Heart's Ransom (Heart and Soul) (35 page)

“My lady....” Alys whispered.

“You and the children, in the corner now,” Gwen snapped. She moved to the archer slit and looked down to the bailey.

Battle raged and Gwen could not tell one man from another at first, until she saw a giant knight knock a man away from him.  Instantly she recognized Talon because of the fighting style she had grown to know so well when he practiced in the lists, with Marcus and Lucais at his side.  He struggled to attack the man he had knocked to the ground, but two other men intercepted him.  The prone knight scrambled to his feet and darted away. Talon roared in fury and struggled to go after him, his sword dealing death with every stroke.

For a moment, Gwen could only stare at her husband. Dear God, he was both terrifying and beautiful.  His body moved with fluid grace, his sword drinking blood with every stroke.  He blocked attacks without ever seeing them, countering instantly.  Suddenly, his head snapped around and he looked to the keep.

“Marcus! Fall back!  Warenne has broached the keep!”

Gwen’s heart lurched in terror as she realized battle now resounded in the great hall.  Sweet Jesu protect them, Aaron had fallen.

She heard the clash of weapons approaching closer, the sounds of heavy boots and armor on the stairs, shouted curses and battle cries along with screams of the terrified servants and dying soldiers.

The door thunked, the bar rattling in its metal braces.

“Where are you Talon,” she growled through clenched teeth.  But she knew he was battling his way toward her.  She heard Rose whimper in the corner, William crying his heart wrenching wails.  Someone continued to beat against the door.

A crack appeared in the bar, growing larger with each blow.

Her gaze swept across the room and she spotted one of Talon’s large daggers on the desk, its blade gleaming.  She snatched it up, her knuckles white, and held it behind her, hidden by her skirts, then faced the door.

The bar shattered and the door exploded inward.  A knight wearing damaged armor and carrying a bloody sword grinned maniacally.

Rose and Alys screamed and the man’s gaze shifted to them a moment.  His eyes narrowed as he focused on William.  “So the cur has another whelp needing to be destroyed.”  He stepped forward.

“You sodding piece of offal,” Gwen snarled.  “You must go through me to get to my children.”

The man ignored her, his attention locked on the children.  Gwen took advantage of his distraction and lunged, the dagger flashing.  It slammed into chainmail, bucking under her hand.  But Gwen’s strength was fueled by sheer terror and she felt the links give way and blood, warm and sticky, splashed her hand.

The knight roared a curse, staggering backward, and looking down at himself in shock.  Red blood coated his left side.

“Whore!” he screamed, swinging at her with his sword.

Gwen leapt backward and the sword missed her by a hairsbreadth.  Instantly, she lunged again.  But the knight moved with amazing speed, his hand slamming into her wrist.  Numbness shot up her arm and the dagger clattered the floor.  The knight stepped forward and backhanded her.

The blow flung Gwen’s body backward, her vision dimmed but she refused to give way to the darkness. 

“
Warenne!” Talon’s roar echoed up the stairs, along with the ring of steel.

Warenne
staggered slightly, his hand pressing against his side.  Gwen knew she had dealt him a hard blow.  Cursing, he sheathed his sword and grabbed his dagger.  “Come here, wench,” he snarled and seized Gwen’s arm.

She gasped as he hauled her to her feet.  The room spun around her and she desperately sought to find her balance. 
Warenne shoved her forward out the door and toward the stairs.

“Don’t come any closer, Montgomery,” he bellowed, pressing the dagger to Gwen’s neck.

Talon killed the man he fought then froze on the stairs.  He stared at Gwen in horror and she wanted to beg his forgiveness, never had she meant to be used against him.

“Release her,” Talon spat.  “Your fight is with me, not an innocent woman.”

“You should have considered that when you damned an innocent woman.”

“I didn’t damn her!”

“Eleanor is dead because of you.”

So that’s what all this was about.  That cursed witch Eleanor.

“Damnation, Warenne, if you harm my family I will rip you apart with my bare hands.”

A low growl caught Gwen’s attention.  Mince stalked silently up the stairs while the two men shouted at each other.  Now almost a year old, Mince was approaching his full height - the middle of Talon’s thigh.  His coat was shot with more gray and his golden eyes gleamed.  His floppy ear was unnoticeable flattened against his head.  Gwen blinked, seeing the animal’s snarl and she abruptly realized what the other half of his bloodline was.

Wolf.

The two men cursed and argued, neither noting the dog.  Low and staying in the shadows of the wall Mince crept forward.  Gwen’s heart battered her ribs.  If the dog was truly part wolf, he wouldn’t attack straight on, like a normal dog.  He would stalk its prey, seeking the advantage of surprise.

Silently, Mince continued to move.

Gwen tensed, ready to jump clear.

With a terrifying snarl, Mince exploded, launching himself into the air.  Gwen lunged forward right as the animal plowed into Warenne, his jaws snapping.  Warenne brought up his dagger and she heard an agonized yelp.

“Mince!” she cried, trying to turn.

The dog bounced to the floor but managed to land on its feet, blood spattering its coat.  It lunged again, just as Warenne tried to reach for her.

Talon seized her arm and yanked her forward.  Mince plowed into Warenne's back, knocking him down the stairs.  The dagger shot straight at Gwen.

“Nay!” Talon roared, hauling her to him.  He slammed her against the wall, interposing his body between hers and Warenne's, her back against his chest.  She felt Talon jerk, his entire body stiff.  She looked up in confusion. 

Warenne
screamed as Mince’s jaws locked around his neck.  The dog sat his weight back and shook his head.

The dagger clattered to the floor, red with blood.

Warenne still screamed, trying to battle the dog.  Mince dodged as he pulled another dagger from his belt, and then lunged again, his teeth closing around the man’s throat.  With a snarl Mince ripped open the tender flesh.

Talon spun, his sword flashing and finished the job Mince had started.

Warenne’s scream turned into a chilling gurgle and he died.

“Talon?” Gwen asked, staring up at him.

He gazed at her, his amber eyes strangely glazed but a smile tugged at his lips.  “I’ll never complain about him being a mongrel again. I never realized he was part wolf.”  Slowly his knees buckled and he slid down the wall, leaving a red streak of blood in his wake.

“Oh God, Talon, what happened?”  Gwen vainly tried to keep him from falling.  Then she spotted the wound on his back. 

He had taken the dagger for her.

“Oh God,” she whispered, her hands shaking.  “Oh God, Talon, nay.”  He gazed at her a long moment, still smiling slightly, staring into her soul.  “No one harms my family,” he whispered.  Then his eyes closed and he went limp in her arms.

“Talon, nay!”

Gwen clutched Talon’s head to her breast, an agonized wail ripping from her throat.  Tears poured down her cheeks.  “Oh nay, Talon,” she whispered, caressing his face, her tears splashing his skin.  Blood expanded in a growing pool on the floor around him.  A tiny part of her struggled to regain control.  She was a healer, she had to help him.  But for the first time in her life, fear threatened to steal her sanity, she couldn’t think.  Talon was dying in her arms and all she could do was hold him.

“Momma?” a tiny voice asked.

Gwen’s head shot up and she saw Rose standing in the doorway, alerted by her cry.  The child’s gaze locked on her father and she turned a terrible shade of gray.

“Papa?” she breathed, suddenly shaking.  She took a step but staggered into the door frame and almost fell.  “Papa?”  Her blue eyes were wide, glazed with fear, but strangely dry.  The haunted dread on the girl’s face helped Gwen pull her wits together.

“Rose, fetch my medicant chest from the herb room.  But use the tower stairs to avoid the fighting.  Quickly, please!”

For a moment Rose remained frozen, unable to tear her gaze from her father, and Gwen feared the child would lose herself to her terror.  But she suddenly straightened, snapping out of her fugue.  The sound of clashing weapons continued to echo up the stairs, but Gwen was uncertain if it seemed less or if it was simply her imagination.  Rose turned and ran for the northwest tower.

Gwen finally managed to regain her wits and gently eased Talon’s head to the floor.  She grabbed his dagger from his belt and moved his sword out of the way.  Cutting his belt and tunic free, she managed to turn him to check the bleeding wound.  The gash was only as long as her finger but it was terribly deep in his back on his right side, just above his kidney.  At least she thought it was above his kidney.  If the blade had managed to nick the organ, or the large vessels leading to it, Talon would die no matter what she did.  The amount of blood continuing to expand on the floor did nothing to reassure her.

She ripped his tunic and used it to staunch the bleeding.  She had to get him in bed where she could work, but there was no way she could carry him, and dragging him would only make the injury worse.

“Marcus!” she screamed down the stairs.  “Lucais!”  She prayed one of them was within earshot.  Someone, anyone who would help Talon, not try to slay him.

A tiny whine startled her.  Mince struggled to drag himself to her, still unable to rise, red marring his coat.  He shoved his nose towards her hand, trying to lick her fingers.

“Oh, Mince,” she whispered, weaving her fingers through his thick fur.  “I am so sorry.  You are such a good dog but I’ve got to see to Talon first.  Can you hold on until then?”

Mince whined again, weakly thumping his tail on the ground.

“My lady!” a voice bellowed up the stairs.

“Lucais!” she cried.  “Please, help me!  Talon is hurt.”

The giant Templar took the stairs two at a time.  He slid to a stop, looking at Talon in horror.  “Sweet Jesu,” he whispered as his gaze swept over Warenne’s body and then stopped on Mince.  “What happened?”

“He took a dagger in the back, Lucais.  Please, help me get him in bed before he bleeds out.”

Lucais sheathed his sword and moved to pick up Talon.  Gwen kept pressure on the wound and Lucais hauled him into the solar.  Alys, standing in the corner, still trying to calm William, gasped when she saw them.

Lucais stripped Talon of his clothes while Gwen continued to try to slow the bleeding.  “The fighting wanes,” he said gruffly.  “We have near defeated the sods, but some continue to battle like demons.  I must take Warenne’s body below-stairs.  No doubt when they see their lord dead, the fight will vanish from them.”

“Do what you must,
and then come back here.  I will need your help if I am to save his life.”

“Aye, lady,” he said.  Whispering prayers, he hurried out the door.

Rose charged in, hefting Gwen’s medicant chest.  “I brought everything I could grab,” she panted.

“Very good, Rose.  Put it on the table.  Now, what do we use to staunch bleeding?”

“White Archangel, Goose Grass, and Mallow.”

“Aye, but we’re also going to add Briar Rose and Lavender for infection.  We must make a poultice.  A tea of the rose hips and
Willowbark will also help him fight the fever we know will come.”

“I’ll start the water to boil,” Rose said and hurried to the hearth fire.

Gwen smiled; the girl regained her wits quickly.

Unable to move lest the bleeding grow worse, Gwen instructed Rose on how to make the poultice. 

“Won’t you sew the wound closed?” Rose asked as she worked.

“I will but he still bleeds too much, that is our first concern right now.”

Rose stopped working, gazing at her in fear.  “He...he will live won’t he?”

“If I have any voice in the matter he will,” Gwen replied sternly. “Now, you must get the poultice as hot as you can but not so hot it burns his skin.  We must apply it to the wound before it cools too much.”

“Aye, Momma,” Rose said and returned to mashing the herbs with the mortar and pestle.

Gwen leaned close, whispering in Talon’s ear.  “Hear me, my husband, and hear me well.  I’m not going to let you die.”

****

The sun vanished behind the horizon on the second day and Gwen sat in her chair next to Talon’s bed, so exhausted her arms barely had the strength to hold William to breast.  But the babe would not have his tummy ignored.

Rose sat on the edge of the bed, bathing Talon’s face with a cool rag.  The bleeding had stopped and Gwen stitched the wound closed, but fever raged.  The delirium had started and Talon relived the horrors of his past.  Gwen kept Rose close to him, praying his daughter’s presence would help.

The child had held up admirably under the strain and worry.  Although Rose had only recently turned nine, Gwen saw the beginnings of a strong young woman blossoming before her eyes.  She only hoped Talon would live to see it too.

Montgomery Castle reeled under the terrible blow struck by Warenne’s forces.  They had lost many good men during the fighting.  Aaron had been gravely wounded, but clung stubbornly to life, and Lucais thought he would recover.

Marcus was well, as was Mortimer, who stayed with the remainder of his men to help reinforce the castle’s defenses until they recovered.  Mortimer had checked on Talon, repeatedly apologizing to Gwen for allowing the viper in his midst.  He had no idea Warenne had planned
such treachery.

Lucais was also doing well but had lost three Templars in the fighting.  He helped Gwen oversee the healing of the other wounded, and even took the time to tend Mince.

The dog now slept before the hearth fire in the solar, his side bandaged but he seemed to be recovering well.

William finished feeding and Gwen handed him to Alys to tend to his other needs.  While Talon remained in his sickbed, William had been moved into Rose’s room so his wailings wouldn’t disturb his father.

Gwen repaired her dress and sat beside Rose, noticing the child’s hands trembled terribly.

“Rose,” Gwen said, taking her hands and holding them tightly.  “I want you to eat, take a hot bath, and get some sleep.”

“But...what if...?”

“It will be all right, and I will call for you if anything arises.  But you need to rest.”

She nodded and Gwen knew she desperately needed to find a bit of respite from her father’s fevered ramblings. 

Rose threw her arms around Gwen.  “Momma, I’m so scared.”

“I know, dear heart.  But your father is a strong man.  All he ever wanted was a loving family around him.  He has that now and I don’t think he’s going to give it up easily.”

Rose nodded, snuffling back her tears. 

“Please, get some rest.”

She stood and hurried from the room, closing the door behind her.

Gwen sighed, her fingers lightly caressing Talon’s hair.  “You hear me, my husband?” she asked softly.  “That little girl will be devastated if she loses you.”  She sucked in a deep breath.  “And so will I.”

At least Talon was resting quietly right now.  Gwen took the opportunity to write in her journal.  Through all of this she kept meticulous notes of the medicants she gave Talon and how he responded to them.  But also, as her fore-mothers had done, the notes contained more than just healing information.  The journal had become a diary of sorts, holding their thoughts and feelings as they worked their healing.  And for Gwen, it became a log of the fear and worry over losing the man she loved.

She finished her writing and sat in the chair next to the bed, a blanket around her shoulders, and holding Talon’s hand.  She dozed off for a short time when Talon’s voice awakened her.

“Gwen?” he called weakly.

She flew to his side, her heart pounding.  His eyes were open but glazed.  Yet he focused on her and hope surged within her breast.  It crashed when she touched his face.  His fever had gone higher.

“I’m here, Talon,” she said softly then dampened the cloth and placed it on his forehead.

He closed his eyes for a moment as the cold cloth gave him some relief from the fire burning within him.

“Water, please,” he said hoarsely.

Gwen held him to her and allowed him to quench his thirst.  He relaxed against her and for a long moment she feared he had returned to unconsciousness.

“Gwen, forgive me.”

“Hush, my knight.  You must save your strength.”

“Rose?”

“She’s fine, Talon.  I sent her to get some rest.  She’s absolutely exhausted.”

“William?”

“He is also well.  Alys just put him down for the night.”

His hand tightened on hers but Gwen cringed at the lack of strength.  The pain she saw in his eyes threatened to rip her heart in twain.

“You...you will take care of them for me.”

Her heart stalled in her chest.  “What?”

“Take care of them...love them.”

“Talon, what are you talking about?” Although she was terrified she knew.

“’Tis the only way, Gwen.  Don’t you see?  This is the only way I can truly break her hold over me and my family.”

“What are you talking about?”  It was the fever, it had to be.  He wasn’t speaking sense.

“Eleanor’s curse.  My death is the only way to stop it.”

“Nay,” she snapped, more harshly than she intended.  “You are not going to die.”

“Don’t you see, Gwen?  This is the only way.  You were almost killed because of what I did.  I cannot bear anything happening to you or the children.”

“Because of what you did?”

“After we married...I ordered all of Eleanor’s things taken from the room and burned.”

Her jaw went slack.  She had no idea this had happened. 

“The room is empty now.  But in my efforts to escape the curse, I angered Eleanor and you were almost killed because of it.  My death is the only way to stop her.  When I am gone, the curse will no longer threaten you or the children.”

Gwen couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  Hurt and anger rose within her and pushed tears into her eyes.  “Talon, nay, it is not true.”

“I cannot live like that, Gwen.  I cannot live fearing Eleanor will demand your lives.”

“You fool!” she snarled, tears leaking down her cheeks.  “You bloody thick-skulled, half-witted, addle brained fool.”

His lips lifted slightly.

“Talon, there is no curse.  ‘Tis only your belief in one that gives it power.”

He closed his eyes wearily and Gwen suddenly feared she was losing him.  “Talon, listen to me,” she said, clinging to his hand.  “You can’t!  You can’t give up like this.  The only reason Eleanor’s curse had power over you was because you allowed it.  Your belief in it makes it real.”

“I cannot allow this threat to continue,” he said, his voice graveled.  “My death will break the curse.”

“Stop it!” she cried, sobs choking her throat.  “How could you do this?  Do you know what your death would do to Rose?”

“You will take care of her.  I know you love her as your own.”

“I do and that’s why I cannot bear to see her suffer the death of her father.  She lost her mother, would you take from her all she has left?”

His brow furrowed and he struggled to blink open his eyes.

“And what about your son?” Gwen asked, her voice shaking.  “He needs you too.  Would you have him grow up without a father?”

“My solace--”

“You said you loved me, Talon.  How can you do this to me?”

“I do love you.  ‘Tis why this is the only answer.  My death will end the curse.”  He closed his eyes again, his strength vanishing.

Gwen felt him slipping away from her.  “Nay!” she moaned, holding him tightly, her head against his chest as she sobbed.  “Nay, Talon, I love you.  How can I bear to face the future without you?  Please, you cannot abandon me.  Don’t leave me alone.  I love you, Talon Montgomery.  If you die you take my heart with you.”