“There’s a village close to here. If we hurry, we’ll get there before the rain.”
“Does it have an inn?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can we stay at the inn if there is one? I know, such indulgences, but I’d like decent food and a real bed. I wouldn’t mind a bath, either.”
Marcus shook his head and hid a smile. “I might be able to arrange such luxuries.”
“You’re pretty decent for a Knight.”
“From an Oskelesian sorceress, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Take what you can get.” Brelynn rubbed her aching legs. “How close are we to Aerius?”
“We’re in Tamryn lands now, but we’re not even a quarter of the way to the capital city. We’re going much slower than I expected.”
“Looked closer on the maps I saw.”
“Everything does.”
She bit her lower lip and shivered as an unnatural coldness brushed her shoulder, and the hairs on the nape of her neck prickled. Lucky growled, and Brelynn turned in her saddle.
She saw nothing.
Lucky quieted as the first fat raindrops rolled off her cheek.
Sir Marcus studied the road behind them. “Something has Lucky’s attention, but I haven’t noticed signs of anyone following us. With the storm coming, if someone is there, they’ll use the reduced visibility and slippery roads to their advantage. We need to get to the village.”
Brelynn silently agreed as she urged Rocky faster.
The clouds grew thicker and rumbled their discontent while the dampness made it feel even colder.
Brelynn shivered. While she knew what thunder was, what storms were, this one seemed louder than it should. Thunderstorms were rare in Oskelez and severe when they struck. She’d hated them since she’d been a child, and she’d never outgrown the fear.
“What’s wrong?” Sir Marcus asked as she slowed her horse again.
The clouds rumbled, and she startled in her saddle. “Nothing.”
“It’s just thunder.”
“Yeah, just thunder.” She urged her horse forward.
“It’s the lightening you have to worry about.”
“You’re not helping.” Brelynn studied the thick clouds overhead as a couple more raindrops splattered her cheeks. “Could vampires be out on a day like today without turning to ash?”
“It’s risky, but if Calmont is desperate, he might take the chance.”
“Or order his vampires to take the chance. A vampire can’t refuse an order from their master.” It was the one thing Mara hated most about being bound to Mokkar Calmont, and though Brelynn had tried to help her friend break the vampire lord’s hold, they’d never figured out how.
“Another downside of eternal undeath.”
Brelynn agreed and said nothing more as she focused on trying to keep up with Sir Marcus. If there was a village nearby, she wanted to get there before dark and before the full force of the storm hit.
They pushed on, riding well past the time they normally stopped for the night. Brelynn was sore, tired, and hungry when thunder rumbled and her magic jumped to protect her.
The branches nearest her caught fire, frightening Rocky.
The beast reared, almost throwing her from her saddle, but Brelynn hung on as the rain doused the flames.
Sir Marcus caught the reins and brought the weary horse back under control. “You okay?”
“Tired. And…” She shook her head.
“And what?”
“I think something’s following us.”
“I’ve sensed it too, and so has Lucky, but I haven’t seen anything yet. Still, I trust our instincts more than our eyes.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Wasn’t meant to.” He paused. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, but it’s getting hard to hold the magic back. Too many days on horseback and not enough sleep.”
“We need to get somewhere for the night or you’ll do more than singe a few branches. Tell me when you’re getting tired.”
“The last time I wasn’t tired I was still in Oskelez.”
Sir Marcus leaned down, lifted Brelynn out of her saddle, and nestled her in front of him. His armor was wet, but she laid her head against him anyway and closed her eyes. She was too tired to argue, too tired to think, too tired to pretend she could keep riding without help.
His strong arms secured her in the saddle, and his warmth seeped through the thick metal to surround her. There was something comfortable, something right, about the way he held her even though he was Knight of Valor.
Such thoughts boded trouble, but she no longer had the energy to fight it. To question it. Instead, she let herself rest.
Chapter 17
Brelynn woke up still wrapped in Sir Marcus’s arms as they trotted into a village that consisted of a handful of houses, a church, and a tavern. A massive dragon oak dominated the center of the village, and it appeared as if the buildings had been constructed around it. The tree’s wide leaves offered a respite from the rain as Sir Marcus rode underneath it to the church.
Brelynn focused on the whitewashed buildings that were all in good repair, a few even sporting flower boxes filled with blooms, and she ignored the fluttering in her stomach as she breathed in Sir Marcus’s crisp scent.
She was being stupid again, and neither of them could afford that. She needed to leash the unwelcome responses and regain control. If she could control magic, she could control her own emotions.
She hoped.
Glancing at the sky, the thick clouds made it difficult to tell if the sun had set, but Brelynn guessed it would be completely dark soon.
There were no monks here, but the sanctified grounds of the church should incinerate most vampires. Holy ground would also give her and Sir Marcus an advantage in a fight.
The drizzle turned to a steady patter of rain with an occasional distant rumble of thunder punctuating the storm. Brelynn shuddered and tightened her arms around Sir Marcus. He held her closer, and she wished there wasn’t a wall of steel between them.
Brelynn cursed herself.
She was too smart to fall for a Knight of Valor, even one that had saved her dog, much less the Great Lich Slayer. She needed to end the foolishness gripping her, but she didn’t know how. That frustrated her even more.
Her thoughts quieted as Sir Marcus dismounted and took his warmth with him. The damp air surrounded her and penetrated her thin cloak. She shivered and leaned closer to Bastion.
When Sir Marcus was a few steps away, a whisper of cold caressed Brelynn’s cheek and disappeared. The hairs along the back of her neck prickled, and Bastion stomped his foot. Brelynn glanced across the town but saw no one else.
Didn’t mean they weren’t there.
Sir Marcus glanced over at her, but if he noticed the unnatural cold, he didn’t mention it.
Knocking on the church door, the Knight called a greeting to the man overseeing the church. They had a short conversation, and Sir Marcus came back to Bastion and reached up for Brelynn.
“He says we can stay the night.”
“That was easy. Oh yeah, Knight of Valor.” She tried to dismount and fell off his horse and into his arms.
He caught her and set her on her feet.
Brelynn’s legs wobbled after the hours on horseback, and Sir Marcus slid an arm around her to steady her. She sucked in a sharp breath as the scent of him surrounded her, as he stood tall and strong beside her. She turned to meet his pale gaze, and her lips hovered inches away from his.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his words whispering over her cheek.
There were a thousand things she wanted to say, but Rocky’s impatient nicker pulled her gaze sideways.
Her magic thrummed hot and bright as stepped away from Sir Marcus, and she leashed her magic.
If she affected him even a fraction as much as he did her, Brelynn couldn’t tell. His stoic features revealed nothing.
B
relynn cursed herself and the poster-boy-perfect Knight.
“We need to settle the horses before the storm,” Sir Marcus said, and led her, Rocky, and Bastion to a lean-to beside the church.
Focusing her attention on the animals, Brelynn helped to feed, water, and brush them, but her magic wouldn’t quiet. Part of it was fatigue, part of it her foolish response to the Knight of Valor, and part of it the lingering unnatural chill.
After the fifth time of glancing over her shoulder, she mumbled a string of expletives under her breath.
“I sense it, too.” Sir Marcus hefted his shield. “I think it’s the spell wizards use to track people without endangering themselves.”
Wizards used the spell for a lot more things than that, but whoever was casting it had to be some distance away. This spell consumed a lot of magic for her and Sir Marcus to sense it so easily. Brelynn flicked a raindrop off her cloak. “You were right about them using the storm. They’re figuring out where we are.”
“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t right.”
The words sounded strange and hollow, but Brelynn didn’t push.
They finished with the horses, and Sir Marcus led her into the church. As the doors closed behind them, the sensation of being watched evaporated, and the tension eased from Brelynn’s shoulders.
“Definitely magic,” Sir Marcus said. “Dark magic.”
Brelynn closed her eyes as a shudder racked her. Mokkar Calmont was a powerful vampire, but he didn’t command dark magic. That meant his master.
Arch-Grimveldt Korvar.
Just thinking his name made Brelynn’s throat constrict. She glanced at the altar to Thalia and silently begged to be wrong.
Sir Marcus touched her shoulder, and she startled. “Might be rustic, but this church is still holy ground. Calmont won’t bother you here.”
Brelynn laid her hand over his and nodded. Sir Marcus was right. Neither a vampire nor any of Arch-Grimveldt Korvar’s undead creations could step foot in a sanctified church without going up in flames.
The town may not be wealthy, but it was pious, and care reflected in the rough wooden benches and hand-carved altars.
She paused as she studied the altar to Thalia. If anyone would forgive her for all she had done under her master, the goddess of mercy and light would. Not knowing any prayers, Brelynn made one up and offered it to the goddess.
The scent of fresh bread interrupted her impromptu prayer, and Brelynn’s stomach growled.
A middle-aged man with thinning hair and a rounding middle hurried over to greet her. “You must be Sir Marcus’s charge.”
“Something like that,” Brelynn said. “Where can we put our stuff?”
“Are you sure you won’t come stay at the farm with me? We’d fix you a home-cooked meal, and we have plenty of beds. Meeting Sir Marcus Valerian the Great Lich Slayer would thrill my wife and boys.”
Sir Marcus tensed beside her, and Brelynn smiled at the priest. “As much as we’d like that, and let me tell you we would, you’re not getting me back on a horse tonight. Especially given Sir Marcus’s current mission.”
“His current mission?”
Brelynn glanced around the church, then she leaned forward and whispered, “Promise me you’ll keep your family home tonight. Lock your doors, say a prayer to Thalia, and only let in those you know. No matter what they say. No matter who they tell you they are.”
The priest glanced at the wards Sir Marcus was placing above the church doors and made the sign of the dragon over his chest.
“Thank you again for letting us stay here, but you should get back home before dark,” Sir Marcus said. “I’ll lock up in the morning.”
The priest nodded and hurried out the door.
Brelynn waited for him to leave, then laid her bedroll down at the front of the church and whispered a quick apology to the gods. She didn’t like scaring one of Their faithful, but if Arch-Grimveldt Korvar had found her, it was best if no one else drew his interest.
Sitting down on her bedroll, Brelynn rummaged through her pack as the rain pattered on the roof. Everything in the church felt sticky from the humidity of the storm, but the air was too cold and smelled too good for them to be near Oskelez.
Marcus handed her a basket as he laid his bedroll down beside hers and sat.
She opened it and found fresh bread, crisp fruit, and roasted chicken. Brelynn’s eyes widened at the feast and her stomach rumbled its approval. “Where’d you get this?”
“The priest gave it to me.”
“This is better than anything I’ve eaten in a long time. Looks like it was his supper.”
“Most likely,” Sir Marcus said. “Packed it to eat while he was seeing to the church.”
“I appreciate that he shared.” She tore off a hunk of bread and chose a piece of fruit. She gave some of her food to Lucky, who ate it and then curled up at her feet. “Maybe you could be a priest.”
Sir Marcus frowned. “Why would I do that?”
“You’re supposed to retire, remember?”
“I remember.”
“Would keep you close to the church and out of combat.” Brelynn popped a piece of chicken into her mouth.
“I wouldn’t like being a priest.”
“Too much warrior in you for that, I suppose. If not a priest, what’ll you do?”
“Haven’t thought about it.”
“You’ve had lots of time to think on this hellish ride.”
Sir Marcus hid a smile as he bit into his bread. “The ride’s not been bad.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Your mount makes it worse.”
Thunder clapped, and Brelynn scooted a little closer to the Knight. “Rocky needs to retire, and he knows how he’ll spend it. Eating grass and basking in warm sunshine. Maybe you could do that, too.”
“Not sure about the grass, although I do like sunshine.”
“You have no idea, do you?”
Sir Marcus stared across the church at the altar of the Dragon God. “I wasn’t expecting to retire.”
“Gotta be strange to have spent your whole life training for an impossible mission, and now you’ve done what you set out to do. Time to bask in the accolades.” She nibbled her bread. “But you don’t remind me of the type that does much basking, even if you do like sunshine.”
“Still a lot of evil out there to smite.”
“Don’t look at me when you say that.” Brelynn pointed her bread at him.
“I didn’t mean-”
She grinned and nudged him. “Hard to smite evil if you’re retired, but if anyone can find a way, you can.”
“There are more ways to fight than a sword and shield.”
The determination in his words made her chest tighten. There was no part of him that wasn’t dedicated to the light, that wasn’t a Knight of Valor. And Knights of Valor hated all things Oskelesian.
Brelynn shoved aside the strange hollowness filling her, chiding herself again for her foolishness.
Marcus offered Lucky a bite of his dinner. The dog devoured it but never left Brelynn’s side.
“You need to get a dog.” Brelynn hugged Lucky. “They don’t care who you’re related to, what you killed, or if you bathed in fortnight as long as you feed them. They’ll even keep you company during a thunderstorm.”
Marcus patted Lucky’s head, and the dog wagged his tail.
“See? You fed him, and now he likes you.”
Marcus grinned and slipped Lucky another bite. “It might be nice to have someone waiting for me some day.”
“You’ve never had that, have you? Someone waiting for you.”
“I don’t want it when I can’t be sure I’m coming home.”
“That wasn’t past tense.”
“I still have this mission to complete.”
“You promised to get me to Aerius.” Brelynn nudged him again. “No dying on me before we get there.”
“I have no intention of dying on you, but you were right about all it
taking is a lucky arrow.”
She touched his arm and waited until he looked at her. “Make sure you get home and bask in the sunshine and accolades.”
He studied his large sword-calloused hands and frowned.
“I know your kind. Met them in Oskelez, and they were always trouble.”
Marcus arched a brow. “You met my kind in Oskelez?”
“Not Knights of Valor, but restless, always gotta be doing something. Once you figure out your next goal, you’ll make it happen. You don’t accept failure, no matter the cost.”
“Sometimes the cost is too high.”
“I’ll take that as a Knight of Valor admitting I’m right. Score one for the sorceress.” A glittering one appeared above her head.
“Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”
Brelynn made a face at him then leaned back on her bedroll. “Will you keep doing missions for the Crown until you figure out retirement?”
“Doubt the king will need too many favors.”
“He’s a king. They always need something.”
Sir Marcus chuckled, and the rich sound of his laughter quieted her fear even as thunder pealed. He may be a Knight of Valor, but she was safe with him. Protected.
It was the first time in her life she’d felt either.
She nudged him. “Maybe I should teach you mahjong.”
“Mahjong?”
“It’s a game kind of like solitaire. Mara taught it to me.”
“I won’t be bored. Besides mahjong, I’ll be learning to oversee my lands. My aunt has cared for them since my mother died, and those duties grew when the Crown granted me lands I liberated.”
Brelynn dusted off her hands and tucked the unfinished food back in the basket. “Administration doesn’t suit you.”
“Caring for the people on my lands gives me another avenue to fight evil and corruption.”
“Didn’t think that existed in Tamryn.”
“Not everyone is a Knight of Valor, not even in Tamryn.”
“Thank the gods for that.”
Marcus glared at her, and Brelynn grinned back as she climbed into her bedroll. “As bad as that sounds for retirement, and it sounds really bad, getting back on my horse sounds worse.”
Knight of Valor: Knights of Valor Page 7
