Page 73 of The Lord's Compass
He was still too far to do anything when he saw one of them approach the side and open the door.
“Stop!” he called out as loud as he could, hoping to draw their attention away. They both turned to him, but then after a flurry of words in Spanish, one of them pointed his gun at him while the other remained where he was.
Eric lifted his pistol and fired at the exact moment the man shot at him. He flinched as the bullet whizzed by him, swearing when he realized his own had also missed. With no time to reload the pistol, he grabbed the other one, hoping he would have an advantage over the other man. They both were distracted, however, when the second man went flying backward with a cry, landing on his back beside the carriage – with an arrow sticking out of his chest.
“Carlos, are you hurt?” the man yelled in Spanish as he crouched down next to him, and Eric finally drew close enough to determine the identity of his opponent –DonRaphael himself.
DonRaphael turned, and Eric lifted his gun toward him, although he was overcome with confusion at the smile widening on the man’s face.
“Something amusing?” Eric asked wryly.
“Sí,”saidDonRaphael, and at the prickle in his spine, Eric turned around slowly, only to find another three men standing behind him, pistols raised.
“You do not seem to have any choices remaining,”DonRaphael said in English with a smirk that caused Eric’s ire to grow ever larger. “Put down the gun, and,señora, I would suggest you set that bow down before you hurt yourself.”
That was not going to go over well with Faith.
Little didDonRaphael know that Faith could likely wield the weapon better than the rest of them combined.
“Here is what is going to happen,”DonRaphael said. “My men and I are going to take this carriage and continue to Castleton with the painting that you stole from me.”
Eric didn’t respond. As long as they released Faith, nothing else mattered.
“And we are going to take your pretty wife with us,” he said with a snarl that had Eric jumping forward toward him until one of the Spaniards caught him and pulled him back.
“You arenottaking my wife,” Eric said desperately.
“You do not have a say in the matter,”DonRaphael said. “You came to my country, to my house, you pretended to be someone you were not, and you stole from me. You may have found a clue, but you will not be keeping the treasure. I have come for what is rightfully mine.”
“Is it, though?” Eric challenged him, hoping that if he kept him talking for long enough, someone would pass by and help them. “From what I am told, it was never yours to begin with.”
“Neither is it yours,”DonRaphael said. “I feel, however, that I am missing something that would allow me to better understand what I am looking at. I can only hope that your pretty bride can provide me with the answers. For if she cannot, then I will have no use for her and you both shall be punished for what you have done to me.”
“Now see here?—”
“Farewell!”DonRaphael called out in a singsong voice.
Eric knew the odds were stacked against him, but he wasn’t going to let the Spaniards get away with Faith. He charged forward, hoping he could takeDonRaphael off guard and knock him off of his feet – but as he did, he heard the shot from behind him, followed by searing pain in his calf along with a woman’s cry of distress that must have been Faith even if he had never imagined her in such desperation – and he collapsed, no matter how hard he tried to stay upright.
“Faith,” he groaned as the wheels beside him began to move with a creak, and as all hope left him, he prayed with everything within him that Faith would be kept safe. And wished that he had told her just how much he loved her.
* * *
Faith was notone to cry. She was not one to panic. She was the type of woman who would look at the situation in front of her, no matter how desperate, and decide on the best course forward.
However, she had never been in a situation quite this dire, where it was very likely it might not end with her alive.
She thought she would have been able to handle it with a relative degree of resolve – until Eric had been shot. Now she was fighting tears and doing what she could to prevent herself from losing all sense of reason as she wondered what had happened to him – how badly he had been hit, and whether he was still even alive. She blinked rapidly at the thought that she might now truly be without him as a hole in her chest began to grow.
She would be of no help to him if she collapsed into a puddle. All she could do was get help for him – and get it quickly.
She gritted her teeth. She was not about to go down without fighting, and she knew her fighting would have to be quick.
She stared at the three men who surrounded her, one who held a pistol aimed at her. They likely were not at all threatened by her, but instead, they were using her as leverage to keep the driver following their orders. Faith had protested, telling the driver not to listen to them, but she could understand his perspective. He was not about to appear at Castleton with the news that his disobedience had gotten her killed.
ThenDonRaphael had ordered one of the Spaniards to sit up top to ensure that his instructions were followed.
Faith twisted her hand around the solid wood she held within it, running her thumb over the sharp edge at the end of it. She had no idea how she could combat the three of them, but she was ready to do whatever was needed of her.
