Chapter Twenty-Four

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

London

"H acía mucho que no veía mujeres tan hermosas, " Cruz said.

Creston, riding beside his friend beneath a ceiling of rain clouds, sighed with irritation. "I have no idea what you are saying," he said. "Speak a language I can understand."

Cruz grinned. "I said that I've not seen such beautiful women in a very long time."

Creston looked around. "What women?"

Cruz pointed. "Those women."

Creston arched his neck to see where his friend was pointing. The streets were busy around them, people bustling to and fro, people on horseback plowing through the citizens of London on their way to their destinations. It was busy, noisy, and smelly. But Creston knew exactly whom Cruz was pointing at, mostly because he'd been there before.

"That is the street of the whores," he said. "Do not ask to go there because I will not let you. Your mother would not like it."

Cruz looked at him. "How do you know that is the street of the whores?"

"How do you think?" Creston said. "Someone told me."

Cruz shook his head in disgust. " Mentiroso ."

"What does that mean?"

"You are a liar."

Creston made a face. "I am going to tell your mother that you said that."

"My mother would agree with me."

Unable to keep the grin from his face, Creston faced forward, pointing down the busy avenue. "See that?" he said, changing the subject. "That is our destination."

Cruz strained to see what he was pointing at. "The church?"

"St. Bartholomew's."

"Is that where Tay told us to go?"

"It is."

Cruz spurred his big brown warhorse forward, startling people who were in the street. He apologized as his horse swatted them out of the way with his big head or his tail, but they were finally at their destination after five days of constant travel, and Cruz was eager to get on with it. Apparently, so was the horse.

St. Bartholomew the Great was buried in a heavily populated portion of London, surrounded by homes and businesses. Yew trees were packed in around the stone building, once a wooden structure, but it had gone through several years of replacing the wood with stone. It was tall but rather plain looking, as it served the less fortunate of the city. The diocese tended to put its money into the churches the wealthier citizens attended.

The knights dismounted when they were nearly to the front door. They looked around for a livery, but none was visible, so they tethered the horses to a nearby fence. Taking swords and anything of value with them, they cautiously proceeded inside.

Odd how the church appeared much bigger on the interior than on the outside. Great arches rose to the ceiling, with heavy stone pillars holding up the roof. The floor, surprisingly, was also stone and not hard-packed earth, and their boots made hammer-like sounds as they walked. Since the church wasn't empty, people naturally moved away from them, presumably out of fear. Acolytes, on the side of the church where banks of prayer candles were lit, cowered in the shadows. The pair were nearly to the front of the church when a tall, elderly priest came out to meet them.

"My lords?" he said in a rather booming voice. "I am Father Joseph of the First Blood of Christ's Holy Name. How may I be of assistance?"

Creston tried not to laugh at the priest's ridiculously long title. "I am Sir Creston de Royans, and my companion is an Aragon prince by the name of Cruz Mediana de Aragón," he said. "We have come on a mission of mercy."

The priest looked at them curiously. "Mercy?" he said. "What is your mission, my son?"

Creston began to remove his gloves. "We are looking for a child," he said. "A young boy who has been living with a farmer named Fann. The child's name is Nikolai de Ghent, though I do not know if the farmer has given him a new name. The child is… special. We have come to take him to his sister, his only living relative."

The priest's dark eyes moved between the two knights. "Who are you?" he said. "Who has sent you?"

"The sister," Creston said. "She has been badly wounded and has asked to see her younger brother before she dies. She wants the boy with her."

"Can you prove this?"

"I can only give you my word. We've come to collect the boy."

The priest didn't openly react to anything. He was still looking between the two knights. Then he turned on his heel and headed back to an altar on a riser at the head of the church. The priest reached for something behind the altar and came up with a massive broadsword. Wielding it quite deftly, he charged the knights menacingly.

"Get out of here," he snarled. "You'll not get what you came for. Go! "

Creston and Cruz backed away, hands held up to show the priest they did not intend to fight him. People in the church began scattering, frightened that swords had been produced, and Father Joseph, with his very long name, had taken an offensive stance against two knights.

Things threatened to get ugly.

"Father, please," Creston said. "Forgive me for not explaining our purpose completely. We are from the Blackchurch Guild. Surely you have heard of it. Lady Athdara's father was a friend of the Earl of Exmoor, who owns the guild. She came to Lord Exmoor looking for help, and she told us that her brother was with a family named Fann, who attends this parish. If you have spoken to her, then surely she told you of her plans when she left her brother in your charge."

The priest still hadn't lowered his sword, but at least he wasn't charging at them any longer.

"Blackchurch?" he said as if surprised to hear the name. "You are Shadow Knights?"

"We are trainers," Creston said. "We train the Shadow Knights. That means we do not lie. Our word is our bond. If we tell you that we have come to take Nikolai to his sister, then that is exactly what we have come to do. The child will not meet with any harm, I swear it upon my oath."

The sword lowered slightly as the priest looked between them suspiciously. Then he lowered the weapon all the way. "She told me that she was going to Blackchurch," he said. "I told her that it was foolish, but she seemed to think it was the right path."

"I know."

"If you know so much about her, then tell me why she is at Blackchurch."

"To regain her father's legacy," Creston said. "I do not know her well, but the man who has taken her under his wing… I know him very well. Lady Athdara is being trained by the finest so that she may return and depose her uncle from the duchy. And that is all I know."

The priest's jaw twitched. "You said she was wounded," he said. "How?"

"A bounty hunter sent by her uncle," Creston said grimly. When the priest didn't respond, he held out his arms as if to display himself completely. "Look at me—do I look like a bounty hunter? Look at my weapons and protection. The hilt of my sword has the crest of the House of de Royans. My father is constable of North Yorkshire and the Northern Dales. If you do not believe me, send him a missive and ask him to name his sons. He would name me and my brothers. Truly, father, I am who I say I am. I am here to bring Nikolai to his sister. She suffered a mortal wound because of that child, and it is her dying wish to see him."

"I want to go."

The soft voice came from the shadows, and they turned to see a young boy, eight or ten years of age, emerging from behind a pillar. Creston recognized the lad as one of the acolytes he'd seen when they first entered the church.

Before Creston could say a word to the boy, the priest ran to put himself between the knights and the child. Once again, his sword was raised.

"You'll not take him until I am satisfied," he said. "I will fight you to the death if you try, and I was trained at Kenilworth in my youth. I'll not make it easy for you."

Once again, Creston found himself holding up his hands to show he was no threat. "I will not take him without your permission, I swear it," he said. "But can you not understand? The boy's sister is dying. She wants to see him."

"What happened to Athie?" the boy said, coming from around the priest. "What did they do to her?"

Creston fixed on the boy who looked a good deal like his beauteous sister. "I will assume you are Nikolai?" he said.

The boy nodded. "Aye."

Both Creston and Cruz bowed to him. "My lord," Creston said. "You are the rightful Duke of Toxandria, and we will protect you against all threats. We have been asked to do this."

"By whom?"

Creston glanced at Cruz, who had thus far remained silent. Neither man was sure how to explain who had asked them to protect him, mostly because they weren't sure how to explain Tay. He was the one who had asked them to retrieve the boy.

Cruz took a stab at it. " Mi se?or ," he said in his heavy accent. "My lord, your sister has worked hard to reclaim your legacy. She is a good woman, strong and brave. She has found a man who loves her and wants to marry her—with your permission, of course. But at the moment, she is gravely ill from a wound given to her by a bounty hunter. The man who loves her has asked us to bring you to her. This is what she would want. Do you wish to see your sister?"

That explained everything to Nikolai, and he nodded eagerly, running around the priest and toward the knights.

"Aye," he said. "Please, I want to see Athie. Will you take me?"

He had almost reached Creston and Cruz by that point, and the priest knew that he could not grab the boy before the knights got to him, so he dropped his sword just as Creston put his hand on Nikolai's shoulder.

"Of course we will take you," Creston said. "But we must have Father Joseph's permission. If he gives it, we will take you. We could also ask Father Joseph to come with us if he wishes. Mayhap he feels that he still needs to protect you, because he has done a fine job of it."

The boy turned to the priest. "May I go, father?" he begged. "I want to see Athie. Please… let me go."

The priest was looking at him with resignation. He was beaten and he knew it. Not that he didn't believe these men were who they said they were, but he'd spent the past two years watching every move Nikolai made. He was rather fond of the lad and didn't want to see him come to harm.

"Aye, Niko," he finally said. "You may go. But I am going, too."

Nikolai lit up with a smile, turning to the knights. "I will get my cloak," he said. "I will hurry!"

He dashed off through a small door behind the altar. The three men watched him go before the priest returned his attention to Creston and Cruz.

"He is a good lad," he said. "If his sister dies, what will happen to him?"

Creston shrugged. "I am not certain," he said. "But he should be with her at this time. She has sacrificed herself for him, so she deserves to see him one last time. We will be traveling swiftly, father. Are you sure you want to come?"

"He is not going without me."

Creston chuckled, looking at Cruz, who grinned and shook his head. Nothing was more determined than a diligent, and protective, priest.

"I thought the boy was living with a farmer's family," Creston said. "Why is he here?"

"Because the farmer's family could not keep him after the first year," Father Joseph said. "They had eleven children, many mouths to feed, and in the end, it was just too much. Niko has been here, with us, since that time. He is an acolyte, and he also helps in the kitchens. He is a good and responsible lad. He will make a fine duke someday."

Creston smiled faintly. "It seems that he has had very good teachers," he said. "I am sure Lady Athdara would be very grateful to you."

The priest grunted. "I am sorry to hear the bounty hunters caught up to her," he said. "If they came sniffing around here, I never knew about it. Niko has been well hidden. That is why I was quick to chase you away. I swore to protect him, and I shall."

"You have done a good job."

Father Joseph shrugged and started to turn away. "If I am going to ride like a knight again, I suppose I should gather a few things," he said. "I will only be a few moments, but if you leave without me, to hell with the priesthood. I will track you down and slit your throats. Is this in any way unclear?"

They believed him. Without question, they did.

Within the hour, the four of them were heading out of London.