Vampire Crusader (The Immortal Knight Chronicles Book 1) by Dan Davis

Author:Dan Davis [Davis, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dan Davis
Published: 2015-09-29T23:00:00+00:00

***

Something woke me. I sat up in bed listening but there was nothing but the wind against the half-open shutters and Alice’s soft, steady breathing. Disturbed by my movement, she mumbled and rolled over next to me, her body under the sheets a series of waves edged in moonlight.

One of my dogs barked once and then fell silent. Sometimes they would bark themselves into a frenzy at the hyenas in the night. My huntsman swore it was because lions roamed about us in the dark, though I had never seen one. But a single bark was unheard of and the fact that neither my huntsman nor his son was shouting at the dog to be silent sent shivers down my spine.

I slipped from the bed and went to the window. The moon was bright and the sky clear and I could see out across my land. I had no significant defences, merely thorn hedges and stone walls to keep wild animals out and my own animals in. The wall of the stables was picked out clearly but I could hear nothing. A horse snorted and whinnied and then I knew that thieves had come. I took down my sword from the wall, silently cursing my useless bloody men for failing to post a proper guard.

The hills of Palestine could be cold at night but I was naked and looking for something to pull on when screaming started.

It was a throat-shattering scream of agony. Whether of man or woman was hard to tell.

The scream, undoubtedly, had come from within our house.

“Stay here,” I said to Alice. But she leapt from the bed and ran naked by me toward the children’s rooms down the corridor, her feet slapping on the tiles.

Planting my feet in the corridor I stood guard while she gathered the confused children into her arms.

“Take them back to our chamber,” I commanded her and she trotted back with Jocelyn on her hip and little Emma held to her shoulder.

“Where are your clothes, mother?” Jocelyn asked as she dumped him on the bed. Emma was rubbing her eyes.

“What is happening?” Alice asked me.

“Thieves,” I said. “Perhaps raiders.”

“Let us flee through the window,” Alice said to me. “Take the horses and ride for Jaffa.”

“They are already in the stables,” I said, looking out. “I shall discover what is happening. Get dressed and wait here for me to return.”

Fateful words but I believed them to be for the best.

Another scream pierced the night.

“They are in the hall,” I said, guessing but sure I was right.

The children looked terrified, clinging to their mother.

“Let the men earn their keep,” Alice said. “Stay with us.”

“What kind of lord would I be if I allow thieves and robbers to attack us at will?” I said.

She hugged her children to her and nodded.

I ran back down the corridor. In my haste I had still not dressed.

A man in a black surcoat rounded the corridor. He carried a torch in one hand and a mace in the other.

It was Walter the Welshman.

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