The Dark

CHAPTER Ten



Isabel


Mr Carter is co-ordinating our mission to save Arkarian from being killed at birth. We pass through the Citadel without any trouble. We’re given new identities, though mine is the same as the last time I came to France. It turns out there was a purpose to Lathenia’s mission, other than seeking revenge on Ethan. She also wanted to check out Arkarian’s mother, even though she was only a child of six at the time. Now I understand the bond Arkarian and Charlotte shared.

So I’m back in France as Phillipa Monterey, with Ethan as my companion, Jean-Claude. Except now Charlotte is sixteen, and about to give birth.

‘What the hell!’ Ethan exclaims, unimpressed, as he dodges an English soldier’s arrow.

Another arrow whips past my head, narrowly missing my ear!

‘Get down!’ Ethan calls out, yanking on my arm.

It appears that delivering us safely into France is something Mr Carter is having difficulty achieving.

‘Watch out behind you!’

I spin around just in time to avoid the lunge of a sword. Ethan dives at the soldier’s feet, taking him down to the ground, disarming him at the same time. It appears Mr Carter has landed us directly in the midst of a raging battle between the French and English armies. A French soldier nearby notices us. ‘Here, where did you two come from?’

Struggling to explain why I’m standing in the middle of a battlefield wearing a long green gown and soft brown slippers, I lift one shoulder and offer a pathetic helpless smile.

The soldier’s gaze slides over us both from head to foot. ‘You won’t last long without armour.’ He runs around for a minute gathering weapons from dead soldiers nearby, giving us each a sword and shield. When he hands me mine he points to the sword. ‘Do you know how to use that, lady? If you stay close by my side, I will protect you.’

Ethan raises his eyebrows and rolls his eyes.

A mounted English soldier bears down on us. Ethan lunges for him. ‘This is too dangerous,’ he says. ‘We also don’t have the time. Not to mention the fact we could get killed, or kill someone in self-defence who’s not supposed to die today.’

We struggle to make our way to the edge of the fighting. Eventually we see a chance to escape into some thick bushes. ‘Come on,’ Ethan urges.

I drop my sword and shield and run for protection into the nearby woods. Once deep inside, the sounds of battle diminish, and we stop to catch our breath and our bearings.

‘Anything look familiar?’ Ethan asks, knowing I was in this area not so long ago. ‘Or has Carter stuffed that up too, landing us God-knows-where on this planet?’

‘Mr Carter’s doing his best.’

‘Is he? Or did he land us directly in the middle of that battle on purpose?’

I shake my head. ‘What have you got against that man?’

He makes a scoffing sound.

‘I know he’s harsh on you in the classroom. But maybe he’s like that ’cause he’s trying to bring out the best in you?’

His scoff this time turns into a fully-blown choking fit. I thump him on the back a few times. He motions me away. ‘I’m OK.’

Finally, he gets his breath back. ‘We never hit it off at school, that’s for sure. But if you want to know the truth, what I’ve got against the man is … Now this is going to sound lame, but it’s my gut instinct.’

It should be my turn to scoff. But he looks so serious. And well, Ethan has reliable instincts. ‘Look, all I know is that bad mouthing Mr Carter won’t help us save Arkarian’s life.’

‘You’re right,’ he concedes and glances around. ‘Let’s find our way out of here.’

It takes a while, but eventually we come to farmland that looks about right. A road up ahead leads into an area that looks similar to what we were earlier shown in the sphere.

Finally I see the castle, behind its outer walls and the small thatched cottages, just as imposing as it was ten years earlier. But that last time I was with Arkarian. Remembering brings a sharp pain to my chest, making my lungs feel as if they can’t get enough air.

Ethan notices as he pulls open the wooden gate. ‘He’ll be all right, Isabel. We’re going to make sure of it.’

Thankful for Ethan’s optimism, I follow him through the gates. When we draw near the gate-house doors, Ethan makes me pull back behind a bush. ‘We should check things out first.’

But my head says no. We lost enough time stuck in the middle of a battle, kilometres in the wrong direction. ‘This is the day Charlotte is supposed to give birth. We could already be too late.’

‘So what do you suggest, go straight up to the entrance?’

He thinks it’s a joke, but I think his idea is spot on. ‘Exactly. But I know we have to be cautious, so how about I go on my own?’

‘What?’

‘You can keep watch for anything unusual from here.’

He doesn’t like my idea but eventually caves in. Before he changes his mind, I walk up to the front gate and bang on the iron door knocker a couple of times.

After a few minutes a woman servant answers the door. ‘May I help you, miss?’

‘Is Lady Charlotte at home, please?’

‘And who might I say is calling?’

‘Phillipa Monterey, an old friend of the Duke and his daughter.’

The maid’s face forms into a suspicious frown. ‘Miss Charlotte is not at home, and the Duke, God rest his soul, has been dead many years.’

‘Oh.’ This news is terrible. Poor Charlotte, how did she cope? But I can’t let my thoughts on Charlotte delay me from finding her. ‘Please, you must tell me where Charlotte is right away.’

The maid’s frown only deepens.

I try to re-phrase so that my question doesn’t sound so much like an order. ‘I mean, could she be down by the river?’ I point in the general direction I remember the river being.

The maid’s frown softens, slightly. ‘You do know Lady Charlotte is …’

‘With child? Yes. And far gone.’

The maid appears to relax her guard a bit. ‘Well, she went out with a gentleman caller this morning.’

‘What!’ The maid’s frown returns in full force. ‘I mean, so near her time? Isn’t that rather foolish?’

The maid’s left shoulder lifts. ‘The poor child was in sore need of a day’s outing, what with the fighting being so near. The Duchess thought it would do the girl good.’

A sense of urgency fills me, giving a sudden release of adrenaline. ‘Please, tell me where they were headed.’

But the maid’s sense of protection kicks in. She becomes apprehensive. ‘Why should I? I’ve never seen you before in my life. The gentleman seemed genuinely interested in Miss Charlotte’s wellbeing.’ Her voice lowers. ‘He seemed particularly taken by Miss Charlotte these last few days.’

I’ll bet. But I keep these thoughts to myself. Somehow I have to break through this woman’s doubts of me. I start to panic. Time is passing while she tortures me by withholding the information I desperately need. ‘Look, Lady Charlotte needs me. She’s heavy with pregnancy, and without my help she will die.’ My words are a mistake. Charlotte is going to die anyway – giving birth. That’s how it happened all those years ago, and I can’t change that fact today.

The maid, though, must sense something in my impassioned plea. ‘They took a basket of food to the falls by the picnic ground. Do you know where I mean? Just before the river bends.’

How could I forget? It was the place Arkarian kept Charlotte thoroughly entranced with stories about the great Gods of Ancient Greece. But it’s a good long walk away. ‘Yes, thank you. But we’ll need horses.’

‘We? Are there more of you? Where? Why don’t you show yourselves? Who did you say you were?’

I could kick myself. No chance of any further help now. I’ll just count myself lucky I got the information I need. I run back to Ethan, grabbing his arm. ‘We have to hurry.’

We run all the way. It seems to take for ever to get there, but once we near the spot, Ethan, slightly ahead of me, pulls to a halt.

‘What is it?’ I ask breathlessly.

Then I hear it too. Screams. Long, ear-piercing screams of a woman in agony.

‘Hell, he’s beating her to death,’ Ethan says, disgusted.

‘Hang on, those are the screams of a woman in pain all right – childbirth pain.’ A difficult one, I reflect quietly. ‘We have to surprise this murdering soldier. At least we know Charlotte still lives, and by the sound of those screams, the baby’s in a hurry to be born.’

But we have to be careful. There could be more than one soldier of the Order here. I remember one final warning. ‘There might be a dog,’ I tell Ethan. ‘A big one. It might not be what it seems. So be cautious.’

We get close enough to hear the gentle sounds of a waterfall nearby, when Charlotte screams out, ‘Something is wrong! You must take me home, sir. Please, take me home!’

Now I see her too. She’s lying under a tree. Another contraction grips her and she arches her back, clawing at the blanket beneath her with both hands.

Two men stand by and watch. One fidgets restlessly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, sometimes scratching at his head, sometimes looking away or up at the sky. ‘Is there nothing we can do to ease her pain?’

The second man, taller, with red hair and a moustache, keeps his focus directly on the girl squirming before him. ‘She’s going to die anyway. I don’t fancy killing a baby, no matter who it is, even though they are Her orders. Better the baby dies in the womb with its mother, and saves us the trouble.’

That’s it! These words are all I need. The word ‘caution’ disappears from my vocabulary. Pulling a knife from my belt I charge out of our hiding place screaming. Both men have only a second to react, before I land fully on top of the one who callously wishes for the baby’s death, while Charlotte endures more agony than she is supposed to.

‘You coward,’ I hiss in his ear, my blade near his throat.

Ethan, I notice out of the corner of my eye, has taken my lead. Not that he has much choice, but he seems to be holding up well against the other soldier.

The one beneath me pushes against my shoulders, rolling me on to my back. He grabs my wrist, shaking it hard. I refuse to let the knife go. He squeezes my wrist until it hurts like hell. ‘I’m not giving in!’ With these words I bring my knee up sharply between his legs.

His eyes water and his body goes still. For a second I think I see something familiar in his eyes. As if he realises this, he jumps off me, and attempts to twist my hand behind my back. Grabbing his arm, I throw him over my shoulder. He grunts but gets up fast, then kicks me in the stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs. While I’m gasping for breath, he runs at me. I duck out of his way, and finding nothing but empty space, he falters and loses his balance. But he finds it again quickly and comes back for another round. This soldier is relentless.

In the meantime Ethan knocks his opponent to the ground, then comes over and gives me a hand. Spotting my knife, Ethan wills it to his palm while dragging the soldier off the top of me. Before long Ethan has the knife horizontal across the soldier’s throat.

On the ground the other one is starting to come around. But Charlotte’s agonising screams seize my attention, making my heart leap into my throat. I run over and put both hands on her stomach. I start working on easing her pain, softening and relaxing her muscles and making her womb open. There is a lot of blood now, and I fear for the baby’s life, but under my hands the baby’s heart beats strongly, only just a little too fast.

The soldier from the ground staggers to his feet, pointing at me. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Easing her pain, you pig.’

‘You can’t do that.’ He tries to drag me away, but I claw my way back to Charlotte.

I try to think of something to say that will make him go away, if only it were that easy. But I have to try. ‘The two of you are too late, you know.’

‘What? What are you saying?’

‘I’m a Healer! Can’t you see?’ I stare at him hard for a second. ‘I’ve already done my work. The baby will be born alive. And if I have to, I will take this baby back with me for protection.’

His attitude changes immediately. He senses defeat. He glances at his partner. Ethan still holds the knife to his throat. ‘Don’t listen to her,’ he manages to say. ‘You know our fate should we fail this mission.’

Fear makes the first soldier’s eyes widen, creating a look verging on hysteria. ‘What do we do?’ he practically hisses.

The one with the knife to his throat suddenly kicks back at Ethan’s groin. Ethan doubles over and the soldier flicks the knife into the woods. Standing beside his partner, he says, ‘You want to know what we do? We kill them all – except him.’ He points to Ethan. ‘I think he could be the one who stabbed our master.’

Ethan moves closer to where I kneel over Charlotte. We share a worried glance. Charlotte is exhausted, and the stress of being denied the safety of her bed and midwife is taking its toll. ‘Think of something,’ I hiss at Ethan. ‘I have to help Charlotte. The baby is in trouble.’

Before Ethan has a chance to think, the air around us grows strangely hot. The tree giving Charlotte shade, and the bushes close by, make an eerie crackling sound. Their leaves begin to snap and shrivel up. I glance up and see the two soldiers concentrating fiercely. ‘Ethan, we’re in trouble. If it gets too hot—’

Before I finish my sentence, the bushes on either side, along with the tree over the top, suddenly ignite. And the temperature soars.

Ethan strips off his coat and starts beating back the flames directly overhead. But it’s so hot, the effort exhausts him.

‘We need rain to put this fire out,’ I tell him.

‘I’m not sure I can make it rain. Not for real.’

I glance up at him briefly, ‘Have you ever tried? I’ve seen you bring real live people into your illusions. I’ve walked on bridges you made solid simply with your mind.’

The air grows impossibly hot. Charlotte screams and tries to wipe her brow. Her head shakes from side to side as she mutters incoherently. She’s becoming delirious.

Ethan looks up to the sky. ‘Rain alone wouldn’t solve our problem. It wouldn’t get rid of those soldiers.’

He’s right. What do we do now? Through the growing flames the two soldiers stand back with contented looks on their faces. One of them thumps the air with his fist. ‘She’s going to be so happy with us! She’ll reward us like never before!’ He points to Ethan. ‘But I think you’re right, you know. He could be the one who stabbed our master.’

The other replies, ‘Yeah, so don’t get too ecstatic. Remember, she wants the pleasure of killing that one herself.’

As they continue to watch, Ethan goes to work. ‘Cover yourself and what you can of Charlotte. I have an idea.’

Doing as he says, I throw myself over Charlotte’s upper body, covering her face with my arm. And from the corner of my eye I see Ethan close his eyes and inhale deeply. He holds his breath, then dives over the top of both me and Charlotte. As he does, an explosion thunders around us, and the Order’s two soldiers let out a wild scream.

I peer up from beneath Ethan’s body, and see the fire has exploded outwards. Huge flames wrap themselves around the two soldiers. They run around, continuing to scream, their bodies well alight. They run into the woods, both of them calling ‘Bastian’. And with this name, the two of them disappear. No doubt they will return to their headquarters, where I assume they will spend time in their healing chambers.

Ethan runs around putting out the fires still burning in the nearby bushes. ‘What do you think she’s going to do with them now they’ve failed?’

I shake my head, returning my focus to Charlotte’s heaving body. ‘Who knows?’

‘Well at least now they’re gone, they can’t come back to this exact time. And Arkarian can be born safely.’

Charlotte’s hand grasps my arm. She lifts her head as far as she can to draw closer. ‘Do I know you?’

I see no harm in telling her at this stage of her life. ‘Do you remember a time when you had a dog? A large dog you fondly called Charlie?’

Her eyes go round and she gives a little smile, then she settles her head back on the ground as another contraction grips her strongly. Ethan takes off his vest, rolls it into a bundle, and slides it beneath her head.

‘Phillipa,’ Charlotte says, recalling my name. In her next breath she says passionately, ‘Did you bring Gascon?’

Her remembering Arkarian so fondly makes me smile. ‘He will be here soon.’

She sighs, feeling safe for probably the first time in hours. I feel the baby push down hard, eager to be born. I look around for Ethan. He finishes stomping on some grass still burning and comes over. I tilt my head towards Charlotte’s legs. ‘You’d better get ready.’

His head jerks forward, eyes squinting at me. ‘What? Do you want me to…’

‘Uh-huh. And you’d better hurry. This baby is coming fast.’ I turn my head to Charlotte. ‘Not long now. Your pain will soon be over.’

She moans and grips the blanket in her fingers as a strong contraction takes hold of her once again. Ethan moves into position, pushing her skirts up over her knees. ‘Oh God, I think I see it … him … it.’

His stammering brings a smile to my lips. I tell him what he has to do. For the next few minutes all three of us are busy, as first the baby’s head pushes through, swiftly followed by the rest of his body.

Ethan looks at me with the baby’s cord in his hand. I explain what to do. When he’s finished he hands the baby to me. I give the baby a quick check, but can sense no problem within his small body, then gently place him in his mother’s weakening arms.

Ethan indicates the enormous amount of blood gathering on the blanket without saying so out loud. ‘Is there anything you can do?’

It pains me to think this beautiful young woman is going to die, and die soon, while I stand by and watch it happen. I have the means to heal her, but cannot. I have the power to give Arkarian the mother he never knew, but must not. How different would his life be if he grew up in the Duke’s castle, with his loving mother to watch over him?

My eyes are drawn to mother and child, hers also filling with moisture. ‘He is so beautiful,’ she whispers, her lips brushing the baby’s forehead ever so softly.

As if aware of his mother’s words and gentle lips, the baby opens his eyes and looks directly at her face. She gasps softly and her mouth moves to form a smile. ‘You’re real. It was not a dream.’

Suddenly I hear the sound of hoof-beats and the running of a carriage over uneven ground. Horses soon appear; several riders jumping off as soon as they see us. The carriage also pulls up. The servants scurry over to attend to Charlotte, concern in their voices and actions, especially when they see the remains of the fire, and the gathering pool of blood.

Ethan and I step away from the scene, keeping enough distance not to be noticed. The Duchess climbs out of the carriage and turns her head away at the sight of the blood-stained blanket. ‘Get her in the carriage,’ she orders. Everyone scurries about to fulfil her command.

Ethan pulls gently on my arm. ‘Come on, we’re not needed any more.’

I swallow, as a lump the size of a rock forms in my throat. But healing Charlotte is out of my hands now. Her family and household will take care of her, though nothing will save her, not in Medieval France.

Ethan calls out Mr Carter’s name, and the frantic scene before us begins to disappear.