Secrets In Savannah (Phantom Knights)

by Amalie Vantana

  “Tell me, did you enjoy seeing Levi?” George asked.

  I clenched my teeth hard. So that was it. Levi was truly working for George.

  “What are you receiving from this exchange, George?”

  George stepped toward me, and I wanted nothing more than to choke the life out of him, but restraint was needed, until after he produced my sister.

  “I gave my life to the Phantoms and what did I receive in return? Neglect and retirement. I do not owe anyone, anything. Least of all you.” He looked me over and then grimaced. “Your time has finally come and you will receive what you deserve.”

  “Fair words coming from you who have betrayed all that you claimed to believe in,” Hannah said, and George looked at her for the first time.

  “Mrs. Lamont? This is a surprise. Harvey certainly knows how to choose his tools. I would never have suspected you.”

  “Uncle George?” came a soft voice from the antechamber.

  George frowned as he turned to Charlotte. He held out his hand, and she ran to his side. Holding on to him, she focused her gaze on Frederick, loathing covering her face. “I have done well. She is here as promised. Now I demand that you release my affianced husband.”

  Frederick laughed, his look full of contempt and pity. “You poor child, has no one warned you against trusting men that you do not know? Scoundrels, every one.”

  “What mean you?” Charlotte’s voice shook.

  “Lucas Marx is dead.”

  Charlotte took a step back, fear and disbelief shadowing her face. “You lie.”

  Instead of answering her, Frederick spoke to his guards. “Lock the three of them in the cellar, and then prepare yourselves for battle. Our enemies will be arriving before long.”

  As one of the guards pulled Charlotte away, she began to scream, while George shouted at Frederick that such treatment of his niece was uncalled for. His protests were unheeded, and Hannah, Charlotte, and I were forced through the antechamber and down a winding staircase to a cellar beneath the temple.

  Panic had yet to set in when they locked the door, leaving us in the dark. They would not trust us with a candle, for they knew I would burn the place down.

  Charlotte shouted and cried for a full five minutes before running straight into me where I was leaning against a wall. Capturing her before she could fall, I wrapped my arms around her and held her like I had done to my sister many times over the years.

  Charlotte sobbed against my shoulder and I felt a small amount of pity for the girl. She was a child who had been deceived by a master in manipulation.

  “Is everyone out to betray me?” Charlotte cried. “I wish I was never born!”

  “Do not say that, Charlotte.” My words brought on a revolt.

  “You do not know what it is like. Being sired by an attacker, living your life knowing that you killed your own mother by being born. Do you know that my adopted father d-died from grief?”

  I could not see her, but I could feel her anguish, and it brought tears to my eyes. For the first time since I had met her, I wanted to hug her. I wanted to assure her that none of those things were her fault, but she went on.

  “M-my fault. Not even Sam wanted me. He left me so he could make his fortune, but I knew the truth.” The conviction in her voice was heartbreaking. “He could not stand to be near me. That is why he made me live with Rose. Now Uncle George allowed L-Lucas to be killed.”

  Pity and shame twisted inside me. Charlotte’s folly was great, but it sounded as if her life had not been full of ease as I had thought. It was as Jack had said. Charlotte was searching for love and approval wherever she could find it.

  She began to sob again.

  Wrapping my arms around her, I thought about my own sister. Is that what Edith thought? That I did not want her with me because I did not love her, and blamed her for our parents’ deaths?

  As a tear slipped down my cheek, I made Charlotte a promise, but it was also to Edith, wherever she was. “I am going to get you out of here, you have my word.”

  Her chest shook against me as she sucked in air.

  “Someone is coming,” Hannah said, though her voice was thick with emotion.

  A key scratched against the lock, and the door creaked as it opened.

  Frederick held up a lantern. “I hope that you have come prepared for a fight, dearest, because the battle is about to begin.”

  CHAPTER 28

  JACK

  We returned to the house in the early hours of the morning after searching for Charlotte, and I was eager to spend the rest of the morning with my wife.

  It had been a long week, and the only place that I felt like I was not fighting was with Guinevere.

  Sam wanted George’s blood; Bess was trying to keep Sam calm, Hannah wanted—well, only the Lord knew what Hannah wanted, and Leo knew things he refused to speak of. The only person that I did not feel had some secret plan was Dudley, but he was lost in his yearning for Hannah.

  At least with Guinevere I knew what she wanted. To rescue her sister, destroy her uncle, and help the unknown monarch reclaim their throne. All in all, another day in the life of a Phantom.

  As we stepped into the house, arguing with Sam that we could not break down the door of every abandoned building in the city, Bess came hurrying toward us.

  She gripped my hand, and my mounting good mood plummeted.

  Glancing around the foyer, I knew what was amiss. “Where is my wife?”

  “Dudley sent news that Charlotte left with George and Edith. Guinevere and Hannah rode for Freddy. About twenty minutes ago this was brought to the door.”

  Snatching the parchment from her, I read the formal summons. Turning on my heel, I ran out the open door into the gray morning.

  “Jack, at the least, take a horse,” Bess called after me, but I could not stop. Frederick had my wife.

  Leo, Sam, and Bess had caught up to me by the time I was four roads over but none of them spoke as I mounted the horse that they brought me.

  Feeling like my head would split from the aching, the worry, the fear, I pushed the horse into a gallop, needing to see that my wife was unharmed. The ache in my chest that I had felt every time that Guinevere ran from me resurrected. It was like morbidly welcoming an old friend. I knew why she had gone, but it felt worse than all the other times combined. The thought of losing her filled me with haste.

  When we neared the temple, Leo had edged ahead of me and was waiting for us beside someone whose presence made my mouth drop open.

  “What did you do, ride from Charleston?” Dudley demanded as I dismounted.

  “What the dev—” Mrs. Stanton scowled, “—deuce are you doing here?”

  “Rescuing our wives of course. Didn’t think we would leave it all to you did you?” said Dudley as he unsheathed a sword.

  “Your wife?” Astonishment was mine.

  Dudley grinned and tapped me on the chest. “I’ve been married for two years.”

  Bess made a choking noise in her throat, and Sam patted her on the back. “You are married to Hannah Lamont?”

  “Hannah Stanton,” Dudley said with a wink.

  “I am dreaming,” Bess gripped the front of Sam’s coat, “please tell me that this is all a dream.”

  Sam wrapped one arm around Bess, and reached the other out to Dudley. “Sam Mason.”

  “Dudley Stanton.” Dud shook his hand with as much flourish as he did everything.

  “Now that everyone is acquainted shall we sit down to tea, or will you all behave as the situation demands,” Mrs. Stanton inquired. “Unless you want that scoundrel to be off with your wife and her sister.”

  My perception was slipping, of that I was certain, but there would be time later for explanations.

  “Are there guards surrounding the whole?” I asked as I moved in for a better view of the temple.

  The temple had six men guarding the door, and a few along the sides. Some I recognized as Frederick’s guards, others I did not know.


  “There should be another way in,” Bess said as she stood beside me.

  “If we spread out, we could take them from all directions, giving Jack time to get inside,” Sam said as he pulled out a pair of pistols.

  “Children,” Mrs. Stanton interrupted, drawing our attention, “watch and be educated. Dudley, if you will.”

  Dudley stepped forward and whistled the song of a bird. Confusion rippled through me as Frederick’s men turned on the other guards and began attacking them.

  Mrs. Stanton came up beside me, and I was sure there was a smirk on her lips. “Do not stand there like a stump, boy! Go rescue your wife.”

  Snapping out of my astonishment, Sam, Bess, Leo, and I ran into the open. The fighting did not spill over to us, and we were able to reach the door unhindered.

  Voices could be heard on the other side, and I was about to throw open the door, but Bess stayed my hand. She leaned her ear against the door to listen. After a moment’s hesitation, I did the same.

  “Now you see her, tell me all,” George said.

  Then I heard my wife’s voice, as strong and demanding as ever, and a part of me released a great weight of tension.

  “I have yet to see her. How do I know this person is she?”

  Someone gasped loudly, and Bess stiffened before pulling back the hammer on each of her guns.

  “This was not our deal!” Levi shouted, and that was all it took. I threw open the door, and Bess fired her first pistol.

  Edith screamed as the guard holding her fell away. There was a black cloth sack over her head. Levi looked at me for a second before grabbing Edith, lifting her over his shoulder, and running through the open door to the antechamber.

  Chaos broke forth as George’s guards made as to attack us, but three of them halted when they saw me. We knew each other. They were once Watchmen in Philadelphia.

  Searching out all the faces in the room, I found George standing beside Guinevere, screaming like a madman for his guards to capture us.

  They charged forward with knives and guns and as they raised their weapons, Sam pulled Bess behind one of the throne chairs. I ducked behind one on the other side of the room, popping my head around the edge to fire my pistols at the guards.

  Catching sight of Guinevere, one of the guards had her arm and was pulling her toward the door Levi had disappeared through.

  Desperation overtook me, and I jumped up, running into the thick of the guards to reach my wife.

  Pulling a knife from my belt, I threw it at one man, then shot one who tried to stab me with a dagger. Sam and Bess joined me in the middle of the room, Bess with knives flinging, Sam with his fists flying. I had a knife out and sliced at a man about my size who was trying to hit me.

  George’s three former watchmen joined us in the fight against the other guards.

  Using my knife, I deflected blows from the guard I was fighting, my breaths puffing out in short spurts. My strength in my left arm was not what it used to be, having not fully recovered yet. I missed one of his swings, and his fist struck my healing shoulder. The breath left my body as pain flew across my chest as if I had been shot again. I fell forward, landing on one knee. The shouts, groans, and weapons clashing all around me amplified in my ears. My body froze as flashes from war, from a blood-filled battlefield played in my mind. I could see my friends, my fellow soldiers falling all around me even though they were not truly here with me.

  Looking up into the eyes of my opponent, he pulled back his leg as if to kick me, and was shot in the back.

  Hannah lowered her pistol as Leo moved toward the door with his hand wrapped around Charlotte’s wrist. Frederick had disappeared, but Guinevere was at the door. She kicked her guard between his legs then wrenched herself free of his grip and ran toward me. I pushed myself up and moved to her, catching her on my good side. As her body pressed against me, she was shaking.

  “I did not break my promise,” she said at once.

  Moisture burned in my nose at the relief of holding her. She was well. I pulled back from where I was resting my head against the side of hers. “Stay with me.”

  She nodded, the fierceness on her face assurance to me that we would win this battle.

  A hand gripped the back of my coat and pulled me away from Guinevere.

  She shrieked my name as I was tossed into another guard. He got his arm around my neck and held me against him, choking me enough that I could not break his grip but not enough to render me unconscious. My blood burned within my veins as I struggled against him, and caught sight of George straight ahead of me loading a pistol. When he raised it, I saw why the guard was holding me. I saw what was meant to happen.

  “No!” Guinevere screamed, but the pistol was not pointed at me.

  Fear cut me as I threw myself forward, but was pulled back. The pistol fired.

  Guinevere hit the ground, with Charlotte landing atop her. When they both made to sit up, I lost all self-control.

  Grabbing a knife from my belt, I stabbed my captor’s leg. His shouts in my ear made it ring, but he released me.

  I searched the room, until I found George at the far door. He was staring at me with a gaze so unlike the man I used to know, before turning and running.

  My body began to shake with uncontrollable force, and rage unlike any I had every felt, unlike the few times my sister had been captured, unlike the time she was branded covered me. This was hatred, dark and heavy.

  Four guards blocked my path to chase George. Pulling out a knife for each hand, I went to work.

  One of the guards swung at me with his own knife. I threw my arms up, crossing them to deflect his blade. He pulled back, raising his knife for another attack. None came. His stunned eyes were on me as he took a step forward. I dodged his form as he fell, a knife in his back.

  Frederick’s men ran into the room, drawing all attention to themselves, and I was able to search for my wife.

  She was not in the room.

  Knowing my wife, she had gone after her sister.

  Running through the antechamber, there was a door that led to the back of the temple. Outside, I looked at the surrounding trees, but did not see her.

  Sam came up beside me, fury on his face. “Where is my uncle?”

  A gun fired from beyond the trees, and we both ran. The chills snaking up my spine, the fear in my mind and the conviction in my soul pushed me on.

  Someone had just been shot.

  CHAPTER 29

  GUINEVERE

  Jack had not noticed when I slipped through the door to go in search of Levi and my sister, nor did I wish to draw attention to myself. I had picked up a knife and thrown it into the back of the guard fighting Jack as I went, but I could not stop. Finding Edith was of the highest importance.

  Charlotte knocking me out of the path of George’s shot made my urgency to find my sister all the greater. The same could happen to Edith if I did not find her, and who would be there to push her out of the way?

  Edith had not been raised as I had. She had been protected, spoiled, her every childish desire granted, except one. She had wanted to come with me instead of living with Harvey. She told me so every time that I visited her. She said that she could learn to fight, but she was the baby, the one who needed to be protected. Allowing her to endure the things that I had would have been to treat her to the worst sort of fate. Her sweetness and her goodness would have been tainted.

  She was like our mother, loved by everyone who met her. She was guileless, innocent in all her looks. She was what we all would have been had our parents not been murdered. She had been the only untarnished thing in my life until Harvey abandoned her.

  Knowing that Levi was working with George, I thought that he may have taken her back to Savannah, but as I walked out of the temple, I heard Edith’s voice. There were trees all around us, but just inside the copse was my sister.

  “Please. Please let me go to my sister.” Edith was begging as Levi pulled her along with him.

  “I cann
ot do that. You do not understand this now, but this is the only way.”

  Taking out my dagger pistol from my belt, I walked toward them. As I stepped into the clearing beyond the trees, Edith gasped, and Levi shifted around to me, raising a pistol.

  When he saw who it was, he released a breath and lowered his weapon. That perplexed me, but not enough to make me lower my own.

  As he noticed that I was not lowering my weapon, he scowled. “What are you about, Guinevere? I am on your side.”

  “Certainly you are,” I retorted, “and George just happened to know that Frederick was in this temple. The only side you are on, Levi Martin, is your own.”

  “Truly, sister, he is on our side. Please, lower your weapon,” said my sister, showing bravery for the first time since she was a child by stepping in front of Levi.

  It had the opposite effect upon me as I was sure was intended. I steadied the pistol, but aimed it just beyond them, not wanting to point it toward my sister.

  Levi stepped to her side and took her hand. The defiance in Edith’s eyes and the intent in Levi’s made me want to laugh and groan at the same moment.

  “What the devil is this?” I demanded.

  Edith’s eyes grew large. “Bella!”

  Hearing her childhood name for me made me smile. “Forgive me, sister. What in all that is lovely is this?”

  Edith shook her head as she always did when she thought I was being ridiculous, and Levi snorted.

  “It would seem that the men in my family were meant to love the women in yours,” Levi informed me and my hand faltered, dropping down to my side.

  “Love? For the Lord’s goodness, this is not what we need,” I replied, exasperated beyond words.

  “I love her and, what is more, she loves me.”

  There was not a single thing more dangerous to my sister than being in love. I prayed that Levi was lying. It would be difficult enough persuading our Queen to accept Jack. I could not believe that she would give Levi a second glance.

  Edith was far too young to be thinking herself in love. Love was complex, and Edith had been guarded, she did not know the ways of the world.