Heart of the Dove

by Tina St. John

  He cupped her cheek in his palm, smoothing his thumb across her trembling lips. "I will manage."

  Moments stretched to agonizing lengths as Rand held her gaze in thoughtful silence. Serena wanted to plead with him to stay, but she knew he would not. His vengeance was all that mattered to him--had he not told her so, more than once? She knew nothing would hold him once he was ready to resume his journey.

  But she had hoped....

  "Take me with you." The words slipped from between her lips before she could bite them back. She said it softly, but once uttered, the thought was set in her mind. "Take me with you to Egremont, Rand."

  "Take you?" he echoed, disbelief lacing his deep voice. "I cannot do that, Serena. You wouldn't want me to, not really."

  "I do," she insisted. "You must."

  He frowned and drew away from her slightly. "You only ask this because you are angered with your mother. I expect I have only confused you further these past several days."

  Serena exhaled a sharp sigh. "I am not angry or confused. I ask you this because I know that what you've said about my life in these woods is true. I knew it before, although I did not wish to see it. The day is coming when this patch of forest will no longer be safe for my mother and me."

  She glanced around at the trees she knew so well, the unseen paths through the bracken, the shaded alcoves that could so easily hide trespassing hunters and other dangers from the outside. Once it had been curiosity that made her yearn to leave the grove. Now it was necessity, and a growing instinct that her sanctuary home was already breached and vanishing before her eyes.

  "You've said yourself, Rand, that I cannot stay here forever. Nor can I hope that others will stay out."

  "Going to town with me is not the best solution."

  "It is," Serena said resolutely. "I need to know what lies beyond the grove line, because after you are gone, I must be prepared to take my mother away from here and make a new life for us somewhere else. Mayhap I will have to make that life without her."

  Rand was staring at her dubiously, but he did not deny her outright.

  "Take me with you to Egremont. If you care anything for me, then give me this one boon, Rand. I can go alone, and I will, but I'd rather go with you."

  "I don't like it," he growled. "Neither will your mother."

  That much was true. Serena was loath to consider how her mother would react to this decision. But it had to be. "She will understand. She'll have to, for my mind is made up."

  * * *

  That next morning, Rand waited outside the cottage while Serena said her farewells to her mother. He listened for raised voices or tearful pleas for Serena to stay, but there was only quiet in the tiny abode. A pall of resignation settled over the place, punctuated by the slow opening of the door.

  Serena came out first, with her mother trailing a pace behind her, stoic and unreadable. Serena paused to give her mother a tight embrace. Calandra returned it, her arms lingering even after Serena drew away. Serena would be gone only a day or two at most, but the look in the elder woman's eyes said she feared her daughter would never return.

  "No harm will come to her while she is with me," Rand told the white-haired woman. "I will guard her with my life. I give you my vow, Serena will be safe."

  Calandra made no reply. With a defeated look in her daughter's direction, she then turned and disappeared back into the cottage in utter silence and closed the door.

  Chapter 17

  The town of Egremont held a charter for a mid-week market, which was fully under way when Rand and Serena entered on the main road into the square. Walking along at his side, her eyes wide with wonder, her gloved hands held clutched together before her, Serena gaped in unabashed delight at the dizzying spectacle of the town and its folk.

  Carts filled with vegetables, flowers, and complaining livestock lined the square from the street's wide entryway, to the small stone church at its heart. The aromas of roasting meat and fresh bread mingled on a pleasant breeze that blew up from the River Ehen, which cut a generous path through Egremont's southern end.

  There were hundreds of people gathered for the market, some dressed in colorful silks, others wearing fur and bossed leather as though garbed for a tourney feast more than a simple country fair. But these wealthy nobles were but a few of the folk strolling the street and bargaining for food and wares. Minor lords and free men were the ones who comprised the bulk of the market's patrons. They mobbed the rows of carts and stalls, haggling in earnest, the confusion of raised voices a wordless din of racket in the street.

  Rand guided Serena through the mass of churning bodies, noting her careful composure, and the protective way she held her gloved hands close to her body. There was a note of fear in her wide eyes, but it was amazement that danced in her eager expression.

  "'Tis so loud," she remarked, nearly having to shout to make herself heard above the cacophony. "And so full of people! Do they all live here in Egremont?"

  Rand shook his head. He had noticed the insignia of more than one noble house, and from the dress of a few, he guessed them to be travelers in from other parts of the realm.

  "Not all," he answered, taking her elbow and smoothly leading her away from a pit where a cockfight had drawn a number of bloodthirsty spectators.

  No one paid him any mind as he weaved through the knot of onlookers. For anyone chancing to note them, he and the plain-garbed beauty at his side were all but unremarkable. Arriving in town with no mount beneath him, no weapon strapped to his hip, Rand could have been taken for a pilgrim or a pauper, so long as no one looked close enough to see the battle-ready glint in his warrior gaze as he glanced about the busy market. His commoner's attire of aged tunic, ill-fitting hose, and worn boots were no hindrance. It was better to blend in with the rest of the simple folk in the bustling square than to call attention to himself and Serena. More beneficial to his cause to watch from the shadows of the street than to parade about like one of the strutting, raucous knights he used to be.

  A group of such men had just rode into the main thoroughfare, the five of them coming from the direction of a hill road that led down from a castle perched above the town. They wore red and silver, colors matching the pennant that flew atop the castle's highest tower, their surcoats stitched with three argent bars of crimson, their lord's heraldic emblem. Laughing, trading shouted jests with one another over the pound of their horses' hooves, the knights cantered past Rand and Serena in a cloud of yellow dust. One of them, a lanky youth who looked not a year past his dubbing, swept up his visor and tossed an arrogant sneer to the townsfolk as they rushed to get out of the way of the knights' approach.

  The lad had a hook nose and snaggled front teeth, and all the prideful idiocy of his tender age. Brandishing a polished length of steel that had likely never tasted another's blood, he whooped a drunken war cry.

  "Stand aside, ye beggarly cottars! Lord Thomas de Moulton's garrison is in need of strong ale and willing wenches!"

  One of the other knights chuckled over his shoulder at his foolish companion. "'Tis ale and wenches for you today, Eldrich. Tomorrow 'twill be vomit in your throat and a piss pot in your arms!"

  The retinue passed in a loud clatter of gear and good humor, oblivious to all but their own immediate wants. Serena shrank closer to Rand, her gloved fingers clutching his arm in an anxious hold while the group of market-goers moved off to resume their business. The knights, meanwhile, had dismounted at the alehouse, and disappeared inside.

  "Is that what it was like for you one time?" she asked as they fell into step among the crowd. "Was it laughter and friendship and ale and wenches for Sir Randwulf of Greycliff?"

  He smiled, recalling his own arrogant youth. "It was much the same. But it was a long time ago that I earned my spurs as a knight--before Greycliff came into my holding with my father's passing. I was no less a fool than those simple men, however. Glad for my sword and a good long day of riding, provided it ended with a tankard of fine drink in my hand."r />
  "And a willing wench as well?" she prodded, teasing him with a sideways glance as she strolled along beside him.

  He gave a shrug and grinned back at her. "That, too."

  They passed the busiest section of the market square, and moved toward the stalls that offered metals of both precious and practical uses. Rand paused before a portly vendor whose jowly neck was ringed with gold chains. Spread out before the merchant and displayed on the table atop a swatch of linen was a collection of smooth polished gemstones in hues of smoky brown, richest green, and pale yellow. Beside them, sparkling gold rings and chains of varying thickness glittered in the afternoon sun.

  Serena gasped as her eyes lit on the precious jewelry and stones. "Rand, look at these! Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"

  The vendor gave Rand an enterprising smile, clearly pleased with Serena's open admiration of his wares and likely already counting his profits.

  She started to comment further on the collection of baubles, but as she looked to Rand, her gaze dipped and she saw that he held Elspeth's pendant in his hand. Her expression was questioning, rather sad. She gave a small shake of her head.

  "Rand, you can't mean to sell it."

  "It's all right," he said, fisting the gold chain and filigreed heart in his palm. "I am ready to part with it. I need coin for passage to Scotland, and a sword if I can find a good one at a fair price."

  He turned to the man in the vendor's stall. "A fine collection," he said, then placed Elspeth's pendant on the table. "Have you any interest in adding this piece to it?"

  The merchant stroked his pink cheeks, his thin mouth turned down as he lifted the necklace to inspect it. He did not appear overly impressed.

  "The chain is broken, but it's gold, as is the pendant."

  A disinterested grunt was the only immediate response from behind the table. Finally, the man blew out a sigh that reeked of garlic and shook his head. He let the pendant slide off the ends of his stubby fingers onto the linen-covered table. "Fifteen shillings."

  Rand bit back the oath that rose to his lips. "Too low. I paid more than that years ago when I bought it in London."

  "Aye, well, this isn't London," the vendor informed him with a smug look.

  Rand considered snatching the pendant back. He also considered grabbing the fat little man by his velvet overtunic and shaking loose from his jangling purses what the necklace was truly worth. But he needed whatever he could get, and so he held his tongue and his bruising temper.

  Beside him, he saw Serena fidget, but knew not what she was doing until her ungloved hand reached out to clamp lightly on the seller's hairy wrist. The man looked down, frowning at the unseemly contact, but Serena's smile was sweetly innocent, and it took only an instant for his expression to relax into a leering male appreciation.

  "This pendant is exquisite. Surely 'tis worth a bit more than what you've offered?"

  He sputtered, now looking to Rand in reproach. "What manner of man allows a woman to bargain on his behalf?"

  "This one," Rand replied, watching Serena's gaze sharpen with the Knowing. "How much is it worth?"

  "Twenty shillings," the vendor answered tersely. He wrenched his wrist out of Serena's easy hold, rubbing his skin where her fingers had gripped him. "I'll not pay a farthing more than that."

  "He can get thirty-five when he takes his wares to Liverpool next month," Serena advised Rand as she slyly turned away from the table and slipped her glove back on.

  "I'll take no less than thirty-three," Rand told him. "Or mayhap I should try my luck in Liverpool. No doubt I would get fairer treatment there."

  "What--" The man muttered something foul under his breath, eyeing Serena narrowly as she casually stepped away to peruse a different stall of goods. He dropped a purse heavy with coin on the table and yanked it open, counting out a sum. He slammed the silver down and glowered at Rand. "Very well. Thirty-three it is. Take it and be gone."

  "My thanks," Rand said, retrieving his money and saluting the grousing vendor with a courtly bow of his head.

  When he caught up to Serena, she was smiling with total satisfaction.

  "That was rather foolish of you, my lady."

  She waved him off, unconcerned. "I just wanted to help you."

  "Well, do not."

  She turned to him now, a serious look in her eyes. "I'd like to help you, Rand."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I was able to get you the coin you needed. Mayhap the Knowing can be useful to you in some other way--"

  "No." He shook his head. "No, don't even think it, Serena. I've already involved you too far--all the worse, now that I've brought you here to Egremont. I will not let you be a part of this. Not in any way."

  "I am a part of it." She lifted her hand and placed it against his cheek. The leather was cool and soft on his skin, her gaze tender but determined. "I'm a part of it, because I care what happens to you. Don't you see that?"

  He was about to argue that he would not permit her to help him specifically because he cared about her as well, but then a coarse shout brought his head up at once.

  "My God! Someone help me--ah, Christ!"

  The panicked cry sounded from somewhere nearby, followed by a shriek of pure terror. Something about it cut straight through to Rand's marrow, raising his hackles in dread.

  "Stay here," he ordered Serena, moving her to the side of an overflowing flower cart near the edge of the street, out of the milling crowd. He took her slim shoulders in his hands, holding her firmly. "Wait for me, do you understand? Do not move!"

  She swallowed hard, nodded her head in compliance.

  Rand took off at once. Some of the townsfolk had begun to rush toward the scene as well. He shoved through the center of them, his battle instincts on alert. He rounded the alehouse, which dumped him into the head of a narrow alleyway. A young knight stood before him, panting, clearly frightened out of his wits. It was the snaggle-toothed lad he'd seen riding into the town square a short while ago. His companions must have just arrived to his aid as well, for he was rushing to explain his alarm and taking a good beating for his cry of panic.

  "Well, what was it, lad--a man or a wolf?"

  "Aye, Eldrich! 'Tis not hard to tell the two apart, after all--even in yer drunken state!"

  "'Twas a wolf that attacked me!" he insisted.

  One of the older knights calmed the others with a low whistle. "This is a town full of people, lad. Would no one notice a beast such as you say traipsing through the streets in broad daylight?"

  "I know what I saw, Gervaise! I was taking a piss, an' when I turned around, the man who'd been sleeping right there" --he pointed to a shadowed corner of the alley-- "was gone, and a beast was standing there as you are now. 'Cept, he was slavering and growling, not gaping at me like ye fools."

  The knights traded glances, then burst into chortling laughter. "Have another tankard, Eldrich. Mayhap you'll see a dragon next time you come out to water the alley."

  "I'm telling ye the truth, ye addled sots! I chased it off with my sword--the beast would've killed me for certes, had I not given him a taste of my blade!"

  "Aye, of course he would've," gibed another of the men. "Come along, then, our great beastmaster. Ye can buy us each a cup back inside and tell us all about it."

  The group of knights moved on, but Eldrich stayed for a moment, looking up at the dozen faces that now watched him in a mixture of disbelief and guarded scorn. One old woman braved a snort of laughter under her breath before her husband led her away. Soon the others left, too, and it was just Rand and the young knight standing in the empty alleyway.

  "I'm not lying," Eldrich said with sullen conviction. "I'm not so drunk that I don't know what I saw."

  "I believe you."

  He glanced up, surprise flashing in his drink-glazed eyes. "Ye do?"

  Rand nodded. "This wolf--was it black-furred, immense?"

  "Aye!" Eldrich confirmed. "As big as you, I wager. Nay, bigger!"

 
"Which way did it go?"

  "I cannot say. It ran off when I yelled for help. I went after it--to the end of the building there--but when I looked, there was no sign of it in either direction."

  Rand understood at once, knowing it was part of the beast's skill that he could hide in plain sight, vanishing into a crowd in nary a blink of movement. God's love, but it might have passed Serena and him in the street not a moment ago.

  "And you injured it, you said?"

  At this the knight puffed out his chest. "I am one of Lord Thomas de Moulton's knights, sirrah, a proud defender of Castle Egremont. I am expertly trained with my weapon, and my aim is true. That beast will not survive the night--wherever it may have fled to."

  Rand doubted the prediction, but he said nothing to dampen the youth's pride, ale-soaked as it was. He had greater concerns at present. His thoughts were already speeding toward a dread that had naught to do with the stripling knight before him.

  The wolf sighting in town was a bad sign, for the large black animal that Eldrich described was no mere rogue predator, venturing into human terrain. It was no animal at all, leastwise not in the sense that fools like Eldrich would understand. Animals such as these were none that naturally trod this earth. Rand had seen the like himself--at Greycliff the night of the attack, and on the ship that would have carried him to Scotland. And he knew the nature of the beasts well enough to be certain that where there was one, there would undoubtedly soon be more.

  "I've a mind to go after it and finish the bloody mongrel off. I wager I'd look as fine as any lord, riding into battle with a wolfskin cloak around my shoulders," boasted Eldrich, flashing his crooked leer as he sheathed his weapon. He sniffed arrogantly as he brushed past Rand without another word, heading back into the alehouse to join his companions.

  As for Rand, more and more he was regretting his decision to let Serena accompany him to Egremont. If Silas de Mortaine's shapeshifter sentries were in the area, then they had to be on the trail of the Dragon Chalice as well. Their villainous overlord could not be far behind them.