The Knight of Swords Issues An Ultimatum

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Sara

Knight of Swords

He looked up at me.  There were tears in his eyes.  He cast them down at the blood stained tip, shaking his head.

He told me fiercely, ‘I will mourn her and the rest of them now.’

‘Listen to me, all of you . . .’ I spun around, drawing the attention of my men.  I spoke loudly over the weeping of the villagers.  ‘You did not kill them.  Sebastian is the one who murdered our women.  We must avenge their deaths and retrieve our Queen in their honour.’

‘It’s useless, Nathan.  Sebastian defeats us at every turn.  How can we ever hope to find the Queen when he has even managed to close down your bond with her,’ Cedric moaned.

He was right of course, but I was a stubborn man when I put my mind to something.  I was not about to give up on Juliet, ever.

‘I will not let that creature take Juliet away from me, from us.  We have found her once, we will find her again.  Together we have moved mountains of snow.  Together we will retrieve our Queen.  Who is with me?’

I stared at every man in turn, attempting to pre-empt their response.  Despite their misery, no man would dare to let me down.  I was their leader.  It was their duty to obey without question, overriding any reservations they had.  They nodded slowly.  Most of them would not meet my eyes.  I sensed their reluctance in believing we could defeat Sebastian.  It was not good enough.  I wanted their hearts with me.

‘I want more than your duty to me.  I want you to believe we will win this war.  Believe we can take our Queen back, or you are no good to me and not fit to serve as a knight in my army.’

I glared at them, listening for their thoughts.  They could not hide their feelings from me.  Some were rallied by my call to arms, others were still unsure.  Jason Dyer was one of them.  His mind was clouded with grief over the fallen women.  But enough hope still dwelt in his heart that Juliet could be saved.  If she was, he would be able to challenge me for her hand.  To my relief, none of them were ready to completely give up.  Like Jason, their hope was too strong.  One by one their thoughts cleared, and they voiced their resolve.

‘Good.  I will not hear any more talk of defeat, or I will deal with it severely.  Am I understood?’

They gathered around me.  There was strength in their movements, a language that communicated their renewed focus and determination.  I let the matter rest.

‘What do we do with the villagers?’ Cedric asked.  ‘We should leave them to rot down here.’

My heart was hardened to the villagers.  Many of them had been killed in the attack.  I felt no compulsion to protect those that were left.

‘We will leave them to save themselves.  I will waste no further time on them.  If they freeze to death in here, it will be their own doing.  We must leave.’

My men began to exit the hall, ignoring the pleas of the villagers for assistance.  One by one they crouched before jumping up through the hole in the roof.  I watched them, marvelling at how my new strength and abilities as a vampire made such feats possible without any effort at all.  A woman reached out with a shaking hand to grab my arm.

‘You cannot just leave us here to die.’

‘And why can’t I, madam?  You have shown my race nothing but violence and disrespect.’

‘Show some mercy.’

‘Madam, you did not show the women of my race any mercy when you cannibalised them.  You are not worthy of it.’

‘But you are half human, are you not?  If you leave us to die, you will be murdering your own kind.’

I narrowed my eyes at the old woman as her words struck a disparaging chord within me.

‘I will leave you the means to escape the hall.  Then you can seek help without my assistance.  I can do no more than that.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

I raised my voice so that they could all hear as I addressed the remaining villagers.  ‘If I see or hear of any of you consuming the flesh of my people ever again, I will hunt you down and kill you.’

The woman tugged on my arm again.  ‘But the disease will return.  We will die.’

‘Then so be it.  It is the natural order of human life.  Find another way to save yourselves or face the consequences of a punishment worse than death itself.  I promise you I will show no more mercy.’

She backed away from me, afraid.  I jumped up onto the stage remembering a rope I had seen earlier amongst some discarded stage props.  The rope would reach from the hole in the roof down to an acceptable distance from the floor for one of the men to climb up it to seek assistance.  If they all wished to leave together, they would perhaps have to tie some material to the rope to extend its length.  It was enough to give them a chance at escape and survival.  More than that which they had given the hybrid women.

I gave their fearful faces one last glance as I crouched to jump to the hole.  Grabbing on to the edge, I pulled myself through into the snow next to Jason.  I took the end of the rope to the sturdy stone base of the weather vane at the front of the hall’s roof and tied it securely, before returning to the hole.  The villagers stared up at me with relief as I dropped the remaining rope down towards them.  I paid them no more of my attention. 

Joining my men, we leaped across the roofs of the snow covered village to re-enter the forest.  My intention was to find Gabriel so we could discuss our next move.  What that was to be, I was unsure.  I had to find a way to reach Juliet’s mind.  It was the only means by which to discover her whereabouts.  It would give us a fighting chance to rescue her.

*                             *                              *

Gabriel paced the small kitchen room of the farmstead like a caged animal as I sat next to the fire.

‘We must free Juliet from the Caratacos demons.  She will only be able to withstand the pain they inflict for so long.  No Taleian or hybrid has ever suffered their torment without capitulating to their wishes.  She will give herself to Sebastian.  The choice will be taken from her.  The pain they induce into the mind is so severe.  No wonder Sebastian was able to control the hybrid women.  I fear we may be too late.’

I started at him angrily from my chair.  ‘She is strong Gabriel, more than you realise.  She will not bend to his will.  I know it.  You must not insult her.’

He stopped pacing as he gave me a sympathetic look.  ‘You actually do love her, don’t you?  You are not just simply mated to her.’

I stared at him.  ‘Yes I do, as you love Camille.’

He stiffened, before beginning his pacing once more.

‘If we were able to reach her, do you think you could stand to feel the pain she is enduring long enough to find out where she is?’  There was some disbelief in his voice as to whether I would be able to stand the agony.  Juliet was not the only one he underestimated.

‘I will do whatever it takes.’

‘Good.  I have someone who can help you.  Her powers are strong.  I am convinced there is royal lineage in her blood.’

‘Who is she?’

‘The girl, Emily.’

I opened my mouth to speak, but he had disappeared through the door.  Despite my desperate need to reach Juliet, I did not want the child put in danger.  I sat in my chair watching the orange flames of the fire in the hearth lick at the wood, making it spit and char, thinking of the pain Juliet was enduring.  My heart ached to free her from her torment, to hold her in my arms once more.  I rubbed at my temple feeling the familiar ache pierce my head strongly.  It was becoming more intense.  She was being taken further away from me.  I could feel it.  Sebastian was transporting her somewhere.  The further he took her from me, the more pain I would suffer until my mind disintegrated with longing and loneliness.  I could take no more of it.

I was standing, ready to leave, ready to run through the night like a tormented soul, searching alone for Juliet when Gabriel re-entered the room holding Emily by the hand.  He took one look at my eyes and his own filled with comprehension and pity.

He simply said, ‘It’s getting worse.’

I nodded.  He lowered his gaze to my coat draped over my arm.

‘Nathan, I understand the tempest that rages inside your mind is driving you to madness.  You want to tear up the countryside looking for her, but you must let us help you.’

He carefully placed his hand on my arm when I made movement to leave.

‘You can’t do this alone, Nathan.’

I felt a tug on my trouser leg.  I looked down at Emily.  She smiled up at me.

‘Don’t leave.  I can help you find the pretty lady.’