Knight of Swords: The Swords Trilogy Read online

  The two women had taken hold of Juliet. As I made my recovery to lunge at Edward once more, I heard Juliet shout loudly in my mind, ‘William is coming to help his brother. I am afraid for you. I will help all I can.’

  I did not have time to rebuke her. What did she think she could do? I wanted to stop the women pulling her along the passageway, knowing from Juliet’s thoughts they intended to remove her from the house to some secret location. I could not permit it. My fear for her life was acute. If William got a hold of her . . .

  My fight with Edward took us to the floor. By a quick twist of fate, he had placed his hand at my throat. He was determined in his strength to crush my windpipe, and I felt myself begin to choke. I heard Juliet cry out loud with a fierce anger. Suddenly the intense pressure on my larynx was lifted. I looked up at Edward confused. He was staring at his hand, poised in mid air just above me. It shook with the effort he made to move it, but he was unsuccessful. He stared at it fearfully a moment longer, before angrily turning his head to the women.

  ‘This is the witch’s doing,’ he snapped, his brown eyes burning with intense disgust at Juliet.

  I was quick to take advantage of his distraction and jumped to my feet. Juliet stood between the two women who held her arms in a vice-like grip as they stared in horror at Edward. Juliet’s haunted eyes were fixed on his hand. She was somehow using her mental strength to hold it there. I could feel she was weak, and it was taking tremendous effort. I was astounded by the mental power she possessed.

  William appeared on the landing. He stood aghast, a horse whip in his hand. Juliet’s eyes widened with fear. His presence prompted her into action. She flicked her eyes ever so slightly towards the wall, and I could hardly believe what I saw with my own. Edward flew against the wall, apparently pinned there by some invisible force.

  The whole scene provoked William to raise his whip to strike her with it. I sprang towards him, catching his arm. Juliet began to struggle with the women as I pushed William backwards. I wondered if I had the same advantage of power as Juliet. For one, mad moment it seemed logical that I would. I had sensed we were kindred spirits. William was struggling ferociously, making it hard to hold him. I focused my eyes on him and felt a surge of energy erupt within my body. In my mind I simply instructed William to retreat and to drop the whip. He fell back hard against the wall, the whip falling from his hand. My wish appeared to be my command.

  Violent abuse tripped from William’s mouth. I turned to free Juliet from the women, but they had already let go and were backing away, a picture of horrified fear worn on their faces. Without a moment of further hesitation, I caught Juliet’s hand and pulled her close to me. I felt intense relief the moment I made physical contact with her – as though a part of me had been missing since birth, and now I was whole. I did not understand, it was unlike any warmth or fleeting love I had felt for any other woman. The intensity was overwhelming.

  Realising the urgency with which I must get Juliet out of the house and away to a place of safety, I began to lead her quickly down the stairs. The family were shouting at us, but I gave them none of my attention. As we descended, I felt Juliet lean against me for support. She was exhausted. I swept my arm around her waist and hurriedly continued down the steps.

  She whispered urgently to me, ‘I can’t hold him anymore. My strength is weakening. I’m sorry, but Edward is free.’

  I glanced back. Edward was pursuing us at speed. I hastened, dragging Juliet with me, hoping the carriage was still outside. But, at the bottom of the staircase, the housekeeper was rushing up towards us with two stable hands. One of them was armed with a pitchfork. We stopped dead. We were trapped.

  Chapter Three

  I stared at the two men coming up the stairs towards us, frantically wondering at our best option. A backward glance at Edward confirmed there was no clear avenue of escape. Edward closed in behind us and grabbed my shoulder. I struggled to hold on to a collapsing Juliet. She gave a startled cry of fear, shouting, ‘He’s coming. God help us, he is coming.’

  A piercing shriek echoed around the large hallway and staircase, diverting my attention upwards. A cawing raven circled the room and flew straight at our group on the stairs. As it did so, a large, heavy black mass engulfed the air.

  We all froze. We stood motionless, watching above our heads with a mixture of curiosity and terror. Juliet tugged on my hand, but I remained transfixed. The black cloud began to form and shape behind the raven. The bird completed a circle of the room and suddenly dived towards us. The mass began to separate. Out of its being spurted a hundred or more additional ravens. I felt Juliet again tug hard on my hand – she shouted to me, ‘Don’t look at them, whatever you do don’t look at them.’

  Her voice was high-pitched, desperate for my safety. But I was hypnotised by the strange sight, as seemed everyone else around me. The birds raced towards us, diving at our faces. The two stable grooms each put a hand up to protect their faces as the dark forms swooped low to peck and claw at their eyes.

  Chaos and screaming ensued. I shoved Edward backwards and put up my arm to shield myself. One of the birds clawed viciously at my hand, drawing a flurry of blood that soaked my sleeve. The young man holding the pitchfork suddenly tumbled backwards down the staircase as a nest of ravens covered him like flies, pecking at his eyes and skin until they were bloodied and shredded. His piercing screams of terror echoed around the hall, chilling my very bones.

  Juliet pulled on my arm once more. This time, she succeeded in distracting me from the mesmerising sight. We hurried past Edward and the other groom. They were vainly attempting to swat away the birds, crying with agony as the flesh was torn from their hands and faces.

  The ravens had not touched Juliet; even their attack upon me had been limited in its ferociousness. We hurried on, passing the wailing housekeeper. A shout from William at the top of the stairs made me glance back just before we slipped through the door and out of the house.

  Freed from my hold by my distraction through the pandemonium on the stairs, William batted at the birds with his horsewhip. He was full of rage and thunder and bellowed at us, ‘Valancourt, I will hunt you both down and kill her if she doesn’t give me my inheritance.’

  I stared at his struggling figure and fought hard to maintain my composure. Every fibre inside me ached to race back up the stairs to make him swallow his words. There was no way I would allow him to take Juliet from me, even if it meant ending his life.

  We ran out of the portico onto the gravel. I was suddenly conscious that Juliet looked fit to collapse. I glanced around expecting to be followed, but no one was behind us. The carriage was nowhere to be seen, and I confess I began to wonder if we were not stranded. But thankfully Juliet appeared to have other ideas.

  ‘We can use William’s horse. It will be saddled and ready. He always rides at this time of day,’ she breathed. I nodded, and we ran to the stables. Sure enough, a groom was just finishing saddling William’s horse, anticipating his master’s arrival. I grabbed the reins from him, and pushed him out of the way, quickly mounting the horse. Reaching down, I lifted Juliet up into my arms, ignoring the protestations of the bewildered groom who sought to retrieve the reins from me.

  Juliet put her arms around my waist and held on for dear life as I broke the horse out into a gallop. We left the stable yard in a hurry, scattering the chickens and ducks that dared to cross our path. The horse’s hooves clattered noisily on the cobbled yard, announcing our hasty departure as I guided the horse out onto the drive.

  The Camerons were now finally spilling out of the house. I knew it would be only moments before William had another horse saddled and was close on our trail. I glanced back and saw the ravens escaping from the portico door as though mimicking a colony of bats. They rose into the sky, swirling away from the house, and disappeared into the distance with a shriek.

  I had little time to contemplate the scene I had witnessed with the birds, or the words of warning Juliet had uttered in my e
ar as they approached on the stairs. Had she summoned them? Was she indeed, a witch? Was I? There was no time. I decided that I would debate the answers to those questions when we were safely back in London, out of William Cameron’s reach.

  We reached the woodland as the first few snowflakes permeated the grey cloud above us. I slowed the horse to a trot, satisfied we were at a sufficiently safe distance from the house and any pursuers. I looked down at Juliet. She had not spoken since our flight. I felt her begin to shiver as the cold snow settled on our skin and dampness began to seep through our clothes. I tightened my arm around her waist and pulled her nearer to me, closing the gap she had stiffly maintained between my body and her own.

  She wore only her dress and no coat. The attempt to keep her warm within the circle of my arms was futile. But I would be dishonest if I did not admit that I also wanted to feel her close, to be assured of her safety. Ever since our shared vision the previous night, I could only think of her, the smell of her skin, the softness of her pale cheek, and the fullness of her lips.

  I expected an objection when I pulled her to my chest, but there was none. Instead, she wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to keep out the flurry of snow and the harsh wind that was picking up and licking at our faces. She buried her head against me.

  She asked, ‘Does William follow us?’

  I glanced back once more, to make sure. There was no one there, but I could hear angry shouts far away. They were on our trail.

  ‘Yes, but he is far behind. I hope to reach the village and raise alarm with the constabulary before he catches up to us.’

  I gently moved my heel against the horse’s side, bidding him to go faster once more. ‘We must talk about last night, Juliet,’ I told her. ‘How . . .’

  She interrupted quickly with a sharp, confused tone. ‘I don’t know how I saw it. I may ask you the same thing. Maybe we are witches.’

  ‘Maybe we are.’

  ‘Do you really believe that?’

  I thought about it for a moment. ‘I am not sure what we are, but we are certainly special.’ I began to wonder, questions forming in my mind in quick succession. What was I? What hadn’t my parents told me of my heritage? What had Lord Leggatt known?

  ‘Did you summon those birds?’ I asked her.

  Juliet sat up away from me, her body suddenly taut with indignation. I looked at her curiously. ‘I did not. I would never do such a vile thing. That was him.’

  ‘Him?’

  She was impatient. I knew fine well to whom she was referring, but I wanted to know what she called the menace who stalked our dreams at night. ‘The vampire. That’s what I call him. You can’t deny they exist, not after seeing him.’ I slowly nodded. She continued, ‘I have seen him before in my dreams, well not all of him. Somehow he always hides his face from me. But last night was different. I felt as though I were there. Last night felt like a vision, something I shared with both yourself and him. Did he really do all of those horrible things to that young woman?’

  I bent my head for a moment, feeling the responsibility for Sophie’s death once more cut deeply at my insides. It took me longer than it should have to reply. ‘Yes, he did. She wasn’t the first. There have been several other deaths in London. I knew each victim, and I was forced to witness each of their murders in similar nightmare visions.’

  Juliet shuddered, and hugged herself, rubbing her arms.

  ‘He seems to have made it his unholy mission to force me to repent for my sins by murdering women I have had a relationship with. He wants me to feel remorse and responsibility for bedding fallen women. I am worried for all of the others . . .’

  I was going to continue voicing my suspicions that the vampire also killed to punish Juliet for rejecting him. But I did not want my charge to suffer any more pain.

  She turned in the saddle to look at me with disapproval. ‘All of the others . . .? You look no more than twenty-two or twenty-three. For your young years it seems you have known, for want of better words, a lot of women.’

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her sense of impropriety. Then seriousness overtook me once more. ‘Maybe, but I am worried more so for you than any other. This clergyman vampire claims to love you, and yet, you don’t know him?’

  Her voice sounded far away, ‘No, I don’t. I have dreamt of him on occasions, but I have never made his acquaintance in my waking life. This is all so very strange. Are you really to be my guardian?’

  My voice was grave, ‘Yes I am. I am afraid Lord Leggatt is dying. He has passed the honour to me.’

  ‘I am sorry – Lord Leggatt seemed such a nice man.’

  ‘He is. Why do you think the vampire sent those birds to help us escape?’ If I was honest I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear Juliet’s thoughts on the subject.

  ‘Because he wants me all to himself. I felt his anger towards me when he sent the ravens. He wants me free so he can take me and make me suffer.’ She shuddered again and pressed her face against my chest.

  ‘He will not have you,’ I stated fiercely, and with more confidence than I felt. Bending forwards, I kissed her lightly on the top of her head to reassure her of my protection. ‘Why don’t we change the subject slightly,’ I ventured. ‘When did you notice you were different to others around you?’

  ‘Nine months ago. I remember the very first day I found I could read people’s minds. My uncle and I were taking tea outside. It was an unseasonably warm day for April. It was one of the last times we were to take tea by the lake at Eldridge. He became too ill after that.’ The smile on her lips faded, but her tone became excited.

  ‘William came out of the house wanting to speak to his father about his will. He was so angry. I began to hear a multitude of voices. One of them was William’s, yet the words he spoke did not match the ones I heard. Vile creature. My uncle’s valet was attending us, and though he did not speak, I heard his voice. He was disgusted at William’s abruptness and lack of respect towards my ill uncle. He would have felt more than disgust if he had heard the way William wished for his father’s speedy death inside his mind. That was when I learned my uncle was dying. I was heartbroken. He loved me more than his own selfish children. I shall never forget it.’ She stared out ahead seemingly lost, remembering for a brief moment. I remained respectfully quiet. Then she turned back to me, a smile fully reigning on her perfect lips.

  ‘It’s fascinating to delve into the secrets of others. I should feel guilty, but I don’t. I can’t help feeling intrigued. Some of the things I hear are nothing short of wicked,’ she gave a small giggle. ‘But it’s also very tiring after a while. Sometimes it is just too noisy to hear my own thoughts. My head aches so much when that happens, I think I will go quite mad. What about you?’

  ‘I haven’t really tried to listen-in to anyone but you. It’s almost as though we share a bond. When I saw you last night, my life suddenly made sense. It’s as if we were always destined to meet, to be . . .’

  I was interrupted by the sighting of two men on horseback approaching us from the front. Concerned that they were men from the Cameron household, I decided to change our direction, but as I turned left two other men appeared. An advance towards the right produced the same result. Three more closed in from behind.

  Juliet gave me a frantic look. ‘These men don’t work for William,’ she said quickly. ‘What do they want with us?’

  The riders closed in, circling around us. My heart began to pound as my horse began to buck in protest at the close proximity of the villains.

  Chapter Four

  A handsome, fair-headed man of around a similar age to myself rode up alongside of us. His features bore a classic aristocratic detail and his tall, upright posture was consistent with a military career. I tightened my grip around Juliet’s waist protectively. The snow was falling heavily now and she was shivering violently. She looked pale and feverish as she rested her head against my chest. I desperately needed to get her warm and put to bed before she became seriou
sly ill. I had no time for the antics of this man or the others accompanying him.

  I issued an immediate challenge, a derogatory, affronted haughtiness in my tone to warn I was in no fear of him. He did not answer. Instead he peered imperiously at me, studying my face before his eyes moved to rest upon Juliet. His expression softened to one of concern and pity, then flared into desire. My grip upon Juliet tightened further, forcing a small whimper of discomfort from her trembling lips. It did nothing to entreat me to slacken my hold. Her safety, perhaps even her virtue may be at stake. It was my duty to ensure both were kept intact. Juliet’s beauty was enough to tempt any man.

  I began again, ‘I have no quarrel with you, sir. Let us pass without any incident. I need to get my ward home and warm. She is ill. Let us be on our way.’

  This time the man spoke. His voice was gentle, a persuasive tone to it I did not trust and a firmness that made me wary. ‘I can help you. Give her to me. I will make sure she is safe and warm.’

  My eyes narrowed instinctively. Nobody would take Juliet away from me and live to tell the tale. I would have no more of his nonsense. ‘Who are you?’ I demanded with authority.

  ‘My name is Gabriel Masters. I am here to help you, Nathan. You must trust me.’

  ‘How do you know my name?’

  ‘We do not have time for questions. Give Juliet to me.’

  Attack was the best form of defence in situations such as this one. We may have been surrounded by men, but they did not possess the powers that Juliet and I had discovered natural to our beings. I aimed my eyes at the man and directed a surge of energy towards him, assuming to knock him from his horse.