Knight of Darkness (11 page)

It took several minutes before one of the trees burst into flames. Varian held the branch until it caught fire, then he returned to the bodies so that he could burn them. The flames caught against the surcoat of the knight on top, then spread quickly to consume the others. It was a funeral ceremony very similar to the ones her Saxon brethren had practiced.

Merewyn watched as Varian whispered a small Adoni prayer for their souls. It was so strange having lived with the Adoni to see one so compassionate. Had she not witnessed it, she would never have believed it.

There was a heart inside Varian duFey. He wasn’t the cold-blooded killer that the stories spoke of. This was a man who felt deeply for others. Unlike his mother, he thought of more than his own selfish needs, and it made her want to hold him until his sadness passed.

“I hate to rush you,” Blaise said quietly. “But
we should probably go before the fire draws unwanted attention to our location.”

Varian nodded before he tossed the branch onto the pyre, then turned to leave.

Merewyn hastened her steps to catch up to him, but she didn’t try to touch him. His stance was too rigid for that. He obviously wanted to be alone. “You look troubled, Varian.”

A muscle worked in his whiskered jaw. “Needless death always troubles me.”

His feelings didn’t make sense to her. They were at odds with his occupation. “But you’re an assassin for Merlin.”

“And those I kill are traitors who sacrifice innocent people to Morgen’s vanity and machinations. What I do, I do for the good of all. Trust me, the men I’ve killed were no loss to humanity. Not even the mothers who whelped them would mourn their passing.” His gaze was harsh as he met her quizzical stare. “But that doesn’t mean I like what I do.”

His tone touched her and made her ache for him. “I overheard you asking the bartender in Glastonbury about the grail knight the MODs killed.”

He nodded. “That’s why I was in Camelot. I wanted to know what he’d told them during his torture.”

She cringed as she remembered the poor man they had brought to Morgen in chains. Like
Varian, he’d stood strong before them. At least at first. By the end of his torture, they had reduced him to a crying babe before they mercifully had ended his life. “He told them nothing.”

“That’s what the MODs told me, too.”

The color faded from Blaise’s cheeks. “There was a grail knight killed?”

Varian looked back at him. “Did you not know?”

“No. Who was it?”

“Tarynce of Essex. Merlin sent me to Glastonbury Abbey to return him to Avalon and find out who betrayed him to Morgen.” He narrowed his gaze on Blaise. “How is it he was killed in Camelot, and you didn’t know it?”

“The same way you were captured and tortured without my knowledge. Since I took off with Kerrigan, I’m not exactly on the list of people they trust.”

Merewyn grimaced as she thought of the brutal way Blaise had been treated since his return. None of Morgen’s court could stand him before he left. Since he’d returned, they were openly hostile and crude. “Why did you come back?”

“Merlin needed a spy.”

Varian snorted. “No offense, haven’t you been a bit inadequate since you never seem to know what’s going on?”

Blaise’s lavender eyes snapped with heated fury. “Shut up, Varian. Trust me, no one’s more upset by Tarynce’s death than I am.”

“So you say.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Varian paused to confront him on the trail. He turned around and faced the mandrake. “How do I know you’re not the one who betrayed him?”

By the look on his face, she half expected Blaise to shove or hit him. “You’re not serious with that bullshit.”

Still, Varian didn’t back down. There was so much tension between them that it was tangible and frightening. If they started fighting, there would be nothing she could do to stop them.

“Maybe I am.”

Seeking to diffuse their mutual anger, she spoke up quickly. “Blaise didn’t do it.”

Varian gave her an exasperated stare. “How do you know?”

“I know,” she said emphatically.

“And I’m just supposed to accept your word on it?”

She looked at Blaise. “Tell him what you are.”

He was petulant. “Why should I?”

And that just irritated her to the core of her being. Men! They were ever prideful, never wanting to back down from an argument. “You would withhold that from him when you know it would allow him to trust you?”

“Why not? If he doesn’t trust me without it, why should I tell him?”

Varian scowled at them. “Tell me what?”

“Tell him, Blaise,” she insisted.

Varian glared at the mandrake, who remained sullenly silent. “Whatever.”

She growled at the mandrake. “Blaise!”

He let out a tired sigh before he relented. “I’m a grail knight, Varian.”

Varian came to a dead stop as those words went through him. Blaise was a grail knight? That didn’t make any sense. “What did you say?”

“You heard him,” Merewyn said. “It was how I knew he’d help me to free you.”

Blaise turned on her then. “My question is, how did you know what I was? You touched me right on my mark when you asked for my help.”

Her cheeks flushed becomingly before she answered. “I saw you bathing one day in the stream by the castle. I thought the mark was curious, but put it out of my mind until I saw them bring in Tarynce. They ripped his armor from his shoulder to show the mark to Morgen. It was then I knew what it meant.”

He appeared baffled by her actions. “Why didn’t you tell Morgen about me when you knew she would reward you greatly for that knowledge?”

“I told you. I don’t betray my friends.”

“But I’ve never been that friendly to you.”

It was true, he hadn’t. “No, but you were never cruel to me either. That’s the closest thing I’ve had to a friend since Narishka took me from my home.”

Varian shook his head at her words. How pa
thetic the two of them were that it took so little to touch them. That she would willingly hide Blaise’s identity because he’d merely treated her cordially.

It was a foolish thing he would do.

“How did Morgen learn about the mark in the first place?” Varian asked her.

“There was a knight who came to her one evening and explained the mark. I didn’t understand that it was the same as Blaise’s mark until I saw it for myself. That knight was the one who told her about Tarynce and where she could find him. He said that Tarynce could lead her to the location of the grail.”

Varian’s heart sped up at her words. “Who was this knight?”

“I don’t know. I’d never seen him before. He wasn’t one of the circle members who serve Morgen. Rather he was from the outside.”

“Could you describe him?”

“He was a bit short, with a belly pooch. He had brown hair and eyes and the look of malice on his face. I didn’t hear his name, but I’d know him if I saw him again.”

“Are you sure?” Varian asked.

Her eyes were fierce with anger. “Absolutely. He spat on me as he passed and shoved me out of his way. He called me a pathetic hoarish hag. I never forget men such as he.”

Those words angered him. There was no excuse
in anyone treating her that way. As if she were nothing, and he hoped that that one act of cruelty had marked the man so well in her mind that it would prove to be the act to bring him down. It would only be fitting.

Varian met Blaise’s bemused stare. “Whatever happens, we have to get her back to Merlin so that Merewyn can identify our traitor.”

Blaise nodded. “And then we can both beat him for his cruelty.”

Varian couldn’t agree more. “Definitely.” And with that, they needed to be under way again. He turned to lead them.

Merewyn followed a step behind him with Blaise by her side. “Can I ask you a question, Blaise?”

“Sure.”

“Why haven’t you asked me about my newfound beauty?”

“Because you were always beautiful to me.”

Merewyn paused as her emotions choked her. “You lie. Everyone knows that mandrakes and Adoni are only attracted to physical beauty.”

“I’m blind, Merewyn. I could never see your appearance to judge it.”

Still, she didn’t believe him. He had to be lying to her. “Only as a man, and even then you’re only partially blind.” She’d known this for years since, in spite of his claim of blindness, he always seemed to know where everyone and everything stood in
relation to him. “As a dragon you have perfect sight.”

“And in both incarnations I don’t judge beauty by the outside but rather by the heart. As I said, you were always beautiful to me.”

She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she felt more haggish now than she’d ever felt before. She had sold out Varian for vanity. Her only saving grace was that she’d at least tried to correct her mistake.

“Thank you, Blaise.”

She felt a strange tickle on her neck. Glancing up, she caught an angry look on Varian’s face as he looked at them over his shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

He didn’t respond as he quickened his steps.

She couldn’t understand what about their exchange could possibly have angered him. But they continued on in silence for almost an hour before Blaise called out to them.

“Yo, Varian, we need to stop for a few.”

“Why?”

He indicated the woods with his thumb. “I have private business to take care of.”

Merewyn blushed at his words, but now that he mentioned it…“As do I.”

Varian let out a sound of aggravation. “Fine.”

Merewyn headed to the right while Blaise went to the left. She searched the woods for a comfortable and private spot before she quickly took care
of her needs. She’d barely finished and stood up when she heard the sound of running feet. Her heartbeat quickened as she looked about for the source of it.

Hastening her stride, she headed toward Varian. But before she could reach him, something grabbed her from behind.

“Varian!”

Varian jerked around at the sound of Merewyn screaming his name. His heart racing, he headed at a dead run for the area where she’d vanished. He jumped over fallen logs as thorns batted against his armor, tearing at his exposed hands and face. He didn’t care. All that mattered was saving her.

But he couldn’t find her anywhere. She’d vanished into thin air. It was as if the forest had swallowed her whole. And the gods knew that in this place, that might be a very real possibility.

“Merewyn!” he called, looking everywhere for some telltale sign of her.

There was no answer. No glimpse. It looked as if she’d never existed.

How could she be gone?

He heard someone coming at his back. Un
sheathing his sword, he spun about, ready to confront his attacker, only to find Blaise there.

The mandrake froze instantly, holding up his hands in surrender. “Whoa! Friend. Don’t skewer the dragon. It would really ruin my day.”

“Help! Please! Varian!”

Varian held his breath as he heard Merewyn again. It sounded far away and uneven. As if she were being jostled.

They both ran in the direction of her call, but again all they could find was the black forest and foliage that surrounded them. It concealed everything. He had no idea if they were even headed in the right direction. No idea if she was still moving, or if someone or something had hidden her in the underbrush.

He could be right beside her and not even know it. That thought angered him.

Varian had all but given up hope of finding her when they finally broke into a small clearing. There on the other side was Merewyn over the shoulder of a tall man who was sprinting away with her.

Varian narrowed his eyes as rage filled him. Skidding to a stop before they vanished again, he launched his sword with all his strength at the man. It whistled through the air and went straight to his target, pinning the man’s sleeve to the tree he was passing.

The man dropped Merewyn as he struggled to
free himself from the tree. She immediately scrambled away from him and headed toward them.

He and Blaise wasted no time crossing the field, especially since Varian fully intended to kill the bastard when he got close enough.

But before they could reclaim Merewyn or she could reach them, another man, identical to the first, scooped her up from behind and tossed her over his shoulder.

“Derrick!” the first man shouted. “Help me get free.”

Before Derrick could help his twin, Varian dove at him and captured him about his waist. The three of them went tumbling. He landed on top of Derrick as Merewyn quickly scooted away from them, toward Blaise. Blaise put her at his back to block her from the reach of the other two while Varian punched Derrick.

“She’s ours,” Derrick said from between clenched teeth as he tried to escape Varian’s hold. “We’ve been waiting for centuries for Morgen to send a woman through the portal. There’s no way we’re not taking her. Now get off me!” He kicked Varian away.

Varian caught his balance, then started for him, only to have Merewyn shove Blaise aside and kick the man in the crotch for all she was worth. Derrick let out a scream of feral pain so loud it would have made a seven-year-old girl proud before he cupped himself and fell straight to his knees in
front of them. But even that wasn’t enough. Still writhing, he fell to his side, then his back.

Varian stiffened in empathy as he fought the need to cup himself out of habit.

“I belong to no man,” she said angrily to Derrick. “I am not your wench to be tossed over your shoulder and carted off. How dare you grab me like that.”

She turned on Varian, who backed up, wary of her foot while she was so angry. “I was only trying to help.”

The fury in her eyes cut him to the marrow of his bones. “Then you shouldn’t have thrown a sword at me. Have you no sense at all? I could have been killed.”

“Not really,” he tried to assure her. “I do that a lot and have only killed one innocent bystander who foolishly stepped out in front of the blade while it was in flight.”

“Is that supposed to comfort me?”

“A little.” There was no reprieve in her expression, which actually made Varian squirm even though he didn’t know why. “Maybe?”

The man who was pinned to the tree finally ripped himself free to confront them. By his face it was obvious that he intended to grab her again.

Merewyn braced herself.

Varian straightened up immediately, grabbed the sword from the tree, and turned the blade toward him. “Don’t even think it.”

Tall with dark blond hair and blue eyes, the man
had sharp patrician features that were flawless. Though he was fairly well built, his demeanor didn’t strike Varian as that of a soldier or knight. In fact, he, like his brother, was dressed in a navy blue jerkin and hose with no obvious weapon of any kind. He was too soft and held himself as a man who wasn’t proficient at arms or fighting. More likely, he was an aristocrat of some sort.

“Oh come on,” the man begged. “Have a pity on us. Have you any idea how hard, and let me seriously emphasize the
hard
part, it is to go three hundred years without a woman?”

Not really. He’d gone a few months, but never centuries. Honestly, it was too horrifying to contemplate, but that wasn’t his problem. The fact that they’d intended to rape Merewyn was. “You’re not helping your cause any.”

“Wait,” Merewyn said slowly as she narrowed her eyes on the blond man and his brother. “I do remember you at Camelot, but weren’t there three of you?”

The man nodded. “There still are.”

Varian stiffened as he looked about for the other. “And where’s the third one hiding?”

He pointed to the shrub next to where his brother was still squirming on the ground where a small ferret was eyeing them cautiously. “That’s Erik there.”

Varian actually gaped at the sight of the ferret, who appeared a bit peeved by the attention. But even more disturbing than the fact one of the
brothers had become a ferret was the ghastliness of their names. “Derrick, Erik, and…”

“Merrick,” the man said proudly. “We’re identical triplets. Or at least we were until Erik became a ferret. Luckily Derrick and I weren’t so cursed.”

“Hence Morgen’s fascination with them,” Merewyn explained. “They were all her lovers at one time. She used to parade them around at her banquets, and they doted on her constantly. It’s how I remember them. She’s had many lovers who were twins, but they are the only threesome I’ve ever known about.”

“Aye,” Merrick said caustically. “At least we were her lovers until Erik got drunk one night. After he failed to please her, she insulted his manhood, and he called her a frigid bitch incapable of human emotion, never mind an orgasm.”

Varian sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth. That was an insult Morgen would never take lying down…obviously given the fact she’d turned the man into a ferret.

The ferret chattered angrily at his brother. It even shook one small fist as it railed.

“Oh don’t start again, Erik. That’s exactly the way it happened. Why do you think she turned you into a ferret, you moron?”

He chattered even more and jumped up and down in the brush, but Merrick dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “My brother’s in denial. He thinks that Morgen will one day miss us and return to set us free.”

“He’s an idiot,” Derrick said as he slowly returned to his feet. His face was still pale as he limped toward them. He let out a long breath as if he were trying to stave off the pain. He clenched his teeth as he eyed Merewyn with malice. “Figures the only woman to touch my cock in over three hundred years damn near rammed it up my throat.”

“Serves you right,” Merewyn said defiantly. “Your mother should have taught you better. You don’t just grab a woman and haul her off.”

Merrick snorted. “You do when you’re desperate.”

Varian exchanged an amused look with Blaise. “Better desperate than dead, which is what you’d have been had we not caught you.”

Still, Derrick showed no remorse for his actions. “Not from where we’re standing or, in my case, limping. At least death would cure my blue balls.”

“And his stupidity,” Merrick added.

Varian shook his head at them and their brotherly barbs.

Derrick’s gaze sharpened as he looked at the three of them. “So what did you do to Morgen to make her dump the three of you here?”

Varian rubbed his jaw as bitter amusement welled inside him. “We didn’t. We’re running
from
her.”

Derrick and Merrick laughed until they realized that Varian was serious.

“You’re not joking?” Merrick asked.

“No. Not in the least. This seemed like the lesser evil. At least it did until we met the three of you.”

“Excuse me?” Derrick said irritably. “I don’t think you should be insulting the only ones who are in a position to help you get acclimated to your new home.”

A wry smile curved Blaise’s lips. “I should think better we insult you than kick your private parts.”

Varian had to bite back a laugh at Blaise’s dry sarcasm.

“That’s not amusing,” Derrick snapped at him.

Merewyn looked at Varian. “Can you stop them?”

“I’m not in this fight. I completely absolve myself from their conflict.”

“I should have left you chained to the wall,” she said under her breath. Then louder, she addressed the triplets. “Do you know where we can find food and shelter?”

“We do,” Merrick said.

Derrick stiffened at his brother’s words. “But why should we share it? What’s in it for us?”

Varian didn’t hesitate with his answer. “A serious butt-whipping if you don’t.”

The ferret chattered angrily.

“That’s right,” Derrick snapped. “You don’t scare us.”

Varian arched a brow at Blaise. “They’re not really this stupid, are they?”

“One of them
is
a ferret.”

“Good point.”

Merewyn cleared her throat. “Could you please stop for a moment.” She turned toward the triplets. “What exactly do you have in mind as trade?”

Blaise laughed out loud. “Merewyn, think. They want us to trade
you
for food.”

Merewyn gasped as she saw the look on their faces that confirmed it. “Forget it, I’d rather starve.”

Derrick’s entire demeanor changed as he sidled over to her. “Don’t be that way, love. We’re actually very skilled at what we do.”

Jealous anger poured through Varian as he saw red over the man’s actions. “So am I.” He angled the tip of his sword at Derrick. “Touch her, and I’ll skewer you.”

The ferret started chattering again.

Merrick sighed heavily. “Oh very well. He says that we should be kind to you before you make good that threat.”

“That’s not exactly what he said,” Blaise said.

The two brothers gaped at him.

“What?” Derrick asked.

“He said the best way to get under Merewyn’s skirt is by kindness.”

Varian arched a brow. “Didn’t know you spoke ferret.”

“Ah, you know us rodents, we stick together.”

“I thought dragons were reptilian,” Varian said, grinning at Blaise’s offbeat humor.

“Rodent, reptile, we’re all slimy creatures who are hated by others.”

“I don’t hate you,” Merewyn said unexpectedly, and again Varian felt a misplaced prickle of jealousy. What was it with him?

“We do,” the triplets said quickly.

Blaise curled his lip at them. “Ah, your mother was a hamster.”

Varian shook his head at Blaise. “I think the Python reference is lost on them. I doubt they have many theaters here in hell.”

“Damn pity that. I’d shoot myself if I had to live without Monty.”

“Well you know, it’s lost on me as well,” Merewyn said. “I know nothing of this Monty person you keep speaking of.”

Blaise placed his hand over his heart as if her words wounded him. “When we get to Avalon, my lady, it’s something you
have
to see.”

“Avalon?” Merrick said with a strange note in his voice. “You’re trying to get to Avalon?”

Varian nodded. “That’s the plan.”

The triplets burst out laughing. Even the ferret was rolling on the ground, its paws holding its belly.

“What?” Varian snapped.

Derrick was the first to sober enough to explain. “No one leaves the valley. Ever. You can forget
ever trying to reach Avalon from here. Or anyplace else for that matter.”

“I refuse to believe that.”

“You can refuse all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that Merlin will never let you go.”

That one name gave Varian pause. “What do you mean
Merlin
won’t allow it?”

Derrick cleared his throat. “Merlin controls everything here. Well, everything but the sylphs. Nimue controls them, and they’re usually at war with him.”

Blaise frowned. “I thought you said there were no women here.”

“There aren’t. Sylphs have no interest in men, and Nimue hates all of Morgen’s ex-lovers. If anyone tries to be nice to her or seduce her, Merlin hangs them in the trees for everyone to see. He might not be able to handle Nimue, but he’ll be damned before he lets anyone else near her.”

“Emrys Penmerlin?” Varian asked slowly.

“Is there any other?”

Actually there had been many others. But this particular one had served Arthur, and he’d gone missing not long before Arthur had died. “I thought he was encased in ice.”

“He was,” Merrick said. “Now he’s not. He got out sometime ago.”

“How?”

They shrugged. “He didn’t exactly say, and he’s not the sort of person to confide in others. He’d
much rather gut you and leave you for the elements to decay. He’s terribly morbid that way.”

Varian was having trouble with this bit of news. He couldn’t believe that he’d found Emrys. All this time, they’d assumed he was either at Stonehenge or somewhere under Avalon. No one had ever guessed the valley. “But he is here? Alive?”

“Yes. Very.”

“He’ll help us,” Blaise said in a decisive tone.

Varian was still skeptical. “How do you know?”

“I’m his son. I know the man.”

Merrick took a step back as Derrick eyed Blaise warily. “You don’t look like him.”