by Kim Dragoner
“Ride, John, ride!”
A moment later, as he turned to ride, he heard another scream. “You’ve tricked me! She can’t be turned!”
Looking over his shoulder, John saw a ball of fire being hurled at him. He was certain that it would strike him, but just as it reached him, it exploded harmlessly.
“Ride, John!” Alpina called after him.
“You cursed knight!” Nimueh screamed and hurled fire, ice, lightning and stones at him, but they all fell harmlessly to the floor of the cavern.
Chapter Nineteen
“Why did you do nothing?” John screamed at Merlin.
“Son,” his father said, trying to hold back his son’s rage. It wasn’t good to challenge a wizard the way John was. “Merlin has his reasons.”
“Merlin is a duplicitous, selfish son of the devil,” John continued in spite of his father. “You’ve got what you came for, but you sat by while I lost everything.”
“You’ve got what you came for as well,” Merlin responded.
“But at what price?” John snapped. “Ganador was hard enough to give up, but because of you, I had to give up Alpina too.”
“You do not understand all that is going on, young knight,” Merlin returned. “There are forces at work here.”
“Damn your forces at work, damn your magic and wizardry,” John replied. “I only want to see the sight of Alpina on the back of Ganador riding around that corner and into our camp. Those are the only forces that I want to see at work.”
“That’s enough, John,” his father’s stern voice cut in. “I’ve known Merlin for a very long time and I can assure you that he is trustworthy. If he says that there are other forces at work, then there are other forces at work.”
John turned on his father, but his rage melted at the sight of the man that he thought he’d lost forever. “Do you know what I’ve lost?”
“I do know what you’ve lost,” his father replied. “Believe me, son, I wish you had left me in that block of ice rather than have lost what you have lost, but you must trust Merlin.”
“Everybody wants me to trust them,” John replied, fighting back the tears in his eyes and the lump in his throat.
“I know it’s not easy.”
“All I want to do is charge back into that cavern and rip the eyes out of that witch,” he said through clenched teeth and then retreated several steps into the wood. As he did, he saw someone moving in the shadows and heard a low chuckle. “Who’s there? Show yourself.”
As he asked the question, he instantly recalled that Dunmor had promised to wait for them to be killed so that he could help himself to the spoils. John rushed forward as the big man stepped out of his hiding place.
Dunmor stood his ground and John drew his sword and brought the tip of it to his throat. “I should have killed you before,” he hissed.
“Do it now, Sir John,” Dunmor growled. “Do you value your honor as little as I fear death?”
“John,” Thomas cut in, coming up behind him. “You cannot do this. It won’t change anything. Trust us all.”
John knew that Thomas was right, but his frustration was at its peak. “Damn your trust!” he shouted, lowering his sword and striding away. As he did, he was already beginning to hatch a plan in his mind. He was going back for Alpina and Ganador. He would face the witch and bring them back, but to do that, he would need some advantage. He remembered the spleuchan and what was contained inside.
The stars were twinkling overhead in a crisp, moonless sky when John crept back into camp. He could see his breath in the cold air of the high mountains as he silently placed his saddle on Alpina’s blackbird. “I hope you can fly,” he whispered in her ear.
Leaving the mare saddled and tied at the edge of camp, he crept back among the tents to Merlin’s. He crouched in front of it, wondering if wizards even slept, trying to remember what the inside of the tent looked like and trying to guess where the wizard would have placed the spleuchan. Could he even hope to escape with the spleuchan without being caught? He had to try. It was his best hope for trying to fight the witch, though he couldn’t even be assured that it would work against her. Maybe he could trade it to her for Alpina. He wanted Ganador as well, but if he had to make a choice… He cut off the thought and moved forward.
Slipping into the tent, he noted that Merlin was sleeping soundly and fortunately for him, the spleuchan was leaned against the wall, just inside the door. Evidently, Merlin hadn’t been worried about anyone stealing it or he wouldn’t have made it so easy to find. John reached for the bag, hesitating a moment as he realized that he was breaking Merlin’s trust. He’s broken mine by doing nothing, John reasoned and grasped the spleuchan as he slipped backward out of the tent.
It was only a few silent moments before John was on the back of Lon dubh and riding quietly out of the camp. He recalled the rage of the witch as the mare began to navigate her way along the trail on the canyon wall. More importantly, he considered the motive behind it. For some reason, when the witch tried to place Alpina in a block of ice, or whatever spell she’d hoped to place upon her, it hadn’t worked. It was beyond John’s understanding of things, but only added more to the hidden mysteries of Alpina. Did she have some deep magic of her own?
There was some sort of spell around Alpina’s mare as well. No matter what the witch had thrown at him, it had fallen away harmlessly as though an invisible wall of armor surrounded him and the mare. Just as Alpina had promised, he couldn’t be harmed while on the mare’s back. John cycled through the thoughts and the plan that he’d formed earlier as he continued on his way. Much sooner than expected, he arrived at the opening of the cavern. He drew up on the reins and considered what he was about to do. He might lose his life, but he was willing to risk that for Alpina.
Placing his hand on the Spleuchan, he sighed and rehearsed his plan, once more, in his mind. He’d ride in and confront the witch. If need be, he’d cast some of the mist powder in her direction so that he could blind her while he rushed to Alpina. Because she could see through the fog, they would quickly remount Lon dubh before the witch could hurl her worst at them, but on the back of the mare, they’d be protected. Without knowing if his plan would work or not, John urged the mare forward down the long, wide, stone hallway, listening to the sound of the gurgling stream and the steady steps of the mare with baited breath.
The wide hall was silent and empty as it opened up before him. It looked different without the block of ice on the small stone island with his father trapped inside. What had taken place the day before seemed like it had taken place in another place and another lifetime as he paused and considered his next move.
Wary of the sudden appearance of the witch, John crept forward, wishing that he could muffle the sound of the mare’s hooves on the stone floor; they would surely give him away. Had he not needed the protection that she provided, John would have left Lon dubh back at the entrance. There was no help for that and he moved forward, circling the pool on the narrow path between it and the wall. As he came around the pool, opposite the entrance of Nimueh’s great hall, there was a corridor and he cautiously turned into it. He had gone only a short distance when the doorway to a room opened up on his left and there, inside of it, was Alpina stretched out on a pile of straw sleeping soundly. The silver stallion stood guard over her.
At sight of his master, Ganador lifted his head and nickered softly. The sound awakened the Alpina who sat up and, with startled eyes, looked directly at him. “John, no,” she called out to him as he slipped from the mare’s back and started toward her.
The wicked cackle of Nimueh was all John needed to hear in order to realize his mistake.
Chapter Twenty
“Come in, come in, Sir John,” Nimueh coaxed as she transformed herself from the form of Ganador back into her own ugly self again. “Pretty neat trick, huh?”
John only bowed his head. He had failed.
“And you brought back my spleuchan as well,” Nimueh responded wi
th a hardy laugh. “You’re such a nice boy. I hope you weren’t planning on exchanging that for Lady Alpina.”
“If need be,” John responded, reaching for the hilt of his sword.
“What you don’t understand, young knight, is that I can quite easily take it from you, so, why would I be interested in a trade?”
“I will have Alpina,” John replied through clenched teeth. He could still follow his plan. He reached into the Spleuchan, grasped a handful of the powder and tossed it at the witch, watching in horror as it drifted harmlessly to the floor.
“You must say the incantation,” Nimueh cackled with delight. “It was a great idea, but you forgot that part.”
John had forgotten that part of the spell and knew that he was well overmatched without the help of the fog to blind her.
“Ceó thiugh ceó…” Alpina began, but Nimueh reached out and clamped her hand over her captive’s mouth.
“That was a close one wasn’t it?” Nimueh whispered with wide-eyed, mock surprise.
John began to slowly back away as another idea came to him. Maybe if he was on Lon dubh’s back, he could attack her.
“Oh no you don’t,” Nimueh said, clicking her tongue at him. “I see that I’ll have to bind you or we’ll have a problem.” As the witch started to make a move with her wand, John rushed toward Lon dubh and leaped onto her back.
“Offering a little more of a challenge then,” Nimueh cackled. “That’s good, I like challenges. Let’s see how well you can ride.”
“Let’s see how well you can bleed,” John retorted. His confidence was returning as he realized that Nimueh’s spells could not harm him. With his sword drawn, he pressed an attack on her, but she quickly disappeared just as he swung a wicked blow at her head.
“This reminds me of the conversation that your father and I had right before things turned cold,” she laughed. She reappeared behind him and John whirled the mare toward her, hoping that if he could strike more quickly, she might not escape. She disappeared again.
John whirled about, searching for her.
“John,” Alpina called to him. “It’s no use. Ride away. You can’t fight her.”
“Oops,” Nimueh said. “I better take care of that.”
Suddenly realizing that she could speak, Alpina started the incantation once more. “Ceó, thiugh ceó, éirich…” A gag quickly appeared around her mouth before she could finish.
“That was a close one,” Nimueh said, again, faking surprise.
“I’m not leaving without you,” John called out, spinning the mare in rapid circles and slashing at the flickering images of Nimueh that appeared before him. Suddenly, there were four images of Nimueh surrounding him. He slashed at the nearest one, feeling his blade his home and the witch dropping to the floor. He slashed at another and another, seeing them fall, but the fourth disappeared and three more appeared.
“I can play this game all day long, Sir John,” she laughed. “Just ask your father.”
John dispatched another half-dozen images of Nimueh, working out his frustration, before finally seeing the futility in what he was doing.
“Good,” Nimueh said. “Let’s take a little rest. I’m tired. Are you tired?”
John only glared at her, trying to come up with some new way of beating her or helping Alpina to escape.
“Say, while you’re sitting there, I have an idea.” Nimueh’s eyes sparkled with delight as she taunted and teased him. “How about I tell you about how I lured your father in here? It’ll be a good story to tell mummy when you get home.”
John did not respond.
“I’m going to assume that your silence is consent. I saw that handsome hunk of Sir Jofrit traveling along the road out of Inverness and, pardon my saying it, but I was instantly smitten. Of course, Sir Jofrit would have nothing to do with an ugly old had like me, so I prepared a little spell that made me look something like this.”
Nimueh transformed into a shapely young woman with large, blue eyes, long, golden hair and thick, red lips. When she spoke again, the sound of her voice was mild, sweet and alluring rather than coarse. “Your father didn’t think twice about the pining wife and family that he had waiting for him back in Leeds. He followed me home.”
John was shocked at how beautiful Nimueh had become and was struggling with his own urges which were rising up in spite of the fact that he had watched her transform herself.
Nimueh moved slowly and gracefully toward him, speaking as she did so. “Your father was smitten too, until he saw the real me. That’s when everything got ugly.” Her soft laughter lit up the room as she enjoyed the irony of her joke. “He fought me too, though he wasn’t nearly a virile as you are.”
She was very near to him and looked up at him with her thick lower lips pushed out in a pout. “I had to put him in a block of ice. A pity, really.” She turned and took several steps away, though she looked over her shoulder at him with a seductive gaze.
As John’s eyes followed her retreating form he caught sight of Alpina shaking her head violently from the corner of his eye, but he ignored her as the beautiful woman suddenly whirled back around.
“Hey, I have an idea,” she giggled. “How about you stay here with me and take your father’s place? Then I can let Lady Alpina go free. You can ride that fantastic Ganador and I’ll ride your father’s mount, Guerrero all over these hills. They are a matched pair, aren’t they?”
“They are,” John replied, suddenly forgetting the animosity from only a few moments before. “My father brought the two colts back from Spain.”
“You mentioned that before,” she cooed, moving back toward him. “If you’ll come down from that ugly nag, I’ll lead you to where I have those two silver beauties grazing happily side by side.”
John, no longer in control of his wits, started to swing his leg over the saddle to dismount. At the same instant, Merlin appeared between him and Nimueh, who stumbled backward and became the ugly had she had been before. Her spell over John was instantly broken.
“Ceó, thiugh ceó, éirich ceó, éirich,” Merlin chanted. The moment he finished the incantation, a thick fog filled the room and Nimueh screeched at Merlin.
“Alpina! Go!” Merlin ordered.
Dashing through the fog, Alpina ran to John, who steadied Lon dubh and reached down for her hand, hauling her up into the seat behind him. In his haste, John started forward down the corridor going further into Nimueh’s cavern, but at a rapid pace.
Upon Lon dubh’s back, Nimueh’s spell was broken and Alpina called into his ear. “Ride, John, ride. Don’t look back.”
Though they were headed in the wrong direction, John pressed the black mare faster and faster down the wide hallway, ignoring the many passages that joined to both left and right as they went, until he could see a broad opening with twinkling stars before them. Charging through the opening, he heard the sound of Lon dubh’s hoof beats change. He realized that they were running across a meadow and at the same moment, realized that they were not alone. Looking to the side, he saw the glistening silver coats of two stallions joining in on the race.
Chapter Twenty One
“There’s no way out,” John said after they had searched the tall rock walls that surrounded the meadow for hours. Even with Alpina’s gift, she had seen no opening either. “We’ll have to go back through the cavern.”
“That would be disastrous,” Alpina replied. “No doubt, Merlin held her off for a while, but by now, she’ll be back to her regular, ugly self again.”
John did not respond. He was straining his mind in order to come up with a plan.
“By the way,” Alpina started in, “I noticed how quickly you fell for her pretty face.”
“I was under a spell,” John replied.
“Wish I could cast such a spell,” she grumbled.
“Trust me,” John replied. “You already did.”
“I hope so,” she said, squeezing him tightly.
“Is there any chance that your blac
kbird can fly?” John asked.
“Only with her hooves touching the ground,” Alpina answered.
They started another circuit around the wall of the meadow with the two stallions accompanying them to either side.
“They are a beautifully matched set,” Alpina whispered as they came around to where they had begun only moments before. “It would be a shame to have to leave them here, but we might have to in order to escape.”
“I had hoped that wouldn’t be the case,” John replied as they completed their circuit. “But I’m afraid that we’ll have to make a dash for it back through the cavern.”
As they approached the cavern opening, John drew up on the reins. “They’ll follow us, but I wonder how far they’ll get before she stops them?”
“She’s not going to stop them,” Alpina whispered.
“Of course she will,” John replied. “We’re protected on your mare’s back, but they have no such…”
“Hush a moment,” Alpina said, interrupting him.
He became silent and listened. It was very faint, but he thought he made out the sound of water plunging into a pool. “Is that a waterfall?”
“I think so,” Alpina replied.
“I don’t remember seeing a waterfall,” he answered.
“Neither do I. See if you can follow the sound of it.”
It took a great deal of concentration to follow the sound of the tumbling water. Several times, John closed his eyes in order to hear more clearly. It reminded him of what Alpina had told him about how the Picts fought in the fog. “Closing your eyes really does help.”
“So does covering your head when you’re cold,” she laughed. “We savages know a thing or two.”
The sound of the plunging water grew closer and closer, but they still could not see it. Searching the darkness, John saw nothing but the shadows of the rock wall, trees and a few random boulders that had tumbled down from above.