Page 17 of The Tempest
Cruz was watching Payne in the distance. “These are ruthless killers,” he said. “Truthfully, I am still having difficulty believing that Payne is the son of Bloody Maude. It seems impossible.”
Creston shrugged. “We all have parents,” he said. “And our parents must be something in life—sinner or saint, we cannot choose.”
“Are you trying to tell me that your father is something terrible?”
Creston looked at him, grinning. “My father is a great man,” he said. “And my mother is a woman of noble birth. I have no surprises with my lineage like Payne has.”
“Nor do I.”
“Speaking of surprises, where are our colleagues?”
Cruz looked over his shoulder. “To the west,” he said casually. “They’ve been very good at concealing themselves, but they are moving forward to get a better look.”
“Shall we go and meet them?”
“No need. They will be here soon.”
As soon as Cruz got the words out of his mouth, a branch snapped behind them. Cruz ducked back into the foliage and whispered loudly.
“You’d better show yourselves before Creston draws his sword,” he said. “No need to hide any longer. You may as well see what we are seeing.”
The first one to come out of hiding was Ming Tang. He moved like the wind, darting up to the front where Creston was watching from behind a tree. His movements brought Amir, Tay, Sinclair, Fox, and Kristian out of their hiding places. As they began to move forward, Tay paused by Cruz.
“How long have you known we were here?” he asked.
Cruz snorted. “Since we left Blackchurch.”
Tay rolled his eyes, chuckling, but moved forward with great stealth. They all did. Creston found himself surrounded by his friends and comrades, all of them watching Payne in the distance as one of the men suddenly threw a punch at him, which he deftly ducked.
“Who’s that?” Fox said. “Sin, do you know who that is?”
Since Sinclair was closer to Payne than anyone, they assumed he knew more about the people in Payne’s life, and their relationships, but Sinclair had no idea. He shook his head slowly.
“I cannot tell you,” he said. “I know he has younger brothers. We all heard him tell St. Denis. Is it possible that is one of his brothers?”
No one had an answer, but Tay grunted softly. “I would be willing to bet that the woman with the red hair is his mother,” he said. “I’ve never seen Bloody Maude in the flesh, but that small woman with hair like liquid flame could be no one else.”
“It has to be,” Kristian said from his position on his belly, watching everything from the clearance under a bush. “And all of those wagons—I can see a cannon in one of them.”
“There are more, I am sure,” Tay said. Then he paused, straining to catch a glimpse of what was happening. “Look—the man who threw the punch is leaving. What now, I wonder?”
No one replied. They were too busy watching another man run at Payne and hug him happily. It seemed like a joyful reunion of sorts.
“That must be another brother,” Sinclair said. “Payne mentioned that he has two.”
“Mayhap one tried to hit him and the other is hugging him?” Tay said. “Seems like a true family to me.”
The few that heard his comment grinned. “Is that how you and your brother greet one another?” Sinclair asked. “Either throwing punches or hugging?”
Tay smiled faintly. “My brother is not the violent kind,” he said, referring to the disabled brother they were all aware of. “Sometimes I wish he could hit me. I would welcome it.”
Sinclair looked at him. “You know I did not mean to make light of your brother’s situation.”
Tay held up a hand to indicate he was not offended. “Of course not,” he said. “But I would be happy to dodge a blow.”
“Do you think Payne is happy to dodge a blow?” Fox asked.
He was closer to the action than anyone, as he had moved up to almost the very edge of the trees. Fox was the one known as The Protector, and his instincts for protection and defense were second to none. In this case, it was protecting and defending the men in the trees, and his senses were on high alert.
