Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (11 page)

A man I didn't know blocked the door to the stables. He was as big as a bar room bouncer and just as formidable.

"Orders," he said, without apologizing. "No one to enter until Sargon arrives."

I turned and ran to the far gate. It had two guards on it.

Rats, I thought. The blasted man thinks of everything. There would be no escape to the wall today.

The square was getting busy. Men were piling small animals, boxes of food and weapons on carts. I opened my mind to the animals. The chickens and ducks were squawking and frightened. I tried to sooth them, but it's hard to calm birds because their brains are so small. The horses were in good temper, excited and eager to run.

But I didn't want to travel on one of those carts. So I ran back up the steps of the castle to find Grandfather.

"Ah, there you are," a deep voice said. "You see we make arrangements."

I bobbed a quick curtsey to Sargon and veered past him.

"Hold on there." He sounded amused. "We need to talk."

With a resigned sigh, I faced him.

The king looked good in the morning light―less frightening. I saw he wasn't as old as I had first thought―maybe mid-thirties. He was clean-shaven, which must have been tough with that thick black hair. A scar jagged down the left side of his face from unde
r the eye to his mouth.

"How did you get this?" I murmured, reaching out.

He seized my arm before I touched him. "The usual way. I was careless."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

He looked at me with those black eyes. I saw them soften. "Rowena
, I―"

"We're almost ready, Sire," one of his men interrupted.

Sargon released my arm. "Good. Collect the men." To me, he said, "They tell me you can ride, Lady. I will let you take your horse if you promise to stay close." His hand rested on the hilt of hi
s sword. "You are to stay with your grandfather. You must promise."

"I promise."

"Good. Now go and pack. I'll see you shortly."

I rushed up the steps, knowing he watched me all the while.

Grandfather waited in my room. He held a large satchel.

"Put your clothes in here, child. Pack everything you have. I don't know what we'll find at the other end. Come to my room when you're done." He kissed me on the forehead, then left.

There wasn't much to pack. I had one spare day dress and two gowns that were too small for me, plus the turquoise two-piece from home.

Mustn't forget that.

I'd pack the good slippers and wear my sandals for the ride. At least they had a short heel for stirrups.

Darn, what I would give for my cowboy boots back home.

The soft blue dress I wore now had a full skirt that would do for riding. Over it, I'd wear a split apron made from spare fabric.

Very clever of me, I thought. I could spread my legs around a horse and tie the apron to my waist so that it would drape on both sides to cover bare skin.

The broach I carried within a deep skirt pocket. I laced the pocket shut, just to be sure.

Ivan came to get me.

"Sargon has already set out with his knights," he said.

In the yard, the carts were pulling out while our men mounted their horses. Lightning pranced over to my side.

"We can ride ahead of the carts," Grandfather said from his own great horse. "I've told the men to go on as they like. We can travel at our own pace, you and me."

We took turns galloping and walking our horses to give them a break. Lightning was a darling and she loved to do my bidding.

"Did your mother teach you to ride?" Grandfather asked.

We had been traveling for over an hour.

"Actually, I taught
her
," I said with a smile. "I've been riding since I could walk. My father came from a ranch and I was always messing around in the stables. Mom rode, but not hard, if you know what I mean."

"Was she a good mother to you?" His voice broke.

"Oh yes, the best. She was pretty, always laughing and I adored her. So did Dad. I miss her every day."

"You are so like her."

"And so are you in many ways. Everything about you reminds me of her and makes me feel comfortable." I recalled a memory. "She loved to dress me up in long dresses. I guess she was missing the ways of back home, but I didn't know it then."

We had nearly reached the river. We dismounted for a bit to give the horses water. I scrutinized the spot, taking in every detail. I needed to remember the point where the river went north along the forest to the split tree.

"Why did she lea
ve here?"

Grandfather sighed. "She was the youngest girl left in the valley―the last female born before the curse took effect. Already the predators were circling. You have experience of that and she was younger than you, not more than fifteen. I meant to
marry her to someone I had chosen, but she didn't want that."

She had never told me this. My poor, dear mom.

"I think she made a bargain with a sympathetic witch, but I don't know for sure," Grandfather said. "She disappeared one day with all her jewelry. We never saw her again. We would have known if she had been taken by a man from this island."

Lightning nuzzled me and we mounted again.

"Child, how did she die?"

I'd been expecting this question.

"Her heart stopped. She had a weak heart. None of us knew it. She died one night in her sleep."

How fitting that the woman who was all heart should die of a weak heart.

It was dusk when we arrived at the great castle of Sargonia. And
great
it was. The walls were at least ten feet thick and topped with crenellations and merlons. Atop them, a line of archers stood ready. Gray towers rose into the sky on all four sides. A huge dry moat ran around the periphery.

The iron gates were open and the drawbridge
down. As we approached, I could see many men in the yard―perhaps a hundred. Chickens and ducks ran wild across the dirt. Everything and everyone was in frantic motion, readying for battle.

Men of all ages stopped and stared as we passed. A few bowed their
heads, but most just gaped.

It was eerie to have so many eyes on me. Uncomfortable, I scanned for the stables that ran alongside one great wall.

Ivan crossed the courtyard to help me dismount.

"This is quite a place," he said. "At least two hundred live within these walls. And another two hundred close by."

"We're weary," Grandfather said, groaning and dismounting stiffly. "Are there activities planned that we must attend tonight?"

"No." Ivan handed off my horse to a groom. "I'm to show you to our rooms and food will be brought up there."

"Thank the Gods," Grandfather murmured.

We had been riding so long that I found it difficult to walk up the steps to the castle entrance. My legs didn't want to work.

Inside, we found ourselves in a long entrance hall.

"The great hall is beyond those double doors," Ivan said. "It's three times the size of Huel. Everything here is enormous." I could hear the reluctant awe in his voice.

He guided us up a massive wooden staircase and along a dark stone corridor with slits for windows. These would be for defense, I realized. Our rooms were next to each other. Mine and Ivan's first, Richard's next and then Grandfather's. Jon was further down the hall.

Our room had a window to an inner courtyard, but best of all it had a real bed like the one at Huel. Beside it was a tray of cheese and bread. I leapt upon it, ravenous.

As I stuffed my face, Ivan said, "I have to leave you now. There's a meeting. You should be safe until I return." He seemed reluctant to leave, as if he didn't quite believe his own words, but eventually he left.

Soon after, young Logan arrived at the door. He handed me my satchel. I thanked him and he blushed.

After he had gone, I took off my riding dress and snuggled into the bed. A steady breeze blew in through the courtyard window. Exhausted by the arduous trek across the island, I soon was whisked off to sleep.

Chapter 13

It was late the next morning when I wandered into the stables, looking for Lightning. She was relieved to see me and nuzzled up to my side. I stroked her, reading her. Apparently, some stallion was giving her trouble. I sought to ease her mind, but she rubbed against me skittishly.

Then I saw the problem male.

Sargon, mounted on a beautiful black stallion, approached from the far door. It was the first time I had seen him since we arrived at Sargonia.

"Ah, Rowena. You are a lover of horses?"

"Yes, Sire." I nodded my head in a short bow. "In my own land, I am an animal healer."

His eyes widened and he flashed a smile. "Is there no end to your mysteries, woman?"

Lightning pranced nervously, so I hushed her.

"Your filly is a beautiful animal," Sargon said. "She looks fast."

"She's small but swift. Arabian blood, I suspect. We have mustangs like this that have returned to the wild in Arizona."

His eyes bore a hole in me. "Does she come from the Huel stables?"

I hesitated. "Norland stock."

What would he make of that?

"Come ride with me," he said. "I've a mind to show you something."

My breath caught. It was another challenge, a delicious one. Excitement soared within me. I'd play with fate today and meet her head on.

"Lead the way," I said.

He backed the stallion away to give me room. I reached for Lightning's leather saddle, tightened it and fastened the bridle.

All the while, Sargon's eyes never left me.

I led Lightning from the stable, hiked up my white muslin skirt and mounted her in one graceful sweep. Sargon watched me adjust the fabric to cover my knees. It was brazenly immodest to ride like this, but I wasn't going back for my riding apron.

Sargon was off on a canter out the far gate. He glanced over his shoulder, judging my speed. Then he kicked the stallion. I put my heel to Lightning and she rose to the challenge. Together, we raced across the fields.

Lightning lived up to her name, dear girl, and I laughed with joy as we rode the wind. I felt like a kid again, riding through the wilds of the Arizona desert…back when mom was alive, the world was sweet and I had no worries.

When Sargon pulled up, his smile was as wide as mine.

We stopped at a high plateau. Sargon leapt from the stallion's back and rushed to help me down. I brushed him away, sliding to the ground on my own. The horses panted as hard as we did.

Sargon strode to the edge of the cliff top.

"This land is mine," he said. "From the borders of Huel to this great cliff. Come closer, see the view from here. Land's End goes to the sea. To the edge of the world."

The cliff gave way to a rocky shore with boulders as big as boats. The surf pounded below us. Beyond, the ocean was a dark raging blue. White terns soared and swooped in the sky above the water, not venturing as far as land.

"'Beyond this point, there be monsters,'" I quoted.

We stood side by side with the wind raging and the sound of the waves crashing below us. My hair whipped around my face. I put my face into the sea breeze and closed my eyes, drinking in the energy.

"Rowena, I mean to take you and I want to discuss terms."

I was so shocked I stumbled. "Terms?"

"You will submit." He shrugged. "I am the king and I hold power over those you love." His eyes gleamed with danger. "I can have your husband killed if you have scruples."

"No," I squeaked. "Not necessary."

Dear God, he would kill a man to make me feel okay about this betrayal?

He walked to the very edge of the cliff. It was a cool and arrogant thing to do. For one wild moment, I thought I could rush him and he would plummet over the edge. But I couldn't kill a man. Not even Sargon.

"You will submit," he said, eyeing me, "but will you respond to me? I don't know."

Respond?

A choking sound erupted from my throat. I turned away.

This was real. This was not a dream I could hide behind. Sargon would kill my husband if that's what it took to have me.

Would he kill me as well if I refused to cooperate? Could that strangled laugh be coming from my mouth?

I could hear the hysteria rising.

"Rowena!"

He grabbed my arm and swung me around. Then his arms were around me, his mouth on mine and there was madness. I clung to him like a drowning swimmer fighting to stay above water. His fingers twi
sted in my hair, pulling me closer. I fell into him, his coal black eyes, his strong embrace, the fire in his body, in his kiss.

He laughed when we broke apart. "It's as I thought."