Echoes of Magic (26 page)

“
Your eyes deceived you,”
Nigel retorted, his voice as cold as ice.

“
I know what I saw. You
were defeated. Drogan still lives.”

“
Not for long, just as you
won’t live for long.”

“
Maybe, maybe not,” Grayson
said with a shrug. “You know this castle. You know you cannot
breach her walls. You’ve lost Hawksbridge as well as Lady Leoma. No
longer will you harm her or my people.”

Nigel kicked his horse to move closer. “Ah,
Leoma. Did she tell you that all would be well as long as I’m
outside the castle walls? Were you naïve enough to believe
her?”

Grayson felt as if he’d been kicked in the
balls. “You cannot harm her now.”

“
Truly? Then she didn’t
tell you everything. Leoma,” Nigel shouted. “Did you forget what I
had warned you about? Did you think I had forgotten after all these
years?”

Grayson jerked to the side as a spear came
flying over his shoulder from the bailey. He watched it land in
Nigel’s chest, knocking him from his horse. Grayson refrained from
glancing at the tower, but barely. He focused on Nigel who pulled
the spear free of his chest and tossed it aside as he climbed to
his feet.

Though Grayson had seen Nigel battle Drogan,
he was still taken aback at how nothing seemed to hurt him. No
blood gushed from the wound. The only evidence that Nigel had had a
spear in his chest was the slit in his armor.

Grayson’s men gasped, their fear palpable.
He understood their terror for it threatened to overtake him. Then
he remembered Adrianna and his mother and his father. He recalled
the childhood lost to him, the innocents killed and the malevolence
that festered in the land.

“
How much more of that can
you take?” Grayson called down to Nigel. “You can withstand one
attack, but many?”

“
Care to find out?” Nigel
taunted.

Grayson smiled. A cold determination settled
around him. “As a matter of fact I do.”

“
Then come out, and we’ll
battle, you and I.”

Grayson chuckled and shook his head. “Do you
think I’m a fool? I’ve already killed two of your men, I can kill
the others but not all at once, and you know it.”

“
I knew it was you who had
killed my men.”

“
They were fairly easy to
kill. Maybe your men aren’t as skilled as you think they
are.”

“
And you have no men,”
Nigel goaded. “It’s just you against eight.”

Grayson leaned onto the stones, his gaze
narrowed on Nigel. “If you think you can win Hawksbridge, come and
claim her.”

Chapter Thirty

With a slight tilt of his head, Nigel walked
to the massive gates. The gate was opened only enough to let Nigel
through and, though Grayson watched the knights, none of them moved
to follow.

Grayson slowly descended
the stairs to the bailey, his gaze locked on the man who had
destroyed his world. Nigel stood in the center, his helm shifting
to follow Grayson’s approach.

“
I should have killed you
when you were a boy,” Nigel ground out.

“
Aye, you should’ve. Why
did you wait until now to find me?”

“
I picked up your scent
while I was at Wolfglynn.”

“
I’ve been at Wolfglynn
most of my life. What took you so long?”

“
You were cloaked with
magic. I never sensed you.”

“
But you have evil on your
side. Are you telling me magic is more powerful than
you?”

Nigel flexed his hand. “Never.”

Grayson stared into the helm, searching for
Nigel’s eyes, searching for anything that would prove he was just a
man. But there was nothing.

“
What are you looking for?”
Nigel asked. “Do you disbelieve the rumors you’ve heard? Do you
think me a mere man who has spread lies in order to make people
submit to me?”

“
I think you’re a coward,”
Grayson said and unsheathed his sword. “I don’t think you were ever
a man. Power and greed ruled you. They will always rule
you.”

Nigel cocked his head to
the side. “You have a choice. You can give me your soul, and in
exchange I will allow you to rule Hawksbridge. I’ll even permit
your mother to live.”

“
And if I don’t give you my
soul?”

“
Then you’re going to die
as is every man, woman, and child in Hawksbridge. Make your
choice.”

Grayson rotated his wrist, sending his sword
dancing around him. “There is no choice.”

“
You’re making a mistake,”
Nigel said and took a menacing step toward him. “I can give you
power beyond your imagination.”

“
There is nothing you have
that I need.”

Nigel slowly unsheathed his sword, the blade
glinting in the sunlight. “This is your last chance.”

“
Stop your talking and
fight,” Grayson said as he bent his knees, preparing for an
attack.

“
As you wish.”

Grayson had seen Nigel fight, knew the
bastard was quick, but when the attack came, it took all of
Grayson’s will and training to keep him on his feet.

Nigel’s blade had the force of five men.
Each time their blades connected, Grayson’s arm reverberated from
Nigel’s sheer power. But Grayson wasn’t about to give up. He would
fight until his last breath left him.

With no armor to encumber him, Grayson was
able to move quicker, giving him more agility to duck, jump and
roll away from Nigel’s vicious swings and thrusts. Grayson hissed
and jumped backward when Nigel’s blade sliced open his thigh. Blood
soaked Grayson’s breeches. The cut was deep and throbbed
mercilessly. He leaned most of his weight on his good leg and
motioned Nigel to him.

“
You haven’t had enough
yet?” Nigel goaded.

“
You’ll have to cut more
than my leg to make me stop.”

Nigel growled and lifted his sword. “I’ll
cut your heart out, you insignificant whelp.”

Grayson only smiled. He knew better than to
let his emotions cloud him while in the middle of battle. His
life’s blood might be draining from his body, but he would bring
Nigel down before the end.

“
You’ll have to get close
to me first,” Grayson taunted.

“
You don’t know who you’re
dealing with.”

Grayson took a step to the left for every
step that brought Nigel closer to him. Grayson wanted his shield.
Just as Nigel swung his sword at his neck, Grayson ducked and
rolled. He grasped the shield as he came to his feet and faced
Nigel.

He felt, rather than saw, Nigel’s sneer.
“You are only prolonging the inevitable.”

“
Stop your talking, old
man. It’s your day to die.”

With a roar, Nigel charged. Grayson brought
his shield up in time to block the vicious blow, but he never saw
Nigel’s foot hook around his leg. Grayson hit the ground with
alarming force. His lungs locked, neither taking in air nor
releasing any. Through his haze of pain, he recalled Adrianna’s
words and quickly rolled away.

Grayson inhaled deeply and
lifted his gaze to see Nigel’s blade buried deep in the ground.
Grayson swung his sword toward Nigel’s. There was a loud pop as
Nigel’s blade broke in two. While Nigel roared his fury, Grayson
jumped to his feet ignoring the biting pain in his leg.

Nigel turned to him, his rage obvious. “What
magic did you use?” he demanded. “My blade was indestructible.”

“
Obviously you were
wrong.”

* * * * *

Adrianna’s feet slipped,
and she fell down the last two steps into the bailey. Her gaze was
riveted to Grayson and Nigel. When she’d seen Grayson fall, she
knew it was her vision. She had run as fast as she could to him,
but then he had rolled away. To safety.

The relief that poured through her made her
legs weak. Her body shook with fear, which caused her feet to miss
the steps. She would have a bruise on her back from the steps, but
she didn’t care. Nothing mattered except Grayson.

Adrianna stilled. She didn’t want Grayson to
see her outside the castle for it would cause his attention to
divert from Nigel. And that would be disastrous. She smiled at the
sight of Nigel’s broken blade. Maybe her magic on Grayson’s sword
had worked. She was giddy with hope. Grayson had a chance; he could
survive.

Then she saw him favor his right leg and the
blood from his wound. Adrianna’s stomach churned. His wound would
slow him, as would his blood loss. She had to get closer to him, to
use her magic to help heal the wound.

She darted from the castle steps to the
castle itself. With her back against the gray stones, she inched
closer to Grayson and Nigel. When she was as close as she dared,
she closed her eyes and began to chant the ancient words in her
mind, focusing all her magic on Grayson.

It was all she knew to do, but it had to be
enough. It had work.

* * * * *

The hidden path was long, winding. A person
could overlook it if they didn’t know what they searched for. But
he knew.

The ground shook beneath the man as his
horse jerked his head in warning. The man had seen Nigel enter
Hawksbridge. In the silence of the morning, he could hear the clang
of swords as the battle began between the new lord and Nigel.

He jumped from his horse and laid his hand
on the ground. A mass of horses rode quickly toward Hawksbridge.
The leisurely way Nigel’s knights sat upon their steeds outside
Hawksbridge’s walls told him the army coming was Nigel’s.

No one in Hawksbridge stood a chance
now.

With a sigh, he mounted his
horse. He knew the outcome of this bloody battle. Whispers of
insurrection had spread over the land during the night. The people
of Hawksbridge were taking a stand with their new lord.

And he would take one with them.

It had been predestined.
He’d thought this day would never come, but come it had. He was
more than ready for it.

* * * * *

“
You need a sword,” Grayson
said. “I think I might manage to find you one.”

“
I need
nothing.”

No sooner had Nigel spoken than he lifted
his broken sword and sliced it downward. Grayson lifted his shield
to block the attack the same time he lunged and thrust his own
blade in the exposed area under Nigel’s arm.

Nigel bellowed and jerked backwards. Grayson
stared at his blade. There was no blood on it, no evidence that he
had wounded Nigel, but he knew he had. He had felt the blade sink
into Nigel’s body. Grayson lifted his gaze as Nigel laughed.

“
What is it?” Nigel asked.
“Not sure what to do since there’s no blood? I tried to tell you, I
cannot be killed. There is nothing you possess that could end my
life.”

Frustration ripped through Grayson. The only
saving point was that his leg had quit aching. At least he could
put some weight on it now, giving him more leverage in an
attack.

“
You can die, of that I’m
sure of. I just have to figure out how.”

Suddenly, Nigel barked
with laughter. “Did you think you could bring another
bana
‐
bhuidseach
inside Hawksbridge and I
wouldn’t know?”

Grayson stilled. He refused
to look away from Nigel, but he didn’t need to. He could sense
Adrianna near. It was she who took the pain of his wound. Grayson
silently cursed her for leaving the safety of the
castle.

“
You must be mistaken.
There is only one.”

“
Oh, aye. Your mother,”
Nigel said and took a step away from him.

Grayson quickly followed. He didn’t know
where Nigel was going, but he would bet his sword it was toward
Adrianna. “Aye, my mother.”

“
Were you surprised to find
her still alive? There were many times I thought of killing
her.”

“
Then why didn’t
you?”

Nigel halted, his head tilted to the side.
“Is it possible you don’t know?”

Grayson was tired of the secrets. He
clenched his jaw as he struggled to bring his anger under
control.

“
You don’t know,” Nigel
finally said, his voice laced with humor. “I find it odd your
mother didn’t tell you.”

Grayson didn’t want to play Nigel’s games
any longer. He lifted his sword to charge him, only Nigel moved
with lightning speed.

Suddenly, Adrianna was in Nigel’s grasp, his
broken sword at her neck. Her wide, pale blue gaze turned to
Grayson. He felt her fear as if it were his own, and he knew in
that moment he would do anything to free her.

“
You lied to me,” Nigel
said. “I can feel her magic as strongly as I feel her heartbeat.
I’ve not felt magic so strong in a long while.”

“
Release her,” Grayson
demanded.

“
Or what?” Nigel taunted.
“You’ll attack me again? Haven’t you learned there is nothing you
can do that will harm me?”

“
What do you
want?”

“
What I wanted when I first
came to Hawksbridge. I want you, Grayson.”

Chapter
Thirty
‐
One

Grayson could only stare at Nigel. “Me?”

“
I’ve always wanted you,”
Nigel answered. “Though I didn’t know the boy I let escape was the
same one I searched for.”