The Amethyst Amulets

by Cillian Burns

  "Oh, Nicholas,” Julie gasped as his tongue touched her secret place. She gripped his shoulders and arched her body against his mouth. “Oh, oh."

  He wanted to give her pleasure. From her soft moans and the way her head thrashed back and forth on the goose down pillow, he knew he had. When she thrust against his mouth with a final “Ohhhh!” he moved upward and entered her tight sheath. His own “Ohhhh, God!” as he settled himself within her, brought a smile to her face. He rocked slowly back and forth, reveling in the wonderful sensations. He laced his hands with hers, found the sweetness of her mouth, and began a slow, achingly pleasurable rhythm.

  Again, she reached her climax, but he held back, using every ounce of willpower to let her go first. He caught her cry in his mouth. As she clasped her legs tighter around his hips, he gave several powerful thrusts and found his own release. Spent, he collapsed beside her, pulling her around so they remained joined. It was the closest he had ever felt to another person in all his life.

  "My love.” He tightened his arms, trying to truly make them one being.

  Julie's violet eyes glistened with tears. “Oh, Nicholas, that was so amazing. So, so beautiful.” Was great sex enough? Would he want her to stay on after the baby was born? She had overheard the servants discussing the love of their lord for his lady. Did they mean Julianne or her? Because Nicholas had experienced them both in different realities. Even if he seemed happy with Julie, wouldn't he jump at a chance to get his first, much younger wife back? Julie was ten years that girl's senior. An older woman by the measurements of this time. Julie's more mature mind dwelt in Julianne's younger body. What a confused mess.

  His hand skimmed her back, tracing patterns over her sensitive skin. Was it her or Julianne he caressed?

  He took a gentle bite of her earlobe. “It was never better for me."

  "Really?” A tiny thrill ran through her.

  "Really, sweeting. I would have you in my bed forever."

  In his bed, not his heart. “But that won't happen, will it?"

  "I know not, and if Lily knows, she is guarding her secret well."

  "Lily seems to be the answer to all our questions."

  Nicholas lay back, pulling the coverlet over them. “How did you meet Lily? She seems an unlikely choice for a companion."

  "Let me think,” Julie said slowly, trying to remember just when she had first made the woman's acquaintance. It seemed like a long time ago, but was it?

  "I first went into Lily's shop two years ago to buy a present for my mother's birthday. A beautiful gold chain and locket. While we talked, I was intrigued by Lily's story about how she'd acquired that particular piece."

  "Aye, but how was it you came to be friends?” Nicholas asked rubbing his hand slowly the length of her arm.

  "She was interesting to talk to. I kept finding excuses to drop in and chat some more. Then, one day, I met her leaving her shop. She was headed for the local tearoom and asked me to join her. She was so warm and friendly I couldn't resist accepting.

  "After that, we met regularly for afternoon tea and to talk about all kinds of things. Finally, I told her about the book I wanted to write, one about medieval love songs and poetry. I told her so much material had been lost. She said the best way to find new material would be to go back to that time. At the time I thought nothing of it.

  "I laughed, Nicholas. I laughed because I thought she was teasing. Then I said, ‘Too bad it's impossible.’ But she just looked pensive and said, ‘Yes, it's a shame.’”

  "Do you think that gave her the idea?” Nicholas asked when Julie hesitated.

  "I'm not sure. I do know I hadn't planned to buy that jewelry for Mum, but as I walked past Lily's shop that first time, I felt a compulsion to go in."

  "Aha,” Nicholas exclaimed triumphantly. “The witch must have ensorcelled you to win your friendship."

  Julie hated being manipulated. If Lily had done that to her, the woman was more foe than friend. “At the time, I had no hint of her powers."

  "Do you not see,” Nicholas retorted, rising up on his elbow, staring down at her, anger turning his amber eyes to molten gold. “She was looking for someone to substitute for Julianne."

  "And that was bad?"

  "Nay, but she did not prevent Julianne's death when my son was born."

  "Perhaps her powers don't let her do that,” Julie suggested, thinking if Lily had saved Julianne, Julie would never have met her knight. She was instantly ashamed of such selfishness.

  "Nonsense,” Nicholas scoffed. “She's a witch, a descendant of Merlin."

  "Maybe. Let me ask you a question. Where did you find the amulet—the first one?” The thought of that awesome jewel made Julie shiver. Was it only the chilly air filtering in around the shutters, the precursor of winter? Or was it something about the supernatural events they had both witnessed?

  "In an eastern bazaar, when I fought the Saracens."

  In the mysterious Orient. “Tell me what happened, Nicholas."

  He frowned. “Let me think. I was looking for a bride gift for Julianne. We would be returning soon to England, and I wanted to give her something to show my love."

  A wave of envy washed over her. He had been engaged to Julianne, bought her an expensive present, thought of her constantly while in the East. He had found a perfect jewel for his perfect woman. No one had ever done that for her.

  She jerked her mind back to the present as he continued.

  "I entered the shop of this old Arab. He had fine jewelry for sale and I spotted the amethyst amulet. It matched her eyes.” He smiled at Julie. “Yours, too."

  "What did he say about the necklace?” She held her breath. There might be a clue here as to how the amulet could cause such awesome happenings.

  "That it was a magic amulet. I laughed cynically, but I think he had the last laugh.” He shook his head. “I did not believe in magical amulets. Since then, I have changed my mind."

  She thought a minute, then asked, “Did you see any women in the shop?"

  He grinned. “Jealous, sweeting?"

  She gave him a hard shove. “Of course not. But did you?"

  Nicholas shut his eyes. What had he seen in that shop? He seemed to remember another person had been present. Man or woman? He squeezed his eyes harder, tried to dredge up a picture of the place in his mind. A shadowy shape in the background, veiled. A female.

  She poked him. “What did you see?"

  "A woman was there, clothed in long robes and many veils."

  "Can you remember if she was young or old?"

  "Not young, but not hunched over or slow moving like an old woman."

  "Middle-aged then?"

  "Mayhap,” he agreed, as more detail began to form in his mind. “She wrapped the package in a piece of silk and gave it to me. Her hands were not smooth like a maiden, nor as wrinkled and veined as an old crone."

  "When next we see Lily,” Julie said, her voice excited, “look at her hands. See if they could be the ones you saw."

  "I will try, my love.” Nicholas reached over and pulled her against him. Enough of this talk of witches and magic. It made him decidedly uneasy.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the tip of his nose.

  "I think,” said Nicholas sagely, “that the magic we make together is..."

  She stifled his remark with a kiss, and he forgot what he was saying.

  "Good morning, my lady."

  Julie looked up from a shirt of Nicholas’ she was mending. The work was her own fault. She had yanked it from his body the night before, ripping the seam. A wave of heat washed over her, remembering what had happened next.

  "Hello, Lily. Is all well with the servants?” She had given her friend the task of supervising the maids, not wanting Lady Beatrix to have so much to do.

  Lily nodded. “Yes. All is well here, at least for the moment, and I have duties to perform elsewhere."

  Startled, Julie pricked her finger with the needle. “You're leaving?” she ask
ed, sucking away the blood which welled up on her skin.

  Lily stared at Julie's injured finger. “That does not bode well,” she muttered.

  "What? A needle prick is some kind of bad omen?"

  "It can be. But perhaps I'm reading too much into this."

  "Why don't you sit down and tell me about it."

  Lily took the other stool in front of the hearth. The fire took some of the chill from the room, but the late November winds still crept in around the window, chilling fingers and toes. Julie shivered and pulled her fur-lined wool surcoat closer.

  "There is little to tell. In certain circumstances, a pricked finger can portend evil things to come.” Lily laced her long fingers together and stared solemnly at Julie.

  "That's too silly for words.” Julie sounded surer than she felt. So far, Lily had been right about many things.

  "Yes, it does sound foolish.” With a nod of her head, Lily dismissed the subject. “I came to speak with you about something,” she continued, taking the mending from Julie's hands and placing it on the small table between them. “This can wait."

  "All right. Is something the matter?” Mending things was never a favorite pastime with Julie, so she wasn't all that sorry to put it off.

  "Nothing's wrong. It is just that I'm leaving for a while."

  Julie stifled a gasp. “Why now? The baby will be here in a few months and Nicholas will want to send me back to my own time. He'll be angry when he hears you and the amulet have disappeared.” Not that she'd mind. Staying with Nicholas was all she wanted now.

  Lily's expression didn't change. “I must do what I must do."

  "Where are you going?” Julie cried, feeling panicky tears welling up and threatening to overflow. She might be annoyed with Lily's occasional high-handed ways, but Lily was her only link to a time in which she no longer lived.

  In a surprisingly maternal gesture, Lily reached over and took her hands. “Fear not, Julie. I shall return for your baby's birth. I promise. As to where I am going, it is time I renewed myself through worship of the Earth Mother in the western forests. I have been away a very long time and there are duties I must perform."

  "Oh.” Julie could think of nothing else to say, not without sounding rather whiny. Although she felt somewhat abandoned by Lily, she could understand about duties, having once performed many obligations of her own. Doing Nick's books was the one she worried about the most. How was he managing without her?

  Shaking off the uneasy feeling Nick might be sailing into bankruptcy without her firm hand on the rudder, Julie rose and lit two more candles. “It grows dark so early these days. The year is nearly gone.” She found candles a rather poor substitute for electric light bulbs, but they did make for a romantic setting when Nicholas and she made love.

  Nicholas. Her love. Her heart flipped over. Time didn't stand still; the hours kept ticking away. Soon the new year would be upon them, and there were only three and a half months until her child's birth. Her child. He had gradually become more hers than Julianne's. She carried him beneath her heart and already the love she felt for him was overwhelming. If the last time through the year ahead could be believed, the baby was a boy, masquerading as a girl to fool the malevolent Miles. But Miles was in the dungeon, securely under lock and key, guarded at all times by Nicholas’ most trusted retainers. At least for now, he could cause no trouble. Would things stay the same when they reached the moment of Julianne's death?

  Julie shook her head to clear it. Every time she tried to think through the parallel events, her head began to ache.

  "It's hard to comprehend, isn't it?” Lily said sympathetically.

  Julie nodded. “Beastly."

  She picked up her mending once more.

  "Don't worry about Nick. No time has passed since you left your century."

  Julie frowned, puzzled by Lily's comment. “How could that be?"

  Lily rose and shook out her skirts. “It just is. And remember, Julie, you are a strong woman who can cope quite nicely. You have done a good job so far. Have faith in your own ability."

  "I'll try.” To Julie's surprise, Lily placed a hand on her head and murmured a few incomprehensible words. Before she could ask what the other woman had said, Lily whisked out of the room. Julie began once more to stitch up the tear in Nicholas’ shirt. But busy hands didn't prevent her from mulling over what Lily had said.

  Just as she finished fixing the torn seam, Nicholas entered.

  "'Tis near time for supper, my love,” he said, walking over to her and plucking his shirt from her lap. “Put this aside. I have needs greater than a mended shirt.” He grinned.

  "And what would those be?” She should tell him about Lily.

  "Mayhap I could show you,” he murmured, drawing her close and skimming his large hands down her back, cupped her buttocks and pulled her against his burgeoning desire.

  She laid her head against his chest, wishing she could mold herself to him forever. The comfort of his arms holding her tightly gave her more pleasure than anything in her previous life.

  Then his lips found hers and, for the time being, she forgot about Lily.

  When they finished the meal and retired to their chamber, Julie remembered Lily's disturbing visit. Nicholas sat down on one of the stools, pulling her onto his lap. When he started to kiss her, she shook her head.

  "Stop, Nicholas. I have something to tell you."

  "Cannot it wait?” he queried, heat sizzling in his gorgeous eyes.

  "No. Occasionally, we must talk,” she teased. “Not make love."

  He laughed. “I can think of no occasion when words should come before kisses."

  Julie bit her bottom lip. “This is one of them. Please, listen."

  He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. “All right, but hurry. I have other plans for the next hour."

  Julie ignored him. “Lily is leaving. Since I have not seen her this evening, I think she might already be gone."

  "I do not view that as a hardship,” he said, but she could see she had his attention.

  "She said she was going to the West Country to renew herself with the Earth Mother. I am afraid she will forget to return in time for...” She hesitated, hating to remind him their time together was coming to an end.

  Nicholas arched an eyebrow. “She did not say when she would return?” Once again his hands began doing all those little things which drove her wild.

  "She said she'd be back for the baby's birth, but what if something detains her?"

  His expression grew serious and his hands stilled. “She will be here if she said she would. A descendant of Merlin's promises should be believed."

  "I suppose you're right. I'm worrying about something that may never happen."

  "She will bring the amulet to us when we need it.” He smiled and swept her up in his arms. Kissing the tip of her nose, he walked to the bed and laid her on it.

  Julie didn't smile back. He had mentioned the amulet. Could he be cruel enough to send her away once she had survived childbirth, giving him both a living wife and son? If he noticed her distress, he didn't say so. They spent the next hour in each other's arms, forgetting all their problems.

  When they'd finished lovemaking, Nicholas rolled over and fell instantly asleep. However, Julie took many more hours to join him in slumber.

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  Chapter 22

  December brought an early snowfall and Christmas. One morning after mass, Nicholas and Julie entered the great hall together, his arm circling her waist. After everyone had eaten, Nicholas rose and announced to his wife, “I have a surprise for you, Julianne.” He motioned to Sir Harald who left the table and went to the door.

  "Have the men bring it in,” Harald called to someone outside.

  Several burly soldiers staggered across the floor, moving slowly under the weight of a huge tree trunk. They placed it on the massive andirons in the large fireplace near the dais where it filled the walk-in space from side to side.<
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  Julie clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, how nice. A Yule log."

  Nicholas rested his hand on her shoulder. “It would not be Christ's Mass without it."

  Julie watched as the men produced kindling and other small branches to get it started. After a minute, the flames caught and with many loud crackles began sending red and gold sparks dancing up the chimney. She picked up a shirt she was stitching as a Christmas present for Nicholas, and spent the next hour enjoying the fire, while trying to make straight rows of tiny stitches. Nicholas sat next to her in companionable silence, inspecting the links in his chain mail and tagging breaks for the blacksmith to fix.

  An hour later, a crowd of laughing young people including Gwyneth, Will, Harald and Alda burst into the hall, their arms filled with holly. A light dusting of snow covered their hooded cloaks.

  Julie rose and joined the group at the hearth. “I love to decorate,” she said, reaching for a piece. Soon, large branches of holly complete with festive red berries adorned the long stone mantle.

  "We could put some of the evergreen boughs behind the wall shields,” Gwyneth suggested.

  "Great idea.” Harald grabbed Gwyneth's hand with one of his and some boughs with the other. They started on one side of the room. Julie felt sorry for Will, whose frown said he didn't enjoy being outmaneuvered by Harald.

  Alda dragged another armful of boughs over to the other wall and stopped. Her short stature prevented her from decking this part of the hall.

  "Allow me.” Nicholas took the greenery from her and tucked it around the burnished shields of past and present warriors which hung on the keep's walls. Being tall, he could easily reach.

  "Something's missing,” Julie said, looking up from arranging pine boughs and cones on the lord's table. “We need ribbons, lots of red ribbons."

  Gwyneth and Alda abandoned the holly and dashed upstairs to look. When they returned, a number of scarlet ribbons draped over their arms, Julie began making festive bows. Several young men, both knights and their squires, tied them to the branches of holly and evergreen. Finally, they all stepped back and admired their work.