Lords of Retribution (Lords of Avalon series)

by Richards, K. R.

  “I – I, Trevan doesn’t love me anymore. So angry,” Wenna mumbled.

  “I do love you Wenna, with all my heart and soul. Now wake up. Come back to me, Wen Pen.” Trevan exhaled with relief as her eyelids began to flutter.

  “He doesn’t talk to me…”

  “I’m here and I’m talking to you right now, Wenna. Wake up. Open your eyes,” Trevan crooned softly in her ear. He kissed her cheek and her eyelids. “Open your eyes now, Wen Pen.”

  “T-Trevan?” she called out.

  “Yes, Wenna, it’s me. Open your eyes for me.” He smiled when her eyelids fluttered and he saw her gray-blue eyes.

  She was clearly disoriented. A confused look marred her features.

  “Trevan?” She tried to sit up.

  “Shh, Wenna, you must stay still. You’ve a nasty lump on the head.”

  Wenna winced and let her head fall back against the pillow. Her eyes slowly closed then opened quickly. “Senny! She was behind me. It was John Madingly. He hit me with a large club. I saw his face just before I blacked out. Where is Senny?” Panicked, Wenna struggled to sit up.

  Trevan placed his hands on her shoulders and held her down. “Wenna, listen to me. Madingly and his men took Zenny. Marrek took some men immediately after and they are looking for her. They are not far behind them. They will find her!”

  “It’s entirely my fault he took her. I was upset and wanted to be outside. I needed to be in the garden. Senny came to find me…” Wenna began to cry.

  “Shh, my love. Don’t cry. It will hurt your sore head. You must get well.”

  “But, Senny…”

  “We will find her. Wenna you’ve been unconscious for some time. You must stay calm. Marrek will find Zenny.”

  Wenna nodded. Tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you for sitting with me, Trevan, I know this must be the last place you want to be.”

  “Wen Pen, I wouldn’t be anywhere else at this moment. You are the love of my life. Just tell me what I can do to make things right. I love you, Wenna. I always have. Tell me you will still have me. Tell me you will still be my wife and my Duchess.”

  “Yes.” Wenna nodded. She began to cry again. “I love you too, Trevan. I will find a way to get beyond what happened. I was hurt.”

  “I know, Wenna.” Trevan caressed her cheek tenderly. “I never meant for my actions to hurt you. At the time, I was hurting, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I thought you would marry the vicar.”

  “I know. It was my doing for telling the vicar I would marry him. I was hurting, and I think I was trying to hurt you. I did hurt you and that’s why all this happened. Now I’ve endangered Senny.”

  “Don’t worry about your sister, Wenna, just rest. Marrek will find Zenny. I swear to you, he will.” At least he hoped so. If anyone could find Zenny, it was Marrek.

  Wenna nodded. Her eyelids grew heavy as Trevan talked to her and she slipped back into slumber.

  Gabriel sat in his chamber at the Inn. He looked out his window at his superb view of Launceston Castle upon the hill. They had traveled slowly and made certain their days were shorter due to Lady Amesbury and Lady Wincanton both recovering from the injuries they received during the last Brown Coat attack on the Avalon Society at Wychcombe House in London.

  He smiled as his thoughts turned to Senny. He had been gone over two weeks and he missed her terribly. He missed her smile. He missed her kisses. He had always cared about her.

  Aunt Morva had been correct when she told him being away from Senny would help him realize how he truly felt about her. It had helped. He now knew he did love Senny. His affections for her had grown so slowly and gradually over the years, he hadn’t realized that he’d been in love with her for some time.

  He could imagine having no other as his wife. He couldn’t wait to get to Menadue and see her. He had already planned to marry her. Now he could not wait to tell Zenny he loved her. He was anxious to marry the woman he loved, the woman he had always loved. He couldn’t wait to make her his.

  He guessed all those years ago, when he consoled her after her mother’s death, that he had known in his heart, she was the one he would marry. He hadn’t listened to his heart, he supposed. Yet, since that time he had felt Zenny was his responsibility. Now he knew it was much more than responsibility that had bound him to Zenny. It was love. He smiled to himself.

  Surely, their party would make it to Menadue by tomorrow evening. He hoped so. He was so eager to see her, to tell her how he felt. He took another sip of his brandy and thought of the future, the one that included both he and Senny, together, as husband and wife.

  As darkness fell, Senny sat cross-legged on the ground with her back against a tree. They had untied her hands after they took her off the horse. The rope had rubbed raw spots upon her wrists.

  Her three captors talked about her as if she couldn’t hear them.

  “It’s slowing us down having one horse overloaded with two riders!” the shorter, stockier man exclaimed.

  “We had to get rid of the horse with the marked shoe. I’m hoping we threw them off. By the time they find that farmer in Bodmin, they will have been off our trail for a while. The girl is our insurance to make certain we make it across the Tamar safely into Devon. By now, the Duke and St. Erth will have put out an alert. The Cornish are as thick as thieves, they are. She stays with us until we reach the river. She’s no trouble. She’s touched. Gentle as a lamb,” the man most recently known as Madingly said. He looked over at the silent little imbecile. His blood raced in anticipation of the plans he had for her that night.

  “What are we going to do with her tonight?” the taller man asked far too eagerly.

  The Reverend turned his attention from her back to his two henchmen. “She is no concern of yours. I’ll take care of her. She and I will sleep further into the wood. I’ll make certain she can’t get away.” He had long wanted to fuck Senny Penrose. Tonight, he would. For hours!

  “You could at least share, Reverend. For being an idiot, she’s a comely little thing.” The taller and thinner of the Reverend’s accomplices rubbed the front of his trousers as he spoke.

  “I am not sharing. She is mine tonight. I will break her in for you. Perhaps after we cross the Tamar and no longer need her, you can have her, before we put her out of her misery,” the Reverend said matter-of-factly. He was suddenly eager to haul Senny Penrose into the wood. She was lovely and had a very pleasing figure. He could do anything he wanted to her tonight. She was probably so frightened and so stupid she’d do whatever he told her to do. He hardened as numerous possibilities for his evening’s entertainment presented themselves in his mind. They’d cross the Tamar tomorrow. Before they did, he might let his men have a go at her before he killed her. He’d put the little idiot out of her misery. She wasn’t all there. He’d be doing her and the world a service.

  Senny realized as long as they thought her meek and afflicted, she had a better chance of escape. Escape she must, and very soon.

  Then the idea came to her. Perhaps she could connect to Gabriel in the way they had joined before he left for London. She called out to him in her mind. “Gabriel?” She hoped she could reach him. Perhaps he could hear her. She tried again. “I need you Gabriel! I need you now! Please hear me.”

  “Zenny?” Gabriel rose quickly from the comfortable chair where he sat in his chamber. The book he was reading fell to the floor. Alarm and fear washed over him.

  He closed his eyes and entered the in-between. He saw her in the dark, in the trees.

  “Where are you Zenny? What is wrong?”

  “Gabriel, I need your help. Madingly took me from Menadue. He hurt Wenna. He is leaving Cornwall. He means to hurt me tonight. He means to give me to his men then kill me tomorrow once he reaches the Tamar. I – I need to get away, but I’m not certain how to go about it. Please tell me how I can best get away from him.”

  Gabriel swore under his breath. His heart stopped momentarily. Icy fear for Senny traveled down his back. He fo
rced away all thoughts of fear. It would not do to let Zenny know he was frightened for her. She would be able to feel what he felt. He forced himself to be calm.

  “Do you know where you are, love?”

  “No, not precisely. I am in a wood somewhere past Blisland and Temple. We left the road some time back. We’re still on the moor, I think. He said he’s going to cross the Tamar near Saltash. He plans to take me in the woods, Gabriel, t-to hurt m-me. There has to be a way I can escape him. Can you tell me how? I can’t think straight, for there is noise in my head.”

  Gabriel felt fury race through his body. He again struggled to stay calm. He had to be strong and in control for Senny. It was imperative that he do so.

  “You must stay calm. Take the time to send the noise away, the way I taught you to do. You will get away. You need to kick him or knee him between the legs, Zenny. Make certain you hit his private area. Hit him in the nose with your elbow or the heel of your hand. Find a weapon, a branch, a stone, anything that will damage him. Hurt him enough so that you can break free, Zenny. Then run. I’m close. I’m in Launceston. I’m leaving right now. I will try to keep the connection. Promise me you will too. I must grab my things and I will contact you once I’m on my way.”

  “Yes, Gabriel. We must stay connected. Hurry! Please?”

  Gabriel was already packing his bag. He exited his room, leaving the door wide open behind him. He knocked upon Micah’s door.

  It seemed to take forever when in truth it was only minutes.

  Micah cracked the door open.

  “Zenny is in danger. I must find her. I can’t explain. Thomas and my men will take you on to Menadue on the morrow.”

  Micah nodded. “I hope you find her, Gabriel. Do not worry. We will be fine. Is it Brown Coats?”

  “Possibly. Be careful. I have to find Zenny, Micah. She is everything to me. I wouldn’t leave you otherwise.”

  “Go, Gabriel. I understand completely. We are very close to Menadue, we will be fine,” Micah assured him. “Just find Miss Senny.”

  Gabriel next informed his younger brother, Thomas, to take the others to Menadue for him. He gave him the direction Senny thought they were going. He asked his brother to send reinforcements when he arrived at Menadue. Thomas woke one of the other men, gave him the instructions then grabbed his bag and followed his brother from his chamber.

  “Thomas, we promised we would get our party safely to Menadue. One of us has to go with them,” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed as he looked upon his younger brother.

  “Roche can take them in. He’s our best man. I’m going with you,” Thomas said.

  “If you can keep up,” Gabriel grumbled.

  “I can! I’ve always been able to keep up with you. I’m not stopping now.”

  “Zenny?” Gabriel called to her in his mind again after saddling his horse. No response! “Zenny?” His heart hammered in his chest. Still, she did not respond.

  “Where are we headed?” Thomas Chynoweth asked his brother.

  “Toward Saltash by way of Blisland and Temple until I can make contact with Senny again,” Gabriel said. “We’ll stay on the road until daylight comes.”

  Agonizing over thoughts of Madingly harming his precious Zenny, Gabriel rode out into the darkness.

  After sharing several rounds of gin with his men, Madingly pulled Senny along behind him deeper into the wood.

  Senny didn’t fight him. She knew timing would be incredibly important in her plan to get away. She called to Gabriel in her mind. “Gabriel? Gabriel!”

  “Zenny, my love, I’m on the way. You have no idea where you are?”

  “It’s dark. Madingly is taking me deeper into the woods away from the other two men as we speak.”

  “Pick up a stone or a branch when you can, kick him between the legs, hurt him however you can and run! Run and hide, Zenny! I will find you, I promise.”

  “Yes, I will get away, Gabriel. Please find me. Perhaps in the morning I will recognize where I am.”

  Senny cried out as Madingly stopped and pulled her against him. Her connection to Gabriel was lost. Fear threatened to incapacitate her. She could no longer feel Gabriel in her mind. She pushed away the fear and the noise building in her head. Her salvation depended upon it.

  Madingly tried to kiss her, but Senny was able to avoid his kiss by squirming and turning her head.

  He slapped her cheek. Her face burning, he pushed her backward. Senny tripped over a large branch and fell backward. She landed with a thud upon the hard ground. She felt around with both hands. She found a jagged stone bigger than her palm with one hand and the fingers of her other hand closed around a thick branch a couple of feet long.

  Suddenly he was lowering himself over her. Senny forced herself to breathe so she would remain calm. She concentrated on sending the noise that began to crowd into her head away.

  “Be still! You’re going to like this. Even if you don’t, I will. Just lay completely still.” Madingly growled. He roughly groped her breasts.

  When he turned his head toward her legs and began bunching up her skirts, she raised her arm and brought the branch down hard upon his head. When Madingly’s head snapped around, Senny scraped the jagged edge of the stone down his face.

  “Bitch!” Madingly howled as he scrambled to get off her. Even in semi-darkness, the only light being from the moon weakened by cloud cover, she could see the glint of wet blood streaming down his face.

  Senny rolled and was on her feet in an instant. She ran in the direction opposite from where the two other men waited. She ran from the small clearing toward the darkness of the trees ahead of her.

  She heard the boom of a pistol. She clasped her upper right arm when she felt the searing pain. She felt the warmth of blood as it oozed between her fingers. She continued to run. She could hear shouting for several minutes. After a time it grew fainter, then stopped. Was he following her?

  She could hear the crunch of leaves and twigs beneath her feet. She had to get out of the trees! Surely, he could hear her and was following her.

  She became aware of the sound of moving water ahead. Senny moved toward the sound. She knew she was leaving a blood trail and reasoned moving through the water would make it more difficult for Madingly to follow her. She kept on and nearly tumbled into the stream when she slipped on a clump of slick grass at the edge.

  She slid often as she tried to walk through the stream. Her skirts soaked up the water and became heavier by the moment.

  She was able to catch her balance and keep herself from falling a few times. Her half boots slid over the slick rocks as she waded downstream. She walked for what seemed hours, then suddenly the water began to run swifter and the current threatened to knock her off her feet entirely. She slipped a couple of times while trying to walk and fell to her knees. Only once, did she fall and find herself fully immersed in the water.

  Occasionally she heard Gabriel’s voice in her mind urging her on. She didn’t always understand his words; she concentrated on not slipping, falling or being carried away by the force of the water. Just the sound of Gabriel’s voice calmed her. She could feel his presence. It helped her to stay strong. Occasionally she found the ability and the strength to answer him.

  The stream gained momentum as it sloped downhill. She was tiring. She realized she must get out of the water. She needed to keep going across the moor and put distance between herself and Madingly. She carefully crossed to the other side of the stream. She slipped trying to get out but managed to pull herself back up the bank by grabbing handfuls of the tall plants growing there. Her wounded arm protested. The pain made her dizzy. It took nearly all of her strength to get to her feet. But she did it.

  She heard Gabriel’s voice, “Keep moving, sweetheart. Keep walking.”

  She walked for a bit, allowing herself to catch her breath. Then Senny ran, and kept running across the dark moor. She had to get away. She must find Gabriel. Her skirts were heavy and water logged. She watched the ground in front o
f her carefully, looking for evidence of dark cavernous mine pits or old rock quarries. She had grown up on the moor and she knew the dangers.

  Awhile later, the moon emerged from behind the clouds. Senny dared to turn around. She could see no movement on the moor behind her. She watched for several long minutes.

  She looked at her arm and saw the dark stain of blood covering her sleeve. It alarmed her to see her arm almost completely wet with blood. She fought the light-headedness that came over her.

  She took the time to rip the ruffle from her petticoat. She wound it around her arm and secured it as best she could to keep from leaving a blood trail. She moved diagonally away from that point and later cut back across to go the opposite way. She was not certain what direction she was going only that the way she had started had felt wrong to her. She walked for what seemed hours. Her arm ached. She shivered with cold, and possibly shock, she wasn’t certain which. Her feet seemed to grow heavier with each step she took.

  When she felt so weary she thought she might drop to the ground, she heard Gabriel’s voice.

  “Zenny, love, keep walking. Keep walking, love. I know you hurt. I can feel your pain. Tell yourself to keep walking. As soon as the sun comes up and you can see, I want you to tell me if you recognize anything. Describe to me where you are. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, I can. Keep walking. I will keep walking…”

  “I’m with you, Zenny. Never forget I’m here. Call out to me when you need me. Just breathe, Zenny. Breathe and walk for now. That’s all you need to do.”

  “I will, Gabriel.”

  “You’re doing well, Zenny. I’m here. Can you feel me?”

  “Yes, Gabriel.”

  “Very good, just concentrate and walk. Breathe. Use your strength to keep walking.”

  “I will.”

  “When its light enough Zenny, you must contact me. I will find you, my love. Zenny, please, love, watch where you walk. Be careful of the pits.”