An Earl In Time
Page 27
The fairy let out a cry with such a high pitch that Julian had to cover his ears. Rose and the mice grew still. The fairy pointed her wand straight at Rose. The mice leapt off of Rose and fled in all directions to hide. The cat and owl hurried for the stables.
Just as Julian thought it might be wise to move further into the gazebo, the ground shook with such violence that he ended up rolling up against one of the benches. He clung to it in order to steady himself.
Dark clouds began to form in the sky above, and thunder boomed from multiple directions.
Rose stared at something above her. Julian shifted so he could see what had caught her attention. The clouds continued rolling in and a tornado began to take shape in the sky.
Rose screamed and ran.
Julian turned his attention back to the sky. No, it wasn’t a tornado that was forming above them. It was something else. He moved to get a better look at the funnel that was coming down from the dark clouds that filled the sky. Black wings flapped in the air in a circular formation.
Fairies. Dark, evil fairies. They were forming the funnel. Julian hid under a bench and grasped its legs to brace himself for whatever was coming.
These were not the benevolent creatures Julian and Willow had dealt with. No, these were the things of nightmares.
The fairies continued to swirl down from the sky until the entire sky turned dark from the clouds. The entire estate was cast into shadows. All color departed. Even the green fairy didn’t give off her glow.
More thunder boomed, and this time lightning shot from the center of the swirling fairies. The lightning hit Rose, and she was unable to keep running. The lightning snaked around her and lifted her into the air.
She screamed again and tried to get out of the lightning, but it seemed to only tighten around her. Another dark fairy, this one larger than the others and far more terrifying emerged from the center where the fairies spun around. It had sharp talons on the end of its wings. It had sharp teeth and sharp nails. Its eyes were flames of fire.
Droch Leteacht. Julian recognized the evil fairy from the vision Rose had given him. It was far more terrible in real life than in a vision.
The air grew so thick and heavy that Julian couldn’t breathe.
Droch Leteacht snarled at Rose. “You’re mine.”
Rose shook her head. “No, no. Please. Willow is with child. I can get that child to you. Or you can take her yourself. She’s over there in those trees.”
Julian tried to call out that he wasn’t going to allow it, but he still couldn’t breathe. And because of that, he couldn’t talk. He rolled out from under the bench and tried to pull himself up, but the air was so heavy that he collapsed back to the floor.
“You’ve tried my patience one too many times,” Droch Leteacht growled at Rose.
Lightning shot forth from his fingers and shackles twisted around Rose’s neck, wrists, and ankles. Rose cried out and fought against them, but he grabbed the chain around her neck and yanked her with him. The two went into the middle of the swirling fairies.
The dark fairies snickered and cackled as they followed him back into the sky. The thunder boomed again, but this time it sounded like it came from further away.
The heavy feeling pressing down on Julian left, and he could finally breathe. The dark fairies headed off into the horizon, and the colors began to return to the estate.
The green fairy, looking satisfied, departed in a different direction. And then the sky returned to its nighttime appearance, and all was quiet.
It took a few minutes before Julian had the strength to get to his feet.
It was over. Rose was gone. She couldn’t harm him or Willow ever again. And…and…a child? Did he even believe her? For all he knew, she could have been lying.
Regardless, he had to get to Willow. As he made his way to the doorway of the gazebo, he remembered the missive from the green fairy. He found it floating in mid-air, still covered in green light.
Despite his hesitation, he took it, and the green glow left it. The green seal broke and crumpled into dust that blew away in a breeze. He walked out of the gazebo and unrolled it. In the moonlight, he read, Because you freed me, your title will be passed on from one generation to the next for all time.
Just as he thought he would show it to Willow, it turned to dust and blew away in another breeze. He stared after the green dust as it disappeared into the night.
He released his breath. It was enough to know everything was going to be all right. He and Willow wouldn’t be taken to that cursed land of the evil fairies. They would be allowed to live on at this estate in peace.
He found the red and gold thread leading to the place where the blue fairy dwelt and headed for Willow.
***
The air was silent inside the group of trees which vibrated with a soothing blue color that formed a barrier to keep malevolent magic out. Unlike her first time here, Willow didn’t feel strange. Everything felt as normal in here as it did out there. She was sure that was significant, but she had no way of knowing how. Perhaps the blue fairy wasn’t trying to mask his dwelling. Maybe he was allowing anyone, or anything, to see his location on the property right now.
Willow stood close to the horse and waited in the trees. The horse remained here, and she took that to mean it wasn’t safe to leave yet. The terrible dark clouds and those awful fairies were gone. All that was left beyond the trees, as far as she could make out, was a peaceful night.
She couldn’t make out the manor or gazebo from where she was. All she knew was that something had changed. As the dark clouds departed, a wave of green light swept through the area. It even passed through the blue barrier. She hoped the green light meant the green fairy was free. If so, then it would mean Julian had succeeded and Rose was no longer a threat.
She heard the sound of fluttering wings and turned in time to see the blue fairy come up to her. He pointed his wand toward something in the distance, and that was when she realized someone was running toward them. Her initial reaction was to lean into the horse, but then she saw the red and gold thread connecting her to the person and knew it was Julian.
She was ready to run out to him when the fairy pointed his wand in Julian’s direction. Julian disappeared for a second but reappeared right in front of her. Willow gasped and hugged him. He was all right!
He hugged her in return. “I gave the green fairy her wand. She’s free now. Rose is gone, too. The evil fairy took her away. We’re safe now. It’s going to be all right.”
She was so relieved that she might have collapsed if he hadn’t been holding her.
The blue fairy approached them, and they turned to him. The fairy waved his wand until blue dust formed in front of them. The dust turned into a parchment with words that began to form on it. The parchment floated in front of them, and the fairy looked at them expectantly.
“You take it,” she whispered to Julian. While she understood the fairy was here to protect them, she wasn’t sure she wanted to touch anything magical.
Julian took it and read, “‘The curse has been lifted. All of the effects will be removed with it. Remember the deal I had with your grandfather. The land belongs to me for all generations, but your lineage will be allowed to live here. I will stay here in the trees that will be invisible to all who look at it.’” Julian glanced at Willow. “That sounds fair to me.”
Willow nodded her agreement. It was much better than being enslaved to an evil fairy for hundreds—possibly a thousand or so—years.
“I understand,” Julian told the fairy. “The land is yours and will stay yours. Thank—”
Willow stopped him. “Don’t thank him.”
Julian’s gaze went to her. “Why not?”
“The books I read warn against it. They are polite, but they don’t like to be thanked.”
“Oh, all right.” Julian’s gaze went back to the fairy.
The fairy smiled and then twirled his wand. A swirl of blue light spun around the wand. As it
grew brighter, Julian held Willow closer to him, and she braced herself for what was coming next.
The fairy pointed his wand at Julian and Willow, and the light swept over them. Then the light swept over the horse and continued to sweep across the property.
The fairy offered a bow and waved. Then it disappeared, and in the next instance, Willow, Julian, and the horse were out of the trees. The trees began to blur together and then slowly disappeared. Willow’s eyes widened.
“Do you see trees?” she whispered to Julian.
“No,” he whispered back.
They stood there for a few long moments before they noticed that the horse was wandering off.
“The stables are over here,” Willow said as she followed it.
When she reached it, it stopped and looked at her, but the awareness that had once been in its eyes was gone. She rubbed its nose, and it snorted as any other horse would. She looked up at its mane and noticed the white streak was gone from it. Now its mane was all black.
“I think what made it human in the future is gone,” she told Julian. “It seems to be different now.”
Julian studied it. “I think you’re right. And there’s something else that’s different. The red and gold thread between us is no longer there.”
He took a few steps away from her, and she blinked in surprise. He was right. There was nothing between them anymore.
“Do you think all of the magic is gone from this place?” Willow asked.
“Well, no. There is magic where the fairy is.” Julian pointed to the invisible trees. “That will always be here. But it could be that all other traces of the magic will be gone. Do you remember anything about moving stairs from your time?”
“Moving what?”
“Cars?”
“What’s a car?”
“I suppose not all of the magic is gone,” he said. “There’s enough left so you can be with me in this time.”
The night had been a long one, and she was exhausted. She put her arm around his waist. What did she care about the strange things she had told him about from her time? It didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were together.
Julian gave her a kiss then they led the horse to the stables. He put the horse in its stall. On their way out, a black cat ran by them.
“The cat!” Willow pointed to it. “Do you think it’s like the horse now?”
Julian hurried after it and picked it up. Its eyes were no longer a bright green color, though they were still green. It meowed at them and wiggled to get out of his arms. It then darted up into the loft, and, if Willow saw right, the owl was in the shadows. It gave no hoot to acknowledge it recognized them.
Julian gasped and ran over to her. “I wonder if we can cross the bridge.”
“You want to check the bridge this late at night?” Willow asked.
“I can saddle my horse. We can use the double saddle and ride together.”
“But I’m not in my riding outfit. Shouldn’t we at least change first?”
They heard a sound and jumped.
The stablemaster came into the stables and rubbed his eyes as if he’d just woken up from a deep sleep.
“My lord and lady!” the stablemaster exclaimed in surprise when he noticed them. “I didn’t know you were out here this late. Is there something you need me to do? Is a horse sick?”
“No, the horses are fine,” Julian replied. After a moment, he added, “Thankfully. I wasn’t sure about one of them and wished to check on it.” He glanced over at the horse that had belonged to his father. “As it turns out, I worried for nothing. You may go.”
The stablemaster offered a nod and left.
Julian turned to her. “Whatever Rose did to put them to sleep seems to have worn off.” He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her. “We have so much to be thankful for. Whether we can leave this property or not, I’m just glad we’ll be together.”
She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him. “I am, too.”
In silence, they returned to the manor.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Despite the long night, Julian woke up just past dawn. There had been a moment as he’d been hanging on the wall by those bands when he’d doubted he was going to ever wake up in this manor again. Everything had happened so fast that, even now, he had trouble sorting it all out. All he could do was give Willow an overall version of what had happened. The details were just too unreal to adequately explain.
Maybe it was for the best that he couldn’t put to words all he’d witnessed. What if he let something slip that made someone think he was losing his mind? He’d rather not have someone question his sanity like his mother had questioned his father’s sanity and almost had him committed to an asylum.
Julian’s attention went to Willow. One thing he did remember with clarity was Rose telling him Willow was with child. He got up on his side and noticed that she was awake.
“Last night wasn’t a dream, was it?” she asked.
“No, it wasn’t a dream. It really happened.” He pulled her into his arms. “Rose won’t be coming back. The evil fairy took her.”
He did recall that horrifying creature with surprising clarity. He also recalled the vision Rose had given him of the kingdom that fairy ruled. That monster was the thing of nightmares. And it was something he’d rather never tell Willow about. Some things were just too dark and too terrible. He forced his mind off of those things.
He brushed Willow’s hair from her face. “If I’ve learned nothing else in these two centuries, I’ve learned to not tamper with things I can’t handle. The magic of the fairies is too much for humans. I’m grateful to the blue fairy for helping us, but I’ll be fine if I never see him or any other fairy for as long as I live.”
“I agree with you. I’ve learned that it’s better to grow old and die than to make a deal with a fairy. I can’t imagine trading my child for eternal youth.”
“I can’t, either.” He paused then asked, “Willow, do you know if you’re carrying a child right now?”
“No.” Her eyebrows furrowed, and she glanced at the ceiling. “I won’t know for about another week. Why? Are you that eager to have a son?”
He smiled. “It would be nice to have a child or two running through this place. It’s been quiet here for far too long. But that’s not why I asked. I asked because Rose said you were with child.”
“I’m not as far as I know. I did have my lady’s time shortly before I came to be with you in this century.”
He couldn’t recall any mention of a lady’s time from any conversations he’d had in the past, but Willow was a lady who had to deal with them. Obviously, she knew what to expect. He would wait for next week to ask her about a child. As she said, she would know then.
She put her arms around his shoulders. “If you’d like to try for a child right now, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”
“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try for one, just to better my chances that you’ll be giving me good news next week.” He smiled then brought his lips to hers and made love to her.
***
Right after breakfast, Willow and Julian went to the stables, and while the stablemaster saddled their horses, they gave a couple of apples to the horse that had kept her safe while Julian fought Rose for the wand. It was sad that the horse, cat, and owl didn’t remember her and Julian, but she surmised that if things were to be normal, this had to happen. Still, she vowed to come out here on a regular basis to give the animals a special treat for all they had done to help her and Julian.
“You’re a good horse,” Willow whispered as she stroked its mane.
She glanced at the corner of the barn where the cat and owl were eating small portions of cooked turkey Julian had requested the cook to make. Though the cook had been surprised to learn they wanted turkey so early in the day, he had made it, and she and Julian brought it to the stables. The stablemaster had given them a look of surprise, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
“Are you ready?” Julian asked her.
Willow glanced at him, took a deep breath, and nodded. With one accord, they put their hands forward. Willow waited for any sign of resistance, but it never came. There was no tingling sensation. There was no invisible barrier. There were no colors that rippled in the air. Even the moat looked like it was untouched by magic.
Julian took a tentative step forward, and when nothing happened, he smiled at her. “It’s all right. We can cross.”
Encouraged, she followed him. Nothing happened to her, either. They proceeded across the entire bridge, and once they were on the other side, they got back on their horses.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been beyond the bridge,” Julian said, not hiding his excitement. “Do you know what this means? We can go to London. I can’t wait to show you London. We’ll see plays at the theatre, dance at balls, and take walks at Hyde Park. I’ll introduce you to the people I know. We’ll have dinner parties. There’s so much to do. You’re going to love it.”
She had brief recollections of seeing a play or two, dancing, and walking at parks in her time, but they were like fleeting thoughts that refused to form into anything she could hold onto. As for dinner parties, she was certain she’d never been to any. There was much for her to learn. She was going to have a lot to do in order to fully adjust to this life.
Despite feeling overwhelmed, she was looking forward to it. Julian would be with her. She wasn’t going to have to do these things alone. She couldn’t be sure, but she suspected she’d done a lot of things alone in her time. It would be nice such wouldn’t be the case anymore.
“Tell me about London,” she said. “What is it like there?”
As he explained it to her, she rode next to him in silence. They went down the path between the young trees. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought a flicker of a memory came to her. In it, trees towered above her and their branches formed a covering like a canopy. As soon as the image came, it was gone.