Chael's Luck (A Knights of Dorathan Novel) (21 page)

His tongue pushed into my mouth and I tried
to stay quiet. Caleb grunted and spun, his hands clutching at the
arrow in his side. A second arrow flew through the window and into
his abdomen. I looked out in time to see Klora slide to a stop. Ian
jumped from the saddle and ran into the cabin. I saw him swallow
hard at the sight of me. His eyes focused on Caleb who was looking
at the blood on his hands.

“I told you I was going to kill you, you
bastard.” He notched a final arrow and watched as it sank into the
other man’s chest. Caleb looked at me, his eyes wide, as he slowly
lay back with the last of his strength.

Ian rushed to my side. “By gods, Chaela, I’m
so sorry.” He fumbled with the knots around me wrists.

“Well, now, wasn’t that impressive.” The
owner of the voice clapped in sarcastic approval and Ian
stiffened.

My heart jumped in my throat at the man
sauntered into view. Ian stood between us protectively.

“Gavin.”

“Ian, my boy, don’t you think it’s time we
became a family again?”

“No. I don’t.”

Gavin smiled. “I’m not entirely sure you
understand what I’m trying to do.”

“You’re trying to kill off the Knights. What
I don’t understand is why.” Ian moved so he could have a go at the
knots once again.

His father shrugged. “Why does anyone ever
want to get rid of an entire army? To get to the King, of
course.”

Ian growled in frustration. He pulled his
dagger and cut above the knots, catching me as I fell. He pulled me
to his chest. “Are you alright?” He brushed the hair out of my face
and swallowed hard.

“Are you listening to me?” Gavin’s voice was
filled with anger.

“I tend to tune out crazy and delusional old
men,” commented Ian. “Why, in the name of the gods, would you want
to kill the king?”

Gavin shook his head. “Daft. I thought I’d
done a better job of raising you.”

Ian set me on the ground and stood. “Gavin,
we’re not leaving here without the book. Just hand it over. No one
else needs to die.”

“Ian, really, I thought you’d be a bit more
excited about my plans. This will take care of the one thing you
despise in this world. The Knighthood.”

“I didn’t agree with all of its laws. That
doesn’t mean I want all of them wiped out. They’re good men, most
of them.”

“Think it over, son. We’d make new laws, new
rules. We’d start our own army.”

“By gods, have you lost your mind? I’ve been
living in the woods for five years. The last thing I want is to
rule over an entire territory. Give me the book, we’ll destroy it,
and all can return to normal. Enough men have died because of
it.”

Gavin went to stand by the table. He placed
his hand over the book, his fingers tracing the emblem on the
cover. I managed to cut through the knots around my wrists with the
dagger Ian had left with me. I brought my wrist to my mouth then
pressed the heel of my palm to the cut I’d just inflicted. Ian
looked from me to his father and the seven goblins that had
appeared behind him and I frowned at the confusion on his face.

“What happens to Chaela if we say the
spell?”

His father looked up, a smile spreading
across his face. “Nothing. She’s a woman. Knight’s blood only runs
through a man’s veins.”

My heart dropped and I stared up at the man
I’d thought I had come to know.

“Ian.” His name was a choked whisper.

“What do you say, son?”

Ian looked from me to his father. “Give me a
moment to think about it, dad. I need to talk to Chaela.” He knelt
in front of me helped me get the ropes off of my legs. He stood and
pulled me up. I gazed into his amazing eyes, trying to see what he
was doing. He led me to the corner of the room farthest from his
father. He leaned down and kissed me softly before burying his face
in the crook of my neck.

“Do you trust me?” he whispered. His lips ran
down my shoulder. He pulled back, held my face gently in his hands
and looked deeply into my eyes before bringing his lips down to
mine again. “Chaela,” he muttered. “I need you to trust me. It’s
two against eight and you’re already hurt.” He tilted his head, his
pretend kiss making its way to my right ear. “He’s my father. This
falls on me.”

I took his face in my hands and returned the
kiss. “I do trust you.” My heart was starting to pound. He smiled
and gave me a real kiss.

“I’m leaving with him. The others are on
their way.” He pressed me to his chest.

His father grunted. “If you’d like use of one
of the bedrooms…”

Ian waved back. “Will you let me say
goodbye?” His father grumbled something and Ian returned his
attention to me. “Get to Gleama. Warn the king.”

“But…”

He shook his head and took the chain off his
arm, smiling tenderly as he looped it around mine. His lips brushed
against my ear. “It warms when you’re heading toward the book.”

I kissed him deeply. “Be careful.”

“I do love you, Chaela.”

I swallowed hard. “And I, you.”

“Remember, you have until the new moon. He
can’t do anything until the new moon. Now, pretend you’re upset
that I’m leaving.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Goodbye,
Chaela.”

Not having to pretend I was upset with this
arrangement, I let the tears fall down my cheeks.

“You can’t do this, Ian!”

He winked at me and took a long step
backward.

“I’ll never understand you, Chaela! Why would
you care? After everything they put you through!” He threw his
hands up in desperation. I leaned against the wall and let myself
slide down until I was sitting.

Gavin grinned. “Well, I must admit that I
hadn’t foreseen this turn of events. Sir Chael.” He gave me a mock
salute. “It seems as though after all this time, your luck remains
the same.” He gave Ian a pat on the back and they headed out the
door toward the stables.

I waited until I heard their hoof beats
disappear in the distance before forcing myself off of the ground.
I looked up at the sound of horses coming toward me. Whisk gave a
bark at the sight of Klora who had found himself a patch of
grass.

“By gods, Chaela! Are you alright?” Harry
dismounted and looked me over.

“I’m bruised and battered, Harry. Nothing
else.” I grinned and swung onto Klora. “We have to get to
Gleama.”

No one argued as we bolted toward the
city.

“Where’s Ian?” Mac pulled his horse to the
side to avoid a boulder.

“He’s with his father! Sir Gavin is the one
behind all of this. It seems he wants to rule and needs to get rid
of the Knights to take the king’s throne.”

“Ian’s going along with this? Bloody hell, I
knew he hated the Knighthood, but I never thought he’d resort to
this!”

I glared at Hal. “He’s pretending, Hal. We
were outnumbered. He pretended to join his father so I would be
able to get to Gleama to warn the king!”

Thankfully, Sir Gavin’s cabin wasn’t far from
the city. John blew his horn to announce our arrival and the gates
were opened. Our horses thundered into the city, the streets
already clear of pedestrians as shouts preceded our arrival. Nate’s
eyes widened at the sight of us approaching and he hollered into
the barn for extra hands. Three more lads ran forward and grabbed
reins as we dismounted.

“Down! Settle down!” A stable boy I hadn’t
met before yanked on Klora’s reins in an effort to get him to pay
attention.

“Give those here, you idiot!” Nate rolled his
eyes and took the reins from him. “You can’t be tense around Klora.
You’ll get yourself killed that way.”

I smiled as he gave my horse a pat on the
neck and started to speak softly to him. He gave me a nod.

“Whisk, stay!” I gave my hound a pat on the
head, returned Nate’s nod, and dashed toward the castle along with
my friends.

General Krane was still buckling his belt
when he met us in the hallway. “By gods, Chaela, what happened to
you?”

“It was Caleb, sir, and Sir Gavin.” I waved
away his frown. “I’m fine. Caleb’s dead, but Sir Gavin has the
book. That, and quite a few goblins backing him.”

“Where’s Ian?”

“With his father. We were outnumbered and he
pretended to join him so I could get here safely.”

He took a deep breath. “Chaela, do you trust
him?”

“I do.”

“Well, here’s hoping you’re right and he
hasn’t turned against us. Do we have a plan?” We were marching
toward the king’s chambers.

“Gavin mentioned something about taking out
the Knights so he could kill the king.” A few other knights had
joined our march. Cole, one of the Knights that had trained with
us, frowned.

“You know, that does seem like something that
might appeal to your Ian. The wiping us out part, anyhow.”

“He’s not a traitor.” I felt a spark of anger
flare. “He’s a good man.”

“And of course you’d feel this way…” he
pushed.

“If he’d actually joined his father, why
would he be sure to give me the chain that will lead us to the
book?”

“Chaela,” continued Cole. “I’m just saying,
look at his past history. You’ve only known him a few months. Prior
to that he renounced the Knighthood. By gods, he’s been living in
the woods for the past five years. For all we know he’s been
thieving to make a living and…”

I spun and Cole’s eyes widened as my fist
connected with his face. I clenched my teeth together to keep from
crying out as one of my fingers broke.

General Krane shook his head at the display.
“It seems some things simply never change. Get up, Cole.”

Cole did as he was told, wiping a hand over
his top lip where I’d managed to connect.

“Bloody hell! You nearly broke my nose!”

I grunted. “You’re lucky you grew an inch or
it would be broken. Now, either you’re with us or you’re not. If
you’re coming along, I suggest you keep your mouth shut until we
get there.”

He frowned. “You can’t order me around!”

Mac chuckled. “I think she just did.”

“She’s not even a Knight!”

“Until I’m told otherwise, she is,” clarified
the General.

“Which means that, as a Shadow, she outranks
you.” Harry grinned.

Cole glared at him. “You’re all smitten with
her, aren’t you?”

Hal laughed. “Well, of course! Look at her!
Not only is she beautiful, she can beat the crap out of you!”

A few of the older Knights tried to hide
their chuckles.

Cole turned red. “General…”

“Cole, I think we can see where you stand on
this. You’re on wall duty for the next week.”

“But…”

“I don’t doubt that your best interest lies
with the Knighthood, however, it’s clear that you have issues with
Chaela and Ian even though they’ve both more than adequately proven
themselves.” He looked around at twenty odd men watching the show.
“If any of you have issues with following Chaela into battle, walk
away now. I won’t have this mission jeopardized by big egos and
small minds. By gods, men, our lives depend on this. The king’s
life depends on this. We are being threatened by someone we’ve put
our trust in for the past thirty six years. Maybe it’s time we look
to someone we’re not entirely sure about.”

Caleb’s father took a step forward. “Was
Caleb with Sir Gavin?”

I nodded. “Sir…”

“Is he dead?”

I hesitated then decided on the truth. “Yes,
sir.”

He closed his eyes for a moment.

“Sir? I’m… I’m sorry about Caleb.”

He frowned and looked at me. “He did that to
you, didn’t he?” He gestured to my face.

“He did, sir.”

“And yet you’ll say you’re sorry he’s
dead?”

“I am, Sir. He was a good man, even if he did
pick on me while we grew up. This last couple of years he’d
obviously been influenced by Sir Gavin.”

“Thank you.” He nodded and fell back into
line.

“Men, let’s move.” The General led the way to
the king’s chambers. “Your majesty!” He pounded on the door and the
king appeared.

“What in the world is going on?”

I tried not to gawk at the king in his
sleepwear.

“Your highness, there’s been a complication
in our plans to recover the book. It seems that Sir Gavin is the
one who’s been after it all this time. He plans on destroying the
Knights in an effort to get the throne.”

It seemed to take a few minutes to register
with the king.

“By gods! Do we know where the book is?”

I stepped forward. “Not exactly sir. We do,
however, have a way of tracking it. Ian is with his father at the
moment trying to talk him out of the situation. I’m hoping this can
be resolved peacefully. My chain sir, can lead us to the book.
We’ll be leaving as quickly as possible to get there.”

The king nodded. “Is there anything we can
do?”

“I don’t think so, sir. I will, however be
appointing the stable boys as your personal guard when we
leave.”

Everyone, the king included, turned to look
at me.

“The stable boys?”

“Yes, sir. They’re a great bunch of lads,
sir, and very well trained. I’ve seen them practicing on numerous
occasions. If sir Gavin manages to say the spell on the night of
the new moon, there won’t be any Knights left to protect you.
You’ll be unguarded. The stable boys, however, don’t have the
Knights’ blood running through them. You’ll need protection when
Sir Gavin comes with his army of goblins.”

He nodded and looked to the General.

General Krane nodded to me. “You’re a credit
to your father, Chaela. You’ve a great mind, just like his.”

I smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

The king retreated to his chambers to alert
the queen as to what was taking place and the rest of us headed
back to the stables. By the time we got there, we were a crew of
thirty.

Mac shook his head. “I wish we’d had a bit
more notice. Thirty men isn’t much to go into a battle with.”