Page 55 of While Angels Slept
Satisfied, Tevin motioned towards the gate. “Then make all haste.”
The knights swung into action, snapping orders to the soldiers manning the gate. As the portcullis shrieked and began to lift, Tevinstood back and watched the party move out. He felt like his whole life was leaving him, watching Cantia in the moonlight as she spurred the little horse forward. The hardest thing he ever had to do was not issue a recall order. He knew they had to go. It was for the best. He blew a kiss at Cantia when he was sure no one could see him.
With a heavy heart, he turned back for the great stone keep of Rochester.
*
Cantia realized shewas very close to weeping as they left the castle swiftly, silently, moving forth into the moonlit night like wraiths upon the land. Because the moon was so bright, there was no need for torches, a fortunate event considering they did not want to attract attention. Onward into the cold darkness, the party from Rochester traveled south and Cantia missed Tevin more with each successive step.
The road was not in the best of condition and more than once, the horses tripped in the ruts. Even though it was bright and their path well-lit, they ended up slowing their frantic pace because to go any faster, with the conditions, was dangerous. They were surrounded by open fields so their field of visibility was wide, adding to the decision to slow their pace. There were no places to hide for bandits or others who preyed upon open travelers these days, so as long as the knights had a clear field of vision, they were comfortable with the lesser pace.
Hunt had fallen asleep against his mother at some point and Cantia held the boy’s hands at her waist, his little arms wrapped around her so he wouldn’t slide off. In spite of her separation anxiety from Tevin, she was beginning to enjoy the travel with the ghostly moon and fairly mild weather. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and occasionally, a night bird would sail across the darkness. The more distance they put between them and Rochester, the more they all began to calm and settle in for the trip. With any luck, the hard part was over.
Dagan and Gavril eventually came to the fork in the road that Tevin had described and took the road to the left as instructed. They thencontinued on along a smaller section of road, now being intermittently dotted by clusters of dense, black trees. The trees made the knights nervous so they slung their shields, weapons at the ready, and that made Cantia nervous as well. Men prepared for battle invited apprehension and she found herself looking around, seeing if she could spy robbers hiding out in the growth. Her somewhat pleasant trip was turning apprehensive again.
Somewhere, an owl hooted as they passed through a particularly dark section of trees. It smelled heavily of leaves and wet, eerie phantoms lurking in the blackness. With Cantia caught up in watching the surrounding area for an army of murders to come flying out at them, Dagan, covering their rear, was watching Cantia.
When he had been summoned to escort the lady and her son out of Rochester, he had been in the vault in discussion with Charles again. Their conversation had been quiet and not overheard. During the course of that conversation, he’d come to a great many conclusions, not the least of which was the fact that he had decided to accept Charles’ offer.
It hadn’t been a simple choice, but one he felt was best for him. The difficultly had been in figuring out how to separate the lady from du Reims because the man was rabidly protective of her, and when he had been summoned to escort the lady and her son from Rochester, he considered it an omen. Perhaps God was telling him his decision had been correct, that it was indeed time to take charge of his destiny. It was an unbelievably fortuitous occurrence, one he accepted eagerly.
Now, there were only a couple of things that stood in his way. As the party from Rochester made their way south, Dagan made plans for Gavril and Val. True, his plans for the knights were not honorable and for that, he was sincerely sorry. But his mind was made up. It was the time in his life to take opportunities when presented or remain a lesser knight in du Reims’ stable for the rest of his life. No wealth, no glory, no opportunities for him. This was his last chance.
Dagan knew that Gavril would not go along with his decision,which at this point, signed the man’s death warrant. Val would be a problem also, but she was encumbered with the viscount’s daughter, making her an easy target. The children would be spared and he would take them, plus Cantia, to the nearest church where he would marry the lady without delay. His plan was in place and he was prepared. As they neared a particularly thick cluster of trees and the moon was blotted out by the heavy canopy, Dagan began to move.
At the rear of the column, he spurred his charger forward and unsheathed a large dirk with a heavy steel hilt, one he used for close-quarters combat. He passed close to Val on his right, slugging her on the back of the head as hard as he could and sending her toppling over onto the ground.
As Arabel, who fell off of the horse along with her aunt, screamed in shock and fear, Gavril turned around towards the source of the scream only to see his cousin bearing down on him. Startled, the man didn’t have a chance to unsheathe his sword before Dagan threw the dirk at him, catching him in the neck.
Gavril plummeted to the ground, the enormous dirk in his neck that had not only cut off his air supply, but had severed a major artery. He lifted his hand to remove the weapon, but before he could even get a grip on it, he bled out all over the rocky, uneven road. Gavril de Reigate’s life ended with a view of the heavens above on a lovely night, wondering what in the world had happened to make it all end this way.
With all of the screaming and chaos, Cantia’s palfrey had bolted off the road, dumping both her and Hunt onto the ground. As she picked herself up and grabbed her son, having no idea what was going on, Dagan came thundering in her direction.
“Halt!” Dagan bellowed, seeing that she was preparing to run. “Stay where you are.”
Frightened, Cantia froze. “What has happened?” She could hear Arabel crying. “Arabel! Is she injured? And where is Val?”
Dagan pulled his foaming charger to a halt, gazing down at the lovely Lady Penden and her tow-headed son. He tried not to feel guiltyfor what he had just done.
“Stay here and do not move,” he instructed.
Uncertain, Cantia did as she was told, holding tight to Hunt as Dagan reined his charger over to where Val was lying unconscious in the grass by the side of the road. Arabel was sitting beside her aunt, weeping, as Dagan dismounted his charger and picked the girl up. Arabel wept harder, trying to resist him, as he carried the girl over to where Cantia and Hunt were huddled. Cantia instinctively held out her arms to the girl and Dagan deposited her into the waiting embrace.
Cantia wasn’t a particularly large woman so holding Arabel was somewhat cumbersome, but she held her as tightly and as securely as she could manage. Arabel wrapped her thin arms around Cantia’s neck, sobbing, as Cantia shushed her softly. Dagan stood in front of the pair, fists resting on his hips.
“Now,” he began softly, with a firm yet sinister cast to his tone. “You and I have something to discuss, lady.”
Cantia looked up from Arabel’s lowered head. “What…?” she shook her head, her fear and confusion growing. “What are you talking about? Have we been attacked?”
Dagan shook his head. “We have not,” he said. “What I did was necessary.”
Cantia stared at him, his angular features beneath the muted moonlight, and her heart began to pound. “Whatyoudid?” she repeated. “What do you mean?”
Dagan wouldn’t look over his shoulder at the carnage he had created. It was easier to pretend he was still an honorable knight if he didn’t see it.
“Charles Penden has presented me with a proposal that I have decided to accept,” he said. “You are to be my wife and, along with that, your property shall become mine. It is my intention to ransom the viscount’s daughter for Charles Penden’s release and your dowry, whereupon you, me, Charles and your son will be able to live quite comfortably anywhere we choose.”
Cantia stared at him. It began to occur to her that what happened was not a random attack from unseen bandits, but an enemy that had come from within. Dagan, the big, quiet knight she’d barely said two words to since she had met him, had turned and Charles Penden was at the heart of it. By hook, crook or magic, Charles had somehow bewitched the man to turn against her.Damn him!Furious, terrified, she snapped.
