Her mind wavered between her need for vengeance and the thought of her missing sisters. “You’re right. And when I tell them how our father was murdered, they will want vindication also.”
“Raven…” Landyn pleaded.
She didn’t want to hear him. “What I don’t understand is—what was in those crates? If they held treasure, as I suspected, where was the treasure?”
Landyn looked away to the horses.
“What are you hiding?” she mused. “You knew about that job. You knew what was in those crates.”
Landyn bowed his head, refusing to relinquish the secrets.
She stepped back. “Then I have no choice but to find the man with the eye patch. He’ll have answers.”
They rode to the top of the hill where the beige stones of the Chateau le Bezu’s walls stood tall against the blue morning sky like a painting. Its four turrets boxed the fortress. The sun shone down over the surrounding grassy lands of gently rolling hills.
Landyn was exhausted from riding the entire night. They had only stopped once. His gaze again settled on Raven. Her back was straight in determination. Wasn’t she tired? How did she do it? He knew that at times, rage and sorrow left one unable to sleep. He recognized the anger in her clenched fists as they gripped the reins. If it were raining, he was certain steam would have risen from her skin.
He was keeping secrets from her, secrets he believed would add fire to her fury. The crates. The name of the man with the eye patch. He knew it was only time before she discovered the answers. He should just tell her and let her go on her own destructive path.
Landyn shook his head and groaned silently to himself. John had asked him to look after her. If it weren’t for this final request from his friend, Landyn would have gladly allowed her ride off alone. He knew revenge was a lethal path. And that was why he had to stay with her. To help her. He owed John that. John had saved him.
Once they found her sisters and her need for revenge abated, he would continue his training to become a Templar.
His loyalty as an upcoming Templar Knight was to the order. He had planned to take the Holy Order vows within the month and become a full Templar Knight. But now, his focus was on Raven. He was hoping to find Raven’s sisters and set her on a better path.
He rode behind her, past the outer walls of the chateau and into the inner ward. He dismounted and when Will rushed out to greet him, he gave him orders to see to all the horses and to tell Father Michel they needed a burial.
The boy cast a glance at John’s body and nodded.
As Raven walked toward the double wooden doors of the chateau, Landyn asked him, “Have you seen the two women?”
“No, sir,” Will answered, scratching his head. “Their horses are still stabled, but they are missing.”
Landyn patted the boy’s brown head and trailed Raven. He knew her heart was broken, and he had hoped her sisters could talk sense into her. He would escort her to Sybil’s farm and return to the chateau.
“Sir!” the boy called.
Landyn paused and turned to him.
“The commander wishes to speak to you,” the boy added.
Landyn glanced back at the chateau. The commander? Yes, he should report to the commander. He and John had spoken to him before they departed about the importance of the mission. But no one expected an attack this early into the trip. They had planned to make it at least halfway to Peniscola before fighting. And he had never expected Boucher, the man with the eye patch, to be leading the attack.
Pierre Boucher.Landyn tried to relax, but his shoulder muscles tensed. He had hoped never to see him again. His jaw clenched. Everything returned as if it had happened yesterday. Her scream. The blood.
Landyn quickly pushed the memories aside and hurried to catch up with Raven. “Where are you going?”
“To get food and supplies,” she responded.
Landyn mentally groaned. She was determined. He stepped before her to halt her. “We should go to Sybil’s farm.”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “We?” She smiled mockingly. “I will go there after I find the man that killed my father.”
“How will you do that?”
“I’ll start by talking to some of the monks and knights. Find out who that man with the eye patch is.”
“You should wait until your father is buried,” Landyn advised.
