"That is known by many." Gabriel shrugged, so far unimpressed.
This caused Ana to smile again. "You are always the cynic," she a.s.serted.
"Ana!" Peter gasped, afraid his daughter had insulted Gabriel.
"It"s all right," Gabriel told Peter. "Let her finish."
Hesitant to do so, Peter didn"t say anything more and let his daughter continue her reading.
"As I was saying," she began again. "You are always the cynic. Not because you haven"t seen the truth for your own eyes. But because you don"t want to believe it. And because you"re doubtful of your own capabilities."
Now Gabriel was intrigued. If she was referring to his newfound sight, there was no way she could have known that on her own. No one knew about it. Not even Dragos.
"Sapphires," Ana mentioned, perplexed. "Do sapphires mean anything to you?"
Gabriel shook his head. "I don"t think so."
"Hmm." She shrugged. "I"m not sure, either."
She held his hand more tightly now. "Whatever it is you"re looking for, it"s closer than you think. Is it a person?" Ana asked. But she didn"t give him time to answer. "It is a person," she declared resolutely. And then in a mere whisper, she added, "And she is very close."
Gabriel pulled his hand from Ana"s grasp. She snapped open her eyes. "Thank you, girl," he said. He took a few coins from his pocket and threw them down on the table.
"Your mama must be right about that insight, but I have to leave now."
Ana shook her head. "No!" she beseeched him. "If you leave now, you"ll miss her."
Gabriel laughed, though it was only in vain. He hadn"t truly laughed in a long time. Not since...he refused to even think about it.
"Nice work, Drag," he told his brother angrily. "I almost bought it."
"Gabriel, I told you I had nothing to do with this!"
"I"m going to pack my horse." He stood up from the table. "If you try and stop me, brother, I swear I will take my fists to your face."
TWENTY-TWO.
Gabriel packed his horse"s saddle quickly. Anger caused him to move faster. His brother was getting on his d.a.m.ned nerves. But Gabriel suspected the real reason he was so angry stemmed from frustration. He was simply frustrated and he knew it was because he still had not found her.
The group of raiders that had invaded the inn that last night in France had moved out quickly and undetected. They were long gone before Gabriel had ever regained consciousness. He didn"t waste any time searching for her, either. He"d torn off his bandages, not caring if he was fully healed or not at that point. Thankfully, he"d regained the ability to open his eyes and his full vision had been restored. But he hadn"t had the time to feel grateful back then. His only thoughts were of finding her- and then murdering the beasts who had taken her.
Normally, he could track down anyone. But under these circ.u.mstances, there were simply no leads. Once he"d left the village, he"d followed a trail down to the south of France, but it had only brought him to a dead end. The only thing he had to go by was a name-- Faucon. The innkeeper had believed the name belonged to an infamous pirate.
More than anything, Gabriel wished he had seen the girl"s face- if only just once. Even with the return of his sight, he still felt helplessly blinded. Without any sort of description to go by, it would be nearly impossible to locate her. He just knew that he had to. She"d saved him so selflessly and without any hesitation. If he had to, he would spend the rest of his miserable life trying to save hers. He owed her that much.
"I heard you"re on your way out."
Gabriel had known his younger brother had been lurking behind him for a few minutes now, but he hadn"t said anything. Raphael had always enjoyed the element of surprise. It was just a weird habit of his, sneaking up on people. And Gabriel hadn"t felt like explaining his newfound sight to anyone just yet, so when he turned around, he said for good measure, "Didn"t realize you were standing there."
Raphael smirked. He was standing with his arms crossed, casually leaning against the fence post where all the horses were tethered to.
"I"m going with you," he announced.
"No, thanks."
Raphael"s grin soured. "Why not?" he asked. "I can fight better than most men, you know. And I"m not bad with a sword. You could benefit from having me around."
"This isn"t up for discussion, Ralph."
Raphael groaned, exasperatingly. "I swear, you and Drag treat me like a d.a.m.ned infant. D"you realize I"m almost twenty-one years of age?"
"It"s not about your age," Gabriel explained while securing the pack on his horse and grabbing the reins. "This is just something I have to do alone."
Raphael was about to say more when their attention was distracted. They both looked up, finding the newcomers heading into their camp. What was odd was that one of the men pulled a young woman by a rope that bound her by her wrists. She shrieked loudly and defiantly, pulling back against the rope. The noise is what caught both Gabriel and Raphael"s attention in the first place.
Gabriel watched as the woman tugged against her bindings with so much force that she ended up falling down in the dirt. In that moment, as she picked herself up off of the ground, she looked up and noticed the two of them staring at her.
Her dark, sooty lashes lifted and she stared back at them with the most enchanting blue eyes Gabriel had ever seen. They were very unusual, tilted at a slight, exotic slant. Her skin, however, was very light in color, very fair, unlike the swarthy olive skin of most gypsies. She had jet-black hair, which had been left loose, flowing over her shoulders and back in spiraling waves. The darkness of her hair paired with her fair skin and exotic eyes made for an interesting combination. Gabriel couldn"t seem to take his eyes away from her.
Without a doubt, she had to be the beautiful slave Dragos had mentioned at breakfast. And she was obviously dressed to sell. A plain, white cotton gown adorned her, tugging at her every curve. Though Gabriel was captivated by her, it made him sick to realize just what kind of slave the girl would surely end up becoming.
She couldn"t be gypsy, he mused. Her skin was too fair. He doubted she was English or French, either, for her features were too exotic. Perhaps a Spaniard, or maybe Russian. He wondered how she ended up in slavery.
"Come on, girl!" The command was growled from the large man who held the rope as he jerked the young woman forward. She stumbled, but caught her footing this time. Strangely, as the group moved on, the girl continued to look over her shoulder, still staring blatantly at Gabriel and Raphael without an ounce of shame.
Without thinking, Gabriel left his horse and followed the group down to the riverside. And as soon as he realized Gabriel was walking away, Raphael quickly trailed after him.
"Ahh, your highnesses, how nice to see you both." This was said by a shorter man who sported a black eye patch. The man had walked over to Gabriel as he"d noticed him approaching.
"None of that," Gabriel said. "You can drop the t.i.tle as it no longer belongs to either of us."
"Of course," The man smiled crookedly. "I am Ivan, by the way. I am the leader of this little band of peddlers."
Gabriel nodded.
"Would either of you like to view our wares today?"
"Tell me about the slave girl, the one you took over to the river. Who is she?"
Ivan looked towards the group Gabriel had gestured to.
"Aye, but there are many females for sale in that group. I was planning to put them on display for your people at noon. But if it pleases you, I will allow you and your brother to look over the goods beforehand, eh?"
He smiled crookedly again, running his jeweled fingers through his greasy black hair.
"If there are many slaves in that group, why do you only have the one tied up?" Raphael asked this question, though Gabriel had been thinking the same thing.
Ivan frowned. "Oh, her. The rope is a precaution. She has tried to escape many times. I"m sorry to tell you both this, but that one is not for sale. We already have a buyer lined up for her in Rabat- an Arabic Dey. He"s offered a heavy price for the girl."
"My brother said you were selling a beauty beyond compare. What is she, if not that?" Gabriel asked.
"Aye, she is a beauty, that one," Ivan agreed. "Nasty little thing, though. She bit me twice." He said this part bitterly, while lost in thought. "Anyway, she is not the beauty I mentioned to your brother. Come; let me show you the girl I was referring to."
As they followed Ivan, Raphael nudged Gabriel in the ribs, asking, "What"s this all about, brother?"
Gabriel shrugged. He didn"t really care to see any of Ivan"s other slaves. But he didn"t know how to answer his brother. He only knew that he wanted the chance to get closer to the girl with the blue eyes. He had no idea why. Something about her intrigued him.
"Brutus!" Ivan shouted. "Bring Eryn to me."
A few minutes later, a young girl with dark hair was being shoved to stand before Gabriel and Raphael. Granted the girl was beautiful with emerald green eyes and rosy cheeks, but her beauty did not compare to the woman who Gabriel continued watching with his mind"s eye down by the river. She was still watching them, too. He could see her doing it.
"This is Eryn. Lovely as a rose, isn"t she? Of course, her price will be higher than any of the others. But I can give you a special deal if you"re interested in purchasing her today."
Gabriel barely paid any attention to Ivan. His mind was still focused on the other girl. He could see her guard untying her bindings. He then handed her a rag, which she used to wash the dirt and grime from her face and hands. She continued to watch them as she scrubbed.
"Well, you"re a pretty one, aren"t you?"
Gabriel turned to see that Raphael was toying with the slave girl. He lifted her hair and brought it to his nose.
"Like roses," he breathed.
"Ralph," Gabriel warned.
"What?" he asked. "I"m thinking of making a purchase. Could use a woman"s touch around my tent, if I do say so myself." He brought the girls hand up to his lips. "Nice to make your acquaintance, m"dear."
The girl wriggled out of his grasp and turned away from Raphael. It was then that Gabriel realized how frightened she was. He could see the fear plainly showing in her eyes, though she tried very hard to mask it with a haughty air. He doubted she"d been a slave for very long. She lacked the submissive att.i.tude and she wasn"t completely broken.
Gabriel preferred not to see where this was headed.
"Eryn, this is your only warning." Ivan"s voice was menacing. He"d caught her shaking away from Raphael"s touch.
"Come on, Ralph. You"re not buying anything today," Gabriel commanded. "Let"s go."
"Who says so? Because I haven"t forgotten that you"re planning to leave. So I can buy whatever I d.a.m.n well please."
He grabbed the girl"s hand again, yanking her towards him more forcefully now, though he"d only done it to spite Gabriel. Once he"d realized he might have hurt her, Raphael had turned back to the girl to offer an apology, "Sorry, la.s.s--" He hadn"t even gotten the words out of his mouth before a swing was taken at him from a most unusual source.
Raphael was nearly knocked over. In fact, the force of the hit had splintered his lip open from being knocked into his front tooth. He touched his b.l.o.o.d.y mouth before looking up to find the young woman with the blue eyes angrily attempting to take another swing at him.
"You b.l.o.o.d.y knave!" she screamed as she lunged for him. At this point, her guard had caught up to her and effortlessly secured the girl by the waist, lifting her up off of the ground.
"Not her face!" Ivan screeched, panicking. "It"s too valuable."
The guard merely tossed his captive on her backside, knocking the wind out of her. She choked as she tried to catch her breath, coughing sporadically. Gabriel held his own breath until he heard the woman breathe again.
Ivan turned back to Gabriel and Raphael now, his dark eyes still panicked. "My sincerest apologies, sirs. She is crazy, that one. I swear I"ll have her whipped."
Gabriel frowned. "I don"t believe that"s necessary." He turned towards his brother. "Is it necessary, Ralph?"
He could tell that Raphael was holding back his anger. Gabriel was sure that his brother"s pride was severely wounded from getting hit by a woman. He was young and still carried his ego around with him. Thankfully, Raphael swallowed back his pride and let it go. "It"s not necessary," he agreed with Gabriel.
"I insist," Ivan said. "She will need some form of punishment, anyhow. This cannot be overlooked."
When Raphael didn"t immediately oppose Ivan"s offer, Gabriel stared daggers at his brother. "No, it"s fine," Raphael said emphatically to Ivan, but while looking at Gabriel. "Just have the girl apologize and we"ll forget it ever happened."
"Good boy, Ralph, that was very benevolent of you," Gabriel mentioned sarcastically.
Raphael rolled his eyes.
Ivan merely nodded to the guard, who picked the girl up from the ground by her arm and shoved her forward so that she stood directly in front of Raphael.
"Let"s hear it, then?" Ivan instructed her.
But the girl didn"t apologize. She continued to openly express her abhorrence through a pair of angry, slitted eyes. She wasn"t trying to hide how she felt. Not one little bit.
Gabriel didn"t like where this was headed- for the second time around.
The guard pushed her again, knocking her closer to Raphael. "You "eard him, girl. Apologize now."
The beautiful girl still wouldn"t apologize, however. Instead, she spat at the ground before Raphael"s feet.
Gabriel was speechless. And Raphael had become even angrier. "You wicked little viper--"
"Forgive me, sirs," Ivan cut in. "She"s apparently chosen the whipping over a simple apology and so that"s what she"ll get. Maybe it will bring some sense to her."
The guard re-tied her bindings, cutting into the flesh of her wrists. Gabriel noticed the woman"s wrists had already turned bright red and were starting to bleed from the scratchy rope. She hissed with pain as her guard yanked her up.
"Ralph!" Gabriel shouted.
"What?" Raphael shouted back. "She chose her fate. All she had to do was apologize. She deserves whatever she gets!"
With that said, Raphael stomped away, holding his sleeve to his b.l.o.o.d.y mouth, nursing his wound like a spoiled child. Gabriel was pretty sure his brother was nursing his ego, as well.
TWENTY-THREE.
The Constantin brothers.