Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so blunt, but it was nothing less than the truth. She eased back, putting a small bit of distance between them. Had he horrified her?
“I believe you.”
Then she rose up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips. “But now we must go. I am ready for this hell to end.”
So was he. “I’ll stand guard in the doorway.”
Gideon was careful to keep his back turned as Merewen changed clothes. He tried to concentrate on the noise coming from below and not the soft rustle of fabric as she traded the bloody tunic for a clean one. Right now he should be thinking of battle strategies instead of imagining the glistening of her skin as she washed her face and hands clean of Olaf’s blood.
A warrior with his attention divided was asking for death. Gideon looked around for Scim and spotted him perched on a heavy beam near the ceiling. He sent the bird diving down to the hall below so he could watch what was happening through the raptor’s eyes. As always, it took him a minute to adjust to the way the world looked through the bird’s vision.
Right now, Olaf was ordering some of his men to patrol the walkway along the palisade. Others were to reinforce those manning the gate. Yet a few more were to follow him back up the stairs to come after Gideon.
Find Duncan and the others. He pictured each of the warriors in his mind to make sure Scim understood. It didn’t take him long. All three were mixed in with the men at the gate. He would trust them to get Kane inside.
Right now, though, he was going to have to find another way to get Merewen out of her room. If Olaf led a charge up the stairs, Gideon would have a difficult time fighting his way through them, especially trying to protect Merewen at the same time.
He ducked back inside her room and shoved a heavy trunk in front of the door. At best it would only slow the attack down, but it would buy them some time.
Merewen winced as she removed her bloody tunic and tossed it in the corner. Every move hurt. Her struggle against Olaf had left her bruised and aching, but she drew comfort from knowing all the blood shed in the brief battle had been his.
That outcome might have been far different if Gideon hadn’t sent Scim as a harbinger of his own arrival. Just seeing the gyrfalcon had renewed her determination to fight, giving her the strength to hold out until Gideon found her.
She had a terrible feeling that the worst was yet to come. Things had gone too far now to turn back, not that she would even consider doing so. Someone had to put an end to Fagan’s tyranny.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t rather hide up here in her room. But as Gideon had reminded her, he was her champion, there to win back control of her family home. She would do her part.
“I’m ready to go. They’ll be waiting.”
Gideon had just shoved her trunk in front of the door. That didn’t bode well. He returned to her, his strong arms snaking around her waist to pull her back against his strength for a quick hug. “I hate that we must involve you in this.”
“I know, but we need to open the gate to allow Kane to join us.”
Then she looked over her shoulder at him. “And I hope my presence will convince my people that the Damned are not the enemy, but allies.”
He considered her words and then jerked his head in a quick nod, although still clearly not happy about the situation.
After releasing his hold on her, Gideon led her toward the balcony. “We can’t risk using the stairs. I sent Scim down to spy for me, and Olaf is planning an attack. He’ll be here any second, and he will not be coming alone. We’ll have to climb down to the bailey.”
She followed him outside, standing back out of his way while he secured the rope to the railing. A quick look over the edge left her stomach churning. Even though the distance to the ground wasn’t all that far, she didn’t relish yet another new adventure.
Gideon read her fear correctly. “I’ll go first so that I’ll be there to catch you should you fall. Merewen, you cannot afford to hesitate. That trunk will not stop Olaf for long.”
With that, Gideon was over the edge and wall-walking his way down to the ground. As soon as his feet hit bottom, she clambered over the railing and tried to mimic Gideon’s technique. It worked well at first. She was only about halfway down when Olaf charged out onto the balcony.
When he leaned over the edge and spotted her, he immediately reached for his knife and sawed through the rope. The last strand broke when she was a little over halfway down to the ground. Good to his promise, Gideon caught her in his powerful arms and took off running without putting her down.
Olaf shouted to the guards on the walkway above that the keep was under attack from within and that Merewen was being kidnapped. She couldn’t tell if anyone was listening. Careful to keep close to the shadows, Gideon stopped just short of the front corner of the building. When he set her back down on her feet, it sounded as if they were headed straight into complete chaos.
He leaned in close to whisper, “Remain here while I scout ahead to see where the others are.”
Feeling short of breath even though Gideon had been the one running, she could barely nod and say, “Hurry. Be careful.”
For some reason, her comment made him smile. “I’ll try.”
Before leaving, he handed her a long-bladed dirk. “I hope you have no need of this, but I will feel better knowing you are armed.”
She took the weapon, clutching the hilt tightly enough to make her fingers ache. He eased forward, hesitating long enough to glance back at her one last time before disappearing around the corner. With her pulse pounding in her head, it was impossible to make sense of the voices shouting in the darkness.
Was that Murdoch’s deep voice? She thought it might be. Good, that meant Gideon wouldn’t be facing Olaf’s men alone. Where were Averel and Duncan? A dark shape swooped down from overhead. At first, she thought it was Scim, but the color and shape were all wrong. No, it was an enormous owl, no doubt another of the avatars, trained to assist its owner in battle.
Averel’s dogs came skidding around the corner from the front of the keep. As soon as they spotted Merewen, they headed straight toward her and positioned themselves beside her. She was grateful for their company, but shouldn’t they be with their master?
She laid her free hand on the black dog and whispered, “Where is Averel?”
The dog immediately gave a soft yip and then stared up at the walkway. Sure enough, the young warrior was up there. He waved at her before turning his attention back toward the commotion by the gate. She wished she could see more herself.
As soon as she started forward, the white dog caught her sleeve in its mouth and held on, refusing to let her move.
“I want to take a quick look. I promise not to go far.”
Would they even listen to her? If Gideon was to be believed, Scim was able to take orders from his master, but he didn’t mention if the avatars would respond to others.
This time the dogs let her take two steps before they protested again. At least now she had a better view of the bailey. Men scurried about with torches in hand, illuminating the night. The shadows flickered and danced, making it all but impossible to recognize anyone.
It took her several seconds to pick Murdoch out of the crowd. He stood next to the gate, arguing with one of Olaf’s men. She couldn’t make out what was being said, but clearly Murdoch wanted to open the gate, and Olaf’s man was trying to stop him.
She looked for Averel again, finally spotting him back down on the ground heading for his friend. In an unexpected move, Murdoch gave the man-at-arms a shove, sending him stumbling backward several steps. As the two of them kept up a steady stream of angry words, Averel slipped in behind Murdoch to raise the bar on the gate.
As soon as he did, a pair of dark forms slipped through. The human one was definitely Kane, but it was his companion who left her stunned and reeling. When Gideon had warned her that no one had seen the likes of Kane’s avatar, he’d been speaking nothing but the truth.
Hob was terrifying, just like his master. For the first time she truly believed that Kane was different than other men. What kind of warrior walked with a living, breathing gargoyle at his side? Hob looked as if he’d been cobbled together with bits and pieces of different animals, each more frightening than the last.
The beast moved with a serpentine grace, the scales on his skin gleaming in the flickering torchlight. As he slithered farther inside, his fearsome howl rang out through the night to terrorize all those who heard him. Although Merewen had nothing to fear, the horrific sound still sent chills straight through to her heart.
As the pair marched forth into the bailey, the next screams came from all-too-human throats.
The sounds coming from outside her window were horrific. Alina had locked her door as Merewen had suggested, but that had been some time ago. Normally, she was only too content to remain in her room with the rest of the world shut out. But whatever was going on out there, Merewen was in the thick of it.
Alina had no desire to go charging out of her sanctuary blindly, but neither would she cower in a corner without knowing what was going on. She’d grown tired of always feeling helpless and afraid.
As she paced back and forth, desperate for something to focus on besides her fear, she realized the noise was coming from outside right below her balcony. Without disturbing Magda, who dozed peacefully in the corner, blissfully unaware of the chaos thanks to her poor hearing, Alina stepped out onto the balcony.
Gods and goddesses, what had Merewen unleashed? The clash of swords and battle cries filled the night. The fighting was vicious, far different from the weapons practice, her only other experience in watching men wielding swords. Alina clapped her hand over her mouth rather than scream and risk drawing attention to herself.
A red glow flickered and danced, coloring the bailey as if everything and everyone were awash in blood. But, no, it was fire! May the gods help them all—had anyone sounded the alarm inside the keep? Rather than wait around to see, she’d do so herself.
After unbarring her door, she lifted her skirts to scurry down the stairs. The great hall was empty, and obviously Fagan’s men-at-arms were engaged in the battle outside. She headed toward the kitchen, the most likely place the servants would have taken shelter.
The door was blocked from the inside. She pounded on it with both hands. “Ellie! It’s Lady Alina. Please let me in.”
At first, she feared her voice wouldn’t be heard over the chaos outside, but finally she heard a scraping noise. She stood back to give whoever was opening the door a clear view of her. Ellie peeked out at her, her hands shaking and her eyes worried.
She swung the door open. “Lady Alina, you shouldn’t be out there while there’s fighting going on! Come in before you get hurt.”
Alina hardly recognized the normally calm cook. She fought against her own fear and did her best to sound far more in control of her own emotions than she really was. “Ellie, the stable is burning, and Merewen will need every able body to fight the fire. You and I will need to prepare to treat any wounded and injured.”
She stepped through the door into the crowded kitchen. Pitching her voice to be heard, she drew herself up to her full height and announced, “Everyone, you know what to do. You’ve practiced what to do in case of fire. Lady Merewen will be counting on you to save the horses.”
Her efforts were rewarded when a few hardy souls started for the outside door. Meanwhile, Ellie put water on to heat and barked orders at her assistants to fetch soap and clean linens.
When all were busy with their assigned duties, Alina approached Ellie. “Tell me what I can do to be of help.”
The older woman swallowed hard, obviously fighting her own fears. “We should set up the tables and gather the medicines that Lady Merewen has made for treating burns and injuries.”
Then she took one of her own aprons off a peg and held it out to Alina. “You’ll need this to protect your dress.”
That was the last thing she was worried about, but Alina accepted it anyway. “I’ll get started scrubbing the tables clean.”
Ellie, looking far calmer, nodded. “With the gods’ blessing, we can do this, my lady.”
On impulse, Alina gave the cook a quick hug. “Yes, we can.”
Chapter 16
Gideon’s men spread out across the bailey far enough apart to allow room to maneuver. Although they were outnumbered by Olaf and his men by more than four to one, the avatars would even the odds. It was the type of fight they’d been winning for centuries. Gideon’s only worry was knowing that some of the men-at-arms were loyal to Lady Merewen. Their deaths would weigh heavily on her conscience.
“Hold the line.”
Murdoch nodded as he moved to fill in the gap left by Gideon as he retreated to where Merewen stood in the shadows. He kept a wary eye on his opponents as he spoke to her.
“Now would be a good time to call on your father’s men to lay down their weapons or stand with us.”
Merewen nodded and stepped out into the edge of the light cast by the torches. She tried shouting, but it was impossible for her to be heard over the deeper male voices clamoring for attention. Gideon caught Kane’s eye and flashed him a hand signal asking for Hob to once again shatter the night with his battle cry.
The gargoyle’s cold, brutal challenge rang out over the keep, stunning friend and foe alike into a few seconds of silence. Merewen tried again.
“The gods themselves have sent Captain Gideon and his men here to stop the tyranny of my uncle! Those who served my father well, I ask that you offer me the same loyalty that you gave to him! Surrender now or join my champions in defense of our home.”
Gideon took over. “You have this one opportunity to lay down your arms or depart. Make your choice, but know if you leave, you will not be allowed to return. Go now while the gate stands open. Once it closes, there will be no quarter given.”
Two men immediately broke and ran for the gate. Duncan and Averel moved far enough apart to allow them easy passage. But when another started to lay down his weapons, Olaf charged forward shouting, “Coward! Traitor!”
With a single stroke of his sword, he slaughtered the unarmed soldier, leaving him bleeding in the dust. It was Kane who charged forward to avenge the murdered man, but several of Olaf’s men immediately formed up in a ragged line, prepared to fight to the death for possession of the keep.
In a surprise maneuver, several more turned their backs to Gideon’s men, falling into line beside them, declaring their allegiance to Merewen.
Olaf immediately hollered, “Take the traitorous wench prisoner!”
Gideon quickly faced off against several men determined to do exactly that. Two worked hard to hold his attention as the third tried to slip past his guard to reach Merewen. It was all Gideon could do to keep his opponents at sword’s length. Rather than risk their drawing blood, he sent a mental call for his avatar while risking a quick look directly at the man he wanted the gyrfalcon to drive back.
Scim! Protect our lady!
Scim had been circling overhead. He immediately arrowed down straight at his assigned target, raking his claws over the man’s face. As the injured fighter screamed and flung his arm up to knock Scim away, the bird winged his way up to stage a second attack.
To add to the chaos, Averel’s dogs dashed in and out of the milling crowd, biting and snapping at the enemy. Gideon had yet to see Murdoch’s mountain cat, but her scream rang out in counterpoint to Hob’s. Between the two of them, it was amazing that any of the mortals stood their ground.
Slowly, Merewen’s combined forces gained ground, pushing Olaf’s men back until they almost had them cornered. The battle wouldn’t last much longer. Gideon wounded another of his opponents badly enough to ensure he would not be rejoining the fight. Slowly, they were reducing the enemy’s numbers. If they could subdue Olaf, perhaps the rest would surrender.
But as he turned all of his attention to his third opponent, a voice called ou
t, shouting a single word that brought the fighting to a staggering halt.
“Fire!”
Had he heard the man correctly?
It came again. “Fire! The stable is on fire!”
“The horses!”
Merewen had been holding her position well out of harm’s way. But as soon as she heard of the threat, she launched herself forward, diving past Gideon right into the midst of the battleground.
He managed to catch her by the arm as she flew by, intending to shove her back behind him. She clawed at his grip, clearly out of her head with the need to save her beloved horses. And no wonder. She was as closely linked to them as he was to Scim, which meant she was locked into their pain and shared their panic as if it were her own.
“Clear the way!” he shouted to his men.
As soon as they charged forward, he followed behind, barely managing to keep Merewen from outdistancing the wall of their protection. Already her people were pouring out of the buildings toward the burning stable, the fighting forgotten for the moment.
Just as they reached the front entrance, a group of mounted riders pounded past them, heading straight for the gate. The only one Gideon recognized was Olaf, but that told him enough. The bastard had deliberately set the fire as a distraction to draw everyone’s attention away from their escape.
Olaf and his men bolted through the gate to disappear into the night. By the gods’ will, the man would pay for his actions with his life. And if it were up to Gideon, it wouldn’t be an easy passage into the afterworld. But that would have to come later.
At least the stable master had trained his people well. While some formed a line to pass buckets of water from the well to douse the flames, others were already leading the horses from the burning building.
Gideon shouted, “Guard the gate!”
Kane motioned for two of the men who had fought at their side to man the walkway. They seemed only too glad to put some distance between themselves and the warrior and his companion. Knowing Kane would ensure that the keep remained secure from outside attack, Gideon joined the parade of people in and out of the stable, hoping to get the last of the horses safely out. Flames had already spread to the roof, which would soon collapse if the fire remained unchecked for long.
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