All Hallow's Eve (55 page)

“
I have paid the ransom money
;
l
et her go, Wickham!
”

Wickham shook his head.
“
As intelligent
as you are, Darcy
,
I am sure
that
you
have realized
that after centur
ies
spent in search
of the High
Priestess
, I w
ould
not
allow he
r
to
escape
me
once I found her
.
”

Wickham
moved away from Elizabeth
and drew his sword.
He s
wung
the weapon
around his head in
a
large arc
then
br
ought
it down into a figure-eight
with a loud
swoosh
, all the while sporting a confident smirk.

William assumed this was an attempt to intimidate him, but he was not affected by th
e
display in the least
.
H
e
drew his own S
word,
allowing
Wickham
to continue to repeat this action
several times
, realizing
this
would
accomplish nothing but
expend energy and tire his adversary’s arms
.
Perhaps
Cher-nog’s
tendency towards showmanship would work in William’s
favour
.

His eyes never leaving his opponent
’s
,
William took advantage of the
time
to
remove from his pocket
a handful of
the mixture of herbs that the
Fili
had
directed he
use during
this
time before the
Olc
was captured, and threw it into the fire
.
T
he
faulty
chimney
would be helpful
by filling the room with
its
incense
.

Something half-way between a growl and a screech
began to build
from deep within Wickham’s chest
as he continued his exhibition
.
Halfway into
the
figure-eight, he quickly stepped forward. As his sword came down,
 
the blade was
 
aimed
 
directly at William’s head.

William easily blocked
and then countered,
direct
ing his
S
word
at Wickham’s
side.

S
words crossed, and Wickham retreated a few steps, circling to his left
and continuing the figure-eight swings
.

W
illiam
circl
ed
to his right,
keeping his opponent at a distance,
S
word
at the ready.
“
Do not force me to kill you.
”

“
If you strike me down, you will kill
Wickham
. I have no particular attachment to this body
and
can easily
inhabit
another
—as you well know!
”
His laugh was reminiscent of the cackle that William had heard within his head whil
st
Cher-nog
had possessed him.
“
N
ot a bad idea since
n
one
of
her people
would know who to look for.
”

William’s S
word sliced
through the air
toward
his
adversary’s
side.
Wickham blocked, and William swung again.
Wickham
jumped backwards as William’s S
word just missed his mid-section.
William
slashed
again
;
Wickham blocked
and
push
ed
William’s
S
word up and away
.
William
stepped back, out of range
,
circl
ing
to his right.

Wickham
panted
a few breaths before stating angrily,
“
I
have no patience for you,
or
for
he
r
,
”
he spit out
,
gestur
ing
with his chin in Elizabeth’s direction,
“
S
he
must be made to understand the consequences
of
refusing to do as I ask
!
I
begin tonight
by
killing
you
.
”

H
e swung high
,
and William ducked
.
Wickham’s mid-section was exposed as he followed through the swing.
From his crouch, William lunged forward
,
and Wickham brought his sword
down
, deflecting William’s S
word
toward the floor
.
The momentum had turned William’s body, and he
allowed
it
to turn
him
completely around whil
st
Wickham recovered from his
movement
.
William
brough
t
his
blade
around from the opposite direction.

Wickham was too quick, block
ing and
push
ing
his sword with both hands, forcing William backwards,
followed by a
retreat.

As the two began to circle again, both
breathing
heavily, William heard Elizabeth make a
n alarmed
noise through her gag.
Without taking his eyes off his
adversary, he knew what she was trying to tell him.

I
n the passion of the moment, I
have become careless!
I must not kill him or
his prediction will come to pass—
if Wickham
dies
,
we
shall lose
Cher-nog
!
We
must
capture
it
!

William squared his shoulders and nodded
slightly
, hoping that Elizabeth would recognize that he understood her message.
As he passed the fire, he threw
in
another handful of herbs.

Wickham swung high and with his
other
hand, he
lunged
again.

William arched backwards
but was not fast enough
—Wickham
now
had
a dagger in his left hand
. He
made a
cut
across William’s
upper
arm
.
With a glance,
William
saw that his coat sleeve was already soaked with blood.
William grunted with surprise.
A
muffled exclamation
was heard
from Elizabeth’
s direction. William stepped backwards, out of range.

Wickham’s evil laugh echoed through the room.
“
You
will
die, Darcy!
”

William growled and swung; they crossed swords again and again.

Whil
st
his other hand was busy block
ing Wickham’s sword
,
William
used his left hand to land
his
fist
t
o
his adversary’s
face
, sending him stumbling backwards and over
an empty
chair,
eventually
landing on the floor
near Elizabeth
.
Wickham used his sleeve to wipe away some of the blood pouring from his nose as he tried desperately to free his legs from being tangled in the
extra
chair.

Elizabeth
saw a chance to help and
kicked Wickham’s sword
away from him
.
William approached
quickly
and pulled her chair
away so that she would be
out of
the
F
iend
’s reach
.

Wickham kicked the
empty
chair
in
William
’s direction
,
scrambled onto his feet
, and recovered his sword
.
William threw the chair away from him.

How do I end this without killing him?
William thought as
he
moved to his left, trying to draw Wickham
’s attention
away from Elizabeth.

Wickham screamed as he rushed forward, sword pointing directly at William’s chest.

William brought his S
word down, using his adversary’s momentum to push Wic
kham past him and into the wall.

Livid
now
, Wickham attacked again
in the same way
, with similar results.

William chuckled
, infuriating his opponent further
.
“
Shall you try it again?
”

Wickham did not
;
i
nstead
,
he brought his sword down from above repeatedly
.

Bo
th
of William’s
hands
were required
to block the assault, and Wickham took adv
antage
of William’s
vulnerable
position
.
He
swip
e
d
at him
with his dagger, forcing William to arc
h
into almost impossible positions
to avoid the blade
.

A l
oud crash
sounded out
,
and Wickham fell to the floor
, unconscious
, revealing Elizabeth standing behind him.

Pointing
his S
word at the body
sprawled out among broken china on the floor
,
William advanced and
nudged him hard with his foot to be certain that he was not feigning.

After William determined that his opponent was truly unconscious, Elizabeth flew into
his
arms
.
As he recovered his breath, she covered his face with kisses.
He turned his head and captured her mouth
briefly before exclaiming,
“
Elizabeth!
Are you well?
I have been beside myself with worry!
”

“
I am well.
”
She smiled against his lips.
“
I
had several opportunities to
escape, but then our plan to return the
Olc
to the Otherworld would never
have
come to
be
.
I have been working on untying those ropes all day.
William, s
ince I have been here, I learned that whil
st
Wickham sleeps,
Cher-nog
leaves his body
. I
determined that even with binding herbs and laudanum, it would be safest if
we
knock
ed
him unconscious.
”