Golden Blood (21 page)

“Into the forest!”

Hands grabbed his collar, pulling him into
the thicket. Landing on his back with a crunch, he held his groan
in check, sensing Gemma’s body beside him.

“Where are we?” he whispered.

“I’m not sure. It looks like England.
Fourteenth or fifteenth century maybe?”

She met his eyes. He read her apology and
shook his head.

“It was my fault.” He touched her face with a
gentle finger. Her eyes softened for the briefest of moments before
snapping blank at the sound of her father’s voice.

The hooves were fading into the distance as
the party got to their feet.

“Okay, slight change of plans I suppose.” Mr.
Hart shot Harrison a death stare. “The castle up the road is
currently holding an innocent man in its dungeon. He used to work
in the stables, but was thrown in a cell after stopping the Earl’s
son from taking advantage of one of the milkmaids. He’s been
falsely accused of treason and is due to hang tomorrow.

“I’m going to arrange safe passage for him
and his family. All we need to do is get him out of the castle and
into the forest. He should be able to hide easily enough until
dark. I’ll make sure a wagon comes by at night to collect him and
his family.”

“How do you want to do it?” Dominic’s voice
was all business.

Harrison had not seen this side of the guy
before and admired his cool calm.

“We’ll do the split a little differently. You
three and that guy…”

“His name’s Harrison.”

“I don’t care what his name is!” Mr. Hart’s
hard glare made Gemma shrink. She lowered her gaze and Harrison
felt a flash of anger burn for her. Reaching for her hand, he gave
her fingers a quick squeeze.

“You will extract the prisoner while your
mother and I get his family into the forest and organize the
wagon.

“I want stealth. We don’t want anyone to know
we’ve been in or out. The Earl is currently in attendance so the
castle will be heavily guarded, although if we’ve timed this right,
most should be eating in the great hall.

“Now, the wall along the riverside is the
easiest to breach. There is access along the southeast side of the
wall. It should be big enough for you to squeeze through. The
tunnel will bring you up beneath the great hall. From there you
will head east to the first tower. You will be most vulnerable at
this point, so watch your backs. The dungeon is at the bottom of
the tower.

“Once you have the man I want you to head
back out through the stables. They’re adjacent to the tower on your
right. At the northern end, the last stall, there should be a space
you can squeeze through. It will bring you out on the eastern side
of the castle below the gatehouse. We’ll be waiting in the forest.
You’ll need to be careful. If anyone spots you, they’ll raise the
alarm and we’ll have hell on our hands. Dominic.” He placed a hand
on his son’s shoulder. “Do what you have to do.”

Harrison felt a chill run down his spine as
Dominic’s face set like concrete. His eyes were hard as he
nodded.

“Look after the girls and bring them home in
one piece.”

“I will, Dad.”

Harrison squeezed his eyes shut and shook his
head. They were about to break into a prison. His head swirled as
he imagined how it might play out. The gnawing fear in his gut
competed with sudden bursts of adrenalin.

I can’t believe you are actually excited
about this. Wipe that smile off your face, you moron!

Gemma’s father gave him an assessing look,
helping Harrison smooth out his expression. The man’s steely eyes
then turned to his youngest.

“Can he look after himself?”

“He’ll be fine.”

Harrison was boosted by Gemma’s confidence,
but it withered when her father approached him and grabbed his
collar. “You want to get back in one piece, you don’t leave her
side.”

Harrison swallowed and nodded.

“Don’t give me a reason to leave you
here.”

“Dad!” Gemma’s protest was lost as Dom
started laughing. “Shut up, Dominic!”

Her eyes were fiery when they landed back on
him. He reached out and took her extended hand, trying to avoid the
black emotion coming from Ruby.

Keeping his eyes firmly on Gemma, he let her
guide him through the forest and up towards the castle.

It wasn’t until they slowed and crouched
along the edge of the large stonewall that reality hit him once
again. Like a bomb exploding in his stomach, he felt the shrapnel
of fear and disbelief shred his insides.

I’m in the middle ages! I’m about to break
into a castle in the middle ages! This isn’t real! This can’t be
real!

Gemma stole a glance over her shoulder and
took in Harrison’s pale expression. How could she have let this
happen? He shouldn’t be here. What if he wasn’t touching her when
they went back? She had no warning signs on their return. Reaching
behind her, she pulled him closer, needing to feel his warm breath
on her neck as they waited for Dom to squeeze through the
tunnel.

“I know you’re probably struggling with
reality right now.” She watched the river amble past and wondered
how it could be so calm. If it only knew… “This isn’t a dream,
okay? I need you to stay close and alert. Just forget where you are
and focus on me and what we’re doing. Do you understand?”

She felt his breath wisp up and down her
hairline as he nodded.

“You’re strong enough to do this, Harrison.
Just stay next to me and I’ll get you home.”

His lips were warm as they brushed the nape
of her neck. She felt a flame lick down her spine.

“Let’s go.” Ruby’s command was stark. She
crouched low and pulled herself into the space.

Gemma tried not to think about the waves of
anger that radiated from her sister as she squeezed her body into
the narrow gap and began crawling over the damp stone. The air was
freezing. The trickling water beneath them was soaking into the
wool of her tunic, making it stink. She held her breath and kept on
crawling. Moments later Dom was grabbing her hand and roughly
pushing her behind a stone pillar. She breathed in. Placing her
foot lightly on Harrison’s head, she kept him in the tunnel until
the scuffle of feet had faded.

Ruby hadn’t spoken a single syllable to her
since their confrontation after school. Thankfully, she hadn’t
breathed a syllable to her parents either, although that felt
somewhat irrelevant now. She hated the rift between them, but…

What am I supposed to do?

She glanced back at her boyfriend. His brown
eyes were focused. She watched his lean body maneuver easily
through the passageways and felt the fire stir in her belly.
Catching his gaze, she shot him an encouraging smile. It was
returned instantly.

She couldn’t live without him.

The battle she knew awaited her at home was
heavy on her mind, but as the raucous laughter from the great hall
reached her she was suddenly aware that this battle must be won
first.

The idea sent a charge racing through her
body. Determination took over; forcing images of Ruby’s anger, her
parent’s horror and Harrison’s sweet gaze out of her mind. She had
a job to do.

Her focus was complete by the time they
descended the spiral staircase and entered the dank bowels of the
tower. The cool stonewalls wept, sending a trickling echo running
through the narrow passageways. Dom’s frame looked massive in the
confined space. The torch he held to guide them bobbed in front of
them. She stayed focused on the flame and tried not to think about
what might be crunching beneath her soft leather shoes.

The party slowed as the stairwell opened up
with light. Gemma felt her hand being squeezed. Harrison’s
breathing accelerated. She squeezed back as they crouched against
the wall. Staring through the dim light, she caught her brother’s
eye. He gave them a nod. Standing from their positions, they took
the last few stairs down into the dungeon.

It was the smell that hit her first. Old
blood and decay peppered with the sweaty stench of fear. She gulped
back her gags and covered her mouth as they crept past the first
cell that looked to contain a man so emaciated she doubted he had
any breath left. His body was encrusted with filth, his long beard
matted into the hay he lay upon. His sunken face was hollow and his
glassy eyes didn’t even register the movement past his cell.

A light hand brushed the nape of her neck and
squeezed. With a little nudge Harrison moved her into the heart of
the dungeon.

Sitting on a chair, his legs stretched before
him, his head drooped to the side in slumber was a tubby guard.
Dominic dispatched him before he had a chance to wake and the man
now lay in an unconscious pile on the ground. He extracted the
man’s sword easily and threw it into his right hand, testing the
weight. Ruby rummaged for the keys around the man’s waist and threw
them to Gemma.

“Try the lower cells. Dom and I will keep an
eye on the door.”

Gemma descended the small staircase and
checked the two cells below. The first cell was gracefully empty.
She hurried to the next and found what they were looking for.
Slumped in the corner, his head resting back against the cold wall
was a man who looked to be in his early thirties. His beard was
thick, his hair like wild straw and his eyes as still as a lake at
dawn. She noted the shackles around his ankles and prayed she had
the key for those too.

His head popped up straight when he heard her
slide the key into the lock. He showed no fear as the door was
flung open and his two rescuers rushed in to start working on his
manacles.

“Are you injured?” Gemma fumbled with the
keys.

“Here, let me.” Harrison took the keys from
her grasp and began testing each one in a calm, efficient
manner.

Gemma glanced back up into those still eyes
and watched them turn at the corners.

“You must be the angels I’ve been waiting
for.” His eyes glistened with reverence as he raised a frail hand
towards her, pausing an inch from her face.

Unnerved by his awe, Gemma decided to go for
business like. “We’re getting you out of here. Your family’s
waiting for you in the forest.”

“God bless ye.” His lips quivered into a
smile. “I’ve been praying for deliverance since entering this hell
and just this morning I found peace knowing I would die. Then God
decides to rescue me.” A brief chuckle escaped his lips as he shook
his head. “He is a wonder.”

A look of exuberant joy spread across the
man’s face. Gemma smiled too, drinking in the elation of the
moment.

“Well, let’s get you out of here then.”
Harrison threw the shackles away with a smile. Reaching forward he
carefully placed his arm beneath the man’s and helped him to his
feet.

Gemma took the other side when the man
stumbled.

“He’s weak.” She looked to Harrison. “We’ll
need to take it easy.”

Harrison’s nod of affirmation froze as they
heard the damning words reach them from the top of the stairs.

“Hurry it up down there! Sounds like
company’s on its way!”

The sharp clang of metal on metal followed
swiftly and Gemma felt her insides clench. She shot Harrison a
worried frown.

“We’re going to have to carry him.”

“No.” The man’s voice held an urgent energy.
“I may need support, but I will run as best I can.”

His eyes held no fear as Gemma wrapped a firm
hand around his waist and hauled him out of the cell. The peace
that seemed to emanate from him was enchanting and calmed her
nerves.

As they ascended the stairs, a guard raced
towards them with his sword raised. Gemma pushed the men away from
her and stepped to the side in the nick of time. Metal crashed on
stone. She slid her foot out of harms way. Grabbing the torch from
above her, she turned to face her opponent, crouching into a
fighting stance. The guard looked at her with a leering smile as
they circled each other. The sounds of her siblings fighting faded
into the background as she focused her energy on surviving the
battle.

The guard attacked first, his huge broad
sword arcing through the air, its heavy descent enough to cut her
in half. She caught the sword with her torch, deflecting the blow.
In one fluid motion, she snapped the wood free and clubbed the
guard in the face. He dropped out of the way, just as another guard
came barreling towards her.

His blade was heavy as it tried to steal her
upper left arm. She flinched away, but not fast enough. The blade
clipped her shoulder. She dropped the torch with a sharp cry. Her
eyes grew wide as she watched the hay catch alight. She hated the
vulnerability of being weaponless.

She dodged the next blow, only to fall over
the stool behind her. Landing with a thud, she felt the air rush
from her lungs and fought to find more. The guard approached her
with a low laugh, raising his sword high for the plunge. She
readied herself to roll out of the way, but found the need vanish
as her name was yelled and Harrison’s arms wrapped around the
guard’s waist in a brutal tackle.

Gemma jumped to her feet and ran to assist,
but found the gesture unnecessary. Harrison’s tackle had smashed
the man’s head firmly into a stone pillar, knocking him out cold.
Harrison stood tall and brushed his hands on his thighs before
turning to her.

“Wow. Thanks.” Gemma gulped as he enveloped
her in a bone-crushing hug. “I didn’t realize you were that
strong.”

He pulled back and looked down at her with
such intensity she forgot to breathe.

“Gemma, when it comes to looking after you,
I’ll find whatever strength I need.”

That said, he turned, grabbed the sword
deftly from the fallen guard’s hand and held it out to her.

“You’ll probably do better with this than I
will.”

Gemma smiled as she watched him dash across
the stones and haul their prisoner up.