodded, forcing myself to move. However, I was to be brought to a stop once more when I saw the dark, shadowy shapes of the venomous Hunter demons crawling around above us on the cave walls.
‘Hunter demons,’ Jason cried in an echoed warning before I could open my mouth. My knights formed a defensive circle. We watched the walls and ceilings closely, waiting for the demons to strike. I looked up in time to see one of the demons leap from the ceiling directly above me. As he leapt, he took his human form and landed on top of me, knocking me to the ground.
The creature spat his poisonous venom. I remembered Gabriel’s words of warning. To be stung by a Hunter demon’s venom did not augur death, but would cause pain and weakness I could ill afford. I moved to the side swiftly, avoiding his strike and throwing him from me as I scrambled to my feet.
He followed my action to stand before me hissing and spiting. I bared my teeth at him and hissed back, drawing my sword. I expected him to lunge for me once more, but he appeared to be hesitating. I narrowed my dark eyes at him in suspicious confusion. Then I felt it; there was another of them to my rear.
I heard Jason shout to me. He held two swords in his hand. One of Dylan and Byron’s gang was lying at his feet in pain. He threw the man’s sword to me. I caught it just in time as the Hunter demons were making their joint attack at my front and back. In one quick moment I turned sideways, thrust out with both my arms, and ran a sword through each of their bodies.
I pulled my swords from their slimy entrails simultaneously. They gagged and stumbled with their wounds. I crouched slightly and crossed the blades in front of me, then swung them out at my opponents, severing their heads.
I stood up to find some of my men were still fighting with the demons. The injured man had been stung by venom in his eyes. Dylan stood over his friend with a raised sword. His eyes were moist. He apologised to the man, then brought his sword down upon his neck, removing his head. I winced as the blade cut through the man and struck the rock beneath. I understood Dylan’s motives. It was an act of mercy.
Jason shouted at me to go, I must retrieve Juliet. They would despatch the rest of the Hunter demons, then follow. I ran through the final tunnel. It was better lit than the others. The chanting grew louder. I slowed down as I approached the end.
I stepped out of the tunnel onto a high ledge to look down at the proceedings in the final cave. The four red Caratacos demons I had seen in Juliet’s vision were positioned at the four corners of the altar table directly below me. Around them in a circle were six cloaked me
n, chanting. A crowd of other men stood around watching. Most of their faces were hidden in the hoods of elaborate black and gold velvet cloaks.
Juliet lay bound on the table in a white silk robe. The chanting was causing her some kind of pain. She writhed in agony. A little way from the stone altar, Sebastian was standing drinking greedily from a red goblet filled with blood that stained his mouth. A young woman lay dead at his feet, blood seeping from a cut in her throat. He handed the goblet to another black cloaked figure. He smiled to himself, then looked up directly at me. The chanting abruptly stopped. Everyone turned to look up in my direction.
I felt my throat tighten. I had hoped to initiate a surprise attack.
‘Welcome, Nathan. I have been waiting for you. Although I thought you would have had the good manners to be on time.’
I raised an eyebrow with feigned amusement, playing his game as I frantically tried to devise a plan to free Juliet.
‘Forgive me, I have been remiss. There is no excuse for lateness in a gentleman.’
‘Quite. But now you are here I can begin.’ He changed his tone, ‘Trap him there. Kill him once he’s witnessed me claiming his precious Queen.’
Before I could prepare to defend myself, five Hunter demons circled me on the ledge overlooking the Druid sacrifice altar. I growled fiercely at Sebastian as one of the black hooded men leaned over Juliet. He took hold of her robe, ripping it open to reveal her helpless, naked, pale body beneath it.
She gave a strangled sob that echoed around the chamber walls. Her cheeks flushed crimson. She looked up at me as Sebastian undid his own cloak revealing his puny, naked body. My whole frame tightened. I made a move towards the edge of the ledge, but the demons closed in on me. I was trapped and of no help to Juliet. Sebastian mounted the table and held his body over hers. I growled his name with uncontrollable anger. The fire of it burned so strong inside me I thought its flames would consume my very soul.
Knight of Swords: The Swords Trilogy Page 15