phantom knights 04 - deceit in delaware

by Amalie Vantana

  Mariah appeared in Jericho’s place. “In Jericho’s mother’s tribe, the warriors did much of their hunting from trees.”

  “Tribe?” I asked.

  “Jericho’s mother was a native of America.”

  “An Indian?” My voice came out more stringent than I meant. “Forgive me. It is just that in all of my time in America I have never met a real Indian.”

  Mariah smiled with understanding. “He does not speak of that time in his life. It is too difficult with what happened to his parents.”

  A body striking the ground drew our attention. Jericho had leapt from the tree, landing atop two guards. Jericho spun around as if guided by wind, taking out several guards with his knives and fists.

  “I believe it is time for us to intervene, before Wolfy has all the fun,” Leo said, and then swung himself down much as Jericho had.

  Mariah laughed as she pulled on her mask and swung down, though with more care for safety.

  When I reached the ground, Jericho, Mariah, and Leo were in the midst of a fight while Dudley and Hannah were throwing brown nuts from their tree.

  Pulling my iron from my belt, I ran around their tree and struck at the closest guard. He threw a fist at my head before he realized who I was.

  Dodging the blow, I cracked his hand with the ball on the end of the iron.

  Dancing around another guard, I struck at his side and then arched beneath his swinging arm to come up before his face, striking his chin with the iron and causing his head to fall back. Arms gripped my waist, wrapping around me with a breath stealing force.

  “I’ve gotter, boys,” he called out like a fool as he carried me away from the fighting.

  He neglected to secure the most important things during a fight. My hands. Throwing my arm back, I struck at his head with the iron again and again until he dropped me to shield his head from my attack. Twisting around, I leapt at him with the iron raised. He cowered back, shielding his face.

  Dropping to one knee, I looked up at him until he slowly lowered his hands, confusion on his face, until he glanced down. My iron struck at the side of his knee. His leg gave out under him. He stumbled to keep himself upright. Tossing the iron into my other hand, I struck at his supporting leg, and the man fell like a tree. Jumping up, I kicked at his face. My boot connected with his cheek, and he blinked before he shook his head, dazed.

  A hand grabbed my wrist and I swung at them, but my captor had ducked low. Seeing Betsy hunched down, I lowered my weapon.

  “Come with us,” she said to me, pulling me with her and James away from the fight. We ran through the forest toward the house, and only paused when we reached the edge of the wood.

  Betsy produced the key to the hatch from her coat pocket which Leo must have given to her.

  James tugged us both back behind a tree when a horse and rider came into view. Not all of the guards had been chasing Dudley and Hannah.

  Luther’s carriage was on the drive, which meant that he had made it back, along with Nell, Freddy, and Charlotte. That fared well for us, if we could get across the lawn and into the house.

  The rider moved on without pause and when he was on the other side of the house we made our move. Running across the lawn, we reached the hatch and I unlocked it while Betsy and James kept guard.

  Once on the stairs, we went up the winding steps, past the room that Melly had let me and Leo out of, and up until the stairs ended at a plain wood door. It led to the attic which was as wide as the house. Pieces of furniture, trunks, framed art, and much more covered the stifling space.

  Sweat trickled down my spine and across my brow as we inched our way across the space, searching for another door. There were windows that overlooked what must have been the front and the back of the house.

  “Here,” James said, leading the way down a few stairs to a closed door.

  Our pistols were drawn as we entered into a narrow hall with undecorated walls and doors crowding each side of the hall. The first room we approached was a bedchamber.

  “Servants’ quarters,” James said with assurance as he passed by with no more than a cursory glance inside.

  The heat of the day could be felt, as if we were standing in direct sunlight. “Is it always so stifling in servants’ quarters?” I asked, but immediately felt foolish. That was not a topic that I should have broached.

  James’s chuckle was unexpected. “You believe this to be hot?” He and Betsy exchanged an amused glance before walking on down the hall.

  “I am from Charleston,” Betsy said, and that was all that she had to say. The heat in Charleston was nearly unbearable. Before Betsy was freed, her family had lived on George’s plantation, where they had to work daily in the sun no matter what the weather became.

  “My father came to America upon a ship in the midst of the summer months where three hundred men, women, and children were kept in the hold without fresh air,” James said without a note of malice in his voice.

  “You are a first generation American?” I asked.

  “On my father’s side. It was a miracle he survived when over half of the people perished.” James grew quiet as we continued down the length of the hall until we came upon the servants’ staircase.

  We descended in silence, but when we reached the hall housing the family bedchambers, I spoke.

  “This is where we will split up. Betsy, take James with you and see if you can locate Nell and Charlotte. I am going to find my husband.”

  Betsy moved off without a word and James followed after her. When they had gone in one direction, I turned in the other. Easing down the hall, I stepped out toward the balcony, and straight into Melly’s line of sight.

  She stepped back as if startled, and then a smile spread across her lips. “Cousin.”

  “Melly, I need to know, are you friend or foe?”

  She tilted her head to the side, contemplating my question. “Freddy would say that I am a friend.”

  “Do you agree with him?”

  She straightened her head. “I find that I do. Tell me what I can do to help.”

  “I need you to lead me to my husband.” My hand hovered over my belt, as a precaution. If she proved to be an enemy, I would not hesitate to restrain her. Finding Jack was my first order of business and I would not have Melly standing in my path and possibly getting herself harmed.

  “Come with me,” she said, and led me down the hall.

  CHAPTER 24

  JACK

  “Do not stand there like a lump,” called a stringent voice from somewhere near me, but I could not see them. I could not see anything.

  “If you have killed my brother, I swear that I will have your head staked upon the moat wall surrounding my castle,” called Levi from somewhere ahead of me. He sounded angry, wild.

  Someone laughed. That trickling sound that raked against my thoughts and made me want to cringe. “You do not have a castle, though I find your threats amusing,” said the voice that belonged to what I would guess would be a woman, though the timber was low and the pronunciation of words held a distinct accent.

  “Much you know about it,” Levi retorted. “My future wife is a princess, and she lives in a castle. Or she would, if the tripe that you serve had not murdered her parents and forced her to flee.”

  Fighting against the heat and throbbing pain in my head, I forced my eyes to open. Everything was a blur so I blinked a few times until I could see what was around me.

  “There,” called the same voice. “He is not dead. So there is no need for dramatics.”

  “I will warn you again, doxy, that you have yet to see dramatic,” Levi growled before he dropped down to his knee beside where I was laying on a cot—a foul smelling cot. “Jack, are you alive?”

  “So the pain in my head tells me,” I said, easing myself up. Levi gripped my shoulder as I began to sway. “What happened to my head?”

  “A guard hit you on the head with the butt of his gun. Could have killed you, and so I told them, but little th
ey cared.”

  “Where are we?” Gently, I touched the back of my head where there was a gash and the beginning of a good sized lump.

  “Beneath Luther’s house. Prisoners of Luther and his doxy.” Levi spat the word toward the door that closed off the room that had been converted into a cell. There were even bars in a portion of the door. One the other side of the bars stood Martha.

  “Why did you do it, Martha? Why did you murder Henry and place the blame upon Bess? Why were you trying to destroy her?”

  Martha appeared taken aback. “Destroy Bess? Good gracious, why should I? She is as dispensable as the two of you. As for Henry, he had the artifact that I needed to secure my alliance with Luther. I needed your sister away from Philadelphia so that I could find the rest of the artifacts. I knew that you had many of them, and that Bess was keeping them. She needed someone to place the blame upon. The Holy Order was a stroke of genius. She already hated them. What was a little more deceit?”

  “Where did Andrew come in to play?” Levi asked.

  “If she was betrothed to him she would never have left Philadelphia.”

  Levi lurched toward her, gripping the bars of the door and shaking it. Martha leapt back, squawking as if she thought he could break down the door. Rising, I joined Levi at the door, trying to see her face.

  “Why capture us? Why not capture Edith? If you are trying to lure in Harvey, she would be a greater draw than us.” Levi said after he stopped trying to reach her.

  “Oh, the lies you do weave, Levi. That would be redundant. We have Mary Edith, and soon we will have her sisters. Do you know what I discovered?”

  Neither Levi nor I spoke. Martha had to know that Charlotte was not Edith. What game was the woman playing?

  “You both have been instrumental to the safety of the women you care for most … up to this point. If it had not been for you leaving your guard to safeguard her, Levi, Bess would have been ravaged. If it had not been for Jack going with Guinevere, Mary Edith would have been surrendered to Lucas Marx, which would have made my part all the easier.”

  Well, when she put it like that, I suppose I could see why she was being clever in capturing us. Bess, Mother, Guinevere, Mary, even Rose would never leave us to our fates. They would come for us as soon as they found an opportunity.

  A door beyond our cell opened and Luther appeared, carrying a lantern.

  “I understand that you have unmasked our coup,” he said, and Levi and I exchanged a knowing glance.

  “My good lady, how well you have done,” said Luther, raising Martha’s hand to his thin lips.

  She laughed boisterously. “Admit, Luther. You doubted my abilities.”

  “Never,” he claimed. “As for the other?”

  “Being secured in the wood as we speak,” Martha replied happily.

  “Where is my treasure?” Luther’s voice was thick, greedy.

  Martha walked over to the door across from our cell and pushed it open. When she emerged, something scraped loud against the floor. She dropped a brown wood and leather portmanteau at his feet.

  Luther gazed down at the portmanteau for a moment before smiling as if amused. “It is locked.”

  A brass key emerged from the shadows. As Luther unlocked the trunk and lifted the lid, Levi leaned forward for a better view. When he saw the contents, his gaze shot to mine and his expression was grim, wary. I leaned into the bars.

  Luther reached into the trunk, and emerged with the black box. “Sfære af lys,” he whispered reverently. “Never before has such power been in my hands, but now it will all be mine. As it always should have been.”

  “Do not you mean ours,” said Martha.

  Luther glanced toward her with a hateful glare, as if being interrupted was the height of treason. “Of course. Our contract still stands, for you have given me what I need to claim the throne.”

  Luther pulled out a second artifact. A gold ring with a raised emerald stone. Levi’s jaw sagged as mine clenched. He had Father’s ring. It was as Mother’s journal had claimed. Father’s ring had been given to him by Guinevere’s father. All this time, our father had possessed one part of the sacred artifacts that would grant the throne to a member of the royal family, or a man that the council approved.

  After Luther locked the trunk and pocketed the key, he motioned toward the door, and a guard appeared. Luther had him take the trunk away from our cell.

  “As soon as my nieces are with me, I can depart. My ship awaits at the harbor as we speak.”

  Luther kept talking but I was trying to find a way to get the door open. I had to stop Luther from leaving, and protect my wife’s home country from a man with all the makings of a tyrant.

  “Our contract?” Martha was persistent. She would not allow Luther to depart until he agreed.

  Try as I would, I could not get the door open, for there was nothing to use to pick the lock. All I could do was wait until one of our friends arrived.

  “Once I have my nieces, all which is left is for you to finish this and join me as we agreed.” Luther raised her hands to his lips again, tossed a smirk at me over his shoulder, and departed.

  When he had gone Martha turned back toward us.

  “Why did you want us to witness that? You must know that we will pursue him the moment we are let go.” For that was certainly why she had given Luther the artifacts before us.

  “Perhaps. Perhaps not. It all depends on what means the most to you. Stopping Luther, or sparing your mother’s life. You see, my agreement with Luther was easier secured than one would think. All I had to offer him was a way to capture all of the members of the Holy Order.”

  “For what purpose could Luther want the Holy Order?” Levi asked.

  “Why, for revenge. They are responsible for harboring his nieces, and for so many other crimes. His goal is one that you should be concerned with. He means for me to kill every member of the Holy Order, including your sister’s husband.”

  “What is in this for you? What do you want, to kill us?”

  “No. What I require is much closer to your hearts. You see, I could not very easily rule at Luther’s side with those girls in the way. You two will draw two of my problems to me, and after I dispose of them, all that is left is for me to cut life from the third, and sail with my dear Luther to Lutania.”

  Levi and I must have pieced that together at the same moment because we both reacted at the same time. Levi lurched forward again, reaching his hand through the bars for her arm, while I reached through for her hair. She was trying to fight off Levi’s hand, which made it possible for me to grasp a strand of her hair. Wrapping it around my fingers, I pulled her toward us. She swatted at my hand as she screamed.

  Four of Luther’s guards burst into the prison and tore Martha from my grasp.

  Martha gave a good show of instant tears. “They were trying to ravage me! They are dangerous. Murderers, each of them. Bind them, or they will escape and kill us all!”

  One led Martha away, and she tossed a smirk over his shoulder before feigning sobs again.

  The cell door was opened and muskets were pointed at our chests as one of the guards came into the cell and shackled our wrists.

  We were left alone in darkness. For almost an hour neither of us spoke, both listening to the clicking of mice running across the floor. Silence for any amount of time was uncharacteristic of Levi.

  “What do you know?” I asked when the silence became too much.

  Levi said nothing and I could not see his face, but I knew where he was seated. “You knew that they did not have Edith, so why would you come into this house?”

  Levi kicked out one leg and his boot hit mine. “You would not believe me if I told you,” he said.

  “You might be surprised,” I replied.

  Levi refused to say more, and nothing I could say would get him to speak.

  We heard someone coming through the cellar and then a key scrape against the lock, but no light shone from outside our cell. Levi and I
quickly felt our way toward the door. He stood behind it, while I stood close to where it would open. As the door pushed open, and a moment later light flooded into the darkness, I closed my eyes against the painful brilliance.

  “Mr. Jack? Mr. Levi?” Melly said as she held a lantern out before her.

  Shielding his eyes, Levi stepped around the door. “Melly, my angel. Have you come to set us free?”

  Melly smiled at Levi’s term for her, but it faded instantly. “No quite.” Melly stepped into the cell and the first thing we saw was the musket barrel against her back. Held by Betsy.

  “Betsy, what are you doing here? Where are Bess and the others?”

  “Some are in the woods fighting guards, but Sam is at the cottage, for something happened to Bess. Guinevere led a party here so that we could free you. This here girl says that she has not seen Guinevere, but James heard them speaking before this girl led her away. To safety she claims.”

  Betsy kept her musket aimed at Melly as James came into the cell and unlocked the shackles around our wrists.

  “It was to safety,” Melly interposed, “for she could not remain here and neither can any of you.”

  Hearing that something had happened to Bess had fear gripping me, but I stamped it down for the moment. “Let us go at once, but do lower your weapon. Melly is on our side.”

  Betsy lowered the weapon to her side. “If that is the truth, perhaps she can lead us out of this hive.”

  “I will do my best,” Melly said, “but you must make haste. The guards are occupied and this is our only moment.” Melly led the way out of the cellar and up the stairs, but instead of leading us through the great hall, she kept going up the narrow staircase, all the way to the top floor of the house.

  She led us down the dimly lit area with a few doors on each side. Melly turned to the right, but Betsy halted her.

  “Is this not the way down?” Betsy asked, pointing toward a staircase at the opposite end of the hall.

  “Yes, if you wish for the whole of the house to know you are fleeing,” Melly said softly before motioning us to follow her.