Page 30 of Halloween Knight (A Knights Through Time Romance #17)

The flash of lightning followed by the boom of thunder made Lucy stop near the kitchens, heart beating fast.

She swallowed, carefully checking her palms and knees to make sure she didn’t have any scrapes. While she didn’t think she’d be pulled through time again, and had been through many storms over the years, this storm, tonight of all nights, worried her.

There was no trace of her son. The servants had searched the outbuildings and most of the castle while William, Callan, and the rest of the guard searched the numerous passages.

The skies opened up, rain pelting down, breaking up the festivities as the villagers left the castle to go home, each taking a sack of food with them as Lucy waved goodbye.

Last year, they’d given the villagers a meal and supplies at Christmas. This year, Lucy had wanted to do it at Halloween as well.

“Timothy?” The guardsman was soaked .

“There is no one on the battlements, lady.” He wiped the rain from his face.

“Good. Stay here and dry off so you don’t catch a chill.” Without waiting for an answer, Lucy left the kitchens, passing through the hall, as people stopped her to tell her they had not yet found Jason.

The only places left to search were the two towers.

Hers and the south tower, which was unstable after a storm last winter.

William was planning to have it rebuilt next summer, but until then, it was closed off, the perfect place for Agnes to hide her son, making her wonder why she hadn’t thought of it earlier.

For a moment, Lucy thought she was having a heart attack when she reached the top of the steps to the south tower. She couldn’t catch her breath and kept seeing double flashes of light when the lightning lit up the sky.

When she shoved the door open, the wind blew so hard the door slammed shut behind her. Rain pelted down from the hole in the ceiling, but it was the scene before her that struck terror into her heart.

The room was obviously being used. There was a pallet along one wall and a trencher discarded on the floor.

Another flash of lightning, followed by thunder, made Lucy close her eyes so she wouldn’t lose her night vision.

It had to be Agnes. How long had she been creeping around the castle?

With all the preparations for the celebration, there were lots of people coming and going.

No way the guards could have known who belonged and who didn’t.

They weren’t stopping everyone as they’d all thought Agnes and the men had moved on, but Lucy had worried, though not enough to have the guards stop everyone.

All because she wanted to the villagers to have fun, to accept her .

When the wind shifted, she left the tower, careful not to step on the loose stone near the door. The only place left to look was her tower room.

Jason had to be there. Lucy opened the door, quiet as she stepped into her sanctuary.

Something moved in the middle of the floor. In three strides, she was halfway to the bundle, which wasn’t a bundle at all but her son.

Jason sat bound and gagged, wide-eyed with fright. Before Lucy reached him, a shadowy figure stepped out from behind the curtains of her window seat, dagger glinting.

Agnes.

Rage flooded Lucy’s veins at the sight of that woman. She took another step, so close now, one more step and she’d have her son, but Agnes was closer and fast as she pressed the blade to Jason’s throat.

“Not another step,” she hissed.

Lucy froze, the sound of the blood moving through her veins loud in her ears. They were at an impasse. Somehow, she needed to get Jason away from Agnes.

Forcing herself to calm, to take deep breaths, she said, “Please, let my son go. Your quarrel is with me.”

Agnes curled her lip. “I told you, a life for a life.”

“But not his life. My boy is innocent.” Lucy held out her hands, palms up. “Take me.”

“I think we shall all go out on the battlements for all to see, and then I will be mistress of Blackford.”

Agnes yanked Jason to his feet and backed toward the open door, dagger held so close to his unblemished skin that Lucy didn’t dare do anything to risk his safety.

Lucy followed Agnes, desperate to intervene. The battlements were still empty, the men still searching for Jason .

The storm intensified, the wind blowing their hair out behind them like some vengeful goddess of old.

Agnes held Jason in front of her. “Your son will die to pay for my mother’s death.” She cut the gag and bonds, pinching him to make Jason yelp. “Now scream for all to hear.”

Not this nonsense again. An icy calm came over Lucy. William and the men would never reach them in time, nor would they hear her scream over the storm.

There would only be one chance. Lucy ignored the wind, the rain soaking her cloak and dress as she focused on her sweet boy.

“Jason.”

“Mama. I’m scared of the bad lady.”

“Remember our game?” Lucy reached into the special pocket of her skirt. “Duck… duck…”

“Goose!' he shrieked, fear forgotten as in one swift motion he dropped to his knees.

In the second that Agnes was distracted by what had happened, Lucy threw herself at Agnes, as they both went down in a tangle of skirts, landing hard on the stone walkway.

“Run, Jason. Go fetch your father.” Lucy screamed into the storm.

As they struggled, Agnes smashed Lucy’s wrist against the parapet, making her hand tingle as she dropped the blade. It skittered across the stone into the darkness.

They kicked and punched, and Lucy wasn’t too proud to pull a hunk of that glorious auburn hair out.

The resulting shriek gave her just enough time to shove Agnes off her and get to her knees.

Lucy blocked the blow with her forearm, scrambling to gain the advantage. Finally, all that core work paid off as Lucy shoved upward, pinning Agnes against the parapet. She yanked a dagger from her boot and, with a primal scream, plunged it into Agnes’ black heart.

Agnes’ anguished wail faded into the howling storm. The young woman blinked at her. “Nicely done.”

“I told you there would be hell to pay for coming after my family.” With the last of her strength, Lucy shoved Agnes over the parapet, leaning over to watch as she plummeted down, down, down, into the raging sea, her scream swallowed by the water.

The door banged open, the sound of boots hitting stone sounded far away as Lucy stood, chest heaving from exertion and what William called the red haze of rage. She glared down at the rocks.

“You can be damn sure I won’t be planting any flowers on your grave,” Lucy snarled. “Let the fish feast on your rotten corpse.”

The hand on her arm had Lucy whirling around, the other dagger in her hand.

“Whoa. Hold, my lady.” William stood there, holding Jason with Callan by his side.

“The bad lady is gone, gone.”

“Aye, your wee mother is most fearsome.” Callan said.

Blinking against the rain, Lucy frowned when the lightning struck.

“You’re bleeding.”

Callan shrugged. “A mere scratch.”

“He saved my life.” William told her, letting Jason down. Heedless of the rain, their son promptly toddled off to retrieve her daggers.

William hauled her into his arms. “Are you hurt?” He had to pry her hands from the hilt of the dagger. She couldn’t make her fingers work. He handed the blade to Callan.

Lucy opened her mouth to reply when the air changed. The hair all over her body stood up as Lucy held onto William, who had turned as white as snow.

“What is happening?” Callan called out, fear in his voice as he took one step towards them.

Where was Jason? As she called to her son, a massive bolt of lightning flashed, blinding in its intensity. Blinking away the afterimage, she recoiled, expecting to see Callan also flinching from the strike.

But where he’d stood just seconds before, there was only empty space.

“Bloody hell.” William grabbed Jason, pulling him to them as the three of them stood alone on the battlements.

Lucy gaped in stunned disbelief. Callan had vanished into thin air, as if he had never been.

“It cannot be,” she whispered. Yet the evidence stared her plainly in the face.

The same mystical force that had brought her to the past had now taken him.

William left to tell the men Agnes was dead while Lucy took Jason to Mabel. She wanted him to sit by the fire until he was warm and dry before going to be so he didn’t catch a chill.

By the time she walked through the connecting door into their chamber, it was well after midnight.

The storm had subsided into a gentle rain, and Lucy was exhausted.

She’d stripped off her wet clothes, pulled on a chemise and robe and sat in front of the fire, unseeing, not even moving when William hauled her up in his arms, and sat, settling her on his lap .

Her teeth chattered. “I killed her,” she whispered, the awful scene replaying over and over behind her eyes.

“You did.” He held her so tight, she squeaked. “She would have killed Jason and you if she’d had time.”

She met his stricken gaze as his hand shook.

“I thought I had lost you.” He said, crushing his mouth to hers, needing to feel her close to him. “I will love you until my last breath.”

Lucy twined her fingers through his hair. “I will never leave you. I will love you forever and a day.”

A few days later, Lucy was up in her tower room working on a shawl while the boys napped, when William came striding in, the door banging against the wall.

He’d been melancholy ever since Callan vanished. After barely discovering he had a brother, Callan was now lost to them, spirited away through the mists of time itself.

He kissed her soundly. “I have a gift for you.”

Lucy put the crochet hook down. “I love gifts.”

“Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

She did and felt cool metal sliding onto her finger.

When she opened her eyes, Lucy put a hand to her mouth.

“It’s beautiful.” The ring had a heavy gold band like her wedding ring, though this one had a sapphire and a diamond instead of an emerald.

“I had the goldsmith in London fashion it for you. In honor of our two beautiful sons.”

Lucy went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I love it.” Then she grinned. “Maybe we should have more children, so you can give me more rings. ”

A laugh escaped, the strain around his eyes easing.

“We have an entire chest of jewels for you to choose from.”

She’d dressed in a blue gown to match his blue tunic and hose today. The jewels they’d discovered in the cove had likely been buried for hundreds of years. For now, they were locked away.

She ran a finger over the stones.

“I want to be useful. Not just to you, but to our people.”

He pulled her onto his lap as they sat in front of the fire.

“You dispatched Agnes, saved our son, and brought my brother home.” He kissed her, his voice rough. “You are brave, and fearsome, and I am the luckiest man in all the lands that you fell through time to land here at Blackford.”

She brushed the hair back from his face. “I am sorry he’s gone. Do you think everyone believed us that he went back to Scotland?”

“I told them I gave him some of the treasure and he missed his homeland, so yes, I think so.”

William let out a breath. “I would have liked having a brother, even if he was a Scot.”

She listened to his heart beating, wishing she could ease his sorrow.

“Do you think we’ll ever find out what happened to Callan? I wonder where and when he went?”

William’s chest rose and fell in a deep sigh. “I know not, my love. I hope wherever he is, Callan has found his rightful place in time.”

There were no answers to be found, only the comfort they found in each other. As William’s eyes met hers, Lucy’s breath caught at the love and desire in his gaze.

Without a word, he swept Lucy up in his arms and carried her to their bed. Their passions ignited, and they came together ardently, finding solace and comfort in each other’s arms.