The Dark Lady (51 page)

He stepped right into the outstretched foot behind him. His arms flailed for balance and as he went down Vanessa caught the hilt of his sword with the length of hers. It flung out of his hand with a vibrating ring. It slid toward the men spraying dirt and torn chunks of grass with it and Ryan hit the ground with a loud grunt.

Van’s mind screamed in victory, blocking off all other sights and sounds. She stepped over him before he could regain his feet and slid the tip of her sword against the delicate hollow of his throat. One of the few spots unprotected from his thick chain mail.

Van’s breath came in hard gasps that hurt her chest with each deep inhale. Pain surged through her arm and she felt about to tumble to the ground. The loss of blood, lack of sleep, and emotional stress were catching up to her, dragging her into a pit of darkness.

Ryan swam in and out of focus before her. “Now you will die for what you have done to her.”

Before she could carry out her threat she felt a small body collide with her.

“
Please, don’t kill him,” Anna pleaded clinging to her. “Please.” Her voice was thick and her body racked with sobs.

“
Anna, he hurt you.” Van could not stand to see the tears, could not stand to think her friend was hurting.

“
Please, I cannot have a death because of me.” Anna shuddered and tightened her grip around her waist. “Promise me.”

“
Go stand by your brother.” How could this day get any worse? She wanted nothing more than to separate his head from his worthless body. Her anger had not been satisfied and her body begged to have the freedom to kill him.

“
Promise me.” Anna looked up at her with tear filled and trusting eyes.

Van pushed the sword deeper into his soft flesh. She felt a moment of joy as it pierced the skin and blood began to ooze slowly out. She pushed harder.

“
Please.” Anna’s voice was soft and she laid her small hand on Van’s blood soaked arm.

Van nuzzled the top of the girl’s head with her face leaving a streak of powder that Van grunted at. She felt a moment of worry, seeing that powder, and knew without a doubt that her face held none. Too late to worry about it now, she thought. Her conscience tried to tell her I told you so, but she pushed it away. “I promise he will not die today because of you, now go.”

Anna reluctantly walked away and Van forced herself to move back. “You should be grateful to her, for she has given you a gift today that you do not deserve...your life.”

She heard shouts from behind her. Screams of warning and she felt feet vibrating the ground as they rushed toward her. Peter screamed at her to watch out, but she only waited. She was aware of the men rushing forth to her aid.

Van waited until the footfalls were right on top of her, until she could hear the raspy breathing of the man, and then she spun on him. Sword held flat, she used all the strength her anger gave her.

There was a moment in which she saw Christopher Dalton, sword held high and a look of rage contorting his face. Then his face disappeared.

She heard feminine screams even before she heard the wet, soft sound of a head rolling across the earth, followed by the thick thud of a heavy body that followed it down.

She heard Ryan jump to his feet and spun back on him, sword held out straight toward his chest. Now she was the one facing the men. They had all stopped. She could see the wonder on their faces. She could see the confusion and the questions.

She heard the soft murmured words that started to mill around, words that worried her for the sake of her loved ones. Words like, “Dark Knight” and “it cannot be him.”

Van stood proudly, fighting the nausea that swam through her dizzy head. Her arm straight and accusing as the sword pointed unwavering at Ryan. “You will leave these grounds.” Blood dripped into the dry ground, but her arm remained steady and still.

“
You have no authority to tell me to leave. I am not one of your men, Dark Knight,” Ryan snarled at her.

Her thick voice, deepened with arrogance, growled at him, rumbling through the crowd. “You are right. You are not one of my men. Go ahead and ask Peter what he thinks.” She grinned an arrogant halfcocked grin. “Go ahead, because I would like to see if you can finish the question with your head lying over by your friend’s.” She saw the hesitation in his deep brown eyes. “Please, ask him.”

“
You will not kill me. You promised.” Ryan said with a smug grin. The grin fell away when she laughed.

The amused laugh was the first thing that had caused her rock steady arm to move, vibrating with the deepness of it. The Dark Knight said in his deep and graveled voice. “Nay, I did not. You have to be careful what you get as a promise. I promised that you would not die today because of her.”

She smiled and tried her best to ignore all the shocked stares of the men and all the mumblings rolling around among them. “This would not be because of her. It would be purely for my enjoyment and my pleasure. I would like to see how far I can get your head to roll.”

She noticed the men’s eyes dart from her to the decapitated body behind her and back to her. She twisted her arm so that the sword lay flat, making it easier to slice through the tough tendons and bone of the neck. As she pivoted her wrist, the muscles in her bicep convulsed as they worked hard to hold the heavy sword. The gash in her arm opened farther and fresh blood dripped to the ground.

“
I need a horse and my things,” Ryan said angrily.

“
Aye, I need a lot of things as well. Add it to your prayers. Now get out of my sight.” As she watched Ryan, followed closely by Gregory Penchiot, who ran to catch up with him, she knew she had made a mistake. Her anger was not yet satisfied and as the two men went through the rear gate and disappeared into the woods, she had to force herself not to go after them.

She turned back to the men and grumbled, “Damned insolent women and their promises. Mothers who want you to promise to wed.” She looked up at the pale face of Amy. “You and your meddling. I should have killed Ryan the night he touched you.” Her anger was starting to fade as she turned at last to Anna.

“
And you. I should have killed him now, when I had another chance.” She took a step toward her, painfully aware that Gary pulled her protectively against him. She felt a twinge of regret but kept her face calm. She ran her now trembling hand down the girl’s arm. “Are you all right?”

Anna nodded her head. “I am, but your face. You have such a bad scar. How did you get it? “

Blurs of double vision dizzied Van and she struggled to keep her feet under her. A wave of blackness passed before her. She ran her hand along the scar and smiled.

Peter watched her closely and his mind was whisked away to a time long ago. He lay in the tent, his shoulder demolished and a woman with a sweet laugh and a hypnotizing voice hovered above him. Her black eyes shimmering with worry.

A twinge in Peter’s shoulder seemed to remember the night as well. He stared at Vanessa...Van, he thought shaking his head. Van.

Peter looked around the men and saw the same confusion on their faces as he felt himself. “Go to the lists, now.” His voice sounded strangled. “Two of you take care of the body.”

Most of the men turned and walked away, without a backward glance. Van stared after them longingly, and Peter finally understood her need to see the men.

Gary had stayed with his arms wrapped around Anna. Grant, Richard, and Devon, his arm around Amy, had stayed as well.

“
My lord.” Van turned her head back at the sound of Gary’s voice. Peter did not even glance at Gary. He could not take his eyes of his wife.

“
Take care of your sister,” Peter told him.

Peter stared at Vanessa intently. He could not seem to make his mind understand what had happened. The soft musical voice of his phantom woman swirled around him, confusing him more.

He had berated himself for years as he had the same dream over and over again of the woman leaning over him. Of him running his hand along her smooth cheek. That the dream was of a woman did not stop his disgust with himself because he knew the truth.

But he hadn’t known the truth, he thought. Or perhaps somewhere in the back of his mind he had known, he told himself optimistically. Confusion darkened his thoughts and he scowled.

How could she do this to him? He had just discovered that he loved her and now she did this.

Peter groaned. He could not think of it now. His mind was too befuddled with swirling questions that seemed to lead not to answers, but only to more questions. For now he decided he would go to the lists with the men and try to escape at least temporarily into sparring and sword play.

Peter motioned for the remaining men to join him. Richard and Grant walked past her, but as Devon stepped past, Van swayed heavily and would have fallen if Devon had not grabbed her.

Her head rolled and Gary’s sword fell with a clang to the ground.

“
Van!” Devon’s panicked yell made Peter take a step toward them. Amy rushed to her side and Anna broke free from her brother’s arms and joined her.

Van waved the girls away and pushed Devon’s arms from her. She stood on unsteady feet and swayed. Devon moved to take her into his arms once again, but she slapped his hands.

“
I am fine.” Her voice trembled in a weak whisper. She swayed again and Peter knew she was not fine.

He longed to go to her, but found himself unable. He stood his ground and stared at her, unsure of what to think or to do.

She swayed against Devon and looked at Peter sadly. “I am fine,” she said again. “Just take care of Damien. He trusts you.”

Peter started at the sound of the horse’s name. He mentally kicked himself for not recognizing the stallion given by the king to the newly knighted boy. There were many things that were beginning to stand out in his mind, now that he saw the truth. Things that now seemed obvious, but at the time had only been a tickle at his deepest thoughts.

She held Devon’s arm for a moment until her legs steadied then she released him. “Make sure he did not hurt himself.”

Peter watched her sway and held his breath. He released it when she regained her balance and spoke again.

“
See that he did not injure anything either coming out of the stall or over that wall. We hit hard.” Her voice was steady, but low.

Gary took Anna into his arms again and spoke to Devon. “You take care of the horse. Amy and I will see to these two.” He turned toward Peter with a questioning look.

Peter looked at Richard, lost in misery. Then turned and walked away.

Richard stared closely at Van, his breath coming in shallow gasps. All the things his mind had been trying to tell him over the past week all came rushing at him until he could hardly get any air in his lungs.

Van looked over to him and smiled weakly.

“
Are you truly...” he asked wanting her to tell him no, that he was mistaken. He could not even ask the question for he already knew the answer.

“
I—” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I am sorry.”

Richard’s head spun with confusion and he took a step back, feeling an almost physical blow.

His swirling thoughts took him back to all the things they had done together. He could clearly see the times he had hit her and allowed her to do dangerous things.

He had treated her like a man, not a delicate woman like she should have been treated. He had taken her to taverns and left her in the midst of dangerous men while he took women upstairs. He talked to her of things that no young woman should ever hear.

His heart stopped and his breath lodged beneath the lump that grew suddenly in his throat. He had beaten her.

He could not face what he had done to her, a mere woman, and he stared at the ground. The drops of her blood and the headless body did nothing to soothe his frayed nerves.

He saw her reach for him. He looked up into the pleading eyes that shimmered with unshed tears and his heart broke. Unable to forgive himself, he turned and walked away.

Van stared after the man who she had thought of as a father all her young life. She stood, wavering with the hot sun beating down on her and did not care if she bled to death standing right where she was.

The air seemed to be sucked from around her and she gasped.

“
Van, come on.” Amy’s voice sounded as if it were from the other side of the moon. She tried to focus on it, but it fluttered out of her grasp.

“
If not for you, than for Anna,” Amy said. She wrapped her arms around Van and tugged gently. “She needs you now, Gary needs you.”

Without a word, Van followed them into Anna’s bed chamber.

Inside the chambers, they got Anna laid onto the bed. Amy turned and spoke softly to Gary. “You should wait outside.”

“
I do not know.” He looked closely at Van with an untrusting gaze.

Van felt as if she had been crushed beneath his suspicious gaze. She understood it though. The Dark Knight had an awful reputation and she had worked hard to get it. Now that hard work was coming around to bite her like a serpent that had been raised and nurtured to a massive and powerful creature.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were stopped as the door burst open. Douglas came rushing into the room. “I am sorry, my lady. I could not stay away. I made it part way to the lists and had to return.”