Page 17 of Lord of the Castle
Hush. Hush.
I stormed inside, my foul mood ruining everything, and I still couldn’t find Lord Cedric. I followed the wide halls to the study, where rich sunlight poured in and hints of dried ink hung in the air. Biting my tongue, I climbed the stairs to the third floor where the bowl of divining water sat still, and then up into the towers overlooking the town. I could see all the way to the village, but my legs ached from climbing. The only place I hadn’t looked were his rooms, and while I wanted to venture there, I was also embarrassed. What would he think of me if I burst in on him? I retired to my own chambers, grouchy, frustrated and very hungry. The mid-day meal awaited me and I ate in silence, unsure what my next course of action should be.
* * *
The shadows were growing long when a knock came on the door. I flung it open, and Lord Cedric stood on the other side. He was dressed in black from head to toe, and a broad sword hung from his waist. His dark hair flowed long about his shoulders, and his scar stood out more prominently in the low light.
“Mistress Mariel,” he bowed slightly and then his eyes went to my blades. “I see you are prepared.”
“Where were you?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. “I looked for you everywhere!”
His purple eyes clouded over with regret. “My intent was not to distress you, Mariel. But time is of the essence now.”
I glanced to my window where daylight still reigned. A lump settled in my throat. What was about to happen?
“Come,” he said.
Words failed me as I followed him down the long halls. Listening to him drag his lame foot the whole way pained me, and yet I could offer no consolation.
Lord Cedric led me to the front doors of the castle, and for a moment I feared he would toss me out. But no, Felix was saddled and pawed the ground anxiously. We mounted up, but this time Cedric rode in front while I sat behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face into my back, allowing his shirt to soak up my foolish tears. Something unspoken had happened between us, causing him to grow distant. Was it because I was leaving or because of what might happen tonight? I bit my lower lip and tried to staunch the flow of my silent tears.
When my tears dried, I saw we’d ridden down the hill, away from the castle. An almost invisible rode led toward the forest, and Felix followed it as though he knew it by heart. There was a moment before we were plunged into the darkness of the enchanted wildwood. Thick foliage crept around trees, and orange and red flowers blossomed with a thick liquid pooling inside. The air smelled of pine, but there was another flavor, thick and hazy. Peppery. I wrinkled my nose. We trotted deeper for a while, and when I looked it back, it seemed as though the trees had moved for there was no discernible path. I was unsure whether I should be afraid or not, but we pressed on as darkness consumed the forest. Eventually yellow lights began to wink in and out of view, and we came to a circular clearing.
Lord Cedric dismounted. When he reached up to help me, I ignored his hand and slid down beside him, jarring my feet against the ground. But I gritted my teeth but said nothing.
“Be gone with you,” Cedric patted Felix on the rump. The horse jumped and trotted away, leaving us stranded in the wildwood.
Cedric lifted his staff with both hands, and in one violent motion drove it into the ground. Then, and only then did he face me. His eyes went soft as they lingered on my face. When he reached for my hand, all of my resilience wilted. Although I could not keep the disappointment from my eyes. I lifted my gaze to his, studying the planes of his face, his scar and the way he looked at me. I melted under his gaze, and my eyes closed when he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. I felt that kiss through every pore of my being. It tingled up my arm and down my spine all the way to my toes.
“I’m sorry for what is to come, Mariel.” His deep voice rumbled. “I could have loved you. If you wish to leave, I understand.”
Puzzled, I opened my mouth to respond, but an eerie cry shattered the silence of the glade.
Chapter Twelve
Lord Cedric drew his sword.
I stepped to his side and reached for mine. Twelve days without training was the longest I’d gone since I began to learn the lesson of the blade, but when my fingers wrapped around the hilt, the familiar movements came back to me. The sword scraped against the sheath as I drew it, the sound ringing out in the hushed ambience of the wildwood. Once again the familiar comfort of holding the blade enfolded me. But it wasn’t just that. It was also the knowledge that I was invincible, that none could willingly hurt me when I held a blade. I would make them scream before they harmed me, and yet the ache in my heart would not go away.
“Stand firm and do not rush at them. Let them come to us,” Lord Cedric warned me.
I rested my blade against my gauntlet and crouched into my battle stance. I was ready. But the creatures that lurched out of the trees weren’t what I expected. They were tall as the trees, oddly skinny, and a grotesque mixture between beast and human. Twisted roots took the place of legs, forcing them to stumble as they walked. Knobby heads without eyes boggled on the tops of their tree-trunk-like body. But their bark was black, and dark moss covered their rotting bodies.
Lord Cedric clasped one hand around his staff, using it as his anchor as the beasts lurched toward him. One creature moved faster than the others and bore down upon us, waving branch-like arms. It swung as though it meant to sweep us off our feet and flatten us with its trunk.
Cedric lifted his weapon but I stepped in front of him and slashed my sword in an arc. My blade cut through the creature’s arms as neatly as if they were no more than blades of grass. The tree-like creature fell with a creaking thud just as a second one took its place. I whirled my blade around and slashed through the second creature’s trunk. It slid into two pieces then shattered on the forest floor. Bloodlust boiled in my belly, for even though the creatures were dark and ugly, I felt brave for killing them.
Within mere minutes, the tree creatures lay in shambles around us, nothing more than broken branches and smashed wood. Chest heaving from effort, I turned back to Lord Cedric. He stood taller than before, his legs spread, one hand still holding tightly to the staff. I blinked as I looked at it, for it seemed as though the bud on top had opened, like a flower, about to bloom.
Shaking away the potent sense of dread, I asked, “That was it?”
“No, only the first wave.” He rolled his shoulders back and swung his blade. “The waves will be swift. Stand firm. Hold your ground.”
I lifted my chin. I’d already shown him I could hold my ground, but if more came, we would not last long. The creatures would overwhelm us, and he would lose ground. I swallowed a lump in my throat and once again took up my battle stance.
A deep throated cry burst from the wood, and a blur of darkness dashed toward me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of silver. A howl went up, and the beast crashed onto the forest floor with a knife in its throat. It was no creature I knew a word for, some sort of demented human with skin black as night and eyes red as blood. My skin crawled with fear as another blur went by, almost too fast for me to see, and then they were upon us, dropping down out of tree branches and dashing out of the wood.
Stepping forward, I swung my blade, but the creatures moved past me, knocking me off my feet. I landed on my back, the wind knocked out of me, but I kept my blade in my hand and drove it straight up as a weight settled across my body. The sword cut through flesh. Shoving the beast off my stomach, I stumbled to my feet and had to pull twice in order to free my sword. It came free trailing clumps of molted flesh and blue blood.
