“What’s happened?” Ben asked Homer.
“Enzo took Imogen’s baby and gave it to the priest.”
Ben stood there, stunned by what he’d just learned, trying to process exactly what it meant, but unable to make sense of it for lack of information. He felt like he was missing something, some vital understanding that would make everything clear.
“Imogen, look at me,” Cyril said. “When did this happen?”
“Two days ago,” she said, wiping her nose and sniffing back fresh tears.
“How old is your child?”
“He’s only eight weeks. He needs me.”
Cyril clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “What did Enzo say when he took him?”
“He said everything would be all right, that we could always have another baby.”
Cyril closed his eyes and turned away, taking a few aimless steps before coming full circle to face his daughter again. “This is very important,” he said. “I need you to tell me exactly how you felt before he came to take your baby, how you felt while he was taking the child, and how you felt after he’d left with him.”
She frowned, her brow furrowing deeply as realization seemed to creep into her mind.
“Before, I was happy, all the time. But looking back at it now, it seems almost like a dream—like I could only see the good things. When he told me he was taking our son, I didn’t understand at first. And then I did. It felt like something broke inside of me. All of the love I had for Enzo vanished in an instant and was replaced with revulsion. I never even liked him. I’m not sure why I married him.” She looked up at her father helplessly. “What’s happening to me?”
Cyril pulled a chair in front of his daughter and sat down, taking her hands in his.
“None of this is your fault,” he said. “You’ve been under a spell.”
John’s head snapped from the window to Imogen in an instant, anger and hope in his eyes, though he remained silent.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“I should have seen it,” Cyril said, shaking his head and closing his eyes. “When he first started courting you, your disinterest was blindingly obvious. But then, very suddenly, you fell for him. I talked myself into believing that he’d won you over. But he hadn’t. Instead, he’d made a deal with the devil, and your baby was the price.”
“What will they do to my son?” she whispered.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think he’s in any immediate danger.”
Cyril went to the window, staring off into the distance, lost in thought.
John glanced at Imogen. Seeing her face in her hands again, he put a hand on Cyril’s shoulder.
“I’ve heard stories—”
“I know,” Cyril whispered, holding John with his eyes.
He nodded, turning back to the window.
“So what are we going to do?” Ben blurted into the uncomfortable silence.
Cyril turned to face his grandson, as if noticing his presence for the first time. His face went from hard to gentle. “We’re going to get Imogen’s baby back.”
She looked up, hope mingling with tears in her eyes for a brief moment before despair overcame her again.
“The priest is too powerful. He has magic and a whole company of Dragon Guard. We wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”
“Not if we fight fair,” Cyril said.
“Time’s up,” John said, picking up his bow and throwing his quiver over his shoulder. “Your husband is here, and he’s got half a dozen men with him.”
“Do you still have your pistol?” Cyril asked.
John shook his head, his eyes never leaving Enzo. “I stashed it outside the markers after the Dragon Guard burned out Old Man Johnson for refusing to give up his shotgun.”
Cyril nodded, looking out the window at his unwelcome son-in-law. He turned abruptly and went into his bedroom. A few moments later he returned with a bundle wrapped in leather. Ben could do little more than blink when Cyril unrolled it onto the table, revealing two identical swords, complete with scabbards and belts. He handed one to Ben, then took the other for himself, strapping it easily around his waist.
Ben drew the blade. It was light and sharp—the pale grey metal just slightly iridescent.
John whistled. “Tech metal—nice.”
“This has the same weight and balance as my practice sword,” Ben said, testing the weapon against the air before him. “I mean, exactly the same.”
There was a loud banging on the front door.
“I know you’re in there,” Enzo yelled. “And I know you have my wife. Give her back to me and I won’t report you to the Dragon Guard.”
Imogen bolted to her feet and stomped to the window, her face going red with fury. She fumbled with the lock for a moment before throwing it open.
“I hate you!” she screamed. “And I’m not your wife anymore!”
“Oh darling, I know this is hard for you,” Enzo said. “Come home with me and I’ll make it all better. We’ll have another baby. Everything will be like it was. I promise.”
“Nothing will ever be the same again.”
“You are my wife,” he said, an edge in his voice. “You belong to me. Remember your oath? Remember the words you spoke in front of the priest? You can’t take those words back—not ever. You’re bound to me, if not by love, then by law. Only death can sever that.”
“That can be arranged,” John said, drawing an arrow and nocking it.
“Stay out of this, Highwayman,” Enzo said. “With the Dragon Guard patrolling the roads, your standing is falling fast. You’d do well to look to your own future instead of meddling in my marriage.”
Cyril looked down at Gervais. “My daughter doesn’t want to see you right now. It would be best if you left.”
“That’s not going to happen, old man. She’s coming with me if I have to break your door down and tie her to a horse.”
“That would be a mistake, Enzo. Give her time to calm down. We can talk about this tomorrow.”
“No! She’s coming home with me now.”
“I’ll never go back there with you,” Imogen said.
“Just come home with me,” Enzo said, his demeanor going from angry to caring in an instant. “We’ll go see the priest. He’ll make things like they were. You can be happy again.”
“Never!” she shouted.
“You heard her,” Cyril said. “It’s time for you to leave.”
“I will have my wife,” Enzo said. “And you can’t stop me.”
“I can try,” Cyril said.
“There’s only two of you. I have six men. You don’t stand a chance. Give her back and no one will get hurt.”
Ben stepped up to the window.
Enzo chuckled, looking to one of his men. “Oh shit, they have a boy, too.”
His men laughed.
“Last chance,” Enzo said.
“It’s funny you should say that,” Cyril said. “I was about to make you the same offer.”
Enzo shook his head and motioned toward the door.
At the sound of glass breaking, Cyril bolted for the stairs. “Remember your lessons,” he said to Ben without slowing.
John followed right behind him.
Chapter 4
Ben hesitated, but only for a moment before following John down to the first floor. By the time he reached the front of the store, his grandfather was facing off against a large man holding an axe handle.
“What are you going to do, old man?” the man said, swinging his club at Cyril’s sword in an attempt to disarm him.
Ben had sparred with his grandfather a thousand times, but always with wooden swords, and always without any hint of anger. This was something else.
Cyril dropped the point of his blade, allowing the axe handle to pass down in front of him without resistance. The momentum pulled the man off-balance and left him with his arm across his body. Cyril whipped his blade around and stabbed him in the shoulde
r, eliciting a cry of pain and causing him to drop his club. His sudden anger turned to fear when he saw the bloody tip of Cyril’s sword not six inches from his face. Cyril walked him backward, crowding the men behind him out into the front yard.
“You’ll pay for this, old man,” Enzo shouted past his men.
Ben saw one of the thugs coming around the side of the store and quickly locked the door, backing away when the man started trying to break it down. Then he heard the distinctive twang of a bowstring followed by a wail of pain. John had sent an arrow over Cyril’s shoulder and into Enzo’s archer, dropping the man to his knees before he could loose an arrow at Cyril.
“The next man to attack will die,” Cyril said.
In that moment, Ben realized that these wouldn’t be the first men his grandfather had killed.
“He can’t take you all!” Enzo yelled to his men. “Attack!”
His men didn’t move. A few of them glanced back at Enzo like he was crazy.
“Why don’t you step forward, Enzo?” Cyril said. “Fight your own battle instead of hiring others to do it for you.”
“I have him,” John said, bowstring drawn to his cheek. “Just say the word.”
“You’ve lost, Enzo,” Cyril said. “You can either leave right now, or my friend will put an arrow through you.”
“You’re not paying me enough for this shit,” one of his men said, sheathing his knife and taking a step back. Others murmured in agreement. Uncertainty flickered across Enzo’s narrow face.
A moment later, the sound of galloping horses reached them, and his arrogance returned in full force. “You’re mistaken, old man,” Enzo said triumphantly. “You’re the one who’s just lost everything.”
Dominus Nash and six Dragon Guard rode into the yard, trailing another of Enzo’s henchmen. The guardsmen drew their dragon-fire rifles as they spread out to surround everyone.
Nash reined in her horse and scanned the scene. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Cyril holding a blade stained with blood. “Weapons down or burn,” she said.
Cyril nodded, slowly laying his sword on the ground.
John leaned his bow against the wall.
“Dominus,” Enzo said with a subservient bow, “I’m here to retrieve my wife. Her father is holding her against her will.”
“That’s a lie!” Imogen said, pushing past Cyril and into the yard. “I came home to get away from him.” She pointed at Enzo as if she were accusing him of murder.
“And these men?” Nash motioned to the two wounded thugs.
“Victims of an unwarranted attack,” Enzo said, easing his horse closer to Nash. “I just want my wife back. She was kidnapped by the Highwayman and brought here against her will.”
“You lying bastard!” Imogen said, starting forward until Cyril stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“Are you his wife?” Nash demanded.
“Not anymore,” Imogen said. “I don’t ever want to see him again.”
“Were you married by the priest?”
“We were indeed,” Enzo said. “It was such a beautiful ceremony. I just want her to come home.”
Nash seemed to be considering the situation.
“Perhaps if we could speak in private,” Enzo said, pulling his coat aside and revealing a gold dragon broach pinned to his shirt.
Her demeanor changed in an instant.
“I’d be happy to hear you out,” she said, dismounting and walking toward the road with Enzo.
Ben watched through the window as they talked for a moment. After Enzo handed her a small leather pouch, they returned.
“The woman will go home with her husband,” Nash said.
“No!” Imogen shouted. “I’m not going anywhere with him.”
Nash looked at her for a moment like she was a curiosity, then strode up to her and backhanded her across the cheek.
Imogen fell sprawling to the ground.
Cyril reached for his sword but the nearest Dragon Guard pointed his rifle at him.
“If your hand touches metal, you will burn,” Nash said. “Detain the rest,” she said, casually motioning to Cyril, John, and Ben. She turned away from them like they were of no consequence.
A Dragon Guard grabbed Cyril by the back of the shirt and pulled him onto the ground. His eyes never left Imogen as one of Enzo’s henchmen lifted her onto a horse and mounted up behind her.
John surrendered when another Dragon Guard pointed his rifle at him and ordered him from the store.
Ben stood frozen with disbelief and fear as another Dragon Guard pointed his large-bore rifle at him.
“Drop the blade, boy.”
He seemed to remember all at once that he was holding a sword and let go of it like it was a snake, letting it clatter to the floor. A moment later he was hauled out into the yard and thrown to the ground. A big man wrenched his arms behind his back and bound them tightly.
All three were tied together with a rope that was attached to the saddle of the nearest Dragon Guard. Ben felt an odd sense of detachment come over him. His whole life had just changed in an instant. It didn’t even seem real—except for the pain of the ropes cutting into his wrists. That was all too real.
“What should I do?” Homer asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Ben said. “Stay in the shadows and don’t let them catch you.”
Homer whimpered and hid in the bushes.
As they set out toward the Dragon Guard headquarters, a thousand questions tumbled through Ben’s mind, but he didn’t dare speak for fear of reprisal.
Not two blocks down the road, Rufus Hound came around the corner. He was a big man with a pockmarked face and a penchant for whores and bar fights. Ben thought the man was a bully—the fact that he was Frank’s drinking buddy probably had something to do with that. Hound walked into the middle of the road and stopped with his hands on his hips, causing Nash to rein in her horse.
“What’s going on here?” Hound demanded.
“None of your concern,” Nash said. “Stand aside or I’ll have you bound as well.”
Hound didn’t budge, looking past Nash to Cyril. Cyril shook his head ever so slightly. Looking farther back, he saw Imogen, her face bloody and her arms bound behind her back. His face hardened and he looked back to Cyril. Again, Cyril shook his head almost imperceptibly.
“I know these men,” Hound said, somewhat less confrontationally. “What did they do?”
“None of your concern,” Nash said, leaning toward him pointedly.
Hound looked at her directly and a crooked smile slowly spread across his face. “I bet you’re a handful in the sack,” he said.
“What did you just say to me?” Nash said incredulously.
“What? A guy can’t compliment a good-looking woman,” Hound said, looking past the Dragon Guard again. “I was just looking for Frank—wanted to see if he was going drinking tonight.”
“He’s making a delivery to the Harpers,” Cyril said.
“Quiet!” Nash snapped, fully back in her element again.
“Fair enough,” Hound said, wandering over to the side of the road. “If you ever want some company, the name’s Rufus Hound—you know, like the dog.” He punctuated his offer with a smile that was anything but subtle.
She glared at him. He smiled back until she turned away, spurring her horse forward.
His smile vanished a second later, replaced with the kind of seriousness reserved for important work. He looked to Cyril, who nodded. Hound turned toward the road leading to the Harpers’ house without another word and set out at a brisk pace.
Ben’s mind was spinning. More than anything, he wanted to ask his grandfather questions about what had just happened. He’d seen Enzo give Dominus Nash a purse right before everything had turned against them. Objectively, he knew that Nash had been bribed, but for some reason he couldn’t reconcile that fact with his sense of morality. Law was supposed to be fair and impartial, not for sale.
He walked miserably past the onlookers mutte
ring his grandfather’s name in hushed tones. Whatever the final outcome of this day, Ben knew that his family’s reputation, and therefore his family’s business, had just been destroyed. A welling sense of injustice began to build in his belly.
They were taken up the hill overlooking K Falls to a large and relatively new estate that had been confiscated by the Dragon Guard as their headquarters and barracks. Workers were busy finishing renovations clearly intended to make the place more secure and defensible.
“Take them to holding and schedule a transport to Rogue City for tomorrow,” Nash said to one of her subordinates.
They were led to a small building away from the manor house and locked in a cell. Once inside, their bindings were removed by the jailer.
“What’s going to happen to us?” Ben asked through the bars.
The jailer ignored him with a bemused grunt, ambling back to his small office. He closed the door and peered through the window at them for a moment before returning to his paperwork.
Cyril went to a bench against the stone wall and sat down, putting his face in his hands for a moment.
John began a careful but casual inspection of their cell.
“What are we going to do?” Ben asked in a harsh whisper.
“For now, we wait,” Cyril said, sitting back and resting his head against the wall.
“Wait for what?”
“To see what they do next,” Cyril said. “This cell is pretty solidly built, so I doubt we could break out without drawing attention. Besides, there may be an opportunity to bribe one of the Dragon Guard when they transport us.”
John looked skeptically over his shoulder at Cyril.
“I know it’s a long shot, but it beats trying to fight our way out without weapons.”
John nodded, seeming to consider Cyril’s words but offering none of his own.
“Why are they taking us to Rogue City?” Ben asked.
“That’s where the priest is,” Cyril said. “He’s the regional governor and judge. He’ll decide our fate.”
“What will they do to us?”
“That’s hard to say, but it won’t be good.”
Ben fell silent, staring at the ground for a few minutes while he thought about the events of the day. “This is all so wrong,” he said. “How can they do this to us? We were just protecting Imogen. And everybody saw Nash take Enzo’s money. I thought the law was supposed to protect people.”
The Dragon's Egg (Dragonfall Book 1) Page 3
