They were almost to the stronghold, and the Knights closed in protectively around the two of them. It was not a castle like the place he had fled, but rather a lavish estate. There were no stone walls to blow through, only a maze of gardens to traverse.
The Knights surrounded the manor house so that no one could escape before the bulk of their group marched up to the front door. Sir Ruawn lifted his gauntleted fist and knocked heavily on the door. He waited a few moments before waving two burly men to ram it down.
The door opened as they readied themselves to run at it, and they stopped their motion.
“Lord Farthen will see you in the study,” the servant who had answered their knock told them calmly.
Sir Ruawn exchanged glances with several of his men. Natalya knew from experience that he was giving them silent orders to be on the watch for a trap. Then he turned back to the servant and nodded their consent. All of the Knights filtered in through the door, their eyes raking the surroundings. But no attack came.
The servant led them down the hallway and into the study. Lord Farthen sat at a desk there, and he stood at their approach. The sound of many swords being drawn halted his motion and he held his hands out so they could see he was only rising for their entrance.
“Welcome, gentlemen,” he greeted them all, “and ladies,” he added, spotting her and Alina. At sight of her sister, he did a double-take and raised his eyebrow in curiosity.
Natalya stepped in front of Alina protectively.
Sir Ruawn spoke up. “Lord Farthen, you are under arrest for the use of blood-magic and with it attempting to subvert the Council, kidnapping and abusing those with talent for your own purposes, and escaping your previous incarceration for being part of the Order.”
“The list goes on and on, doesn’t it,” Lord Farthen commented dryly.
“You don’t seem overly concerned by it,” Sir Ruawn stated, glancing around the room. “I’m surprised since I heard you weren’t spoken highly of even among your peers in the jails. I don’t imagine you are entirely pleased to be heading back there.”
The man smiled, making him look much like a weasel. “It is my hope that I might change your mind about sending me back there.”
All the Knights tensed, ready for the attack that seemed imminent. But Lord Farthen waved a hand carelessly, “Please calm yourselves; I mean by offering information. I may be able to offer the Queen knowledge she will find worth my safety.” His tone when speaking of the Queen did not hold any affection, in fact, quite the opposite. But he seemed resigned to his situation. “Let’s get this over with,” he said. He held his hands out in front of him. “Did you want to put shackles on me for safe-keeping? Or might you trust that I’m not going to run?” He stepped out from behind the desk and approached Sir Ruawn slowly.
Sir Ruawn eyed him. “How about giving us some information to show us that you’re sincere. Do you know where Lord Morven is?”
“Why would I tell you that? You cannot pardon me as the Queen can.”
“No,” Sir Ruawn agreed, “but I can promise that if you do go back to prison, it will be a much more pleasant experience. I have heard what happened to you there, and while I can’t honestly say that I don’t think you deserved it, it is unbecoming of our justice system. I would personally see to it that you are treated fairly.”
Lord Farthen stared at him a moment, no doubt trying to judge his sincerity. Finally he shrugged. “I have no great love for the man anyway; he’s in the guest house, third floor, second room on the right.”
Sir Ruawn gestured to the Knights, and immediately they were out of the room to follow these directions. Natalya stayed just long enough to see Farthen put in chains before following the other group out.
Alina’s face was set into a hardened mask, and Natalya could only imagine what was going on in her head. She had spoken with her sister about the time she’d spent while kidnapped. While she was with Farthen, she had been drugged and forced to burn herself to perform the spell they wanted. But with Morven…in the short amount of time she’d spent with the man, he’d scarred her deeply. Natalya moved in closer to her sister, wanting to shield her from the man’s wicked presence.
The Knights burst through the door of the suite, and found Morven cowering in the corner. As they approached, he tried to regain some of his dignity, shouting obscenities at them while demanding that they listen to him, telling them that he was an important person. Finally, when his shouting was met by nothing but stern stares, he slumped his shoulders in defeat, and simply held out his hands.
Natalya watched Alina out of the corner of her eye, and saw that her sister was staring quite intently at the man. She could only guess what kinds of emotions were roiling within her. Suddenly, her sister dashed forward, grabbing a knife out of a sheath at a nearby Knight’s waist and she launched herself at Morven. She connected with him roughly, and for a moment nobody moved. Natalya couldn’t tell where the knife had gone, and Morven simply dropped his head, wearing a surprised expression, to look at Alina.
Sir Ruawn rushed forward and pried her off the man, and Natalya took hold of her from him. As she moved away from in front of Lord Morven, it was clear that the knife was now firmly imbedded in his stomach. He started wheezing and dropped to his knees, holding his hands on either side of the blade’s handle, but not touching it.
He lifted his eyes to meet the sisters’, and though Natalya’s initial reaction was to shield her sister from his hatred, she was surprised when he just smiled. Sir Ruawn was whispering enchantments over the wound, and he pulled the knife cleanly out, immediately applying pressure while it bled profusely out from beneath his fingers. For several long minutes he tried to save the awful man and everyone watched in rapt attention.
Eventually, Sir Ruawn sat back on his heels, abandoning his efforts. Lord Morven’s head lolled slowly to the side, his eyes growing listless and finally lifeless as he drew one last shuddering breath.
Natalya looked at Alina in horrified surprise. Her sister had just murdered Lord Morven!
Alina tore her gaze away from the dead man and met her eyes. They were dull. “I thought it would feel better than that,” she whispered. Then she looked down at her bloodied hands, and fainted. She fell neatly to the ground, crumpling in a soft heap, and Natalya couldn’t even move to catch her.
All of the Knights were staring at her, and Natalya looked around in alarm. It was one thing for them to kill people and monsters who were attacking them, but Alina had killed a man who was surrendering to them. She had murdered him. What would happen to Alina now?
“It’s a good thing the young lady was quick enough to draw that knife when he attacked her,” Sir Ruawn said softly, not meeting Natalya’s gaze. Tears sprung to her eyes. She knew how much it cost him to abandon his moral code, but she was overwhelmingly grateful. She looked around and saw that all of the Knights were nodding in agreement. Most in the room were those she had ridden with. Jeremy was among them and he caught her eye to give her a brief sad smile. They weren’t happy about what Alina did, but they understood the pain that had driven her there. Natalya vowed to make sure that Alina healed, and did not turn into someone who could ever kill again.
She rushed forward and hugged Sir Ruawn, forgetting about being embarrassed in front of the Knights, and then moved to the next, until she had hugged every single one of them. Then she went back to Alina, who was still out cold on the floor. Her poor little sister had definitely been damaged. It would be up to her to put her back together again.
Perhaps when they had discovered the cure for the Bricrui and the curse was broken so they no longer had to stay at the palace, they could return to their home in Hardonia. As they rebuilt the town, Natalya could work on rebuilding Alina’s heart. And her own.
*
Sir Ruawn’s face flickered in the mirror.
“We have taken Lord Farthen into custody, and subdued Lord Morven,” he reported.
“Subdued?” Layna inquired, her tone asking for c
larity.
“There was a scuffle and he ended up being stabbed,” he said regretfully, though he wouldn’t meet her eye. She could tell that there was something he was not saying, but she did not pry further. Sir Ruawn had proved to be an honorable and trustworthy man, and if there was something he thought was best to keep from her, she would trust him. He continued, “Lord Farthen has offered to provide you with any knowledge you desire in return for his release. However, we did find a secret vault with mountains of information on the experiments they were doing. No doubt they will be helpful in finding a way to stop Alina from turning into a Bricrui without the need to stoop to negotiating with criminals.”
Layna noticed the affectionate use of the girl’s name and deduced that both sisters had claimed a place in the Knight’s heart. It was tough not to become attached to those two little girls.
“That is excellent news, and very welcome,” Layna said. “With Farthen accounted for, I believe we have finally rounded up the last of the renegades, and hopefully that will put an end to the Order and the Faithful once and for all. With the notes, I agree we should be able to find a cure for Alina. Thank you Sir Ruawn, please have a safe journey home.”
He bowed his head to her and the connection ended abruptly.
Layna stared at the mirror, which was now only her reflection. She turned and held out her hand to Gryffon. He stepped forward and took it in his own, swallowing it up and filling her with warmth.
“Everything is under control,” he stated firmly. “The containment bubble has been erected, the Council is back taking care of everyday activities, and now we have the means to cure Alina. Everyone is working around the clock to determine how to break the curse. It is only a matter of time. And we now have time on our side.”
“I know,” Layna sighed, “but what do we do now?”
“We wait.” He settled his arms around her in a comforting embrace and the two of them looked out the window. Beyond the city limits, they could make out the translucent bubble that protected the outside world from the spread of the curse. Now, they just needed to find out how to protect themselves.
* * *
Continue the story in:
Light the Reign: The Forgotten (Book 3)
BOOKS BY LAURA R COLE
The Eleventh World Saga:
BloodRunes Trilogy
Unleashed Fury
Those Who Fear the Darkness
Leoht
The Forgotten Trilogy
Serpent’s Lair
Bricrui
Light the Reign
Connect with the author: www.laurarcole.com
Bricrui (The Forgotten: Book 2) Page 20
