A Warrior's Heart (Shields) (2 page)

“The meal was excellent, my lady.”

Mina smiled, her blue-green eyes reflecting worry.
 
“I’ll be sure to tell the cook.”

He rose and started around the table when Hugh stopped him.
 
“Where are you going?”

“You all celebrate.
 
I’ll keep the first watch,” he threw over his shoulder.

Hugh sighed loudly as he leaned back in his chair.
 
“I worry about him.
 
He hasn’t been the same since he and Val returned from Scotland.”

“Nay,” Val said softly.
 
“It was like discovering his immortality made things worse.”

Nicole, Val’s mate, tsked as she threaded her fingers within his.
 
“Give him time, love,” she said, her Scottish accent thick.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Roderick stated.
 

Hugh looked to his wife and held out his hand for her as he stood.
 
“Are you ready for bed, my love?”

Mina smiled as she accepted Hugh’s hand.
 
“Always.”

Hugh tucked Mina’s arm in his and looked at his men.
 
“The Fae are guarding Stone Crest. However, I think it would be vigilant of us to keep a lookout ourselves.
 
The Great Evil hasn’t been foolish before.
 
I doubt he’ll start now.”

* * * *

Gabriel leaned his head back and sniffed the wind.
 
It was faint, very discernible, but he was able to smell it.
 
Evil.
 

He shifted his shoulders as his hand gripped the smooth wood of his bow.
 
The need to kill the Great Evil was overwhelming, and for only an instant, Gabriel almost left Stone Crest to do that.

“Your thoughts are troubled,” a smooth, deep voice said from beside him.

Calm instantly surrounded Gabriel.
 
He didn’t need to look to his left to know it was Aimery.
 
The Fae Commander had always managed to quiet the thoughts in his mind.

“The evil is nearly here.”

“Nay, Gabriel.
 
It already is here.”

Gabriel turned to Aimery.
 
He needed to see the truth in the Fae’s shimmering blue eyes to believe him.
 
But Aimery wouldn’t look at him.
 
The Fae’s gaze was directed over the land, to the forest Gabriel had stared at most of the evening before he joined the others in the great hall.

“The smell of evil is faint.”

“I know,” Aimery said softly.
 
“It’s not the Great Evil, nor anything as great as the Griffon.
 
This evil is something different.”

Gabriel understood now.
 
“It’s something we won’t expect.”

“Exactly.”
 
Aimery faced him then.
 
“Why were you thinking of finding the evil by yourself?”

He shrugged, unsure now of anything.
 
“I had a powerful urge to seek it out and kill it myself.”

“That would be folly, my friend.”

Gabriel saw the doubt in the Fae’s mystical eyes.
 
“I’m not part of the evil.”

For long moments Aimery stared at him.
 
“Nothing we have ever done has opened your past, Gabriel.
 
We don’t know who you were, your family, or even where you were from.”

“I know.”
 
Aimery wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know.

Aimery crossed his arms over his chest causing his long flaxen hair to shift in the breeze.
 
“Though immortality isn’t an obscure occurrence, there are few races throughout the realms who are immortal.”

Gabriel’s stomach clenched and the blood in his veins ran like ice.
 
“What are you saying?”

“I’ve sent out runners to the realms who are immortal.”

He turned away, unable to hold the Fae’s gaze any longer.
 
Aimery had always been someone Gabriel looked up to.
 
He had been the one to find Gabriel and even helped to nurse him back to health.
 
He owed Aimery greatly, but there was one thing he feared above all and that was letting Aimery and the Shields down.

“I don’t want to know,” Gabriel finally said.
 
He braced his hands against the stones once more and let his head drop.
 

“What do you fear?”

Gabriel lifted his head slightly and glanced at Aimery.
 
The Fae stood regal in his tunic of silver with blue threads that matched the blue in his shimmering eyes perfectly.
 

“You know of what I fear by reading my thoughts.
 
Why do you want me to speak them?”

“Because I think you need to hear them aloud.”

Gabriel shook his head.
 
“Nay.
 
I have a duty, Aimery.
 
I gave my word, my vow, to the Shields.
 
My word is all that I own in this world.
 
I refuse to lose it now.”

“No one doubts you, Gabriel.
 
The Shields all know that you are one with them.
 
They simply worry about you.”

A wry chuckle escaped Gabriel as he let his head drop between his arms again.
 
“And you, Aimery?
 
Do you know that I am one with the Shields?”

“Aye.”

But Gabriel knew the truth by hearing the hesitation in Aimery’s voice.
 
He didn’t prod the Fae more.
 
There was no need.
 
Gabriel had the answers he sought.

Chapter Three

Jayna couldn’t stop her hands from shaking.
 
All night she had remained in the woods watching the castle as a lone man walked the battlements while she waited for the rising sun.

Snow began to fall, thick and heavy just a few hours before dawn, but Jayna hadn’t minded.
 
She stayed huddled under the pine trees.
 
But now the time had come.
 
It was time to venture into the castle and find Gabriel.
 
Find him and kill him.

She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
 
After she adjusted her cloak and ensured the hood hid her face, she began her walk to the road that would take her to the castle gates.

At this time of the morning, not many people ventured from their homes, and Jayna knew it was going to be decidedly difficult to get into the castle by herself.
 
She was going to need help.

She stopped as she reached the long, winding road.
 
To her left was the imposing castle.
 
She was anxious to get inside the castle walls and find Gabriel, but too many years of searching had taught her some measure of patience.

Her options were few.
 
She was just about to step back into the forest and wait until later in the day when she heard something down the road.
 
She peered to her right and strained to hear just what was making all the racket so early in the morn.

The rickety old wagon being pulled by an equally old horse turned the corner in the road, and Jayna couldn’t help but smile.
 
She now had her way into the castle.

“Damme, ol’ Ruth,” the old man cursed as he tried to get the horse to move faster.
 
“I know ‘tis cold.
 
Believe me, me old bones feel it just as yours do, but yer load isn’t that heavy.”

Jayna stood waiting in the middle of the road but it appeared the old man hadn’t seen her and the horse wasn’t going to stop.

“Do you need some help, sir?” she said.
 
When he didn’t answer, she spoke louder and hid her smile when he jumped.

He stood just a few strides from her as he came to a halt and looked at her as if she had just sprung up from the earth.
 
He looked to be a kindly old man with tufts of white hair poking out of his head and his face a mass of lines and wrinkles against skin so pale she could see his veins.

“A lass?
 
Helping me?
 
Nay, girl.
 
I should be the one helpin’ ye.”

Jayna walked to the mare and patted Ruth’s neck as she looked at the wagon.
 

“I’d offer ye a ride, lass, but I’m afraid ol’ Ruth just cannot bear it.”

She waved away his words.
 
“I’m hale and hearty, sir.
 
Let me lend you a hand to get out of this cold.
 
Where are you going?”

“To the castle.
 
I’ve got some food for me granddaughter that I need to get to her and her young-uns.”

Jayna picked up one of the bags of food.
 
It wasn’t as heavy as she first perceived, so she grabbed another one.
 
With a bag in each arm, she walked until she stood beside the old man.

“That should help Ruth a bit, aye?”

He smiled, showing several missing teeth.
 
“They call me Jobbins.”

“Good morn, Jobbins.
 
I’m Jayna.”

“You speak like a lady, Jayna.
 
Are you sure you should be out here alone?” he asked looking around.

Jayna laughed.
 
“Come, Jobbins.
 
‘Tis cold and your granddaughter needs her food.”

Behind her she heard Jobbins coaxing Ol’ Ruth to get moving again.
 
Surprisingly the mare did move a bit faster.
 
Jayna didn’t like how she worried about the mare or Jobbins.
 
It had been a long time since she had interacted with people, and she hadn’t expected to feel the ache for her family after so long.

She wasn’t given long to dwell on her thoughts as they reached the massive wooden gates of Stone Crest castle.
 
Jayna slowed her steps until Jobbins was even with her.
 
She hoped the old man would vouch for her when the menacing looking guards stopped them.
 

Yet, the guards called to Jobbins by his name, as they asked about his family and even how Ol’ Ruth was holding up in the weather.
 
Never once did they ask about her, though one of the guards did watch her suspiciously.

Jayna walked with Jobbins through the gate and into the bailey.
 
She let her eyes roam around the large enclosure as she continued to follow him.
 
Her heart raced with anticipation.
 
Gabriel was in the castle.
 
He was so close she could almost feel him.

At long last she would have her revenge.

“Jayna, lass, Ol’ Ruth and I sure do appreciate yer help this cold morn’,” Jobbins said as he stopped the cart.
 
Jayna opened her mouth to tell him it was no problem when several children ran up.

She watched Jobbins with his great-grandchildren, the love he held for them shining brightly in his eyes.
 
Jayna felt her eyes begin to sting and she hastily blinked and turned to find a young woman standing beside her.

“Good morn,” the woman said.

Jayna glanced at the woman to find her black hair pulled back in a neat plait and her figure slightly plump from childbirth.
 
“Good morn.”

“Did Grandda talk you into helping him?” she asked with a friendly smile.

Jayna returned the smile.
 
“Nay, I insisted since Ruth was having a hard time.
 
My name is Jayna.”

“Thank you for your help.
 
I’m Lizzie,” she said as she took one of the bags out of Jayna’s hand.
 
“Every winter I expect it to be Ruth’s last, yet every season she lives on.
 
I’m not sure what we’ll do when that mare finally does leave us.”

With the children helping Jobbins and Lizzie, the small cart was emptied of food within no time at all.
 
Jayna stood by Ol’ Ruth and petted the tall mare as Jobbins argued with Lizzie about leaving.
 
Lizzie finally got her way and convinced Jobbins to stay for a while.

“I need to see ta Ol’ Ruth,” Jobbins said.

“All right, but make sure you come straight back.
 
There’s no reason for you to be staying by yourself in those hills when there’s room for you here.”

Jobbins tsked, but Jayna could see he liked his granddaughter’s attention.
 
“Thank ye again for all yer help, Jayna.
 
If ye ever need anything ye can find me here or in my cottage in the hills.
 
Ye cannot miss it.
 
Just follow the road and then take the left fork.”

Jayna waved as Jobbins walked Ol’ Ruth to the stables.
 
With a deep breath, she turned toward the castle and stopped dead in her tracks.
 
Coming toward her was none other than Gabriel.