Treasure So Rare (Women of Strength Time Travel Trilogy) (28 page)

"It speaks to me. I must have it for my own. I am meant
to have it," he said feverishly, advancing once more to where the emerald
lay embedded in the sand, only to be thrown backwards again by an unseen force.

He turned to Lady Iliana. "What have you done?" he
demanded.

"The stone knows where it belongs," the old witch
said, and he spun to face her.

"The emerald goes where the power feeds it the
most," he said. "I can give it unlimited power to feed upon. It will
not be content in this dreary place." He carefully brushed the sand from
the edges of the stone. Its glorious sparkle drew him to lean closer. Suddenly,
he could see himself swimming in the stone, as if swimming in the sea when he
had once fled from LaTour's ship. The demons of the depths had saved him then.
Aye, he had sold his soul not once but twice, and in return the riches of the
universes were opening to him more every moment.

He looked up from the stone with difficulty, mesmerized by
its overwhelming beauty.

"I shall order an attack," he warned, "if you
do not undo the spell you have cast upon this emerald."

"Your fighter dragons are all dead," Erik said.
"You have no more power."

Devanesque looked at him and laughed. "You have no idea
of the power I wield." He put his hands out toward the stone but was
careful not to touch it. "This stone's time has come and I am the one to
wield its power. You cannot corrupt it. I will not have it."

"Sorcerer, you are not the only one who knows how to
harness the power," said the old witch Sorenta. Devanesque turned to her.
"I will tell you the stone's secrets," she whispered, "and
together we will decipher its ancient words -- if you promise upon your life to
share the power."

"And how do I know you won't want it all for
yourself?" he demanded.

"Are you afraid of an old woman?" she asked slyly.
"You who claim all power?"

"Tell me and be done with it."

"First I will have your promise."

"I will share power with you," he said grudgingly.
"Now reverse the spell."

Sorenta left the arched doorway, then pushing her long,
gnarled fingers into a small leather pouch she sprinkled black dust over the
stone. She spoke in a low voice and he watched her suspiciously. "Waters
of the divine, let this one merge with the emerald in all its power."

"Wait," Mandrak said. "What words do you
speak? I am not familiar --"

"A spell undone," Sorenta said. "Surely you
know the most simple words of a spell undone? It is found in every sorcerer
apprentice's book."

"Aye, that I know, but it did not sound quite
right." He narrowed his eyes. "If you seek to trick me, I will send
you to a place that boils your skin and you will never escape."

"Young sorcerers," Sorenta said contemptuously.
"Do you wish my help or do you not?"

"I would first place a protection around myself,"
he muttered, looking up into the skies, muttering an incantation. Quickly, he
looked at Sorenta, "Continue, witch."

A puff of acrid smoke enveloped them, turning the air white
and heavy. "It is done," she said.

Mandrak lunged toward the emerald, shoving the old woman out
of his way and to the ground. She looked up at him. "Remember your promise."

"Everything will be mine." With one hand on the
emerald, he pointed at her and from his hand a sliver of light went to her
heart and she fell back.

Iliana jumped forward with a cry but Erik pulled her back.

Sorenta smiled, though weakly. "Oh, foolish man. Never
content with what you could have had. You have undone yourself."

Devanesque laughed. "There is no promise to be kept if
you are dead. And so shall you die."

He pointed at her again but the old woman vanished before
his eyes. "I'll follow you," he yelled. "There is nowhere in
this world or the next you will hide." Placing his palms on the glowing
green surface, he admired the fire sparking and winking inside, the absolute
clarity of the jewel. It even seemed to lift from the sand, moving toward him.
With his hands flat on the stone, he then gripped the edges and pulled it up
out of the ground. Already he could feel the depth of its power moving up his
arms, encasing him in a powerful sphere of energy.

"The gem is mine," he roared.

He frowned. His hands were fast to the stone, then his hands
and arms were jerked into the stone. He tried to resist, but the stone sucked
him inside, and with a scream he was pulled fully into its emerald
luminescence, the green liquid swallowing him up and then closing in behind
him.

¤¤

A bright green flash exploded with brilliant light as the
stone dropped to the ground, rocked, then settled and embedded itself once more
into the earth.

Erik and Iliana looked down at the brilliant stone where
Devanesque now swam under the emerald's surface. The air around them pulsed
with a pale green light.

"He is now forever a part of its power," Erik
said. "And he was correct -- his face is restored."

"He was quite handsome," Iliana added, tilting her
head in wonder as he whirled within the stone.

They turned from the emerald.

"Sorenta?" he asked.

Iliana smiled. "She will show herself again." She
leaned close to him, stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. His arm came around
her and he held her close to him, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. He
closed his eyes. "Little William," he said, "little William is
mine."

Iliana nodded hesitantly, but tears of joy filled her eyes.
"I confess I still do not understand."

Erik pointed as people walked into the courtyard from the
keep. Rowenna carried William as she looked around, her face mirroring the
surprise of the others as they could all see the verdant green of the fields
beyond the keep's gate.

Iliana took William into her arms, holding him close, then
she looked up at Erik and he lifted William into his arms, swinging him gently
in the air to the child's delight.

She had always trusted Sorenta, but still she wondered how
William could have been fathered by Erik, three years back in time. Then she
recalled the deep sleep under which the abbess had placed her so that she might
heal.

The sound of horse's hooves were heard on the approach to
the castle. Iliana looked toward the gate as riders appeared. Everyone in the
courtyard stared in awe as a small entourage passed the gatehouse and entered
the courtyard.

At the front of the small group rode a regal blonde woman on
the mare Iliana had borrowed from the monastery. Beside her rode the monastery
stable boy, but now he was finely dressed. As he drew closer, she noted his
eyes were sharp and filled with intelligence, as if he'd awoken from a deep
sleep. The man rode tall in the saddle of the white stallion Erik had borrowed
to ride into the deep red hills.

Iliana blinked, remembrance sliding in easily, filling gaps
where her memory had failed her.

"Erik." She gripped his arm. "It is her
ladyship, Graziela, the true lady of Dutton Keep, and her brother Desryn, back
from the dead."

She stared hard at the small party.

The riders stopped beside Erik and Iliana.

Iliana curtsied. "My Lady Graziela."

Graziela of Dutton Keep waited as one of her men dismounted
and brought her a block to dismount. Graciously, she accepted Erik's hand in
stepping down.

Desryn also dismounted and brother and sister stood before
them.

Desryn bowed his head to her. "Lady Graziela and I are
grateful for the sacrifices you have made in bringing the emerald back to our
people."

Lady Graziela smiled at her. "You have brought my
beloved brother out of his walking death, and myself from the pall which
descended upon me these last four years."

After Lady Graziela moved past them, Erik looked at Desryn.

"What do you know of Camdork?" Erik asked.
"He has my man Jock."

"He has thus far evaded my men. When found, he will be
taken to Court under orders of the queen. His plan was to bring Henry to the
throne. For such treason, he will get his just due and along the way he shall pay
dearly for his past offenses. Early tomorrow I ride out to join my men in the
manhunt. Will you come?"

"I plan to ride back to my ship. If Jock is not there,
I will come back and join in the hunt."

"As you wish."

Erik and Iliana crossed the courtyard toward the keep where
the servants eagerly awaited the arrival of their ladyship Graziela.

"Rowenna," Iliana called, "we must prepare
rooms and a celebration for her ladyship and my lord Desryn. At last they have
returned."

¤¤

The feasting began that evening. The cook and the serving
girls had created a feast worthy of a visit from the queen. The atmosphere
about the keep was festive and light, and even the air felt lighter to breathe.
Iliana marveled at the change with the defeat of Mandrak -- Devanesque, she
reminded herself.

She had been gratified to see her ladyship Graziela extended
the celebrations to the villagers and their families. The celebrations of food,
games and sport spilled out into the courtyard. She had turned her chamber over
to her ladyship, as was right, and now she pulled the soft lambskin cover over
William as he slumbered in his little bed. They had moved temporarily into
Erik's rooms, which in turn would be turned over to the rightful heir, Desryn,
on the morrow.

Some of Camdork's men at arms had elected to stay at the
keep and pledged to Desryn as their lord, while a handful left for other
mercenary jobs in lands beyond the keep. Thinking of the men, women and
children who had suffered Camdork's brutality, she felt no sorrow for the fate
he had brought upon himself, when he was found.

Iliana turned as she felt Erik's hands on her shoulders.

"Iliana --" he hesitated. "Is that even your
name? How shall I call you? Have you remembered anything?"

"Iliana will do. It has always felt right." She sat
on the bed furs, and Erik came to lie beside her. Dear Erik. He had a cheerful
fire burning in the hearth, and even though the air held a faint chill, he had
shed his linen tunic and now reclined beside her naked from the waist up. His
muscled chest with the dark blond arrow of hair disappearing into his braies chausses
was a delight to her, but quite the distraction.

"Dear Erik." She smiled tenderly. "How shall
I be able to talk sensibly when you lie thus next to me?"

He ran a gentle hand over her hair and then caressed the
back of her neck. "Then lie down and turn away my love."

Iliana did so, and he pulled her back to the warmth of his
chest.

"I have remembered my first meeting with the
Abbess," Iliana said softly. "As she said, I willingly took up this
mission. However, I have no recollection of my life before." She shrugged,
then turned to face him, planting kisses along his chest and collarbone. Large,
warm hands lifted her shift and moved up her leg, her hip.

"And do you recall how you arrived in this time?"
he asked.

Iliana closed her eyes as fire seemed to trail across her
stomach, his fingers now splayed across her hip.

"I recall a terrible pain in my head, and the light
hurt my eyes it was as bright as the sun. There was no recall of anything other
than that moment. Once I became accustomed to the light, my body was free of
pain. I looked at myself, the garments I wore, and they looked foreign to me,
and yet dearly familiar. The abbess told me the story of Dutton Keep, the spell
it was under. The land lay fallow, the birds had flown away to the mountains. The
people of the village seemed under a lethargic spell. Infants perished, and
many of the live births did not live past the age of three. I never doubted
what she told me was the truth."

Iliana placed her palm upon his chest, closed her eyes to
enjoy the sense of his warm skin.

"The abbess told me I could change all of it, but not
without risk to myself, if I could find and secure the fabled green
emerald."

"And she charged you with finding that gem?"

Iliana nodded, leaning forward to kiss his chest, letting
her lips follow the springy blond hair down to his flat stomach.

"The abbess said you went to the red soil hills?"

"One morning I came upon two village girls who had been
killed in the woods -- there was so much blood! It was as if something had
furiously ripped them apart. I was so frightened -- I ran away to the red soil
hills. My last recall is the fighter dragons tearing at my skin." She
shuddered, and his arms enfolded her. "After seeing poor Ulrich, I hope
never to regain that memory," she said. Her eyes met his. "Erik,
there are memories I may never regain. Our time together, my life before --
what if you are able to return to your time and William and I --"

"No," he said fiercely. "There will be a way
back for all three of us."

"What if your ship is gone?" She hardly dared to
say the words, for what if they were true?

"Aye," he said grimly.

"Your men may have sailed."

"True. But --" he shrugged, "we shall find
out in time." He laughed. "Think on this, Iliana, we have all the
time in the world, do we not?" He cupped her face and leaned down to kiss
her. "And you and William will come with me. I dare not let us be
separated. There must be a way back."

Iliana frowned. "I came through the sky, I am certain
of it. You came by the sea. How shall we return?"

"Iliana, no matter what time we travel to, whether it
is here or to my own time, we will be together, otherwise it matters not."
He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. "I ride out first light
tomorrow."

"To find your ship?"

"Aye, to find t
he
Merry Maiden
."

"William and I ride with you."

He looked at her then he grinned. "Aye. You ride with
me." A wicked grin split his lips, lighting his eyes. "But now, there
is tonight."