Dragonblade Trilogy - 03 - The Savage Curtain (46 page)

“Get something,” he hissed at
Roman, who began looking around furiously for a weapon. “We cannot let him take
Sir Stephen away!”

Roman’s hands fell on two smaller
rocks and he nodded sharply at Cade, who suddenly leapt out from behind the
wall with a very acceptable rebel yell.  Roman was right behind him and they
rushed Kynan, who was startled and stumped by the two young boys charging him. 
His lack of reaction was his undoing; Cade launched the rock and hit Kynan
between the eyes, causing the man to go down.  Before Stephen could stop them,
the boys jumped on Kynan and began pummeling him with their rocks.

“Cade!” Stephen was trying not to
shout. “Roman, cease! Leave the man alone!”

Roman stopped but Cade didn’t; he
continued to beat Kynan in the chest with a rock.  Kynan, however, had only
been momentarily stunned by the flying rock; he blinked his eyes to regain his
focus before shoving Cade off of him.  He struggled to his feet.

“Ye little devils!” he growled,
grabbing Roman by the arm because he was the closest. He landed a big palm on
Roman’s buttocks before Stephen could stop him. “I shall thrash ye both within
an inch of yer lives! I shall beat ye senseless! I shall…!”

“Kynan,” Stephen snapped over the
man’s furious chatter. “Leave them alone. They are on our side, believe it or
not.”

Kynan stopped smacking Roman but
he still had him by the arm. “What’s this ye say?”

Cade was terrified for his friend
and kicked Kynan in the shin when the man’s attention was diverted.  Kynan
howled as Roman broke free and both boys rushed at him, shoving him onto the
ground and kicking him. 

“Good God,” Stephen hissed as a
battle once again ensued. “Roman, Cade; cease your abuse. Kynan is not the
enemy. Stop kicking him!”

Roman stopped but Cade was slower
to react; he kicked Kynan one last time and Kynan grabbed his leg, throwing him
on to the ground. Stephen intervened once more before it got ugly.

“Gentlemen,” he snapped softly.
“Enough fighting. Kynan, those two young boys belong to me. Well, at least one
of them does.  The taller lad is Cade Alexander, Joselyn’s son.”

Kynan’s furious and confused
expression washed with surprise.  “Are ye serious?” he looked at the tall,
handsome lad who had nearly brained him. “He… he’s Jo-Jo’s lad?”

“Aye,” Stephen said steadily,
hoping to impress upon the man that the boy knew little of the circumstances of
his birth. “Joselyn and Cade have spent the past week becoming acquainted. He
understands that Joselyn was forced to surrender him at birth to the nuns
because she had little choice. But she loves him and that is all he need know.”

Kynan was not over his
astonishment yet but understood not to say too much to the boy regarding his
birth. Still, it was a shock to see him. The lad looked a good deal like
Joselyn with his dark hair and pale blue eyes and he felt some relief that he
did not see Alexander Seton in the little face. Perhaps the man was not the
father, after all.  Kynan’s shock rapidly transformed into something warm, at
least as warm as Kynan could manage.

“I’m yer cousin, lad,” he pointed
at himself with a thumb. “’Tis a proud heritage ye bear.”

Cade simply stood and stared at
the big Scots, eyeing him with some suspicion.  When Kynan didn’t get a
reaction, he looked at the other boy.  “Who is this whelp?” he asked.

Stephen answered. “De Lara’s
son,” he replied. “The boys rode all the way from de Lara’s castle to save me.”

 Kynan was back to being shocked.
“Are ye lyin’ tae me, man?”

“Not at all. They traveled alone
over several miles to reach me.”

Kynan looked at each boy, suddenly
smacking Roman on the side of the head. “Ye foolish little brutes; what
possessed ye?”

Stephen struggled not to grin as
Roman rubbed the side of his head and kicked out at Kynan again, who deftly
moved aside.  In fact, Stephen found the whole circumstance hilarious and it
was very difficult for him not to laugh as the boys continued to swipe at Kynan
and he continued to dodge them.  Finally, Stephen called a halt to the antics.
He had to before they attracted attention.

“Kynan,” he singled the man out,
hoping to distract all of them from their punching game. “What are you doing
here? You are supposed to be with Jo-Jo.”

Kynan gave Cade a good shove by
the forehead and sent the boy to the ground as he moved back to where Stephen
was tethered. He resumed unwinding the chains.

“She is safe,” he told him. “I
took her in tae town meself and found her lodgings. She has a good bed and good
food and men tae watch over her. She is fine. But ye, on the other hand….”

“Why did you come back?” Stephen
demanded quietly.

Kynan lifted an eyebrow. “Because
I’m gonna get ye out of here,” he said frankly. “Ye may be English and ye may
be me enemy, but Jo-Jo is me family and she couldna survive if something
happened tae ye. I told ye before; the lass deserves some happiness.”

“Has de Velt seen you?”

“Nay,” Kynan fumbled with the
last iron peg. “But I found some of me men. I told ‘em tae gather the rest and
meet me near the kitchens.”

Stephen sighed heavily as Kynan
pulled off the chains and lifted the arm off the stocks that was pressed down
over his shoulders.  The relief was indescribable as Stephen tried to lift his
arms but, due to lack of feeling, he was having difficulty. Cade and Roman
rushed to him, helping him move arms that were as big around as they were.  But
Stephen’s size required a bit more strength so Kynan helped him remove his arms
completely.  Cade and Roman tried to help Stephen rub some feeling into them.

“Ye know this castle, Pembury,”
Kynan lowered his voice, looking around to make sure no one was watching or
focused on them. “We need tae hide ye somewhere until I can get ye out of
here.”

Stephen shook his head. “Once
they discover I am missing, they will lock this place down.  It would be better
to leave right now before any suspicion arises.”

“I
canna do it until me men arrive,” Kynan replied. “I shall wrap ye in tartan and
take ye out with a bunch of Scots so no suspicions can be raised.”
Stephen was gazing off into the bailey, his cornflower blue eyes fixed on
something in the distance.  Kynan turned around to see what the man was looking
at but having no idea what held his attention.  He looked back at Stephen.

“What are ye looking at?” he
demanded.

Stephen lifted his chin in a
pointing gesture. “The postern gate,” he said softly. “I do not see any guards.”

Kynan wriggled his brows. “Ye
dunna see them because everyone is on the walls or in the hall. The postern
gate is easily seen from both of those places so dunna think ye can easily
escape from it. They will be on us in a flash.”

Stephen grunted in acknowledgement,
thankful that they were at least partially hidden between the hall and the
kitchens as they were.  He was also thankful that he was getting the feeling
back in his arms because the first thing he did was grab Roman and swat the boy
on the buttocks. As Roman yelped, Stephen did the same thing to Cade.  When the
boys looked up at him, angry and hurt, he pointed a finger at them.

“I told you not to disobey me,”
he rumbled.  But his harsh stance lasted for a half-second before he reached
out and put his arms round the boys, hugging them as much as his weakened state
would allow. “But for keeping me alive, I thank you. You are very brave men.”

The boys grinned at him and each
other, proud they had accomplished something in spite of the risks. Kynan just
shook his head.

“Little brutes,” he grumbled,
eyeing the boys. “But brave; I shall give ye that.”

Stephen half-grinned at Kynan,
looking at the section of the bailey he could see from their vantage point and
feeling ever more exposed. He could hear men all around and was becoming
increasingly uncomfortable.  They had to move.

“We cannot simply stand here,” he
told Kynan. “Where are your men?”

Kynan looked around, sticking his
neck out and peering around the side of the hall for a fuller view of the bailey.  
After several long moments, he returned his attention to Stephen.

“I dunna see them,” his gaze
moved between Stephen and the stocks. “I shall go look for ‘em but it might be
best if ye returned to the stocks until I return. That way, if anyone sees ye,
nothin’ will look odd. You’ll still be in the stocks where they left ye.”

Stephen knew he had a point. 
Wearily, he went back to the wooden framed beast and put his head and wrists
into the slots.   It was excruciatingly painful for him to resume the stance,
but he knew it was important.  Kynan draped the chains around to make it look
like Stephen was still chained down even though he could quite easily break
free.   When Kynan was satisfied with the illusion, he abruptly waved his hands
at the boys.

“Go and hide,” he commanded
softly. “Stay out o’sight until I return.”

The boys did as they were told. 
As Kynan wrapped the tartan back over his head and slipped away, Stephen stood
there in his hunched, uncomfortable position, wondering if he was going to
indeed live to see the next few days come to pass.  It was not simply himself
to worry over; now there was Cade and Roman, as well meaning as they were.  He
was far more concerned with getting the boys out safely.  He could only pray
that Kynan had a workable plan; all of their lives were in the hands of a man
once considered the enemy.  The seconds were ticking away faster now, ever
closer to his date with doom.

Fortunately, it was not too long
before Kynan reappeared. Behind him came several men, all of them clad in the
same brownish-orange tartan. They were big, dirty men with an unruly way about
them. Kynan didn’t have to say a word; he simply pointed at Stephen and three
burly Scots went to him, pulling the chains off and releasing him from the stocks. 
Stephen stood with some assistance, his ribs still badly injured and his back
injured on top of everything from having been confined in stocks not built for
a man his height.  

One of the men produced a length
of tartan and wrapped it around Stephen’s massive shoulders, draping it so it
covered most of his battered torso before wrapping the end of it over his
head.  Stephen nodded his silent thanks to these men he had fought against,
killed against, feeling very blessed and guilty that they were willing to
assist him.  He wondered fleetingly if these men had been part of the ambush
weeks ago that had injured Joselyn, or if he had fought against them during the
innumerable skirmishes over the past month. They had all been bred since birth
to kill and hate one another, but now, he found his life in their hands more
than he could have ever imagined.

By this time, Cade and Roman had
come out of their hiding place and were watching the activity with big eyes. 
Kynan saw the boys and beckoned them with a crooked finger.  Hesitantly, they
went to him, afraid they were going to be slapped in the head again.

“Now,” Kynan put a hand on either
boy’s shoulder. “We’re gonna get Sir Stephen out of this place but I need ye
tae stay close tae me, do ye hear? Dunna run off.”

The boys nodded solemnly. “We
won’t,” Cade assured him. “But can we help?”

“Aye, of course ye can,” Kynan
assured him. “I would have ye be look-outs; ye need to keep yer eyes open for
anything suspicious.”

“Suspicious?” Roman repeated.
“Like what?”

Kynan turned the boys around so
they were facing the bailey and the postern gate in the distance. “Like men
with weapons chargin’ for us,” he said, pointing. “See that gate? We’re gonna
make our way tae it. I shall need yer help tae open it.”

The boys nodded eagerly,
preparing to behave like true warriors. They were terrified and excited.  When
Kynan made sure the tartan was sufficiently draped over Stephen, he motioned
the group to move. They did so, but very quickly realized that Stephen was
moving like an injured man.  If they were going to move unnoticed, then Stephen
would have to make a better attempt at behaving normally.  Kynan went to him.

“Ye walk like ye have two broken
legs,” he said. “I dunna mean tae make yer life more miserable than it already
‘tis, but can ye at least stand straight? Ye walk like a cripple.”

Stephen grunted, trying to
straighten up.  The cornflower blue eyes were blazing. “I
am
a cripple,”
he groaned. “But I will do my best.”

Kynan nodded, motioning for his
men to take the lead as he stayed close to Stephen. He was concerned for the
man, concerned for who might be watching, and terrified that they weren’t going
to make it out of the gate. But their best option was to behave as normally as
possible, so he and his men moved in a casual group towards the postern gate,
that small opening to freedom that loomed before them.   

Stephen could see the gate and
never in his life had something meant so much to him; he needed to make it to
that small doorway and to the freedom that waited beyond. A wife whom he
adored, a son on the way… he needed to get to his family. That one thought
alone kept his focus. They made it across the bailey without incident and were
within several feet of the gate when a shadow suddenly blocked their path.