Angie Arms - Flames series 04 (20 page)

“He never even had a name,” she whispered.

Halvor remained quiet, but his hand squeezed her shoulder slightly.  After the cross was complete, Halvor stood with her another moment before he guided her around, and they moved back toward the keep.  Back inside she was settled in the solar, the fire in the hearth was set to blazing. Hildred brought dried clothes and helped her change, while Halvor went to retrieve bread and wine.  She was thankful he did not enter the room with a heaping tray of food he was fond of, for her stomach would not be able to handle the smell.  Settled into one of the soft chairs, he gently tucked a blanket across her lap.

His face was close to hers and he stared intently at her as he
completed the task. She never knew a man such as he, and she was very glad she had him for a husband.  He made a fine one, and would make an even better father.

“When will your sisters come?” she asked
, once he took a seat across from her. 

“I do not know.  I hesitate to mention this now
, but you need to know.  I must leave tomorrow.  Garrick and Damien are taking a stand against the King, and I must go retrieve Countess Ryann and take her to him.”

“Then what will you do?

She watched Halvor’s face change.  She was not sure what she saw there, but she had the distinct impression he did not like the answer.

He shrugged his big shoulders.  “Since I am commander of Lord Garrick’s army and the King now has most of those men
, I must see to his protection.”

“Surely there is someone else?” Jillian questioned
, feeling her heart sink inside her chest.

“If only Marcus were here
, I would feel more comfortable leaving Garrick, but he is not, and Garrick is alone in the lion’s den.  I must do what I have sworn I will do.”

“So you will get the Countess then go to Sco
tts Manor and wait there.”

“Yes.”

“What of your sisters?”

“I su
ppose I will take them to Scotts Manor as well.”

“Then take me too.”

Halvor looked appalled, and Jillian felt the hair on the back of her neck bristle.  “You have just been through a very difficult birth and lost your child.  I see even now how pale you are.”

“I will be fine.”  She swallowed, gripping the blanket to her chest.  “Please don’t leave me here alone.  I never knew how I hated this place until you came into my life and left it again.  Without you
, this place is only dark.  I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please don’t leave me alone with all the memories.  Every corner of this place holds a memory of some level of pain, and now, even my place of solitude is not free.”

Halvor’s brows drew together.  “You did not listen to me.”

“I had to get away.  But I am sorry.”

A smile began to creep back into his daunting features.  “I will take you with me, but you must be honest with me during the journey
, and let me know when you must rest.”

“All right, I will do so.”

Halvor sat back in his seat and quiet fell across the room once again.  Jillian cast glances from the flickering flames in the hearth to her husband.  She never thought she would ever want another man to touch her, but this man, who was her husband, was a different breed.  She did not know if she truly desired his touch. His kiss was nice and gentle, and he was a kind man.  But a man’s desire was a volatile thing.  Yet she wanted to give this man sons and daughters to carry on his name, and his kindness, into the world.  Men like Bruce did not need to fill the world with his seed, but Halvor would make the world a better place when they raised their children in a kind and loving home, and sent them out to pass it on to their children, and hundreds of generations to come. 

“Halvor?”

“Yes?” he questioned, and by his voice she knew he was close to dozing.

“I want to have your children.”

“Right now?” he asked, and he was suddenly alert, and looking a little like a frightened rabbit caught in a snare.

“No,” she said with a light chuckle
, and she watched him visibly relax.  “I like you and want to give you many sons and daughters.”

She watched Halvor swallow.  “I will have to touch you to do this.”

Again Jillian chuckled.  “I just ask that you be patient with me.  I admit the thought scares me a great deal, but you are a kind man, and I trust you.”

“Then we will have children,” Halvor declared.  “But first you must get your strength back so they will be strong children.”

“Yes husband,” Jillian replied, before silence filled the room once again.

~   ~   ~

Kinsey

The attack came in the middle of the night
, so they were unprepared for it.  If Garrick was there, the keep would not be taken by surprise, for the guards would not dare to sleep on their watch.  But someone was, which was how the small number of men were able to get inside, and take prisoner those who they did not kill.  For hours in the flickering shadows of candle light and torches, the people who lived inside the keep were found, and the women were imprisoned in the hall.  Ryann did not know where the men were taken, and she prayed for everyone’s safety.

“You are a pretty one,” Ryann turned quickly to see an older man staring intently at Carling.  The girl who barely had time to turn a woman
, stood with her eyes clinched closed, her body rigid.  When she felt his finger touch her cheek she made a whimpering sound   

“Leave her alone,” Ryann said boldly
, stepping forward, but quaking inside.

“I take it you are the infamous Countess,” a man’s deep voice said from the doorway.  She turned quickly to see a tall, lean man who appeared a great deal less intimidating then
the men who forced them into the hall.

“Yes,” she said
, looking up at the relatively handsome man. 

“I have come for you.”

“For me?” Ryann asked, her fear mingling with confusion.

“Yes,” the man said with a smile that chilled his blue eyes.  He took two steps closer
, so he was within arm’s length of her.  “I am going to gut you alive while your husband watches,” he said in a voice devoid of loathing or malice, but stated simply as the truth.  “You will scream, and you will beg, but this is what I must do.”

“Why?” she asked, her mouth gone dry
, while she fought to keep her legs from shaking.

“Because you have turned Garrick.  He was like me
, and found joy in bathing England in the blood of innocents,” he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her close enough she felt his warmth.  He bent to her ear.  “He liked tasting the blood, bathing in its warmth.  He liked the feel of a person as their soul left their bodies, watching it in their eyes.  So now he will watch you beg for your life, but I will go ahead and tell you, you are as good as dead.  He will watch your pretty eyes glaze over as he is bathed in your blood.  Then I will kill him.”

The man released her and for a frantic moment she lost her senses
, awash with fear, she bolted.  She did not make it five paces before she was picked up off her feet, and carried back to be sat on her feet and spun about, to face the man responsible for their attack.  A cold smile crept its way across his face.

“You will be in my care for a little time
, so we must cover some rules.  You will not run, you will not attack, you will be only docile in your behavior, or there will be punishments.”

“Who are you?”

“I am the devil,” he hissed.

The whimpering sound came from Carling again.  The man had one hand on her should
er, applying pressure downward, and his other hand was creeping toward her crotch.

“Y
our good behavior will be rewarded by those around us not suffering.  We’ll begin with this dear young lady here.  I can allow my men to have at her, or we will leave with you happily joining us, and the girl will remain untouched.”  The man turned his head to watch the skirt of Carling’s gown being worked upward, franticly even, as her whimper threatened to cross over to hysteria.

“What will it be?” he asked
, turning his attention back to Ryann.

“I will go with you,” she replied, her mouth parched like a sandy desert. 

“Then smile about it,” the man replied, as if she truly would, his face lighting up with jubilation.  If a woman didn’t know better, it might be easy to fall for his handsome face, but the man was evil. A shiver walked up her spine as she watched him lean toward her, grabbing her by the shoulder, he propelled her forward.  She walked a couple steps before he was in front of her again.  “I want to see a smile,” he coaxed, when she came to an abrupt halt to stare up at him. 

He waited expectantly with his chilling smile.  Feeling like the mouse caught in a trap
, Ryann flexed her facial muscles, twisting her lips into a smile that felt almost painful.  “Very good,” he said, turning away to walk.  “I know soon you will have nothing to smile about.”  He did not walk far before he realized she was not behind him.  He stopped and turned to her.  “I do not ask when you do not comply with the agreements, and I do not repeat myself.”  Again he turned and walked away, but Ryann’s legs refused to move.  Forgotten was Carling, as Ryan stood staring after the man who promised to kill her and Garrick.

He froze at the doorway, his back going rigid as he slowly turned toward her.  She could feel the bitter coldness of his gaze.  “Very well.  We will let you have your way and remain here.”  Then his eyes were off her and on the man still standing next to Carling.  Ryann followed his gaze
, and suddenly the floor tilted beneath her feet.  “You have ten minutes.”

“No,” Ryann whispered
, franticly shaking her head.  “I will go,” she said, speaking louder, and taking several steps forward. 

“Of course you will Countess.  Because next will be that lovely young lady next to her.  Her sister if I’m not mistaken.”

Ryann’s eyes fell to Ember, who was forced away as the old man ripped the shoulder of Carlings gown enough to expose one of her breasts.  The woman tried to fight then, but she was quickly sat upon by two other men, as they forced her onto the ground, holding her kicking and thrashing body down.  Some of the women tried to defend her, but there were too many men, brutal men, who used their fists freely to drive the women away. 

“Do you see what happens if you are anything but obedient?”

The man turned and walked through the door, and Ryann forced her feet to follow him.  The vision of what was happening in the hall could only be made worse if the younger sister, a mere child, was forced to endure a similar attack.

Alena stared at the huddle of girls, and at their center was Carling.  She was handling the situation admirably well.  Perhaps she drew from the strength of her sisters.  Truthfully, there was a look about her face that made Alena believe she wished her sisters would give her space, a little room to breathe.  Alena looked from them to the other women milling about.  There were no men left, the man who took Ryann saw to that.  As she looked around, she could see it on the other women’s faces, the sadness nearing desperation.  She knew desperation well.

She turned back to the gr
oup of women.  At that instant Carling’s gray-brown eyes looked up at her, and she saw something familiar in them.  It was the same look the Countess Ryann had after she came back from being kidnapped and raped.  It was the look of a woman who had fought against another human being for her soul, and lost.  It was the face of a woman who did not know how they would ever forget such a violation of their bodies.  It was a face that churned her stomach and built anger in her chest. 

The men responsible answered to only one
, and he had the Countess.  A woman who was nothing but kind to her.  Most women were not.  Alena no longer considered herself a woman.  Ghalib stripped her of any feelings she would associate with being a woman.  Now she was mostly filled with anger for the stronger sex, and she vowed, when she first learned she could fight, she would no longer be the weaker sex.  But where did that leave her?  Where could she go from there?

“Get Ryann,” she mumbled to herself.  Turning
, she looked to the group of women huddled around Carling.  “We have to rescue the Countess,” she said, loudly.  She stood in the middle of the hall, her back straight, her chin high, and her shoulders back.  She exuded confidence, a habit more than anything, because the weak were trod upon until there was nothing left.

The wo
men looked at her as if she was crazy.  “Halvor said he taught his sisters how to defend themselves.  We have no men to do this for us.  If we want to stop that man from hurting Ryann, and even Garrick, we must find them.”

“Then what?” Brenda
, the oldest sister, asked.

“We kill him.”

“We can’t,” Ella replied.  She looked scared, uncertain, and kept casting glances between Carling and Brenda, ready to follow her other sisters’ lead.  “We’ve never.”

“Have you?” Carling asked
, as she stood on her feet.