An Earl In Time

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  He moved one of his wrists to see if he could get it to slip out of the band, but it was no use.

  “It’s useless to try to get out of those,” Rose said. “They’re enchanted. You need magic to get out of them, and unfortunately for you, I have the wand.”

  She twirled the wand around, and a swirl of green dust glowed in the air. It dissipated as soon as she stopped swirling the wand.

  Julian clenched his teeth. How could he have been so careless? He should have known better than to run right for the wand. He should have let her go on thinking he believed she was Francis until he could get close enough to grab the wand from the pocket.

  Now he’d just put him and Willow in great danger. He made another attempt to free his hands and feet, but it did no good. He wasn’t going anywhere. He couldn’t believe it. If Willow didn’t hide, she was going to be next. He glanced at the red and gold thread connecting him and Willow. It went from him and slipped under the door. He glanced at Rose. Did she see it?

  “I am not an unreasonable lady,” Rose said, directing his attention back to her. “I can offer you a deal. I can release you from those bands. You can go free.”

  Julian glanced at the thread. Rose didn’t see it. Only he could. He didn’t know exactly what he could do with it, but anything would be better than nothing. He focused on Willow and willed for her to wake up. The thread glowed brighter. Encouraged, he sent the thought that Rose was here and that Rose was going to search for her.

  “Droch Leteacht didn’t say I had to take you, specifically,” Rose continued. “He said I had to bring him two living souls who are heirs of this estate. I need one who belongs to this time and one who ends the family line. Willow is the last heir. But,” she gave him a meaningful look, “there are two who rightfully exist in this time. You can make a trade. You don’t have to go to Droch Leteacht. He is a powerful fairy, but he’s also very terrible. He lives among the remains of those who’ve died violent deaths. He delights in the pain of the living. He’ll keep you alive for centuries while he slowly dines on you. He and his companions will eat you until you’re about to die and then restore you only to start eating you again. You can’t tell me that is a fate you’re willing to share, not even with the lady you love.”

  She lifted the wand and aimed it at him.

  He closed his eyes right before the pink and purple blast hit him.

  At once, he saw a land void of vegetation. It was a graveyard of dug-up graves. There were human bones as far as he could see. The clouds above threatened rain that never came. There was not a trace of sunlight anywhere. Everything was shrouded in a gray color. In the center of this dreadful graveyard were a group of black fairies who were snickering and hollering. They drank the blood of their human victims and feasted on them while the humans wailed.

  Julian cried out and struggled to get out of the bands in earnest.

  “I told you he’s terrible,” Rose said and released him from the vision.

  Julian opened his eyes. He’d never been so relieved to be in this manor. “Why would you seek out a fairy like that?”

  “He’s the only one who has the ability to give eternal youth,” Rose said.

  Though Julian was looking around the library, a part of him felt like he was still in that awful graveyard that spanned in all directions as far as the eye could see. He shivered.

  “Now you understand why you don’t want to go there,” she continued. “He can keep you like that for hundreds, even a thousand years. Thanks to your time with Willow, you don’t have to go there. I only need two heirs. One is the last heir of this estate. The other is an heir who belongs to the first part of this century. That heir doesn’t have to be you. You don’t know it yet, but Willow carries a male child. That child can take your place. Droch Leteacht will be so pleased with a baby, especially one born in his kingdom, that he might even grant you eternal youth. Babies are the most precious things to fairies. You can be free forever from this curse. Marry another lady. Have children with her. Let your family line expand. Let the title survive. I’ve had many lovers over the centuries. Trust me. One is as good as another. You don’t need Willow. As for children, they’re easy to create, especially when one is a gentleman. All you have to do is say the word. Agree to the trade, and Willow will be forced to come to me. I won’t even have to look for her.”

  “No!” One lady wasn’t as good as another, and no one could replace a child. Julian struggled harder to get out of the bands. Willow, run. Hide. Get out of here! Rose is coming! The red and gold thread grew brighter. He prayed that meant Willow was receiving his message.

  “This is nonsense,” Rose said. “Why would you allow yourself to be feasted upon for centuries if you don’t have to? I would think after two centuries trapped in a curse, you’d be wiser than this!”

  “It’s because I have been trapped in a curse for two centuries that I’ve learned the value of love. You are a repugnant and loathsome creature,” he snapped. “It’s no wonder my grandfather married someone else to be rid of you. I’d rather die than do anything you want.”

  He barely got the last word out before she sent a blast of magic his way that made him feel as if he’d just been slammed against the wall again. She held the magic up against him, and though he tried to breathe, the pressure of the magic was so great that he couldn’t take any air into his lungs.

  She finally let the magic go and snarled at him. “Unfortunately, I need to send you to Droch Leteacht alive.” With a grunt, she headed out of the library.

  ***

  Willow was in a deep sleep when she felt a surge of panic wake her up. She bolted up in the bed and saw that the red and gold thread connecting her and Julian was glowing brightly in front of her.

  “Julian?” she asked.

  She expected him to be in the bedchamber, but she didn’t see him anywhere. She jumped out of the bed and saw that the thread was going under the door.

  Something was wrong. She couldn’t quite figure out what it was except that Julian was frightened. No. Not frightened. It was stronger than that. He was terrified.

  Rose had to be here. That was the only explanation for it. Willow hurried to slip on a gown and her slippers. Then she softly opened the door and listened. All was quiet. Then she heard the sound of footsteps from downstairs. Angry footsteps.

  The red and gold thread went down the hall and down the main stairs. Julian was down in that direction, but the footsteps seemed to be coming from that area, too.

  What if Rose was coming for her? What if Rose was coming up here to these bedchambers?

  Where could she go to avoid her? She had no idea what happened to Julian, but she did know that Rose needed both of them in order to send them to that evil fairy. As long as Rose didn’t get her, there was a chance she and Julian would be all right.

  Willow hurried down the hall toward the attic, but then a memory flashed through her mind. A memory of another time. Someone was telling her about the servant stairs that were up here. There are other stairs up here, but those have been boarded up. Servants used to go up and down them. If the new owner wants, they can always open those stairwells back up.

  She softly ran down the hall in the direction of those stairs. What she needed was a way to the lower level, and that would take her there. Fortunately, she found the stairs. Just as she slipped into the stairwell, she caught sight of a lady in a pink gown coming up the main stairs. Willow gasped and softly closed the door behind her. Then she made her way down the dark stairwell. The red and gold thread helped to guide her down the steps so she didn’t trip.

  When she made it to the other door, she opened it a crack and saw a corridor lined with rooms. She rushed past all of them. There were two servants she passed, but they seemed to be in a deep sleep since they didn’t wake up as she hurried past them. She followed the red and gold thread through the halls until she recognized the hall leading to the library.

  She made it to the library and let out a startled cry when she saw Ju
lian hanging high on the wall by bands that glowed pink and purple. She couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead since his eyes were closed and he wasn’t making any sounds.

  She picked up a chair and set it in front of him.

  “Julian,” she whispered as she stood up on the chair.

  She reached for his bands at his ankles. A red color wove around the bands, and the bands fell off of his ankles. Inspired, she stood on her tiptoes and touched his face, hoping she could wake him up. It worked. At once, he opened his eyes and focused on her.

  “Willow?” he asked.

  “We have to get you down from here,” she whispered.

  “Rose is here. You can’t let her find you.”

  “We need the wand, Julian.” She reached up as high as she could, but she couldn’t reach the bands holding his wrists in place. She tried shaking his arms in hopes that would do it, but all she managed to do was loosen them from the wall. “I can’t reach your wrists.”

  “She’s looking for you, Willow,” he whispered. “You can’t let her find you. Please. I’ll try to get out of here to get the wand. I need you to hide.”

  She shook his arms with greater force, but the bands still wouldn’t drop from his wrists.

  Something flew past her and landed on Julian’s hand. It took Willow a moment to realize it was the owl. It hooted at her.

  Then she heard a cat meow. Her gaze went to the window, and the cat was sitting on the open window sill. It meowed at her again and then moved its paw in a motion that let her know it wanted her to get out of the manor.

  “Go with it,” Julian whispered.

  “Not without you,” Willow whispered back and tried, once more, without success, to free him of the bands at his wrists. “I can’t lose you.”

  “She needs both of us. As long as she doesn’t get you, she can’t take me.”

  He was right. The evil fairy wanted both of them. She heard a high-pitch scream from upstairs that sent waves of pink and purple ripples through the air.

  “Hurry up,” Julian pleaded with her. “Get out of here.”

  Willow groaned in frustration and headed for the window. The cat jumped outside, and with one last look at Julian, Willow followed it. Willow barely managed to land on her feet. She heard someone heading for the library, so she stooped down to avoid being seen.

  “Where is she?” Rose demanded.

  “I don’t know,” Julian replied.

  “What do you mean you don’t know? I can see she released you from some of your bands!”

  The owl let out a hoot, and Rose let out a shriek.

  Willow was tempted to look in through the window and find out what was going on, but the cat pricked her with its claws to get her attention. Startled, she turned her attention to the fresh wound on her arm. The cat let out an impatient meow and darted over to Julian’s father’s horse. The horse was standing a few windows away from her. It moved its head as if summoning her to go to it.

  She quickly made her way to it. The horse got on its knees, and the cat jumped on top of his back. It let out a meow and then jumped off.

  She heard Rose scream before she saw a flash of pink and purple colors hit a tree not too far from the library window. The tree lit up with pink and purple flames, then quickly dried up and withered into ash. The wind carried the ashes away.

  Willow sharply inhaled and then hopped on the horse, doing her best to imitate sitting on a sidesaddle. The horse got up on its feet and then, without warning, went into a full gallop. Willow clung to its neck and concentrated on keeping her balance.

  A flash of pink and purple came right by her, but the horse dodged it. She was jerked to the side but managed to tighten her hold on the horse before she fell off. Another flash came to her other side, and the horse, once more, avoided it.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t keep watching this. At any moment, the horse under her could be burned up just like that tree, and then she’d be bound with bands on her wrists and ankles just like Julian had been. Then there would be no hope for her and Julian. She kept her eyes shut tight as the horse continued to take her to safety.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The owl came in through the window after chasing Rose out of the room. Julian had managed to free himself from one of the bands holding his wrist up to the wall. He was in the process of trying to get his other wrist free.

  The owl returned to him and started pecking at the band. Julian used his feet to push against the wall. The room smelled of smoked wood and papers. In her effort to wave the owl away from her, Rose had sent blasts of magic fire all around the room. It was a wonder none of them hit Julian. It was also a wonder that none of the servants had come into the room to see what was going on. His guess was that Rose had put them under a deep sleep so they’d stay out of the way.

  Julian gave a hard yank against the band, and it finally released him. He fell onto the chair and knocked it over as he tumbled to the floor. It took a couple of seconds for him to get to his feet, but once he did, he ran to the window.

  He saw that Rose was using her wand to shoot more of those fiery blasts at something in the distance. Julian saw a horse galloping toward the section of trees on the property that led to the blue fairy. The horse dodged the blasts as fast as she was sending them. He thought he saw someone riding the horse, but it wasn’t until he noticed the red and gold thread that he realized the horse was taking Willow to the blue fairy. What a relief. He couldn’t think of a better hiding place than the enchanted trees.

  Julian slipped outside, doing his best to be quiet so that Rose didn’t notice him.

  Julian heard a caterwaul that echoed loudly through the night from behind Rose. Rose spun around, and that was when Julian saw the cat from the barn. She pointed her wand at it, but it was already bolting for the nearest tree.

  The owl swept in from behind her and tangled its claws into her hair. She let out a shriek and brought her hands up to grab the owl.

  Seeing his opportunity, Julian ran for her. She managed to pry the owl off of her head and threw the animal to the ground. Julian bumped into her before she had a chance to point the wand at the owl.

  She shoved Julian away, but he pushed back as he reached for the wand in her hand. She swiped the wand across his chest, resulting in a welt that burned into his skin through his waistcoat and shirt. He stumbled away from her for a second but quickly regained his ground as he pushed the pain aside. He had to get the wand! Everything he cared about depended on it.

  A mouse ran up his leg, but he kept his focus on the wand. He gripped Rose’s wrist in his hand. She used her free hand to swipe at his face, but he blocked the attack with his free arm. Another mouse ran up his other leg. Rose let out a frustrated cry.

  Above them the owl hooted and circled above them. More mice came at Julian and Rose. Julian glanced at the ground, and the entire ground seemed to be covered with mice. And those mice were starting to climb all over Julian and Rose.

  “No,” Rose growled. “No!”

  Sparks of pinks, purples, and gold shot out from the wand and lit up the night sky above them.

  Julian tightened his grip on her wrist so she couldn’t move the wand. Then he finally secured her other hand so she couldn’t lash out at him anymore. She kicked at him, but the mice were quickly forming a barrier between the two of them so he could barely feel the impact of the kick.

  Julian finally managed to get her to release the wand as the mice ran up their arms. He tried to grab it, but it fell on the ground and got lost in the sea of mice that were swarming all around them.

  The cat let out a shrill howling noise, and the mice jumped off of Julian and leapt at Rose. That freed Julian to search beneath the mice for the wand. He got on his hands and knees and scrambled to find it.

  A faint blue light winked at him. He turned toward it, and with one accord, the mice cleared a spot in the grass. The wand gave out a green pulsing color. Julian dropped to his knees and snatched it up.

&nb
sp; Rose tried to get to him, but the mice pressed in on her and forced her to the ground. She threw them off of her, but the more she threw off, the more scrambled to get on her.

  Julian jumped up and rushed for the gazebo. He hoped he wouldn’t need Willow to get the wand to the green fairy, but at the moment, he was the only one who could get to her.

  The owl and cat stayed with Rose, letting out their hoots and their yowls. He had no idea what Rose had put them through while they were men, but he suspected it wasn’t pleasant since they were so angry with her that they had summoned all of the mice to go after her.

  By the time Julian reached the gazebo, he was out of breath and starting to stumble from the exertion of running. He glanced behind him. Rose wasn’t following him.

  He turned his attention back to the gazebo and entered it. A blue light glimmered on the bench. He went to it and held the wand out.

  A small hand reached through the invisible covering, and he placed the wand in the fairy’s hand. At once, the cage shattered. Julian jerked back and fell to the floor of the gazebo.

  The green fairy emerged from her hidden spot and went over to Julian. Though Julian knew he hadn’t done anything to hurt her, he was too scared to say anything. She waved the wand in the air. In the swirl of green dust, a missive formed. It rolled up on its own accord and was given a green seal. It floated in mid-air in front of him, but he was too frightened to take it. She offered him a nod and then flew out of the gazebo and into the air.

  He crawled to the edge of the gazebo so he could watch her. She flew high into the air then lifted her wand. At once, the sky became a green color that was so bright, it was if it was noon during a sunny day. Julian squinted against it so he could see where Rose was. He saw her in the center of where the mice were congregating. They covered her from head to toe, and though she tried to fling them off of her, there were too many of them for her to succeed.