My Lady Mage: A Warriors of the Mist Novel (22 page)

The next push cost her the small amount of ground she’d regained and then some. It wouldn’t take much more effort on his part to break through her defenses. Time was running out, and all hope of a reprieve was fading away.

“Let me in, Merewen, or I’ll start my evening’s entertainment with your aunt. After all that she has suffered at the hands of your uncle, there’s not much chance of her being of much use to the duke. That makes her fair game.”

Thank the gods that Alina had barricaded herself in her room. If she had been truly at risk, Merewen would have given up the battle rather than let the woman suffer in her place.

He gave one more mighty heave, and Merewen found herself flying across the floor. The door slammed against the wall as Olaf plunged into the room. Before he could regain full control of his attack, Merewen threw herself on the bed.

She fumbled under the pillows, searching for her knife. She managed to wrap her fingers around the hilt just as Olaf dove on top of her, pushing her down into
the blankets hard enough to make it all but impossible to breathe.

His big body was too heavy for her to shove off, but neither would she surrender.

His breath, hot and foul, feathered over the back of her neck and face. “I have waited far too long for this. You always act as if you’re too good for me, but you’re little better than a stable hand.”

He rolled to the side, still keeping her pinned in place with the weight of his leg as his hand roamed free. Her hand holding the knife was trapped underneath her body, but eventually he would make a mistake.

When that happened, she would attack and, by the grace of the gods, he would bleed.

Gideon tasted Merewen’s fear, and her pain pounded in his ears, growing worse by the second. Her terror formed a volatile mix with his fury, making it hard to focus long enough to reach her.

With the same technique they’d used to return Merewen to the safety of her room, Gideon slung a coil of rope over his shoulder and then stretched a leather strap between his hands as he held his arms over his head. Because of his larger size, Scim had just enough strength to lift Gideon to the top of the palisade. From there, Gideon repelled down to the ground.

He was about to toss the hook on the end of his rope up to catch the edge of the balcony of her room when she screamed a second time. Even at his fastest, he’d unlikely be able to climb up in time if she was in imminent danger.

“Scim, help her!”

The gyrfalcon shrieked in challenge and dove straight toward her open window. With luck, the bird could position himself to do serious damage to Merewen’s attacker
with his claws and beak, distracting the bastard long enough for Gideon to join the fray.

A deep bellow came from the room above as Gideon spun the hook in a circle several times, building up speed with each pass. Finally with a flick of his wrist, he sent it soaring up to catch on the low wall surrounding the balcony off Merewen’s room.

Hand over hand, his feet braced on the wall, he climbed upward, hoping and praying to the gods to let him get to her in time. When he pulled himself up and over to land on the balcony itself, he drew both his sword and favorite dirk and charged into the room to defend his lady.

Inside was a scene out of the deepest hells of the netherworld. A brute of a man lay sprawled atop Merewen, and their legs and arms were twined in a tangled knot.

Scim’s attack had done some damage, but there was little more he could do within the confined space of the canopy that arched over the bed frame. Gideon could only hope the raptor had managed to slow down the assault on Lady Merewen, at least enough to prevent her from being—

No! He couldn’t think past that possibility. That this beast would even think of robbing Merewen of her innocence was beyond bearing. The bastard was already dead. Whether his passing would be swift or piece by piece would be determined by how badly he’d hurt her.

Two steps farther into the room, he tasted the scent of blood in the air, taking him from rational to berserk between one heartbeat and the next. Gideon sheathed his knife and grabbed the man by the back of the collar. He used all of his god-enhanced strength to fling the vermin off the bed, sending him bouncing across the floor to land in a broken heap next to the still-open door.

The man was slow to move, but he was already scrambling to his feet. Gideon positioned himself between Merewen and her attacker, his sword up and ready to split his foe from groin to gullet. It didn’t take Fagan’s man long to assess the situation. He stared past Gideon toward Merewen, his lip curled up in a sneer.

“So this is the reason you spend so much time out on the grasslands. Your uncle will not appreciate knowing you’ve taken a lover, not when Duke Keirthan has plans for you.”

Gideon entered the conversation. “Hold your tongue.”

He ignored Gideon’s order, focusing instead on Merewen.

“Fagan will kill you himself for your slatternly ways. Your actions will bring ruin down upon us all. Keirthan won’t stop until everything you hold dear is dead or destroyed if you’ve given yourself to this knave.”

Gideon wouldn’t allow the fool to further berate Merewen, especially when the charges were unfounded. When he started forward, ready to cut out the man’s tongue if that was what it took to silence him, the man broke and ran.

He charged down the hall, sounding the alarm.

Rather than give immediate chase, Gideon asked, “Lady Merewen, are you harmed? Did he—?”

Once again Gideon couldn’t pull together the words and could only repeat, “Did he?”

Her head wobbled from side to side, but he wasn’t sure if she was really answering him or if she was too numb to understand what he was really asking. Her tunic was torn and covered in a spray of blood drops, but otherwise her clothing appeared to be intact.

That gave him hope that he’d arrived in time.

Then he noticed the bloody knife in her hand. He tried to recall her attacker’s condition. Yes, Scim had left deep claw marks on the man’s face, but there had also been a
wound on the side of his shoulder that still dripped blood. For the first time, Gideon could breathe. His lady had put up a good fight of her own.

But now wasn’t the time for congratulations. Her attacker almost certainly had to be Olaf, the captain of Fagan’s guard. No doubt he’d earned that position by his skill with a blade. That was fine with Gideon. The two of them would definitely cross weapons over Olaf’s attack on Merewen. He hoped the man survived the initial clash of swords, because he wanted the villain to see his death reflected in Gideon’s eyes.

Already footsteps were approaching. Gideon prepared to face a second foe when he recognized the voice calling Merewen’s name. It was Duncan.

“Lady Merewen!”

The other warrior skidded to a stop in the doorway. It didn’t take him long to assess the situation or Gideon’s mood.

“Captain, how is Lady Merewen?”

“She will be fine.” He glanced at her again to reassure himself that was true. “How are things below?”

Duncan’s expression was grim. “I was about to fetch Merewen to answer the farmer’s call when Olaf charged through the hall, screaming the keep was under attack. I left Murdoch and Averel at the gate and came here to make sure the lady was safe.”

Gideon wasn’t about to let her out of this room. She’d barely escaped grave injury once already. He would not risk her safety again.

“The plan has changed. She stays here.”

With him. Barring that, perhaps he could entrust her care to her aunt while the battle raged below. The bed creaked behind him, warning him that Merewen was on the move. He turned around just as she pushed herself up to her feet.

“Captain, I will decide for myself what I should do or
where I’d best serve my people. If I am not with you, there’s almost no chance that those loyal to me will surrender. I won’t have them die while I cower in safety.”

Merewen drew herself up to her full height as if shrugging off the terror of her attack. “Unless we can convince the guards to open the gate, it will only be harder to get Kane into the keep.”

She met each man’s gaze head-on as if daring them to argue. When neither one did, she continued. “I’ll change clothes first, so they won’t think you’ve harmed me. Duncan, tell my people I will come down shortly.”

Duncan knew marching orders when he heard them, but nonetheless said, “Captain?”

Gideon hated to admit it, but she was right. They needed Kane, and perhaps it would actually help her to get past the shock of having been attacked if she took an active role in retaking control of her home.

He shrugged. “Do as she says. I’ll remain here to ensure her safety.”

Duncan bowed his head to Merewen and disappeared back down the hallway. Gideon closed the door and then held out his arms to Merewen, hoping she would accept the offer. She didn’t hesitate, collapsing against his chest and holding on with all her strength.

Gideon stroked her back, pleased that she’d accept his touch when she’d been so recently brutalized by a man. Time was running short, but he’d stand there and hold her as long as she needed him.

“Thank you for coming, Gideon, and for sending your avatar. My knife hand was trapped underneath Olaf. Until Scim attacked him, I couldn’t work it free.”

He brushed a lock of her hair back from her face. “You’re a fighter, my lady. You would have found a way.”

She leaned into his touch and sighed. “We must go before Olaf causes even more trouble.”

Gideon let her see only a small portion of his fury. “I will avenge your honor, Merewen.”

She chewed her lower lip but nodded. “Olaf is my uncle’s equal with a sword, Gideon.”

He liked that she worried about him. “The gods decreed that I am your champion, Merewen. I almost failed in that duty, but I will not do so again.”

She wasn’t done arguing. “Even the poorest fighter gets lucky sometimes.”

“True, but even if Olaf were to best me, he has never fought the likes of Lord Kane. He will die either way, but if he faces Kane, he will pray for death long before it comes for him.”

Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so blunt, but it was nothing less than the truth. She eased back, putting a small bit of distance between them. Had he horrified her?

“I believe you.”

Then she rose up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips. “But now we must go. I am ready for this hell to end.”

So was he. “I’ll stand guard in the doorway.”

Gideon was careful to keep his back turned as Merewen changed clothes. He tried to concentrate on the noise coming from below and not the soft rustle of fabric as she traded the bloody tunic for a clean one. Right now he should be thinking of battle strategies instead of imagining the glistening of her skin as she washed her face and hands clean of Olaf’s blood.

A warrior with his attention divided was asking for death. Gideon looked around for Scim and spotted him perched on a heavy beam near the ceiling. He sent the bird diving down to the hall below so he could watch what was happening through the raptor’s eyes. As always, it took him a minute to adjust to the way the world looked through the bird’s vision.

Right now, Olaf was ordering some of his men to patrol the walkway along the palisade. Others were to reinforce those manning the gate. Yet a few more were to follow him back up the stairs to come after Gideon.

Find Duncan and the others.
He pictured each of the warriors in his mind to make sure Scim understood. It didn’t take him long. All three were mixed in with the men at the gate. He would trust them to get Kane inside.

Right now, though, he was going to have to find another way to get Merewen out of her room. If Olaf led a charge up the stairs, Gideon would have a difficult time fighting his way through them, especially trying to protect Merewen at the same time.

He ducked back inside her room and shoved a heavy trunk in front of the door. At best it would only slow the attack down, but it would buy them some time.

Merewen winced as she removed her bloody tunic and tossed it in the corner. Every move hurt. Her struggle against Olaf had left her bruised and aching, but she drew comfort from knowing all the blood shed in the brief battle had been his.

That outcome might have been far different if Gideon hadn’t sent Scim as a harbinger of his own arrival. Just seeing the gyrfalcon had renewed her determination to fight, giving her the strength to hold out until Gideon found her.

She had a terrible feeling that the worst was yet to come. Things had gone too far now to turn back, not that she would even consider doing so. Someone had to put an end to Fagan’s tyranny.

That didn’t mean she wouldn’t rather hide up here in her room. But as Gideon had reminded her, he was her champion, there to win back control of her family home. She would do her part.

“I’m ready to go. They’ll be waiting.”

Gideon had just shoved her trunk in front of the door. That didn’t bode well. He returned to her, his strong arms snaking around her waist to pull her back against his strength for a quick hug. “I hate that we must involve you in this.”

“I know, but we need to open the gate to allow Kane to join us.”

Then she looked over her shoulder at him. “And I hope my presence will convince my people that the Damned are not the enemy, but allies.”

He considered her words and then jerked his head in a quick nod, although still clearly not happy about the situation.

After releasing his hold on her, Gideon led her toward the balcony. “We can’t risk using the stairs. I sent Scim down to spy for me, and Olaf is planning an attack. He’ll be here any second, and he will not be coming alone. We’ll have to climb down to the bailey.”

She followed him outside, standing back out of his way while he secured the rope to the railing. A quick look over the edge left her stomach churning. Even though the distance to the ground wasn’t all that far, she didn’t relish yet another new adventure.

Gideon read her fear correctly. “I’ll go first so that I’ll be there to catch you should you fall. Merewen, you cannot afford to hesitate. That trunk will not stop Olaf for long.”