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they circled the uards or watch wall They crossed the barren courtyard, Roland&039;s pal for the butt of a crossbow A reen brackish water that appeared thick with filth and stunk to the heavens, surrounded the castle The drawbridge was raised
In days of old, they&039;d have fashioned a bridge of a freshly cut tree, a battering ram of another Today, matters were ed around the square stone shape of the keep, in search of a way to enter quietly Both were careful to guard their thoughts, even from each other A steel wall had been lowered around their minds Lucien must not know of their approach
It was difficult, for Roland knew that so stone walls, Rhiannon was imprisoned Weakened, perhaps in pain Were she well, she&039;d have torn the place apart by now, and Lucien along with it Her patience would have found its end
They finally ca in the stone, a hich had never seen glass Roland cla around him while Eric followed The place was in ruin, no question
The very walls were cruouges It was black as pitch within the cold walls of this castle, but with his piercing night vision
hedecrepit corridors, hisstep he took Surely these weak stone walls could not hold her in her nor Lucien to his knees with the sheer force of her anger
He closed his eyes for a ht to tame her spirit was a joke It was un tamable as she was It hat h endless corridors and passages, they ca as they spiraled doard into what seemed the hub of the earth The smells of dankness and decay assaulted hi, of rodents scratching, and of their own steps, echoed in his ears
She was here, in this hell,him dead
Each step was placed with utmost care, as silently as possible
Roland scarcely dared draw a breath for fear he would alert Lucien and incite the ht of her here was enough to drive hi, tiny cell? Was she, even now, shivering with the cold and with her grief over his own supposed deed, weakened to the point of helplessness in the face of Lucien&039;s brutality?
Had the bastard harmed her? Had he touched her? He&039;d die if he had, Roland vowed He would die either way, he amended The beast was loose, and Roland, for once, welcomed its presence He&039;d tear Lucien li
Eric touched his arm, and inclined his head Only then did Roland hear the sounds of voices, echoing softly through the cavernous underworld Like ghosts wandering aimlessly, the voices filtered toward them
"Are you ready, then?"
"I&039; the state of her body, and of her mind The sound of it was a torment such as Roland had never known He crept nearer
"Remember, no tricks If any harm comes to me, the boy will die where he is
You understand that?"
"Yes""Good"
"So I will bide rihter
"I knew you&039;d be furious about the cat The aniave me no choice, Rhiannon When it bounded in front of reat for me"There was a pause
"Froht I&039;d killed his dearest friend"
Roland stepped closer, still unable to see them, but he could hear , and then her voice, with the barest hint of her fore
"You didn&039;t kill the cat And when the boy is safe again, you ht well become a snack for her"
"The cat survived? Then why are you still so angry?""Bastard!"
Rhiannon drew a deep, ragged breath The arguth she still possessed
"You knowthe cause of er What you did to Pandora pales
beside your other cri deeply, brokenly
"Youyou&039;ve taken from methe only man I have ever loved"The final words were barely whispered, and the evidence of tears was clear in her voice
Roland stood stock-still when those words floated toward hih the darkness He closed his eyes as a horrible pain washed over hied hiet used to the idea"
He sed hard, and begansilently forward The shock of Rhiannon&039;s adan to build
"I will avenge Roland, Lucien,"she whispered"Make no et the chance, Rhiannon
One would almost think you had a death wish"
"Take care"Her words eak and faint
"For I have nothing left to lose"
There was the sound of chains rattling Then a strangled gasp
"Feel the tip of this needle in your side, Rhiannon? If I get the slightest notion you are trying to bleed e enough dose to kill you in seconds"
They rounded a corner, and Roland saw the nightmarish scene laid out before hile torch
Rhiannon, all but limp, supported more by the chains at her wrists, than by her oer Her eyes were hooded and ht of any kind Desolate Her hair hung over one side of her face The he her, his back to the the hypoder kiave it an evil twist and she whiripped his arm
"If you attack now, he&039;ll kill her"The words hispered harshly into Roland&039;s ear
"We have to get hiht of Rhiannon suffering riled hilanced around, seeing in all directions in the inky blackness
Far above, uess at their torturous purposes there He nudged Eric, and pointed
Eric nodded
"Can you get up there without a sound?"
I&039;ll know in aRhiannon&039;s life? "
"I&039;d better, hadn&039;t I?"
Roland drew a steadying breath and leapt upward, gripping a protruding stone high above, and anchoring the toe of one shoe in a chip in the wall He glanced belo Eric watching, and gave hile nod
Eric stepped forward, out of the shadows, into the red-orange torchlight
"Pardon s, didn&039;t you?"
Lucien whirled, tearing the syringe from Rhiannon&039;s waist as he did
Her face contorted in pain Her cry brought a convulsion to Roland&039;s stoers told me about you"Lucien lifted the needle like a weapon, clutched in a beefy fist, and started forward
"Before you killed him, you mean?"
Roland waited He needed a bit more space between Rhiannon and the point of that needle
Lucien glanced over his shoulder at Rhiannon She only hung, all but limp in her chains, hopelessness etched into her face like chinks beaten into old armor
"Shut up, Marquand"
"Afraid I&039;ll spill the beans, are you? Once she knows, she won&039;t be so cooperative, will she?"
Roland nodded in approval Lucien would lose Rhiannon were to learn Jamey was safe and sound I-would be forced to silence Eric
"Knowswhat?"Rhiannon&039;s head came up slowl Her eyes focused on Eric
"Why, that Jae with all the grace of a i a bull Roland launched hi above the stone floor, catching the danglix length of rusted chain It sith the force of his o a secol later, and plunged doard, onto Lucien&039;s broad bac Bothfaced ox with Roland&039;s weight atop hi the hypoder backward in a doomed attempt stab Roland Roland rose, one knee pressed into the center of the er man&039;s spine He clamped a hand Lucien&039;s wrist, and squeezed until he felt the subtle crac of bone giving way With a shriek, Lucien released 1 hold on the syringe And even then, Roland didn&039;t let t bastard up The beast within wanted vengeance, and it x on the rae
A little more pressure and you can break his spine as easily Snap it in two Just press the knee a harder"Roland?"
He lifted his gaze fro heap of flesh t neath hihost The beast within seeer thirsted for vengeance, only for l For her touch, the feel of her lips beneath his, the si: of her half smile and the mischief in her eyes
He stood, aware that Lucien rolled to his back clutched his shattered wrist with his other hand He paid no attention, knowing Eric would see to the bastard His only concern was for her as he moved slowly forward Her eyes widened Her lips parted slowly and she ed this time
He reached her, then, and his ar, her strong heart pounding against his chest! He cradled her head to the crook of his neck, threading his fingers in her silken hair, words tuht, or even order Here here she belonged In his arms, her body pressed to his He felt he could never release her
She lifted her head and her eyes moved over his face with such intensity he could nearly feel their touch
"II thought"Her hands ca his face as if not believing it was real The chains jangled with her movements
"I know,"he whispered
"I know I dared not answer you, knowing that one&039;s psychic strength"He caught one of her wrists in his hands, drew it doard, away from his face, and easily snapped theinto the wall, he reached for the other"Has he hurt you, Rhiannon? Has he touched you9""Nothingcould hurtI&039;d lost you"
Their eyesmoment, and Roland wondered how he&039;d failed before to see the love in hers He must have been blind
Unsure what to say in the face of such powerful feelings, uncertain what this meant to either of them, Roland dropped to one knee and snapped the shackles at her ankles Her arht when she tried to step away from the wall He scooped her up with minimal effort
Her head fell liony God, but it eet to hold her again
Eric tossed the now-unconscious Lucien aside, and came to stand beside the toward the eon
Eric lifted one brow, and tilted his head toward Lucien"Go right ahead, my friend He can&039;t even resist, at the moment I&039;m sure, beast that you claim to be, it won&039;t bother you in the least to lean over and crush his larynx
Only take a lanced down at Lucien once more, then at the woman in his arms He couldn&039;t reat pleasure in fighting Lucien to the death But not like this He eyed Eric, and sighed
"I suppose there is a lesson in there somewhere, my friend But all I wish now is to take Rhiannon out of this place"
He started back through the dungeon, and then up the cru Lucien to his own devices Likely a entle, unfaltering embrace, sometimes conscious, sometimes not She knew little of the exact process by which they&039;d arrived, only that in what seereat hall of the Castle Courtemanche, to the cries and embraces of Tamara, and Jaaze doard Pandora li wrapped in a plaster cast She rose on hind legs, her good forepaw on Rhiannon&039;s chest, and nuzzled her mistress&039;s cheek with a cold nose
Rhiannon stroked the cat&039;s face
"Pandora, ood to see you, too, love"She kissed the cat&039;s muzzle, before Roland shooed her away
"We picked her up on the way back,"Ta forward much as the cat had, to stroke Rhiannon&039;s hair away froreet you when Roland brought you hoaze concerned
"Are you all right?"
Rhiannon sh she felt far fro the powerful effects of the drug She sought out Jamey&039;s face, and reached out to him
"Jamison I was so afraid for you"
He looked at the floor
"I&039;ain"