Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (99 page)

Niall straightened, well aware of the weight
of every eye upon him. In a corner of his heart, Niall dared to
hope that he might be elevated beyond sentry of the prison if he
succeeded in fetching the witch.

When
he succeeded.

The archbishop smiled down at Niall, looking
like a benevolent father. ’Twas as though he could discern the
knight’s heart hammering in anticipation. “This knight may well
walk in the valley of darkness before his quest is complete - he
has the full measure of my prayers behind his quest.”

The older man cast a glance over the
assembly, his expression turning stern. “And so, we dispatch this
knight, surrounded by all our prayers and goodwill, that he might
be protected by the grace of God wherever his path may lead.”

The archbishop dipped his thumb into the
holy water brought immediately to his side. “And so I say to you,
Niall of Malloy, go with the grace of God –” he traced a cross on
Niall’s brow, leaving a damp trail “- and do His will in His
creation. Render justice and defy the darkness of false idols.
Return triumphant to us, Niall of Malloy, as our own Savior did
return triumphant even from the clutch of death. Go forth, knowing
that your heavenly reward is assured.”

Niall hoped that it did not come to such a
dire circumstance.

The monks sang an exultant chorus as the sun
pierced the stained glass high above the altar. A beam of sunlight
fell on the archbishop’s bent head and seemingly enclosed him in a
halo of the Lord’s own favor. For all his skepticism of the unseen,
Niall swore he could feel the heat of God’s own will running over
his flesh.

Aye, he had underestimated his patron’s
understanding of great mysteries once before and would not be so
foolish again.

The archbishop spoke to the assembly again,
lifting his hands in supplication. “I entreat you all to share in
the victory over the shadows, to aid this noble knight in his
mission. Raise your voices, join me now in the prayer Christ taught
to those who followed him.”

The assembly rose to chant the Lord’s Prayer
in unison, the censers swung with new vigor as the archbishop
stepped back. A white tabard was passed over Niall’s shoulders, its
front emblazoned with a fiery red cross like those of the
crusaders.

He rose at the archbishop’s behest, his knee
creaking loudly at the move though the music veiled the sound. The
archbishop kissed Niall’s sword, which had been lying upon the
altar, and returned it to the knight with a flourish. As the chant
rose to a crescendo, the archbishop led Niall down the aisle of the
cathedral. They stepped out into sunlight together, the glint of
the archbishop’s fine garments enough to blind a man.

The crowd spilled down the steps behind them
and cheered, clearly in a festive mood. The last of the incense
rose to mingle with the few clouds scattered overhead. Niall’s
belly rumbled, discontent at its emptiness after three days fast in
preparation.

Niall accepted the aid of a servant and
mounted the chestnut destrier that he was now to call his own. The
beast tossed its head proudly and pranced with an impatience not
unlike Niall’s own. He rode the beast to the steps of the church,
pulling the reins up short so the archbishop’s volley of holy water
fell over him.

“
Go then!” the archbishop
cried. “Go forth, Niall of Malloy, and may you return with all good
haste!”

The crowd roared approval as Niall gave the
steed his spurs and rode through the throngs clustered along the
street. He waved once, as regally as he thought appropriate, then
looked to the road ahead, letting himself grin outright as the town
fell behind him.

It had been three long years since he had
ridden a destrier, three years since his knightly oath had seemed
to have anything to do with his days and nights. Niall stifled an
urge to simply ride forever, reminding himself that he had accepted
a quest, and was pledged to clear his own name.

Aye, fulfilling that vow and resolving
Viviane’s mysterious disappearance would do much to retrieve what
he had lost. Niall did not intend to let her influence his ability
to fulfill his duty yet again.

Sooner begun, sooner finished, as his father
used to say.

*

Outside the gates and well beyond the shadow
of the village walls, Niall pulled his steed to a halt. He
dismounted and gave the beast a pat, for with fortune, he would
have no need of it on his journey. Indeed, his need mattered little
- he doubted he had the means to take the beast with him. He took a
deep breath and reached into his purse to retrieve the moonstone
pendant that Viviane had dropped.

Aye, there was something wicked about the
stone, of that a man could have no doubt. The sunlight was
swallowed by its milky depths, the glint of light turned to fey
silver. It felt alien in his hand, unwelcome and foul, as though
its unnatural beauty was naught but a deception.

Niall wondered now why he had not shown the
gem to the archbishop. That man would have been better able to
assess it, but in the hue and cry after Viviane’s disappearance,
Niall had forgotten about the token stuffed into his tabard.
Indeed, the archbishop might have been able to explain matters
better, had he known the truth of it.

Niall turned the stone thoughtfully. ’Twas
as though the gem itself did not want to face such goodness, as
though it toyed with his thoughts and made him forget to reveal its
presence.

There was a troubling possibility.

Niall fingered the stone, then slipped its
chain around his neck. ’Twould not do to lose it, as Viviane had
done. Aye, if ’twere to escape his grip, he would never be able to
return from the netherworld to which she had escaped.

Indeed, Niall wondered now whether she lured
him with the token to some heinous fate, whether she would toy with
him when he was securely within her clutches. He had never believed
in matters he could not see, but he had seen Viviane disappear,
right before his eyes. The truth of that could not be denied.

However it had been contrived. Niall frowned
at the stone, instinctively disliking that its abilities defied
reasonable explanation.

Would it work for him?

Niall was so focused that he barely noted
the sound of footsteps. Then his name was called and he looked up,
his frown melting to astonishment.

For a woman trailed by a brood of children
ran closer, waving madly. “Niall!” she cried again. “Wait!”

Majella? ’Twas remarkable to see her here,
for she lived in a village still within Cantlecroft’s domain, but a
good ten miles from the main town.

Surely she had not walked this far?

In a heartbeat, she had latched onto his
arm. “My baby brother!” she cried, landing a wet kiss on Niall’s
cheek before he could duck her embrace.

Niall noticed immediately that his sister
was as beauteous as ever, though there was markedly more of her
than before. Her hair was yet the same ruddy gold, her eyes
sparkled, her breasts nigh spilled from her bodice.

And she was quite decidedly with child.

Just as her letter had confessed. Niall’s
heart twisted at this evidence of yet greater financial burden.

“
Oh, I am so very glad that
we managed to find you in time!” Majella breathed, taking a trio of
quick breaths. She pressed a fist between her ample breasts and
inhaled quickly. “We were too late for the ceremony and they said
you had ridden this way, but without a horse, well, I had
no
certainty at all that we would find you in time.”

We
? ’Twas then that Niall realized
all seven of his nieces and nephews surrounded him. A handsome
brood of children, they smiled up at him with mingled admiration
and exhaustion.

“
You have
all
come,
all this way?” Niall demanded, horrified at the cost. “What seized
your wits, Majella? You have no coin for such a
journey!”

And he should know the truth of that.

“
Of course! How glad I am
that we are in time to see you off on such a journey as this!”
Majella pinched Niall’s cheek as though he were but five summers of
age. “The children have not seen you of late, after all, Niall. A
man cannot depart on such a quest without a fair sendoff from his
own blood. And besides all of that, I have brought you
provisions…”

She began to rummage in her bag.

“
Majella, there was no need
for you to do this,” Niall began sternly. “You should not have
traveled so far…” As his sister’s eyes clouded with tears, Niall
felt his annoyance with her weaken dangerously.

Oh, women were a fair bit of trouble!

“
How could we
not
come?” she cried. “You depart on a dangerous mission, one from
which you may never return.”

“
I but right an omission,”
Niall said firmly. “’Twill be done quickly enough and there was no
need…”

“
No need! And you did not
even write to tell me of it!” Majella wailed. “My only brother
hastens to fight a wicked and Godless foe, yet does not trouble
himself to say farewell! I had to learn the truth of it from a
leatherworker in the marketplace, who had it from the shoemaker,
who heard from the alewife, who..who…”

With that, Majella began to weep in a most
noisy fashion. Niall shuffled his feet, hating that she did this
and hating even more how much it troubled him.

Majella
knew
he could not bear to see
her weep.

“
I did not wish to trouble
you,” he began in a cajoling tone.

“
Trouble
me?” she
cried. “When you are about to die?”

“
I do not mean to die,
Majella.” Niall used his most reasonable voice, to no visible
effect. “I have but a mission to fulfill…”

“
To retrieve a witch who
has already enchanted you! Oh, Niall, we shall never see you
again.” Before Niall could think of a suitably reassuring comment,
Majella fell on his shoulder and sobbed as though her heart was
breaking. “The entire realm is talking of naught else than how
brave, and how
doomed
, you are! You will be lost to us
forever! How could I not come to see you one last time?”

Niall patted her shoulder awkwardly,
scowled, and knew not what to say.

Curse women and their displays!

“
Majella, compose
yourself.”

To Niall’s enormous relief, Majella abruptly
straightened and took a deep breath, her face still streaked with
tears. “Aye, you speak aright. This is no time for tears.” She
sniffled and wiped her nose. “Niall, I brought you vittles for
breaking your fast, though you may never indeed have the
opportunity to savor them.”

She wiped determinedly at her tears, then
opened that satchel again, proceeding to empty its contents into
Niall’s arms. “There is pastry filled with sausage, I know how you
like that, for you always did say that I made them as mother
did.”

“
Aye,” Niall
conceded.

Majella sighed and half-smiled in
reminiscence. “Do you remember how we used to steal them when
mother was not heeding us? You always took mine and feigned to eat
it yourself, though I knew you would return it to me.”

She granted him a smile so affectionate that
Niall flushed before she turned back to her satchel. “I had little
enough time and the children did consume some of them on the
journey, but there are a good half dozen of them left to you.”

She gave Niall a handkerchief knotted around
lumpy contents. The scent of meat escaped the bundle and tempted
Niall’s empty belly to roar anew.

“
And bread from the bakery,
his last three loaves this morning.”

As those plump loaves were added to Niall’s
burden, Majella met his gaze with concern. “How long will you be
gone? Is three loaves enough? I cannot imagine that there is a good
bakery to be found in the realms of darkness.”

“
I would not know,” Niall
admitted.

Majella bit her lip, clearly concerned.
“Well. There are apples, though they are from the last harvest, you
can cut around the bruises and they eat well enough. If you are
hungry, you will scarce note that they have shrunken…”

A dozen apples were piled haphazardly onto
the goods Niall already held. Two escaped and rolled in opposite
directions, yet when Niall bent to retrieve them, all but one of
the others also leapt to the ground.

The children scattered to retrieve them, two
of the younger boys making a game of kicking one apple down the
road and back.

“
I found some wine,”
Majella continued, evidently unaware of the boys’ doings. She
pulled a bulging wineskin from the bag, but Niall raised a
hand.

“
Majella, you should not
have troubled yourself.” In truth, Niall was much concerned by how
much coin she had expended. “I shall manage well enough while I am
gone.”

“
Oh! Now, you do not even
need me!” Majella’s tears welled again and her shoulders shook. “No
wonder ’tis that you never told me of your departure!” she wailed.
“You do not care for us at all!” Her tears began to flow with
renewed vigor, while the children eyed Niall as though he were the
worst criminal alive.

’
Twas a most unreasonable
charge she made, considering what healthy measure of his earnings
went to support his nieces and nephews, but Niall knew Majella
would not take well to sensible argument. He had tried oft afore to
reason with her. Instead, Niall patted his sister’s shoulder
awkwardly, then held her close as she wept with abandon.

He could not help but wonder whether other
knights departed on noble quests under such odd circumstance.