Shaking her head and trying to readjust her eyesight for the briefest of moments Caleigh thought she was being observed from across the room by a naked woman. When she blinked and looked again there was clearly no one there but the half reflection of Ellie and herself on the polished stonework. Looking back to Ellie she noticed on more surprising thing, unlike her friend she was completely dry.
Back at the pool in the woods, Caleigh drew the short straw meaning that she would be going last of the four. Aethelbald went first with a quick wave of his wand about his person he set off jumping onto the nearest of the rocks. By all rights he should have tumbled and not stayed upright as he did, pausing long enough to set himself for the next jump. Again, he somehow landed cleanly on a surface barely larger than his boots. With a final leap he made for the central rock where the chain was placed forming a perfect arc before plunging just short with an almighty splash. At once Gideon, Mabon, Diarmund and Vaughn waved their wands at him combining spells to lift him to shore. “Looks like luck can only take you so far, after all.” Vaughn commented while handing him a towel.
“You might’ve warned me.”
“That wouldn’t have been fair.”
Cedric went next and, as expected, disappeared instantly then reappeared directly on the central rock. In the same motion he attempted to lift the chain, forgetting to take his momentum into account and he slipped feet first into the pool. Once more the tutors combined to remove him from the water before the cold took hold and soon he was sitting huddled in blankets next to Aethelbald.
“Good luck, Rosamund.” Caliegh bid anxious that her friend not be the next to fall under. Rosamund smiled weakly then pointed her wand at the water. A trail of frost branched out from where she pointed running across the surface of the pool up to the centre. Step by step Rosamund followed this trail of ice as careful not to slip on it as putting her foot beyond where it touched. Slowly, she made her way to the centre and unlike Cedric thought to dispel the glamour holding the chain to the rock before reaching for it. On one knee she bent down to retrieve it just as a splitting sound broke the quiet.
“Look out.” Caleigh called, seeing the split streak towards the ice Rosamund was perched upon. With quick thinking she pointed her wand downwards and sent herself sliding backwards the way she came splashing only into the shallows where her feet could find the bottom enough to guide her to dry land.
“Down to you Caleigh.” Gideon encouraged. Caleigh stepped forward and cast the impermeable charm about herself then turned her attention to the water. She recalled the earlier occasion she had been here and how she noticed the water boatmen scurry across the water without breaking its skin. This reminded her of something she’d read about elemental charms and how the skilled Enchanter could charm water to bear loads heavier than usual not by making them lighter but by encouraging the water itself to hold its tension to a far greater degree.
The surface of the pool billowed beneath her foot stretching down several inches as her weight pressed on top. Her right foot followed taking her further out so that she was completely suspended. Footstep followed footstep and though each depression leaked and water gathered around her boots, Caleigh remained borne on the glassy exterior all the way to the central rock. Doing as Rosamund did, she dispelled the glamour and picked up the chain, making sure that her footing remained firm throughout.
Everyone around the pool started to applaud even as she held her hands out for balance. “Do I have to come back as well?”
“I think you’d do a better job than if we aided you now.” Gideon answered. Caleigh turned around and carefully retraced her steps feeling more water rushing in with each one until she was up to her ankles by the time she exited.
“I think we have a winner.” Vaughn declared. In all the following congratulations Caleigh could only think of how glad she was that only her toes were wet.
30. Wintersday
Caleigh was the winner and she gladly received the golden chain as her prize taking every opportunity she could to admire herself with it on in her looking glass. This was most enjoyable when she wore naught else and while dosing herself with some of her own charm. She was discovering new sensations all the time even when she was not using her potions to aid her magic. She found that if she poured a little of her charm over her breasts while exerting her powers the sensation of her touch upon her body became exacerbated. Her breasts had always been a source of pleasure and now they stood with her nipples perfectly erect so that with a little ministration she could open her thighs and picture any of the men she knew she could entice and reach a powerful climax very quickly. Moreover, these experiments were not just pleasurable they also sparked in her a great feeling of connection with the flow of magic so that in all her studies and practice she made daily strides.
The weeks sped by quickly and she barely took in the Wintersday preparations going on around her until on the very day when everyone else was gathering in the great hall below she was enjoying an ecstatic dreamland that she was only pulled away from by a knocking at her chamber door. “Caleigh?” It was Rhiannon’s voice.
“Yes?”
“We are gathering for the Wintersday Feast, are you not joining us?”
“Yes, of course. Allow me a moment.” Caleigh answered quickly trying to keep the panic from her voice for all of a sudden she was not alone in the room. Standing at the foot of her bed was a beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair and huge breasts upon her naked frame. At the same time it was clear that this woman was not entirely there either. Here and there light passed through her form making the colour of the wood and stone behind her visible. “Who are you?” Caleigh whispered. The woman merely winked one of her sparkling green eyes in answer then just as suddenly vanished from sight.
In a panic, Caleigh threw on her librarian robes without bothering to put on anything beneath. Rhiannon was alone in the corridor with no trace of the mysterious woman.
“Is something awry?” Caleigh’s eyes darted this way and that.
“No...I...I overslept.”
“Oh, I meant to ask you something.”
“Oh yes?”
“You remember we made enough potions to supply you for several months.”
“Yes.”
“Well, ‘tis strange, I cannot find the stock. They have all been moved somewhere.”
“Ah, worry not. I removed them to my quarters.”
“Oh, that is all well then. I was concerned I would have to start making more.”
“Yes, we should!”
“Why do you say that?”
“Err, I am eager to try again. I think we can improve on our prior work.” A shape flickered in Caleigh’s peripheral vision causing her to turn suddenly catching the briefest glimpse of the ghostly woman again, this time ahead of her. “We must get to the main hall!”
“Are you sure you are not ailed?” Rhiannon asked trailing after. By the time they reached the hall Caleigh was running, pursuing bare cheeks and legs only seen by her and even then tantalisingly fleetingly. She careered into the space where everyone else was gathered colliding with Aethelbald’s chest and nearly knocking him over.
“Oh, forgive me Aethelbald!”
“I am unhurt.” Aethelbald answered steadying himself and her. “Are you hale?” Caleigh looked at him and could see in his eyes that she must appear strange. Then, over his shoulder, the ghostly woman appeared again, dancing across the table where the diners were gathered. About her clouds of charisma charm fell in her trail tailing back across the room all the way to Caleigh. The vision failed when she realised Aethelbald was talking to her.
“Sorry?”
“I said that you stand in the most apt place.” He repeated nodding upwards to a display of mistletoe. Caleigh laughed and on an impulse that seemed to come from without leaned in and kissed him. Cheers broke out from various people in the room and when she released him Aethelbald staggered more than he had when she had crashed into him. Rhiannon moved around him to g
ive him room and before she knew it Caleigh had replaced him with her meeting her mouth with equal vigour. Now she was kissing Rosamund and now Cedric. She felt arms circle her waist and pulling her and for a moment she was no longer entangled.
“Oh hello, Ceol.”
“Caleigh, look around you!” As ordered, Caleigh took in the room. All about the place the men and women were pawing and kissing each other not always in pairs but in teams. She was shocked to see Dana madly smothering Diarmund and worse, Rosamund and Aethelbald lip to lip beside her.
“Oh Gods, Ceol.” She reached out to find him but he too had succumbed wrapped in a tight clutch with Ellie. Then again, her gaze was drawn back to the table to see the mysterious, nude woman wink and leap through her. It was only then that it became apparent how all the streams and coils of translucent energy linked back to a single source and that source was not the apparition but herself. She turned to exit the room but not before hands were upon her chest reaching inside her robes to her bare breasts. They might have been Leofric’s hands or they might have been Baldir’s, they were both upon her trying to meet her lips.
Out of nowhere the room shook and most within lost their footing, Caleigh used the chance to crawl free and by force of will drag herself out of the hall. Desire raged within her and the threads of her magic held firm almost tugging her back inside as though they were robes pulled by many strong men.
“Caleigh, what is wrong?” It was a familiar voice but one she hadn’t heard recently.
“Sir Marc, my liege.” She gasped.
“Not any more. What commotion is this?”
“I cannot tarry to tell. Please, lead me away from the hall. Take me away from everybody else.” The tone of her voice was enough to convince him and he guided her without hesitation through many corridors and stairways to a distant chamber. Inside Dame Edith was standing by the window and at first only saw her husband backing into the room.
“I will be down in a moment...oh...” Marc swung Caleigh round onto the bed. “Caleigh!” Edith moved down next to her and put her hand to her brow. “Is she ill?” She asked Marc.
“Some spellwork has gone awry, I guess.”
“Marc.” Caleigh croaked surprising them both by coming out of her daze. “You need to leave. Edith is safe here but you are not.”
“Is the peril not in the hall?”
“No, I am the peril. You must leave whilst you still can.”
“How can...” Trance-like again Caleigh pulled her robe aside and let it cascade away from the swell of her bust. Marc froze, locked in place by the doorway unable to step away.
“Forgive me, lady.” Caleigh said to Edith and then stood and drew closer to Marc. Edith said nothing but watched open-mouthed as her husband meekly disrobed and took Caleigh into his arms. Together they fell onto the bed right beside her. Marc reached out to his wife, as if his left arm was the only part he had control over. To his great surprise she took it and kissed his fingers.
All this was unseen to Caleigh, all the world seemed pale, subsumed by the miasma of magic passing through her. Only the intense exhilaration she could feel between her legs and the waves of pleasure swirling around her were real in this moment.
Beside her she could feel movement shaking the bed and caught flashes of pale skin. Marc’s head moved away from her and she felt a new source of pleasure rising from outside her body. Beyond that all was lost. Excitement passed into serenity and then nothing. Time passed around her uncounted and when she came to she felt like one waking from a deep and restful sleep.
She did not wake where she fainted but in her own chamber and covered by a nightshirt.
“Wh...how did I get here?”
“She’s awake.” It was Ellie’s voice. Within moments she was joined by Rosamund, Rhiannon and Penric looming above all grasping her arms and asking how she felt.
“Now, now let her be. You will have many chances to speak to her ere long.” Spoke Tovrik. At his words the others faded from the room leaving the two of them alone. “I thought it wise that we spoke alone afore all else.”
“What happened? Oh Gods, I made people...they must hate me...I could not stop it. Ohhh, I made Rosamund and Aethelbald...they will never forgive me.”
“Do you wish to know what happened or to admonish yourself?”
“No, I have to know. How bad was it?”
“If you mean how much further did the debauchery in the main hall progress you will be happy to hear that it did not.”
“You mean it stopped? But I could not contain it.”
“You did in part. You recognised that removing yourself would be of aid and did so. The rest, I admit, was my doing or was at the least the doing of the protective wards about the castle.”
“Everyone fell down, was that you?”
“Indeed. After that and your exit I was able to dispel the rest of the effect. I dare say no lasting harm was done to anyone.”
“I’m not sure that is true for Rosamund and Aethelbald.”
“Fortunately, memories of what happened seem very poor. I have taken care not to aid the return of any that may be best forgotten. This is partly why I wished to speak to you alone.”
“What about Sir Marc and Dame Edith. Have they forgotten also?”
“No. Their memories are clearer.”
“Then she must surely despise me. I doubt Marc has much fondness left for me either.”
“You need not be so damning of yourself.”
“Why should I not be? This is my fault.”
“And because you are the source of this magic it was ultimately benign in nature. Even in carnal release it was genuine affection that most shaped your spell. It may surprise you but both Marc and Edith have no ill will towards you. They know you meant no harm.”
“I made love to her husband before her eyes.” Caleigh screwed her face up in shame.
“Well, this may not be an area where I can answer all but might it occur to you that she would not begrudge you this?” Bit by bit memories stirred, Edith had been there when they’d made love. She had willingly shared him. In the pit of her stomach Caleigh realised this was the first time they had been together in this way for some time. Mayhap it was possible after all that she had in the end not done all that ill. Yet, equally, she knew that this was just fortune and she could have as easily been responsible for the harm she had initially imagined.
“I am still at fault. It may not have been my intent yet cause it I did.”
“That is true. I spoke with Rhiannon, how long have you been drinking from the potion bottle?”
“Since she first joined us but it is not her fault. She did not know how much I was doing it.”
“You worry about the harm you could have done to others, did it not occur to you that you might be doing harm to yourself?”
“I...no. It seemed to help me.”
“No doubt it did to a point. You may not know this but you have been asleep to the world for four days.”
“I had no idea. I have been very foolish.”
“Why did you feel the need exacerbate a charm you can perform almost without thought now? You are a spellsinger surely you do not need more to aid your natural talent?”
“I feel protected here and that is good. Yet I found that sense of protection prevented me from testing my control such as when I was in Minerva. The potions gave me that release and also, I seemed to be able to reach out to Loreliath better. Do other wizards not do similar?”
“Oh yes, it is quite common. Using potions to aid your magical talent can be perfectly useful and safe in small doses. In the same way as drinking a small phial of mead will not turn a man into a drunk. As with the man and his mead, the temptation to excess is also true of wizards and potions.” Tovrik frowned thoughtfully. “In all truth I suppose I also share some portion of responsibility for this.”
“How could you? You did not know what I was doing.”
“No, but in a sense I prompted it. We’ve all been so keen for y
ou to realise your gifts we never stopped to question whether there was such thing as too swift progress. Nor did I warn you of the perils adequately. The greatest temptation for all wizards is for greater power, greater connection to the flow of magical energy. Most of us are tempered slightly by the sheer labour of constant improvement. This is far less true for spellsingers and as blessed a gift as this is there has been more than one spellsinger in history who has burned himself to dust in the quest for instant perfection.”
“You were not wrong to encourage me. I need to be ready when the beast comes.”
“Though I may have lost my connection to Loreliath, even I can feel that that day is not tomorrow, nor is it next week or month.”
“Such is my feeling also, yet also am I growing sure that it will not be in ten or even five years’ time either. I fear we may not see many more summers afore he rises.”
“You speak now as one who has made a decision in her heart.”
“I have. I didn’t realise it until this moment but now I can see it and it is clear. I can no longer tarry for the sake of my education. It must go now with the greater quest.”
“Have you a mind to depart Elevered?”
“Not entirely, if it is well with you I shall return as oft as I can and for me this will remain now my true home. At the same time I must find more for our cause and find a way to reach Argahan. Do I disappoint you?”
“Far from it, I have concerns about your safety not your judgement about which course is right. Take today to rest and come to me in my chambers tomorrow and we will talk more.”
31. From Darkness
For all Tovrik’s reassurances, Caleigh could not escape a constant state of shame; shame that everyone in the castle must now know about her potion indulgence and shame for what she did to her friends. Though she would not admit it to Tovrik her need to leave Elevered was as much to escape this awful burden as it was to further their cause. Most of all, the thought that troubled her was that she could harm so many people who had become so dear to her, if ever she lost control again. Through the day that followed she walked around in a daze barely taking in what people said to her. The fact that no one bore her any ill will made it worse in a way. If they had admonished her she could at least have apologised. As it was, she couldn’t even mention what happened for fear of reawakening the sleeping memories. The more she thought about it the more that time away from Elevered seemed like a good idea.
Enchantress Awakening: Part One of the Book of Water (The Elemental Cycle 1) Page 34