He approached the door cautiously. It opened into a narrow corridor, the confines of which were even darker than the dungeon. But here the smell of torch was thicker. This was the direction his rat had fled.
Ducking his head beneath the lintel, he stepped into the corridor. Blinded by darkness, he was forced to travel slowly, but he made his way with as much haste as he could manage. The corridor turned several corners, the last of which gave him sight—another door, this one swinging open with the breeze, the light of a full moon pouring in through the portal. Aiden ran to the exit and out onto a ledge on the cliffs.
The clash of metal on metal broke through the howl of the coastal wind—the familiar sound of swords engaging in combat. He dashed toward the noise, not entirely certain what would meet his eyes.
What he found was a solitary man surrounded by three soldiers, doing battle like he’d been born into it. And as the moon shone upon that grim warrior’s face, Aiden was swamped with a gut-deep feeling that was equal parts pride, shock, and euphoria. The man wielding his sword on the plateau above him was none other than his long-missing and presumed-dead cousin, Wulf.
Aiden vaulted up the two-foot step to the plateau and attacked the soldiers from behind.
* * *
Isabail stared at Daniel in the bright moonlight, frozen in place.
Daniel paled. “Isabail? How is it possible? I ran you through.”
Her eyes went to Jamie, who looked frightened, but otherwise unharmed. Relieved, she returned her attention to Daniel. A cold trickle of sweat ran down her back. Standing this close to him, seeing the sword in his hand, she almost lost her nerve. Every detail of the sword sliding into her—all the pain and all the blood—was vivid in her mind. The desire to turn and run was so intense, her knees trembled.
But she stood her ground. For Jamie.
And as the seconds passed, the pallor of Daniel’s face and the tremble in his hand sank in.By God. He wondered if she were truly here.... He wondered if he was seeing aghost. Given how he’d left her, lying in a widening pool of blood, she could completely understand his state of mind.
Drawing on an inner strength she had not known she possessed until recently, Isabail took a firm step forward. “You deserve to be punished for what you did to me.”
Daniel retreated, waving his sword in front of him. “Stay away.”
“You deserve to be punished for what you did to John,” she said, taking another step forward.
“Stay away, I say.”
“You deserve to be punished for all your sins, Daniel de Lourdes.”
He closed his eyes. “You aren’t really here. You are dead. You can’t punish anyone.”
Isabail signaled to Jamie.Run, she mouthed.
The lad did not need further prompting. He yanked his arm free of Daniel’s grasp and took off through the trees.
Daniel’s eyes snapped open. He stared at Isabail, examining her face in thorough detail. “Why would a specter free a living boy?” he said, firming his grip on the sword and circling around her. “There is no reason, unless you are not a ghost at all.”
He frowned. “But I most certainly pierced you with my blade. How could you be standing?”
Isabail could think of nothing to add that might not lead him to conclude that she was real flesh and blood. The last thing she wanted was to have him run her through a second time. Ana was half a day away. Surviving another stabbing was unlikely. So, she simply repeated her original statement.
“You deserve to be punished for what you did to me.”
He stared at her hard. Then he glanced up at the full moon. “Nay, you’re just the moon addling my wits,” he said, lowering his sword. “Nothing but a brief fit of lunacy.” A sad smile touched his lips. “Guilt, perhaps, over what befell my beloved John.”
His shoulders straightened and the wild look left his eyes. “But I have a new lover now and a higher purpose that must be met. Such pangs of guilt are not to be tolerated.Adieu, sweet specter.”
He bowed to Isabail, then spun on his heel.
With no one else about, Isabail knew only one way to prevent his escape.
“Nay!” she cried. “I am no specter, Daniel. ‘Tis I, Isabail. The wound you gave me in the tunnel was nothing more than a scratch. I yet live to tell the world of your crimes.”
He halted.
“Your new lover will swiftly abandon you when you are tossed in the dungeon for the murder of my brother and an assault on my person. My cousin Archibald will stand beside me at your trial, and together we will see your soul rot in hell.”
