While Angels Slept (24 page)

Before Val could
reply, Arabel put her small hand on her father’s big fingers. “We will be
fine,” she told him. “We are going to have a great adventure, remember? I am
looking forward to visiting Castle Mandragora. My very own castle!”

She said it so
happily that he couldn’t help but smile.  She really had no true concept of
danger, having been protected by her powerful father all of her life. She had
lived a rather sheltered existence, so all of this was, indeed, a big adventure.

“Listen to what
Val tells you and be safe,” he touched her cheek. “My love goes with you. I
will see you very soon.”

Arabel grinned
and he turned away, savoring that as the last vision of his child before he
would see her again. He tried not to let apprehension overwhelm him. Then he
focused on Cantia.

She was astride
the palfrey with Hunt behind her and the dog sitting next to the horse.  She
was facing away from him as he came upon her and he reached out, a massive hand
touching the boy’s back before moving on to rest casually on Cantia’s arm. 

When she felt
him, she turned to look at him and he could feel his composure slip. There was
sadness and longing in her gaze, and he forced a smile. They had already said
their farewells, but it didn’t make this moment of separation any easier. But
already, it was killing him.

“I have studied
my map and Darland is not too far to the south,” he sounded comforting and
business-like. “The knights will have instructions to take you south without
stopping until they reach the manse.  On a clear night with good weather, it
should take two hours at the most. You will get inside the manse, make sure it
is bottled up, and go about your daily lives until I come for you. Is that
clear?”

Cantia nodded.
“When will you come?”

His composure
slipped another notch. “I do not know,” he said, his voice considerably softer.
“It could be in two days or two weeks. I have no way of knowing. But know that
I will come as soon as I can. And I will miss you more with each breathe I
take.”

The last
sentence was whispered. Cantia smiled sadly, careful with her body language
with Hunt so close.  She wanted very much wanted to throw her arms around Tevin
and hug him tightly, but dare not make any attempt.  The pain of not being able
to touch him was almost too much to bear.

“Then we shall
look for you every day,” she said softly. “Please... please take great care, my
lord.”

All he could do
was nod, his eyes conveying a thousand words his mouth and body could not.  The
moment of separation was here but he realized he wasn’t ready for it.  He knew
he had to get away from her or risk breaking down in some manner, so he quickly
turned for Dagan and Gavril, swallowing the lump in his throat.  He was
struggling.

By the time he
reached his knights, his manner had turned snappish. “Have no doubt I will find
John and Simon and they shall feel my wrath for having disobeyed my orders,”
his rumbled. “But for you, know this; follow the road south until you come to a
fork in the road. It will be the first fork, a big one, and you will bear
left.  Follow this and you will pass through two small bergs.  When you come to
the third berg, that is Darland, and you will ask the lady where the manse is. 
She will direct you to it. You will remain with the lady and with Val until I
come for you. Defend them with your life, for this is nothing in this world
more important than those three women and that small boy.  Do you understand?”

Gavril and Dagan
nodded firmly. “Aye, my lord,” the answered in unison.

Satisfied, Tevin
motioned towards the gate. “Then make all haste.”

The knights
swung into action, snapping orders to the soldiers manning the gate.  As the
portcullis shrieked and began to lift, Tevin stood back and watched the party
move out. He felt like his whole life was leaving him, watching Cantia in the
moonlight as she spurred the little horse forward.  The hardest thing he ever
had to do was not issue a recall order.  He knew they had to go; it was for the
best. He blew a kiss at Cantia when he was sure no one could see him.

With a heavy
heart, he turned back for the great stone keep of Rochester.

***

Cantia realized
she was very close to weeping as they left the castle swiftly, silently, moving
forth into the moonlit night like wraiths upon the land. Because the moon was
so bright, there was no need for torches, a fortunate event considering they
did not want to attract attention.  Onward into the cold darkness, the party
from Rochester traveled south and Cantia missed Tevin more with each successive
step.

The road was not
in the best of condition and more than once, the horses tripped in the ruts.  Even
though it bright and their path well-lit, they ended up slowing their frantic
pace because to go any faster, with the conditions, was dangerous.  They were
surrounded by open fields so their field of visibility was wide, adding to the
decision to slow their pace.  There were no places to hide for bandits or
others who preyed upon open travelers these days, so as long as the knights had
a clear field of vision, they were comfortable with the lesser pace.

Hunt had fallen
asleep against his mother at some point and Cantia held the boy’s hands at her
waist, his little arms wrapped around her so he wouldn’t slide off.  In spite
of her separation anxiety from Tevin, she was beginning to enjoy the travel
with the ghostly moon and fairly mild weather. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky
and occasionally, a night bird would sail across the darkness. The more
distance they put between them and Rochester, the more they all began to calm
and settle in for the trip. With any luck, the hard part was over.

Dagan and Gavril
eventually came to the fork in the road that Tevin had described and took the
road to the left as instructed.  They then continued on along a smaller section
of road, now being intermittently dotted by clusters of dense, black trees. The
trees made the knights nervous so they slung their shields, weapons at the
ready, and that made Cantia nervous as well. Men prepared for battle invited
apprehension and she found herself looking around, seeing if she could spy
robbers hiding out in the growth. Her somewhat pleasant trip was turning
apprehensive again.

Somewhere, an
owl hooted as they passed through a particularly dark section of trees.  It
smelled heavily of leaves and wet, eerie phantoms lurking in the blackness. With
Cantia caught up in watching the surrounding area for an army of murders to
come flying out at them, Dagan, covering their rear, was watching Cantia.  

When he had been
summoned to escort the lady and her son out of Rochester, he had been in the
vault in discussion with Charles again.  Their conversation had been quiet and
not overheard.  During the course of that conversation, he’d come to a great
many conclusions, not the least of which was the fact that he had decided to
accept Charles’ offer. 

It hadn’t been a
simple choice, but one he felt was best for him.  The difficultly had been in
figuring out how to separate the lady from du Reims because the man was rabidly
protective over her, and when he had been summoned to escort the lady and her
son from Rochester, he considered it an omen. Perhaps God was telling him his
decision had been correct, that it was indeed time to take charge of his
destiny.  It was an unbelievably fortuitous occurrence, one he accepted
eagerly.

 Now, there were
only a couple of things that stood in his way. As the party from Rochester made
their way south, Dagan made plans for Gavril and Val.  True, his plans for the
knights were not honorable and for that, he was sincerely sorry.  But his mind
was made up; it was the time in his life to take opportunities when presented
or remain a lesser knight in du Reims’ stable for the rest of his life. No
wealth, no glory, no opportunities for him.  This was his last chance.

Dagan knew that
Gavril would not go along with his decision, which at this point, signed the
man’s death warrant. Val would be a problem also but she was encumbered with
the viscount’s daughter, making her an easy target.  The children would be
spared and he would take them, plus Cantia, to the nearest church where he
would marry the lady without delay.  His plan was in place and he was prepared.
As they neared a particularly thick cluster of trees and the moon was blotted
out by the heavy canopy, Dagan began to move.

At the rear of
the column, he spurred his charger forward and unsheathed a large dirk with a
heavy steel hilt, one he used for close-quarters combat.  He passed close to
Val on his right, slugging her against the back of the head as hard as he could
and sending her toppling over onto the ground. 

As Arabel, who
fell off of the horse along with her aunt, screamed in shock and fear, Gavril
turned around towards the source of the scream only to see his cousin bearing
down on him. Startled, the man didn’t have a chance to unsheathe his sword
before Dagan threw the dirk at him, catching him in the neck.

Gavril plummeted
to the ground, the enormous dirk in his neck that had not only cut off his air
supply, but had severed a major artery.  He lifted his hand to remove the
weapon but before he could even get a grip on it, he bled out all over the rocky,
uneven road. Gavril de Reigate’s life ended with a view of the heavens above on
a lovely night, wondering what in the world had happened to make it all end
this way.

With all of the
screaming and chaos, Cantia’s palfrey had bolted off the road, dumping both her
and Hunt onto the ground.  As she picked herself up and grabbed her son, having
no idea what was going on, Dagan came thundering in her direction.

“Halt!” Dagan
bellowed, seeing that she was preparing to run. “Stay where you are.”

 Frightened,
Cantia froze. “What has happened?” she could hear Arabel crying. “Arabel! Is
she injured? And where is Val?”

Dagan pulled his
foaming charger to a halt, gazing down at the lovely Lady Penden and her
tow-headed son. He tried not to feel guilty for what he had just done. 

“Stay here and
do not move,” he instructed.

Uncertain,
Cantia did as she was told, holding tight to Hunt as Dagan reined his charger
over to where Val was lying unconscious in the grass by the side of the road. 
Arabel was sitting beside her aunt, weeping, as Dagan dismounted his charger
and picked the girl up. Arabel wept harder, trying to resist him, as he carried
the girl over to where Cantia and Hunt were huddled.  Cantia instinctively held
out her arms to the girl, and Dagan deposited her into the waiting embrace.

Cantia wasn’t a
particularly large woman so holding Arabel was somewhat cumbersome, but she
held her as tightly and as securely as she could manage.  Arabel wrapped her
thin arms around Cantia’s neck, sobbing, as Cantia shushed her softly.  Dagan
stood in front of the pair, fists resting on his hips.

“Now,” he began
softly, with a firm yet sinister cast to his tone. “You and I have something to
discuss, lady.”

Cantia looked up
from Arabel’s lowered head. “What…?” she shook her head, her fear and confusion
growing. “What are you talking about? Have we been attacked?”

Dagan shook his
head. “We have not,” he said. “What I did was necessary.”

Cantia stared at
him, his angular features beneath the muted moonlight, and her heart began to
pound. “What
you
did?” she repeated. “What do you mean?”

Dagan wouldn’t
look over his shoulder at the carnage he had created. It was easier to pretend
he was still an honorable knight if he didn’t see it.

“Charles Penden
has presented me with a proposal that I have decided to accept,” he said. “You
are to be my wife and, along with that, your property shall become mine.  It is
my intention to ransom the viscount’s daughter for Charles Penden’s release and
your dowry, where upon you, me, Charles and your son will be able to live quite
comfortably anywhere we choose.”

Cantia stared at
him.  It began to occur to her that what happened was not a random attack from
unseen bandits, but an enemy that had come from within. Dagan, the big quiet
knight she’d barely said two words two since she had met him, had turned and
Charles Penden was at the heart of it. By hook, crook or magic, Charles had
somehow bewitched the man to turn against her.
Damn him!
Furious,
terrified, she snapped.

“I am not
Charles Penden’s chattel to be brokered,” she backed away from Dagan with
Arabel in her arms. “And I am certainly not to be brokered to a lowly knight in
exchange for a madman’s freedom.  Have you lost your senses?”

Dagan remained
cool. “Fortunately, no,” he said, rather drolly. “I realize this is something
of a shock, Lady Penden, but perhaps you will come to understand my reasoning
if would allow me to explain.”

Cantia was still
backing away from him, nearly in a panic. “I will not listen to anything,” she
snarled, trying to get a glimpse of Val still lying in a heap near the road.
“Let me see to Val immediately and you had better pray that she is not severely
injured, do you hear me?  You will go back to your horse and wait until we are
ready to continue.”

She was giving
orders, trying to gain control of the situation, but Dagan would not relent.
“You may not see to Val,” he was standing between Cantia and Tevin’s downed
sister. Then he looked at Hunt, huddled apprehensively behind his mother.
“Master Penden, you will go and retrieve your mother’s palfrey. She is over by
the tree line.”

He was pointing
but Hunt shook his head fearfully and burrowed his face into the back of his
mother.  Cantia was trying to edge her way in Val’s direction.

“I am not going
anywhere with you,” she snarled. “You are mad, do you hear? I am going to help
Val and I will kill you if you stand in my way.”