Kathryn Le Veque by Lord of Light Page A

Are you willing to
take that chance?”
    Dodge turned away from him. But
suddenly he swung around and landed a heavy blow into Roane’s abdomen. The man
grunted but didn’t go down. Angered, Dodge shoved him in the jaw and toppled
him to the wagon bed.
    “You’ll not curse me, you
bastard,” Dodge growled as he leapt off the wagon. He looked at Alisanne,
gasping at the sight of Roane’s supine body. “He’s already bewitched you,
hasn’t he? Have no doubt I’ll erase him from that pretty head.”
    Alisanne snarled at him. “You
couldn’t if you tried.”
    Roane heard a sharp sound, like a
slap to a soft, white cheek. Anger such as he had never known filled him. With
incredible agility, he threw himself up to his feet again, only to be met by a
violent blow to the head as one of Dodge’s men came within range.
    In a burst of stars, everything
went black.

 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER
FOUR

 
 
 
    They stopped
south of Leominster for the night at an inn with no name, but a wooden plaque
over the doorway with a badly carved dragon on it. It was a small, dirty place
with two rooms over the main hall. Dodge had confiscated one room, placing Alisanne
in it with two guards at her door. Of course, he planned on joining her when he
had his fill of ale and wenches.
    Alisanne
knew this and the thought terrified her. She couldn’t imagine how she was going
to fight off Dodge were he seriously determined to have her. The room itself
was in horrible condition; every time she sat on the bed, tiny white bugs leapt
onto her. Keeping clear of the lop-sided mattress, there was nowhere to sit
other than the floor, and that had urine covering it in all corners and dirt everywhere
else.   She didn’t plan to stay here any
longer than she had to and since the moment of her arrival had been thinking of
a way to escape.
    As far as
she knew, Roane was still down in the wagon. She didn’t even know where the
wagon was, only that it was probably somewhere outside.   Dodge had whisked her into the tavern before
she saw where his men had deposited themselves for the night and she didn’t
relish the thought of wandering around in the dark looking for him; the longer
she looked, the more likely she was to be caught. But her trepidation was of no
matter; the trip to Leominster had been filled with the sounds of Dodge’s men
abusing Roane and she, riding behind Dodge at the head of the group, had been
helpless to stop them.   Now she had to
make her move.
    The plan was
obvious. The tiny chamber had a window, but there was a good two story drop to
the wet ground below. It was the only way out, save the door, and Alisanne
forced herself to touch the lice-ridden bed to gain the sheets from it. The old,
stained linen tore easily and she ripped it into strips, tying the strips
together to form a rope.
    As she tied,
she kept glancing out the window to make sure no one was guarding her room from
below. Two of Dodge’s dogs were in the hallway; she could hear them pawing and
scratching and laughing at her door. Her sense of urgency grew as she finally
finished the rope and prayed to God that she would be able to descend without
breaking her neck.   With a final glance out
the window to make sure all was clear, she secured one end of the rope to the
heavy bead and tossed the other end out.
    Her descent
was a nightmare. Halfway down, the bed shifted under her weight and dropped her
several feet as it slid across the floor. The sudden stop
when it rammed into the wall by the window was enough to snap her off the rope, and she landed heavily in the mud below. Her wrist was killing her
and her hip was sore, but at least she hadn’t broken anything vital. She was
rather happy that she was in one intact piece. Scrambling up from the mud, she
went in search of Roane.
    The night
air was cold and heavy with moisture. In early spring, the scent of new foliage
was pervasive as she moved through the trees surrounding the inn, glancing at
the two or three