Prologue #3
Julian and Ashton split off, with Ashton heading to the gatehouse and Julian rushing for the troop house to empty it of any men who might be inside.
But those men had heard the shouting and were already spilling forth just about the time a hail of arrows sailed over the walls, straight into the bailey.
Very quickly, the quiet morning had turned deadly.
It was an all-out assault. Julian was nicked by a bolt, which clipped him in the shoulder, but he saw at least a dozen men go down with nasty bolts sticking out of them.
He picked up the one that had hit him, inspecting it.
They were big, freshly hewn bolts with enormous iron tips, newly fitted and forged.
He could still smell the acrid heat from the forge on them.
As he eyed the bolt, puzzled, another heavier barrage flew up and over the wall.
The shields, for the de Velt men, began to come out.
Tossing the bolt to the ground, Julian rushed to the armory to collect his shield.
He also collected as many as he could carry, the only protection against the rain of arrows that were now bearing down on Pelinom.
He had to find his father to make sure the man was protected and he rushed out of the armory, tossing shields to men as he went.
A third wave was launched, heading straight for the battlements.
He could see soldiers hiding behind the crenelations as a sea of bolts poured through any openings in the wall.
“They’ve got an army of archers!” Ashton bellowed down from the wall when he saw Julian approaching. “They just emerged from the trees. Hundreds of them!”
Julian mounted the ladder to the walls, meeting Ashton halfway and handing him one of two shields he still held. “They’ve been hiding for two days?” he demanded. “Those bolts are fresh, Ash. I inspected one and the tip is newly forged.”
Ashton was grim as he took the offered shield. “It makes sense,” he said. “They probably spent them all on the last few battles and had to replenish their arsenal. No wonder the past two days have been quiet. They were waiting for their archers to refill their damned quills!”
Another round of bolts flew over the walls, this time aiming for the bailey.
Most everyone was already under cover except for the men who had been hit and there were several.
They were trying to drag themselves to safety but most of them were bad off.
Holding his shield over his head, Julian came off the ladder and ran for them.
The first man he grabbed had a big bolt in his chest. He was only half-conscious as Julian grabbed an arm and began to pull him towards the troop house. He had only taken a couple of steps when he began to hear his mother shouting for him.
“Julian!” Kellington de Velt was standing in the now open door to the keep. She was waving frantically at her son. “Bring them in here! Hurry!”
Enraged, Julian ran across the bailey, dragging the man behind him. “Why did you open the door?” he shouted. “Papa will be furious with you!”
Kellington ignored him. She was a strong woman, tough as few were, beautiful and intelligent.
Only a woman of such strength and character could have survived marriage to The Dark Lord.
Not only survived but thrived. Jax and Kellington had a love story for the ages.
She stood aside as Julian brought the soldier to the door where servants took over and dragged him inside.
“Hurry, Julian,” Kellington commanded, pointing to the wounded men in the bailey. “Bring them all in here.”
Julian didn’t have time to argue with her.
He was angry that the door was open, but he supposed she had a point.
They had wounded now, where they hadn’t had any for two days, and his mother and sisters were prepared to tend them.
He rushed back towards the wounded, grabbing another man, when he suddenly looked up and saw his father carrying one man over his broad shoulders while towing another man by the arm.
As his father ran past him, Julian grabbed another victim by the wrist and began to run after his father.
“Papa!” he shouted. “Take my shield. You must protect yourself.”
Jax dumped the man on his shoulder into the waiting arms of servants while still others pulled the man in his grip inside. He turned to Julian as the man rushed up dragging a body.
“No shield,” Jax said, composed and focused as he always was. “It will only slow me down. These men must get inside.”
“Jax, listen to him,” Kellington said, bordering on scolding. “Use a shield to protect yourself. If they are firing bolts, then…”
She was cut off when another barrage flew over the wall, striking the sides of the keep.
Jax pushed his wife inside the door, out of the line of fire, before rushing back to the wounded.
More soldiers were dragging their colleagues inside now, some of them carrying shields to protect themselves, but it was chaos in the bailey of Pelinom.
Men were shouting and running everywhere.
Julian was behind his father, trying to shield his man from another hail of bolts.
“Papa, get inside,” he pleaded. “Most of the men are inside and we can bring in the rest. You are needlessly exposing yourself!”
Before Jax could reply, more arrows hit a man near him, a man who was trying to carry a comrade to the keep.
Jax rushed to help both of them when the worst happened – a bolt plowed into him, straight into his left shoulder blade in a prime location in his back.
It was such a big bolt that the tip emerged on the left side of his abdomen, poking through the mail.
Another barrage came over the wall and Julian threw himself on his father, shield lifted, but he wasn’t in time.
Another bolt caught Jax in the top of his right shoulder, burrowing nearly half its length straight down, straight into Jax’s powerful body.
It had all happened so fast. Faster than Julian could comprehend.
One moment, his father was well and in the next, he had two massive bolts sticking out of him.
But he hadn’t gone down; nay, Jax de Velt was too strong for that.
He simply stood there and took it, as if the bolts meant nothing to him.
As if they didn’t mean his very life.
But they meant something to Julian. After a split second of disbelief, he grabbed his father, trying to keep the shield over him but he couldn’t because of the big bolt in Jax’s right shoulder. It kept knocking the shield sideways.
Julian began screaming to the men around him.
“Help me!” he said. “Help me get him inside!”
Jax was in a bad way, but he had hold of a man on the ground with a bolt through his pelvis and he wouldn’t release him. He was still walking, still dragging that man, but he was staggering.
He was weakening.
“Papa,” Julian begged. “Let go of the soldier. Please let go.”
Jax’s face was ashen. All of the color was gone. But still, he wouldn’t release the soldier. “I cannot,” he said stoically. “I must get him to safety.”
Julian was beside himself. “I must get you to safety,” he said, struggling not to become hysterical. “Papa, drop the man. Someone else will help him. Please let me take you inside.”
Jax ignored him, but he was grunting. An odd grunting sound was coming from him as each step became more and more difficult.
More and more taxing. Blood was streaming from the entry and exit wounds and because both lungs had been pierced, he could hardly breathe.
He coughed, spraying blood from his mouth.
Men were starting to crowd around Jax including Ashton, who had come off the wall when he saw what happened.
Between Ashton and Julian, they managed to break Jax’s grip on the man he’d been trying so desperately to drag to safety.
Jax was still walking, but with great difficulty.
Julian had hold of him, guiding his father towards the keep entry.
He could hear crying and sobbing, but he didn’t take his eyes off his father.
He knew the sound must have been coming from his sisters and even servants who were in the entry, watching the horrific and heartbreaking scene.
Step by step, inch by inch, Jax continued to walk towards the keep with every bit of strength he had.
He was focused on something straight ahead, something he’d been focused on for more than thirty years.
His wife.
Kellington had come out of the keep and Julian turned to see his mother, her arms outstretched to her husband. She was perfectly calm, perfectly collected, as she put her hands on her husband and directed him inside with her.
“Come along, Jax,” she said steadily. “Come inside and let me help you.”
She acted like there weren’t two enormous bolts sticking out of the man. She was composed and soothing. But Jax had blood and saliva dripping from his mouth, down his chin, his face the color of snow.
“There are men who need help,” he said breathlessly. “I must…”
“Julian will make sure they are collected,” Kellington said, gently cutting him off. “I must take care of you now. You have been wounded and you must come with me.”
Mercifully, he didn’t argue. He went with her.
They passed through the keep entry and Jax finally lost his strength.
He plummeted to his knees and Kellington went down with him to help him, but he was such a large man that she couldn’t support his weight as he pitched forward, falling on her.
Kellington ended up on her bottom as Jax lay across her awkwardly because of the bolts that were sticking out of him.
His head ended up against her breasts as her arms went around him.
“I am sorry,” he said, spraying blood onto her chest. “This is not how I planned my day, Kelli.”