Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (30 page)

I thought about all that he'd told me. Cedric and everyone else obviously expected something terrible to happen. Soon.

I gasped, realizing I'd missed what he'd said earlier. "Thane automatically becomes king?"

Why had I not thought about this?

"He's next in line to the throne," Richard said.

We left the castle and headed for the small stone chapel.

Halfway there, I stopped. "Richard, what does that mean for my baby? I was married to Sargon when we found out I was pregnant. If my baby is a boy, what does that mean?"

Would my son be an heir to the throne, even though Sargon died before my child was born? I didn't want that. I didn't want my child to be burdened with any responsibilities.

Richard fidgeted with the buttons on his tunic. "I don't know."

The sky was gloomy and ominous as we stepped inside.

The first thing I saw was the scowl on the old priest's face.

Crap! It was the same fellow who'd married me before. He didn't approve of me then, and now that I was pregnant, his opinion sure hadn't changed.

I tried to give the priest a modest smile. But as Kendra said later, I couldn't look modest in a nun's habit.

With his hair tied back, Cedric looked magnificent, though he was dusty from riding. His arms were bare and the leather bands on his wrists were scored with cut marks from fighting.

He turned when he heard us enter the room. When he saw me, he beamed the most radiant smile, one I'll never forget.

Resigned rather than pleased, Grandfather took my arm.

Thunder rolled. Rain pelted against the lead windows and streams of water cascaded down.

I wondered if this was an omen.

The ceremony was over in a flash.

When Cedric kissed me, a crack of thunder shook the chapel.

"You look like a goddess," he whispered.

A rain goddess, no doubt, as I was soaking wet by the time we reached the castle. Rain continued to pour as we raced to the side door. I glanced up and saw sheet lightning sweep the sky in a spectacular display.

Did someone disapprove of this wedding?

We had a small, quiet meal in the great hall. Jon, who was absent for the wedding, joined us. He smiled at me, but looked grim when addressing Cedric. No one made speeches or uttered congratulations and best wishes. The men talked of interim defenses the whole time.

I was occupied with my own worried thoughts.

Toward the end of the meal, Cedric pulled me aside. "There are things I must do tonight. When you finish here, go to our suite and wait up for me." In a blink, he was gone.

I could hardly contain my fear. What was so important that it had to be done on our wedding night?

Sensing my mood, Kendra signaled me with her eyes. I shrugged, then shook my head and turned my attention elsewhere.

"Grandfather, I have a question of a rather legal nature."

"And what is your question?"

"This child I carry―"

"You want to know its status in our world," he said, interrupting me.

I nodded.

"To be honest, I don't know. If a son had been born while Sargon was still your husband, then he would be heir to the throne. Thane would be regent until
your son came of age." He rubbed his chin. "But I don't know that this situation has ever happened before. There may be a legal challenge, especially if it can be proved that the child is not Sargon's."

I chill raced up my spine.

"But I don't want my child in line for the throne," I said. "I will certainly not seek that. And you're assuming it is a boy. What if it is a girl?"

"That would be best. I hope it
is
a girl. That would be safer. If you have a girl, then people would leave us alone. She will know Cedric as her father and we will raise her here in safety."

Until she becomes of marriageable age and she becomes another pawn in the marriage games, I thought bitterly.

"I'm not so sure people
will
leave us alone," I admitted. "Not now that I've proved fertile."

Grandfather was silent.

Not long after dinner, I claimed to be weary. The others made a small fuss over me. Leaving them, I climbed the long stairs to the tower.

In the bedroom, I removed the Grecian dress and donned the royal-blue dressing gown that matched my old Natori nightgown.

Crawling into bed, I slipped into a deep sleep.

Chapter 30

When I awoke, the night sky out the window greeted me.

I was still alone.

My eyes were drawn to the tapestry on the southernmost wall. It hung on a thick brass rod, and a matching rod balanced the bottom to keep it from swinging. It was the darkest tapestry in the suite, with blues, golds and greens interwoven against a black background.

In the shadowed room, the colors glowed as if lit from behind. It drew me out
of bed. I touched the silk and examined the scene depicted―a night sky, stars, odd symbols and letters in a language unlike any I had seen before. I peeled it away from the wall so I could see the reverse pattern. But I saw something else, something that was completely hidden by the tapestry.

A door.

I'd heard of this sort of thing. Many old castles had hidden passageways to provide escape from enemies if the castle was besieged. Perhaps this led to the chapel. Or to an outlet beyond the castle walls.

I hesitated for only a moment.

The door started six inches above the floor and was only about five feet high. The handle lifted easily. The door swept inward easily, as if frequently used.

I ducked inside and found a narrow spiral stone staircase leading down. It had no railings. Half-melted candles illuminated the way as I started down the steps, which twisted round and round. I followed them carefully, watching my every step.

There were no windows in the stairwell. No one looking at the castle could possibly know it was there.

I shivered.

As I moved down several stories, the air grew colder. The walls were damp. I suspected I was underground. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I followed a corridor around a bend.

I heard low voices.

Ahead, the corridor brightened and I stepped through a passage into a stone room. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the increasing light.

"She answers your call well, Cedric."

I didn't recognize the voice.

"Cedric?"

The air buzzed with electricity. I could feel his excitement.

"I'm here, my love."

Someone took my hand and drew me into the room.

At last, my vision cleared.

The cavernous room was lit by a dozen black candles.

Cedric wore a robe of black, gold and green that matched the tapestry. To his right stood another man, about forty, with curly black hair. He was more compactly built than Cedric and he wore a similar robe. A third older man stared at me. He reminded me of the wizard Merlin, except his head was bare. When he stepped aside, I saw a long wooden altar, draped with a beautiful tapestry similar to the one upstairs.

A single red candle graced the altar.

I looked into Cedric's eyes, which were blazing green, and felt my own will dissolve under their power.

"Rowena, these men are priests of my own faith. This man is
my friend Drake." He nodded to the younger man. "And this is our high priest Manfred. They will perform a ceremony tonight that recognizes our marriage. Do not be afraid."

The priests' faces were kind―different from the elderly priest who disapproved of m
e earlier.

"I am hardly dressed for a public occasion," I said, embarrassed. I wrapped the blue robe around me tighter.

Drake handed me a goblet. "No matter. You are beautiful. And our Master loves beauty. We drink to your union."

I put the goblet to my lips, sipping the delicious, sweet wine.

"Drink more, my love," Cedric urged. "Drink it all."

I drained my goblet. Drake took it from me and refilled it from a decanter, which he placed on the altar.

That's when I noticed the dagger and the rope.

I must have started because Cedric drew me to him. "Rowena, have no fear. I would let nothing hurt you."

My head began to spin.

Damn, he had drugged me again.

I wavered on my feet and clutched his arm for balance.

"Her entry to this room signifies her consent," Manfred said in a gravelly voice. "We may begin."

Drake struck a bell. Three times.

Cedric kissed the top of my head and held me up.

"In nomine Dei nostri Ba'al excelsi," the old priest droned. "In the name of Ba'al, I call upon the forces of Darkness and the infernal power within. Consecrate this place with power and light…" His mesmerizing voice trailed on.

My head grew too heavy to hold up. I leaned against Cedric.

"We call upon the element of fire to come serve us. Flame the passion of Rowena and Cedric, and fill them with all consuming ardor and lust for each other."

My knees gave out. Cedric caught me, lifting me in his arms.

"We call upon the elements of air, earth and water to serve us…"

I drifted in a state of blissful consciousness. Even in my addled mind, this ceremony made sense to me. I could understand it more than the Christian one performed earlier.

"Bring her to the altar so that I may bind your hands," Drake said.

Cedric gently placed me upon the altar. It was cold, but I was glad of the tapestry on it.

"As this cord binds your hands," Manfred said, "so do your lives become joined." He took my right hand and Cedric's left, winding the cord around both. "Rowena, you bring the energy of Babylon―boundless, dark, intuitive and soft."

What a strange a thing to
say. I felt no energy at all. In fact, I could not lift my hands to close my gaping dressing gown.

"Cedric, you bring the energy of Ba'al. Wield this blade as a symbol of your love."

Cedric took the dagger. "I pledge my blade, as I pledge my soul, ever to your service. Accept it, my beloved. And with it, all that is mine becomes yours."

He plunged the dagger into the goblet I'd been drinking from.

"Babylon and Ba'al, female and male, dark and light," Manfred chanted. "Neither has meaning without the other, but though their eternal interplay the universe is born."

Flames whirled around me, becoming larger. They illuminated the zealous faces that surrounded me. I sought Cedric's eyes. Even in my drugged state anxious, I was desperate to connect to something or someone real. Something I could understand.

The words from a song played in my mind.

"He prays like a Roman with his eyes on fire."

Around us, a circle of fire burned, but I remained ice cold.

No one said a word. The silence was so intense I could hear the hiss of the candles.

"We will leave now," Manfred said to Cedric. "You may consummate this marriage in the presence of our Master." He untied the cord that bound our hands.

I heard a door close.

My bleary eyes tried to focus in the dark. They had blown out all but one candle, the red one. Cedric removed his robe and leaned over the altar. He caressed my lips with his, the warmth of them breathing life into me, into my mouth, my lungs.

Then he was on the altar, hovering over me. One hand reached down, parting my legs and lifting my hips. As the candle danced, we were one again. Groaning, he repeated my name, then covered my mouth with his.

I whipped my head from side to side. He held me still, plunging into me with relentless power. We soared to a place of raging skies, intense heat and screaming pleasure that verged on pain. Forged together. One.

I awoke in the bed in the tower room.

Alone.

I could tell by the sheets and the soreness between my legs that Cedric had been with me last night. And that we had consummated our marriage bed.

I had only fleeting memories, but they disturbed me.

Chapter 31

I dressed in the trusty rose muslin and went to look for Kendra. She never ventured up the steps to the tower room. I didn't know if it was fear of heights or fear of Cedric.

She was reading a book in her room―an honest to goodness genuine fiction paperback.

"What are you reading?"

"
Dead Until Dark
by Charlaine Harris. It's terrific."

I groaned. "I know. I've already read it. Do you have any others? The next in the series? I wo
uld kill for something to read."

She shook her head. "Next time we go back through the wall, we load up with paperbacks."