He smiled, and thinking that standing was too much trouble, he crawled on his hands and knees to his sweet reward.
***
Lake had missed.
Her blade had failed to pierce his heart and caught the fleshy part of his shoulder instead. Rameses stepped back and hissed. He touched his wound, his fingers darkening with blood. He wiped them on his robe as he readied his stance for another attack. "You made the wrong choice. Like father like daughter; stupid must run in the family lines."
Lake stopped trying to control her fear. Panic had her breath coming in pants. She blinked to clear her eyes of water. She hoped they weren't wet because of tears.
In her mind's eye she saw Vonn. His blonde curls. Blue eyes. She saw her parents. Her father's wrinkled grin. Her mother's reddened, weathered hands.
She saw Hudson. His tussled brown hair. His eyes when he looked at her. The roughness of his jaw.
So sorry. She saw Hudson in his bed and what would happen when Rameses came for him. This time she knew her vision blurred from tears.
She gritted her teeth. Couldn't feel her arms. She needed both hands to steady her blade. When had her sword gotten so heavy?
Rameses moved as if part snake. Quick. Strike. Repeat. When had he gotten so fast? Another flash of his steel, a sharp pain in her wrist, and her sword went flying. She watched her blade fall to the ground, muddy water splashing in an upward ring.
"Onnn. Yooouuurrr. Kneeesss," Rameses said, his voice distorted. So loud, yet so far away.
Lake couldn't have remained standing if she wanted too. Her knees buckled. Water splashed in her mouth. She tasted dirt. Or was it defeat?
Watch the man, not his weapons. But she couldn't help it. His naked steel glowed red in the torch light. From blood? Had he wounded her? She didn't feel any pain. Soon she wouldn't even feel the cold.
He stepped to her side. His blade felt wet and cold as it rested along the back of her neck. Chills prickled her skin. Funny, she thought she was past that reflex. Out of the corner of her eye she watched his hand drag his sword across her flesh. The steel cut deep. She flinched from the sting. Her hair fell in wet clumps by her knees. Not the death blow then, just the mark.
"You've been marked for execution."
All part of the game. Rameses was a showman to the end. But she wouldn't let her parents' murderer be the last thought to fill her mind. She wouldn't close her eyes. She wouldn't let his voice be the last that she heard. In her mind she saw Hudson. This time his hair was black with rain. His shirt transparent and plastered to his skin. And he was running.
She smiled. So this was what a person saw before they died. She was glad it was Hudson who would lead her to the next place. Glad she didn't have to be alone. A robed figure stepped in front of her husband, sword in hand. It was only then, with a flash of dark iron and light steel, she noticed Hudson had his axe and his sword. The Elder went down in a crumple of fabric. Then another man attacked, but suffered the same fate—his fallen body merely an obstacle for Hudson to leap over.
Hudson's mouth moved. Had he screamed something or was it the thunder? She wanted to tell him something also. She wanted to tell him…what? That she was glad that it was over. Glad her fight was done. Vonn was safe. Hudson had been her reward.
Or that she was sorry?
Sorry, that he had gotten too close to her. Or that Rameses would have him killed. Or sorry that there hadn't been enough time for them.
Do it now. This was her chance. She tried to form the words, but her whole body was numb. Had her lips moved?
Then Rameses sword whistled through the air. And Hudson’s expression changed from rage to fear. It's all right. He raised his axe. Aimed. And threw it at her head.
Chapter Nine
"Nooooooo." His scream vibrated at the base of his skull and sounded down into his chest.
Never make it. Too far away. Not fast enough.
When he'd first ran out into the wet night and saw Lake on her knees, an Elder behind her, a sword at her neck, his world hazed red. The sky wept blood.
There was a moment when a robed man had tried to block Hudson's way. Fool. Hudson had pulled him in close, severed his hamstring and then his neck. The man went down, dead before he even hit the ground. Another man tried. Another sword swung. Another dead body to add to the count.
Then there was nothing between him and Lake.
Never make it.
He could see Lake's face, wet in the rain, blue eyes focused on him. The Elder with the sword raised his arm. In a flash of light, his blade sliced the back of her neck. Hudson stumbled.
"You've been marked for execution," said the Elder, his voice traveling on the wind.
Faster. Hudson was running. He had to be running, except everything was so slow and Lake was still too far away. He watched the clumps of her wet hair fall to the ground. A few strands floated on the puddle by her knees.
Her mouth formed words. Screw that. She would not say good-bye to him. He would not let her die. Not here. Not at the hands of some monster.
His gaze never left her eyes. He lifted his axe and threw.
***
Something warm sprayed Lake's cheek. She jerked her head up and blinked at Rameses' face split wide. An axe buried dead center. This was no vision.
Lake whipped back around. Hudson charged at her, naked steel in his hand, a warrior's cry on his lips. And this was no angel.
If Rameses weren't dead already, he would've been after Hudson separated his head from his body. Hudson wasted no time. He walked over, braced his boot against the lopped off head and recovered his axe. Then turned toward her.
His weapons were tightly gripped and ready at his sides. Gore splattered his shirt. His hair wept dark rivulets down his face. His lips were wet with blood.
Lake sat stunned. She was so sure she was going to die. So sure that stepping out of Hudson's house would've been the last thing she had done. She had no contingency plan. There was no after for her.
Hudson was by her side and raising her to her feet. His brown eyes were hooded and dark. Rage swarmed their depths, and for the first time she glimpsed at what men on the pointy side of his blade saw. She swallowed.
"Rule one. Never turn a lock against me."
She nodded, but had started to come out of her fog. Realizing they weren't out of danger, she grabbed her sword. She took up the position of guarding her husband's back, surprised at how easy it was to become his partner. "I thought rule number one was not to kill you?"
Men came at them from both sides. Lake readied her weapon, a reserve of adrenaline charging through her body.
"Consider rule number one to have both an A and B part to it."
Lake laughed, which sounded strange against the bass beat of war. Against the sound of men's screams, the clash of steel and the howl of dogs. Dogs?
Lake looked and saw the bared fangs of the hounds as they charged through the mud and rain. Hudson's men weren't far behind.
"About bloody time," Hudson muttered, as he pushed her aside and delivered her would-be attacker a death blow.
Only a handful of Elders remained standing. With their numbers greatly reduced and their leader dead, the call for retreat was sounded.
Of course, no one called off the hounds from hell.
The torches that hadn't been doused by the rain were quickly extinguished as they one by one were dropped to the ground. Lake was glad. She'd seen enough killing to last a lifetime. Besides, the screams and growls were more than sufficient.
A few of Hudson's men ran into the night to chase after the dogs. Most stayed by their master, a few still unsteady on their feet.
"Where the hell were you?" Hudson shouted.
A shorter man with dark features and straight black hair shrugged, though his face held the pale look of worry. "Sorry, Hudson. We're not sure what happened. One moment we were toasting to your Marking, and the next we woke to the sounds of battle."
"Rameses admitted to drugging the wine,"
Lake said. There was a cold burning on her arm. She looked down and saw a dark bloom spreading along her sleeve. "He followed the Marker to me. It was his plan to take me as his wife all along. He killed my parents because my father refused his suit in the first place. His raid for contraband had only been a convenient excuse."
"Then he was the one?"
She looked at Rameses and nodded.
"I'm so sorry," he said, putting his arm around her waist and leading her into the house. "I should've held him down while you ran him through with your sword."
Lake looked up at him. Maybe it was the exhaustion of the battle or simply the joy of living another day, but for the first time she realized the weight in her heart was gone. "No, I'm just glad he's dead."
"So am I."
Chapter Ten
A few weeks hadn't been enough time for the nightmares to totally fade. But it had been enough time to find comfort in Hudson's arms and learn to fall back asleep after the nightmares. There'd been a week when Lake had awakened, panic-stricken, by a hoot of an owl. It wasn't long afterwards Hudson had made sure to put owl stew on the menu. That had been the first night she'd slept the whole way through.
Life took on a certain rhythm that wasn't unpleasant. Animals needed to be taken care of. Land needed to be tended. Lake was glad for the busyness. It kept her from worrying about Vonn.
Lake was hunched over with a mare's hoof between her legs, cleaning out the grass and mud around the shoe. It was hard work, but at least summer had broken its hold and there was a hint of cooler weather that blew through the barn doors.
"Men!" a shout came from the outside.
Lake's hand was on the hilt of her sword before she was fully upright. But instead of running outside, she froze. Panic had her in its grip. Her hand covered her belly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to fight or to hide. For the first time she realized she had a choice.
Hudson had placed guards around his farm ever since the night Rameses had come. Knowing that killing Elders would bring repercussions, Hudson made sure his men were ready for danger. Whether he'd wanted to or not, Hudson had chosen his alliance.
"Men!"
So had she. In the end, everyone had to pick a side. In the end, she'd always choose to fight. But one thing had changed. She no longer had to fight alone. She smiled and walked outside.
Hudson was there waiting for her, a pair of binoculars in his hands. "They have the look of Rebels," he said, handing the binoculars to her.
She took them out of his hands and peered through. The sun was behind them as a group of men traversed the sandy landscape. There were rough looking men, all traveling on foot. Some were dressed in robes, but most wore the camouflaged uniforms of soldiers. Her gaze swept the faces of each man until she found the bald, reddened face of Grey Owl. Only then did she allow herself to hope. She let her gaze stray lower.
There, striding beside Grey Owl was a dirty-faced, towheaded little boy.
Lake lowered the binoculars and stared at the dark forms on the horizon. "It's Vonn," she whispered. And for a moment she didn't know if she should run toward her little brother or cry. In the end, she did both.
It was hours later, after Lake carried Vonn home, fed him, bathed him, then fed him again, and finally had him asleep in her bed that she went to sit with the men around the table.
"Thank you for bringing him home, Grey Owl," Lake said.
"A boy should be with his family," Grey Owl said, then looked to Hudson. "I just hope your husband considers him family."
Hudson nodded. "I will take care of whomever belongs to Lake. The boy will always have a place here."
"I thought as much. A man doesn't fight to get his wife back with that much passion unless he's in love." The older man smiled and rubbed his throat.
Lake stole a look at Hudson. He blushed, and she felt her own cheeks grow warm. They had never talked about love. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about it, but speaking those words to Hudson made more of a coward out of her then a group of men in hooded dress.
"I assume you have the formula." Grey Owl said, bringing Lake's attention back to the matter at hand.
"Of course." She got up and fetched the loose-leafed paper. "I wrote out the organic compound and also as much of the manufacturing process that I know. The ingredients I am confident about, but the amounts might need some tweaking."
Grey Owl took the paper and looked it over. Then he passed it to the soldier on his left who placed it in his vest pocket. "The work you've done is brilliant, and we all appreciate the sacrifices you've made. But I'm afraid we need to ask for one more. Most of the Rebellion is made up of common men, but we need men and women who've been formally educated. Your father worked for the Elders as a scientist. He taught you everything he knew. We need people like you if this Rebellion will ever succeed. Come to Dark Planet. Get the lab going. We will keep you safe and then bring you back here. A year or two at most. That's all we are asking."
Lake looked at Hudson then back at Grey Owl. "My place is here with my husband."
Hudson stood. "Men, if you would excuse us. I need a moment with my wife." He held out his hand toward her. "Lake?"
She followed as they walked out the front door. The night was clear showing off its thousands of jewels against a background of deep blue as the moon hung large bathing the desert in a ghostly white. There was a slight bite in the air, and Lake wondered how long they had until the desert heat gave way to cooler weather.
"You should go with them," Hudson said.
Lake sucked air in through her teeth as if she'd just been slapped. Before when they’d taken night walks they had strolled hand in hand. Now there was a wide distance between them.
"Really? Why?" Her throat felt thick, but swallowing hard didn't seem to help.
Hudson walked with his head down. His hands stuffed into his back pockets. "I've known for a long time that the Elders were corrupt. It came as no surprise to me that a rebellion sprang up. I just never wanted any part of it. But after Rameses came that night. After I saw you… I realized their reign of terror has to stop."
Lake nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. She was afraid her voice would break if she tried.
They stopped under a large mesquite tree that had become Lake's new favorite place. Over the past few weeks, Hudson and she would walk there almost every evening. They would discuss their day. Sometimes he would talk about his plans for the farm. Mostly she would just listen, still too cautious to believe she had a future to plan for. Then, more often than not, he'd lean her against the tree and they would kiss. Sweet kisses that tickled her neck and made her laugh. He'd told her he loved her laugh.
"Millions of lives are at stake. Not just the Rebels', but everyone's," Hudson said.
She didn't want to do this here. She didn't want him tainting some of the happiest memories of her life and sending her away here. But Hudson had leaned his back against the large trunk, not at all seeming to want to move.
"I've given you the best protection that I could. My name. Even on Dark Planet that should mean something. I meant what I said. Vonn will always have a place with me. He can stay or you can take him with you. Whatever you think is best."
Lake hugged herself tight, glad she was facing away from him. Why she felt like crying she had no idea. Well, she did have an idea, but she wasn't going to think about that now.
"Isn't this what you wanted, Lake? To fight for the Cause?"
She nodded. "No, I mean yes. Yes, it's what I wanted. But what about your land? Your men?"
Hudson laughed, but there was no joy. "Just let the Elders come and try to take my land. I guess I'm not as much of a rule follower as I thought."
"So you'll fight for the Rebellion?"
"I'll fight the best way I know how, by providing food for the soldiers and a safe refuge. The Rebellion needs more than armed men to win this war."
"I've pledged every breath, every beat of my heart to building a New Republic."
"I know.
Go change the world. If anyone can win this war you can."
"It's just that, I thought…if you wanted..." She turned toward him, but found she was having trouble looking him in the eye. She kicked at the dirt around an upraised root. "You said that you liked my laugh."
He smiled, though his eyes remained sad. "I do. I wish you'd do it more often."
She nodded. "I, ahh, I..."
Hudson scrubbed his palms over his face. "God, Lake, you're killing me. Just tell me what you want already."
"To stay here." She rushed the words, afraid she'd loose courage.
"Here?"
"I thought I could set up a lab here. I mean, if you are serious about helping the Rebellion. Maybe…maybe I wouldn't have to go."
His eyes warmed, reminding her of the soft dark things they did together in the quiet of the night. "Is that the only reason you want to stay? I'm not saying it isn't a good reason, but I just wanted… Is it the only reason, Lake?"
She looked in his eyes and shook her head. "No. It's that I can't pledge to the Rebellion what I no longer have."
He moved toward her, cupped her face. "Which is?"
"My heart."
"Then it's mine?"
She nodded. "You know what else? Sometimes, just sometimes, I think God can be good."
His lips hovered next to hers. "No, Lake. Sometimes God can be very, very good." And he kissed her.
Epilogue
Lake laid in the nook of Hudson's arm, relishing in the luxury of sleeping in past dawn. The mid-morning sun spilled brightly through the window. She snuggled deeper into her husband's side, not wanting her coveted time with him to end.
Her stomach growled signaling that she'd soon have to get up. Hudson placed a large hand over her rounded belly. "The baby's hungry."
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