Falling

by Meredith Bond

  “No! I mean… I don’t think so. I would be really, really surprised if they did. They have told me and my sibs so many times not to use our magic, I would be… No. Absolutely not.” Yeah, that was really straight forward, Erin thought with a mental shake of her head. But really, her parents wouldn’t do that.

  “Okay…”

  “The point is that I don’t know where we come from, and I don’t know anything about the Vallen or high priestesses. I went and asked my mom today, and she totally shut me down. She absolutely refused to tell me anything.”

  “That’s not right!”

  “No. And I don’t know where to go for any information. I mean, it’s not like I can just find a Vallen and ask them. I don’t know who is or who isn’t Vallen.”

  “Oh, yeah. And if it’s a big secret, it’s not like anyone is going around telling anyone that they are,” Lanie agreed.

  “Right! So, what am I going to do? I really want to find out about this high priestess stuff.”

  “When you were under hypnosis, you mentioned that your mother was a high priestess,” Lanie said, remembering.

  “Yes. Well, I want to know if that’s still true.”

  “But your mom won’t say.”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, there’s got to be a way for you to find out,” Lanie said, with a certainty, as if the answer would just pop right out and present itself.

  “Yeah…” Erin wasn’t so sure. But she wasn’t about to give up now. She would find a way to learn about the Vallen and their high priestesses. She would. She had to.

  Lanie gave her a little smile. “I know. Maybe it’s time for you to visit your past life once again.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Erin got comfortable on her bed and closed her eyes. The mattress dipped with David’s weight as he settled near the edge.

  “You’re sure about this?” he asked for the third time.

  “Absolutely. I need to find out more about the high priestess and how I’m related,” Erin answered, opening her eyes again.

  “You know that we can’t determine what you’re going to see. I mean, I can’t even guarantee that you’re going to go back in time again.”

  She sighed, hoping that his fears would be unfounded. “Yes, I know. I also don’t know if I’m even related to the high priestess in the same way as my former self. It’s all just a crap shoot, but I’ve got to try. I need more information, and I’m not going to get it from the Internet or my mother. This is my only option.” She put her hand on his thigh and gave him her best pleading look. “Please, David, let me just try.”

  He covered her hand with his own. It was warm and strong. Comforting despite his misgivings. “All right. Close your eyes.” He pulsed his magic into her through his calming words.

  ###

  I didn’t know why Lady Weobley kept me to the upper floors for the days prior to my wedding to Huw. I could hear the commotion downstairs as tables were moved, and people came and went in great excitement.

  She even did her best to keep me from the windows so that I couldn’t see who was here. Once, I’d almost gotten out onto the battlements just outside my sitting room window, but she caught me just as I was about to step outside.

  “We cannot risk you catching a chill,” she’d said, nearly shoving me back into my room.

  It was odd, but she was hiding something from me. I could feel it in the tension she radiated. She was worried and anxious, and I knew that it was due to something other than the fact that she was planning my wedding.

  It was to be a small wedding, after all. I had no one to stand up with me. My father had long since left after bringing me here. It would simply be Lady Weobley, Huw, and his household. But for all that, there were still the vows to be said and a great feast for all of the people of the castle and its surrounds. Mayhap it was feeding so many that had Lady Weobley… No, I knew it to be a false hope on my part.

  She was hiding something. It was that simple. And I would not find out what it was until she was ready to inform me. I was just so tired of the same two rooms. I could do nothing more than pace back and forth between my bedchamber, through the connecting door, and into my sitting room. Even my meals were brought to me!

  I tried to sneak out to visit Huw, as I had a number of times since that wonderful day of his arrival, but for some reason I was kept from doing so either by Lady Weobley herself or one of the maids. It got to be quite frustrating, but I reminded myself any number of times, that we were to be married, and then I would be with him for the rest of my life.

  The day of the wedding, I dressed in my finest gown—the one my mother had made for me just for the occasion. It was a deep blue silk of the richest hue and finest fabric, with pearls and embroidery covering the bodice and even more pearls scattered over the pale yellow underskirt, the split overskirt being the simple, elegant blue of the top. I must admit I felt quite grown up in my dress. I allowed my hair to flow freely down my back to my waist; a yellow veil, matching my underskirt, was my only head covering.

  When I was ready, Lady Weobley accompanied me down to the great hall where everyone was waiting. But standing by the priest at the hearth’s edge was not my beloved Huw, but another man who seemed to be a shorter, stockier, paler version of my love. His features weren’t as fine, although they were well enough. And they did have some resemblance to Huw despite the fact that his hair was blond where Huw’s was dark. So he was, perhaps, a brother or cousin?

  But why was he standing in Huw’s stead? I couldn’t understand. I paused and looked around for my intended.

  He was there, but standing off to the side looking upset. And well he should, I thought, as some other man was taking his place!

  Lady Weobley took my elbow and led me forward. “Erinne, take your place next to your lord.”

  I looked to her in confusion. “But my lady…”

  “Is there a problem, Lady Weobley?” the priest asked, looking between the two of us.

  “No. It is just that Lady Erinne has not yet seen his lordship, let alone met him, so, naturally, there is some trepidation in the girl.” She turned to me and gave me what she intended to be a reassuring smile. “Come now, Lady Erinne, do stand here next to Lord Weobley.”

  “But that is Lord Weobley,” I said, looking to Huw.

  Huw ducked his head and seemed to become rather pale, while the man standing next to the priest radiated anger.

  He attempted to rein it in. “That, Lady Erinne, is my brother, Lord Daffid. I am Lord Weobley. You have been misled.” He drove his anger toward the lady at my side, who shrank under the weight of his accusation.

  Could it be true?

  I looked from one man to the other, searching out the truth with my magic. In all honesty, I probably didn’t even need to use my abilities. The truth was writ clearly on the faces of both men.

  The true Lord Weobley allowed his anger to shift from Lady Weobley to his brother and back again as if they were both guilty of the deliberate misconception. While the man I had thought to be Huw was keeping his gaze at some point on the floor near his feet.

  Anger at the deception and hurt that I would not, in fact, be marrying the man I loved warred within me. I managed to take a breath through the pain that clamped down on my heart.

  “How could you?” I asked Lord Daffid. “How could you lie to me?”

  “It was not a lie of his making,” Lady Weobley admitted. “It was mine. But now you must do your duty and fulfill your contract. Come now, Lady Erinne, stand by the side of the man you are to marry.” She pulled me, once again, toward the man who I knew now was the true Lord Weobley.

  I had no choice but to comply. But I was still shaken. I was still hurt. But I had no time to grieve. I had to do my duty. I took another shaky breath, straightened my spine, and took my place, now understanding why I had been imprisoned in my rooms these past days. Lady Weobley hadn’t wanted me to find out the truth of her duplicity.

  The marriage vows and break
fast slipped by in a blur of pain and betrayal. Not once did Lord Daffid approach me except immediately following the wedding to give his fealty, along with all of the other knights bound to his lordship. One by one, they came and bowed to us, promising their loyalty—Lord Daffid in the lead.

  His eyes met mine. They were filled with a deep sadness that mirrored my own and an apology that I was not yet ready to accept.

  It was still light when Lord Weobley and I retired to our bridal chamber amidst the laughter and not-so-subtle jokes and teasing that always accompanies such occasions. Thankfully, he forbade the company to enter our bedchamber with us.

  “My lord,” I began once we were alone but then had no idea how to continue. Did I admit that I had given my virginity to his brother unknowingly? Did I apologize for a mistake that was not of my own doing? I didn’t know what to say.

  “I don’t want to hear it,” he said, giving me a respite I surely didn’t deserve. “I know what my mother did. It was not your fault.”

  “I had no idea,” I said, clasping my hands together. He had every right to be angry, to reject me, to return me to my father, but he did none of that. I supposed I should have been grateful, but in all honesty, all I wanted was to run crying into the arms of the man I had thought I was to marry—to Daffid.

  Daffid was the one I was destined for, I was absolutely certain of it. But the marriage contract had been written, and the ceremony dutifully performed. I now belonged to the wrong man, and there was nothing I could do about it.

  “No, but you will do your duty.”

  “Yes, my lord,” I said, bowing my head to my husband.

  “Come now, it will not be all bad,” he said, approaching me. “I think you’ll find me a better lover than my brother.” He brushed my hair from my shoulder. “A stronger man.” He untied my overskirt and let it fall to my feet, while he tugged at the lacing at my side, untying the knot that held my bodice closed. “Together we will create beautiful, powerful children.”

  He pushed one side of my bodice off my shoulder replacing it with his lips. They burned my skin but brought no shiver of desire as Daffid’s had. I stood still as he slowly undressed me, running his hands possessively down my body as it was slowly revealed with each layer of clothing removed.

  He paused when I stood naked before him. Stepping back, he admired me before stripping himself of his own clothing as quickly as he possibly could. Passively, I wondered why he didn’t use his magic to do such a menial task, but I was too busy hiding my dismay at the form that was revealed to me.

  His chest was not as well-formed as his brother’s. A roll of fat encircled his middle. And his manhood, even while standing erect could not compare with that of Daffid’s. None of him elicited even the slighted feelings of desire in me.

  But I knew my duty, so I placed a small smile on my lips and stepped forward and pretended to admire him. I ran my hands over his chest and arms before finally reaching down to touch that which I knew he was yearning for me to explore.

  “Take it in your mouth,” he commanded. “You did that for my brother, did you not?”

  I didn’t say a word but hid the shiver of disgust as I lowered myself to the floor in front of him to do his bidding. His groans of excitement and the thrusting of his hips told me that what I did was pleasing to him. But more than once, I had to breathe through my mouth to keep myself from gagging.

  Finally, he seemed to have enough for he grabbed my arms, lifting me up. He pushed me back onto the bed behind me, but didn’t wait for me to be properly seated nor even lying down before he climbed on top and shoved himself into me.

  I bit back a cry of pain at his forced entry into my body. I turned my mind to Daffid, to his gentle loving, and tried to imagine that it was he who was pounding into me instead. It worked ever so slightly in that the pain lessened, but I didn’t come anywhere near to achieving the pleasure Daffid coaxed from my body. Happily, my husband finished off his pleasure quickly enough, collapsing next to me within just a few minutes.

  “Oh, yes, we will make many, many powerful children,” he mumbled, finishing with a chuckle.

  I was happy he was sated, but the idea of doing this for the rest of my life brought tears to my eyes. I squeezed them shut and turned my head away so he couldn’t see. It was an unnecessary precaution; the man was already snoring by my side.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Erin found Hugh exactly where she thought he’d be—in his office—despite the fact that it was nearly 10 pm.

  She took a deep breath, filling her nose with the scent of printing toner that even the heavily conditioned air of the office building couldn’t get rid of. She gave a knock on the open door, pausing only briefly before going in.

  His office was only slightly larger than a broom closet, but it had a desk and a chair for a guest. More importantly, it had four walls and a door. That alone gave Hugh bragging rights and the justification to feel superior to so many of their peers. But the air in here was only more stifling than it had been in the outer office. Erin was almost glad she had a cubicle instead of an enclosed office.

  “Erin, hey! What’re you doing here?” Hugh leaned back in his chair. No welcoming smile, no kiss, Erin noted. Yeah. She was doing the right thing. “Not with that lawyer friend of yours?” Hugh asked, tapping his pen against the papers on his desk.

  “I was with him earlier,” she admitted, dropping down into the chair across from him. “There’s nothing romantic between us, you know that,” she said as if it was obvious, and Hugh was just being an idiot to assume otherwise.

  The fact that she had absolutely no idea whether the statement was true or not was completely beside the point.

  Hugh frowned at her. “No, I don’t.”

  “Well, you should. At least for now. I’m not going to rule out that there won’t be, but right now there isn’t.”

  Hugh just stared at her, not saying a word. Finally after a minute’s silence, he said, “Are you trying to tell me something?”

  Erin sighed and closed her eyes. It had been hours since David had hypnotized her, and she still couldn’t get the icky, sick feeling she’d had when Hugh’s medieval self had forced her to have sex with him. He hadn’t raped her, precisely, but what they’d done certainly couldn’t be construed as consensual.

  She squeezed her eyes shut so the tears wouldn’t fall.

  Being with Hugh, even though it was the modern Hugh, was not easy. Her heart was thudding in her chest, and she wanted nothing more than to escape from this tiny, claustrophobic little room. But she couldn’t. She had come here for a reason.

  The funny thing was that neither she nor David had any idea why the three of them had been brought back together after so many hundreds of years. Maybe history was allowing them to right what had gone wrong the first time? It was the only explanation Erin had been able to come up with.

  And what had gone wrong the first time had been that she’d been forced to marry Huw while she’d wanted to be with Daffid. This time she wouldn’t make the same mistake. If David was the right man for her, then she was going to be with him. This time she could do something about it.

  Erin opened her eyes, looking straight at Hugh. He was still watching her. Waiting.

  “We can’t be together anymore,” she said. “And it’s not David, I just… I don’t think we’re right for each other.” Was she softening the blow or just making it worse by bringing David into it? She couldn’t tell.

  The hardest part was that she couldn’t even explain to him the real reasons why she was breaking up with him. She couldn’t begin to list them all—and there were quite a few. She could almost imagine him whisking her off to the loony bin if she told him that they’d been married in a previous life, while she’d been in love with his brother.

  Hugh crossed his arms over his broad chest. They were well muscled—both arms and chest. Erin could never figure out how he got so muscular. He never went to the gym. Hormones, she guessed. She did have four brothers wh
o she’d watched grow up, so she knew what those things did to a guy.

  At first, she was really turned on by his size. But good looks and muscles only got you so far in a relationship. Eventually, it was what was inside that mattered. And what was inside of Hugh, unfortunately, was a person who held no appeal to Erin.

  “I don’t know what it is about this guy that’s turned your head. He’s destroying your life. You see that, don’t you? He’s taking you away from your work. Distracting you with things that have nothing to do with you. And now he’s convinced you to break up with me? I’m the one sane thing in your life. I’m the only one who cares about you and your career.”

  “He has nothing to do with me breaking up with you. I just told you that.” Erin sat forward in her chair. “This is about you trying to control my life and my career, which I don’t appreciate.”

  “Oh, come on, Erin! Without me, you’d hardly have a career.”

  She bolted from her chair. “What? Are you kidding me? The reverse is closer to the truth. You wouldn’t have a career without me! I’ve been working for Congressman Whitmeyer for a lot longer than I’ve known you.”

  “But if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be so close to the top of his staff. You’d still be an intern.”

  “That is—” Erin stopped and took a breath. No. She was not going to play his game. She was not going to fight over this stupidity. “Hugh, we’re done.” She turned and started for the door.

  “Oh, no, we are not! I am not just going to let you walk out of my life like this,” his voice boomed.

  Erin turned around. He was standing behind his desk, looking ready to come around and grab her, but she was not going to be intimidated by him. “Watch me.”

  “You are mine, Erin Freyn, and you are not going to break up with me.” His voice held that commanding quality which, up until now, she’d always given in to. But no longer.

  “You don’t know what you’re doing,” he persisted.

  “I don’t know…” She gasped. “And that’s another thing. You treat me like I’m a child! I’m a grown woman. I have my own career, which I can manage perfectly well without you, thank you very much! And I have my own brain, which works very well in making my decisions. I don’t need you, or your advice, or your interference!”