Werewolf Knight 3, page 18
As soon as I unlocked the door, Tabitha bolted past me, and the other two girls quickly followed. I was left to close the door behind us, but at least I had a nice view as the girls stripped off their cloaks.
“I love this house,” Tabitha declared.
“Maybe we should start some popcorn,” Sybil suggested.
“Later,” I said. “After we deal with the notebook.”
I started up the stairs, and the girls quickly fell into step behind me. I went straight toward my bedroom and then made a beeline for Sybil’s basket. I started to rummage around inside, though I had to dig through layers of rosemary oil, assorted balms, tea bags, empty jars, and Goddess only knew what else until I found Wenderoth’s diary.
“Wow,” I said as I pulled out the infamous item and held it up in front of the girls. “I really can’t believe how much you carry in there.”
“Ugh,” Imelda practically spat, and she shook her head. “I don’t want any reminder of that awful vampire again. You should burn it.”
“After all the trouble it has caused me, I would love to,” I said with a laugh. “But that can’t happen until we’ve figured out what the vampires are planning.”
“And there’s a lot of groundbreaking magic in there,” Sybil said with a nod. “We can’t just give it up. The cipher who was trying to protect it died for the information in that notebook, and by the Goddess, we have to make sure that he didn’t die in vain.”
“So for now, it stays in New Jersey,” I said. “At least we won’t have to worry about any vampires showing up here.”
“But you can’t just leave it out in the open,” Imelda gasped. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I have the perfect place for it.”
I grinned at the three girls, set the basket back on the floor, and then headed for the hallway. I heard three sets of footsteps follow me down the hall to my office where the smell of paper and furniture polish greeted me.
“This is where the magic happens,” Tabitha said as the girls stepped into the room. “Hank has been very hard at work ever since the Moon Bean business started.”
“That I have,” I said as I walked behind the desk.
I debated where I should leave the notebook, but then I remembered that old adage about hiding in plain sight. I looked at one of the stacks of papers, but there were still files in there that I needed to review, and I didn’t want the notebook to get tossed in my recycling bin by mistake. I thought about the bookshelves, but I finally settled on the desk drawers. I opened the drawer where I kept my extra pens and some small pads for scribbling notes and dropped it in.
And that was the last that Lupercalia would ever see of it.
“Okay,” Tabitha said with a nod. “Noted. The notebook is in your desk. Is that it?”
“Yep,” I said. “Lupercalia will never hear another word about it. Well, unless we need it again for some reason. But any research we need to do with it will happen here so we won’t have to worry about people getting killed for it.”
“You’re a true knight, Hank,” Sybil said, and she brought her hands to her chest.
“Thank you,” I said, and I smiled back at the girls.
“What should we do now?” Imelda asked. “Do we return to Lupercalia now that we’ve hidden the notebook?”
“I have a great idea,” I said, and I felt myself smirk.
“And what would that be?” Tabitha asked and crossed her arms.
“Imelda’s right,” I said. “We should return to Lupercalia. I want to count the moon silver from my last trip, because I think I might just have enough to get started on my moon sword.”
The girls looked at each other and gasped. I was already unstoppable, but with a moon sword, I’d be on a completely different level of terrifying.
And I’d be a full-fledged knight.
Chapter 11
I walked over to the girls and held out my arms, which Sybil and Imelda snatched immediately.
“I haven’t seen a moon sword in years,” Imelda said. “In fact, I haven’t seen anything of the Lupercalian nobility since before I was turned.”
“Well, all that’s about to change,” Tabitha said. “We’re in close contact with the rest of the Lupercalian nobility, so as long as you stick with us, you’re going to be seeing a lot of them."
“Especially this one,” Sybil said with a wink at Tabitha.
“Yes,” Tabitha said. “Especially me.”
“Everyone ready?” I asked as I checked that the girls were all holding on to me. “Then let’s go.”
I twisted the ring, and my office disappeared around me. I was thrown into the pitch-black space that the moon ring always brought us to, where I could feel the wind blowing through my body like my molecules had started to spread apart. At the same time, I felt something tugging at my feet, like a gentle reminder that I would soon be back on solid ground.
A few seconds later, my Lupercalian bedroom reappeared around us. I could hear the servants as they moved around downstairs, and the scents of rosemary and cinnamon quickly overwhelmed everything else.
“It smells amazing,” Tabitha said. “Maybe they’re making rosemary buns. Come on girls, let’s leave Hank to his silver and go see what the cooks are doing.”
“If you must,” I said and raised an eyebrow, but I was glad that they were having fun and taking care of Imelda.
The three girls were about to scurry away when we heard a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I called as Sybil and Tabitha exchanged a worried glance.
Matilda opened the door cautiously and then took a single step inside. Her apron was covered in powder stains, a good sign that they’d been making goodies all day in our absence, but she twisted her hands in a nervous gesture as she stared anxiously at the floor.
“Sir Henry,” she said and made a quick curtsy.
“Hello, Matilda,” I said. “Is everything alright?”
“Well,” Matilda said. “We’ve received a letter for you. It’s from Clancy, the noble of Yarikh.”
Matilda produced a brown piece of parchment with a red wax seal that bore the inscription of two intertwined trees. She handed me the letter and took a step back like she was afraid to be the bearer of bad news.
I ripped it open to read aloud. Hell, I had no secrets from the girls, and I didn’t think that the note would have been entrusted to the staff if it had anything confidential inside.
“What’s it say?” Sybil asked.
“To Sir Henry Baker of New Jersey, on the plantation East of Stock,” I began. “This past year, the proud and beautiful villages of Yarikh have been plagued by forest fires. Why the Goddess sent this plight to my people I will never know, but as you can imagine it has brought me the most distress that a noble can possibly suffer.”
“He wants something,” Tabitha snorted.
“Probably,” I agreed before I continued. “It has come to my attention through our annual census report that a large number of villagers from my lands migrated to your plantation after you offered to take them under your protection. Although this would have been received well as a temporary measure, I have it on good authority that they are now under your employment and have taken up permanent residence on your land.”
“Oh, dear,” Sybil sighed.
“This situation does not bode well with me, and it is within my right to settle this the only way that a knight should,” I read. “I challenge you, Henry Baker, to a duel at the royal castle this evening. If you do not accept it will be looked on as an act of cowardice.”
Both Sybil and Imelda gasped at that, but Tabitha only rolled her eyes.
“If you choose to accept, I will see you in the dining hall,” I continued. “In case your squire has not informed you of the rules of a duel, you will be supplied with a weapon and will not be allowed to wear armor. I look forward to seeing you there. Sir Clancy of Yarikh.”
I folded up the paper once I was done and looked at Sybil, Tabitha, Imelda, and Matilda.
“You know,” Tabitha said. “Us Lupercalians are quite good at concealing our emotions. But you can tell from that last part that he’s really excited at the thought of making a fool out of you.”
“No kidding,” I said with a laugh. “The incredibly passive-aggressive part about not needing armor? Yeah, I thought so.”
“It’s just protocol,” Tabitha said. “It’s a great honor to fight a duel, but the real fun is the… what was the phrase I heard? Trash talking. It’s a longstanding Lupercalian tradition, though everyone would deny it.”
Tabitha was obviously a lot more versed in the ways of dueling than Sybil, who had gone completely pale and almost looked a little sick.
“He wasn’t even available when we had to save all of those people from the burning barn,” Sybil said. “Why does he want to attack Hank for protecting the people that he should’ve been protecting?”
“As I just said,” Tabitha said and crossed her arms. “It’s a tradition. It’s what you’re supposed to do when someone takes something of yours.”
“I’m sorry,” Imelda said softly, and she looked around at us with a kind of blank look in her eyes. “But I’m afraid I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Here’s the situation,” Tabitha said. “A lot of the people that work on this farm used to live and work in the forest of Yarikh. We were on a quest and came across them when their town was quite literally going up in flames.”
“It was terrifying,” Sybil said and shook her head. “I don’t know what they would’ve done if Hank hadn’t offered them a place to stay.”
“Well, luckily they’re safe and out of harm’s way,” I said with a laugh. “But it looks like I’m not.”
“Haaaank,” Tabitha said with a giggle. “Don’t be silly. You literally killed Wenderoth after an entire platoon of knights couldn’t even leave a dent. You know that you’ll be fine."
“I know, I know,” I said and laughed. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. But I don’t even know the protocols for a duel.”
“Well, that’s where I come in, despite Clancy’s obvious attempt to tarnish my reputation,” Tabitha said and did a ballet spin right in the middle of my bedroom.
“Tabitha, I haven’t seen you this delighted in a very, very long time,” Sybil said. “In fact, I’d be willing to say that it’s almost sick to see you this excited about the fact that Hank has to fight another knight.”
“There’s nothing more exciting than a duel,” Tabitha said to Sybil, and she took her by the arm. “Well, except for a joust of course. And we all know that I wouldn’t be hanging around with you guys if Hank hadn’t won that joust in such an incredible fashion.”
“What can I say,” I mumbled under my breath. “The girl likes a jock.”
It was amazing to me, given my track record with the ladies in high school, that I was now with someone who actually appreciated me for my physical abilities. Not that I’d ever been particularly inept or anything, but it’s not like I had all the girls crowding around me the way they’d hung on the quarterback after every game. That kind of thing was way outside of my sphere of influence.
“I generally abhor violence of any kind,” Imelda said with a sad look on her face. “But I’m not really one to talk.”
Tabitha’s face went as pale as a sheet for a moment before patting Imelda on the back.
“It’s okay, honey,” she said in a soothing tone. “That wasn’t your fault. We know that you didn’t want to be a murderous, unforgiving--”
“Okay, okay, she gets it,” I cut in. “Anyway, I can’t say no to this, can I? I’m speaking mostly out of concern for my moon silver. I really wanted to get Charles here so he could help me figure out if I had enough for my sword.”
“If you say no to this, I will never speak to you again,” Tabitha replied. “It’s just not done.”
“And if I did?” I pressed.
“You would be an outcast from society,” she said. “Even if you are the savior, you would never be allowed back at court.”
“And is this duel,” I started, “to the death? Or just, like, the first sign of blood?”
“Goodness no,” Tabitha replied, and threw her head back with a laugh. “He doesn’t want to kill you. It’s almost exclusively for entertainment purposes. Just get him to the ground in a dramatic fashion, and make sure the crowd loves it.”
“Well, that settles it,” I said with a sigh. “Looks like I’m going to duel with Sir Clancy of Yarikh in the dining hall of the royal castle. Don’t ever say I didn’t show you girls a good time.”
“Yaaaaayyyeeeeeeeee!” Tabitha squealed and started hopping up and down. “Yay, yay, yay! Hank, you are the best knight in the whole entire world, and I know you’ll defeat Clancy before he even knows what hit him.”
The young noble ran up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She swung her soft, fleshy legs around my waist, and I grabbed hold of her ass so she wouldn’t fall to the floor.
Yeah, I could do a little dueling for this girl.
“Okay,” I laughed as I put the noblewoman back down. “Let’s hold off on the praise until I actually beat this guy.”
“So,” Sybil said. “Looks like we’re going to the castle tonight?”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “To the castle we go.”
“To the castle,” Tabitha repeated and then burst from the room and into the hall.
I heard her run down the stairs, and my wolf hearing even picked up a small gasp when I assumed she ran into an unsuspecting laundry maid or something.
“That girl is wild,” Sybil said and shook her head.
“I like it, though,” Imelda responded with a giggle.
“Well, Imelda,” Sybil said. “You really breathe a new life into me. When I look at the world through your eyes, I can even find Tabitha charming.”
“Go do whatever you need to do before we leave,” I laughed and waved the remaining women from my room.
The sound of their voices lingered for a moment, but then I turned to the sack of silver in one corner. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to start on my moon sword just yet, but it had been a while since I’d been to a really rowdy event at the castle. I remembered the feeling of the Lupercalian nobles cheering me on during the joust and the sheer amount of energy in the room, and I started to feel the same rush of excitement.
And the girls were right. I’d done what none of the other knights had been able to do, so I had no doubt I could handle Clancy.
I heard a clattering sound in the hallway then, and when I looked up, I saw a red-faced Tabitha in my doorway.
“Hello,” I said. “Didn’t you just go downstairs to get ready?”
“I forgot to say,” she panted. “Wear your chainmail. It’s customary since you don’t get to wear your plate armor.”
“Good call,” I said. “I see you found yours. Why was it downstairs?”
The buxom blonde warrior straightened up and held up the chainmail that was in her hand.
“If I’m correct,” she said in a low, smoky voice, “You once yanked it off of me in a fit of passion and threw it in some corner of the room.”
I racked my mind to try and think of when that was, but we’d fucked on that shaggy carpet so many times in front of the fire that I’d lost count. I felt my cock twitch, and I quickly reminded myself that I had to fight Sir Clancy of Yarikh before I could think about my women.
“Well,” I said. “Maybe if I win this duel, I’ll put it right back there.”
The young aristocrat traced her finger from her thighs all the way to her perfectly round breasts. Goddess, she was so fucking hot.
“I’ll be cheering for you even more in that case,” she said with a wink.
I winked back and then walked over to the mannequin that held my armor.
I shook my head back and forth and felt myself grow into my hybrid form before getting suited up.
The transformation to my hybrid form was something that happened much more quickly now. There was that strange moment when my body felt like it was being stretched and reshaped, and then suddenly, I was towering over everyone. As a bonus, my body felt like it was thrumming with energy, and it took everything I had not to howl in delight.
Once I was nine feet tall, I removed the breast plate and then chainmail. Once I had, I slipped it over my head and let it settle on my shoulders. I realized I felt way more comfortable with the weight of the metal than I did without, and I had to smile at how well I had adapted to life as a knight.
I followed Tabitha onto the landing, and before she could make her way down the stairs, I scooped her up in one fell swoop. I felt her wriggle around in my arms before she wrapped her arms around my neck like a film starlet.
“Oh, Hank,” she said with a low cackle. “I really do love when you do that.”
The witch and the priestess weren’t waiting for us at the bottom of the steps, so I carried Tabitha into the sitting room. Sybil and Imelda were both there, and they were hovering over an old tome that had probably been a gift from Charles, though it could have also come from Tabitha’s parents. Sybil was wearing her favorite navy-blue cloak, while Imelda was wearing a long black coat that I hadn’t seen before.
“I let Imelda borrow one of your old coats, Tabitha,” Sybil said without looking up from the book. “She doesn’t have any other clothes here except for the ones she’s wearing.”
“That’s just fine by me,” Tabitha said. “You know how much I love to swap.”
“What’re you looking at?” I asked.
“It’s a book about monsters,” Imelda said. “Look, there’s me.”
The page she pointed to had an illustration of a priestess blessing a lake. The priestess did bear an uncanny resemblance to Imelda, right down to the way she held her hands when she invoked the Goddess’ power. The lake itself was brimming with all sorts of curious beasts from dragons to turtles as well as a horse with fins.
“Whoa,” I said. “Is that really you?”
