Authors: Janelle Taylor
Alysa allowed Moran to convince her to go riding with him that afternoon, hoping Gavin would see them and snatch her. But he did not. When they returned to the castle, which was shrouded in gloom and darkness, she learned of her father’s relapse. She was beside herself with worry, but learning that Alric was carefully guarded, there was nothing she could do except escape to her private chamber and hold Moran at bay.
At dusk Isobail and Trahern went riding and invited Guinn to accompany them. Out of sight of the castle they dismounted and strolled in a lovely wooded glen. “Look there, Guinn,” Isobail called, pointing deep into the small and secluded valley. When Guinn turned, Isobail stabbed him fiercely, killing him at once. Trahern was shocked and bewildered by her action, until Isobail quickly explained. “He has been spying on me, and learned about us. He threatened to tell Alric everything if I refused to become his lover. Can you imagine such a brazen threat, Trahern? I did not know what else to do.”
“How will we explain his death?” the stupefied sheriff asked. He was becoming concerned about the number of people Isobail had murdered in her quest for the rulership, and the obvious pleasure she appeared to derive from the brutal slayings. It was not safe for a ruler to have so much blood on her hands. Yet he was beguiled by her open declaration about them to Alric and Earnon.
“We will say we were attacked by brigands and they
killed him. Do you not remember how we were forced’ to flee for our lives?” she said, watching him closely to insure his compliance. After a few moments of hesitation, he nodded. “Come, we must move into the open, where Skane can see us.”
“I am here,” the brigand leader informed her, stepping from behind a group of dense bushes and joining them.
“You heard all?” she inquired, her tone expressing her annoyance. When he nodded, she shrugged and said, “It was necessary. As you know, Skane, I despise threats and blackmail. You must take the blame for his death.”
“What is my payment?”
“Payment!” she shouted. “You demand payment after what you just took from me! You become too greedy and bold, my hireling.”
“What do you mean?” he demanded. In the village earlier he had heard the crazy tale of Alysa’s kidnapping and ransoming by three bandits, but the tale had not been accurate, so he had dismissed it as rumor. Since Alysa’s capture, he had been lazing around in a camp with his men while they awaited this meeting for new orders. He supposed Gavin was raiding northwest as they had discussed, as he had not seen the Hawk and his small band for days.
From Alysa’s explanation, Isobail leveled her charges against him. “Last week, Skane, on the very night you were to have met with me, you were abducting Princess Alysa Malvern. You intended to sell her to Hengist, but your men disobeyed you. Within two days they brought her home after receiving ransom. I warned you to leave her alone. She is to marry my son.”
“I gave no such orders!” Skane shouted.
“The bandit leader told Alysa as much, and she told me. Where are my jewels?” she demanded, for she had indeed discovered that some of her jewels were missing
from the castle, though she had no idea who had taken them.
“I do not have them, and I did not abduct the girl,” Skane argued, her unexpected charge.
“Alysa described you perfectly, Skane. Do you take me for a fool? I paid them at one gate and they released her at another.” She spouted off the false charge, and watched Skane’s cold fury mount.
Baffled, the brigand leader wondered if his three men had betrayed him by selling the young princess to Isobail instead of to Hengist. Or did the girl escape them and only claim as much? No, he decided, Alysa could not ransom herself. This matter was perplexing and infuriating. Was Princess Alysa afraid, he wondered, to expose him to this woman, since it would expose her daring flight? Had she persuaded his three men to take her home for a hefty reward? Did the little beauty expect silence for silence? Whatever her motives, Princess Alysa knew too much now and could be a threat to all of them.
Skane decided that even if Isobail was angry with him, it should be Isobail who dealt with the girl. “All right, I will tell you the truth of the matter. I did capture the wench. She was riding northeast, to Bardwyn I guessed. She was carrying food and extra clothes. I figured you would want her captured so she would not be a danger to your scheme, but I did not order her to be ransomed. I told my men to take her to Logris and sell her to Hengist. No doubt she enticed my men to betray me and ransom her. I will track down the traitors and kill them myself, after they confess the truth to us!”
Isobail did not argue with Skane’s tale, but she was convinced that Alysa was too meek to have actually run away, much less sought out Bardwyn. “Do that, and see that my jewels are returned,” she said. “I told you the girl is promised to my son, and she is eager to marry
him. If you thought she was running away, you were mistaken. See that she is not endangered again. If you are losing control over your men, I can easily replace you. Find and return my jewels, Skane, or I will do just that.”
The brigand watched her ride away, and his eyes narrowed. There was something about this matter that did not sit right in his gut. Plus, he did not like the way Isobail was treating him. Perhaps it was time to make his own plans, starting with his own disloyal men…
Tuesday morning Skane and his band rode hard and caught up with Kyra and Calum and robbed them, taking the jewels Kyra had stolen from Giselde, which the bandit assumed were Princess Kyra Ahern’s. The moment the raiders were out of sight, Calum sent a trusty messenger to Isobail to tell her what had happened. But when Kyra begged her new husband to return to Malvern Castle, he refused.
Alysa went riding with Moran again, but was not able to elude him and find a few minutes of privacy. It was difficult to mask her impatience with his words of love and passion. She found herself snapping at Moran peevishly, thinking only of Gavin and wondering how she could get word to him.
For over an hour after their return home, Moran persisted with his wooing. Finally he went to see his mother and related the change in Alysa. Isobail listened, but was distracted by the news about Calum’s robbery.
“Be patient with her, my son. Perhaps you frightened her with your excessive eagerness. She had a terrible experience with those bandits. Give her time to relax. If she does not, I will fix things. We have become friends, and she trusts me. She will obey me.”
Gavin had been taken by the Druid priest to Trosdan’s cave in a distant glen in the royal forest to meet with Giselde. The livid scar on her forehead as she lay abed attested to her serious injury.
“We need no more proof against Isobail,” Gavin told her. “Alysa’s kidnapping seals her guilt. Skane told her about Isobail’s involvement with the marauding brigands. It is good to have a witness against Damnonia’s regent besides myself. But there is nothing more to do except await King Bardwyn’s arrival. Until then I must continue to play this role to protect Alysa and Alric. Your granddaughter wonders why your herbs did not work with Alric, Giselde. She tried to run to Bardwyn herself, to help her father, and that is how she was captured,” Gavin informed the distressed woman. “Could Alric’s illness be the result of a spell?” he asked, implying his budding belief in magic and in her powers. Giselde smiled and replied, “Yea, it is possible, Prince Crisdean. But I do not know how to break it without knowing what kind it is.”
“What about Moran, Giselde? How shall we deal with him when the king arrives? I cannot deceive Alysa once this matter is settled.”
“Let love guide your tongue, Gavin. What more can you do?”
After the two exchanged information, Gavin told Giselde to remain in the cave with her friend, as things were dangerous everywhere. Reluctantly Giselde agreed, then told Gavin how it was possible to reach Alysa even while she was in the castle: the secret passageway.
Wednesday morning was stormy, so everyone was forced to remain inside the castle. At such times irregular chores were carried out by the servants. Today Leitis turned the eating tables in the Great Hall on their sides so she could scrub and oil their legs. On her knees behind one, Earnon and Isobail did not notice the woman’s presence as they passed through the hall.
Isobail had asked Earnon to explain his enchantment on Leitis, and he had done so, ending with how the spell could be broken. “Only the word Non Rae can end it,” he informed her within Leitis’s earshot.
The head servant rubbed her head as several curious pains knifed through her skull, then vanished. Humming merrily and daydreaming about Piaras, Leitis returned to her task at hand.
That night Gavin pretended to be shocked when Princess Isobail appeared at the prearranged meeting place in the forest. Gavin was glad Trahern had remained at a distance with the horses since he wanted Isobail to speak freely and openly with him. Gavin looked admiringly at her face and figure. “How could I ever forget such a ravishing creature? It seems we have met before,
my beautiful lady,” he murmured seductively, “though perhaps you do not remember, since I was masked. I hope you forgive me if I angered you that day. Skane was a fool to order me to rob your group; you could have been injured.”
“You do not mind working for a woman?” Isobail inquired in a husky tone, her bold gaze matching his own.
“Not when she is as exquisite and intelligent as you. I have thought of you often since that day on the road,” he said, his eyes of liquid fire searing her flesh and nearly burning away her wits and control. When he smiled provocatively, temptingly, enticingly—white teeth amidst a tanned face drew Isobail’s eyes to his sensual lips. He knew he was standing in such a way as to call her attention to his well-developed and well-toned physique. He watched her expression glow with rising desire and she licked her lips thirstily, awaiting the taste of nectar from his. From the way her ravenous eyes were examining and devouring him from head to foot, she clearly wanted him and wished they were alone.
Isobail stepped closer to him and replied softly, “And I have thought of you often, since that night in Skane’s camp. The afternoon you robbed me, although you were masked, I knew who was beneath it. I have been seeking you for days. There are many things to discuss.”
“It was best to conceal myself and my men for a while, to convince Skane we were raiding near Lord Orin’s as he commanded. If I had known you…
needed
or
wanted
me, I would have raced to you.”
Isobail was snared by his intimate insinuation, along with his good looks and build. A wanton smile curled her lips and she moved even closer to him. “I am more than pleased with you, Gavin Hawk. You are an exceptional man. I was delighted by your recovery of Alysa and by your crafty act. The ransom tale was a clever ruse but I wish I had known about it to avoid looking
surprised when she related it. But what of my other jewels, the ones you stole from me on the trail?”
“As you know, m’lady,” Gavin replied, glad his ruse had pleased her, “it had nothing to do with me. Skane has them. When I slay him, I will try to recover them for you.”
“Very well,” Isobail replied. “But how did you-manage to locate her?”
His honeyed voice replied, “One of his men told me; that is how I found her for you. She was a real nuisance, tried to escape twice.”
“I was wondering why we could not locate you before tonight,” Isobail said. “I thought you told Trahern you were looking for Skane but could not find him.” She fingered with his leather garb. “You just said you have been in hiding to avoid Skane. I am confused…”
“At night, sweetness,” he replied casually, “I search for Skane when I can move around without being seen. During the daylight I keep hidden until time for me to return to where he said to meet him. Saturday night,” he answered before she could ask when. “I promise you, by Sunday morning I will be the only leader who is working for you. Perhaps there are other matters I could take care of for you?” he asked, trailing the backs of his fingers over her flushed cheek. He saw her respond instantly and eagerly to his touch. “Soon my days will be filled with work for you, but my nights will be free and barren.”
Isobail glanced toward Trahern, and realized he could not see or hear them. Her fingers snaked up his hard chest to his lips as she responded quietly, “For now, my devilish rogue, mine are neither free nor barren.”
Gavin’s hand slipped behind her head and slowly drew her mouth toward his, halting only a few inches away. His green eyes bored into hers as he echoed, “For now, sweetness? Or forever?”
“Only for as long as it takes to safely replace him
with you,” she whispered against his mouth before hungrily slashing hers across his. Never, she realized, had she been so tempted by a man! From the first moment she had seen him, she had been obsessed. When she was queen and Trahern was gone, Gavin must become her love slave.
Isobail was allowed only one blazing, mind-dazing kiss before lightning charged across the cloudy sky and thunder followed it, announcing the arrival of another storm, one of many small and violent ones to torment the land that day. She knew Trahern would be summoning her to depart, so she reluctantly freed herself from Gavin. She felt weak and trembling, and passion raced feverishly within her body. “Keep this between us alone, Gavin Hawk, and you shall have me soon. I will give you pleasures no other woman can.”
“Just as I shall give you something no other man has. You must go before Trahern sees us and causes trouble,” he warned when she reached for him for a parting kiss and caress. He did not think he could bear for this malevolent and satanic woman to touch him again. Gavin vowed silently that he definitely would give her something unique: defeat and possibly death!
“How do you know what is between Trahern and me?” she asked oddly.
Gavin grinned. “From the way Trahern looks at you and touches you, even when he is unaware of his actions and expressions. It is obvious to me there is more than wishful desire pulling at your devoted sheriff. Who can blame him, sweetness? I envy him every moment he spends with you, especially alone. I doubt Trahern will give you up to me or to anyone without a death struggle.”
“Could you beat him in one?” she asked half playfully, half seriously.
“I am certain of it. If you say the word, I will do anything for you, Isobail. When I said I had thought
about you often since seeing you, that was not true. Actually, I have dreamed of you, and craved you, and plotted how to get you. If you had been the one kidnapped by Skane’s men, I would not have returned you home for weeks for any reward or because of any threat. Perhaps I would never have released you if I could have gotten away with enslaving you, or if I could have enchanted you beyond your will.”
Gavin’s tone and expression altered while he reasoned aloud. “You are a ruler, Isobail, and I am only a warrior, an adventurer. I am not foolish enough to think I could win you away from such a life, or join it. But for as long and as often as I can have you, I want you.”
“Give me a little time to study this complicated matter and to work it out favorably for us,” she asked, then glanced at the lightning that filled the sky again. “Get rid of Skane before Sunday, and I will send Trahern to Lord Orin’s and other places to weigh my subjects’ loyalty. While he is gone, I will find a way for us to get together many times, if you wish.”
Gavin’s heart nearly stopped in panic. King Bardwyn and his men could not arrive for two more weeks! Gavin knew he did not have enough men to challenge and to battle Isobail, her followers, and her brigands. He had tempted her too successfully, too recklessly. What could he do now?
“You do not answer me, Gavin,” she asked curiously. “Why?”
Trapped, he teased her, saying, “I did not know you asked a question, sweetness. What could keep me away from you if you summoned me?”
Isobail smiled and replied, “I hope nothing, for I want you fiercely.”
“I also want you fiercely,” he responded. I
want your defeat fiercely,
his mind corrected him. He observed Isobail and Trahern’s departure, then leaned against the
rock behind him to figure out an escape to this offensive predicament. He was willing to do many things to snare Isobail and protect his love, but bedding that bitch was too much for anyone to ask of him!
The storms did not subside until noon on Friday, but Alysa refused to go riding with Moran or play games with him downstairs. She claimed she was feeling badly, evoking a visit from Isobail at Moran’s request.
Isobail visited her in her chamber. “My son tells me you are ill, Alysa,” she said. “What troubles you? He says you have been chilly to him since his return. He is hurt and confused. Is there a problem between you two? Can I help solve it?”
Alysa looked at her stepmother pitifully and replied, “I cannot tell him what is wrong; it is too private. The trouble with those bandits brought on my monthly earlier, and I have felt awful for days. I was so queasy Sunday that I could hardly enjoy Kyra’s wedding. My head and belly have ached, and I feel as if I want to scream or cry every few minutes. Nothing helps except to lie down and remain still.” Part of what she was saying was true; her monthly had begun late Saturday, but had ended yesterday, if Isobail boldly checked out her excuse.
Isobail smiled, deciding Alysa’s moodiness and distance from Moran were explained reasonably and truthfully. “I understand. Remain in bed a few days, and I will handle my anxious son for you.”
“Thank you, Isobail. It is simply impossible to respond to his romantic overtures when I feel so terrible and gloomy. This weather has not helped me either. You know I have never liked powerful storms. If only the sun would appear tomorrow,” she murmured.
Isobail patted her arm and tucked the cover around
her. “Would you like Thisbe to bring you some warm milk with honey?”
“That would be nice,” Alysa agreed, but did not smile or brighten.
Isobail suggested, “Shall I get Earnon to put something in it to ease the pain and help you sleep? He often does this for me.”
“That sounds wonderful; thank you. Please assuage Moran’s worries and tell him I am truly ill so he will understand my silly behavior.” Alysa decided, when Thisbe arrived with the medicinal drink, she would order a hot bath to soothe her nerves and relax her taut body.
“Of course,” Isobail told her gently, then left. She went to see Earnon first, who headed to the kitchen with a special herb for Alysa’s discomfort and rest. Then she went to see Moran. She told him exactly what was wrong with Alysa and explained such matters.
Moran laughed in delight. “I am glad it is nothing more than naughty nature. I was beginning to worry.”
“I told you not to. The girl is smitten with you. How could she not be enchanted by my only son?” she teased. “Leave her be for a few days, then pursue her hotly once more. She will yield, I promise you, for a woman is most receptive and lustful when ‘naughty nature’ finishes with her.”
The storm had caused the river to rise and flow swiftly, too swiftly for Gavin to find the underwater entrance to the secret passage before tonight. He had paced for two days awaiting this moment.
After dark he entered the water and made his way to the spot Giselde described to him. It took three dives before he found the hole which was half clogged with limbs and other debris. He pushed them aside and swam upward until he surfaced. Locating the stairs with
probing toes, he ascended cautiously because they were slick and hazardous. The worst part was the total darkness surrounding him. Never before had he realized how black darkness could be! Barefoot, and attired only in a soaked loincloth, he was miserably chilled.
The odors of rot and mildew that reached his nose were repulsive, but he ignored them. Finally reaching the top of the steps, he searched for the torch and flintstone Giselde said would be in an alcove. He could find neither, so he tried to carry out his intentions in the blackness. Placing a hand against the slimy wall on either side of him, he gingerly traveled onward. When his right hand felt nothing, he assumed he was at the turn near the gatehouse and southwest wall. He continued.
He senses were on full alert, but he heard and felt nothing except a cobweb brushing his head and shoulders here and there, and slime oozing between his toes and around his feet. He presumed this area was too dark, cold, wet, and black for rats and bugs, or at least he hoped so. This time and place reminded him of another one of Giselde’s premonitions: he was in a dark place, but not trapped there, which made two of the eight accurate so far. The first—Alysa away and in great peril—had come to pass although he had rescued Alysa. For a time his mind was distracted in the inky blackness. He wondered if the other premonitions would come true. Was Teague the rival he would save? When? How? What fires and whose suffering loomed in the near future? Alysa, branded a traitor, and he a wolf-shead? Prince Alric and Giselde dead? All of this before the king’s arrival? Could he defend those he loved until Bardwyn’s rescue? Once more Giselde’s words echoed through his troubled mind: “Our victory will depend on you, and you will question your instincts, prowess, wits, and skills"; another warning that had come to pass.
While he groped his way forward, Gavin reflected on how, he had returned the old woman’s wedding ring to her after he found it still hidden in the secret compartment in the ransacked chest in her hut. He pondered how to recover the other jewels Kyra had stolen from the old woman.
His journey seemed endless until he suddenly banged his toes against a rock and nearly howled in pain. Repulsed by contact with the slime, he nonetheless clutched his foot in his hands, massaged his aching toes, and mastered his nausea. When the throbbing ceased, he felt around, discovering spiral stairs. He had to be at the base of Alysa’s tower. Carefully he climbed upward until he reached a landing. He noticed he could feel and smell fresh air, but the night allowed no light to aid him while he fumbled for the latch and found it.