He nodded and I explained to Lance we might have left Galahad to face his enemies with no one to protect him but Morgan and Valla. That made Lance begin to run.
We raced through the torrid streets and suddenly there were no friendly faces. Every man, woman and child looked to me like the darkest spawn of evil determined to stop me from reaching Galahad. We ran into the street containing our lodgings and I already knew we were too late. Far too late. Screams from the women, shouting from the men, frenetic activity around the entrance.
Lance and I shared no words, none were necessary. We raced up the shallow steps, almost flew through the crowds, barging our way between sweating bodies and on toward the stairs.
Blood.
I saw blood on the stairs.
I saw Morgan’s crumpled body at the top.
I saw blood on the walls.
I saw the bodies of men I didn’t know, littering the hall.
Lance bent to Morgan. “She’s alive,” he said. I ran past them and on to Galahad’s room. The door lay in shattered pieces. Bits of people were all over the floor. Aleah...
How could so much blood come from someone so small?
Her head lay back at an angle not quite possible unless the throat isn’t closed, isn’t whole, isn’t in one bit... I saw inside Aleah’s slim and beautifully smooth neck. Not an image I ever wanted. There were parts of bodies that didn’t belong to her scattered about.
I approached the bed, walking through washes of blood, and knelt beside the tiny creature who had never looked this small in life. I placed a hand behind her head and lifted it slightly, closing the deep and draining wound. Her eyes were clouding already, but her skin remained warm and blood still trickled.
“Oh, gods,” Lance said from behind me. “Is she?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. I rose and turned. “Morgan?”
“Here,” she called out.
“Valla?”
“Here,” her voice sounded painful and breathless.
I walked to the door. “Reports,” I said.
Morgan pushed herself off a wall, her black hair snaking out of the braid. Blood splattered her face and clothes, her knuckles were sore from fighting and blood trickled from a scalp wound. Another on her arm bled more profusely and she held her ribs. Valla sat on the ground beside her, more bloody, more wounded.
“We were preparing to leave to take Aleah to her people. She didn’t want Valla and I as guards, we are women and that wouldn’t go down well. Galahad argued he couldn’t guard her properly alone and they started to argue about you leaving for some man,” she said. Her eyes didn’t focus well and words slurred. I realised she was going into shock.
I approached her slowly and carefully reached for her shoulders. She looked up at me. “It’s alright, Morgan, you’ve done so well, but this has only just happened and I don’t see Galahad.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Valla and I heard them coming, so many feet. The same feet as on the Echo.”
“They were the same type of soldiers?” I asked.
“They could have been the same soldiers,” she said. “Exactly the same. They were silent until they started to die. Valla and I shouted a warning. Galahad came out and so many died, but he...” She took a deep breath. “He was overwhelmed. He was amazing, Holt. He fought like a demon. Like our father. My father...” she whispered. “I miss him so much.” The tears started to fall.
“Just a little more, Morgan,” I said gently. “What happened to Galahad?”
“They took him,” she said. “They brought him down, Aleah started to fight and one of them... One of them...”
“Is Galahad alive?” I asked more brutally.
Valla spoke in a weak voice. “He’s alive. They hurt him badly but he was alive when they tied him and dragged him out. He yelled at us. We are not to go after him. He will survive The Lady.”
Air hissed out of Lance. “We have to go after him.”
I nodded but glanced into the room behind me at Aleah’s body. I crouched beside Valla. “Are you going to be alright?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Broken ribs, that’s what’s hurting,” she said.
“We have to go. The others will be back when they have Severus,” I said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Morgan’s kept busy and away from that room,” Valla said, glancing at her lover. “Go, Holt. Get him back.”
I nodded, rose and pulled Lance after me.
I found the man who’d given us the room and grabbed him by the front of his robes. He babbled in his native language for a moment before I shook him and told him to speak Common.
“That way, they went east when they left,” he said, pointing. “Who is going to pay for the damage? Who is going to pay to clean the blood up?”
I dropped him without comment and we ran from the building.
“They’ll have horses,” Lance said, matching me stride for stride.
“We need to get to Habib, get our horses back,” I said.
“But he is west, they’ve gone east.” He had a point, so we ran east and I hoped we’d find horses on the way.
“Once I have their trail I’ll be able to track them and if I can’t, the wolves will,” I said. I could track a snake in the desert so I was damned certain I could follow Galahad and the dozen or more men it must have taken to bring him down.
While we moved through the stiflingly hot streets I noted people’s reactions to us and knew we were going the right way. They were excited, as if seeing something strange and violent, behaving like an ant’s nest poked by a stick wielding child. We raced on, through the traders, the bargain hunters, the thieves and the hawkers. While we ran and struggled in the crowds I kept thinking about Galahad’s desperation for my forgiveness. My anger with him, so petty and childish. His prejudices, the head fearing what the heart wanted, and his death grip on them. I imagined his last words to Aleah, his young and spirited bride. He would mourn her – we all would when we had time. She didn’t deserve to die because of Camelot’s politics and The City’s desire for a new king.
“There!” Lance shouted. He pointed outward and down.
I squinted against the sun and saw them. Fifteen horses, with fifteen men mounted. One horse with a body thrown over the back. They were below us, the city of Larz tumbling down a hillside at this point and spilling toward the huge lake Severus spoke of the night we ate together.
“A lake,” I whispered in shock. “Why didn’t I think of it when he said..? Why didn’t I consider the implications of being so close to an inland mass of water? This is my fault.”
“Holt, if we get to those horses they’ve left we have a chance,” Lance said. I glanced at him.
“Against fifteen men? Not even my father would be so reckless.”
“But Lancelot would be,” Lance said.
That was enough. It was all we needed. We were the sons of heroes. We’d have fought demons from the depths of damnation if we had to and so we ran. We ran through the streets, the shanty town still tightly packed but now only residential, and we reached the horses left by dead guards belonging to The Lady.
A brief fight with the man who now thought he owned them and Lance explaining with his sword that he didn’t, saw us mounted on two good quality animals. I leaned over the neck a fine black gelding and went from stop to gallop in one. The tracks were easy to follow and we made good time, racing through fertile lands farmed by small-holders and bordering a river toward the lake.
The lake became more and more prominent and I knew we were gaining on the dust cloud ahead, so urged my poor beast into greater speed. The road dipped suddenly and the one thing I hadn’t expected reared up before us.
A vast stone circle at the lake’s edge, far closer than I’d anticipated due to the natural geography of the land. It shimmered with activity and the men were forcing their horses into the water so they could access the gate. I saw the chestnut holding the slumped body of my friend, my bonded companion, and I screamed his name
.
Galahad’s dark head rose, blood covered his face. He called out to me, fighting the ropes binding his wrists to the girth of the saddle. He fought like a wild animal and screamed curses. I galloped into the water just as he vanished into the haze of the circle. Four men turned to stop me following but I lashed out with my own weapon, cutting down two before they really understood it was over.
The shimmering haze vanished.
Galahad was gone. I killed another soldier from habit and rage. Lance took the last. I forced my exhausted mount further into the lake and the stone circle, to find nothing – not even the residue of power. Lance and I were men of Camelot, we could spend a thousand years in this spot and not be able to open it to find The Lady.
I screamed at the sky.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
The ride back was long, hot and miserable. I was angrier than words could possibly express. Lance remained silent, recognising the Pendragon temper I usually controlled with more ease than my father ever demonstrated.
When we reached the place we’d found the horses I took all of them, they were well trained and meekly came with me, ten in total. Galahad and the girls had killed ten soldiers, injuring more; I’d seen those who leaned badly in their saddles on the race for the lake. The lake. I wanted to take Morgan’s advice and start draining all of them so I could flush the bitch out. Why had Morgana and Lancelot not done just that? Why hadn’t they murdered her years before and simply taken Galahad back as a boy? Why had they handed him over? Because of some fey deal? The insanity of it made me want to scream. Again.
By the time we reached the area near our lodging my thoughts turned once more. What would The Lady do to Galahad? Would she make him suffer because of me? Would she know we’d been lovers? What would be the consequences and how would they change him?
Now we were on horseback people melted away from us and it made our progress easy. We reached our lodging and for a moment I didn’t know what to do. Were there stables in this place? I glanced at Lance.
“I’ll sort it,” he said quietly. “Go and check on the others.”
“Thank you.” I dismounted easily.
“Holt?” he called out.
I turned back to him. “What is it?”
“We’ll get him back, you know that, don’t you?” Lance’s hazel eyes were determined.
“I know,” I said. “We have no choice. I’m just not certain where to go from here.”
“Check on the others and between us we’ll come up with a plan. We are your people, King of Camelot, we will be with you until the end,” he said.
I touched his leg, the muscles solid, and nodded my thanks for his belief. When I went into the building things were calmer. I could also see Severus and his sister sitting at a table. The desperation over losing Galahad eased the moment I laid my eyes on Severus’ battered body. He clearly couldn’t breathe well, and his bruised face looked painful, but he was alive. Nim appeared with something for them to drink, arriving from what must be the kitchen. Apparently my people were taking over the premises.
All eyes turned to me when they noticed me coming toward them. Nim’s expression was hopeful, Severus’ worried. His sister, Lil, looked scared.
I walked to Severus, knelt before him, and looked up only slightly into his green eye – the brown one didn’t look good. “How are you?” I asked him.
“I am so sorry,” Severus whispered.
“This is not your fault, my friend. You’ve already paid a heavy price for my company,” I said.
His hand, still trembling and heavily bandaged, reached for my face. Tears stood in his eye. “I would have done anything to protect you, my Golden Warrior. I am so sorry.”
I turned my head and kissed the bandaged palm. “It’s alright, Severus. You are safe now,” I told him. I rose and looked at his sister. Blood still covered her and her eyes were very large.
“Hello,” I said.
She didn’t look any more than fourteen or fifteen winters old. Her hair, much of it in disarray, was curlier than Severus’ and held back in a series of ties. Her skin was slightly darker and both eyes were brown but she was a pretty little thing.
“Hello,” she said meekly. “I am very sorry,” she said slowly in Common. “I was scared for my brother.” Her hand flexed on his shoulder.
“It’s alright, Lil. It’s my fault.”
Nim sat down, almost faint by the appearance of her skin colour. “You don’t have Galahad back?”
“No, but I know who does have him. How are the others?” I asked her.
“Nest is with Morgan, I’m too exhausted. Severus here took a great deal, he was badly hurt and we had to make him able to walk,” she said. “Kerwin is dealing with Aleah’s... Kerwin and Valla...” She suddenly burst into tears.
I moved to her side instantly. The women had been so strong and brave on this insane journey that I’d begun to think of them as knights – not young women who’d lost everything with the death of their parents. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, lifting her so I could embrace her completely, and she sobbed.
“It’s alright, little sister, we’ll find him, bring him home,” I whispered.
“But what will she do to him?” Nim wailed against my chest.
Severus stared at me. “Who are you?” he asked. “They kept asking me about a king. A king of a place called Camelot.”
“That’s me,” I said. “The King of Camelot and this is my little sister. Who would have done the same as Lil if they were beating me to find the Prince of Albion.”
“Galahad?” he asked breathlessly.
“Galahad,” I said.
“Oh, gods, what have I done to you?” he asked. The horror in his face made the paranoia about the possibility of Severus being a plant like Torvec, dissolve.
“It wasn’t your fault either,” I reassured him. “But I am going to have to do something about it.”
“He’s a king,” Severus muttered, brushing the back of his head with his right hand repeatedly. “Of course he’s a king. Why wouldn’t he be...” the muttering continued. I glanced at Lil who looked horrendously uncomfortable.
“Is he alright?” I asked her.
She grabbed her brother’s right wrist to try to prevent the stroking. Severus moaned slightly. “He’s... special...” she said quietly.
“Holt!” Morgan called from the stairs. “Galahad?”
The others were trying to coax her to calm down but her blue eyes, like her mother’s, were too bright.
“I’m sorry, Morgan. I didn’t get there in time,” I said.
Fury replaced hope. “Didn’t get there,” she growled. “Aleah is dead because you went off to protect that...” her words escaped her but her eyes bored holes into Severus who sat with his back to Nim’s sister.
“Morgan, that’s not fair,” Nim said. “We didn’t know there would be soldiers waiting to take Galahad, how could we? Holt did the best he could, you know how he feels about your brother.”
‘Your brother’ not ‘our brother’. Nim was taking sides against her sister; this could become complicated and wouldn’t end well.
“Come down, Morgan. I need your help and the others, we have to work out what to do to get him back,” I said.
“I saw them take him,” she said, her rage vanishing under an onslaught of fear for her brother. “He fought like a god.”
“I have no doubt he did,” I said. “Come, help me.”
She held on to the wooden banister and arrived beside me quietly. The others watched from the top of the stairs, Kerwin wiping blood off his hands, Nest supporting a wobbly Valla.
“I thought we were going to die,” she whispered. “You weren’t here. He... He ordered us not to let you come after him. He said... He said we must protect you. He loves you so much, Holt.” Her chin wobbled and her blue eyes swam with tears. “I was so scared. My father wouldn’t have been scared. Galahad wasn’t.”
I put my arm around her shoulder and Nim grabbed her
hand. Morgan sobbed against my chest just as her sister had moments before. I cradled both girls and whispered to them words of comfort. Nim soon left the comfort of my embrace for Lance’s, which is how it should be, and Morgan calmed quickly.
“I’m sorry, Severus. My words were cruel,” she said.
“You owe me nothing, my Lady. I am sorry for your troubles and I will do all I can to make reparation.”
“It looks as though you’ve tried that already,” Morgan said, looking at the damage.
We sat around the large table and I explained what I’d seen at the lake. Lance said he had the horses stabled nearby.
Morgan grunted. “I should go down there and open the portal.”
“No,” I said firmly. “I know you understand the theory and you’ve done it with your mother but no, I’ll not risk you to such insanity. It’s huge and it’s in the lake, who knows where it leads and there is no guarantee you’ll be able to control it. Galahad would never forgive me if I allowed you to try.”
“It’s what I’m trained for,” Morgan argued. “What use am I if I can’t do this? I wasn’t any good at keeping Aleah alive.”
Valla’s hand crept over Morgan’s. “It wasn’t your fault. We are lucky you are alive. We are lucky that either of us is alive. We did our best.”
“Valla’s right,” I said. “And if,” I emphasised the ‘if’, “we do use a portal we make damn sure we know where it opens and that it is land locked.”
“He’s right, Morgan,” Valla said. “You are no less brave than your brother, but Holt has more experience than either of you, let him be your guide.”
“So what do we do instead?” Morgan asked.
I looked at Lance and Kerwin. Lance said, “We return to Camelot. There is no point in running any longer. We were only doing this to protect Galahad. He’s gone so we need allies to get him back.”
“I agree,” Kerwin said.
I glanced at Nest. “Yes,” she said. She looked exhausted from helping the injured.
I nodded. “Unless we have a reason not to, that’s the plan, we move north. I’d love to know how The Lady knew we were here though,” I said. Everyone shrugged. With fey that powerful there could be countless ways, running was always going to be difficult but fighting would be worse. However, she hadn’t left me much choice. “We need supplies and a guide that can take us on a more direct route than the one we used to get here. With Aleah gone we have nothing to give to this place. We cannot fight her cause for her, but we will not forget her or her people. When this is over we’ll do something in her memory and destroy her brother.”
The Du Lac Legacy (Sons of Camelot Book 2) Page 21
