Behind The Wooden Door (8 page)

He continued talking in a whisper. “Though there are times when I feel it’d be safer for Tommy to go in with me. Cormac joined the army two years ago in hopes to die, I think. When he lost his wife, it was like he lost the will to live. But I know he wouldn’t let anything happen to Tommy.”

“How did she die?” I asked.

“Plague hit our village mercilessly for ten years. She died of pneumonia along with many other people.”

I couldn’t imagine Cormac wishing to die. He seemed so calm and caring. It was hard to picture him slaughtering people on a battlefield, and he had just days before.

Tristan coughed loudly making the four guys look at him.

“Daybreak is closer than I’d like. Much closer. You all know our men aren’t ready. It’s up to us to defend this place and whilst doing that, keep our men from getting butchered.”

No one dared to speak while Tristan was. No one but Hawk.

“Well how the hell are we going to do that when a fourth of them can barely walk? They’re going to be too busy using their swords as crutches than as weapons to fight!”

Branton looked at his pack leader. But Hawk didn’t bother to look over; he stared at Tristan and awaited a reply.

“We kill them before they get to the weak ones?” Branton said.

Tristan nodded. “That’s right. The fou–…” He stopped dead and stared at his brother. “Five of us are going to have to fight hard. Harder than ever before. I don’t like nonfatal blows, but if we have to injure to save our men, we’ll just have to do it. Anything to keep them from breaking our lines and getting to the castle.”

Tristan’s thumb made small circles in the palm of my hand as he spoke. He looked tired, so tired. I couldn’t help but wonder if he always looked this drained before a battle.

I had not been the only one who noticed.

“We all need rest. I’ll spread the word that everyone is to sleep and be well rested for the battle,” Cormac said. He stood and nodded to me, “Princess.”

I gave a small smile and watched the four men slowly fade away to their tents. Hawk looked back once and nodded toward Tristan but didn’t speak.

Tristan sighed and stood up. He reached his hand down to me, pulled me from the ground, and didn’t let go until we were safely hidden inside of his large black tent.

There were no candles. No moonlight. Only thick darkness and Tristan’s steady breathing.

“What do you want?” he asked.

The words were not harsh or demanding…just curious.

My breath was shaky as I replied. “You.”

Tristan’s body shifted in the darkness. He lowered his head to my ear.

“Are you sure about that, Princess?” he asked. His breath was hot against my ear.

My voice failed me and all I could do was nod in response. He made a noise close to a hum and moved his head from my ear to my neck. His mouth was warm and sticky against my skin as his teeth bit down gently on my neck.

“I would hate to see what would happen if we actually liked each other,” I said.

The vibrations of his laugh felt as if I had lightning running through my body. “You’re saying you still don’t like me, Princess?”

Liking him was a scary thought but not as scary as the truth. He made me feel like no one else had ever been able to. He made me feel alive and free. I knew no matter what happened I would always love him. A hundred years nor a thousand would ever change that. Forever. He had become a part of my being.

I closed my eyes and gave him my full trust.

My body was cold despite the rough blanket that covered it. I opened my eyes to nothing but blackness. Tristan was gone, and the camp was silent.

The pale sunlight stung, and I felt as if I were melting under its rays. My stomach churned as I looked around the deserted camp. The fires from last night had not even a dying ember left. There was no laughter. No useless chatter or mindless gambling. Just silence.

I closed my eyes and listened. Faint screaming could be heard, and I prayed again for the men I had sat with last night. I knew I could not stay here. I took one last look at the dead camp and journeyed back to the place I had for so long called home.

CHAPTER 11

Incoherent shouting echoed throughout the castle and swirled around my room in a whirlwind. I remained still and listened; I couldn’t help but smile when I realized whose voice it was. It didn’t matter that Tristan’s voice was full of hatred. He was alive.

I ran from my room as fast as my feet could take me and watched from the landing as Cormac pinned Tristan’s arms down. Tristan’s face was red, and his words rushed together. Cormac tried to calm his cousin, but even I could tell it was a lost cause.

Cormac’s pleading eyes met mine. They glistened with tears and fear. He was the strongest man I’d ever met, and he struggled to keep Tristan restrained.

“Princess!” It was Branton who addressed me. He talked to me with rushed words. “We need to get into Artair’s castle. Now! They have Hawk and Tommy, and they dragged half our wounded behind their horses back to Norric.”

I stood petrified as if I were made of stone. An internal fist wrapped itself around my stomach and squeezed. It had to be a lie. Hawk was invincible, and Tommy had half the army trying to keep him safe because of Tristan. If Artair’s men had taken them prisoner, there was no hope for them or for my kingdom. Tristan broke free from Cormac’s grasp and advanced toward me with his sword drawn. Hatred blazed behind his eyes like the bonfires of his camp. “How do we get into Artair’s castle?”

I knew Rattonim so well I could walk it in my sleep unharmed but not Norric. I could get there, but getting in was a whole different matter.

“I’ll show you,” I said while I backed away from him.

He grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me toward him. “No, you’ll tell me.” He face was so close to mine I could have counted the different shades of green in his eyes.

I ripped my arm from his grasp. “Tristan, we don’t have time to argue.”

He hesitated only slightly. “Get her a sword!” he yelled at Branton. Then he looked back at me. “You’re going to need it.”

The sword was heavy in my hands as I walked ahead of Tristan and his soldiers in the dark night. I held tightly to the weapon he had given me as if it alone would protect me. I was terrified of what waited on the other side of the thicket of trees.

It seemed like a good idea to lead Tristan to Artair. It’d show him how I really felt for him, I’d thought. Now I wasn’t so sure. His mind was not on my safety as it had been when he and Hawk had come after me so many days ago. He was only concerned about his brothers. One of blood and one not.

The wind smelled of pine and blood as the trees opened up to a field of carnage. Puddles of blood and dead men laid ahead of me like the sea. My body went cold and my feet stopped. I couldn’t take my eyes away from it. So many men were dead. So many of them brothers, like Tristan, and fathers and husbands of waiting wives back home.

I could see the poor women standing by their windows as the emerald sails of Tristan’s ship came into their docks. How happy they would be to see the ship and then devastated when their men were not the ones who came off board.

“Terrible, isn’t it?” Tristan whispered to me in a hoarse voice.

I saw my fear reflected in his eyes though his face remained unreadable. Dread filled my soul as I stared at him. The same dread I had when my mother said her goodbye to me. Cornelia’s words came back to my mind. Was tonight the night? I knew Tristan may die saving his brother and Hawk, and if he went down with his sword in hand, I would too. Though I was terrified, I had no regrets leading him.

I let the blood stained air fill my lungs and continued through the field, careful not to disturb the dead men. My heart broke with every step I took and every face I recognized. I dared not look at the soldiers who marched behind me. I didn’t want to see the sadness in their eyes or the blaming looks I knew they were giving me.

I prayed the night would hide us from the penetrating gaze of the black butterfly. I knew the fluttering shadow couldn’t be far from all the carnage and death, but maybe, just maybe, we all would be spared from its venomous wings.

I refused to let myself think of Tommy and Hawk. They were alive when they went in, and that alone was hope enough for me. Hawk wouldn’t go down without a fight, and something in me knew that Tommy wouldn’t either. He was stronger than his brother gave him credit for.

Cornelia stood outside of her carriage and watched as we marched by. We were close. In just a few minutes, we would be standing outside my cousin’s castle. No one knew Tristan’s plan or if he even had one, but his men followed him regardless. If only he were a prince, we wouldn’t have to hide our love, and we would have the most glorious kingdom of all.

“Tristan, we can’t just barge through the doors of the enemy’s castle! We’ll be slaughtered like pigs!” Cormac said loud enough for only Tristan and me to hear.

Tristan ignored his cousin. “Lanie, how many entrances are there into the castle?”

“I don’t know.” My voice sounded like a child’s.

“Then what good are you to me?” he asked as he pushed past me.

I couldn’t say anything, and I wouldn’t let the hurt show no matter how bad my throat burned and my eyes stung.

“Tristan, she got us here. That’s good enough if you ask me,” Cormac said.

“No one asked you,” Tristan replied. He paced back and forth through the trees. “Norric’s larger than Rattonim, right?”

I could do nothing but nod.

“Then it must have more entrances than Rattonim,” he said more to himself. “Rueben!” he yelled as he turned to his men.

The man who walked from the crowd was tall and skinny. He didn’t look much like a soldier to me. His beard was scraggly, and his dark hair was speckled with gray. He was much older than most of the men and not nearly as strong.

“Commander,” Rueben said saluting.

“I need someone to lead a group of men into the east side of the castle. You’re the only one in this group who’s had any experience in leading a regiment. Look for any entrance that will get you in and spare no one. Cormac, you’ll go west. Branton, south.”

Branton eyed Rueben like he was a roach, but the elder man didn’t notice.

“What about me?” I asked and stepped forward.

I now knew how Tommy felt the day I had met him. Tristan giving orders while he anxiously awaited his assignment. Now he was locked inside Artair’s castle having God knows what done to him.

Tristan said nothing; he just stared at me. I couldn’t help but wonder if he too was thinking the same thing.

“She can go in with me,” Cormac said. “Your mind isn’t in a place where you can look out for her. Tommy is your main focus, and you need to keep it that way while we’re in there. I’ll keep Lanie safe.”

Tristan placed both hands on my shoulders and closed his eyes as if looking at me was too much for him.

“Don’t stray from Cormac. Stay as close to him as you can no matter what. I hope you won’t have to use that sword, but if you do, don’t hesitate because Artair’s men won’t. And whatever happens, keep your eyes open and be ready,” he said.

He turned to Cormac. “I’m getting tired of having that conversation with the people I care about.”

Ten minutes later, all the soldiers separated and stood behind their leaders. Tristan lead his men straight through the forest. Branton and Rueben went toward the right.

I watched the rise and fall of Cormac’s chest as he faced his men and me.

He drew his sword and held it high it the air, and all the men around me did the same.

“I don’t know what will be waiting on the other side of these trees. We know how they fight, but this is different. We’re on their territory now. In their home,” Cormac’s deep voice floated through the dangerous night air, but somehow it calmed the fear in me.

“Not all of us will make it out of here, but I want all of you to know that I am glad to have been the man to lead you into battle.” He placed his fist over his heart. “Revern zaunt! Revern zaush!”

The men all placed their fists over their hearts as well.

“What did those last words mean?” I asked Cormac quietly.

“When we joined Tristan’s army, we all had to recite the same thing. Those were the last four words of it. In our language they mean ‘never falter’ and ‘never fail.’”

I knew these men wouldn’t falter or fail, and as of right now, I was a soldier in this army, and I mustn’t either.

And with our fist over our hearts, we began to march.

CHAPTER 12

Our shadows moved as one across the never ending beige stones of Norric’s castle. The cloudless night was cold, and I felt death’s chilling breath on every inch of my skin. The crescent moon was all we needed to light our way through the bloodstained night. The autumn leaves below our feet whispered warnings of what waited for us on the other side of the walls, but the solemn soldiers never stopped marching.

Every one of us would fight as Tristan had every day. Ruthlessly and unshielded by armor. These men were more of a family than my father and I had ever been to one another. If I had been locked in Artair’s dungeon, I don’t know if my father would have come for me.