William turned to his brother. “You saved my life.” Thunder boomed in the distance, a storm was coming.
“Ye would have done the same.” Callan wiped the blood on his plaid.
William turned to Wymund, the wind whipping through the cave. “See the treasure to the solar, where it may be locked away for now.”
Wait until Lucy found out. This was not the Halloween celebration she’d been expecting.
Callan ripped a strip of his shirt to bind the wound as he grimaced. “Where is Agnes?”
Where indeed.
CHAPTER 22
The flashof 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.”
