The Agents of William Marshal Volume II: A Medieval Romance Bundle

by Kathryn Le Veque

  “When it rains heavily like this, the Gorge of the Dead fills with water,” he said to those who could hear him. “It is possible that the gorge will fill up past the hidden entry in the rocks and if that is the case, we will have to swim underwater to get into the passage.

  The men looked at each other, thinking a swampy moat to be less than pleasant. “You never said anything about swimming in the moat,” one man said loudly. “We will be drowned!”

  Gryffyn shook his head. “It will not be deep enough for you to drown,” he assured them. “In fact, it will work to our advantage. As you make your way to the postern gate, stay low in the water and the sentries will have a difficult time seeing you. The path to the postern gate is clearly marked so you will have no trouble locating it. Once the gate has been opened, you will go directly to the keep. If we can take the keep, we can take the castle.”

  It seemed like a sound plan and the men settled down somewhat. Gryffyn turned to Colvyn. “We will take ten men with us to breach the passageway,” he said. “That should be all we need. We shall kill anyone in the kitchen and remain there, hiding, and send a man out to unlock the postern gate. I would do it myself but for the fact that if I am seen, I might be recognized.”

  Colvyn eyed him. Is it another trick to keep himself out of danger? “I will go unlock the gate,” Colvyn said. “I have been to Nether and know where the gate is.”

  Gryffyn was satisfied with that. The more he remained out of sight, the better. Waving an arm at the men, he motioned for them to follow his lead, across the rocky hillside, camouflaged by the wet gray rocks, before reaching the eastern side of the keep where the battlements had a blind spot because of the height of the parapet. Gryffyn took the lead, sliding down the side of the hill and stalking his way over to the Gorge of the Dead.

  Fortunately, there was only about three feet of water in the bottom of the gorge but it was filling quickly. It was terribly dark as they began to climb down the rocks into the moat but for a brief flash of lightning off to the north that illuminated the land for a split second. To a sharp sentry upon the wall walk of Nether, however, it was enough of a flash of light for him to catch sight of dozens of Welshmen entering the Gorge of the Dead.

  He went on the run for William.

  The worst part of an ambush was the wait.

  Keller and Gart had been in the kitchen since leaving Chrystobel in the keep, and that had been almost twelve hours ago. The sun had set and the kitchen was now dark but for a small fire in the hearth, and Keller had remained fixed by the hidden door that concealed the passage that led down into the gorge, waiting patiently. On the other side of the hidden door, Gart leaned against the wall, still and silent. He had, however, been yawning for the past hour, the only sign that the man was actually alive and breathing. Other than that, there had been no conversation and little movement. The knights, as well as twenty soldiers, were crowded into the dark kitchen in utter and complete silence.

  It was a waiting game. All day, Keller had been wracked with doubt. What if he had been wrong? What if Gryffyn hadn’t written that message, the one that Chrystobel had been positive that contained her brother’s handwriting? What if this had all been a horrible miscalculation and now here they were waiting on the receiving end of nothing. No Gryffyn, no Welsh, merely Keller and Gart, wasting their time. Keller could only pray it wasn’t true and that indeed he would be looking into Gryffyn d’Einen’s face soon. He had to rid his life of this evil that threatened everything he loved.

  A day of uncertainty turned into an evening of the same. Time passed with painful slowness. More waiting, and more silence. But that silence came to an abrupt end when William showed up in the kitchen a few hours after sunset. Having run all the way from the battlements, he was understandably winded.

  “The Welsh have been spotted, Keller,” he hissed. “As of two minutes ago, they were descending into the gorge from the northeast. Be ready!”

  Keller perked up, as did Gart. The yawning stopped. What they were waiting for was actually coming to pass and the smell of a battle instantly filled the air. They fed off it, bolstering their courage for what was to come. All of Keller’s doubts fled as he realized his instincts had been correct. Gryffyn was approaching!

  “Excellent,” Keller whispered with satisfaction. “So our ruse worked. Notify the postern gate and the gatehouse, William. Tell the men to be prepared.”

  William nodded sharply. “I have already sent men to inform them,” he said. “I will wait here with you.”

  Keller didn’t argue with him, mostly because he welcomed the fighting power of William’s sword. He found that he was very edgy, watching the hidden door, waiting for it to move. Slowly, silently, he unsheathed his broadsword and a few feet away, pressed against the wall, he saw Gart do the same. The steel blades glimmered weakly in the dim light as the rain outside continued to pour.

  It was madness, truly, waiting for that one small movement, that hint of an enemy, throwing them all into the maelstrom of battle. Keller was anxious to get down to it, so much so that he actually began to sweat. All he could see was Gryffyn’s face, the cold and terrible face that had looked down upon Chrystobel so many times as he beat the woman senseless. A mindless beast of a man who did not deserve to live. The more Keller thought on him, the more enraged he became. Come to me, Gryffyn, he thought as he stared at the hidden door. Come to me so that I may take your bloody head off!

  The moments dragged by, elongated, surreal in their slowness. Keller turned to see all of the men crowded into the kitchen and it suddenly occurred to him that they would be seen the moment the door opened, so he waved his hand swiftly at them, motioning them out of the kitchen, a directive to which they swiftly replied once they understood his meaning. All twenty of them piled out of the kitchen and out into the rain, hovering just outside the door, prepared to go charging back in and massacre the Welsh.

  And they waited. The thunder crashed and lightning blared, but still, they waited. Keller was about to move to the hidden panel to see if he could hear anything beyond when the door suddenly jerked. Startled, the English faded back into the shadows. The door jerked again, shifted, and slowly began to open.

  Keller was pressed flush against the wall, no more than a foot or two away, watching the panel slowly open up. His heart was thumping against his ribcage and anticipation filled his veins just as a head stuck out of the open door, peering around the extremely dark room. Come out just a little further, he thought. Just a little further so I can grab hold of you. But the figure didn’t emerge any further, at least not right away. The head turned in Gart’s direction and Keller was fearful that the big knight was spotted because he wasn’t too adequately concealed. But Gart was still, and the kitchen was dark, so the intruder evidently didn’t see him right away.

  The door opened wider, scraping against the floor of the kitchen. The head peering out was attached to a body that quietly stepped out onto the hard-packed floor. The minute he emerged into the room, Keller lashed out a big hand and grabbed the man by the hair, yanking him in his direction.

  The man started to yell but Keller rammed a broadsword into his back, between his ribs, killing him instantly as Gart jumped forward and grabbed the next man, making quick work of him. The English soldiers that were waiting outside the kitchen saw the fight commence and they rushed in, crowding the door as more Welsh tried to push through. From a silent, dark room one moment to a crowded mass of chaos the next, the kitchen was upended in unholy style.

  It was so dark in the kitchen, and so crowded, that two of the English soldiers nicked each other with their swords because it was difficult to see who they were fighting. Welsh were charging in through the open door, one at a time, being met with the English and their sharp blades. Because of the darkness and chaos, however, it was difficult to tell who was an enemy and who was a friend.

  Men fell down onto the floor, being trampled and stabbed at, as the mass in the kitchen swelled. There was absolutely no room
to fight so it was like being compressed in a big crowd with no opportunity for movement. Keller had dispatched four Welshmen but he was looking for Gryffyn, who he knew was amongst this group. He could see William near the door, doing battle with a Welsh rebel, but suddenly, he could see men spilling out from the kitchen into the yard beyond. The Welsh were escaping and the fight was following them.

  “William!” Keller roared. “They are entering the bailey!”

  Wellesbourne, in turn, bellowed into the bailey. “Breach!”

  Men came running from all corners of the castle. Rhys, on the second floor of the gatehouse, watched as men began spilling out of the kitchens, dark forms racing into the bailey only to be met by English troops. But the Welsh were clever. Rhys could see that they seemed to be driving in the direction of the stable yard and he knew what was there – the postern gate. His jaw ticked as he hissed at the men around him.

  “They are going for the postern gate,” he growled. “I am going down there to fight them off. You men hold the gatehouse. If they manage to take this, all will be lost. Hold fast.”

  The soldiers of the gatehouse nodded firmly as Rhys descended the stairs to the ground floor, unsheathing his dual blades as he headed out into the dark bailey. His target was the postern gate as well. He would kill anyone who tried to open it.

  More men poured out of the kitchen, both Welsh and English, fighting in the extreme dark as the rain poured around them. There was grunting and yelling over the sound of the rain and by the time Rhys reached the stable yard, he could see pockets of fighting around him. The men assigned to guard the postern gate were doing their duty by preventing the Welsh to get to the gate. In fact, as Rhys entered the yard, there were only two active fights going on and before he could get to them, the soldiers managed to subdue them.

  Six Welsh littered the muddy ground, speared by their English counterparts. Rhys still had his swords in his hands as he went to a couple of them, rolling them over to see the extent of the damage and to make sure they were dead. He gazed down at one young man, who couldn’t have been older than twelve or thirteen years. He must have gazed at the youth for an extended length of time because beside him, an old soldier spoke.

  “They grow younger all the time, m’lord,” the man muttered.

  Rhys nodded slowly. “He should be sitting at his mother’s hearth still,” he said quietly. Then, he began looking around the yard. “Is this all there is?”

  The old soldier nodded. “Aye, m’lord,” he said.

  Rhys turned his back on the young man and headed for the bailey to see how the fight in the kitchen is progressing. The rain was loud so he couldn’t hear anything of the outcome. He needed to have a visual sighting. He was even thinking about joining the kitchen fight if it seemed as if it was still going strong. Eyes on the skirmish near the kitchens, he had no idea what was transpiring behind him.

  The youth with the stab to the chest was not dead. He was fading, but he wasn’t dead. He was still mobile enough to roll to his knees when the English knight’s attention was elsewhere. The postern gate was about eight feet from him and he crawled towards it, on his hands and knees, unable to breathe for the hole in his chest but knowing he had to complete his mission. He knew he was going to die and he didn’t want it to be in vain. Just as he reached up for the bolt that secured the postern gate, Rhys happened to turn around and see what was happening.

  “Nay!” he roared.

  Rhys bolted for the postern gate just as the dying young man managed to throw the bolt. The gate swung open and all of Wales began to pour through. Rhys’ double blades began swinging in earnest as the soldiers who had been guarding the gate raced forward to block the flow, but men were streaming in and the battle was bad from the onset. Now, the English had a serious problem with two points of entry and they hadn’t been able to stem either one of them. The Welsh were, if nothing else, determined, and one of the English soldiers who had been guarding the postern gate ran out to the bailey to announce the turn of events.

  “Breach!” he screamed.

  William, over by the kitchens, was the only one who heard the cry. He could see men fighting in the stable yard as it began to spill out into the bailey. Dispatching the man he had been fighting, he began shoving men out of the way as he made his way into the kitchen.

  “Keller!” he bellowed. “The postern gate has been compromised!”

  Keller was still back near the open hidden door, still fighting Welsh who were trying to enter the kitchen. He yelled over to Gart.

  “Forbes!” he boomed. “To the postern gate! William and I will handle the kitchen!”

  Gart broke the neck of the man he was fighting and charged out of the kitchen, killing another Welshman when the man happened to get in his way. Gart roared and beat at his chest, fueled by the blood lust, as he plowed through the crowd and out into the bailey. He could see the fighting going on over by the postern gate and made haste to join Rhys as the man tried to prevent a larger tide of Welsh from entering the castle. When Gart entered the fray, it became more horrific than before. It became a blood bath.

  Keller was now the only knight inside the kitchen but he was handling the Welsh efficiently enough. There were several dead sprawled out across the kitchen floor and the tide coming in through the hidden passage had stemmed somewhat. Either there were no more men or the ones that were coming through had guessed the carnage beyond and had turned around. Doing away with his last opponent, Keller managed to shove the hidden door closed and, with the help of several English soldiers, blocked the door up with a heavy butcher table and a barrel of water, which made it nearly impossible to move. Satisfied that no more Welsh could come through, he left four men guarding the door while he headed out into the bailey.

  There was a massive fight near the postern gate as the Welsh had come through but had been effectively stopped. Now, it was just close quarters fighting, but a few Welsh had managed to make it through the fighting and were heading for the keep. Keller wasn’t too terribly concerned about the keep being breached because it was a nearly impenetrable structure, but he did want to prevent the Welsh from making an attempt on it. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see William battling a fairly large Welshman so Keller came up behind him and shoved his broadsword between his ribs. The Welshman went down and William stepped over his former opponent, pointing to the keep.

  “They are heading for the keep, Keller,” he said, wiping the water from his eyes.

  Keller nodded. “I know,” he said. “But they cannot get into it. The only way they could marginally breach it is if they set fire to the door, which they cannot do because of the rain. I am not concerned with a few paltry men. What I am concerned with, however, is finding Gryffyn. He is here, somewhere. You and I are the only knights who will know him on sight so it is up to us to find him.”

  William nodded, looking around the bailey where the Welshmen who had been running for the keep were now being fended off by soldiers from the gatehouse.

  “You did not see the man come in through the kitchens?” he asked.

  Keller shook his head. “It was very dark in there,” he replied. “If he did, I did not see him. Go to the postern gate and see if he is there.”

  William nodded and fled, into the rain, into the night that was filled with pockets of fighting. Keller’s gaze lingered on the bailey for a moment longer before thinking he should perhaps check the identities of the Welsh who had been killed in the kitchen. It was quite possible that one of them was Gryffyn and it had been too dark for him to see. His eyesight wasn’t particularly good, anyway. Just as he took his gaze off the bailey and turned for the kitchen, something hit him so hard on the back of the head that he pitched forward, onto his face. He struggled to push himself up but something hit him again, a second time, and the world abruptly went black.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Gryffyn had been positioned two men behind Colvyn when the man shoved the hidden door open and was subsequently gored by an Englis
h knight. The next man, too, had been killed, making it instantly and abundantly clear that the English had set a trap.

  With that knowledge, Gryffyn fell back and began screaming at the Welsh, urging them onward, watching them push their way into the black kitchen and subsequently engage the English that were prepared with big weapons. Gryffyn wasn’t about to put himself in harm’s way. He let the other rabid Welsh battle the English while he pushed in with the crowd and immediately fell to his knees, creeping across the dirt floor and pressing himself between a corner of the wall and a big wooden cabinet that contained things like utensils, bowls, and other kitchen implements. It was so dark in the kitchen that hiding hadn’t been difficult. He had been able to watch the entire battle unfold from his vantage point.

  In truth, he was shocked that the English had been waiting for them. More than that, he had been embarrassed. What he considered to be a perfect scheme had somehow been circumvented, by de Poyer, he was sure. Somehow, someway, the man had discovered his plans and had countered them. Now, Gryffyn was ashamed and furious. So he went off to hide as the English made bloody work of Colvyn’s Welshmen, but Colvyn was dead and didn’t see how his men were abused. Gryffyn did, however. And the chief abuser was none other than de Poyer himself.

  He could see the man in the darkness, killing one Welshman after another. There was no mistaking de Poyer’s size, nor his power, so Gryffyn watched from the shadows as de Poyer and his men put down most of the Welsh. Some of them ran outside. He didn’t know what became of them and it was difficult to hear anything for all of the rain that was coming down. He did, however, hear of a breach at the postern gate and he watched de Poyer send a very large knight out to combat it. That left just de Poyer and Wellesbourne, whom Gryffyn could see just outside of the kitchen door. Gryffyn remained in his hiding place and waited.

  Eventually, the fighting died down in the kitchen with most of the Welsh either dead or run off. There were several soldiers still in the kitchen, plus de Poyer, and the men were inspecting the Welsh dead surrounding them. There was a dead Welshman about three feet away from Gryffyn and when one of the soldiers came near to kick the man to see if he was really dead, Gryffyn pressed himself deep into the black corner in his attempt not to be seen. Still as stone, he waited until the soldier moved away and they blocked off the hidden passage with a heavy table and other heavy items. Then, the soldiers filtered out as de Poyer remained behind.