Kiss of the Dragon (18 page)

Still Draco hated feeling powerless against the unseen foe,
which could even now be hidden in the forest watching them and laughing behind
their hands.

It went against his nature to just walk away. He even
thought to offer his services as a seasoned warrior to help rid the Duke de
Neige of this vermin, but then he would be committed to staying at Castle Neige
and facing Bianca every day. It was a temptation he was not willing to face.
His lustful desire for the fair maiden was too hard to deny.

His attraction for Bianca would only grow stronger with each
passing day. Draco had come close to taking her innocence last eve and he
realized now that he had been saved from his mistake by only moments. If
Charles and Cynric had not shown up at his door, he would have taken her and
enjoyed every sweet, sensuous morsel of her delectable body. And then this
morning, he would have hated himself for doing so. Draco tried to convince
himself that they were fortunate for the interruption. Even now, the thought of
never seeing Bianca again left him with an ache in his chest that he refused to
acknowledge. It would be best to leave it alone.

The company of men slowed as it reached the edge of a
heavily forested area where the trail narrowed, making it impossible to ride
more than two abreast. Draco and Charles took the lead, riding forward into the
dark vegetation. The trees grew so close together that it was impossible to
make out anything on either side of the trail. The trail twisted and turned
every so often making it impossible to see any distance ahead as well.

Without warning, Charles raised his hand and reined in,
halting the line of men behind them. The unusual quiet of the woods was
deafening. No birds sang out. No squirrels screeched in protest at the
intruders who moved through the forest. Draco glanced back at his young
brother, as was his habit just before riding into the thick of fighting. After
so many years and too many battles, he needed a reason to survive one more day.
His concern for his brother’s safety had provided him with that reason these
past years. He had made a vow to his mother that he would watch over her
youngest son. She had come to realize that her oldest son grew more reckless
with every passing year and that he would eventually lose the will to survive
if he had no reason to carry on. She had been right in her assumption.

Lowering his helm, Draco unsheathed his long sword, and
raised his shield, a signal to his men to be ready for a battle. Beside him,
Charles drew his sword and waited for his command.

“Whoever awaits us up ahead apparently did not take into
consideration that the forest creatures might give their presence away.” His
voice was low and deadly. Eyes like black ice scanned the shadows of the forest
ahead as Draco urged his steed forward with no more effort than the pressure of
his knees. He understood the dangers of being in such a close space. Their men
were stretched out in a long line, easily cut off from each other, making it
difficult to defend their position in case of an ambush.

The column of mounted, armed men moved carefully along the
narrow trail, all eyes and ears strained for the smallest sight or sound.
Draco’s skin prickled with apprehension, he knew without a doubt that they were
being watched.

“Do you sense it, Charles?” Draco questioned in a low voice
as he surreptitiously scanned the shadowy tree line ahead.

“Yes. They are out there watching. Do you think that perhaps
it could be the outlaws who raided the croft?”

“I would wager Inferno on it.” As if the great steed could
understand their conversation, he snorted and shook his head as if to object.

Draco smiled tautly from behind his helm as he patted the
beast on the neck to soothe his wounded pride. “Have no fear, you great black
beast. I would not let you go. I have never placed a wager lightly, and I am
not about to start now.”

At a turn in the trail where the foliage began to thin,
Draco raised his hand to signal to stop. He was not about to lead his loyal men
into a trap. He wanted to see what lay ahead.

With Charles following close behind, Draco rounded the bend
where the trail widened slightly and pulled up short. Never had he felt such
fear. The terrible sight that met his eyes made him want to bellow with
frustrated rage.

Bianca!

Standing in the in middle of the trail bound hand and foot.

Bianca had never felt so frustrated and helpless in her entire
life.

Only hours before she had been riding through the
countryside with Jabulani at her side. She had intended to find Draco and warn
him of her premonition. The attack, when it came, took them completely unaware.
One moment they rode under a canopy of tall, leafy trees and the next, Jabulani
was pulled from his mount by a handful of rogues, whose faces were hidden
behind masks.

Even as they dragged the large servant to the ground and
began to club him with large sticks, he had thought only of her. Jabulani
bellowed for her to ride for her life. It was her moment of indecision about
leaving him to his fate that had ruined her escape.

A cloaked man, wearing a black mask, came at her from the
opposite direction and seized her about the waist pulling her from her mount.
She had turned on him, kicking and beating him about the head nearly dislodging
the mask that hid his identity. His curses had mingled with her screams of
outrage but a hard cuff to the head had left her limp in his arms as he
whispered a dire warning in her ear if she persisted in resisting him. As he
dragged her to his mount and threw her across the saddle, he had ordered his
men to kill the giant who protected her. Bianca’s cry of denial never made it
past her lips as the kidnapper swung into the saddle behind her and clamped his
hand over her mouth and warned her again to behave. This time he threatened her
with her life.

Stunned by the horrible situation in which she had found
herself, she sat like a puppet and barely noticed the trail they followed led
them south in the same direction she and Jabulani had been headed. When she
finally realized it, hope had flared in her chest that they might by chance run
into Draco. She considered it her only chance of rescue since these villains had
murdered Jabulani. Tears of sorrow flowed unchecked down her cheeks as she was
carried deeper into the forest.

It seemed like hours that they rode, not stopping, not
talking. Behind them, Bianca could hear the other outlaws catching up with
them. Still no words were spoken. When at last she thought that she would
scream with frustration, they came to a halt in a small clearing along the
trail they had been following.

“I think this will do nicely. You, there,” he called to one
of the men who had dismounted. “Bring me something with which to bind the
little princess. Something sturdy.” He chuckled maliciously in her ear. “I
would not want to lose such a prize as you, sweet Bianca. I have great plans
for you.” With that, he dismounted and lifted her to the ground. There he held
her hands out before her as another outlaw bound them tightly and then knelt to
wrap the remaining tether around her ankles. With that done, the dark masked
outlaw reached around her and before she realized what he was about, he punched
her in the belly hard enough to knock the wind from her. As she gasped for air,
he stuffed a rag into her mouth and bound another about her head to hold it in
place.

“That should keep you quiet, little pigeon. I do not want
you warning the great Dragon when he gets here. I want the element of surprise
on my side. The game will be that much sweeter.”

His words both alarmed and puzzled Bianca. Why would this
outlaw play such deadly game with her and Draco? But even as she thought over
that question, she suddenly found herself all alone in the middle of the trail.
The outlaws had simply faded into the shadows of the undergrowth without making
any sound. It was then that she realized they used her for bait in a deadly
trap for the Black Dragon of Normandy.

Bianca glanced frantically around the glade praying that she
would not be the demise of Draco and his men. But even as this thought entered
her mind, she heard the distinct sound of jingling bridles and horses’ hooves
hitting the ground as they came down the trail toward the small glade. She made
a noise of warning in her throat but it was not enough to be heard. She could
do no more than stand there helplessly waiting.

Draco cursed viciously beneath his helm. Had he really
expected Bianca to be safely behind the high thick walls of Castle Neige where
he had left her earlier this morning? He should have guessed that the impetuous
little vixen would never do what he expected. How she came to be here, he would
have to wait until later to discover. At present, he needed to determine the
best method of rescuing her from her present predicament without getting them
both killed.

As Draco’s gaze swept over Bianca to discern her condition,
he could see that her white face, the part not hidden behind the gag, ran wet
with tears, which streaked down through the trail dust that covered her. Her
gown was stained and crushed from the apparent harsh treatment she had
received. Whether she had any serious injuries was difficult to discern from
where he sat astride his warhorse. A thick rope bound her hands and her lower
body. Whoever had put the restraints on her wanted to be sure that she was
unable to move without falling.

A quick glance around the glade found no evidence of the
villain or villains who had done this. But, by the way Bianca kept searching
the surrounding trees, Draco knew her tormentors were just out of sight, hidden
well in the shadows.

Bianca stood helpless in the path of the large warhorses,
wondering if she were about to be trampled into the ground. The elation that
filled her nearly dropped her to her knees when she recognized the huge knight
in black armor and the blonde knight who rode at his side. But her relief was
short-lived, turning to horror, as she understood her captors reasoning for
placing her in such a position. Her violet eyes widened eloquently as she
struggled with the bonds that held her hands so that she could remove the piece
of cloth stuffed in her mouth. But she could do no more than shake her head
furiously, trying to warn Lord Draco and Lord Charles of their vulnerability.
But even as she began to struggle, her kidnapper made his presence known.

“So the great war heroes have finally arrived.” A voice rang
out through the clearing. But it was impossible to pinpoint the villain’s
hiding place since his voice seemed to echo through the trees.

“What do you want?” Draco demanded. His anger was barely
under control. When he located the ruffian, his wrath would know no bounds.
Nothing would hold him back from seeking his revenge for this insult.

“I want the little beauty to die, of course. But then I
realized that I could not just slit her throat as I first planned. No, it would
not be enough. I want to be entertained. I am willing to give you, the famed
Black Dragon of Normandy, a chance to show the little lady what a great hero
you really are.”

“What are you talking about? Why the hell would you want to
kill an innocent woman? Who are you?” The questions where shot at the invisible
knave without pause, Draco hoping to draw him out giving them time to discover
his hiding place.

“One need not have a reason to snuff out an insignificant
life, perhaps I enjoy the killing. Or perhaps the fault is hers. Perhaps her
very existence is cause for ending her miserable life. But if you must know the
truth on the matter, her only crime is that she has become a stumbling block
for a certain party and they want her permanently removed. It seems that your
lovely little whore has made a formidable enemy.”

The reference to Bianca being a whore nearly pushed Draco
into charging blindly into the glade to find the man who dared to speak such an
insult. But he gathered his last shred of control and stood his ground. It
would do none of them any good if he carelessly got himself killed at this
point.

“Who hired you?” Draco demanded, knowing even as he asked
the question that he would not get a truthful answer.

For a moment, silence was the scoundrel’s only response and
then the woods filled with his harsh laughter.

“You must think me a real fool, m’lord. It is enough to know
that someone wants the beautiful Bianca out of the way and they have taken
certain measures to that end. But I find that I am a compassionate man. I am
willing to give her a last moment of reprieve. You, without interference from
your noble friend or your men, will be allowed to ride to the center of the
clearing and retrieve the woman. Or if you prefer, I can simply put an arrow
through her very lovely breast and end it all now. The choice is yours.”

“‘Tis a trap, Draco,” Charles protested under his breath as
his eyes swept the trees for any sign of the outlaws.

“I know. But I cannot sit here and watch her die at the
hands of some madman.” Not waiting for more argument, Draco spurred Inferno who
leaped forward and rode at full gallop straight toward Bianca.

Bianca had listened in horror to the choices that Draco was
given and she wanted to scream and rave at him to stop. She did not want to
trade his life for hers. She feared that the madman lied and even as Draco rode
at full speed straight at her she expected to find a hailstorm of arrows
descending on them.

The scene played out before her took only seconds but those
seconds seemed to stretch out into long moments as Bianca watched Inferno’s
huge hooves throw sod and chunks of grass high as they ate up the distance
between them. When his mighty churning hooves tore past her, Bianca felt his
hot breath against her arm and then strong arms lifted her high to deposit her
on Draco’s lap where she was completely engulfed in his protective embrace. It
all happened so swiftly that she barely had time to take a breath, but when she
did her eyes caught a movement in the foliage to their left and then a man
stepped into view with a long bow stretched to let loose a deadly missile.
Before she could cry out a warning, the arrow was launched. Knowing that the
archer’s intended target was the vulnerable place in Draco’s armor, Bianca
threw herself hard against his chest, taking him unaware. The momentum of her
actions was enough to unseat them both. They fell to the ground in a tangled
heap. Draco had been able to turn as they fell so that his body cushioned
Bianca as they hit the ground hard.