Gatekeeper, p.4
Gatekeeper, page 4
Claire had some standards. She might not be a worldly woman with multiple lovers, but she refused to be passed around because the knights had some kind of special magic that attracted her like a bee to honey. No, if she survived the trials to come, she would find a nice man somewhere and settle down. Perhaps he’d be a scholar, like her father had been. Perhaps he’d be a warrior. She had no idea what Fate would bring her way, but if she survived, she wanted to find the kind of relationship her parents had shared.
They’d been happily married and never had a cross word between them. The love had been palpable, and they’d loved her unconditionally. She still missed them every day, but remembering the way they’d been cut down by Salomar brought sadness and anger, neither of which would help her in her task. She tried not to think about it, and over the years, the pain had dulled, somewhat.
They were dead. Salomar was dead, too. So much loss and pain… And for what? A quest for power by evil, corrupt men who sought things that would ultimately consume them. Of course, they didn’t believe that. Both Salomar and Gebel thought they would be granted positions of power by the evil they sought to unleash. Either that or they thought they could somehow control the wizards of old, but Claire knew they were foolish to think that beings so evil that they had to be imprisoned for all time in blocks of ice would have any use for mere human warlords like Salomar and weakling hedge mages like Gebel.
No, the wizards had played for much larger stakes than mere countries. They had fought for the fate of the world, not individual lands. To think they would limit themselves to mere human concerns was foolish in the extreme…or so, her father had claimed when he’d finally told her the secret of the labyrinth and why it was so important to guard the gate.
She trusted her father’s judgment and knew he had made a lifelong study of his duty. He’d impressed her with the vehemence of his words on that fateful day before she’d lost him forever. She had promised him then, that she would guard the secret of the Gate Maze with her life, and she would not let him down. No matter what.
“Claire.” Lars met her gaze and nodded. It was his usual greeting. “This is Scott and Sir Denrith.”
Claire almost smiled at the fact that the dragon was afforded his title while a mere human only got his first name from the very low-key snowcat warrior. Lars wasn’t one to stand on ceremony, she had learned over their few meetings. He was direct, and she could respect that.
Claire bowed, holding the gaze of both the dragon and the man as she greeted them.
“Sir Denrith, Sir Scott. I am pleased to meet you.” She wanted to ask where Rikard and Melanira were, but it really was none of her business, even if she had looked forward to seeing them both again more than she probably should have.
“The pleasure is ours, Lady Claire.” The dragon’s voice rumbled through her mind, very different from Melanira’s more feminine tones.
Claire couldn’t explain why she has such thoughts about a sound heard only in her mind, but there was a definite flavor to the two voices she had now heard this way, and Denrith’s was decidedly a male presence.
“What news do you have for us?” Lars, as ever, got straight to the point.
“Grave news, I’m afraid. Gebel has dispatched messengers. One went to the fortress to the south. I’m not sure why. The other went to find the North Witch and bring her back to this castle.”
“Loralie?” Scott said, his voice rising in alarm, much to Claire’s satisfaction. He, apparently, knew how bad it could be for their side should the witch fight on Gebel’s behalf.
“She is only one woman,” Lars scoffed.
The dragon, knight, and Claire all looked at Lars with varying expressions. How could he dismiss the legendary Witch of the North so cavalierly?
“We have been in battle with her before,” Scott finally said, his words measured. “She is a very dangerous, and fickle, opponent. We would do well to avoid confronting her at all. She has true magic and is unpredictable, at best, in any conflict.” Claire wanted to know why the knight thought Loralie would be unpredictable, but it didn’t really matter, so long as the knights were able to convince the snowcats to make a move before Loralie got here.
“What about the fair folk? Have you any word from them?” Claire asked, wanting desperately to get the troops moving and the action started. Her window was closing, and she was very much afraid she would be caught in it when it finally came down.
“No word from them, as yet,” Lars replied, frowning.
“You may have to go without them,” Claire replied, ready to face any argument he might make, but Scott spoke before Lars could.
“You’re right, Mistress. If Loralie sides with Gebel, we would do better to strike now, before she arrives. Once we hold the castle, we will be in a much better position to deal with her.” The dragon nodded above the knight’s shoulder.
Thank goodness, they saw it Claire’s way, but Lars was still frowning.
“It would be better to have the fey army with us,” he insisted.
“It would, of course,” Scott countered, “but Loralie could turn the tide of battle, even against an army of fey. We’ve had experience fighting her. She is not to be underestimated. She is a true wild card.”
“We must report this as soon as possible,” the dragon reminded them all that, whatever decision was made, it would be made by those in charge of the battle plan, not this small group of scouts.
“You’re right, of course, Denrith,” Scott replied to his fighting partner. “But first, Mistress Claire, Den and I wanted to test the extent of your range, if you would be willing to try a few things with us. If you can communicate with him in a two-way dialog, for example, we wouldn’t have to meet physically in order to exchange information. You might be able to talk to him mind-to-mind from within the castle and give us real-time updates on anything you learn.”
“Truly?” Claire was astounded by the very idea.
“Perhaps,” Scott said. “It all depends on how strong your gift for mind speech is.”
“Telepathy,” she whispered, then shook herself and addressed Scott directly. “That’s what it was called in the ancient book I read from Elderland. It was said that they had creatures there that spoke with their chosen humans using telepathy.”
“Exactly so,” Scott said, nodding. He gave her a grin that nearly buckled her knees. The man was just too handsome for her own good.
CHAPTER FIVE
“She is not really a natural, but she has the basics,” Denrith commented to his knight an hour later. The knight and dragon had both spent that time explaining the basics of speaking mind-to-mind to Claire and drilling her in the technique. She was able to make herself heard by both Denrith and Scott, but not easily.
“It will get easier with practice, Mistress,” Scott told her encouragingly. “For now, just work on the exercises we’ve taught you. They will help.”
“And I will be listening for you, especially, Claire,” Denrith assured her. “If you have need of us, or information to impart, do your best to send it this way, and with any luck, I will hear you.”
“Thank you both,” Claire replied wearily. “I appreciate the encouragement and the lesson, but I should be going back now. Please try to get your people to move quickly,” she entreated them.
She left as silently as she’d arrived, and Scott mounted up and let his dragon partner fly them both out, over the mountains, to deliver their news to the forces that were gathering to the east. They had a lot of work to do if they were going to win the day and keep the alluring Claire safe.
For the woman had stolen a piece of his heart with her gentle ways and quick intellect. He understood now why Rik had been acting so strange since meeting Claire. She had that effect on Scott, too.
“Claire is a beauty by two-legged standards, is she not?” Denrith asked out of the blue as they were flying high on a circuitous route that would prevent those in the castle or their scouts from seeing the dragon in the sky.
“She is,” Scott agreed cautiously, speaking mind-to-mind with his dragon partner as they flew.
“I believe Rik is very attracted to her, or so Nira told me. He was very disappointed not to be the one sent to this meeting.”
The dragon was up to something. Scott could tell from the way he was skirting around whatever it was he really wanted to say.
“Why the sudden interest in Claire and whether or not Rik is attracted to her?”
“Are you attracted to her, as well?” Den countered.
The blunt question made Scott pause. What was the dragon driving at? Could he be matchmaking? It seemed too ludicrous to be possible, but then again…
“Do you have a mate, Denrith?” Scott had never asked before because he didn’t like hurting the dragon’s feelings by dredging up the past.
Denrith had already paired with a knight he had lost decades ago. It was just possible Denrith had also had a mate back then. Scott didn’t know for sure.
“I do not, but there is a dragoness I would court, if I knew my knight was likely to find a mate of his own.”
Scott was relieved to learn he was not keeping Den from his mate. Then again, if Den had his eye on a dragoness, he could not act on it until Scott had a mate. And, to make things even more complicated, that woman had to agree to be shared with the dragoness’s knight, as well. Such was the way of Lair marriages. Two knights would share a mate, allowing the dragons to be together.
Which meant he would be forming a family with the knight of whichever dragoness agreed to be Den’s mate. That idea piqued Scott’s interest.
“Just who is the lady that has caught your eye?” Scott wanted to know.
“Nira,” Den answered, sounding almost shy about it. Den was never shy, but Scott understood. Mating was serious business, and a man was allowed to be a little strange when he found the female meant for him.
“Ah.” And Nira was Rik’s partner, so that meant that Scott would most likely be sharing a mate with the slightly older warrior.
All in all, Scott realized, that wasn’t a bad fit. Rik and Scott respected each other, and they definitely worked well together. They had complementary skills, and they had formed a quick friendship that solidified every day they worked together. The idea of making a family unit with Rik and Nira wasn’t a bad one. Scott began to see how it might work.
“And you say Rik was attracted to Claire, according to Nira, eh?” Scott asked his dragon partner.
“Very much so,” Den replied. “And she can hear dragons and seems comfortable with us already. That is a big advantage.”
“So, you think that if Rik and I both court Claire…”
“We five might form a family,” Denrith finished his knight’s sentence.
Scott thought about that while they continued to fly toward the larger force gathering to the east. It was an attractive idea. First, though, they had to free the castle and liberate Claire from her hidden existence. Only then could they court her as she deserved and find out if she would be willing to share her life with them.
*
Claire crept toward the hidden door to the pantry the next night. She’d spent the day spying on Gebel and his search parties…and worrying. They were getting ever closer, and she knew it was only a matter of time before one of them stumbled across one of the hidden passageways they hadn’t known about before. That would probably unleash a search for even more hidden areas, and more would likely be found. Claire dreaded that with every fiber of her being. She could easily get cut off from her stash of supplies and stranded in a less secure area. She had begun sleeping in the labyrinth itself, knowing that was the best hidden place of all, though it could still be discovered, given enough effort—or luck—on Gebel’s part.
Claire edged toward the pantry door. She waited a long moment, listening for any telltale sound from the other side before she inched open the door.
Before she could even take a breath, the edge of the door was wrenched from her hands and swung wide. Pulse racing, Claire tried to run, but she was dragged bodily, by harsh hands, out of the passageway. Light flared in her face as torches were lit, and she saw the pantry was filled with men. She recognized several of Gebel’s searchers she had covertly watched the past few weeks.
She was ousted from the pantry, and her hands were tied together with scratchy rope. She caught sight of Bernice’s tear-streaked face and knew her friend hadn’t betrayed her. Bernice would never have revealed Claire’s presence, but she couldn’t very well have stopped Gebel’s searchers, either.
Claire tried to communicate to Bernice that it was all right as they carried her away, but she couldn’t speak the words, lest she get her friend into even more trouble. As it was, there were bound to be some hard questions asked about how Bernice and the rest of the kitchen staff hadn’t noticed food going missing. Claire just hoped her friend would be all right. It was bad enough one of them was going to pay the piper.
If only the attack on the castle would come now. But Claire had no such luck. She didn’t say anything as she was dragged to the throne room and flung to the hard flagstones before the throne.
The throne where Gebel now sat. A stolen throne that never belonged to him. The traitor.
In a flash, Claire remembered watching her parents in almost this exact spot, being cut down by Salomar. She prayed to their spirits to help her now, for she suspected she was due the same fate.
Gebel looked at her from behind steepled fingers, studying her like a butterfly he had just caught and was about to dissect. Claire hid her fear behind a façade of defiance. She would die with dignity. She would do her parents proud.
“And so we solve the mystery of the Gatekeeper,” Gebel said finally in a deceptively calm voice that sent shivers down Claire’s spine. “I told Salomar he’d acted too rashly when he’d killed your parents. He should have waited until I could question them about the location of the gate. Instead, the brute thought it would be easy to find.” Gebel paused, seeming to gather his control, speaking more softly when he continued. “Salomar was a fool. You will find, I am not.”
Gebel stood and walked down from the dais, circling around her as she lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. She kept her head up, watching him as he studied her. She might be cowed by the ropes tied around her, but she was not broken in spirit. Not yet. Not ever, if she had her way.
“We are going to discuss many things, you and I,” he told her as he came all the way around to face her again. “In the end, I will know all your secrets. For now, I want you to think about our next meeting. Unless…” He walked back to his stolen throne and sat down before continuing. “…you wish to tell me the location of the gate, right now, and save yourself a great deal of pain and suffering.”
She just stared at him. Claire hoped he could see how much she despised the man from her expression, but she refused to even utter one word to this traitor.
“No?” Gebel shrugged, his smile evil. “No matter. I will get the information from you one way…or another.” He turned his attention from her to the search party, congratulating them even as the guards dragged her to her feet and manhandled her out of the throne room.
The dungeon. That’s where they were going to put her. She knew Gebel had been making great use of the old dungeons ever since he came to power. Even more so than Salomar had.
Salomar had been more likely to cut down people he didn’t like in cold blood. He was fond of killing. Gebel, on the other hand, was interested in torture. Claire gulped, even as the guards threw her into a dark room with only a tiny crack of a window far up the smooth wall where light would enter in the daytime.
She knew exactly where she was. In fact, there was a secret passageway just beyond the locked door that would allow her to run back to her hidden world… If only she could get to it.
Her hands were bound, and things looked bleak. She sat on the cold flagstones in the center of the cell and let the tears flow, now that she was alone. Her back to the door, she could cry, and nobody would see her weakness. She was so afraid of what was to come. Death seemed more welcome than the horrors she knew Gebel excelled at inflicting on his prisoners.
Claire sat like that for a long time, worrying about what was to become of her, when suddenly, she felt a warm, furry presence rubbing along her side. One of the castle cats had come to join her, and she smiled. At least she still had a friend, even in this dark place.
Then, she remembered, the castle cats often hunted mice in the dungeon. There should be quite a few of the cats nearby, and all were friends of hers. At least she could cuddle with them for a bit of warmth tonight, and no vermin would bother her with them around.
She lay down, wrapping her tied hands around the cat, who lay with her. When the cat started to play with the rope around her hands, she encouraged him. Maybe the feline would somehow be able to untie her hands or maybe shred the rope with his claws. She didn’t think it would actually work, but she was desperate for a miracle, right now.
If only the dragons would swoop in and start the siege. That might keep Gebel and his men busy enough to leave her alone. And maybe, the attacking forces would win the day and rescue her.
But that was no way to think. She couldn’t count on them starting the attack anytime soon. She had to do her best to help herself out of this mess. If only her allies knew her predicament.
Then, she recalled the meager ability she might have to talk to the dragon. She hadn’t been very good at it, but Denrith claimed he had been able to hear her. Perhaps, if she concentrated, he would hear her now.
Putting in all her effort into it, Claire concentrated on contacting the dragon the way he had shown her. She closed her eyes and fought hard in his direction. It was a desperate gambit, but she had to try.
