FLAME OF DESIRE Read Online Free PDF Page B

chided.
    A cry of anger was his answer as the man lunged again, but as before, found his thrust parried. The sound of sword on sword rent the air as the two fought a furious battle, a test of strength and of skill.
    Again and again Hugh Seton lunged, his anger at having been thwarted making him careless. Reacting to the warning of his senses, his sword arm swinging forward, Richard blocked each thrust, at last knocking his enemy’s sword to the ground. The tables had turned quickly. Now it was Richard Morgan who held a sword at Seton’s heart.
    “Go ahead and kill me.”
    “I ought to kill you, Seton, but you are not worth endangering my soul. I think in time your own ambition will cause your death.” Disarming his enemy, he stood before him, searching his face for any sign of his father in the man who claimed to be his bastard half-brother. He saw none, yet could not draw this man’s blood. What if there was truth in his claim?
    Reading his mind, Hugh Seton sneered. “You will not kill me, though you would do well to do so for I swear that someday I will cause you such pain that you will remember this day and wish you had drawn my blood.” He wanted to say more but the sound of horses’ hooves in the distance drew his attention. His small piggish eyes glanced in the direction whence they came. A smile touched his lips and Richard cringed in revulsion at this man who had taunted him since childhood. Although he did not want to shed his blood, he could not stand here and chatter while Northumberland even now rode toward them. He had to act, and act quickly, and thus, raising his sword, he aimed a blow with the side of the blade, rendering his enemy unconscious.
    “I hope that I am not foolish in sparing you, Seton,” Richard said between clenched teeth, bending over the still form. He had an overpowering urge to finish the job, to revenge his uncle and his father, but he instead held back. Murder was not in his blood. He would not stoop to Seton’s level. In stead, he mounted his horse to begin his journey anew.
    Richard rode at a furious pace now, threatened by the fact that Northumberland would by now have found his henchman Seton and would be following close behind. Only once did he stop, and then only briefly to quench his thirst.
    Near the end of the day he entered a part of the land far different from that which he had traveled before. Gone now were the gently rolling hills, the wide meadows and moors; now steep rocky hills loomed in his path, bordered by swiftly rushing streams. The terrain slowed his pace and he fought his way over the stones and rocks. At last when he reached the top of the hill he shifted on his horse to look around.
    “Northumberland!” he whispered, his voice hardly more than a croak. Frustration and alarm knifed through him like the sharpest dagger as he saw the approaching horsemen descending upon him. In their somber clothes of black and brown they looked like insects creeping over the hill. There were too many to fight; he had to escape.
    Across the rocky hillside his horse galloped, toward the forest. Its leafy branches beckoned him like the arms of a lover as he fled his enemy.
     
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Richard bent close to the churning muscles of his horse as if to become one with the animal. He sought a firm grip on the reins as he guided the horse onward. His death sentence. That was what it would mean if her were caught. He could see the last rays of the sun fading behind the hilltops and knew the light would soon be extinguished, adding further safety. This gave him hope as he urged the stallion onward. He would beat Northumberland yet!
    The sound of horses’ hooves coming closer and closer echoed in his ears. He was drenched in perspiration from the strain and exertion of his ride, his heart was beating like a drum in his chest, yet he smiled, knowing that each moment he was getting closer to the forest. Once there he could seek the shelter of its dense foliage,