by Lori Dillon
Jill watched Baelin disappear into the trees. He didn't even bother looking back.
Was he embarrassed, because for one brief moment he'd let down that impenetrable guard of his and allowed her a glimpse of the raw emotions he kept buried deep inside? She didn't have to be an expert on the male ego to figure that one out.
She stared at the spot where the thick forest had swallowed him up, wondering what else was going on inside his head right now. Probably some of the same confusing thoughts scrambling around inside her own brain, like what it would be like to take things beyond a sizzling kiss next time.
Jill ground her teeth. What was wrong with her? She was acting more like a teenaged boy in hormonal overdrive than a twenty-nine year old woman. She needed to get a grip on herself. But it was hard. She'd never felt so sexually frustrated in all her life. And all over a man who was half dragon. It would figure her knight in shining armor would come with wings attached. No one ever said she did things the easy way.
She looked at the tapestry in her lap and ran her finger over the figure of the dragon.
Her dragon.
But he wasn't a dragon. What she'd said to Roderick was true. She'd stopped thinking of Baelin as a dragon a long time ago. He was a man, but unlike any man she'd ever known. He was strong and kind, honest and loyal to a fault. He was a better person than any human being she'd ever known, in this century or her own.
When had she started thinking of him that way?
Had it begun when he saved her from the bandits? Or was it the way he stood beside her throughout the trial, believing in her when no one else would? Perhaps it was something as simple as when he shielded her from the rain with his wing.
Or was it the kiss?
At the memory, Jill's heart tightened in her chest. What had started out as an impulsive gesture had quickly turned into something so much more. And afterwards, when he'd clutched her to him, all thoughts of hot, steamy sex had flown out of her mind, replaced by a feeling of being cherished like none she'd ever known.
Jill was so lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't hear the sound. She glanced up to see if Baelin was returning, but there was no sign of him. She must be hearing things now. She'd probably busted an eardrum, shooting through in the sky like a bottle rocket.
But then she heard it again. It sounded like a small child crying.
She stood and followed the sound, walking along the bank of the stream. She looked around, but could see nothing. Had she only imagined it?
She was about to turn around and go back when she heard it again. She looked back up the stream and there, at the bend on the other side, sat a little girl. What was she doing out her all alone?
Jill approached the child cautiously, not wanting to frighten her. The little girl sat huddled in a ball, hugging her knees to her tiny chest. She had long, black hair and several curly wisps fluttered in the breeze.
"Hi sweetie," Jill called out in her softest, mother-like voice. "Are you okay?"
The little girl's head popped up and she wiped at her runny nose, but she didn't say a word.
"Okay. Stay right where you are. I'm going to come across to you." The child stared at her with wide, frightened eyes. "Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."
Jill tucked the tapestry under her arm and slipped down the bank. She stepped carefully on the exposed rocks and was across the shallow stream in no time. It was a little harder pulling herself up the other bank, but she managed, getting her hands and knees muddy in the process.
As soon as she drew near, the little girl started crying again.
"Aw, honey. What's wrong?" she crooned as she tucked a stray curl behind the girl's ear.
"I'm lost. I want my mother."
"Oh, you poor thing." She took the little girl into her arms, rocking her back and forth to sooth her. She was so much like her own niece, Zoe. Probably about the same age.
"Is she close by? Do you live around here?"
The child shook her head. "Nay. She lives far, far away."
"Then what are you doing out here all by yourself?"
At that, the little girl started crying harder.
"Don't worry. We'll find her. My friend is a knight, and he specializes in things like this. He loves saving damsels in distress and you're the prettiest damsel I've ever seen."
"Truly?" She looked at Jill with the bluest eyes Jill had ever seen.
"Truly. Our camp is just down the stream. We'll make a nice, warm fire and get you something to eat. And as soon as we figure out where you're from, we'll take you home. How does that sound?"
The little girl didn't reply, but merely nodded. Guess that was a yes.
Jill slid down the bank onto the mossy, flat stones and turned back to the girl. "Here, take my hand and I'll help you down."
The little girl's hand felt icy in her own. "My goodness. How long have you been out here? Your hand is freezing."
The little girl shrugged and moved closer to the edge.
"Don't be scared. I won't let you fall."
Jill took one step and then another out onto the rocks to make room for the child. She felt a strong tug on her hand and her left foot slipped on the algae-covered rocks. She wobbled, nearly toppling both her and the child into the cold water. When she regained her balance, she straightened and caught their reflection in the water.
In the mirrored surface, she saw her hand was no longer holding that of an angelic child, but of a horrid looking creature.
Jill jerked around.
The child was gone. In her place squatted a skeletal goblin with glowing yellow eyes. It laughed at her, revealing snaggled, stained teeth.
"You fool!"
The thing reached out and snatched at the tapestry. She made a desperate grab for it, trying to wrestle it away. The creature slashed at Jill's hand with its claws and then shoved her, sending her falling backwards into the shallow water.
"No!" The tapestry ripped through her fingers as she fell. Her butt hit the sandy creek bottom. It was deep enough for her to go under and she came up sputtering, shoving her wet hair out of her eyes.
The thing was gone, and the tapestry with it.
"Damn it!" She struggled to claw her way up the creek bank. She had to find Baelin. He was going to be so pissed.
She stumbled back toward the camp, dripping and cold, shouting his name the whole way.
He came crashing through the woods with his sword drawn. "What is wrong?"
"Baelin, thank God. There was a little girl…who turned into this thing."
"Where?"
Jill pointed upstream and tried to calm herself long enough to make sense. "I heard a child crying and there was a little girl, all alone. She said she was lost. I was bringing her back here, but she turned into this horrible little troll baby and before I knew what it was doing, it shoved me into the water. It…" She paused, afraid to tell him the rest. "It took the tapestry."
"What?" His angry eyes scanned the forest. "Which way did it go?"
"I don't know." Jill stood there and shivered. "What was that thing?"
"Probably one of the Dark Witch's spawn."
"But it looked just like a little girl. At least at first."
"Some of the witch's creatures have the power to change forms at will. They can appear as an animal, a human, or as a creature we cannot even imagine."
"So you think the Dark Witch sent it?"
"I know she did."
Jill's stomach rolled as the consequences played out in her mind. "What if we don't get the tapestry back? Can we still break the curse?"
When Baelin returned his gaze to hers, the disappointment in his eyes cut her to the core. "I do not know."
"What are we going to do?"
He sheathed his sword and sniffed the air. "I must find the demon and get the tapestry back before it reaches the Dark Witch. If it returns it to Isylte's possession, she will destroy it and all hope of breaking the curse will be lost."
"Do we know that? I mean, it's
not as if it's giving us clues to what the tests are. It's just a record of what has already happened. Maybe it doesn't matter who has it. Maybe we don't need it to break the curse."
"Nay, if that were so, the Dark Witch would not be so desperate to have it." His look of despair was almost more than she could stand. "The tapestry is the key to breaking the curse. We must get it back. Stay here. I shall return as soon as I have retrieved it."
"What?"
"You must stay here. I can track the demon faster alone.
"But what if there are more of those things out there? What if it comes back?"
"It will not. It already has what it came for." He started walking away. "But just in case, do not talk to any more children."
"Right. You try to ignore a crying child. I seem to recall you flew into a burning building after one."
He ignored her and continued walking, heading upstream toward where she'd told him she'd last seen the child. Jill hugged herself, suddenly very afraid of being left alone. There had to be another way.
And then she had an idea.
"Baelin, wait." She rushed up and grabbed his arm. "Maybe we don't have to go after the creature after all."
He stopped, his body tense, eager to be on the hunt. "What do you mean?"
She opened her hand, displaying a piece of wet material wadded in her palm.
"That thing didn't get all of it. The tapestry tore when I fell in the water." Her eyes met Baelin's and the unspoken possibility flashed between them. "Something tells me, that little monster will be back when it realizes it doesn't have the whole thing."
CHAPTER 29
This was such a bad idea.
Which made sense, since she was the one who came up with it.
The night closed in around her as the fire burned low. Jill couldn't see a thing. Not that she was supposed to. She was supposed to be asleep. Or at least look like she was.
She just prayed Baelin's dragon night vision was all he said it was cracked up to be because he was out there, somewhere.
Hiding. Waiting. Watching.
Jill lay by the fire with the torn corner of the tapestry drying on a rock on the other side. But she couldn't sleep. Every sound of the forest, every breath of the wind, made her wonder if the creature had returned. The last time, it hadn't hurt her. What if it did this time?
A crunch in the leaves had her holding her breath. She didn't know what to pray for more—that it was Baelin returning, having decided to give up the ruse or that it was the demon sneaking up to take the bait. She prayed it wasn't something big and hungry coming for a midnight snack. They had enough problems to deal with without throwing vicious wild animals into the mix.
She tried to steady her breathing so it looked like she was sleeping. Through the crack of her lids, she saw it. The little bald, wrinkled troll creature, still dressed in the little girl's clothing, strands of hair sticking out of its bald head where the long dark curls used to be.
The creature crawled out of the shadows towards the fire, its creepy cat's eyes darting every which way as if anticipating a trap. She willed herself not to flinch, not to move so much as an eyelash.
Baelin, where are you? You better not have fallen asleep out there.
The creature stretched out its clawed hand and reached for the tapestry fragment, its piercing eyes trained on her as if it believed Jill might jump up at any moment and snatch it away. But before it could grab it, a sword flashed in the dying embers of the firelight and cut off the creature's hand at the wrist.
All pretense of sleep vanished in an instant.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!"
Jill bolted up and scooted back, horrified at the sight of the hand still wiggling around in the dirt near the fire, grasping and clawing, but no longer attached to a body. The creature screeched and hissed as Baelin swung again, cutting off the demon's head with one forceful slice. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to smother the scream threatening to erupt from her throat as the headless body crumbled to the ground.
Baelin gave her a passing glance before he knelt and searched for the tapestry. Finding it shoved inside the creature's tattered clothing, he inspected it quickly, then rolled it up and tucked it into his sword belt.
He stood and sheathed his sword, concern wrinkling his brow. "You are unhurt?"
All Jill could do was nod. She was okay. She didn't know if she would ever sleep again, but she was okay. She watched as he gathered up the creature's body and the various parts that were now thankfully lying motionless on the ground.
"Stay by the fire," he said. "I will not be gone long."
She nodded again, suspecting he was going to take the thing out of sight and bury it. While he was gone, she threw more logs on the fire until it blazed. Then she huddled there with her arms wrapped around her knees. No matter how hot the fire got, she couldn't get warm.
It seemed like forever before she heard his footsteps approaching. She pulled out his dagger, just in case, and exhaled the breath she'd been holding when Baelin's tall form stepped into the firelight.
"What did you do with it?"
"'Tis gone."
Visions of every old vampire and Night of the Living Dead zombie movie flashed through her head. "Are you sure it's dead? It won't come back to life or anything?"
Baelin shook his head. "I burned it. That particular creature will not be returning to torment us, nor will it reach its Queen with tales of where we are."
Jill breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."
She shivered and Baelin sat near her. Close, but not near enough to touch. "My lady, do not tremble so. I regret you had to witness that. If there had been any other way of retrieving the tapestry without causing you such distress, I would have done it."
"Don't worry. Believe it or not, I'm pretty much over it already. I guess because it wasn't really human, it wasn't as bad as the last time." Realizing the truth of her words, she chuckled humorlessly as her body gave one last shutter. "Either that, or I'm starting to get used to the savagery of this place. Now there's a scary thought."
It pained her to watch his broad shoulders sag under the weight of some perceived guilt over what she'd just said.
"Would that I could pluck the bad memories from your mind, so that when you return to your time, you will have only fond ones of your days spent here and not think of me with loathing."
Jill read the concern in his eyes. He was worried she would run from him again, as she'd done the first time she'd seen him kill.
But now she knew the truth—there was no safer place than by his side.
"I could never hate you, Baelin. And I do have a few good memories, thanks to you."
He snorted and a residual smoke ring curled out of his nose. "Now I know you do not speak the truth. In your short time here, you have experienced naught but pain and death while you have been with me."
"If I recall correctly, I sort of volunteered for this job."
Baelin shook his head. "As I recall, you had no choice."
"Yeah, well, I guess neither of us did, thanks to this curse of yours."
She turned the tattered corner over in her hand and ran her finger along the ragged edge. "Do you think with the tapestry damaged, our chances of breaking the curse are ruined now?"
"Only time will tell."
He pulled the larger piece of the tapestry from his belt and unrolled it in his lap. Jill leaned over and lined up the torn section with the larger piece.
"I suppose I could try to sew it together."
"Perhaps, if we had needle and thread, but we do not."
"It's just as well. I couldn't sew a straight stitch if my life depended on it."
He placed the torn corner in the middle of the tapestry and rolled it back up, before tucking it once again into his belt. "I will keep this with me from now on, where I know it will be safe."
"Right. You do a better job of guarding it. Every time I manage to get my hands on it, bad things seem to happen."
"Tha
t is not true." His deep voice resonated with heartfelt conviction.
"Oh, yes it is. The first time I touched the thing, it zapped me back to the Middle Ages. The next time I had it, I ended up holding a hot poker in my hands. And the last time, Gollum's ugly little sister tried to steal it and probably ruined our chances of breaking the curse in the process. I'm obviously bad luck when it comes to that tapestry."
"I do not see it as such."
Jill snorted. "How can you not?"
"However it seems, all may not be lost. Though torn, the tapestry is once again safely in our possession, when by all odds it should be gone forever. The second time, you passed the first challenge. As painful and unpleasant as it was, it was meant to happen. And the first time…I do not think bad at all, because it brought you here to me."
A lump formed in Jill's throat. He was talking about fate and destiny and things meant to be. As much as she wanted to disagree with him, she couldn't shake the feeling he spoke the truth and she was right where she was supposed to be.
"If things were different…If I were different…" Baelin stumbled over the words. "Forgive me. I cannot speak the flowery words as Sir Roderick does. But if we succeed and the curse is broken…" He stopped and poked a stick into the fire.
"What?" she prodded.
He shook his head, keeping his gaze glued to the flames. "If the curse is broken, you will return to your time, therefore what I was about to say matters not."
But it did matter. It mattered a lot. And she needed to hear the words he was working so hard to say. "Say it anyway."
"If you stayed…if I were a whole man…"
She put her hand on his arm and stopped him. "But you are a man. More of a man than any I have ever known."
He turned a perplexed gaze her way. "How can you say that? I am a hideous beast. Just look at me." He fanned his wings out, spreading them wide. The impressive effect he sought was lost with her makeshift bandage dangling around one of them.
She brushed the back of her hand across his stubbled cheek, the soft bristles tickling her skin. "I don't find you hideous at all. But it's not because of what you look like on the outside. That doesn't matter to me. Right now, I only see the man on the inside, and he's one of the handsomest men I've ever met."