Chapter 15

Kay was lost. The cave network seemed to go on forever, an ant maze of twists and turns through the damp darkness. Another fork presented itself, and she looked down each path, desperately trying to sense even the slightest difference in brightness. Perhaps the left fork was slightly more reddish? She plowed forward.

There - yes - there was a lightening of the cave walls ahead, and suddenly she rounded the corner and came out into the cool air of the rocky beach. The dark sky was just tingeing ruby red with the coming dawn. And there, his back to her, looking out toward the horizon …

Her heart leapt in relief. “Reese!” she cried out, stepping forward.

But there was no sound at all when she made her call - the air was quiet, stagnant, and Reese did not turn. Instead he stepped forward, and Kay realized there was a long, low wooden boat pulled up to shore, four pairs of sturdy men manning the oars. Reese took a few more steps, boarded, and found a place at the aft end. In another moment the men pulled in unison. The boat slowly made its way through the low waves, moving out into the sea.

“Reese!” Kay attempted to scream his name, and yet she was mute; no sound emerged. There was not a flicker of movement from Reese. He stared steadily out toward the distant sea.

She raced down the beach, chasing after him, but by the time she entered the water he was a good ten lengths away, making distance. The boat bobbed up and down over the waves which grew in intensity as the dawn began to spread across the sky in earnest.

“Reese!” Kay felt as if she were shouting at the top of her lungs, pleading, crying for him to turn, and a seagull overhead mocked at her lack of voice. She began swimming as strongly as she could, plowing through the waves, but the incoming tide buffeted her back. The oarsmen had already doubled the distance. Reese was fading into the morning mist .. he was leaving her …

“Reeeeese!”

* * *

The sound of her plaintive howl echoed in her ears, and then he was there, holding her, wrapping her in musk and warmth and shelter and tenderness, holding her tightly against him, soothing her.

“I am here, I am here,” he murmured in her ear, and she clung to him, her face wet with tears, sitting up on the couch, slowly returning to awareness from her vivid dream. It was several long minutes before her breathing slowed and she felt willing to pull back slightly, to look up into his face.

“I dreamt you were leaving me,” she explained weakly, dragging a sleeve across her cheeks. “I called and called, but you could not hear me.”

He brought a hand up to gently stroke her hair, a tender smile drawing on his lips. “I am here,” he repeated again, his eyes full on hers. “I am right by your side. I am not leaving.”

Em gave her sister a fond pat on the head. “No one is leaving,” she reminded the pair, moving to take a seat by the window. “Not as long as we have our friendly invaders camped outside. Speaking of which, Kay,” she added, motioning with her head toward the darkening sky, “it is about time for you to stop lollygagging around and get ready with those toasty arrows of yours. I think our friends might finally be coming within range.”

A frisson of fear rippled through Kay as the situation swept back into her mind. “Let me up,” she murmured to Reese, pressing him back.

He stood at once, putting out a hand to her, but she ignored it, springing to her feet. Or so she attempted - her leg buckled beneath her immediately, searing in pain, and it was only Reese’s arm sweeping around her waist which kept her from crashing hard to the floor.

“Easy there,” he chided, hauling her back up to a standing position. “You only ripped that one open earlier today, remember?”

Leland, coming in through the main door, shook his head in amusement as Kay warily settled herself on her feet. “And the other leg is still healing up from - what was that, four days ago?”

Kay put her hands to her head to fight off the miasma of pain which swirled around her forehead. “Just give me a few minutes,” she muttered in exasperation. A hand offered a tankard of mead to her, and she downed it in relief, the aches fading slightly, her vision settling into focus.

“So,” she offered, turning carefully and moving to the window, “They are almost within range now?”

Em nodded from the bench alongside her position. “Take a look.”

Kay settled herself on the cushion, giving her eyes time to adjust to the darkness beyond. The sun had just sunk below the horizon and tendrils of orange glow were fading into twinkling stars. There was no moon out; the landscape was barely distinguished by a series of darker blotches.

“Put out the candles,” she asked softly.

There was movement behind her, and in a moment the room plunged into darkness. Only a soft glow flickered from the fireplace, the lowest of fires nibbling on a half-gone log.

Kay moved her gaze methodically along the ring of trees, starting from the far left. The carts had been near the ridge of Lover’s Lane earlier in the day, and during the hours of light they would have stayed well clear of the castle’s arrow distance. That would have meant traversing, at great effort and little gain, the marshy swamps and bogs of the outer area. She had every sense that, now that they had the cover of darkness, the enemies would attempt to move in closer, to take advantage of the far better terrain.

“There,” she whispered, pointing toward the first tree on the left. “I think they are just passing it now.”

Three other sets of eyes came to the windows, peering into the darkness, seeking to make out a hint of movement, a shadow against a shadow.

Reese’s voice was low. “I do not see anything, but I trust in your judgment. Shall we begin?”

Kay nodded, and in a moment Leland was bringing over the four bows, setting up banks of arrows against each window, except for Kay’s pitch-soaked arrows, which he left in their pail by the fireplace. He stood by the mantle and picked up one of the arrows in his hand, waiting.

Kay reached down and picked up the bow. Reese made to come over, and she held up a hand. “If I cannot even string my own bow, I am truly done for,” she offered, and then she pressed herself to her feet, biting down on a grunt of pain. Her leg ached as if someone had dragged a red hot poker along its length. She pushed the feeling away with effort. Then she stepped through the string, pulled the bow’s bottom hard against her foot, and threw her weight down on the top of the arc. The bow resisted, but she wrestled it down, in, and secured the loop of the bowstring on the top end of the bow. She turned to kneel on the bench with her better leg, took in a deep breath, and held out her hand.

“I am ready. When the arrow hits, hopefully the men there will scramble to put it out, and you will have your targets.”

Reese and Em strung their bows, and Reese set up Leland’s as well. Then all eyes went to Leland.

“Here we go,” he called out in a low voice. He put the tip of the arrow down into the coals of the fire.

The pitch blazed into sparkling life, and in a moment he had run the arrow across to Kay, handing it over to her in a smooth pass. She nocked it, sighted it, and let the arrow fly.

In the onyx black of the night the missile arced like an earthbound meteor, leaving a trail of stardust behind it, soaring down and across and into the murk …

THUNK - the blaze suddenly stopped, impaling itself into the tree. In the splash of the hit they could clearly see, for a long moment, a large wagon pulled by two black horses. At least four soldiers moved alongside it, helping to push and steer it in the inky blackness.

Three bows twanged into life. The whistling arrows rose high, raced down with gravity and pent up energy. They slammed into a chest, an arm, the rump of one of the horses.

The flaming arrow was yanked from the tree and thrown to the ground, and the night went pitch black again.

Kay found the experience to be almost surreal. There had been no noise at all beyond the singing of the strings and the clean sound the arrows made leaving the solar. No call of alarm from the soldiers had reached their high, distant location, no screams of pain nor cries of the wounded animal. It was as if the events below were part of a dream.

Another blazing arrow was handed to her, and again she sent her missile down. Again the three siblings followed in hot pursuit, seeking out their targets. The fresh light illuminated the men huddling on the other side of the wagon, dragging one of their fallen comrades to safety, snapping the arrow’s shaft from the horse’s side.

Darkness.

A blaze of light by her side.

Kay fell into the routine, followed the wagons along as they moved from tree to tree. Their first few volleys caught the invaders off guard, but soon they realized what was happening. They hung leather over the sides of the horses to protect their flanks, kept to the safe side of the wagons, darting out only in-between shots to pull a flaming arrow free or to push the cart out of a rut.

The hours twisted through the night, the rhythm inexorably moving along, the wagons inching steadily forward.

Then the gentle fingers of dawn stretched out against the sky. The wagons had reached the front of the keep, pulling back into the field, joining with the mounted troop there. Kay fell against the window, exhausted.

Reese looked at Leland. “Perhaps fifteen slain, another twenty injured?”

Leland nodded in agreement. “I put the numbers in that range. With the odds being so close, we may have tipped the scales in our favor. As long as they do not attack before late afternoon, our reinforcements will arrive, and all danger will have passed.”

Em looked between the two men, her face serious. “What do you think the chances are that they will attack sometime today?”

Reese stared back out the window. The besieging soldiers were in busy motion, pulling long sheets of fabric out of the wagons, setting up a pair of large tents. “It looks like they are settling in. Perhaps they, too, are expecting fresh arrivals in the coming days. This might be a preparation for a long, drawn out siege, rather than anything immediate. I would guess that we have little to fear today.”

Leland looked over the tents with a sharp eye. “Those are fairly large,” he mused. “Maybe twenty feet on a side? Perhaps they are planning a substantial meeting between the two families, although for what purpose I cannot guess.”

Kay gazed at the activity with growing curiosity. “I want a closer look,” she murmured, drawing to her feet. The stabbing pain hit her immediately, causing her leg to crumple, and she fell hard against the sill, catching herself. Reese was at her side in a moment, holding her up.

“You need to stay here and heal up,” he insisted quietly. “You are no good to anyone if that wound becomes infected.”

Kay shook her head, willing the pain to subside. “I will just stand on the curtain wall,” she promised. “I can get a far better look from there than from this window.” She turned to Em. “Just in case, you stay here, and I will send Anne and Jessica up to wait on you.”

“You be safe,” replied Em with a frown. “You are injured, you know.”

Kay glared in frustration at her throbbing leg. “Maybe a stop by the infirmary would be a good idea first,” she amended with a reluctant sigh. “I need these legs in working order.”

Reese didn’t hesitate. “I will give you a hand,” he offered. “You must be in agonizing pain if you are agreeing to get some medical help.”

Leland chuckled. “You are getting to know our favorite patient,” he teased with a wry smile. “I will get everyone up and out on the walls who can hold a sword. We need every show of strength for today.” He glanced back out the window. “Galeron might have documented every last member of our staff, but the people with him can still be impressed by a show of force. We need to take advantage of every opportunity we have.” He nodded at the trio, and then headed down the stairs.

Kay allowed Reese to help her up, and then slowly made her way over to the stairs. The narrow, twisting spiral made it challenging for him to assist her down the flight, but at a slow, steady pace they made it down to the main hall. Anne was moving across the room with a pitcher of mead, and Kay flagged her down with a wave.

“Could you and Jessica spend the afternoon with M’Lady today?” she asked, making sure she used the title for Em. It still felt funny on her tongue to say that, and her cheeks pinkened, lying in front of Reese like that. Surely the deception had gone on long enough … she shook her head. “I need to go out and keep an eye on our new friends,” she added.

Anne smiled with pleasure. “Yes of course, I will fetch Jessica immediately,” she agreed. “She is down in the storeroom.” She turned and headed off through the tables at a trot toward the back of the room, to the small spiral staircase there that the keep staff used during meal service.

Reese offered his arm. “One more flight,” he smiled. Then they were in motion again, each step adding new pains to the previous one. By the time they had reached the infirmary Kay was exhausted. She fell back into the familiar bed with welcome relief.

Reese’s eyes went to hers. “All right, then, we might as well take a look at both legs while we are here,” he murmured, drawing back the dress to her mid-thigh. Kay shifted on the bed in discomfort, and Reese looked up immediately. “Oh, did you want a woman present as a chaperone? I had not thought to ask if -”

Kay stared at him as if he were daft. “After everything we have gone through this week? The thought had not even crossed my mind!” She winced, stretching her body to be more straight. “It is just that this leg of mine is not doing well.”

Reese bent over it, slowly unwinding the bandage from the skin, pulling the cloth free of the wound. “Ah, here is the problem, it was wrapped too tightly,” he commented, prodding gently at the flesh. He took a rag, dipped it in the nearby pail of water, and began wiping away at the medicine layer. “We can freshen this up as well.”

Kay eased back against the pillow, closing her eyes against the pain caused by his movements. “The herbs are over there, in the -”

“Yes, in the third drawer,” agreed Reese with a smile. “I have become quite familiar with your infirmary over the past week.”

Kay kept her eyes closed as Reese moved about the room, mixing up the paste, rebandaging the leg, then moving to redo the salve and bandage of her other leg. It seemed that the entire week had been a long series of her injuries, of Reese getting her out of one jam after another. Her chest tightened with angst. The thought came to her again, vividly, the image crystal clear in her mind.

He had been leaving her.

“I suppose I am not the image of a proper woman,” she whispered, half to herself.

Reese’s hands suddenly stopped moving, and she reluctantly opened her eyes. He was staring down at her in incredulous surprise.

“What do you mean? Because you are allowing me to help your legs to heal?”

Kay shook her head, suddenly trembling, a sense of vulnerability sweeping through her. “I mean, because …” Her shoulders hunched, and she wrapped her arms around her torso for a long moment. Finally she waved a hand down at the injuries on her legs. “Just look at me.”

Reese gazed down at the wounds, finished the wrap on the second bandage with a tug, and then pulled her dress back down over the pair. His eyes came up to meet hers, to hold them with steady regard.

“I see a woman who stands up for what she believes in. A woman who not only can talk about what is right, but is willing to back her words up with action.”

Kay moved to sit up, and a sharp twinge wrenched her abdomen where the small hoof-mark still troubled her. She chuckled wryly. “Leland and Em would say my actions are sometimes foolish at best.”

Reese tilted his head in confusion. “Em?”

Heat flushed through her face, and she looked down at her hands for a moment to cover her slip. Her mind raced to find a suitable lie. “I … I call M’Lady ‘M’ sometimes, as a nickname,” she stumbled. “I guess we have been together so long -”

Reese knelt at her side, raising her chin with his hand. “Kay, you do not have to justify yourself to me,” he soothed. “You are the most honest, the most trustworthy woman I have ever met. If anyone is above blame in their actions or words, you are she.”

The bottom dropped out of Kay’s world. Everything was a lie. Her entire relationship with Reese was built on lies. Even as he praised her for being honest, he was doing so as the result of a falsehood. It was simply too much to bear.

But she had sworn to Em that she would maintain this charade, at least until her father had arrived. It was tearing her apart …

Reese’s eyes clouded with concern. “Kay?”

There were footsteps in the hall, and Stephen huffed into the room, his young, stout face flushed from the exertion. “Kay, there you are. Leland needs to see you up on the wall.”

Kay pushed herself to her feet, wincing against the pain, but sturdy for the first time in a day. “We are on our way,” she responded. Reese stayed at her side as she moved slowly but steadily out to the hallway and then through the main doors.

It seemed as if Leland was true to his word – every man and teenaged boy was lined up along the keep wall, spaced apart to present more of a show of force. Kay’s frustration with her injuries mounted as she trudged in cautious deliberation across the empty courtyard. It seemed as if every eye were on her as she made her way step by step up the narrow stair to the top level. Leland waited there for her, and he smiled with approval.

“You are looking much better – your time spent with Reese was well worth it.”

Reese came alongside them, looking out toward the pair of tents. “She is healing well; I am sure her legs will be as good as new in no time. Is there a change in the situation?”

Kay crossed her arms on top of the wall and settled into place, staring with careful attention first at one tent, then the second. They were apparently made of rough, brown hemp, and about twenty feet on a side. The wagons were on their back side, hidden from view, and there was an occasional bump or movement to indicate activity within.

“Any idea what is going on in there?” she asked, not taking her eyes from the tents.

Leland shook his head. “They have been very careful to conceal any hint of what they are up to from us,” he observed, a trace of worry in his voice.

Kay settled into place, her eyes seeking, evaluating, watching for the slightest indication of what was going on. Beside her, Reese was absolutely silent, and she almost held her breath, hoping he might use his own senses to add to the puzzle solving.

Reese turned his head. “I do not like it,” he murmured. “I think I hear … woodworking noises?”

A twist of danger speared her heart. What in the world was Galeron up to? She turned to Stephen, who hovered nearby. “Stephen, please go through the castle and gather up all the remaining folk – the women and children. Get them all up into the solar. It is just a precaution, but I would feel better knowing they are all together and safe.”