Ria Cantrell - Celtic Storm 03 (27 page)

She kissed him, then, happy to feel his arms around her and happy that, despite their banter, he loved her and she loved him. Just feeling his arms around her caused desire to course through her again, so soon after they had just found release in each other’s arms.

As Rhianna settled into his embrace, she rested her head on his chest and she heard the wild thudding of his heart beneath the muscled plane her cheek laid upon. She breathed in his scent which was mingled with hers and she closed her eyes. As she enjoyed the peaceful afterglow of the most amazing sexual encounter she had ever experienced, she felt the serenity of being loved. It was short lived.

She sucked in her breath as if her heart had been ripped from her chest as a malevolent vision blurred her mind. Her calm and contentment was instantly thwarted. She nearly fell to her knees and Erik dropped down with her. Concern marred his face. Something was terribly wrong with his beautiful Rhianna. She had gone unnaturally pale and was trembling; this time it was not from passion. He had thought that perhaps she had swooned or was experiencing some sort of attack, but as he knelt beside her, he saw tears welling in her eyes; a look of terror was mirrored in them. Gasping for air, she held a hand over her heart as if she was in danger of it stopping. Pain seared through her chest and she struggled to breathe. Erik demanded, “Beloved, what is it? What is wrong?”

“Danger; there is great danger for you....”

“I am here to protect you. I am not in any danger.”

“And for me. Erik, the sinister evil is not done with us. I saw it, like a picture unfolding before my eyes. The evil is within our walls…it is here; it is!”

Erik was not a man usually prone to superstitious predictions, but somehow, he believed that if Rhianna perceived a threat of some kind, he knew better than to negate it with logic.

“I promise to keep you safe, my love. You have nothing to fear.”

Raising her widened eyes to his, Rhianna sobbed, “I have everything to fear if I lose you.”

~Chapter Thirty-Two~

Drew was coming off of his watch duty and heading toward the main hall to get a bite to eat when he felt this strange panic well up inside of him. Something was wrong; dreadfully wrong, but he could not pinpoint what the trouble could be. Since coming to du Montefort Keep, his sense of intuition was growing stronger. Though he had been able to keep it at bay for most of his life, he harnessed it to his advantage in becoming a strong soldier. He had become a leader of men because of his ability to sense his foe’s next move and always be one step ahead of any imminent danger.

Drew was not one to believe in such things, per se, but as time went on, he realized that this sixth sense had been used to his benefit. Today, at this moment, it was different. He sensed a presence of evil and he felt it to be close by. The magnitude of it nearly took his breath away. He would need to find Erik, but he did not talk of this sort of thing to him. Drew had been able to just keep it mostly to himself and he was not certain how he would approach Erik with his reservations. He could not simply go to Erik and say that he felt danger or evil under their roof. Erik would think he had gone mad and Drew was not so certain that he would be incorrect in that thinking.

Drew did not understand why his sixth sense had heightened since his arrival in this place, but it seemed his instincts and precognitive perceptions were increasing. Drew had a feeling that being in Rhianna’s presence had something to do with the magnifying of his own
uncanny
senses, as he was wont to call them.

He sat down at a trestle table and pondered how he would broach the subject with Erik. Erik was always cool and logical. He was not a man to give in to silly superstitions, but Drew knew this was not just simply being irrational. Dragging a hand through his hair, he blew out his breath heavily. God’s teeth, the imminent danger was almost palpable. He would try to convince Erik to double the guards, but somehow, Drew felt that it would not matter. The threat was already under their roof under the guise of a friend or an ally of some sort.

Lost in thought, Drew barely noticed the girl approaching, carrying a tankard of ale. He raised his eyes to the pretty girl and accepted the offered libation with a smile. She was a pretty little thing and Drew never missed an opportunity to flirt if a situation presented itself. He raised his tankard to her in a salute and he took a gulp of it.

As he put the tankard down on the table’s top, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. There, on the edges of the feast hall was that hideous woman who supplied the keep with barrels and casks. Drew could barely stand to look at her. She was well beyond youthful attractiveness, even though she prided herself on being just that. Her face showed signs of age and use and Drew thought that this doxy must have had her fair share of bedmates. She had even approached him for a tumble and Drew had turned her down with the excuse of being needed on the watch.
Ugh
, just the mere thought of bedding that mottled-faced harlot sent a queasy feeling to form in the pit of his stomach. He hoped she did not see him because the last thing he wanted at the moment was to be in her company for even one minute. He took another draft from his mug, observing the worn-out looking harlot from above the rim of it. What was she up to? Her business was done, but she stood in the hallway conversing with someone. He knew not who would have much time to speak with her in idle gossip, but he was sure that whoever it was, they both had better things to do.

It was not his place to discipline the servants, but something about the way the filthy harlot standing in the doorway as if she owned the place niggled at him. Her hair was clipped in a scandalous short nightmare and the way it spiked upward was frightening. It was easy to see that she used some sort of pigment to tint her lips so that they appeared fuller and redder in color. She looked like she had not washed in days and her gown was as rank as the rest of her. Drew did not like her, of that he was certain. Looking at her, he was starting to get that uneasy feeling again. As he gulped down the last of his ale, he started to stand to leave when the cooper’s by-blow caught sight of him.
It was too late!
Damn her to hell, she was heading his way. Drew only hoped he could hold his breath long enough to endure her overly perfumed, unwashed body.

Devina saw the handsome guard leaving the hall and she made haste to catch up to him. She sauntered her way to him with her most seductive walk. He had a strange look on his face, but that was no matter to her. She liked it when a man had a bit of anger in him. It made for a much more exciting ride. Perhaps she could trick him into bed so she could learn what his knight was up to with the raven-haired witch. She knew that he was Sir Erik’s first in command and so he must have much information that would be useful to Aaron Jasper. Mayhap, he was the type of man who would divulge secrets once he was sated.

“Oh, sir,” Devina gushed. “How wonderful to see you again. I am done delivering my wares, but I was wondering….”

Drew put his hand up to stop her. He was not used to being rude to anyone, and in particular he was rarely rude to women, but there was something more rank about this woman than her rancid perfume.

“I am very late for my next watch,” he lied. “If you will excuse me.”

“Well, I thought that perhaps you were working too long and hard,” she purred with brazen innuendo. “Mayhap a brave and bold knight needs some…ahh, time to relax. I know just the thing….”

Again Drew cut her proposition short and he said, “I am
sure
you do, but I am not in need of
anything
that you have to offer.”

He added the last more curtly than he had been known to ever do, but he just could not stand the thought of her and something about her was pulling at that feeling of instinct again. He did not like her, that was certain, and he could not hide that very fact. Drew did not even give a cursory “by your leave” as he turned on his heel and left the unsavory tart standing with her mouth agape. He tried to shake off the feeling of unease as he turned and saw her staring after him. Pride or no, he would speak to Erik. They needed to be wary of that harlot and the threat she or someone like her bore. He could feel the daggers in her stare as he left the hall. He had angered her and Drew was certain that a woman like her would not put that anger and black hatred aside. He had, no doubt, made a very unsavory enemy. Drew had to find Erik and he had to find him now!

Drew spotted Randall and Janelle and he nodded a greeting. He asked, “Have either of you seen Erik or Lady Rhianna?”

The two exchanged a look with knowing smiles and Randall offered, “Well, they both left some time ago. Rhianna was heading toward her apartments and Erik was going to find her. It seemed my sister was well annoyed with Sir Erik and he was seeking her to make amends.”

Drew rolled his eyes. “What, again? I vow, I think they enjoy sparring with one another, more than they enjoy…I beg your pardon…I mean to say, they enjoy being at war with one another.”

Randall chuckled and said, “I daresay you are right, Sir Drew.”

“Well, I have important matters to discuss with Erik. I will try to find him. Thank you.”

“Is anything amiss, Sir Drew,” Janelle asked, when she noticed his look of consternation and his sense of hurried purpose.

Not wishing to worry either of them about his concerns, Drew simply replied, “No. Just something I need to talk to Erik about. By your leave,” he said, bowing before them and he pressed onward up the stairs. When Drew approached the Lady Rhianna’s quarters, he was reluctant to knock on the door, knowing that she and Erik could possibly be
occupied
. His fist hung above the door as he toyed with what he should do. Perhaps he should just speak to Rhianna, because if anyone would understand the precognitive instincts, it would be her. Drew was still unsure how he would bring up the subject of his
gift
to a man like Erik, but he did not want to concern the mistress of the keep without due cause.

The need to decide for the moment was abated because as he stood at Rhianna’s door deciding to knock or not, he saw the couple walking slowly toward her apartments. Erik was supporting her and it looked like she was going to be ill. She was deathly wan and she seemed to be leaning on Erik for support. He was practically carrying her toward her room. Besides looking a little bit tousled, Drew could see that Erik looked concerned and troubled. Drew rushed over to aid Erik and he took Rhianna’s other arm. “Drew, we need to help the lady to sit down.”

“What happened, Erik?”

Drew’s discerning eye did not miss that despite seeming that the two both looked like they had just had a quick tumble, something was clearly wrong with Rhianna.

“Let’s bring her inside and I will explain.”

Erik did not have reservations to tell Drew about Rhianna’s visions because he trusted Drew with his life. He just did not want anyone else to hear and so the two men guided Rhianna to the sitting area within her chambers. Erik lit the fire within the brazier and he sat Rhianna close to its soothing warmth. She had gone from hot to cold in a matter of minutes. He was more than a little concerned for her wellbeing. She was still quite shaken and he could not seem to get the warmth to flow back through her veins.

Drew poured some water into a cup and offered it to the lady.

Again he asked, “What has happened?”

As the two passed a silent exchange with glances, it was Rhianna who spoke. She looked Drew directly in the eye and she said, “I had a vision. It was one of warning and of danger.”

Then pinning him with her gaze she said, “You understand, don’t you, Sir Drew?”

He did understand and he knew that Rhianna recognized why he did. He nodded and he said, “Aye. I do.”

“You sense it, too, don’t you?”

Drew huffed out his breath and said, “Aye.”

“What do you mean, Rhianna? Why do you think Drew senses it too? Did you see him in your vision?”

Without breaking her gaze from Drew’s eyes, Rhianna replied, “No, Erik. I did not see him in the vision. Drew understands because…Drew is like….”

“I am like Rhianna, Erik.”

“Like her? You mean you have visions sometimes, too?”

“Not exactly. I, well, I sense things. I just used to think it was intuition, of sorts, but it is more than that really.”

Patting Drew’s hand, Rhianna said, “It is not always an easy burden to bear this Gift, is it?”

Still holding onto Drew’s hand, Rhianna took Erik’s hand as well and brought it to her lips. She turned her gaze to him and she said, “I have sensed the Gift in Drew for quite some time now. It has aided him in battle, I think, but it is so much more than even he understands, my love. Do not be worried. It is a valuable tool that can benefit his undying service to you.”

Erik was not sure he liked this revelation, but it explained the connection his betrothed seemed to have with his best friend and captain of his personal guard. Rhianna was not attracted to Drew, as many women were. She shared a dangerous
gift
with him.

Erik spoke softly in understanding, “So he does not have visions but he
knows things
; senses things.”

Although it was not a question, both Rhianna and Drew nodded in unison.