Physician of Myddfai

Chapter 54

While the soldiers under Kay's command engaged in a manhunt, frantic moments of rescuing the wounded alternated with states of unnatural calm at the castle. The greatest damage had occurred in the courtyard immediately beyond the defensive walls.

Further inland there had been only a few fires promptly stopped by the women, under the leadership of Lady Eleanor. The Earl, followed by Sir Morgan, made the rounds among his people to ascertain the damage and give directions for rearranging the situation.

Sir Richard lent a hand in moving the ruins and temporarily finding a suitable place for the dead. Sir James, on the other hand, followed by a group of soldiers, searched the perimeter and area of the entire castle for enemies to capture who had escaped death or who had failed to escape.

William had barely made it in time to reach Megan who, extremely pale and debilitated, collapsed in his arms with all her weight. Megan felt completely drained of all her energy. Her limbs were so weak that they left her as motionless and floppy as one of the hemp sacks, completely empty.

<<I am here>> William whispered to her, stroking her hair.

<<You were magnificent and saved us all>> he continued by supporting her.

<<Oh, William...how many deaths!>>

<<Much less than what could have been expected and what there would have been had Fizz Osbern succeeded in conquering Caerphilly>> he answered her kindly.

<<There is an enormity of casualties>> she continued.

<<Megan, this is war, but we have the most powerful healer in the world; so, you will see that it will all work out>> he smiled sweetly at her and slowly helped her to her feet.

<<Kay's arrival was providential and after your performance... Well, they ran away like jackrabbits>>

<<Where is Kay?>> she inquired.

<<She is chasing the fugitives>>.

William escorted her to a sheltered place and sat her down.

<<His knowledge and the pact he made with Isabella enabled him to recruit quite a few knights and soldiers. He was really good>>.

<<And the Baron?>>

<<We haven't found him yet>> he replied, seething a little in his face. He squatted down in front of her holding onto his heels and stroked a dirty cheek, trying to wipe away the settled dust and blood.

<<But we will keep looking for him until we find him>> he tried to reassure her.

<<No matter how long it takes. We will find him, and he will finally get the punishment he deserves>>.

Roger Fizz Osbern's eyes were out of his head. How could this have happened? The victory was assured. Isabella had promised her support and then anyway her soldiers were far outnumbered. They had almost made it and then... Hell had come.

She had no idea that Briallen's daughter's faculties were so powerful. Her mother one's were nothing compared to what she had seen that girl do. Megan Giffard was a real fiend.

Baron Fizz Osbern, huddled in a hollow in the ruins, was holding his head rocking back and forth in total delirium. His clothes were scorched along with some of the flesh of some areas of his body. He was completely stripped of his bumptious confidence and kept babbling repeatedly words of vengeance and disbelief. His mind had received too hard and unexpected a blow. By now he had lost all the reasonableness and coolness usual to him.

If before he might have been considered a depraved, cruel, and bloodthirsty man who acted and thought with ruthless lucidity, now, to look at him, he appeared only an old fool who had also lost all his dignity.

His mind had not renounced revenge, and his hatred of the de Clare and Giffard people had only increased out of all proportion. He was a desperate man and, as such, in his mind he was preparing for extreme action. No one had seen him hide. It was enough for him to kill at least one of the de Clare.

No, not just anyone, but the only surviving descendant.

Roger cautiously crawled out of his hiding place. His body was full of blisters and severe burns. The pain he felt all along his body from the burned skin was unspeakable.

Ruptures had formed between the black flesh, causing rivulets of blood to spill out. Parts of his clothes had melted into the skin, which was peeling off in places. Only madness and determination held him up. He looked around him. No one had noticed him, and the way he was dirty they certainly would not recognize him. Even his hair and face were burned, but it mattered little.

Now he just had to find a weapon and get close enough to strike William de Clare dead. In the confusion he managed to cross the drawbridge and enter the courtyard of the first ring wall. Slowly, keeping along the perimeter, he advanced, looking around for his target.

William de Clare was standing with his back to him as he was talking to someone, covering his interlocutor with his size. As he continued to approach, keeping himself leaning partly against the rubble and partly against the walls that remained standing, his gaze fixed on his target and his mind busy thinking about how to kill him, he tripped over something.

He grabbed onto a stone to regain his balance and, after making sure that no one had noticed him, directed his wrathful gaze toward the object that had nearly knocked him over. He wanted to scream in pain, but instead, slowly his mouth drew a wicked grin of contentment. Fate once again was helping him. Roger knew he did not have the strength to face a duel against William de Clare; certainly not in the condition he was now in. It was not out of fear of death. He knew that the burns he had suffered were too many and too severe; his end was near.

The inert object at his feet that could have caused him to fall ruinously was a small crossbow with an arrow still loaded. It was one of those light models that could be held with one hand, not difficult to load, but would have served the purpose very well. With satisfaction, like a child who has found a toy, oblivious to all caution he picked it up and, with his hands bleeding and blistered, aimed it.

Megan, due to numb senses, realized the danger just moments before. She had no energy left to use her powers. With a tremendous effort she did the only thing she was able to do at that moment. He gave William a sudden tug to move him just enough so that he was no longer in the path of the oncoming dart. The deadly object, after being deflected by the medallion that she always wore around her neck, went deep into her heart with a dull, sinister sound. Then, it was darkness and silence.

William only had time to feel the shift in the air caused by the passage of the dart and see Megan fall to the ground.