he fell into his own trap.” When you lose, you will know it has all been in vain. Your body will be fed to the carrion, and life will go on at Bloodmoor the way it has gone on these past fourteen years without you. No one will mourn your passing, except perhaps my young and passionate bride. Even then, she may cry out your name a time or two in the beginning, but that too will pass, and she will soon learn her proper place beneath me.”
The Wolf was taunted by the melodic evil in the Dragon’s voice. Images flashed across his mind—images of pain, of watching his own flesh blister under the desert sun, of the physician’s knife, and the sound of pitch bubbling sluggishly in a cauldron nearby.
The Wolf continued to stare at his brother, all the while feeling the rage and hatred rise from his soul to flush through his blood and tighten the muscles everywhere in his body until they screamed for some form of release.
When he spoke, his voice was a sheared sliver of ice. “I accept the challenge, and the terms.”
The Dragon stood a moment longer, relishing his own flush of satisfaction. In the end, he bowed stiffly by way of an acknowledgment, and with barely a glance at the hunched figure and wide-eyed countenance of Prince John, he left the room. The prince, barking orders for his guards to keep their weapons at the ready, followed with all due haste, and in the silence of the half-emptied room, their footsteps could be heard clanking to the far end of the long corridor.
When the silence became filled with more silence, one of the Wolf’s men stepped forward and waited for the gray eyes to shift away from the door.
“My lord, we have no intention of leaving the castle grounds so long as you remain inside these walls.”
“On the contrary, Sir Richard, you and the entire guard will leave within the hour, as agreed.”
“But my lord—”
“Your loyalty to me is much appreciated, but your first duty is and always was to see to the safe return of the Princess Eleanor to Brittany. She must be taken away from this place at once, before Prince John sees past his initial surprise and begins to consider further possible profits. And for God’s sake, do not trust the Dragon’s men to lead you to Lincoln. Break away from them at the first opportunity, kill them all, if need be, and take any road that leads in the opposite direction. The queen’s ship is anchored at Hull. Be certain it sails within the shortest reasonable amount of time, and do not let your guard down for an instant. Not even when your spurs touch Breton soil. I place you in charge, Sir Richard of Rouen, and entrust the princess’s life into your hands. Swear not to fail me in this and your loyalty could not have won a truer test.”
Sir Richard stared first at the black gloved hand extended to him, then into the depths of the resolute gray eyes:
“Aye, my lord,” he said, locking his gauntleted hand to the Wolf’s. “You have my word on it. My life as well.”
“My lord La Seyne?” It was a high-pitched, child’s voice, and it parted the sea of towering knights like a command on high.
“My lord La Seyne,” said the little princess. “Will you be fighting the Dragon?”
“I will indeed, Your Grace.”
“You will fight him and you will win, will you not?”
“I shall do my very best, Princess. You have my word on it.”
“I require more than your word, my lord,” she said, and for a moment, the Wolf’s composure was shaken on the memory of another similar challenge.
“What is it you require, Your Grace?” he asked warily.
The little princess raised a finger and beckoned the massive, armoured knight to sink down onto his knee. Without a care for belts or buckles or moulded leather breastplates, she flung her arms around his neck and hugged until her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes filled with tears.
“This is what I require, my lord,” she insisted. “Both now and later, after you have smote the Dragon from his lair. I— I command it.”
The Wolf smiled and returned the hug. “Then certainly, it shall be as you command, Your Grace. You have my most solemn pledge.”
25
When the Black Wolf of Lincoln had set up camp at Thornfeld Abbey, he had done so with twenty of his best and most versatile men. Both Gil