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ONE DARK KNIGHT
A round-robin anthology
By
Part I--Sydney Somers
and
Part II--Danielle Dubois
And
Part III—Mandy Monroe
Part I © copyright by Sydney Somers, July 2008
Part II © copyright Danielle Dubois, July 2008
Part III © copyright Mandy Monroe, July 2008
Cover Art by Alex DeShanks, July 2008
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Part I
Sydney Somers
Prologue
Something was different.
Conahl closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He cleared his mind, ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be training and tried to identify the source of his unease. For days he’d been feeling the restless need growing inside him and something else ....
Something that worried him.
He stared up through the canopy of leaves above him. Rays of bright sunshine speared through the branches, warming his face. He’d sought out this spot hundreds of times since he was a boy. Little more than an hour’s ride from his family’s home it was far enough to give him a place to think.
And today there was much to consider.
He’d overheard his parents talking, knew he would be leaving soon. For years he had known the day would come when he would leave his home. Already he’d remained with his family far longer than most of the young men his age. Most others had been placed by the king in other strongholds to continue training and serve other noblemen’s knights.
But not him. His mother claimed his time to be a warrior would come soon enough. With each day that passed and another of his friends ventured past their own borders, Conahl grew more impatient.
He was more than ready, and now that he could leave at any time for what he’d been waiting years for, something wasn’t right. Instead of being relieved to follow the honorable path of every man in his family before him, he felt edgy and unsure.
Frustrated, he sat up and stabbed his sword into the ground. The jewel crusted hilt, a gift from the king, glittered in the sunlight.
The soft hum in his gut that he was growing accustomed to pulsed wildly.
He cocked his head, heard the faint sound of soft foot falls close by.
Conahl pushed to his feet, taking his sword with him in a practiced gesture that was as fluid as if the sword was merely an extension of his arm.
“I had a feeling I might find you here.”
Conahl lowered his arm and sighed as his best friend’s younger sister stepped into the small clearing that surrounded the grassy bank on this side of the lake.
“Are you hiding, too?” Avalyn asked, the same soft smile he knew so well drawing his attention to her mouth.
“No.”
Her grin widened, her full pouty lips on his mind more often than they should be. They’d known each other since childhood and yet with each passing year she grew more beautiful. And even more so lately he found it increasingly difficult to be around her without feeling the sharp pull of temptation. Even now, the urge to taste her mouth for himself pounded fiercely in his chest.
Conahl inhaled sharply, banishing the images of her bathing in the lake, her hair a long golden curtain that draped her shoulders. He’d come upon her purely by accident that one and only time, and he worried the memory would be forever etched in his mind. As far as he knew she hadn’t been aware of his presence. Given the occasional sharp lash of her tongue, he guessed he would have heard an earful if she’d known.
He faced the lake before his eyes could unlace the pale yellow gown that made him even more aware of her. “You’ve lost your maid I see.” He forced himself to think of her brother, his friend, and how furious Eryk would be to know what was on Conahl’s mind lately.
Avalyn laughed, the sound far too becoming to ignore. “She thinks, or she likely did until recently, that I’m playing hide and seek in the garden.”
“And whose horse did you borrow when you decided to take your game so far from the castle?” He strode to the edge of trees and glimpsed a familiar sand colored beast tied next to the less temperamental one he’d ridden today.
Conahl whirled around. “Have you lost your mind? That horse is not fit for a woman to ride.”
“He’s gentle.”
“He nearly trampled one of the servants last week.”
She slipped off her silk slippers, pulled her gown up to her knees, and waded ankle deep into crystal blue water. “I guess he just likes me then.” Avalyn glanced at him over her shoulder, her waist-length hair falling loose from its braid. Saucy brown eyes tempted him.
Too much.
“It’s time to leave. I shall escort you back.”
“That’s not necessary.” She bent and plucked a rock from the shore and tossed it as well as he and Eryk could, the rock skipping across the glassy surface. “I found my way here. I’ll see myself back.”
“We are an hour’s ride from the castle. I will not leave you here defenseless.”
“How many times when we were children did you have no trouble whatsoever leaving me here defenseless?”
Conahl snorted, thinking of one time in particular his father nearly took his hide off for it, too. “That was different. You followed me and your brother everywhere.”
“Age makes no difference.”
Conahl stalked towards her and snapped up her shoes. He thrust them at her, praying he wouldn’t need to haul her from the lake. His hands itched to take a hold of her, and he feared what he might be tempted to do should it come to that.
“We’re leaving.”
“No.”
He took a threatening step towards her.
“I cannot.” Her voice wavered, and she pressed her lips together and averted her gaze. The opposite shore proved much more interesting than him apparently. “The sooner I return to the castle, the sooner I shall have to return to my home.”
“You visit here and return home countless times a season. Why is today any different?”
She lifted her chin, left the water, and moved towards him. He thought at first she meant to come along with him. Instead of walking towards the horses, she came to a standstill directly in front of him.
Avalyn tilted her face up. A sprinkle of freckles dotted the bridge of her nose. Golden lashes fringed eyes that were trained on the ground. She slowly lifted her gaze. “I need your help.”
She nibbled thoughtfully on her bottom lip, entrancing him with the innocent gesture. His thoughts at the moment were far from innocent. Only by the sheer fact he kept his hands clasped behind his back did he talk himself out of drawing her into his arms and dragging her to the ground.
That and the fact that her brother would run him through with his sword for even contemplating it.
She raised her hand, no higher than his waist, and took a step closer. He clenched his jaw, painfully aware of how close she stood to him. The hum inside him thumped harder now, and he pulled in a breath through his teeth. The scent of her overwhelmed him, made him ache for her.
Without a doubt he knew the rising need to touch her, to slide his mouth from the soft curve below her jaw and down her throat, stemmed from whatever was happening to him. He could no sooner control the bone deep longing than he could force himself to back out of her reach.
“Conahl .…” She sighed, then reached for him.
He ground his jaw. The anticipation of her touching him burned through his middle like wildfire.
She grasped his sword and wrenched it free of the scabbard.
Too stunned to react quickly enough, Conahl stared in bewilderment as she struggled to balance the sword.
He reached out to collect his weapon. “Are you trying to unman me?”
She dodged him and swung the sword experimentally in a half circle.
Conahl jumped back at the risk of her slicing off a very vital part of his anatomy. One he would rather keep injury free at all costs.
“I need you to teach me to fight.”
He blinked. Both the sight of her wielding the weapon and the ridiculous request gave him pause, and then he burst out laughing. So hard in fact he bent forward to hold his stomach together when it felt ready to split in two.
When at last his laughter faded, he straightened, and through a smile said, “I don’t think so.”
“You have to. My brother refuses to help me ....”
“And rightly so. A woman has no reason to use a sword.”
Avalyn whirled again, preventing him from venturing too close to grab his weapon. The men who trained with him would likely be amused at the fact he could take most of them down on a good day but couldn’t seem able to do as much with a girl. Avalyn never wielded such weapons to his knowledge, and that made her far more unpredictable than three-quarters of his father’s knights.
Avalyn shook her head, her cheeks flaming. “I need to be able to protect myself.”
“That is what you have your father and brother for.” He took a chance and lunged forward, snatched his sword out of her unsteady hand, and returned it to his side, patting it once in reassurance that it wouldn’t be accidentally injuring him.
“And a husband? What of him? What if he chooses to harm me? Who will protect me then?” Avalyn pivoted away from him. “Once I am wed I will be at a man’s mercy.”
His throat tightened. “You’ve been promised to someone?”
She shook her head.
“Avalyn?”
She continued to stare across the lake.
“Tell me what’s bothering you.”
“I went to visit my sister before arriving here.” She lifted her chin and glanced over her shoulder, her expression solemn, vulnerable. “She was bruised, claimed it was nothing more than an accident.”
“You believe otherwise.”
She nodded sadly. “She has changed. Marriage has not been kind to her. She used to smile all the time. Now ....”
“Your father will make you a good match one day, soon no doubt.” Again Conahl’s gut clenched. Such a time was inevitable, but he found himself disliking the prospect all the same.
“Perhaps. But even so, I have no wish to find myself at the end of any man’s fist.” She squared her shoulders. “I need your help. Please Conahl. Teach me how to use a sword, a dagger, something. Please.”
“It’s that important to you?”
She nodded, hope flaring in her eyes. “Will you really? Promise?”
The thought of any man hurting her had him agreeing despite his common sense. It couldn’t hurt to show her how to hold the sword properly at the very least. He knew her father would never give his daughter to a cruel man and hoped such a man would never cross paths with Avalyn.
“Right now?” She reached for his sword again.
Conahl backed up, his hand covering the hilt before she thought to snatch it again. “I think we should wait until tomorrow.”
“We’re both here now,” she pressed, her smile daring him to turn her down.
“You do realize your father and brother might not appreciate me doing this.”
“It will be our little secret then, won’t it?”
The sweet curve of her lips, combined with awareness of just how close she was, unleashed a wave of longing inside him. She stood only two feet away, close enough he could easily sweep his arm around her waist and crush her against him. Would she welcome his touch?
Her lips parted, her triumphant expression melting away. He took another step until her gown brushed his legs, and, if he leaned closer, the soft tendrils of hair would brush his face. Her gaze locked on his, and he waited for her to understand what was running through his mind now, waited for her to back away from him.
“Conahl,” she breathed, inching closer still.
Her thigh teased across his, her fingers whisper soft at his side.
Almost as though he couldn’t stop himself, he lifted a hand and tunneled through the locks of hair at the nape of her neck. Avalyn rested her palm against his pounding heart, her gaze fixed on his mouth.
With a soft groan he dipped his head and covered her mouth with his, reveling in the hesitant parting of her lips. He was no stranger to women, yet the soft sweep of her mouth left him quaking inside.
He locked his arms around her and held her close, coaxing her to let him deeper. The breathy moan that shuttered past her lips filled his senses. With every passing moment his hunger for more grew. He tipped her chin back and devoured her jaw and throat and boldly cupped her breasts through her gown. Before it even registered he was crossing the line, she arched against him.
He groaned in response and captured her mouth once more, pulling her to the ground with him. He could hear the rapid pulse of her heart in his mind, taste her desire like the sweetest of ales. He breathed deep, needing something he couldn’t pinpoint but felt she could give him.
Avalyn didn’t object when he worked her gown past her knees, sliding his hand over smooth flesh. Her body rocked beneath his as he found her sex.
“Conahl,” she whispered, parting her thighs for him.
He kissed her again, afraid she would tell him to stop, afraid that he wouldn’t if she asked him to. Every muscle strained to find what his body sought, and he feared her reluctance might not even be able to stop him. That last thought gave him pause, and he pulled back.
She stared up at him expectantly. “Please, don’t stop.” She caught his jaw in her palms and drew him back to her mouth.
Conahl growled, tugging more determinedly at the laces of her gown now, desperate to see her body naked and stretched out beneath him. He wanted to touch her everywhere, explore every curve, every dip and sweet spot until he knew every way to please her. It was the key, he sensed, in finding what he sought. With every flare of desire he could sense burrow through her veins, he grew closer to finding the elusive source of what he craved.
He pushed her gown down and bent to capture one plump nipple in his mouth.
Easy boy.
Conahl’s head snapped up, and he tensed, studied their surroundings for whoever spoke.
“What’s wrong?”
He quickly righted her gown and pushed to his feet. Nothing stirred beyond the long grass and trees caught in the lazy afternoon breeze.
Avalyn stood up, remaining silent as she cast a nervous glance around. Conahl put her at his back, his hand on his sword.
I’m a friend, Conahl.
“Show yourself if you claim to be a friend.”
“Who are you talking to?” Avalyn asked, her grip on the back of his arm tightening.
“The man who speaks to me.” He scanned the same tangled grove of trees closest to where the horses grazed.
“What man? I don’t hear anything.”
And she won’t hear me unless I choose it.
“Who are you?” He focused hard on a shadowed outline in the trees.
“Who are you talking about?”
“Avalyn,” he warned, needing her silence at this moment.
“You do realize if I already knew how to use a sword I wouldn’t be so useless now.”
“Quiet.”
With an indelicate snort she obeyed him.
“Show yourself,” he demanded again, wondering what magik was at work here.
The time has come.
“For what?”
For your real training to begin.
“Training for what?”
“Conahl?” Fear edged Avalyn’s voice.
To be a Knight of the Dark Order.
Conahl frowned at the vague reference to the elusive warriors said to be loyal to no man but their leader. A fact that their own king tolerated to the bafflement of everyone else. Surely his parents and their king didn’t plan for him to become one of these knights?
You were born to be one of us.
“Enough of these sorcerer’s games.”
As you wish.
The air gusted, and Conahl sensed movement to his right. He whirled, his sword up to defend them.
A short distance away the stranger stood. Dressed all in black with long black hair, the man smiled. An unfamiliar crest of a dragon twisted around the hilt of a sword decorated one of the sleeves on the man’s tunic, and a strange amulet dangled from around his neck.
“We have much to discuss.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Khagen. And you are Conahl, and the lovely young woman you shelter is Avalyn, correct?”
He sensed Avalyn nodded but didn’t lower his sword simply because the stranger apparently knew them.
“I believe your maid is about to send out a search party for you, my lady.”
At Khagen’s words one of the horses ambled towards them as though the creature had been summoned.
“She will be perfectly safe,” Khagen promised. “No harm shall come to her on her trip back to the keep, you have my word.”
Conahl didn’t move an inch.
“Come now. You’ll have to put your trust in me eventually.”
“Not today.”
Khagen laughed. “Very well. We shall return to the castle together.”
Conahl’s horse trod forward, followed by a beast of a horse. Even without a saddle, the man mounted the large animal effortlessly and waited for Conahl and Avalyn to do the same.
She hesitated at his side. “Is it truly safe?”
It is.
The more he heard the voice in his head, the more natural it felt, as though it filled some unknown void in his mind. He knew he should be alarmed by the magik that must be involved to make such a thing possible, but while the newcomer’s appearance left him guarded, he didn’t feel threatened.
He nodded at Avalyn.
The uncertainty and hurt reflected in her eyes cut into him. “You’ll be leaving soon, won’t you?”
Very soon.
Conahl glared at the man and his intrusive thoughts, then studied Avalyn. “It would seem so.”
“Before you go, you’ll keep your word and teach me, right?”
He helped Avalyn up into the saddle. She grabbed his hand and held tight. “You promised,” she reminded him.
“I know.”
Just as he knew without looking at the man behind him for confirmation that it was a promise he might not be able to keep. He glanced down at their joined hands, fearing that when he let go he’d lose an important part of himself to whatever was awakening inside him.
The time grows late. Your true destiny awaits.
With a grim determination, Conahl forced himself to release his hold on her and climbed into his own saddle. The day had finally come to become the warrior he’d dreamed about for so long.
And all he could do was stare at Avalyn and fear what such a destiny would cost him.
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