Entralled

by Annette Gisby

  Enthralled

  ©Annette Gisby 2015

  Cover Photo credit

  Frozen fairy with lantern canva.com/Zastavkin

  Part one

  It was the pain which woke her, a dull throbbing at the base of her skull and working its way down her back. As she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a canopy of green and brown above her. Leaves. Branches. Trees. There was no sunlight to be seen, just a muted grey green light, as if she was seeing things through a haze.

  She tried to sit up, but failed on the first few attempts, a dizziness so acute that she wondered if she was going to faint again. Once she was sitting up, she placed a hand at the back of her head and

  probed gently. Yes, there was a bump there all right, but how did she get it? How did she get here, to this forest?

  There was a groan from her left and she glanced down to see an equally confused Caden staring up at her. She reached down an arm to help him up.

  "Abigail? Where are we?"

  "I have no idea. I was hoping you would be able to tell me."

  "The last thing I remember, was that we were on our way to Kansas for a conference."

  "Oh, that explains it then," said Abigail.

  "Explains what?" he asked, rubbing his head and wincing when he found the

  tender spot of his own bump.

  "We most be over the rainbow," said Abigail.

  "Well, one thing's for sure, we sure aren't in Kansas anymore."

  Abigail stared around at their surroundings once more. There was something odd, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She could hear Caden's steady breathing and her own. That was it. There was no other noise.

  No rustling of leaves, although she could feel a little breeze caress her face, no birds singing, no insect chirps. There was nothing except her and Caden. No sounds of cars from a nearby highway, no airplanes overhead. She looked up again, trying to peer through the branches at the sky above, but it was impossible. It was as though they were in a room with a ceiling made of trees.

  Abigail stood up and began to brush at her clothes, to dislodge any leaves or dirt that had been there, but her skirt and blouse were completely clean. She looked quizzically at the ground, she'd been lying on a carpet of grass such a vivid green, but there were no grass stains on her clothes, and no loose debris from the trees scattered about. Where were the fallen leaves and twigs, pine cones The ground looked too clean and she bent down to make sure that the grass was real.

  She plucked a blade of grass to test it. It felt like grass, it looked like grass, it smelled like...nothing. It had no smell. Abigail sat back down and scooted over next to Caden. She began to sniff his neck.

  Sweat, aftershave and soap all combined to make one unique smell. His. She would recognise it anywhere.

  "Abigail? What are you doing?" he asked, gently pushing her away.

  "Sorry," she blushed at the intimacy of what she'd done. It wasn't something a colleague would do, more like something a lover would do.

  "There's no smell here," said Abigail, handing him the blade of grass.

  He sniffed it and looked at her in surprise. "That's odd."

  Abigail nodded and wondered if he was going to start smelling her like she had done to him. She wanted him to, wanted to feel his breath on her neck like a gentle caress and she had to bite her lip from crying out loud at the imagined sensation. It was the odd situation they found themselves in, that was all. She didn't really want to be doing that with Caden. Did she?

  "Hello!" called a voice in the distance. "Do you need some help?"

  They both turned to see the owner of the voice, a tall man dressed in a linen tunic which reached his knees. Two blue vertical stripes at the edges were matched by the blue of his eyes. Blond hair and a blond beard glinted in a source of light that Abigail couldn't fathom. The day was bright, but she couldn't see the sun.

  "My name is Linden," he said and bowed to them. Abigail and Caden stood up and reached out their hands, but he didn't seem to know what a handshake was so they dropped them by their sides and bowed like he had done.

  "We seem to be lost," said Caden. "Do you know where we are?"

  "Of course," Linden said with a broad smile, but made no attempt at sharing this knowledge with them. Abigail wondered if they had stumbled upon some strange cannibalistic cult and they were going to be dinner. Linden didn't look as if he was contemplating eating them, but then how could you really tell?

  "If you could maybe point us in the direction of the nearest town or village?" began Abigail hopefully.

  "Oh, I can do better than that," said Linden. "You're on the edge of Forever. I can take you there."

  "What?" exclaimed Caden.

  "Forever. It is my city. The nearest city. I will take you there."

  "Thank you," said Caden and Abigail together. As Caden stood up, he winced in pain and Abigail could see that he was biting his lip to stop himself from crying out

  "What is it? Where are you hurt?" she asked and rushed to his side.

  "My – my leg," he gasped out, his face turning the colour of oatmeal. "Left one." Abigail bent down and ripped the leg of his trousers to get a better look at his left leg. Just below the knee she could see a small piece of bone protruding from the flesh. How could he not scream with that?

  "Is there a hospital in Forever?" asked Abigail.

  "I'm sorry. I do not know that word," replied Linden.

  "A doctor? A physician?"

  Linden shook his head. "We have no words for these."

  Abigail bit her cheek to stop herself screaming from frustration.

  "What do you do when you get sick?"

  "We never get sick," he replied simply.

  "A healer? Do you have a healer?" she asked, inspiration suddenly dawning on her. His garments were old fashioned, maybe he would understand the old fashioned word.

  "Why, yes. Why didn't you say so before? My sister, Celeste is a healer. We will take your friend to her."

  "Thank you," said Abigail, just as she felt Caden go limp in her arms. He had fainted. She hoped this city wasn't very far away. Caden didn't look good.

  "I will carry your friend," said Linden and bent down towards the prone Caden. He hefted him over his shoulders, as though Caden were a dead deer and Abigail shivered at the thought.

  The city, if it could be called that, was nothing like Abigail had ever seen before. There were no buildings as such, everything was carved out of wood or rock, there was nothing man-made at all.

  Linden walked towards one of the larger trees and went inside. He turned and beckoned for Abigail to follow him. Once inside, Linden placed Caden on some fur rugs on the floor. A few minutes later, seemingly from nowhere, Celeste appeared.

  She was as tall as Linden, a good head taller than Caden, with flowing fair hair that reached her lower back. Like Linden, she was wearing a short tunic with the two blue stripes. She was so beautiful that she hardly looked real, more like a fantasy. Caden's fantasy?

  Celeste sat down cross-legged on the rug beside Caden and touched his brow. His eyelids fluttered open and she stared at the vision in front of him, his lips forming a pleased smile.

  Abigail felt as if someone had just punched her in the gut. He hadn't even looked to see where she was. He had eyes only for Celeste.

  "Come," said Linden. "We must leave Celeste to her healing."

  Abigail didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave him with that overgrown Barbie doll who was Celeste. As they reached the opening, it couldn't really be called a door, Abigail risked a glance back and wished she hadn't.

  Caden was caressing Celeste's cheek. He didn't look Abigail's way.

  When they were outside, if this strange green gloom could be called outside, Linden took her hand. She pulled it awa
y quickly, feeling dizzy and disoriented. His touch was like fire, she felt the desire pool between her legs, her face flaming.

  She grabbed the nearest wooden wall to steady herself. "Don't touch me," she hissed at him.

  "I am sorry. The touch was only meant to help you."

  "Help? How could that help? Just leave me alone."

  "As you wish," said Linden, bowing and walking away. There were other people walking about as well, men and women both dressed in the same tunics as Linden and Celeste. Were they some sort of religious community? Or were they something else altogether? They all had a strange look on their face and it took a while for her to realise what it was.

  Contentment. They were all content. Every single one of them.

  Abigail's legs were like rubber, the after effects of Linden's touch no doubt. She didn't no how long she stood there, her arms braced against the wall taking deep breaths to calm herself. The desire was slow to go and she felt as though her body had betrayed her. How could she feel desire for Linden when she – when she – but her mind refused to let her go there.

  She walked away from the centre of town, wandering in and out of deserted alleyways between the trees that all looked so alike she was sure she would get lost. A sweaty hand was clamped over her mouth and she was dragged backwards into another smaller alley.

  "Ssh, don't scream," said a voice in her ear. "I'm human. Like you."

  The hand was removed from her mouth and she turned to face her would-be attacker. Once he may have been a handsome man, but now his face was drawn and haggard, once rosy cheeks were now grey, as if life had left him but his body didn't know it yet. His clothes were nothing but rags hanging on a skeleton with skin.

  "I can get you out. You and your friend," he said.

  "Who are you?" she asked.

  "Oh, no. You won't get me that way again. Have you told them your name? I can't do anything if you've told them your name."

  Abigail thought back. "No, I don't think so," she said at last.

  "Good, good," muttered the man. "And the food. Don't eat or drink anything they give you. You're lost if you do.

  "Okay," said Abigail. "That sounds easy enough."

  "Oh, but it isn't," he said. "They are strong. They can impose their will on you, making you drink even though you don't want to. You have to be very strong to resist them. They can drive you mad with lust, wanting no one but them. But you mustn't give in, if you lie with them there is no way out."

  "Oh no!" cried Abigail. "My friend. He's alone with one of them. He might..."

  "We must get him out quickly then," said the man. "Which one is he with?"

  "Celeste," replied Abigail.

  "Celeste," he spat the name like a curse. "Oh, yes, I know all of her tricks."

  He took Abigail's hand and dragged her along the warren of narrow streets until they came to the town square again. They waited a few moments until Celeste emerged and walked away from the tree hut that Caden was in. "Now!" he said and they both dashed inside. Caden was sleeping peacefully, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips and Abigail almost faltered, wondering if he was dreaming of Celeste.

  "No time!" muttered the man beside her. Between them they managed to lift Caden and run out into the street again. But that was when they were seen.

  "Stop them!" roared Linden and a multitude of tunic clad people rushed at them.

  Abigail's anxiety gave her an extra boost and they ran as fast as they could away from the town and out towards the forest. The thin man seemed to know his way around and took them to a hideaway in a small cave.

  "We can rest now," he panted. He and Abigail laid down their burden. Caden slept on.

  "Won't they come after us?" asked Abigail, glancing round, imagining she was still hearing the sounds of pursuit.

  "Not here. It isn't part of their realm. It's a portal back to your world. They can only come here once a year."

  "What are you talking about?" demanded Abigail. None of it made any sense and she was getting fed up. "Where are we?"

  "I thought you knew," he said sadly. "We're in the land of Faery."

  "Don't be ridiculous!" snapped Abigail and stood up, pacing the cave like a wild animal in a cage. "You're telling me that those, that those people back there are faeries?"

  "Yes," he said. On the floor, Caden stirred.

  "Celeste?" he whispered and Abigail felt her heart sink. "Celeste!" he shrieked this time, a shriek of fear and confusion.

  Abigail bent down to him and he looked at her blankly. He didn't know her. His eyes roamed the cave, looking for the object of his affection. Celeste.

  "Are we too late?" asked Abigail. Had he and Celeste already slept together? How could she tell?

  "Smell him," commanded the thin man beside her. "If he has already been with Celeste, he will no longer have any odour. He will be like her. No smell."

  That made a mad kind of sense, thought Abigail, as she remembered the grass which had no smell. She leaned over him and sniffed. It was still Caden, she could smell his soap and aftershave. And him. She could smell him.

  Caden bared his teeth and growled at her. "Where is Celeste?" he demanded, gripping her wrist and squeezing hard.

  "I don't know, Caden," sighed Abigail.

  And if I did, I wouldn't tell you.

  He released her wrist and she fell backwards a little. Caden got up, pacing like she had been a few moments ago.

  "You must leave until tonight," said the thin man. "It's dangerous for you here."

  "What do you mean?" asked Abigail.

  "Celeste has touched him. He burns with the fever. If he can't have her, he may – hurt you."

  Abigail stared at him. He couldn't mean that. She couldn't believe that Caden would hurt her like that, Celeste or no Celeste.

  "Celeste!" roared Caden and pounded his fists against the wall of the cave. Small rocks fell where he pounded and Abigail realised then how much stronger he was, how much more bigger he was than her.

  He could hurt her if he really wanted to.

  "Go!" urged the man. "Come back at sunset!"

  "How do I know when sunset is?"

  "You'll hear the horns for the Hunt."

  "The Hunt?" Abigail didn't like the sound of that.

  "They will hunt him tonight," he said. "But you must be brave. You must hold him until daybreak, then you will both be free. No matter what happens, do not let him go."

  "I won't," said Abigail as she turned to leave. She was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground, jarring her hip and she moaned in pain. Caden sat on top of her, his legs on her sore hips, pinning her arms behind her head.

  He looked wild, his blue eyes bright with madness and a feral grin on his mouth, his teeth bared like fangs. Abigail was sure her heart had stopped.

  He bent down and kissed her roughly, teeth scraping at her lips. She tasted blood, hot and metallic as it flowed into her mouth. His hand wandered down and squeezed her breast. She broke away from the kiss and turned her head, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

  "Caden, don't," she pleaded. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. There was meant to me soft music and candles, not Caden crazed with lust on the dusty and cold floor of a cave.

  The man tried to move Caden off her, but Caden swung out and knocked him senseless to the floor. He hardly moved and Abigail wondered if Caden had killed him. She tried to struggle, tried to get out of his grasp, but Caden was too strong. She felt his erection press into her stomach and he ground himself into her.

  "So soft," he whispered, almost gentle. "You're so soft."

  "Caden, stop, this isn't you," said Abigail. "Don't you know me? It's me. Abigail."

  "Abigail," he rolled the word around in his mouth as though trying it out for size. "Abigail," he said again and this time there was a question there too. "Abigail? Abigail? Oh my God! What have I done?"

  He stood up and she was free. She felt weak and shaken, but the one person she wanted comfort from was the one who
had attacked her and she sobbed, feeling it erupt from somewhere deep inside her.

  In the distance a horn sounded and the thin man woke up.

  "Remember. Hold him until sunrise," he whispered and then he was gone, just vanished into thin air.

  "Abigail? What's going on?"

  Abigail rushed to his side and grabbed his hand. "Come on, we have to get out of here." His leg was completely healed now and Abigail wondered what other magic Celeste would use on them.

  As they emerged from the cave, they were surrounded by all of Faery arrayed on horseback. Some of the horses had wings and were hovering a foot off the ground. Abigail thought she might faint from the knowledge of it. Everything was too strange, too wondrous and she had to consciously remember to keep holding Caden.

  "Let go of our prey," commanded Celeste.

  "If I hold him until sunrise, he's mine," said Abigail defiantly.

  "Who told you that?" demanded Linden. "It was him wasn't it? The rhymer? Where is he?"

  "Let's see if you can hold him now," said Celeste and waved her hands in Caden's direction. Abigail was no longer holding Caden, instead she held a lion by its paw. It roared in anger, saliva dripping saliva from its mouth but by sheer will she held on. Caden was lost if she let go.

  The trial went on, Celeste turning Caden into all manner of creatures, a wolf, a snake, a shark, but still Abigail held on. She knew that Caden's life depended on it.

  He was back as Caden and Celeste waved her arms again. Nothing happened. She cursed angrily.

  "It is the sun," said Linden. "We must go back. You have lost this one."

  "NO!" shrieked Celeste and she rounded on her brother, punching him in the chest. He rocked her gently and then he and the others faded from sight, vanishing into the early morning mist.

  Abigail glanced around them. They were on a hill, inside a circle of toadstools, what her grandmother used to call a fairy fort.

  She stood up and moved out of the circle. Caden followed her, a frown of confusion on his face.

  "Abigail? What happened?" He glanced at her bruised wrists. "I did that?"

  "It's okay Caden. You weren't yourself."

  "Who was I then?" he asked bitterly and Abigail knew that no matter what she told him, he would still blame himself for hurting her. It wasn't his fault, how could she make him realise that?