Courted Sanctuary

Chapter 16

  Luitgard rubbed her lower back. The long days of riding were taking a severe toll upon her body. Each mile brought more pain. The heat was not helping either.

  The further south they travelled, the hotter it was getting despite travelling between hills and mountains. Midsummer had already come and only recently gone and the climate was warmer than she was used to even during the hottest seasons in her home. She was grateful for any water source to replenish her during the days and wash away the evidence of the heat at night.

  They had left Vienna almost two weeks before but Justin was sure it would take at least another to reach Florence. They followed the trade routes as they curved south towards Venice but would not be entering the city as it would be a detour on their route.

  Ever since their encounter with Merek, Justin had changed. He was both happier and jumpier. As for his happiness, Luitgard could not explain it. As for his jumpiness, he had become increasingly concerned they would find Church trouble on the road. So far, that threat had not materialized.

  It was not the road that scared Luitgard. It was sleep. Her dreams had become a nightly witnessing of Dragonfather's torture. Every night, she heard his screams. Every night she heard him begging to her and for help. Focusing upon Rome was the only comfort she had after such dreams. If she could get there, she could save him and make the nightmares stop.

  They crested a hill. Luitgard could see the well-worn road twist through a small wood. The trees were gathered around a stream parallel to the road before it emerged into the open again and curved through a low-lying field.

  "We could stop in there for a rest in the shade," Justin suggested.

  She nodded her wholehearted agreement.

  They tied their reins to a tree near the stream. Justin immediately bent down and splashed water on his face and the back of his neck. Cupping his hands together, he lifted some of the water to his lips. Luitgard did the same.

  He lay down on the bank with his arms and legs outstretched and closed his eyes. "I will be glad when my days of travel are over," he said.

  "That is a funny attitude for a Dominican," she remarked.

  "I am not," he countered with a bite. "Not anymore."

  She had not intended him offense and was surprised at his hostile response. "I simply was referring to the fact that you were. Was that not the whole reason you found me? You thought travel would bring you to God's truth?"

  "I never liked the travel," he said. "I like to know where my bed will be at night and where to find my meals in the day, even if they weren't much."

  Luitgard remained squatting on the bank of the stream. She wrapped her arms around her knees as she watched the water swirl within a grouping of rocks.

  "When I travelled to Rome as a girl, I was so young and I had Dragonfather with me. I remember his face and the touch of his hand clasping mine as we traversed the city but I remember very little of Rome. I remember the sick and the starving, the cruelty of soldiers and Churchmen upon anyone unfortunate enough to cross their paths in just the wrong way, and a single statue of an angel. She made me wonder if that could be what the Goddess looks like. So even though I have made this journey before, it is all a new experience. I do not remember long nights of being camped in the woods. I cannot imagine choosing such a life."

  "Why do you call him 'Dragonfather'?" Justin asked.

  When she looked over at him, she saw his eyes were still closed and his body relaxed.

  "Because of the dragon crest on his old tunic," she said. "The Mintharchs have always had the crest of the coiled wyvern but I was far too young to think much about it until I was playing in the solar when I should not have been. I was supposed to have been helping my mother pick flowers for the apothecary but when she was not looking, I ran back into the manor to hide. I was so sick of waking up early to do chores. I could not get out of the gates, so I decided to hide until they forgot me. The only place I could think of was Dragonfather's chest. I loved that chest. It has a carving of a wyvern perched atop a tower on it. I would run my fingers over the scales and the wings any time he let me near it. Dragons are such magnificent creatures and from a world that seemed far more interesting than mine. But I was never allowed to see what was inside. That was for 'when I was older'. I figured I would be in enough trouble running from my chores, so I lifted the lid to see what was inside. I thought I might even be able to hide until I had been forgotten. It was full of strange things like linked chain in the shape of a shirt and a tunic with a wyvern on it. There was also the dagger Sieglinde gave me.

  "Dragonfather walked in as I was running my hand over the crest." Luitgard laughed. "I jumped nearly a foot. I tried to get to my feet but I was too frightened to do it properly. I could not take my eyes away from his. I thought he was going to scream at me or beat me. But he calmly walked over and picked me up. He sat down on the bed with me on his knee. He told me I had found his secret and asked that I not tell anyone, not even my own parents. I asked why and he said because those were the things that reminded him of the worst he could be. By keeping them he knew he would never make such mistakes again. But he did not want anyone else to know of those mistakes. He said they would never forgive him.

  "After that, I called him my Dragonfather. The true reason why was our secret. Everyone just assumed it was a playful name because of the Mintharch wyvern. Then, he said he needed to take a trip. He said there was something he had to do. I begged him to take me with him. I wanted adventure. I wanted to see the wonders of the world. He never fought me. He nodded and said he would show me what the world has to offer.

  "That was when he taught me about the horrors of the Christians and the pagans and why the barrier was so important. I never forgot that lesson even if I have since forgotten the journey that taught it."

  There was silence but for the water skipping over the polished stones. One of the horses shook the flies from its mane.

  "Your grandfather had a wyvern on his crest?" Justin asked. His voice was nearly drowned out by the sounds of the water.

  "Yes," she said, "A red wyvern."

  "That is the crest of Kilchain."

  She looked up. He was pushing himself into a seated position but not looking at her.

  "How do you know that?" she asked.

  With his eyes focused upon a vortex in the brook, he said, "It is rumoured they were my ancestors."

  Luitgard lost her balance, unintentionally rocking backwards onto her back. As she climbed to her feet, she asked, "You are a Kilchain?"

  His eyes met hers. "I am not sure," he said. "I come from two generations of bastards but that was always the rumour. I believe Merek thinks so."

  "And if my grandfather had that crest, he was a Kilchain?"

  "Or someone pledged to that house," Justin clarified.

  No. Luitgard knew that was not it. Dragonfather being a Kilchain was the only explanation. If he had been a Kilchain and if Justin were as well, then she knew why the Church had sent him. She was one of his people. He was immune to the barrier.

  "The Church knows you are a Kilchain," she said.

  She had meant it as a statement but he mistook it for a question. "I'm not sure," he said. "It was just a rumour I would hear when people would speak of my grandparents and how my grandmother had come to be a nun but I do not really know."

  She looked into his eyes. She had thought they looked like Dragonfather's from the beginning but had assumed it just a coincidence. Now she knew that they were far less random than that. They were the eyes of the Kilchain.

  "You are a Kilchain," she said. "And so am I."