Wolfsbane by N.J. Layouni

Author:N.J. Layouni
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: N.J. Layouni
Published: 2016-02-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

There was still hope.

As Martha trudged up the stone steps, she became aware of a gently swinging weight in her pocket, bashing rhythmically against her thigh. Vadim’s knife. If there was ever a time to use it, it was now.

Could she do it? Abandon the values of the twenty-first century and play by a new set of rules? If she wanted her baby to survive, she had no choice.

Decision made, she slipped her right hand into the deep pocket of her gown. Her fingers closed around the smooth, ridged handle of the knife. She faked a stumble and raised her skirt a little higher. Praying the earl wouldn’t notice her sly fumbling, she worked her left hand through the bulky material of her gown and closed it around the sheath of the blade. One gentle pull and the knife slid free. She exhaled through her mouth, long and slow.

Now, all she had to do was pick the right moment to use it. If she had the courage—and stomach—to do so.

You’d better, Bigalow. His Evilness won’t hesitate to kill you.

They climbed on, their panting breaths echoing in the narrow confines of the spiraling staircase. A chink of light up ahead indicated they’d reached their destination, the very top of the barbican. The earl prodded Martha’s back. Clutching tightly to the knife’s handle, she ducked her head and stepped through a narrow doorway.

Oh, shit!

The flat roof was horribly exposed. Only the open air separated them from the vast might of Rodmar’s army as it swarmed around the bottom of the hill. The men were packed together in such tight formation it was impossible to pick out an individual soldier. Like a murmuration of starlings or a shoal of fish, the soldiers moved as one, each man forming a tiny part of the whole.

The kaleidoscopic motion made her eyes ache. At that moment, the army began singing. Hundreds of voices united in what could only be a battle song. Although she didn’t understand the words, the challenge in each note was unmistakable. The blast of raw sound struck her ears in a powerful wave that vibrated into her chest.

If the song was meant to intimidate, mission accomplished. She couldn’t stop shaking. Then again, that might be down to the close proximity of His Evilness.

He stood at her shoulder. “What on Erde are those savages howling about now?” He tilted his head slightly to one side, listening. The freshening breeze brought the voices closer, and the earl’s mouth compressed into a grim line. What he heard obviously didn’t please him.

What were they singing? As curious as she was, there was no way she’d ask him for a translation. Instead, she backed away, retreating to the relative safety of the stairwell. The earl reacted quickly, clamping his hand about her right wrist before she’d managed to take three steps.

“Oh, you must not leave me yet.” His thin lips curved into a mocking smile. “That would ruin everything.”

Reluctantly, she let go of the knife’s handle. This wasn’t the opportune moment anyway.

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