Ziggy's Corner: Okay chapter four. I'm pleased I finally got some reviews, I thought this series was actually going to go down the tubes. Yes, I know that the notion of boyfriend/ girlfriend did not exist in the thirteen hundreds as we know it, but I was afraid I'd get my readers too lost either way.
As for the Knights, here's a brief history: They were founded in the eleven hundreds to protect pilgrims while traveling to the Holy Land from bandits and Muslim troops. They were known as the Poor-Fellow Soldiers of Christ and were based in the Temple of Solomon, hence where they got the name, the TEMPLER Knights. They were excellent with money and after being pushed from the Holy Land most of them became bankers. Close to around the beginning of the thirteenth century, kings from around western Europe began seeing all their land and property, gifts given to them by noble pilgrims, and grew jealous. King Louis IV of France (named the Fair for his skin) pressured the pope who was now living in Avagon, France to condemn them. The king had many of them tortured to produce false evidence from false testimony, and the pope eventually gave into pressure, condemning them for homosexual acts, heresy, witchcraft and the such, and their leaders burned at the stakes. None of the accusations were true, but as the Church proclaimed it in the council, King Louis had his reason to take their lands and use their money to further his military ambitions.
So now that you know about the Knights, you know why Ryder, whose name ironically means knight, is reluctant to use his second name. He doesn't want too many people knowing who he is, because it was around this time that second/last names were starting to come into use, and it would have been easy to put two and two together and realize that Ryder Holmes was one of the Knights.
Okay, so now that the history lesson is over, on with the story.
Ryder and Watt pressed on, homing in on the village, and hopefully some more answers to the mystery. Neither of them spoke a word, and there was most definitely tension in the air as they walked. Watt didn't trust Ryder, not as completely as he had before he found out he was a Templer. They occasionally exchanged glances, but that was about it. It wasn't until they were nearly to the end of their journey when Watt finally spoke.
"You're planning on fleeing once we solve the mystery, if its not solved already, aren't you?"
Ryder clenched his fists and sighed. "What would you do in my position."
"I wouldn't have betrayed the Church, and God," the older man said.
"And I already told you that all those charges are lies," Ryder said, stopping to look at the other man.
"So the Church lies then?" Watt asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ryder gasped and looked of into the distance. How he wished he had all the answers, though he didn't. He was just a man, imperfect. Capable of flaw. Then it hit him, "Look, I will not say the Church tells lies, it was founded by God, so it can not. But it is run be man, and humanity is perfectly capable of telling lies, or even forced or tricked into believing them."
Watt still was not sure, but he favored justice above loyalty to any human man or female, and therefore committed himself to solving this case, after that, he wasn't sure, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. "There's the village," he nodded in its direction.
"And here comes Sir Andrew," Ryder said with a confused look on his face. The nobleman sprinted toward them as fast as he could, his eyes wide with horror, his skin pale white. "What has happened?"
"Someone let William go!" the man gasped, out of breath. He was shaking from head to foot, and his eyes began to water. "And now Hayley has vanished as well."
Ryder grew rigid. He remembered how the mad man had attacked the girl the night before. "When did this happen?"
"No one can tell," the knight said, his shoulders slumped. Ryder stared at him for a long time, his face turning stiff and hard, but he shook it off. "You helped us catch him before, would you be so kind as to help us again?"
"How can he, if no one knows where William went?" Watt asked.
"The boy is clearly deranged," Andrew snapped, glaring at the other man. "He's bound to misstep, and soon. I figure a clever man as Ryder might be able to help us find any clues."
Ryder stared and then turned, "The sooner we begin our search, the sooner we'll find either one of them. How many men are looking?"
Andrew looked at him and blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
Now Ryder grew pale. "I'm a clever man, Sir Andrew, but certainly you don't expect to find either one of them with just the three of us?"
"No, no of course not," the other man said. He swallowed, studying the ancient forest around the village, its harsh browns, its frosted white snow. "But I don't think it would do to have a large party, don't you agree?"
"I don't," Ryder said, crossing his arms.
"Oh come now, if there are a good number of men out looking for them, William might panic, and who knows what might befall Ms. Hayley? Would you want that on your soul?"
"We don't even know if he even has Hayley," Ryder snapped.
"And we don't know if he doesn't," Andrew shot back.
"Gentlemen, please, the longer we stay arguing about it, the more likely the poor lad will have a chance to do something regretful to the girl… if he has her," Watt said.
They looked at him for a moment, and then at each other. Ryder sighed. "He is right I suppose." He looked at the other man and smiled as a way to thank him for snapping him out of his egotistical, paranoid suspicious mind set. Watt shifted and shrugged. "Then let's be on our way."
"It might be wise to go in this direction," Andrew said, pointing away from the village. "He might be headed there."
Just as they turned, a group of armed men walked up to them. "Ryder Holmes?" the heavier armored, bone thin man in the middle of the group asked. He didn't wait for Ryder to answer. "By the authority of the king, and the command of the Holy See, I place you under arrest."
Ryder sighed and looked away. "I don't have time for this again," he hissed. "Gentlemen, a lunatic is out here, and a a young woman is in danger. If you will excuse us, we have very little time to…"
"Ryder Holmes, you are under arrest for crimes of treason against his majesty, and of God," the lead inquisitor snapped. "What happens because of a possessed individual or a peasant girl are of little interest. God willing she will either be safe, or clean of sin that she might enter Heaven. Now come with us." To get his point across, he put a handle on his blade.
"I'm, sorry gentlemen, but this matter will have to wait," Andrew said. "It is most important to find this girl.
"And you are?" the inquisitor asked.
"Sir Andrew Arthur, of his majesty's royal army," he growled.
"Very good, Sir Andrew, you and … I'm assuming you are another knight in his highness' service?" he asked Watt, who nodded. "You and he may continue your search for the girl, and the madman with God's blessings, but Ryder Holmes will come with us right now."
"We don't have time for that," Andrew growled pulling out his own blade. "Now stand aside or we'll cut you down."
"There's no need for that, Sir …," Ryder said, but felt his pulse quicken as the other knight dashed forward and brought his blade down to kill the inquisitor. The dead man's unit quickly responded with force, and was pushed back by the three men, seven dead, all killed by Andrew's blood red blade. Three were injured, and two rushed for the safety of the words.
"Why did you let them go?" Andrew roared, his muscles tightening as Ryder held him back. "Those fools might have cost Hayley her life? Who knows what might have happened to her at the graveyard by now?"
Ryder frowned and took a step back. "Graveyard?"
Andrew looked at the other man and down at his feet. "That's what I heard I mean. The last place she was, before William escaped.
"Then why are we walking away from it, why didn't we turn to it in the first place?" Ryder demanded.
"Because I had some of my men block of the direct route, after the boy escaped. I had hoped that if he was going after her, he would have to get by them." He looked at the younger man. "I just wanted to protect her," he said softer.
"And the path we're taking, it will be quicker?"
"Not completely, but it would have the least amount of guards, if any. If William has any wisdom lodged in that warped mind of his, he'd probably go this way."
Ryder still didn't know why, but one and one was not adding up to two. Every bone in his body begged him to add up all the facts before he acted, but he was determined to save that young girl. "Then let's be off."
It was nearly three hours later, when the men found the girl, huddled in a crypt, weeping silently, her wrists and ankles tied together ceremoniously. The men didn't waste any time in untying the girl, and helped her to her feet. She looked at all three of them, her eyes fearful, but thankful to be free of the cold, gray dusty slab she'd been set on. She gasped and flung herself into Ryder's chest, weeping louder now, as the man took a step back and looked at Watt with a blank expression. For the first time since he had been found out, he caught a glimpse of a smile on the older man's face.
"My dear, how did you get here?" Andrew asked, touching her hand. "Who brought you here?"
Her eyes were distant as she looked at the other man and she shook. "I, I really don't know. I was working in the garden when someone came up from behind me and I felt a hand cover my mouth." She felt Ryder turn his head, but she could not bare to look up. "When I awoke, I was in this dreadful place, and there many people all around me, chanting some cold language."
"Did you get a good look at any of their faces?" Watt asked. The girl simply shook her head.
"They were wearing hoods of some kind, like the ancient druids of our land once did."
"Oh don't be silly dear," Andrew said, approaching her and taking her into his own arms. "You were just scared, and in this horrible place, your mind imagined horrible things."
"Maybe not," Ryder said, looking at the floor. There were many footprints, far more than there should have been if there were only just the three of them, the girl, and her one kidnapper there.
"It's a crypt, Ryder," the other knight scowled. "I'm sure people come in here to bury their dead family members a good portion of the time."
"Don't forget that William was heard praying to pagan, Celtic gods," Watt said.
"A god," Ryder said, "A goddess really, but she was still a Celtic one."
"You two are worse than her," Andrew half chuckled and half scowled. "Come now, let's get out of here before we all begin to see Lucifer himself crawl out from one of these caskets!"
They turned to leave, only Ryder remained. The crypt was cold, black, with shadows owning their own shadows. There were cobwebs everywhere, and the golden edges of the coffins were now brass, and muddy brown. The walls oozed moss, and the sounds of rats, who had chewed their way through the coffins, could be heard inside some of the boxes, chewing of bones and decaying meat. It was the perfect place for someone to scare a poor girl into keeping away from a dark secret. However; that's not what caught Ryder's eyes. He looked down where the girl had been laid, and ran his fingers over the edge of the slab, bringing them up to his nose, and running them around each other. Ryder tapped his cheek, and then turned to leave.
"Thank you both so much for saving my precious little girl," Banning said, holding Hayley very tightly. "And thank you too sir," he said turning to Andrew. "I don't know what I would have done without the three of you."
First he forbids us to aid her when William attacks her last night, and then he is completely blown over for us rescuing her in the crypt. Ryder frowned, his mind racing to try and decipher what it all could mean. "It is not a problem," Ryder said with a nod.
"Please, you are too kind," Banning said, tears running down his cheeks, as he held his daughter. Even the girl seemed surprised by her father's devotion. "I insist that you both stay the night." Ryder caught slight movement on the man's part, and turned his head, slightly.
Watt went to open his mouth, his skin turning red as he took a step toward the other man, but a quick response from Ryder stopped him, and he turned to Banning. "It is our please, thank you for your graciousness."
They said their good nights, and went to their rooms, escorted by the grateful Hayley, who then quickly melted into the darkness with cheeks streaked with tears. "What was that about?" Watt asked, turning to the other man.
"As I said, there is more here that meets the eye," Ryder said, pacing his room his eyes focused inward at the clues he gathered. "I don't think that William is the key here."
"Yes, you've said so before, I as I've gone through my notes, perhaps there is something to that after all." He rested and looked at the other man. "So what is it that we have to do now?"
"As the noose tightens, so the will of our mysterious conspirators weaken," Ryder said. "I think we've been asking too many questions and getting too close to what someone does not want us to find. More to the point, I think who ever might be behind this is slipping, getting despirate that we're not backing down."
"How so?" Watt asked, his interest finally piqued.
"How is it that the Inquisitor knew where to find me? I haven't exactly been completely open."
"How is it then that you know that someone's behind that?"
"I don't, if I had gone with the man, perhaps I could have learned more, but he arrived just a little to conveniently for me to actually accept to go with him, and ask any questions. Then of course he was killed."
"Sir Andrew was acting out of pure emotion, the fear of losing Hayley or not catching William," Watt said, writing a few things down. "I don't condone what he did, but I can understand it, if nothing else."
"I agree," Ryder said, pacing more anxiously. "Still there are things that are just out of reach." He smiled, "Still there are a few things that I've gathered." He quickly told his friend what he had discovered, and watched as Watt wrote them down, his wrist and hand moving quickly.
"Interesting, but do you think that could solve this case?"
"I really could not say, but it was indeed a strong hinge that could burst this door open."
As they talked, it grew darker, colder, and soon they could hear the howling of the dogs yet again.
"Those things are getting on my nerves," Watt growled.
"Yes, and apparently they've attracted someone else," Ryder said as the sound of the back door opened and shut, Banning's heavy footsteps hurrying to the door, and stopping. "Perhaps we better see what's going on."
Larke edged out of the door and towards the tree brimming with light. The dogs howling brought the hairs on the back of her neck straight up, but she was determined to do something her own sister could not do. She'd solve this mystery. Then she'd be father's favorite, instead of that goody two shoes. She could hear her father yell at her to get back, his eyes wide with horror, as was his voice.
The girl pressed on, forcing herself to move forward, until she was in the middle of the yard. She was surrounded by the lights, 'spirit lights' supposedly, but she was positive there was an answer out here. There was no such thing as ghosts, or fairies, angels, demons, etc. Heaven, Hell, they were concepts invented by stingy old men who couldn't have fun anymore, and so did no want anyone else to either. Larke began stomping her feet at the ground, sure she could block out the light, sure she could find a reason for them.
"Child, stop this nonsense," her father howled at her.
She giggled, "Father, don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to me." She opened her mouth to state she was perfectly okay, when out of the darkness, a hooded figure approached, and grabbed the girl, her screams of terror joining the ghostly dogs' howls of sorrow.
And we'll end it there, and get ready for the conclusion! Do you know who's the culprit? What was Ryder talking about, what on earth did he find? Everything will be solved come the next chapter.