IntoEternity (33 page)

Imogen advanced across the room, screeching in a fury, but then
she suddenly stopped, as if a switch had been flicked. Her demeanor changed,
she turned and walked back to the table and began looking through the pages of
the old book.

Gusty let her head fall back against the wall. Her mind
raced a mile a minute trying to figure out what she could say to change this
mad woman’s mind. She glanced at her mother. She’d shifted her position a bit and
her breathing pattern had changed.

She was waking up! Gusty breathed with relief.

“Mother,” she whispered as quietly as possible and hoped
Imogen didn’t notice.

Her mother looked up. Before Isabelle could speak Gusty
shook her head and nodded toward the table behind her. She held her breath and
waited but the old witch seemed not to notice her captive had regained
consciousness. When Isabelle glanced back at Gusty she mouthed,
close your
eyes
. Isabelle nodded and lowered her head, closed her eyes and sat
perfectly still. A slight shuffling sound coming from the doorway caught Gusty’s
attention. A bound and hooded man stumbled into the room ahead of Kermit. The
big ogre shoved the man in the back, sending him staggering toward the table
where Imogen worried over her spell book.

“Ah, here you are. It is about time, Kermit.” Imogen added a
few ingredients into a small stone bowl and used a stone pestle to grind them
into a fine powder. This she poured into a silver goblet and then added a good
portion of blood-red wine.

“Remove the hood, Kermit. Let my love see what fate has in
store for him. I’m sure he will be more than pleased to be see his beautiful
Imogen once again.”

Her apprentice pushed the unfortunate man up against the
wall opposite the table then chained him to the wall. Once Kermit had the man
secure he yanked the hood off and Gusty’s mouth dropped open. She would have
never in a thousand years expected to see Black Bart Sutherland chained to the
wall of the dungeon, looking a bit haggard and bleary-eyed. Obviously the man
had spent the night drinking himself senseless. He must have been an easy
target, probably passed out cold when he was taken.

“It is such a pleasure to see you once again, lover. Are you
pleased to see me?” Imogen asked in a falsely sweet and overly loud voice.

“Aye, Imogen, I am pleased to see you.” His words were
cautious and neutral but his face showed he was a very frightened man. His eyes
flickered back and forth as if he were a trapped animal.

“How are Bernadine and Katherine, Bart? How are our two
daughters doing at court? Has Edgar found husbands for them?”

“They both have suitors. Aye, Edgar found them good
matches.”

Gusty gasped, shocked by this new revelation, and Bart’s
gaze turned in her direction. His eyes widened.

“What is she doing here, Imogen?” he demanded.

“I wanted her to see what her future looks like. I have been
living for this moment—I want to savor my vengeance. I have brought my sister
here as well. She will also pay retribution.” Imogen gestured to where Isabelle
sat with her chin resting upon her chest as if she were still unconscious.

“What are you going to do with them? With me?” he demanded
hoarsely.

“I think I will deal with you first, lover. I just might
take your soul and send you to hell.”

“Alexander will find us, Imogen. He loves his wife and now
that she carries his child he will do anything to get her back. You won’t get
away with this insanity. He will kill you, if you harm Lady Sutherland.”

“You fool. We are in the last place anyone would ever think
to look.”

“Whose dungeon is this?”

“This is the oldest section of my father’s dungeon. He has
not used it in years—it is considered unsafe. Nobody will think to look in the
MacKay’s own keep for us. We will have total privacy for our entertainment,” she
promised him in a whisper before she turned her back and continued her preparation.

Gusty looked at Bart but he refused to return her gaze. She
found it hard to believe that Imogen had an affair with the man and even had
two children by him. But why should that surprise her? The man went after
anything in a skirt. He was a player of the first degree.

Imogen stopped her mumbling over the concoction she mixed
and carried the cup to Bart. She lifted it to his lips and commanded him to
drink. As if unable to control his actions, he took a sip. Before he could pull
back after the first small swallow, Imogen tipped up the cup and forced him to
gulp down the entire thing. When she drew the cup back Bart sputtered and
coughed, gasping for air.

“Damn you, witch! Are you trying to drown me or poison me?”

“You are not getting off so easily, my love. I have
something much better in mind for your death.”

At her statement Bart turned white and his breathing grew
labored. He groaned as if he were in pain. Was he having a heart attack or had
she really poisoned him?

Imogen returned to the table and set the empty cup down
before reaching up to open the door of a small birdcage that hung from a rafter
above. She crooned a low tune as she opened the cage and brought out a yellow
canary. Slowly she walked toward Bart with the bird clutched in her hand, gently
stroking the creature’s head as it chirped warily. She stopped in front of Bart
and smiled.

“What are you doing, Imogen? Stop!”

She ignored his entreaty, lifted her hand and began to
stroke his head in much the same fashion as she had done to the bird. As Gusty
watched Bart froze then his body sagged, as if something had sapped all his
strength. Within moments he had dropped to his knees on the cold stone floor,
his massive body hanging by his arms and wrists, which were chained to the wall
above him. Imogen stopped petting him and stepped back so he could see her
without raising his head.

“You see how this works, Kermit,” she instructed her
apprentice. “He will feel everything as if I am doing it to him.”

The ugly giant grinned and stepped forward, waiting in
obvious anticipation.

She stood there before Bart, smiling almost sweetly at him
for the longest time. Then she raised the canary to her lips and whispered,
“Goodbye, Bart.” And she bit the head off the small, helpless canary.

Gusty had not known what to expect as she’d watched the
strange incantation but when Imogen bit off the bird’s head Gusty nearly lost
the contents of her stomach. She gagged repeatedly and watched in horror as
Bart jerked around and then fell limp.

The crash of the heavy wooden door against the wall as it
was thrown open broke through her dazed mind and Gusty turned to watch her
brother charge into the room, a large claymore in one hand and a deadly looking
skean in the other. He looked like a younger version of their father. Imogen
spun around at the invasion, a gasp escaped her lips as she came face-to-face
with Michael.

“You,” Imogen’s hiss turned into a gasp and then she began making
a gurgling noise.

“What the hell is going on here?” Michael demanded.

Gusty watched in fascinated horror as Imogen grabbed her
neck and collapsed slowly to the floor. Obviously Michael’s appearance had
surprised the old witch, causing her to inhale sharply. The bird’s head had
lodged in her throat.

“Mistress?” Imogen’s giant growled as he dropped by her side
and touched her arm.

“Imogen tried to kill Bart with black magic. She bit off a
canary’s head and was in the process of swallowing it when you crashed through
the door.” Gusty glanced down at Imogen, who lay still on the cold stone floor.
“I think she’s dead.”

A great roar of rage brought Gusty’s attention to Imogen’s
apprentice. The ugly bald giant rushed her brother. The two men met with a
crash of blades and then they broke apart and began to circle each other.
Michael jumped back to avoid being sliced open as the ugly apprentice swung his
blade under Michael’s guard. A quick kick connected with the bigger man’s sword
arm and he dropped his weapon. Michael stepped back to assess the situation but
his hesitation gave the giant the opportunity to jump for the door and
disappear.

“Oh my God! Michael! Are you okay? I can’t believe you just
did that. Wow! You saved our lives!” Gusty realized she was babbling and
stopped long enough to take a deep breath.

“Michael?” The whispered plea had him turning to the sad
figure tied to the chair.

“Mother.” Michael sheathed his sword and moved to her side.

“Get her out of here, Michael. She’s been injured. I think Kermit
hit her on the head. She needs medical attention immediately.”

“Are you all right, Gusty?” he asked as he used his skean to
cut the ropes.

Isabelle rose to her feet a little unsteadily, her eyes wide.
“Thank God you arrived in time, son. I do not even want to think about what she
had in mind for your sister or me.”

“Go, Mother, find Father and Alexander. They are both
upstairs tearing the MacKay keep apart looking for you and Gusty. Go let him
know you’re all right. I will get these chains off Gusty and we will be right
behind you.”

“Aye, son. But hurry. I do not like this place, it is pure
evil.” She crossed herself and then ran from the chamber, a look of terror on
her face.

“Kermit!” Gusty gasped, “Michael, Kermit is out there
somewhere. What if he comes back and finds Mother alone? He might hurt her or
worse. I think he’s crazy. He was Imogen’s apprentice. Oh God! You have to go!
Hurry! I’ll be right behind you.”

Michael had released one of her wrists while she had been
talking so she reached to unfasten her other arm.

“I can do the rest. Go, Michael, make sure he doesn’t hurt
anyone else.”

“Follow as quickly as you can, little sister. It’s just a
few turns and a flight of stairs to the outer door. I will send men back for
them.” He gestured toward Bart and Imogen as he gathered his claymore and
hurried from the room.

Not wanting to spend any more time than she had to in this
horrible place, Gusty quickly undid the iron band from her other wrist and
freed herself. She moved across the floor, trying not to look at Bart’s dead
body slumped against the wall. She glanced down and sidestepped around the dead
Imogen as she made her way to the door. Once in the hallway she stopped to
determine which direction she should go. Then she remembered seeing her mother
had turned to the left.

“Gusty!” Alexander bellowed down the dim passage, the sound echoing
in the bowels of the MacKay keep. “Run for God’s sake! It is a trap! Imogen’s
man tripped a lever before he was taken down. The place is starting to crumble!”

As if to prove his words the ceiling began to shake and dust
and rocks started to sprinkle down upon her head.

Coughing at the dust that choked her, she glanced back into
the room she had just left. A sudden motion caught her attention and she
cursed. Fear engulfed her but she could not move. She looked down the corridor
and found Alexander striding in her direction, even as the walls and ceiling
crumbled down around him.

“Go back, Alexander! I’ll be right behind you!”

“You’re coming with me now!”

She could hardly make him out for the debris that fell and
the dust that turned into a thick cloud, causing her to gasp for breath. She
hated to trick him but she needed to know he was safe, so she started toward
him.

“Go now, Alexander! Run! I’m right behind you!”

He hesitated, slowed his stride. At the same moment a large
piece of stone ceiling fell between them, missing him by only an inch but
blocking her path to freedom. The opening at the top was barely large enough
for her to fit through and the gap was in danger of being sealed at any moment.
She could still make it if she hurried. But there was no way Alexander would
fit through to get to her. She ran to him, took the hand he thrust out to her
and clutched it to her heart. Then she let go and raised her head to kiss his
lips—possibly the last kiss they’d ever share. With tears streaming down her
face mingling with the dust that was nearly choking her, she smiled once more
at him and then she pushed him away.

“I’m not sure I will fit through the hole, love. It is too
small for my increasing size.”

Before he could protest that he would help her through, she
placed her fingers over his mouth and shook her head.

“I have to go back, Alexander. Duncan is still in there.”

After a moment of silent shock Alexander cursed viciously
and she could see the pain etched across his face as he realized the truth of
the situation.

“I love you, Alexander. I love you more than life. But I
have to do this.” She raised her chin and nodded once. “I’ll be right back.”

His silver eyes bored into hers, his grip on her hand nearly
strong enough to bruise. “I love you, Augusta Sutherland, and if you don’t
return, I’m coming after you.” He kissed her hand, every emotion known to man
released in that moment of madness as the walls continued to groan and crack and
crumble around them. “Hurry!”

He let her go and she was off and running. A loud crash made
her pull up short just as she was about to enter the chamber in which she had
seen Duncan. The end of the corridor where Alexander had just been standing,
formerly blocked by a four-foot-high pile of rubble, had completely collapsed
in on him.

“Oh no! Alexander, noooo!” The words ripped from her throat
and her heart felt as if it were crushed in her chest. The roar of crashing
stone walls and the snapping of heavy wood beams drowned out her horrified
screams.

He’s dead!
Alexander was crushed under the collapsing
stones.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a hand grabbed her arm and she was dragged
into the dungeon room. Duncan urged her across the room and literally pushed
her beneath the heavy wooden table that had held all of Imogen’s magical
paraphernalia. Gusty sat there numb to the core as she listened to the walls
crumbling all around them.