Garden of Destiny (Dark Gardens Book 4) Read online

  After taking care of her needs, she quickly washed up and scampered back to the spot they’d bedded down for the day. The moons were setting and soon there would be no light at all to guide them.

  However, Lord Bloodaxe seemed to know every path, hill, and waterway in his realm as though he’d walked it blind.

  Georgiana was not afraid of the inky darkness so long as he kept hold of her hand.

  “Georgie, do you think you can wait a little longer to eat?” he asked when he heard her stomach growl.

  “Yes. My stomach may be howling, but I can hold off for as long as you need.”

  “Good, because we’re almost at the river, and I think we’ll make better progress if we travel by boat. We’ll eat once we’re aboard.”

  She frowned lightly. “Is this a change in plans?”

  “Yes. I caught the scent of Brihann’s demons on my land about half an hour ago. They seem to be following us, although it could be mere coincidence. Brihann must have sent several scouting parties to hunt us down. My captains have stopped most of them, but our shared borders are long and it’s almost impossible to prevent every incursion. Who knows? This scouting party might have slipped through a month ago, long before our hostilities intensified. They may not even know about you, but I dare not take the chance.”

  “You think we will be better off on the river?” She’d noticed that he had quickened their pace, but thought nothing of it until now.

  “Most assuredly. Brihann’s demons don’t like water. They won’t go in it or anywhere near it. We were fortunate, the little bit of breeze we have tonight happens to be coming from the west. If the wind shifts, the demons will pick up our scent while we’re on land.”

  “But the water will lend us cover?” She was taking two steps for each of his own in order to keep up with his long strides.

  “That’s right.” His arm was now around her waist as he helped her over a small rise. She was out of breath from struggling to match his step, while he did not appear to be struggling at all. “It will lend us good cover, for these demons detest the odor of water.”

  “Which means they don’t like to bathe,” she added, grinning, although she doubted he could see beyond his nose in this darkness. “No wonder they smell so bad. Good thing there’s a river nearby.” However, she sensed he wasn’t all that pleased with this forced change in plans. “You don’t seem happy about it.”

  “I’m not. The river will take us east when we must be heading west. Every hour lost gives Brihann the advantage. We’ll lose at least half a day.”

  She understood. The longer it took to reach the Razor Cliffs, the more time Brihann would have to secure that important portal and stop them. “But it would mean I’d have another day with you.”

  “Georgie, had I been able to get you out yesterday, I would have. You’re in danger every moment you spend in the Underworld. Your innocence offers you some protection, but I do not know how much or how long that protection will last.”

  “Ah, my innocence.” It wasn’t nearly as precious to her as it appeared to be to him. Indeed, had he bothered to make any advances toward her, she would have surrendered without resistance. She was eager to do it.

  However, her casual wantonness extended only to him. She would never allow another man to touch her.

  “Do not underestimate its importance. There’s an aura of power and mystery that emanates from you because of your innocence. You’re an unknown to these demons, and now that you’ve survived dragon fire, they’re certain you are a Chosen One, a mortal girl under the protection of the Stone of Draloch.”

  She frowned as she considered his words. “Or meant to be its virgin sacrifice.”

  “Well,” he said with noticeable humor in his rugged voice, “I’ll fix matters if it comes to that.”

  “Fix? As in…” She inhaled, which he might have mistaken for a gasp of horror. Quite the opposite ran through her mind, a feeling that his fix was much desired flooded through her. The notion that he would be the one to take her innocence felt very right. “How much longer till we reach the boat?”

  “Just over the next rise. Can you hear the soft rush of water in the distance?” He paused and wrapped his arm around her waist.

  It took Georgiana a moment to hear the gentle ebb and flow over the hasty beat of her heart. Then she heard a languidly rhythmic thuck, thuck, thuck, which she realized was the sound of the wooden boat gently striking the dock as the river current flowed beneath it. She also heard the groan of a rope that had been pulled taut and was straining to hold the boat to the dock.

  Otherwise, all was quiet as a tomb.

  She stood beside Lord Bloodaxe, unmoving and not speaking as the hot, night air encircled both of them. At home, she would have heard the sound of crickets or seen fireflies playfully flitting in the meadow.

  Only ominous silence and a breathless dark existed here. “There are no stars in your heaven.”

  “Heaven? A strange thing to call what lies above us. There is no heaven here, only an endless red sky. No stars shining brightly to light our way. No sunshine to warm our hearts.”

  After a moment, he took her hand again and wordlessly started up the small rise. It seemed so odd, he was a large man and carried a battle axe at his side along with a shield, bow, quiver of arrows, and a travel pouch slung over his shoulder, yet he made not a sound walking over the ground in his thick leather boots.

  She had his dagger still strapped to her belt and carried nothing, but it was her booted feet that slipped and slid as they climbed, and her steps that would be heard were anyone lying in wait for them.

  “No one knows we’re here, Georgie. It’s just you and me and that boat we’ll soon reach. We outwitted Brihann in making our escape last night.”

  “How can you be certain? You said his demons were on our trail.”

  “They were, but I now think it was mere coincidence they were following us. We lost them a short while ago. I don’t think we would have shaken them off if they had been ordered to find us.”

  “How long do you think we can fool Brihann? His spies will know something is amiss since you didn’t come down to your hall today.”

  “Thomas and my captains are doing their best to make everyone think we’re still in our bedchamber. Dragon Lords are known to have lusty appetites, especially after a battle. Everyone saw me and Brihann fight. It will not take much to fool them into believing that I’ve taken you into my bed and am enjoying the pleasures of your body as my spoils of war.”

  “Spoils?” She shook her head and sighed. “I’m rather meager fare, not nearly as… er, desirable a prize as your nymphs. I dare say, it will not take his spies long to suspect it is a ruse.”

  “Do not doubt your worth, Georgie.” He chuckled lightly and tweaked her nose. “There is no one like you in all of England or in this realm. Even if Brihann suspects we’re on the run and headed for the Razor Cliffs, he’ll have most of his scouts and armies gathered there, not here.”

  She nodded. “Good, then we shall have time to eat and talk without interruption.”

  She slid most of the way down the other side of the rise and would have landed with a splash in the water had not Lord Bloodaxe kept a firm hold of her hand. “Gracefully done,” he teased. “Here, let me help you into the boat. Careful, now. Don’t fidget or it will tip over and land us both in the water. Sit on the center bench and hold tight to the pouch.”

  “I’ll keep it securely on my lap. I’m famished. If it falls in, I’m jumping in after it.”

  “Try not to, Georgie.” She felt his grin rather than saw it. “I’m also famished and may rescue the food instead of you.”

  She laughed. “No, my lord. I know you’ll save me.”

  “Aye, always.” His voice was suddenly gentle and husky.

  She looked up, wishing she could see his face. “It feels nice.”

  He set down his weapons and moved to untie the boat from its mooring. “What does?”

  “What you
just said. Will you truly always be there to protect me? Yesterday, you seemed insistent on never seeing me again.”

  “We have yet to set off and you’re already asking questions.” But he didn’t seem very much put out as he tucked the oars in their oarlocks. He kept them tilted upward so that they sat above the water.

  “I can’t help being curious,” she said. “There’s so much to learn and so little time in which to do it.”

  “We’ll talk on the water.”

  The boat rocked as he stepped in and settled on the bench across from hers. She grasped the sides and gave a soft yelp when it suddenly tipped hard in one direction. “You do remember that I can’t swim. I’d be wailing and howling, resisting climbing aboard with all my might if I were here with anyone else.”

  “I’m honored you trust me.” His hands come to rest lightly on hers.

  “Of course, I do.” The quickening beat of her heart was for reasons other than fright. The longer they remained together, the more she cared about him.

  He squeezed her hand and spoke gently. “Let’s eat first. Then you can assail me with your questions.”

  “Very well.” She wasn’t going to protest, for she was hungry, and he needed to concentrate on getting them underway.

  All too soon, he removed his hands from hers. The oars were now loosely perched on his lap so that he could set them in position quickly if the current caused the boat to drift too close to the shore.

  As they floated downstream, he sliced some cheese and bread for her and then for himself. They ate quickly, and once sated, he handed her a small sack. She opened it and inhaled the heady scent. “A honey wine? Do you grow grapes here?”

  “Yes, in the midlands of my realm. Our grapes grow by the light of our moons so their flavor is more bitter than the grapes grown in Spain or France that have the benefit of your sunlight. We add honey to cut the bitterness. We do the same for most of our ales.” He leaned forward, close enough that their breaths mingled. “The midlands is my farming region. Our grains and orchards are cultivated there. The pine forests near my fortress provide wood for our ships and houses. The Razor Cliffs provided the stone for my fortress.”

  She wished that they could travel by day so that she could see more of his lands. The night here was unsettling, so dark without starlight or even the bright glow of the two moons that shone only by daytime. “The activities here are remarkably similar to those that would go on in England.”

  “In many ways they are, because it is important for those who cannot move on, those who have no choice but to reside in the Underworld, to feel rooted in the familiar. But there are important differences between your world and mine. The existence of Dragon Lords, of course, and the knowledge we carry of a powerful, dark magic that is unknown elsewhere. I was eager to learn this magic, but use it sparingly now that I have mastered its power.”

  She sensed an aching sadness in his words, a longing to be something other than he was. But he seemed to quickly shake out of his morose thoughts and continued to talk about his home. “Our animals and birds aren’t quite the same down here. You wouldn’t recognize most of them.”

  She listened, fascinated as he opened up to her. “No grouse or quail?”

  “No, our birds come in all sizes, but they’re all nasty, as you will recall from your first encounter with those creatures. They have sharp teeth and tough skin, not suitable for eating.”

  She recalled her surprise on that first day and it instantly made her heart beat a little faster in an unpleasant way. “Is there anything that isn’t dangerous here?”

  “Many things,” he assured, the deep rumble of his voice as smooth as the water upon which they drifted.

  “Name one.”

  “Sausage trees,” he replied immediately.

  She laughed and shook her head. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Now I know you’re teasing me.”

  “No, I’m in earnest. They exist in your world as well, in the arid regions of your continent of Africa. These trees sustain most of the demons living down here as well. Their fruit happens to grow in the shape of a sausage, hence its name.” His tone became more serious. “Mordain, the red dragon, and I have maintained our lands so that they and our subjects flourish. But Brihann, Necros, and Python have been swallowed up by the evil of their magic. Their thoughts are filled with war and death so that they no longer think of what is needed to sustain their minions. The demons who live within their realms mostly survive on the fruit and flowers of the sausage trees.”

  “Will you think me heartless if I’m relieved to know those demons are weakened? And glad that their Dragon Lords are destroying the very evil which gives them power? It cannot be a bad thing.”

  He sighed. “I suppose it isn’t. But the Underworld does not harbor only wicked souls. Many who are here are not unredeemable.”

  Their conversation seemed to flow as swiftly as the current that propelled them silently down the vast river. She was glad it would take hours to reach their destination, for there was so much to learn about him and this Underworld in which she was presently trapped. “Then why are they here?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. Perhaps their anger needs to fade before their souls can return to your world or rise to heaven. Perhaps it is sorrow or pain that compels them here, or a mistake that could not be healed while they lived. Many of them were tormented in life, but few who pass through here are pure evil.”

  “You seem to understand their suffering.”

  He grunted. “I’m not that insightful. However, I don’t judge the souls who come to me. Here, they are given a second chance. They start afresh once the ferrymen bring them across the river and they set foot on my lands. Many understand the hope of redemption that is offered and do eventually move on to a better place.”

  “They’re fortunate to come to you.” She suddenly wondered whether she’d been brought here for the same reason, only he was hiding the truth from her.

  He somehow sensed her thoughts. “No, Georgie. You’re here for altogether different reasons that will be revealed by the Stone of Draloch in its own good time. Had you not been brought to me, I might have decided to join Brihann in his mad quest. Perhaps you are here to remind me that goodness still exists and ought to be left to flourish.”

  He took the sack of wine and drank heartily. “Perhaps you’ve been brought here merely to torment me. The Stone of Draloch is not above cruelty either. It could have–”

  He stopped abruptly, and Georgiana ground her teeth in frustration. “What could it have done?”

  “Nothing.”

  She sighed, feeling his sudden tension and knowing he was hiding something.

  “Obviously, it is important. Did you ever consider that I was brought here to mend whatever it is that you won’t tell me?” In truth, until this moment, she hadn’t considered herself important or powerful and that had been a mistake on her part. She’d been chosen by this mysterious Stone of Draloch and put in close quarters with Lord Bloodaxe. Why wouldn’t he tell her the reason?

  The connection that she’d felt so immediately and profoundly at their first meeting had to be significant. She glanced around in the hope of seeing something of their location as they continued to drift, but saw nothing but an endless blackness. They’d been in the boat for some time now and she didn’t want to miss the chance to ask more questions. “I think you must tell me how we are connected.”

  He was already tense, but the warm, moisture-laden air had suddenly charged. She didn’t care if he was angry. He wasn’t going to hurt her. He was her valiant protector. “Did you save my life when I was in England? I don’t recall it ever being in peril. But I think it must have been and you were the one to save me. Why else would I feel such a strong bond with you? When I opened my eyes and saw you beside me, I wasn’t afraid.”

  He grunted. “You were frightened out of your wits.”

  “No, I wasn’t. Perhaps in that first moment. But I calmed quickly. I knew you were someone i
mportant to me.”

  She paused and was disappointed when he refused to answer. “Very well, if you can be stubborn and irritating, then so can I. I’m not climbing those Razor Cliffs until you tell me what I need to know. So, what do you say now?”

  There was another long pause before he finally relented. “Will you promise to climb to the light and never look back if I tell you about us?”

  “There was an us?” Her heart beat a little faster in anticipation. “Of course, there had to be. Yes, I promise.”

  He leaned close then and gave her the softest kiss on her lips. As his mouth pressed to hers, she tasted the honey wine he’d taken his fill of earlier. “I kissed you once like this in England.”

  She held her breath and then released it in a rush of questions. “When? Why don’t I remember it? And yet, my heart remembered you. I knew we were connected somehow.”

  “You were but an infant then. I was just a boy. Our families had grand plans for us at one time. Marriage plans.”

  “What?” She gripped the edge of the bench so tightly, the splintered wood dug into her fingers.

  “We were betrothed, you and I?”

  Her head began to spin with wild thoughts.

  His words rang true, but her mind could not yet comprehend it. “No, how can it be? I was never betrothed until Oliver.” But even as she spoke the words, she knew he was telling the truth. There had been rumors. Whisperings. “Who were you in England? What happened to us, Lord Bloodaxe? Why did my father never tell me this?”

  “In that time, I was known as Arik Blakefield, eldest son of the Duke of Draloch.”

  “Arik? It’s a nice name. May I call you that?”

  “No,” he said with unexpected harshness, “that part of me is gone. I am no longer Arik but Lord Bloodaxe. Named so for all the killing I’ve done with my battle axe. Many have been slain by my hand, many who may not have deserved to die. But I took their lives anyway.”

  She shook her head in denial. “I cannot believe you purposely did harm to anyone. Were you… did you do this in England?”