AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She made her way along the familiar path, having trailed it many times in her mind while mapping it. She stopped suddenly, thinking she heard a noise, and she shivered at the thought that rats could be her only companions in this dismal, dark place.
The thought set her into action, moving more hastily to the cell in question so that she could ascertain whether her idea held any merit or she was crazy, as Brigid had suggested. Either way, she would have her answer.
She entered the cell and held the torch high, the light chasing the darkness to impatiently hover in wait in the corners. She spotted the metal rings and hurried over to the wall. With no place to put the torch inside the cell, Reena had to hold on to it, making her examination of the rings more difficult. She needed two hands.
She tugged at the one ring but nothing happened; she knew it would take two hands to accomplish anything. The lack of mortar around the stones led her to believe she was correct in her thought about the rings, but she needed to prove it to herself.
Another noise had her turning her head, but all she saw was darkness, and she wished Magnus were here with her, not only to help but also to comfort. She felt safe with him near, but then she was in his keep and safe from harm, so there was nothing to fear.
She returned her attention to the metal rings in order to determine her best course of action. She realized she would get nowhere on her own: she needed Magnus’s help, she needed his strength. It was best she return to the hall and wait for him.
That was when she heard footsteps and sighed with relief—Magnus was here and would help her.
“Look what I have found,” she said, her smile wide as she turned, holding the torch high. Her smile vanished in an instant when her eyes set upon Peter Kilkern.
“You are intelligent for a woman.”
She ignored his insult and focused on her situation. Kilkern had her trapped; there was no chance of escape. He blocked the entrance to the cell, and he most certainly had not come here alone. Her heart began to beat faster, and she forced her fear to remain hidden. She would not let Kilkern think her frightened. Her only chance was to survive until Magnus arrived to rescue her. He would rescue her, she had no doubt.
“Your father built the escape route from this cell, did he not?”
Kilkern was a fair-sized man and impeccable in his dress, but now he stood before her dirt-smeared and disheveled from crawling through the secret escape passage in order to enter the keep.
“How did you learn of it?” Kilkern asked, sounding impressed. “No one but my father or I knew of its existence. He had it built in case he required a hasty escape or if he should ever have found himself imprisoned in his own cell. He never thought that one day it would be used to gain entrance to the keep.”
She shrugged as if it had taken nothing on her part to discover the secret passageway. She attempted to hold her tongue and not remind him that his father had met his end in the torture chamber only a few feet away from the passage he had built to help him escape.
“The metal rings are fashioned in a way to grasp hold and pull, opening the escape route, and I would imagine your father had metal rings placed on the opposite side to help in replacing the outside wall so no one would be the wiser.”
Kilkern clapped his dirty hands slowly. “I applaud your brilliance. I would never have thought that a woman could have the depth of intelligence that you do.”
She wanted to keep him talking; she needed time, time for Magnus to rescue her.
“How often have you been in the keep without anyone’s knowledge?”
“I saw no reason to come here until I was ready, and besides, Magnus’s men keep watchful eyes on the land. If it were not for the trench, purposely overgrown with shrub, my father had built to aid his escape, I would never have been able to gain entrance here without notice. I spent the winter months making plans and, more importantly, gaining the king’s support. Now when Magnus cannot produce the map of Dunhurnal land and I can, the matter will be completely and permanently resolved. Then I shall enjoy myself with that beautiful peasant woman until I tire of her and—” His eyes narrowed and his expression turned to one of complete rage. “I shall make every tenant pay dearly for having deserted my land. That is, of course, after I kill Magnus and you?” He placed a finger to his cheek as if in thought. “After you create a map designating my land as encompassing Dunhurnal land, I shall torture you for a while, then dispose of you. Your punishment for seeking the Legend’s help.”
Reena refused to show him any fear, though her legs trembled violently. Nor would she plead for mercy. He was without care or sanity, a madman, and there was no reasoning with a madman. She stood tall and straight and with confidence the Legend would come for her: he would rescue her. She held firm to her recurring thought, giving her the courage to face her plight.
“What of your plan when you entered the keep?” she asked, knowing she gained time by keeping him in a discussion. “What did you hope to gain?”
“Beware the belly of the beast,” he said with a laughing grin.
She realized then his intentions. “You planned on kidnapping Brigid and me as soon as Magnus left to meet with you. You had no intentions of meeting with him. You not being there to welcome him would be an insult and a revelation that something was amiss and he would return—”
He interrupted to correct her. “You have it partially correct, Magnus would return to find you on his own torture rack and he would gladly surrender the map and marriage agreement to save you, thus surrendering himself. The original map would be immediately disposed of, and you would draw me one that would satisfy the king, thus making Dunhurnal land rightfully mine.”
“You altered your plan when you discovered we loved each other.”
“It was obvious to many, but it was confirmed by the men who tracked you while you mapped, they reporting back to me that you and Magnus spent a night alone in a cave. The Legend was now vulnerable and I revised my plan, as I must do again due to your curiosity. I had not expected you to deliver yourself so easily into my hands. You have made my plan much simpler and alleviated my need to spend a night in this dreadful place.”
He stepped aside, a nasty grin distorting his features and making him appear a frightening demon.
Reena kept firm control of her fear, reminding herself over and over that Magnus would come for her. Even when two of Kilkern’s men entered the cell, grabbed her, and dragged her to the torture chamber she didn’t doubt he would rescue her. She knew he would and she held firm to her belief in the man she loved.
“Chain her to the rack,” Kilkern ordered and stood to the side while the men did as instructed.
She did not fight: her efforts would have proven useless, and she would have wasted valuable energy and courage she would need to survive.
