Silence was staring at a portrait on the wall over a large fireplace. I could not bring myself to look anywhere around the room but at Silence. He turned and came toward me with a brown vest and jacket in his hands. I held my hand out for the vest, but he would not give it to me, stepping around me and placing it on me. It was heavy, weighing my shoulders down with something in the lining of the material. He told me to do up the buttons, and once I was through he helped me into the jacket. We stared at each other, his face an impassive mask.
“Is someone seeing to Guinevere?” I asked when I could take his silence no more.
“I am sure that she is already on her feet,” he said, then clenched and unclenched his fist. “I apologize that I was not there, Raven, to stop that attack upon you.” He said it simply, but the words affected me like the last piece of the cord that was holding me together, snapping.
“Why have you been kind to me? Why are you not like that other guard?” I wanted, needed to pick a fight, to find myself again, my will to live, to succeed. I knew that if I was not fighting I would be crying uncontrollably.
“I was instructed to remind you that appearances are often deceiving.”
“By whom?” I demanded, my chest beginning to ache. Only a few people ever said that to me.
Silence reached his hand into his pocket and drew something out. He raised between his fingers a small, perfect, black feather. “Your brother.”
Chapter 23
Jack
Trying to persuade Guinevere to stay behind was like trying to persuade a tiger not to attack you. She was adamant that if she did not go, then the Holy Order would suspect something. She had told us that noon was the time in which the Holy Order meant to deal the blow to Bess. She had gone ahead, riding her black horse to Sam’s plantation while we collected our weapons and the others. I had wanted to go with her, but she flatly refused. She was sure that someone would see us together.
Sam’s entire team and Leo were with me as I rode toward Sam’s plantation by a service road that rounded the plantation, coming to it from behind. We halted in the trees near a large barn, watching the unfolding chaos in the barnyard. There were people running toward the barn, men fighting men, many shouts, and guns firing.
“How did they get here?” Sam demanded of no one in particular.
“What do we do?” Charlotte asked from beside me.
We turned to look at his team. I had not wanted to bring the women. I had protested it, explaining the dangers that could befall them. If they were captured unspeakable things could be done to them, but it would be worse for Betsy. Sam in return explained to me that it was for this that they had been trained and that they deserved a chance. When he accepted full responsibility for the outcome, I reluctantly agreed.
“Char, Betsy, and Rose will cover us from here. Abe, Leo, Jack, and I will attack from the left, making a path for Jack and I to get into the barn, for you may be sure that is where they are keeping Bess.”
We dismounted, handing the reins of our horses to Betsy and Charlotte. As I worked at loading my pistols and Sam spoke with his team in a low voice, Leo came up beside me.
“If you find a chance to get into the barn, take it; do not wait for me,” I told him quietly so Sam would not hear me.
Leo nodded as he pulled out a pistol known as duck foot. It had four splayed barrels that resembled the web of a duck’s foot. Only strong people could use such a weapon, for the kick was a force known to knock many men on their backsides.
Once our weapons were loaded, and Sam was beside us, we moved forward, crouching low to remain undetected until the last possible moment. Abe was to my left, all vestiges of his dark skin covered, and a triple barrel pistol in one hand and a dagger in the other. Abe was a great fighter, so I had faith that we would reach Bess.
The royal guards were trying to fight their way into the barn, but finding opposition in the twenty or so Holy Order guards fighting to protect the barn. I did not see Guinevere, so I could only hope that she was well protected inside the barn.
We stopped behind a group of bushes, and Leo rose up, planted his feet firmly to keep himself upright, and took aim. There were at least thirty men fighting, but it did not matter which he struck for both sides were not with us. Leo fired, and balls from all four barrels flew forward, knocking down three men and blasting wood from the side of Sam’s barn as the fourth ball struck the wall. The guards’ attention was firmly captured as we fired upon them, Abe beside me hitting his target all three times.
We dropped our pistols and ran forward. I came under a swinging arm, pummeling the attacker in the stomach before rising up and striking at his face. His nose broke under the force from my fist. I grabbed his shoulder and brought his stomach down to meet my knee, then shoved him back. As he fell, I saw the glittering gold of the serpent ring on his finger. It worked to strengthen my urgency to find my sister and Guinevere, and to rescue Bess before the Holy Order could hurt her; plus to assure that Guinevere was not captured by the royal guards.
A hand grabbed me from behind, and I was tossed away, landing on my knees. I pulled out a dagger as I twisted around. One of the Holy Order guards came at me with a dagger of his own. As he threw his blade toward my head, our blades connected and hissed. He was forcing the blades down toward my face, when he suddenly stopped, staring down at me, his face was draining of color. I pulled my dagger away and rolled as he came crashing to the ground, a knife hilt sticking up from his back.
The royal guard who had thrown that blade was running toward me, but Abe, after knocking one man away, threw out his foot and the guard tripped. Abe was upon him, knocking him all the way to the ground, then leaping onto his back and slamming his head against the ground until the man went still. I turned, seeing the path to the door clear. As I ran, I heard someone coming up behind me. I reached the door but did not open it. I ducked down, twisting, with my blade pointed out. It met a blade, and Sam stared down at me. Lowering my dagger, my breathing was painful at the realization that I almost stabbed Sam. Sam was unperturbed, as he reached around me and opened a small door near to the larger set of doors.
The barn was not lit; there was only a little light coming in through holes in the wood. At first I thought we had guessed wrong, that Bess was not there. My heart was pounding in frantic beats as we advanced further into the barn, needing to search it quickly, completely before moving on.
Above us in the loft, a lantern lit, followed by more, until we were surrounded by candlelight. People were standing in the lofts each holding a lantern, men I had never seen. Sam sucked in a quick breath, and I looked forward.
There was what I at first thought was a wooden platform, blocking the other set of barn doors. A lantern lit from the platform revealed that it was not a platform, but a scaffold.
Seeing the two people standing upon the scaffold caused my face to feel suddenly bloodless. There was a noose around the neck of a person dressed in brown breeches and a brown jacket with a black bag covering their head, but I was certain it was Bess. Her hands were tied behind her back; her feet tied at the ankles. Beside her, in all of his regimental splendor, was General Lucius Harvey.
My mind rebelled as I took a step back. It could not be. He was a friend of our family! He was Edith Harvey’s uncle. He was a personable man who shared his stories of war with anyone who would listen. He was not a murdering lunatic leader of a secret society. I blinked, trying to dispel the image of Harvey smiling at me. When it did not dispel, and blood and pain coiled together, I took three steps forward, ready to murder Harvey where he stood. Guns cocked from the loft above us.
“Welcome, Loutaire,” Harvey said with a great smile upon his lips. “I knew that it would not be long before I had the felicity of seeing you here. Though, you do not have your father’s perception. Loutaire the first discovered my identity within a fortnight.”
“Do not speak of my father! You murdered my father,” I shouted at him, taking a step toward him with murder in my heart.
“No, Loutaire, I merely issued the order that set him free. He would thank me. Do you truly believe that Loutaire enjoyed doing other men’s work with no thanks? It was a shame that I could not persuade him to join us.”
I moved forward another two steps, but halted when Guinevere appeared through the door beside the scaffold with a gun pointed directly at me. Sam moved forward, but I stretched out my hand to halt him. When she climbed onto the platform, and I saw her battered face, my ability to control my anger disappeared. I started forward, but Guinevere shook her head, so I stopped.
Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I could not act rashly. Bess and Guinevere’s lives were at stake. “What about Richard? What part did he play?” I asked Harvey, but did not take my eyes from Guinevere.
“Richard was a necessary tool. There are forces at work here that you cannot fathom.”
“Such as?” Sam demanded.
Harvey did not acknowledge Sam. “Loutaire, we are all granted powers, but most never learn how to control them,” Harvey spread out his hands, “we have. You join us, and we can grant your deepest desires.” Harvey moved to Guinevere. He placed a hand on her shoulder. I saw her blink, but the gun did not waver.
It all became clear, like a blindfold removed from my eyes. All that time that Guinevere was in Philadelphia, Harvey was there issuing his orders. Harvey and Richard had spoken many times, and we all had attended the same society parties. Harvey and Edith had been at Guinevere’s house one day when I called upon her.
Edith. I looked at Guinevere. With the blonde wig, I could see the resemblance that I had never before noticed. That had to be it. That had to be Guinevere’s secret, what Harvey was holding over her. Edith was Guinevere’s sister.
“To be with the woman you love,” Harvey said.
Sam was at my side, his voice a boom in the barn. “Surrender, for your witchcraft will not work upon us, wizard.”
General Harvey laughed. “Oh, how much you resemble your uncle. Do you believe that I do not know your past?” Sam stiffened. “You were even younger than Loutaire when you lost your father. Died of a broken heart.”
Harvey stepped next to Bess and pulled off the black cloth from her head. Her mouth was muffled, but her eyes were wide, alert. There were bruises on the side of her face, and my every feeling went wild.
“Like father, like son, considering how you feel about Elizabeth,” Harvey said.
Sam and I both looked at Guinevere, knowing Harvey could have only learned such information from her. She was not looking at us but over our heads. Turning back to Bess, there were tears shining in her eyes. There was no longer any doubt in my mind concerning Bess’s future. Bess loved Sam as much as he loved her.
“That’s enough!” I shouted. “Your time of mischief is at an end. Surrender or I will cut you down from the pedestal that you believe yourself to be upon.”
“Those are large words coming from such a little man.” Harvey was grinning like he did not believe my words.
“Do not be deceived by my size. I could vanquish you within a minute, old man.”
The general laughed heartily. “The time for that is not yet, but believe that it is not distant. You will prove yourself soon.”
“Your time is now for there is no escape for you.”
Bess was trying to tell me something with her eyes. They kept widening then looking down. I had not the slightest notion what she was trying to say.
“Loutaire, you must learn to think beyond the box in which you dwell. There is always an escape if you hold a valuable key.” General Harvey looked at Bess. “You have come in time for the execution.”
Sam started forward, and Guinevere let off a shot. It moved past Sam’s head and burst through the wall behind him. Guinevere smiled as she raised her second pistol.
“Step away from my sister,” I ordered, my voice thunderous.
“Your father never thought much of you, choosing your sister to lead the Phantoms instead of you, but I knew your true worth. Together, you, Guinevere, and I could accomplish wonders. As my right hand, you shall one day rule a powerful kingdom.”
“You are more deluded than I ever thought possible, Harvey. You have no kingdom, and if you do not step away from my sister, you will have no life in your body.”
Harvey’s hand sank down onto the lever that would release the wood from beneath Bess’s feet.
Sam pulled out his pistol, and I shouted as he moved forward, “No!”
“You move another step, and I will let her hang.”
He was staring at Sam, who had stopped, but did not lower his weapon. Guinevere had her pistol aimed at Sam, and as I glanced up at the lofts, I saw that she was not the only one. All the others were pointed at Sam, save one. A man with yellow hair that hung to his shoulders had his weapon pointed at Harvey.
“I am prepared to make you a bargain, Harvey,” I said, looking back at him, “your only one. You have two of the artifacts, but I have the rest. I am prepared to turn them over to you.”
Guinevere, Sam, and Bess looked at me with wide eyes.
“A generous offer, Loutaire. With your sister’s release the price to be paid?”
“Not only Bess. I also want Edith,” I said calmly, inwardly pleased when I saw Harvey’s smile vanish. “You will return Edith to her sister, and you will never approach them again.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed for he did not know who Edith was or that she was Guinevere’s sister. Bess’s eyebrows shot up, and she tried to look to her left, to where Guinevere was standing. Guinevere’s lips were parted, and there were tears in her eyes.
General Harvey turned to Guinevere. “The time has come.”
Guinevere glared at the general, hatred on her face. “No.”
“Be gone! There is nothing for you here,” Harvey said.
Guinevere glanced at me, and slightly I inclined my head. I had not heard any fighting outside, and I wanted her away from Harvey. Guinevere kept her pistol leveled at Sam, but backed away until she was at a small ladder. She climbed down and left the barn.
“This has been most entertaining, but my time is valuable. I do, however, have a parting gift for you. A choice. What is most important to you? Happy hunting.” With a swift movement, General Harvey kicked the lever forward, and Bess plunged through the opening of the scaffold. My heart shattered.
“Bess!”
Bess was struggling as she dangled on the rope.
Sam and I charged forward, but Sam yelled at me. “I have her, go after Harvey!”
It was not an easy choice to make, but I did as Sam ordered. I knew he would give his life for Bess so she would be safe with him.
As I reached the door Harvey had left through, a shot rang out from behind me. I turned in time to see Sam stumble, landing on his knees. His face was horrified at his fall as he looked toward where Bess had been hung.
The rope that held Bess had been shot clean through, by the man who had been aiming at Harvey. The other people in the lofts were running, trying to find a way out of the barn, since Harvey had deserted them.
Sam scrambled forward under the scaffold floor and to Bess, who was slowly moving. That was all I waited to see.
Slamming through the half open barn door, there were bodies all over the ground, some only injured, and others deceased. Harvey and Guinevere were riding toward Sam’s field, each atop a black horse. Rose had a pistol aimed at Guinevere. I ran toward her, but she squeezed the trigger before I could reach her. My heart, that I was sure would explode from all the danger, revelations, and surprises, sighed when nothing happened. Her gun misfired.
Betsy and Char came up beside her. Betsy raised a musket, and without showing any outward qualms, aimed and fired. I saw Harvey lurch forward on his horse, but he kept going. A moment later, he was out of our view, covered by trees, Guinevere with him.
Turning, I ran back into the barn. Bess was kneeling on the dirt floor, but her voice was strained. “Where is he? Where is my brother?”
When she saw me, a sob seemed to burst from her, and she ran to meet me. Her arms wrapped around my neck as mine wrapped around her waist. She was crying hard, and I felt moisture stinging my eyes at the relief of knowing she was safe, alive.
“You are safe, you are well,” I kept repeating until she calmed.
She took my face between her hands. “I love you, Jack,” she whispered, so only I could hear her.
The bruises on her temple and cheek were red and raised, meaning they were fresh. My anger roared, but I pushed it down, for Harvey was gone, so I could not enact my feelings upon him...yet. “And I you,” I said, my voice deep.
She released my face but immediately clasped onto my arm. She did not want me out of her sight, but that was well with me, for I did not want her out of mine.
We moved toward Leo, Abe, and the man who had shot Bess’s rope. They had a group of the people from the lofts sitting on the ground, and they were tying their hands behind their backs. When we reached the man with long, blond hair he straightened. I held out my hand.
“I do not know why you did it, but thank you for saving my sister’s life.”
He shook my hand, inclining his head.
“This is Silence. My guardian angel,” Bess said, giving the man a smile.
Silence smiled rather sheepishly in return. “Hardly that, Raven.”
“It is true, Jack, for he placed me in this body harness that magicians use. The noose attached to a hook, but in the event that the hook failed he was waiting to shoot the rope.”
Sam’s arm brushed against mine as he placed a hand on the small of Bess’s back. I smiled at him, but he glared at me before turning his gaze to Silence.
The Charleston Chase (Phantom Knights Book 2) Page 24