The Charleston Chase (Phantom Knights Book 2) (33 page)

“To be with the woman you love,” Harvey said.

Sam was at my side, his voice a boom in the barn.
“Surrender, for your witchcraft will not work upon us, wizard.”

General Harvey laughed. “Oh, how much you resemble
your uncle. Do you believe that I do not know your past?” Sam
stiffened. “You were even younger than Loutaire when you lost your
father. Died of a broken heart.”

Harvey stepped next to Bess and pulled off the black
cloth from her head. Her mouth was muffled, but her eyes were wide,
alert. There were bruises on the side of her face, and my every
feeling went wild.

“Like father, like son, considering how you feel
about Elizabeth,” Harvey said.

Sam and I both looked at Guinevere, knowing Harvey
could have only learned such information from her. She was not
looking at us but over our heads. Turning back to Bess, there were
tears shining in her eyes. There was no longer any doubt in my mind
concerning Bess’s future. Bess loved Sam as much as he loved
her.

“That’s enough!” I shouted. “Your
time of mischief is at an end. Surrender or I will cut you down
from the pedestal that you believe yourself to be upon.”

“Those are large words coming from such a little
man.” Harvey was grinning like he did not believe my words.

“Do not be deceived by my size. I could vanquish you
within a minute, old man.”

The general laughed heartily. “The time for that is
not yet, but believe that it is not distant. You will prove
yourself soon.”

“Your time is now for there is no escape for
you.”

Bess was trying to tell me something with her eyes.
They kept widening then looking down. I had not the slightest
notion what she was trying to say.

“Loutaire, you must learn to think beyond the box in
which you dwell. There is always an escape if you hold a valuable
key.” General Harvey looked at Bess. “You have come in time for the
execution.”

Sam started forward, and Guinevere let off a shot.
It moved past Sam’s head and burst through the wall behind him.
Guinevere smiled as she raised her second pistol.

“Step away from my sister,” I ordered, my voice
thunderous.

“Your father never thought much of you, choosing
your sister to lead the Phantoms instead of you, but I knew your
true worth. Together, you, Guinevere, and I could accomplish
wonders. As my right hand, you shall one day rule a powerful
kingdom.”

“You are more deluded than I ever thought possible,
Harvey. You have no kingdom, and if you do not step away from my
sister, you will have no life in your body.”

Harvey’s hand sank down onto the lever that would
release the wood from beneath Bess’s feet.

Sam pulled out his pistol, and I shouted as he moved
forward, “No!”

“You move another step, and I will let her
hang.”

He was staring at Sam, who had stopped, but did not
lower his weapon. Guinevere had her pistol aimed at Sam, and as I
glanced up at the lofts, I saw that she was not the only one. All
the others were pointed at Sam, save one. A man with yellow hair
that hung to his shoulders had his weapon pointed at Harvey.

“I am prepared to make you a bargain, Harvey,” I
said, looking back at him, “your only one. You have two of the
artifacts, but I have the rest. I am prepared to turn them over to
you.”

Guinevere, Sam, and Bess looked at me with wide
eyes.

“A generous offer, Loutaire. With your sister’s
release the price to be paid?”

“Not only Bess. I also want Edith,” I said calmly,
inwardly pleased when I saw Harvey’s smile vanish. “You will return
Edith to her sister, and you will never approach them again.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed for he did not know who Edith
was or that she was Guinevere’s sister. Bess’s eyebrows shot up,
and she tried to look to her left, to where Guinevere was standing.
Guinevere’s lips were parted, and there were tears in her eyes.

General Harvey turned to Guinevere. “The time has
come.”

Guinevere glared at the general,
hatred on her face. “No.”

“Be gone! There is nothing for you here,” Harvey
said.

Guinevere glanced at me, and slightly I inclined my
head. I had not heard any fighting outside, and I wanted her away
from Harvey. Guinevere kept her pistol leveled at Sam, but backed
away until she was at a small ladder. She climbed down and left the
barn.

“This has been most entertaining, but my time is
valuable. I do, however, have a parting gift for you. A choice.
What is most important to you? Happy hunting.” With a swift
movement, General Harvey kicked the lever forward, and Bess plunged
through the opening of the scaffold. My heart shattered.

“Bess!”

Bess was struggling as she dangled on the rope.

Sam and I charged forward, but Sam yelled at me. “I
have her, go after Harvey!”

It was not an easy choice to make, but I did as Sam
ordered. I knew he would give his life for Bess so she would be
safe with him.

As I reached the door Harvey had left through, a
shot rang out from behind me. I turned in time to see Sam stumble,
landing on his knees. His face was horrified at his fall as he
looked toward where Bess had been hung.

The rope that held Bess had been shot clean through,
by the man who had been aiming at Harvey. The other people in the
lofts were running, trying to find a way out of the barn, since
Harvey had deserted them.

Sam scrambled forward under the scaffold floor and
to Bess, who was slowly moving. That was all I waited to see.

Slamming through the half open
barn door, there were bodies all over the ground, some only
injured, and others deceased. Harvey and Guinevere were riding
toward Sam’s field, each atop a black horse. Rose had a pistol
aimed at Guinevere. I ran toward her, but she squeezed the trigger
before I could reach her. My heart, that I was sure would explode
from all the danger, revelations, and surprises, sighed when
nothing happened. Her gun misfired.

Betsy and Char came up beside her. Betsy raised a
musket, and without showing any outward qualms, aimed and fired. I
saw Harvey lurch forward on his horse, but he kept going. A moment
later, he was out of our view, covered by trees, Guinevere with
him.

Turning, I ran back into the barn. Bess was kneeling
on the dirt floor, but her voice was strained. “Where is he? Where
is my brother?”

“I’m here,” I said, moving swiftly toward her.

When she saw me, a sob seemed to burst from her, and
she ran to meet me. Her arms wrapped around my neck as mine wrapped
around her waist. She was crying hard, and I felt moisture stinging
my eyes at the relief of knowing she was safe, alive.

“You are safe, you are well,” I kept repeating until
she calmed.

She took my face between her hands. “I love you,
Jack,” she whispered, so only I could hear her.

The bruises on her temple and cheek were red and
raised, meaning they were fresh. My anger roared, but I pushed it
down, for Harvey was gone, so I could not enact my feelings upon
him...yet. “And I you,” I said, my voice deep.

She released my face but immediately clasped onto my
arm. She did not want me out of her sight, but that was well with
me, for I did not want her out of mine.

We moved toward Leo, Abe, and the man who had shot
Bess’s rope. They had a group of the people from the lofts sitting
on the ground, and they were tying their hands behind their backs.
When we reached the man with long, blond hair he straightened. I
held out my hand.

“I do not know why you did it, but thank you for
saving my sister’s life.”

He shook my hand, inclining his head.

“This is Silence. My guardian angel,” Bess said,
giving the man a smile.

Silence smiled rather sheepishly in return. “Hardly
that, Raven.”

“It is true, Jack, for he placed me in this body
harness that magicians use. The noose attached to a hook, but in
the event that the hook failed he was waiting to shoot the
rope.”

Sam’s arm brushed against mine as he placed a hand
on the small of Bess’s back. I smiled at him, but he glared at me
before turning his gaze to Silence.

“Why?” Sam asked, suspicious.

Bess looked me in the eyes. “He was working for
Levi. Levi did not betray us, Jack. He has a deeper plan against
the Holy Order.”

Suspicion of my own coupled with a little disbelief
shot through me. “Why would he not tell us?”

Bess touched my arm in the way she did when she
wanted me to know that she was in earnest. Her voice was soft so
only those close could hear. “Because he saw his way to greatness.
You know that he has always been searching for a way to prove
himself.”

It was as Bess said. Being the youngest member of
our team, Levi was always trying to prove his worth.

Leo gave us a report that Guinevere had come running
through the yard telling the Holy Order’s guards that we were
friends and only to harm the royal guards. They all had worked
together to take out the remaining royal guards as Guinevere
entered the barn.

Leo pulled me aside while Sam demanded to know what
had happened in his home. “I spoke with your lady for a moment. She
said to tell you that she would get word to you as soon as she was
able.”

Thanking Leo, I felt a deep pull on my heart, that
we were one step closer to the end. One step closer to achieving
what my father had wanted three years ago. We had all the members
of the Holy Order, except Harvey, whom we would find. Guinevere was
on our side; Levi had not betrayed us, and Bess was safe. If the
look on Sam’s face was any indication, Bess was not only safe, but
shortly to become a married woman. At long last.

Bess

W
hen we
returned to Charleston, Sam insisted that the whole team stay at
his house. He claimed it was because of the threat Harvey presented
to us all. I agreed because the others did, and I wanted to be near
my brother.

It had been a week since they rescued me; since
Harvey and Guinevere escaped though I knew how instrumental
Guinevere had been in my rescue. Jack was convinced that she was on
our side. He claimed that Guinevere had gone with Harvey so she
could discover where he meant to go, and then get word to Jack. How
I hoped it was so.

We spoke of Edith Harvey, and everything Jack told
me about Edith being Guinevere’s sister made sense. I remembered
Edith never meeting Guinevere’s eyes in society, her hostility
toward her, but also moments when they laughed together. When
Guinevere wore the yellow wig, it was true that they did look
similar. Their eyes were different colors, but the shapes of their
faces were the same.

Edith had lived with Harvey, her supposed uncle, for
as long as we knew them, since before the war. I did not know what
had happened to her parents other than they had died when she was
small. Edith required our protection, and Leo had offered to go to
Philadelphia to fetch her. Jack was hesitant, and though he did not
say so, I knew he was waiting to hear from Guinevere.

Guinevere had been a player in Harvey’s game like
the rest of us, though her part had been much worse. Jack needed to
know that should Guinevere return, I would not stand in the way.
She had tried to help me escape; she rescued me from a vicious
attack, and she helped them rescue me; I would help her protect her
sister.

My brother was sure that the end
was in sight—an end that I wanted no part of.

So much had happened, and there
were still some things that I needed to discuss with Jack. He was
the only person I had told about the attack the day of my hanging,
and Harvey’s subsequent
reaction. As I
told Jack, I endured some startling revelations. My need for
justice, which had compelled me on as a Phantom for so long, was
gone. The chase no longer held any appeal.

After being awakened by Jack from nightmares the
first three nights that we had been back in Charleston, we ended
the night with him holding me as I cried, and sleeping beside me. I
had talked out my feelings that nearly being ravaged a second time
in my life had taken away my will to fight. Jack’s response when I
asked if it made me a coward was what I needed to hear.

“Cowardice is a lack of bravery, and that is not
you. You have endured tremendous trials that would have broken
anyone else, but not you. You have earned a lifetime of peace,
Bess, and I swear that I will see that you have it.”

Jack encouraged my need to leave the chase behind,
going so far as to help me look for a house to let in the city.
Remaining in Charleston was of the greatest import to me, for I
needed to be near Sam.

It had been seven interminable days since Sam kissed
me. He had told me that he loved me when he held me on the floor of
his barn. I had not had the chance to tell him of my own feelings,
for his lips had been upon me in a frenzy. Having him love me,
protect me, after what I had been through, gave me the strength to
stay at the plantation until we had all of the Holy Order’s members
loaded into a wagon escorted by several constables.

Sam had been terribly frightened for me; I could
tell it in the pressure of his mouth, in the way he held me as if I
would disappear if he released me, but all of that seemed to have
faded.

For seven days, he had stared at me, not speaking
about anything important, never being alone with me, but the
intensity was back in his eyes. It was as if he were searching for
something he had yet to find. I was swiftly becoming annoyed with
the man. I did not know what went through his mind when I was near
him. If he had changed his mind about me, I wanted to know so I
could move back to Rose’s house.

Sam was across the book room from me, standing over
his desk with Jack at his side. They were going over a map, marking
the areas they thought Harvey could have gone. His eyes met mine
for a moment, and the heat from his gaze shot across the room,
slapping me in the chest. But then he lowered his gaze, saying
nothing, revealing nothing. I was only in the room because Jack was
there, or so I kept telling myself.