Waterfall

by Lisa T. Bergren

  That was right before I turned the corner and a low-lying branch caught me across my chest.

  Pride goeth before the fall, and all that. Yeah, yeah, I knew. I was foolish.

  But it didn’t register with me, of course, until I lay on my back, staring up through the trees at the bits and pieces of the moon, partially covered by leaves, fighting for breath.

  This is what it feels like to be Fortino.

  Mentally I cataloged my body, trying each limb as I waited for my breath to return. I was looking at my fingers, flexing before my face, trying not to panic, when I felt the rumble of horse hooves on the path.

  Horses, coming my way.

  I surged over to my right, rolling once, twice, until I was under a low-hanging bush as two men on horseback raced past me. They pulled up ahead and turned back. I groaned inwardly, just taking my third breath. They’d seen me. I forced myself to rise and draw my sword, still willing my breathing to return to normal. Again, I thought of Fortino and found myself whispering a prayer to God that he might be breathing still.

  The men came into view down the path, and I pressed back among the trees.

  “Gabriella?” the first said, and I frowned.

  I edged out. “Marcello?”

  He rode closer then. “Are you running to Castello Paratore?”

  “Do not ask,” I said, sheathing my sword again. He surged forward, reaching for my arm and using the momentum to swing me up behind him. I looked over my shoulder at Luca and grinned. I wrapped my arms around Marcello, so glad he was alive, so glad I wasn’t alone.

  How had they managed to escape and get to me so quickly? Were the Sienese already surrounding Castello Forelli, capturing the Paratore forces? I hoped so; but I was most glad they were there, with me. Ready to help me find my sister.

  Marcello tensed and looked back at Luca. Luca stayed deadly still and then nodded once. I heard it then too.

  More riders were coming. And they weren’t ours.

  We rode hard, then suddenly veered off on a narrow path I was fairly certain didn’t lead to Castello Paratore. We came out on a sandbar, farther up the creek than the normal crossing, and waited in the thick brush that lined the banks. Six knights on horses crossed a ways down, their mounts sending water flying into the air—a thousand droplets catching the moonlight. It was almost beautiful, terrifying and gorgeous at the same time. And surreal. Because they were obviously hunting, chasing us.

  Luca looked over at Marcello. “No one saw us escape. I’m certain of it.”

  Marcello tensed. I could feel his torso contract, his breathing hesitate. “Then they’re after Gabriella.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes,” he said simply. “Paratore has sent them to fetch you because you double-crossed him.” Memories of Paratore and Vannucci’s threats rang in my mind.

  “We cannot let them reach the castle,” Luca said lowly. “If they do, they shall warn the guards, and Gabriella shall never free her sister, only find herself captured.”

  Marcello twisted in his saddle so fast, lifting me to the ground, I didn’t have time to react. Thick creek pebbles met my feet, and I stumbled a bit backward, against a scrub oak. “Hide, Gabriella. We’ll be back for you as fast as we can.”

  Without waiting for my response, he pressed his mount into action, and he and Luca were off.

  I bit back my indignation, the desire to call out his name, insist he return for me. Luca was right, of course. Our only hope was that they could overtake the men, surprise them and somehow kill or capture all six. And they couldn’t do that with the weight of two people on one mount.

  Two against six. Fortes fortuna adiuvat. They’re probably reveling in those odds, I thought, pacing back and forth. Idiots. Brave, wonderful, idiots.

  They considered me more a liability than an ally, which was probably right. But they didn’t know that, for sure. They didn’t know it.

  I picked up my skirts, pulled off my slippers and moved across the creek bed, wincing as the rocks bit into my feet. On the other side, I dried my feet with my skirt and pulled on the slippers again, then set off running, moving to the main path, knowing it was upon that one that my men would engage their enemies. I settled into a steady jog, not wanting to become too winded. But that was hard with the sword on my back. Carrying an extra thirty-pound sword was like weighing thirty more pounds yourself. I felt like I’d been sitting around all summer, watching TV, eating Twinkies. And I was dying now that I had decided to go out for cross-country.

  Not that I’d ever gone out for cross-country. I liked to hike. Not run for miles until I was in pain. But still I pressed on. Perhaps I could sneak in, take one man down, help Marcello and Luca before they even knew I was there. I had to do something. Hide, he had said. Hide! This was not a night for hiding. It was a night to scream, “Bring it on!” to the entire valley and then prepare for the onslaught.

  Yeah, a part of me really wanted to hide. But I ignored it.

  I caught my breath as I eased down a hill and when I rounded the corner, I could hear men calling out and swords clashing. I doubled my pace, then pulled up short, studying the battlefield. Three men were on the ground already, obviously dead, one with his head at a grotesque angle. Two were advancing upon Marcello. Luca and the third knight moved toward me, their swords clanging again and again. Slowly, I drew my dagger out.

  They still hadn’t seen me. Luca was tiring; I could see it in the speed of his sword as it rose to meet the enemy’s. The man’s sword sliced through the air three times in quick succession, and Luca spun away from the last a second too late. The sword tip lanced his upper arm, and he cried out. The man did not break from his attack, whirling, preparing to bring the full weight of his sword into Luca’s neck or torso.

  I didn’t think. I bent and lunged, dagger in hand, exactly at the moment his belly was most exposed.

  He crumpled to his side, clutching the dagger and gasping.

  Luca stepped forward and ended his misery, eyed me a moment, then turned toward Marcello.

  I ran behind him, drawing my sword from my back sheath. We saw Marcello, then, wrestling on the ground, barely holding off a knight’s dagger, an inch from his throat as another knight hovered, waiting to strike. The second turned when he heard our approach. Luca climbed a small boulder and leaped toward him, a bloodcurdling cry bursting from his throat.

  I cried out too, as the dagger touched Marcello’s skin and blood glimmered in the moonlight. I swung my broadsword in an arc, missing cutting off the man’s head, but managing to nick his neck.

  He screamed and rolled off of Marcello, clutching his neck in shock, but it was clearly no use. Blood spurted everywhere. He’d be dead in moments.

  Dimly, I realized that Luca was nearing us, no sounds of pursuit behind him.

  Marcello rose, clutching his side. “Gabriella,” he said, grabbing my shoulder and studying my face as if he was trying to read my thoughts in the moonlight. “Are you all right?”

  But I could only stare at the other man, now choking on his own blood. Had I done that? Really? Me? My head swirled in a sickening mix of horror and fury.

  “Turn away, Gabriella,” Marcello said, moving between me and my victim when I did not obey. He pressed my head to his chest as we heard the man emit a horrible gurgling sound and fall, face-first, to the ground.

  Luca stepped up beside us and laid a hand on my back. “The She-Wolf of Siena,” he said proudly. “Saved my neck too.”

  Marcello laughed lowly and then lifted my chin. “I told you to stay behind. It would’ve been far safer.” He lifted one brow. “But Luca and I might’ve died without you. You must keep yourself together, She-Wolf. Think of Evangelia.” His voice hardened. “There is certain to be more bloodshed ahead. Are you prepared?”

  “Yes,” I mumbled.

  He shook
me, trying to break me from my stupor.

  “I like having her behind us,” Luca quipped. “No one expects one so beautiful to be a wolf on the attack.”

  “They know of her strength, those ahead of us,” Marcello said. “Do not think you can surprise them, Gabriella. You must go in poised to kill. Understand me?”

  I swallowed hard. I’d just killed two men, two men who were someone’s sons, someone’s husbands, someone’s brothers—

  “I will leave you here,” he said gruffly, almost shouting at me while trying to keep his voice down. “God help me, I will tie you up here, if you don’t show me you can tolerate this. Must I do that?”

  We stood nose to nose, glaring at each other.

  “No,” I managed.

  He released me, still clearly angry, but I knew it was the kind of fury that grew from fear. He was afraid for me. Women didn’t go to war, in this time. Joan of Arc probably hadn’t been born yet in France. And yet here I was…and suddenly, I was regretting it. If only I hadn’t put my hand on that terrible print. If only Lia hadn’t done the same.…

  Water splashed over my face, and I sputtered and blinked.

  Luca took a swig from his water spleen and smiled at me. He cocked his head, and his eyes narrowed, as if remembering something. “It’s a shock, that first time, to kill a man. But keep in mind, they were about to kill me. And Marcello.”

  I looked to Marcello, who was binding a cloth around his bleeding neck. Blood spread across the sleeve of Luca’s upper arm. And then I remembered.

  This was war. It was us versus them. To live or die.

  They would not show me mercy.

  And neither could I.

  CHAPTER 18

  We found four of the Paratore knights’ horses, munching on scrub oak, seemingly unperturbed that their masters had all been slain. The Forelli horses were long gone and would probably return to the castello stables on their own.

  “M’lord, God has smiled upon us,” Luca said to Marcello, grinning over at him.

  Marcello returned his smile and immediately retrieved the nearest mount. Luca and I did the same, leading them back to the clearing. The men handed the reins to me, and although the horses shied and shifted, not liking the smell of blood, I held them fast. Marcello and Luca moved quickly, stripping the dead men of their crimson vests and pulling them over their shoulders.

  “Can’t say I ever thought I’d see you in red,” Luca taunted Marcello.

  “It chafes, even through my shirt,” Marcello joked. He bent to grab a man’s heels and dragged him into the brush. Luca followed suit, and in short order, all the dead Paratore men were hidden from sight.

  Marcello turned and took the reins of his horse from me. I handed Luca his and then mounted my mare, ignoring Marcello’s approach to assist me. He looked at my bare ankle and calf and flashed me a wolfish smile with cocked brow. I shook my head. Showing these guys the skin exposed in summer capris got the same reaction as walking around in a bikini at home.

  I laughed under my breath and kicked my horse in the flanks, knowing the men could easily catch up with me. Besides, we had to hurry. If we weren’t inside the castle gates before word reached them that the Paratore forces had been overrun by Sienese, we’d never get in. We’d lost precious minutes, battling the six soldiers.

  Soon we were on the cobblestone entry road. As agreed, we paused so that the men could get situated, posing as wounded soldiers. It helped that there was blood upon both of them. Luca went as far as to lie across the saddle, arms dangling. Marcello hunched forward, as if barely holding on. I pressed on as fast as I dared and paused before the massive castle gates.

  “Allow me entry at once!” I cried, looking over my shoulder as if I were being pursued. “I am Lady Gabriella Betarrini. Lord Paratore has sent me to retrieve my sister!”

  Four knights stared down at me from the wall above. The little peephole window slid open, and a man peered out at us.

  “Do not tarry,” I said. “We narrowly escaped a Sienese patrol. Let us in!”

  The man’s small eyes shifted to the crimson on Marcello’s shoulder and then to Luca. “I do not know those men.”

  Marcello groaned and shifted.

  “They said that they are mercenaries, hired by Lord Paratore,” I said hurriedly. “But they are no account to me. I simply believed you may wish to take in your own wounded.”

  Still, the man paused.

  “Leave them here if need be,” I bit out, “but allow me entrance immediately. You try my patience.” I lifted my chin and clamped my lips together. “Lord Paratore will certainly be hearing—”

  The man groaned and slid the tiny door shut. Perhaps he was a henpecked husband, and he’d decided to risk Lord Paratore’s wrath rather than my whining.

  I heard the bolt lock clang, and the beam begin to slide. I allowed the corner of my lip to curl in victory, but then bit the side of my cheek, regaining my angry edge. I needed to stay in character. I moved forward into the courtyard as if I intended to drop the soldiers’ reins into the gateman’s hands.

  It was then I saw four knights, hands on the hilts of their swords, advancing, two from either side. “No!” I cried, digging my heels into the sides of my horse cruelly hard. “You are spooking my mare!” I pulled hard on the reins, and as she reared, I leaned hard, forward, determined to keep my seat. The men paused, surprised, confused, and when the horse came down on all four hooves, I pressed her forward, as if she was out of my control, trotting away, dragging the two mounts behind me. We were quickly on the other side of the courtyard. “Now,” I said lowly.

  Marcello and Luca sprang from their horses, each drawing their weapons as I ran to the door and opened it. Marcello and Luca entered. I slammed and barricaded it behind us, just as the men rammed up against it in pursuit.

  “This way,” I said, grabbing my skirts and whirling, running down the hall to the door that led to the dungeon.

  “Luca, I need to find a way to keep those gates open, or our hope of escape dies,” Marcello said.

  Luca nodded once. “I will go with Gabriella.”

  The men gripped hands briefly, and Marcello turned toward me and nudged my chin. “Do as he says, She-Wolf. I shall see you when this is all at an end.”

  I nodded, half wanting to cry out at the thought of his leaving me. Didn’t we need to stay together? Weren’t we a team? But I knew what gaining this castle meant, to him and many more.

  “Do you know of another way out of here?” he asked.

  I thought back to my last visit. Did I remember someone leaving from the side, toward the back? When I looked back to see Lia in the window?

  “There might be a passageway, back there and to the left.” I pointed.

  I watched, still a little stunned as he turned on his heel and ran to the back of the building, in search of my alternative exit.

  You had to go and fall for a guy who goes all-in for a cause.…

  “Come,” Luca said, easing through the door. We crept down the stairs, taking a sputtering torch with us. At the bottom, Luca lit another torch, which he handed to me as we moved forward.

  They hadn’t even bothered to lock the dungeon. A shiver of fear rolled down my back. What if they had moved her? What if she wasn’t here? What if she was? What if her hands were paralyzed after spending a night hanging from them?

  Luca stepped into the room at the bottom of the stairs and then stood stock-still. I peeked around the corner. Of course, it had to be him. Of all of the Paratore knights…

  The hulking knight came to his feet and drew his sword. Another movement caught my eye. It was Lord Vannucci. He, too, rose.

  “Now, see here,” I said, edging past Luca. “I am here to retrieve my sister. Lord Paratore promised me her release.” I blinked, relieved to see her not still dangling from
the chain. She was in a cell behind the Hulk, sitting up at the sound of my voice. But seeing her, clearly miserable, helped me find my anger and push back my fear. I strode over to Lord Vannucci. “Release her. Now. And send us off with the promised gold as well. We must be away.”

  Lord Vannucci didn’t move. He just stared at me so steadily, so coldly, I again imagined he was seeing right through me. “Who is he?” he asked, flicking his eyes toward Luca.

  “It matters not,” I said, edging a bit between Luca and him. If he recognized him as Marcello’s captain…

  “It matters to me,” he said, eyes narrowing.

  “We are in love,” Luca said, stepping forward and slipping a hand around my waist. I struggled to keep my expression in order, lifting my chin as if I was verifying his words as truth. “Once we are safely in Firenze, we shall exchange our vows.”

  Lia was now at the front of the cell, hands wrapped around the bars. I took in a little breath and cast her an encouraging smile.

  Lord Vannucci stepped over to me and said lowly, “I thought it was Sir Forelli who had lost his heart to you.”

  “Indeed, he did,” I said, letting a wicked smile turn up the corners of my mouth. “He was so lovesick, he never saw that my heart had been claimed by another. It aided me in opening the gates this night.” I stopped in front of him and looked up into his face. “I have done what you and Lord Paratore asked of me. Now honor our bargain.”

  He whipped out his hand so fast I didn’t even realize it was his hand until I felt it pressing cruelly into the sides of my throat. I heard the slide of Luca’s sword, as well as the massive knight’s, but my eyes remained locked on Lord Vannucci’s. “You think me a fool,” he ground out. “You are lying.”

  Lia cried out as he turned me around and rushed me to the stone wall, knocking me against it. I could see Luca doing his best to battle the massive Paratore knight, but he was not faring very well.