Page 22 of Always
In fact, I was chagrined to admit, even to myself, how often my thoughts had strayed to Felicia during the previous long night. Although I’d refrained from glancing at her over my shoulder like I’d wanted to, my mind’s eye had vividly pictured her, especially the way she’d looked driving the cart yesterday with the sunlight spilling across her hat so that her face had glowed with a vibrancy and life that filled me with longings I couldn’t explain.
“Stay objective. Don’t feel. Keep alert.” I chastised myself with the many warnings of my commanders. Of course, my first real interaction with a woman was sure to tempt me after the years of keeping my distance from the fairer sex. I was bound to struggle as many of my comrades had.
Perhaps I’d even been too harsh on the men who’d broken their vows of singleness. I’d rushed to judge them, thinking I was so much stronger and better than they were. The truth was that I’d just never experienced the powerful draw of a woman.
Until now. Until Felicia.
Ducking under cobwebs and loose tunnel beams, I shook my head and willed myself to stop thinking of her, to focus on the job of finding a way out of the shaft. My footsteps echoed hollowly as I descended. The torchlight flickered upright, without a breeze or breath of air to guide me to another entrance or opening.
Keeping my emotional distance from Felicia would perhaps be harder than fighting wolves, but if I had any hope of saving her, I had to stay aloof and simply do my job.
I ran through the tunnels as best I could amidst the crumbling rocks. Deeper and deeper into the mine I ventured, searching for an exit or for a safer place for the girls until finally, I reached a cavern that opened up into a fresh pool. I bent and took a long drink, filled my leather drinking gourd, and then splashed the ice-cold water on my face. Fatigue crowded in with every breath I took, and I prayed I’d have the stamina to find a way out of our predicament.
A search along the edge of the pool brought me to a man-made aqueduct. It had likely once carried water from this freshwater spring to a different part of the mine but was now abandoned and dry. It wasn’t big enough for me to fit inside, but if I had to fight the wolves, Felicia and Princess Constance could crawl in with the babes and make their way to another level of the mine.
A distant, frightened scream sent a chill up my spine. It was too childlike to be Felicia’s, and I guessed it had come from Princess Constance. I traced my path back, my heart thudding hard enough to bruise my rib cage, my thoughts an anxious tangle rather than the usual calm reserve. By the time I dashed up the tunnel and into the cavern where I’d left my charges, panic overwhelmed me at the prospect that the wolves had made it inside and were even now tearing the girls apart from limb to limb.
At the sight of them still alive and unharmed, I stopped short, my lungs flaming. Felicia stood at the door, knife in hand, and was attempting unsuccessfully to slash a wolf whenever it stuck its paw or muzzle into the fist-sized hole it had already dug through the wood. Princess Constance crouched next to the satchels, one on either side of her, squeezing them closely. Her expression was wide with terror, and she cringed every time the wolf made an appearance.
I handed Felicia the torch, then drawing my dagger, I bolted across the cavern. The instant the wolf poked its nose through and bared its teeth, I took aim and plunged my weapon upward into its mouth, killing it in one thrust. With a jerk, I loosened my knife while the creature crumpled away from the door, likely hitting the ground and providing a stepping place for the wolves that would take its place.
Felicia had moved back to allow me access and now rushed to comfort Princess Constance and the babes.
I studied the gap and realized the door wouldn’t hold as long as I’d believed. I’d been gone for less than an hour, and already the beasts had chipped and broken away the rotting oak with their sharp claws and fangs. With all of them working together, they’d create a big enough opening in no time.
I crossed to my horse, retrieved my sword and flail, and led the horses to the far end of the cavern where they’d be away from the coming fight. I needed to take Felicia and the girls out of the way too, far out of the way.
“You must move deeper into the mines.” Before I could give further directive, the door splintered, and a wolf leaped through.
Chapter
9
Felicia
Constance screamed againand buried her face against my coarse skirt. At the sight of the enormous wolf, slinking down and baring its teeth in a growl, I wanted to scream too.
The creature was the size of a grizzly bear, with its black fur standing on end, making it appear even larger. Its eyes glowed gold and blood-hungry. Somehow, the beast had managed to rip the hole wide enough to squeeze through. A second wolf was already pawing at the entrance.
We would soon be surrounded.
“Take the girls and run,” Lance said without shifting his attention from the wolf. He crouched, his sword in one hand and a flail in the other. He’d already started swinging the spiked ball that was attached to a chain and short handle.
The horses were snorting and whinnying in fear, their eyes as wild as my heartbeat.
With the torch in one hand, I grabbed the satchels in my other. “Come now,” I said to Constance, trying to keep my voice calm. “We must be away.”
The princess didn’t budge. Instead, she clung to my skirt as if burying herself there would make the terrible wolf disappear.
“Follow the path always to the left and it will lead you to a pool.” Lance crept nearer to the beast. “Find the aqueduct and crawl into it as far back as you can go.”
As he finished his instructions, the wolf bounded forward. It snarled and nipped at the air, revealing canines that were at least two inches long and deadly sharp. Lance didn’t react, but instead waited in a defensive position, twisting the flail methodically.
I crept back several steps, dragging Constance with me. She started to whimper, and I couldn’t fault her. Being hunted and attacked by wolves was nothing a child should have to experience.
Nevertheless, I had to follow Lance’s instructions and lead the girls away from the danger. The further I sidled toward the tunnel, the more my heart protested deserting Lance in such a dire situation. His comrade had already sacrificed his life defending us against the Saracens. The prospect that Lance was doing the same against wolves twisted like a knife into my side. I couldn’t just leave him behind to die, not after all he’d done to help me.
On the other hand, my higher duty was to the princesses, to the vow I’d made to the queen, and ultimately to the future of my beloved country. If I didn’t escape now, I’d likely fail on all accounts.
