The Forgotten (17 page)

Her mind was whirling. She couldn’t even get up to help Mother Spratt. Fortunately, Lucan was doing all he could to comfort her. She was frozen. Frozen with shock.

Nell and Brett followed Mother Spratt into the Tavern. Nell carried her daughter in her arms wrapped in a scarlet cloak that looked awfully like a Hunter’s cloak.

Brett was carrying a sack that was probably filled with the precious few belongings they could gather before they had to vacate their cottage. They, too, looked like they’d been to the Dark Underworld and back.

“It’s gone,” Nell whispered, her voice filled with desperation. “They finally took it from me. The farm that was my children’s legacy is gone. What are we going to do, Neri?”

“I have no bloody clue,” she muttered helplessly.

It was true. For once in her life, Neri didn’t know which way to turn, and she certainly didn’t know how to comfort those who had always relied on her when all she wanted to do was have a hissy fit of monumental proportions!

Anger continued to simmer slowly within her. She was going to reach her boiling point soon.

“Fuck that. I do know what to do. We’re going to give them a taste of their own bloody medicine.” She surprised herself with her vulgar language. She always kept herself away from that particularly nasty word but now given her circumstances it seemed the only viable choice.

“She’s got her back up, now everyone. She’s going to hatch a plan that will pitch this entire county into chaos.” Ryn sounded almost proud of her.

“Not the county—only Ulwyn’s little patch of it. I’m going to throw his little dictatorship into crazed chaos. I’m going to make what he’s done look like child’s play.” She looked over at Lucan. “Are you with me no matter what I propose?”

“To the ends of this realm and beyond, Neri. You have my loyalty, my hand, and my heart.”

Ryn snorted loudly. “Quite the little charmer aren’t you? I always hated the idea of the Knights that belonged to your Order. You are chivalrous and honourable to the bloody end, and I kind of hate you guys for that. Interestingly enough, the Order of St. Alby is one of the few that still boasts all male members and yet their Patron Saint was a woman. Ironic, no?”

“Please be quiet, Ryn.” She placed her fingers to her temple.

A headache the likes of which she hadn’t suffered in years was about to wash over her. On one hand, she felt supremely guilty for feeling anything for her dead husband, especially when Lucan was so devoted to her, and on the other hand, she felt as if she’d gone through enough hell in her life that she didn’t have to feel guilty about any of her guilty pleasures and as much as she hated to admit it—Ryn was one of her guilty pleasures.

“Anything you desire, my love.”

She groaned, and let out a frustrated sigh. “We’re going to have to make do with what we have. Mother Spratt, you’re going to have to go all Templar Mage on their asses.”

“I am not a Templar Mage,” Mother Spratt said, aghast at Neri’s proposition.

“You and I both know that you flunked out of the training that a Templar Mage undergoes on purpose because you couldn’t take the idea of having someone else’s life in your hands. That didn’t take away from the fact that you were damn good at it—you have an innate talent.

Let us all not forget that sprites may look all sweet and demure but they can be bloody ferocious if any of their kind are threatened and I believe you have inherited that underlying ferocity from your dear Grandmother. In their case, size doesn’t matter. You know how to fight—you just flee from that moment whenever you are faced with a confrontation.

Whether you like it or not, Mother Spratt, you will have to fight this time. There is no one left to protect you. We only have each other—if we don’t make a stand right now, this county will never be free, and we can’t rely on our King to send us aid.

The Domnonee threat is very real—the King can hardly afford to send many warriors our way, he has to worry about protecting his borders, and rightfully so. His people in the border towns and villages come first. We won’t matter when the Domnonee threat escalates. So, in order to make sure we won’t have to live in terror much longer, we have to put Ulwyn down once and for all. He’s been lording over us for far too long. He’s a bloody little prick, and if I have my way, I am going to tear his world apart.”

*****

Admiration for Neri stirred within Lucan. He was definitely in love with her—she might think he was merely smitten but he was deeply in love. There was no turning back now, and he prayed that’s not what she wanted from him.

Wolves mated for life and when they picked their mate, that commitment was as good as gold. He would never renege on it, she might—given her feline nature. Felines were known for being fickle. That thought scared the living shit out of him. He couldn’t do it—he couldn’t lose her. He’d lost so damn much already.

He shot daggers from his eyes at Ryn. The bloody sod just couldn’t stay dead. He’d had enough with spirits returning from the Heavenly Otherworld. First the woman that had condemned him to decades of soul searing agony had come back and he’d dealt with that knowledge and made his peace with it. To be confronted with the very man who could take away the woman he loved, was a foe he couldn’t ever hope to win against.

Neri would make her own choices. She was just that kind of woman, and it was the reason why he loved and admired her so damn much.

“I’ll do it,” Mother Spratt’s soft voice pulled him out of his pitiable state.

“Do what?” Lucan asked.

“I’ll fight. I’ll do all that I can to bring a little bit of good old fashioned justice to Ulwyn. I will kill, if I must, and make my peace with it later.”

He didn’t need to listen to any of their plans. He was on the warpath now. There was a slim chance he’d come out of what he planned to do alive—but then again, he would take all of Ulwyn’s men out with him.

He’d been trained as a Knight Mage to uphold justice and order throughout the Kingdom. He’d also been trained as a killer—and right now, Glynneath Village needed the killer inside of him. This was his land. This was where he’d been born, where he’d grown up, first fallen in love, and found his way in life. He wasn’t going to let it become a dark and foul place where people had to continually live in fear.

He was going to kill them all.

He started reciting his incantation softly, so no one would notice until it was too late. Neri was his main concern. He’d be damned if he let her go in with her passions fired up, it would only get her killed.

She was his mate. And wolves protected their mates at all costs.

“Neri, stop him,” Ryn exclaimed, pointing at Lucan. “He’s casting a spell. He’s going to work his magic on you all so you can’t leave this Tavern!”

Ryn was too late. The spell had been cast. It was done. They were all frozen in time. The spell would last for exactly two hours, and two hours was all that he needed to get the job done.

“I love you, Neri,” he proclaimed. Her eyes were wild with fear and concern and yet, she couldn’t do anything. Her magic was no match for his. “You are safe now,” he whispered, as he left the Tavern that he’d been born in. He was born in this village, and he would die in this village.

He walked to the Temple first and heard Ulwyn’s men laughing crazily as they danced around the burning building.

“Hey, you little shits, look over here!” he said, hoping to gain their attention and make the hideous laughter stop.

The three of them trained their eyes on him. Greedy need to continue their violent rampage glistened in their eyes.

They walked toward them, banded together like the three little bullies that they were. He raised his hand and conjured three scarlet hued energy balls. Levitating them, he looked at them all one last time before he sent the energy balls hurtling toward them. The energy balls hit them and started to break them apart from the inside out.

Their screams were equally heart wrenching. Had he given a flying fuck, the chilling sound would have affected him. As it was, he just wanted peace and order to be restored to his childhood home and the only way to do that was to terminate the vermin that had taken over the village and the county.

He was done pretending to be nice. He wasn’t nice. He’d never been nice. He was a bloody bastard both from circumstance of birth and by attitude.

The sky was overcast and there was a foreboding chill in the air. Attacking during the day was a feather in his cap. Wolf shifters were strongest when the moon was high in the sky, and while he wouldn’t be as strong in his wolf form, he would be wicked in his human Knight Mage form.

“You are going to get yourself killed, man,” Ryn’s voice grated on his nerves.

He turned and growled at the man. Part of his wolf was slipping out, he couldn’t contain it as his passions were heightened and rage flowed through his blood in unrelenting waves.

He’d already killed three men, and he was just getting started.

“Steady on there, wolf man. I’m just trying to tell you that there is no point in rushing to your death. If you die, you will be in my predicament. You will be forever separated from Neri. Your mate bond will be broken.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you,” he said. “Besides, how the hell did you break free of my incantation?”

“I’m bloody well dead—the rules of this world don’t apply to me. See this sort of solid form? It’s temporary. I will be going to the great Hereafter when the sun sets, and nothing I can do will stop that from happening.”

“You are lying. Stop spouting bullshit out of your mouth and finally talk some truth. If you think you can blatantly lie to a Knight Mage than you know absolutely nothing about us, besides, my wolf can smell your deceit.”

“You are quite smarter than I originally gave you credit for,” Ryn said, grudging admiration flowing through his voice. “I thought you were all looks and no substance. Apparently, I was gravely mistaken. I miscalculated, and for that I am eternally sorry.”

“Just spit it out already. What’s the catch behind you being here? There has to be some reason, and I want you to tell me what it is now.”

“I am a Soul Guide. I’ve been doing my penance by guiding trapped souls to the Heavenly Otherworld, and I have a one hundred percent success rate. I was sent here for your father. If I do this last job with no hiccups than I just might be given the chance at another lifetime. They rather like me over there.”

“I’m happy for you,” Lucan said, a snarky tone lacing his voice.

That was it. He would lose Neri if Ryn succeeded. He could feel it in his bones. Even though Neri attempted to look unaffected by Ryn’s return he could see that it had shocked her and rocked her to very core.

She was tempted to throw him over in favour of Ryn. Ryn had history with her. Lucan, on the other hand, had known her for a handful of time in comparison.

How could he possibly compete against that?

He felt like tearing men from limb to limb. He would relish the bloody battle that was ahead of him, he would savour every single moment of it. It would be the only way of satiating the frustration that bounced within him.

He trudged toward Wythley Castle. He would be met by his father’s spirit. Was it true that the castle would work for him if he claimed it as his own?

If so, the magical enchantments placed on it would literally puke out Ulwyn’s men and make his task all the more easier.

He would claim his birthright. Right now, it seemed to be the only sensible thing to do. He doubted that Ava and Grifon would arrive in time with reinforcements. So, there was basically no coming back from what he was about to undertake.

“I never took you for a man that had a death wish, Lucan.”

“You know absolutely nothing about me,” he growled again.

The urge to shift was becoming almost too much to bear.

“I know more than you think I know,” Ryn drawled. “I know that you play by the rules all the time and that sometimes that horribly honorable streak within you costs you more than you ever possibly live with. I know that your aptitude for magic is strong—but I also know that my Neri’s ability is fiercer than what you give her credit for.

Before she married me she studied every magical text she could get her hands on. She even sought out tomes from Shardizar and Tamar. That’s how I first met her, she had her nose stuck firmly in a book. She might be delayed by your latest spell but trust me it won’t stop her. She will find a way around it, and she’ll charge to your rescue. That’s why I am here, I’m going to make sure you don’t get her killed with your stupidity.”

“You need to shut the hell up,” Lucan snarled. He had the strong urge to pummel Ryn’s face in.

Unfortunately, Ryn wasn’t the enemy. His enemy was far worse than the pampered pretty boy that stood in front of him.

“You think you are going on a suicide mission. You know you’ll take out Ulwyn’s men when you go down. She will anticipate that fact and do whatever she has to in order to keep you from going to your death. She’ll risk it all and she just might damn herself in the process.”

“I might be going to my death—then again, I’ve survived much worse. You talk as if I’m a brash young warrior. I’ve been through more shit than my youthful appearance might convey to people.”

“You have been used to being invincible for far too long, Sir Lucan. Lady Red put that lovely little curse on you and basically made it impossible for you to die no matter how broken or battered your body became, it instantly knitted itself back together and you lived to fight another day. That will not happen in this case. If someone gives you a killing blow, you will stay dead.”

“I realize that, Ryn.”

Ryn snorted. He continued to walk alongside him as they approached the sentries that guarded the castle.

Lucan reached out with his mage senses. There weren’t as many men in residence at the castle as he’d expected. Some of them must have been unwilling to comply with Ulwyn’s latest set of orders. Many didn’t like murder, they would kill in battle or in self-defence but they wouldn’t kill in cold blood.