18
All would have been well if William had not rushed out onto the hall steps at that point. Joanna was right behind him.
'William, come back here,' Joanna screamed.
'Clare, Clare, are you all right?' William shouted.
Before Gareth could intervene, the boy careened straight into Lucretius.
The magician proved immediately how he had gotten at least a portion of his formidable reputation.
He grabbed William with a deft movement.
'One shield is as good as another.' With one hand Lucretius dragged his struggling victim back against himself.
He unsheathed his sword with his free hand. 'Stay back, Hellhound.'
Joanna cried out and collapsed in a dead faint in the doorway. No one paid any attention. Out of the corner of his eye, Gareth saw Clare impulsively start forward toward Lucretius.
'Do as he says,' Gareth said. 'Stay back.'
Clare halted and stared at him with a desperate expression. 'Gareth?'
Gareth looked at Lucretius. 'The best you can hope for at this juncture is to escape the isle with the damned book, Lucretius.'
Lucretius smiled grimly. ''Tis all I ever wanted in the first place.
Dalian, you stupid little cur, toss the pouch to me.'
Dalian looked at Gareth.
'Do it,' Gareth said.
Dalian picked up the leather pouch and tossed it toward Lucretius, who managed to grab it without releasing William.
Lucretius slung the long strap over his opposite shoulder so that the pouch hung crosswise across his body. 'There. I have everything I need.
Now all I must do is vanish.'
'Through the hidden door in the old curtain wall that one of the stonemasons built for you?' Gareth asked softly.
'So you reasoned that out, did you?' Lucretius chuckled. 'The man owed me a favor. His life, to be precise. Constructing the secret entrance in your wall was the price I put on his continued existence.'
'Very clever, magician. But you had best hurry. My men have almost subdued the last of your knights. You have only the smoke and fog to cover your retreat.'
Lucretius assessed the situation with a single glance at the smoke-shrouded courtyard. It was impossible to see much of what was happening, but it was clear that the clash of swords was lessening rapidly. Ulrich's voice could be heard above the din, demanding that the invaders yield.
Lucretius looked at Clare. 'I would rather have a more certain shield.
Come here, Clare. I shall exchange young William for you.'
'No,' Gareth said. 'You do not need her. You have my word that I will not stop you from leaving this courtyard.'
'Forgive me if I do not trust the depth of your feelings for this boy,'
Lucretius said. 'But I know that you will most certainly think carefully before you risk your lady's neck. Clare is, after all, the most valuable member of your household, is she not? Without her, the flowers of Desire are worthless.
Clare, come here at once.'
'Clare, no,' Gareth said roughly. He felt his stomach clench with fear.
'Tis for the best, my lord,' Clare said. 'Trust me.'
She went calmly down the steps.
Lucretius did not hesitate. He released William, grabbed Clare, and crooked his arm around her throat.
Then he retreated swiftly into the haze that filled the courtyard.
'Damn your soul to hell, magician.' Rage lanced through Gareth, hot and fierce. He moved to follow Lucretius and Clare.
'My lord, wait.' William caught hold of Gareth's arm.
'Go back inside the hall.' The damned magician was already disappearing into the smoke, Gareth realized.
'But there is something I must tell you before you go after the magician,' William hissed softly. 'Clare put mugwort inside the pouch. Sir Lucretius will soon begin to sneeze uncontrollably. His eyes will water and he will be rendered helpless.'
Gareth looked down at William. 'Are you certain?'
'Aye, my lord. He has a terrible reaction to mugwort. I saw what happened when Clare once gave him a pomander that was filled with it. He accused her of trying to poison him.'
'Go back inside the hall and wait until Sir Ulrich tells you to open the door.'
'Aye, my lord.' William hesitated. 'You will fetch Clare back, will you not?'
'Aye.' He looked at Dalian. 'Come with me, Squire.'
Dalian turned a stark face to him. 'He will kill her, my lord.'
'Nay. We will rescue her. It is the magician who will not survive this night.'
He strode toward the gate and called to one of the men-at-arms to open it.
Ulrich hailed him through the smoke. 'We have the magician's knights, my lord.'
'Lock them up until I return.'
'But where are you going?'
'To hunt a magician.'
Once outside the gate, Gareth discovered that an eerie silence now gripped the isle. The chill of dawn had caused the fog to thicken measurably.
The gray mist glowed with the pale light of morning. Unfortunately, that pearly luminescence only served to veil the landscape more completely. Attempting to see through the fog was akin to peering into the smoked crystal stone in the pommel of his sword, Gareth thought. There was light there, but it fooled the eye and obscured the depths.
'What are we going to do?' Dalian asked in a whisper.
'I believe he will head for the first of the small coves. He will seek the small boat that he hid there.'
Dalian glanced at Gareth, startled. 'You found a boat in one of the caves?'
'Aye. I gave orders that the caves were to be searched every few hours.
One of the men discovered a vessel concealed there a short while ago.'
'The magician's boat?'
'No doubt. The bowmen were merely a distraction. He never intended to meet up with them or to leave by way of the harbor.' Gareth glanced around, searching for familiar landmarks in the fog.
Through the mist he spotted the shape of one of the outbuildings. 'That way. Henceforth, say nothing. Walk as silently as you can.'
Dalian nodded.
Gareth led the way across the mist-shrouded field. When the outbuilding faded into the fog, he used the sound of the waves as a guide.
He and Dalian had not gone more than twenty paces when they heard the first great sneeze. It came from up ahead and off to the left.
Dalian looked at Gareth, his eyes widening with realization.
Gareth smiled. My sweet, clever Clare. You have snared the magician for me. Now all I have to do is wait
