Ria Cantrell - Celtic Storm 03 (40 page)

Erik was happy to relinquish the revenge of Aaron Jasper to Randall. Besides, he had to get close enough to Rhianna to cut her free. If he did not make haste, there would be no need to free her because the binds would be engulfed in flames.

Randall rounded in on Aaron Jasper. He called for his guards, but none came. Drew had dispensed with at least two and added to the two that Erik had cut down, the last three did not wish to aid Aaron Jasper and face certain death as their fellow guards had. These avenging warriors were not the undisciplined mercenaries that guarded Morcar. No, they were viable threats and Morcar’s men were no match for the three.

Randall’s sword was swift and it clanged against Aaron’s. Aaron dodged a blow, causing Randall to strike at the dark stone wall behind him. The jolt of it sent a shock tearing through Randall’s sword arm, but it did not deter him. He had a debt to be paid and his anger at what had befallen him at this monster’s hands blotted out any pain caused by the blow. The dark lord of Morcar was trapped. There was nowhere for him to go. He slashed out at Randall, but he was starting to panic. Drew joined in and he said, “I will let you have the last strike, Randall, but I thought perhaps you could use my help. I too have a score to settle with this monster.”

The two men edged closer to Aaron Jasper. As he defended himself against one, the other would slice with deadly precision. He faltered when Drew’s sword bit into his arm and pared his forearm nearly to the bone. His sword clattered to the stones below and he waited for certain death.

~Chapter Forty-Nine~

Erik saw the fear in his beautiful lady’s eyes. He could smell the scorched fabric of her garment. He cut down one of the men holding an axe mutely as he watched his liege lord being taken over. His sightless eyes stared at Erik as he crumpled at Erik’s feet. He was dead before he had hit the ground. Taking the man’s axe from his death grip, Erik began chopping at the scaffold in a vain attempt to bring it down. He was able to chop away some of the burning wood, sending it plummeting to the waters beneath him. It bought him some time as he was able to get closer to the base of the pyre. He prayed he would not miss his mark as the smoke stung his eyes. God forbid he strike Rhianna in the process.

Erik hacked away at the tinder and he finally cleared enough of a space for him to climb upon the smoldering planks. He still had to work fast, because the flames had engulfed the other side of the scaffold and were making their way ever closer to Rhianna. Steeling himself for what he had to do, Erik pulled the axe back behind his head and he put all his strength into bringing it down on the stake that Rhianna was bound to. He had cut through the rope on one side, and Rhianna slid free, but her hem got stuck on one of the burning pieces and it started to catch flame rapidly. Without thinking, Erik grabbed Rhianna, mindless of being burned himself, and he plunged them both into the raging waters beneath them.

The dark cold waters swirled around them, dragging them to the bottom of the river. Despite the full moon, no light seemed to permeate the depths. Erik tried to hold onto Rhianna until they could surface, but she slipped from his grasp. He kicked his way to the surface to gulp air and then dove down again. The current was swift, but he was not going to lose her now. Not after all they had endured. Fighting against the pull of the waters, Erik held his breath and swam in the direction he had last held Rhianna. He forced his way downward, grasping at the weeds at the bottom of the river bed. He was blindly groping for something to pull to the surface but his hands kept coming up empty. After three such attempts, Erik surfaced and fought for breath. He thought he felt something beneath him and so he went under again. His lungs burned with the effort to stay beneath the churning currents and he dove as far as he could. In the gloom of the river, Erik saw her. She was just beneath him and she looked as if she was already lifeless. He grabbed her and pulled her with all his might to the surface. By the light of the moon, her skin looked blue and Erik knew she was dying.
No, it was not going to end this way.
He swam as hard as he could, riding the current until he was able to grab onto a fallen log. Propping Rhianna against it, he breathed into her mouth.
“Breathe, my love. You have to breathe.”

He blew into her mouth again, trying to put life back into her. Her lips were cold and he could not feel air coming out of her. “Breathe, damn it. Do not do this to me.”

As his mouth descended upon hers again, he felt a spasm convulse through her. She sputtered and coughed, choking up the liquid that had found its way into her lungs. Her eyes fluttered opened and she said, “Erik…”

Rhianna coughed again, bringing a fresh wave of water up from her lips. She looked at him and there were drops of water clinging to his lashes and small trickles were forming on his cheekbones. She knew it was not from their plunge into the river.
Those were tears!
He was crying…crying for her. He had saved her, like he had done so many times in her dreams.
He did love her!
There was no denying that fact. If she had doubted it; it was confirmed now as she looked into his eyes that were filled with anguish over the prospect of losing her.

He said, “I am here, my love. I’ve got you. Hold on to the log, I am going to try to push us safely to the bank.”

Erik was not certain where his strength was coming from because the search for Rhianna under the water had sapped what energy was left of him, but strength it was that aided him to kick the log toward the banks of the river. Grabbing Rhianna about her waist he said, “Kick now, if you can, my love. Do not stop until you feel the earth beneath you.”

As the log came to rest at a small outcropping of sand, Erik pulled Rhianna onto solid land. She shivered uncontrollably from shock and from the cold depths of the water. Erik had to get her warm quickly but he did not know how. He was as cold and wet as she was and they had gone fairly far from the keep. Even if they had not, Erik could not bring her back into that dreadful place after what she had endured. He pulled her into his arms and he tried to will warmth into her with his body. Her teeth rattled in her head and she tried to speak.

“He…said…y-you w-w-worked for h-him.”

“Never, my love.”

“H-he s-said h-he s-s-sent y-you t-t-o b-b-bed me.”

“No. I never met him. I have ridden all day and night to find you.”

She looked up into his eyes and she said, “Y-you saved me…”

He nodded. A tear trickled onto his cheek and he said, “I love you. I cannot live without you.”

“But th-the k-k-king…” She could barely get the words out because her teeth were chattering so badly.

“The king is wrong. We are already wed. I will not change that. I am sorry about the letter. I had not meant to hurt you. It was a mistake and I wish I could take it back. Once we return home, I will see the king and make this right again. You have my word.”

“You l-love me?”

“Yes. With all my heart, Rhianna. I have never stopped loving you, from the day I first saw you.”

Rhianna kissed his lips and felt how cold they were. He was no warmer than she was at the moment. She said, “We…need to g-go back.”

Erik shook his head. He said, “No. We will find our way back to my men. Surely they have cloaks and mantles that we can warm ourselves in. I will never take you back to Morcar. I never want you to set eyes upon that pit of hell again.”

“Pit…”

“Yes, it is a pit.”

“No…Erik…no, listen. We have to go back. There are people locked in dungeons there. We have to go back and save them.”

Shaking his head, Erik said, “No. It is too dangerous.”

“We have to, Erik. We cannot leave them to die in that horrible place.”

“What would you have me do?”

“Release them. Please…I hate to think they are suffering as Randall did. And there is a woman…in the oubliette. I think she is already mad, but we cannot leave her there. Please Erik. I am a healer. I cannot live with myself knowing that others suffer and I have done nothing to help them.”

Erik sighed. There was nothing he could deny this woman; his beautiful woman. He knew that now. He agreed, “Alright. We will get you warm and dry and then we will go back…so long as I do not lose any of my men. Now press close to me. Let us try to find warmth enough to find our way back to my men.”

It was not a request that Rhianna wanted to rebuff. She sidled closer and she kissed him. She whispered between exploring kisses, “I love you, too, Erik. I never stopped loving you.”

“I know.”

~Chapter Fifty~

Randall closed the space between him and Aaron Jasper. Blood was coursing down the monster’s arm and he held it with his uninjured hand. Randall was filled with a bloodlust of his own and hatred for the man who had caused him so much harm. Randall could not allow himself to think of God knew what he had done to his sister.

Without thinking, Randall picked up a burning timber from the pyre that had been almost completely engulfed in flames. He held the make-shift torch before him and he ground out, “Burn my sister alive, would you? Well now you shall know how that feels.”

Randall tossed the burning shaft onto the lord of Morcar’s lap. It caught his robe and cloak instantly and Aaron Jasper shrieked in agony as the flames burst upon him. Within seconds, he was completely engulfed.

“May you rot in hell, you miserable bastard!”

The smell of burning flesh assailed Randall but he shielded his nose and mouth and watched as his foe burned before his eyes. He blocked out the screams and turned his back when the screaming stopped. Aaron Jasper was dead and Randall du Montefort was glad for it!

Drew had watched and said nothing to stop Randall. He stood looking at the bank where Erik and Rhianna had plunged and could not see if they had resurfaced. He called upon his Gift and tried to feel their life force.
Erik had gotten to her in time.
Drew could feel it. He turned to Randall and he said, “Let’s leave this place. We need to find Erik and Rhianna. They landed in the river.”

“I did not see if they survived,” Randall said sadly. His thirst for revenge had blocked out his ability to reason until he saw Aaron Jasper dead.

“They have. I know it. But they will be wet and cold. Come, let’s find them quickly.”

Randall was able to kick away the barricade blocking the door to the antechamber. He and Drew met with no conflict as they made their way through the keep, to the outer bailey. They trudged past the fallen guards at the gate. Erik’s men had mustered and called out to the two men. “We have dispensed with any resistance. What about Jasper?”

It was Tristan who spoke. He was covered in grime and blood, but he seemed unharmed.

“Dead and his henchmen with him. He was going to burn my sister at the stake and Erik cut her free. They ended up in the river. We are on our way to try to find them. I hope they were able to survive the strong currents.”

Randall and Drew made it out over the drawbridge. Many men were riding toward them on the road leading to Morcar Keep. Randall called for them to halt and he hailed them. His and Erik’s men followed from within the bailey. One of the men on horseback called back and said, “We saw what happened. Erik and Rhianna have not been found yet.”

Drew said, “They are alive. We just have to find them. The current carried them downstream a ways and so we just have to look for them there. They will be somewhere near the banks.” 

One man led the riderless horses toward Randall and Drew. Hopping on the backs of the great war destriers, they each set off along the edge of the river and called out, “Erik…Rhianna…”

They had not gone too far in their search when they heard voices echoing back. Drew turned to Randall and he said, “They are down there, near the water’s edge. Let’s go.”

The horses beat out a staccato rhythm as they neared the place Erik’s voice had been heard drifting up from the rocks and trees lining the river. Drew jumped from his horse and dragged the cloaks of their men with him. Rhianna was huddled against Erik and though she was soaked to the skin and her clothes were charred, she seemed hale. Kneeling before her, he took her icy hands between his own and he brought them to his lips. He said, “M’lady. I am so glad you are safe. Please forgive me for the failure to protect.…”

“Drew, please…you have ever been my champion. What happened was beyond your realm of being able to prevent it.”

He wrapped the cloaks around the couple and he helped Rhianna to mount Erik’s horse. Erik leapt up behind her and he whistled for them all to fall behind. Rhianna implored, “Wait, Erik…we said we would go back.”

“I do not want to take you there. I will send a small party back to see about releasing those imprisoned in the bowels of the place, but I need to get you someplace warm and dry. Please do not fight me on this, Rhi.”

Rhianna could not fight him if she wanted to. As she felt the warmth of the cloaks around her and the comfort of Erik holding her on his horse, she succumbed to exhaustion that came from trauma and from what she had been through in the last few days. Her head soon lulled against Erik’s arm and sleep tugged at her. She could no longer fight it or resist its lure.