Knight's Prize (41 page)

He
nodded his assent, and both of them began tearing off their clothes as if the
garments were afire.

If
'twas a fool's path he followed, so be it. He'd never known such contentment as
that he found in Miriel's embrace. So if Fate planned that he should die in her
arms, at least he'd die a happy man.

Having
believed that he'd never touch her silken skin again, never taste her luscious
mouth, never suckle at her sweet breasts, he now glutted himself on her body.
He
spread
her
out on the bed, and there wasn't an inch of
her he
neglected
as he swept his hands carefully over her
scraped flesh,
damp
and warm from battle, and bathed the
salty sweat from
her
with his tongue.

He breathed softly into
her
ear, relishing her shivers
of desire. He
taunted her nipples with his
lips, drawing them to
stiff
points. But just as he was
about to move lower to taste the dark, moist secrets of her womanhood, she
suddenly stiffened.

"Sung
Li!"

Rand
whipped his head around. Bloody hell, was the old man here? Had he escaped the
dungeon? 'Twould be just like Miriel's vigilant guardian to appear now.

But
the chamber was empty.

Miriel,
her eyes flashing with urgency, sat up on one elbow and raked back her
disheveled hair. "I have to save him."

Rand
frowned, trying to shake the cobwebs of desire from his brain. "‘Tis the
middle of the night."

Miriel's
mind was no longer on coupling. She slipped from the bed, then cast about,
gathering her clothes. "He's going to the gallows in the morn."

His
ballocks still aching with need, Rand nodded reluctantly. She was right. They
could hardly tryst while Sung Li yet languished below the keep. "But he's
locked in the dungeon. How are you going to—"

"I
don't know!" she cried in frustration as she began to dress. "But I
have to try."

Rand
winced from his wounds as he sat up and reached for his own cast-off clothing.

She
slipped one of her lovely legs into her black braies. "You needn't
come."

He
arched a brow in challenge, shoving his arms into the sleeves of his tunic.
" 'Tis my fault he's there."

She
hopped on her first foot, wiggling the second into the leg of her braies.
"I do my best work alone."

He
glanced pointedly at the bed, saying under his breath, "I'd have to disagree."

She
pulled up the braies and tied them about her waist.
 
"I'm
serious. I have much more
experience slinking about
the
shadows."

He
hauled the tunic over his head. "I won't let you go alone."

She
scowled, snatching up her own tunic.
"
Let
me?" She thrust her arms through the
sleeves. "How do you propose to stop me?"

He
shrugged, shaking out his braies. "Guilt."

She
started to poke her head through the tunic, then lowered the garment again,
staring at him askance.

As
he sat on the bed, shoving his legs into his braies, he explained. "You
would not be so cruel as to deprive a man of righting the wrong he has done,
would you?"

Cursing
under her breath, she burrowed her head through the tunic, then jabbed a finger
toward him. "You had better not get in my way."

"Believe
me." he said, gingerly pressing at his bloodied nose, "I
won't."

Moments
later, against Rand's better judgment, they were creeping through the dark
halls of the keep. Miriel had reclaimed her weapons, though how she'd managed
to cache them all in the folds of her garments he couldn't begin to guess. He
kept his broadsword drawn as they stole past slumbering servants and hounds
softly yipping in their sleep.

When
they found the steps leading under the keep to the dungeon. Rand took the lead,
whispering, "Stay close behind me."

But
the impertinent lass ignored his command, slipping
past him like a
shadow,
hurrying down the torchlit stairs
before he
could snatch her back, and
he had no choice but
to follow.

He
"d
wanted
to
warn
her there was likely a guard manning the door. If she wasn't careful, she'd
barrel into him and trap herself. Then Rand would have to come to her rescue.

But
by the time he rounded the last curve of the stairs, she'd already met up with
the guard. To his astonishment, the poor wretch lay crumpled at her feet,
unconscious. Rand's jaw dropped. "How did you...?"

Mistaking
his awe for horror, she tried to explain. "He's not dead. 'Twas only a
pressure point."

He
shook his head and whistled low. "By the Saints, you must teach me
that."

Miriel
gave him a ghost of a smile, then dropped to the lowest part of the door,
pressing her cheek against the oak. "Sung Li," she hissed. "Are
you there?" She rapped softly. "Sung Li!"

"Miriel?"
came Sung Li's voice beneath the door.

"Are
you all right,
xiansheng?”

"What
are you doing here? You must go," Sung Li said. "It is not safe for
you."

"I'm
not leaving you."

"You
must. Listen to me, Miriel. Your bridegroom is not who you think he is. He is
not a knight. He is a... mercenary." He muttered the word like an oath, as
if a mercenary was someone who drowned kittens for a living. "A man whose
whose loyalties shift with the wind," he continued, "who hires out to
the highest bidder, who preys upon the misfortunes of—"

"I
do not prey on anyone's misfortunes," Rand said with a scowl, having heard
enough. "I lend my sword to those who cannot fight for themselves. I hunt
down outlaws. I right wrongs."

"You
brought him with you?" Sung Li hissed, incredulous.

“ ‘Tis all right,
Sung
Li,"
Miriel assured him. "He's here to help.”

Rand, still
irked,
muttered under his breath, "Unless
you
wish
to hang on the morrow."

"Miriel,
you foolish child!" Sung Li scolded. "You cannot trust him!"

Miriel's
eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am
not
a child."

"You
are acting like one."

"And
you
are
acting like—"

"Cease,
the two of you," Rand bit out, "unless you would summon all of
Morbroch down on our heads." They complied, and he blew out an impatient
breath. "Now, we need to find the key."

"You
cannot," Sung Li said smugly.

"Why?"
Miriel asked.

"The
Lord of Morbroch wears it about his neck."

Miriel
chewed at her lip. "Then I'll steal into his chamber and—"

"You'll
do naught of the sort," Rand told her.

She
lifted her chin. "I will do as I please."

"Not
while I'm here to protect you."

"Listen
to him, Miriel," Sung Li said.

Rand's
brows lifted. Was Sung Li actually allying with him
now?

"He
is
right," Sung Li said. "You must not endanger
yourself."

"Endanger
my
self?
Was it not you who pretended to be
The Shadow so
you would be caught in my
place?"

“
Shh,"
Rand
interjected.

"Would
you
make
my sacrifice in vain then?" Sung Li
asked her.

“There
will be no
sacrifice," Miriel insisted.

"Hist!"
If the two of them didn't stop their quarreling...

"I
knew what it would cost," Sung Li said, "but I am an old man. Better
I should die—"

"Shh,
damn you!"

But
'twas too late. Footsteps approached. In another moment, they would be
discovered.

Chapter 26

“Hide
!"
Rand urged, pushing Miriel toward the shadows. Then he slumped against the
wall, propping up the unconscious guard beside him, and putting a
companionable arm around the poor wretch.

By
the time the Morbroch man came down the stairs to see what all the noise was
about, Rand was engaged in drunken singing.

"Hey,
what's all this?" the man demanded.

"Jus'
havin' a bit o' fun," Rand slurred. He hiccoughed, then giggled.

"You
re drunk."

"Shhhhhh."
he whispered loudly, mashing a finger against his lips. "My friend here is
sleepin'."

The
man frowned. "Drinking when he's supposed to be on guard?"

"S'all
right,"
Rand
said, tapping his temple. "I got my eye on
the
pris'ner.
B'sides, he's locked up tight." He banged
on
the door
for emphasis.

The
man hesitated, unsure whether 'twas safe to leave.

"Hey,
y'haven't got a wee drink with you, have you?" Rand asked. "I've run
dry."

The
man shook his head in disgust. "You've had enough." He turned to go,
then muttered over his shoulder, "Keep it down. Some of us are trying to
sleep."

"Shhhhhh,"
Rand whispered. "I'll be quiet as a mouse."

Once
the guard was gone, Miriel crept out from the shadows. "That was quite
convincing."

He
cocked a brow at her. "As convincing as your, 'Oh, Rand, you know I can't
abide fighting'?"

Her
eyes twinkled.

"Now,"
he said, "we've got to find a way to get Sung Li out. I say we use force.
Break down the door or collapse part of the wall."

Miriel
shook her head. "Nay, the noise will draw too much attention. Stealth is
better. I still say we should slip the key from about Morbroch's neck."

"
'Tis too perilous."

"And
breaking into the dungeon is not?"

"There
is another way," Sung Li said, "a way of stealth
and
force,
yin
and
yang."

Rand
had no idea what the old man was talking about, but Miriel furrowed her brows,
deep in thought.

Finally,
she straightened, a look of wonder on her face. "Of course.
Huo yao,"
she
whispered. She rapped lightly on the dungeon door. "Sung Li, on the
morrow, you will let them take you to the hanging tree."

"Nay!"
Rand barked. Was she mad?

But
by the time Miriel explained her strategy, her eyes were alight with the thrill
of hope. Though Rand didn't fully understand the methods of her desperate plan,
he
couldn’t
prevent the grin of anticipation that came to his
face every
time
huo yao
was
mentioned.