Marek (The Knights of Stonebridge Book 1) Read Free Page B

lately that she would miss the Renaissance Festival this year. She always loved going. But she absolutely was not ready to face those memories.
    She tried to recall what she’d eaten for dinner. Sometimes spicy food made her have strange, discombobulated dreams. She shook her head. She’d heated up the remainder of the spaghetti for Vanesa. With only a jar of peanut butter and half a head of lettuce in the fridge, she’d settled for a twenty-five cent pack of Asian noodles.
    Nothing spicy about that.
    The church they left behind stood in the center of what could only be called a ‘village’, if it could even be called that . The ramshackle building struggled to stay upright and seemed just about to lose the battle. But the houses they now passed were in even worse condition. They really were more like sheds than houses. Weathered wood structures that looked like someone had tried to enclose a lean-to, slapping mud in the crevices and tacking a worn blanket over the door. Here and there, chickens scratched at bare earth, tiny goats sniffed for green grass. Occasionally Kitty caught glimpses of people peering out at them, but no one came out to investigate further.
    The place seemed strangely deserted. Maybe because of the smell. Manure and rancid meat, that’s what came to mind. Or maybe everyone was afraid of the men surrounding her. If she had encountered them moving down the street in the wee hours of the morning, she’d have hidden, too.
    Or invited them in for breakfast.
    Kitty pulled Marek’s cloak apart at her neck and peered down at her nightgown. There was little left of it. The nylon that had not actually melted away had disintegrated from the heat leaving only shreds of charred ribbon and lace. At least her underwear was still in one piece. Otherwise she would have been completely naked from the waist down.
    Kitty adjusted the lapels, overlapping them and wrapping her arms around her body. She turned to look over her shoulder. “Are you taking me to the hospital?”
    He kept his gazed fixed straight ahead. “You would prefer a hostel over your own home?” His rich accent and strange speech was difficult to understand, but the contempt in his voice was not lost on Kitty.
    She chose to ignore it. “Not hostel , hospital.” He said nothing. “You’re taking me home? Is Vanesa there?” Still he ignored her. “Listen. I want to see my child. Is she all right?”
    “‘Tis a late hour for you to be concerned for her welfare.”
    Kitty felt as if he’d struck her. She had been overwhelmed with guilt since she found out what Jake had done to Vanesa. She was just as much to blame for not protecting her.
    Tears sprang to her eyes, but she fought them. Her defenses flew up. “I would have done something sooner had I known. By the time I found out…” Unshed tears clogged her throat. Even to her own ears, Kitty sounded like she was making excuses for her maternal shortcomings.
    The vent of a sigh brushed against her damp hair, sending a shiver down the back of her neck. “Woman, you have ever vexed me. Very well. As you seem so suddenly concerned, your daughter is safe at home. I thought it best that she not attend the funeral. A child could catch her death in this weather.”
    Funeral? Is that what had been going on back there? The mood had seemed somber enough. “Who died?” she asked.
    He looked down at her then. His lips thinned in a bitter smile, disappointment evident in his expression. “You did.”
    Kitty laughed out loud. This really must be a dream. “I’m dead?”
    “So it seemed.”
    Maybe she’d fainted or passed out during the fire. But so deeply they thought she was dead ? Who had decided that? Had she no pulse? No heartbeat? Couldn’t they have zapped her with those paddle things or something?
    “So just like that I was to be cremated?”
    “You appeared dead,” he said, no hint of remorse in his tone. “Most thought your death caused by your dalliance with the devil, so burning