by Claudy Conn
“And so, you have come, Madelyn, sister of the body, soul of the heart, forever one.”
Maxie took a step back. Oh dear, this was a bit too much. Who was Madelyn? She looked at the floating, nearly transparent form of a cloaked man and took a stab at it, “Please tell me what you are talking about. What do you mean? Who is Madelyn? My name is Maxine, as you well know—you have said my name so many times.”
She was of course way over the edge, talking to what looked like a ghost in her attic.
“She means you harm,” was all the response that Maxine received.
* * *
Julian was dreaming. He tossed to and fro and threw off his covers.. They were all around him. They were unmovable, powerful, and full with the intent of their existence. Magnificent not only in their size, but also in their individual definition and meaning. Huge and reaching, blue and gray. If one didn’t know better, one would call them stones, boulders, rocks. He, however, knew better. They were the dolmens.
They pointed heavenward, monuments to a time when their meaning and their purpose were clear and prevalent. The wind created a song through the corridor created by the evenly spaced stones. And that song sweetly invited him to travel the narrow lane. Sarsen and bluestone! Familiar and comfortable. They belonged to another life, another time. Another life? Whose life? Whose time? Where was he?
“Home…” he heard a voice whisper.
He blinked and saw an open field, heard the sound of many people. Friends. They were his friends, good friends. The sight of them, the feeling, made him smile. They were gathered in a circle, and they were chanting in an ancient language. He understood the words as they came softly, and then all at once, Maxine was beside him holding his hand.
She whispered his name…No. It wasn’t his name, and yet…?
He bent to kiss her, and she laughed. He looked at her, and she was his beloved. She was Maxine and yet, not quite…
He heard himself say her name, but it wasn’t her name. He was calling her …Madelyn…he was calling her Madelyn. She wasn’t his betrothed but his wife of many years. He kissed her lovely little hand, and even as he did so the sky went from delicate hues of blue to a roaring mass of black and gray. Clouds gathered quickly overhead, low and threatening. The fire in the center of the circle turned into a wild blaze. Something came out of nowhere and struck Maxine—struck her down!
He was holding her lifeless body in his arms. He could hear himself crying and felt rage building within his soul when he heard her softly whisper, “Look forward my love, always look forward…”
And then it was gone. But something else was in his mind…not a dream…but in his mind. It was Maxine! He felt her in his head, watching him.
What the devil! He awoke with a start and looked around, his eyes adjusting to the dark. He took his candle, lit it from the fire in the hearth, and put it on a nearby table. He then shrugged into his dark maroon brocade robe, which had been resting on the nearby settee. A moment later he was quietly making his way to Maxine’s room.
He knocked softly as he didn’t want to raise Maxie’s mother. When she didn’t respond he stood a moment before knocking again.
When she still did not respond he slowly, carefully opened the door and held his candle towards her bed.
The quilt had been flung to one side, and it was obvious the bed was empty.
He had known in his heart that he would find that she was not in bed, and still a wave of shock and concern swept his system. He spun around and then suddenly knew where she was. A dim light, a shadowy presence pulled him towards the stairs that would lead to the attic…
~ Twelve ~
MAXINE HELD THE heavy lid of the ancient trunk up high and was struck by a blinding light. Soft chanting filled her mind…and that voice, that familiar voice said, “You already know that she means you harm, so the question remains, are you ready?”
She dropped the lid with a bang and put her hands to her forehead. She was absolutely going insane. That was the only explanation. Somehow, somewhere she had slipped from reality into madness.
“Not so,” answered the voice as though reading her mind. “Yours is the power, and it grows with every passing day…”
Run, she told herself. Run back to your room and get under the covers!
But even as the thought came to mind, she felt her brain flooded with knowledge beyond her present capability to understand. Once again, she felt compelled to open the trunk and there found a length of old, yellowed lace. She brushed it aside, scratching her finger with the movement. Blood dripped, and she cringed…
Then all at once, everything in the room around her began to sway. Her vision blurred. Her body felt a rush of warm, inviting air as everywhere she looked she was surrounded by glinting particles of light. Now what? Have I fainted? Must get up…must get back to bed…
And then it was as though a door opened to another world. Maxie did not move. She knew she didn’t move, and yet there she was on the other side of the door, leaving the attic room behind her. She was on the other side…but the other side of what?
Someone had always called her here…whispered a welcome, and now, here she was in this place she had always known existed.
The haze that had surrounded her evaporated, as did the glistening particles of light. Instead, she seemed to be on a mound of field grass, looking down at the sloping clearing. A few scattered trees interrupted the open stretch of land where sarsen and bluestone pointing towards the heavens.
The sarsen standing stones beckoned and drew her closer beyond their symmetrical line. They drew her to where a group of bluestone formed a horseshoe in the clearing. There were other boulders, huge, awesome in the sunlight, and these formed an inner circle. In their circle was assembled a group of people. They were oddly dressed, like Greek or Roman mythical gods. She should have been frightened, afraid of the fact that if she were hallucinating, then it followed that she might just actually be insane. Yet she felt safe and comfortable…and these people seemed like friends. A sensation ran through her that she had been away on an extended journey and was just now coming home. She was not hallucinating. This was real. These people were real. The ‘other side’ was real.
No longer just in her head, a voice said gently, “No, not quite real…”
Then someone in the circle called to her, “Madelyn…join us.”
And she knew it was her name in another time. She knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
A man stepped forward, away from the circle of people, and spoke gravely to her. “Madelyn, sister of the body, soul of the heart, forever one, you have to work your shields, you have to protect yourself, for she is coming for you.”
She knew this man. He was somehow so familiar, and his voice…yes, it was the voice she had been hearing in her mind these last few months…perhaps always. Here was the ghost now in the flesh.
* * *
“Maxine!” Julian took Maxie’s shoulders in his strong grip. She was on her knees, and he lifted her up. “Sweetheart—look at me…” She appeared to be in a trance of some kind. He took her cheeks in his large hands and gave her a gentle shake. “Maxine…answer me!”
Maxine rushed into his arms as though she were shot from a cannon. She blinked as she looked up into his dear face, and she thought she whispered his name but said, “Jehu, my love.”
“What? What did you call me?” Julian caught his breath. He felt anxiety clutch his heart. A sure fear was born within him and left him all too aware that things had moved onto another playing field, one he could not control.
Already the name she had uttered was gone from Maxie’s conscious mind. Already the ‘other side’ was safely tucked away. The moment was forgotten. “Julian, what is it? What is wrong?”
He hugged her to himself and whispered her name. He stroked her face.
“What is it…what happened?” she asked him.
He hugged her fiercely to him and whispered her name again.
She pulled away sl
ightly and got on her toes to kiss his lips and giggle. “My lord, just what are your intentions…for I will tell you mine…”
The name “Jehu” had been in his dream and now on her lips. It was troubling, but he put it aside. “Maxie love, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
No secrets, she told herself. She had promised herself to have no secrets between them. Soon, very soon she would keep that promise, but not tonight. She needed more time to sort it out and understand what was happening to her so she could explain it to him. Then, she would tell him the truth…if she ever discovered the truth…
For now she answered in as casual a tone as she could muster. She didn’t know that her love had secrets of his own. “Finding something to insure our wedding goes smoothly, my big buck…like something old, something blue.” There, not quite a lie.
“Now?” he quizzed her, his dark brow up doubtfully.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“So you took a trip to the attic…?” He was so relieved to find she had a plausible explanation that he allowed himself to accept it. He chuckled affectionately and squeezed her to him.
“Max, you are my ever-lasting treasure on this earth. Come on then, to bed with you.”
“Oooooh, yes, my lord.”
Suddenly the control he had been exerting over himself whenever they were together alone gave way, and he was nibbling on her lush lips, parting them for his tongue, excited beyond measure at her response. He pulled away with an effort and almost growled, “Don’t tempt me, love…I am already there…”
She pressed her body to him in answer. Her hands went beneath his robe to pet at his hard, smooth chest, to move further down to his belly as she discovered, with a thrill that made her clench inside, that he was fully naked under that robe! He grabbed at her hand and with evident effort managed to stop her in place. She pulled free from his hold, and her hand found what she was seeking. She had been feeling that hard bulge against her body every single time they kissed, hugged, and touched, and she wanted to know more about it. Her tiny fingers found and clasped its pulsing hugeness. She couldn’t quite get her hand around it and gently made the attempt, driving him wild with her movements.
He returned the favor by reaching for and finding her breasts. He couldn’t think, and he couldn’t breathe. She was all he had been wanting these long, celibate months, and here she was. Her breasts were full and her nipples ripe and commanding his attention. He held her breasts, gently drew one out of the scoop neck of her nightdress, and found its rosy perkiness with his lips.
“Oh Julian…” she said breathlessly as she found his knee and pressed its hardness between her thighs.
He licked at her nipples as his hand went to find her sweet honey box and gently vibrate it into frenzy.
“Maxie!” Delia Reigate called from below
They scrambled apart as though cold water had been directly dumped on top of them!
Julian motioned silently to her to answer, and as she put herself together, she attempted calmness. “Yes, Mama, coming.”
Maxie scrambled to her feet and rushed to the attic door, taking the steps as fast as she could and hurrying her mother forward towards their rooms. “Mama, what are you doing here? It is the middle of the night.”
“Something woke me—I can’t say what—and then all at once I knew you were rummaging about in the attic. Whatever were you doing?”
“Couldn’t sleep, thought I would find something for my wedding day, you know the tradition…” She repeated what she had told Julian, “of something…old, something blue…”
Delia sighed; she was happy enough with this response and patted Maxine’s rump, saying, “Off to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Maxie laughed and entered her room. She waited by the door a few moments before rushing out again and down the hall.
Hurriedly she opened Julian’s door to see him by the dim candlelight just getting into bed. She ran to jump onto the mattress beside him.
His blood was already burning from their encounter. How much could a man stand? She was luscious, her body beside his own demanded his full attention, and once again he would have to refuse himself, refuse her. “Maxie, my love—this is not wise,” he whispered but in strong accents. “Your mother might still be awake…”
She was all over him, nibbling at his lips, but she did stop at this and say, “Yes, but there is something I have to tell you. Julian, there are things you should know about me.” She looked at him all innocence—but once again her hands were on the move. He grabbed hold of them, kissed her fingers, and with one brow up, said, “Y…essss?” His smile was indulgent and his kiss light as he touched his lips to her pert nose.
She pulled her hands away, took up the covers to dive beneath them, and made her way to his throbbing manhood forever hard, forever calling to her. He sucked in air. He couldn’t stop her, didn’t want to stop her, but his honor demanded he send her back to her own room.
“Maxie…” Softly he caressed her name as he pulled her up to face him. “This will not do, and you are putting me in hell.”
She stopped and looked at him then, sighing to say, “Very well then. The second reason I am here is there is something I have to tell you. Something about me you don’t know.”
“And that is?”
“I am quite serious, Julian.” She eyed him thoughtfully before proceeding. “You already know that I am very…intuitive, but you should also know that sometimes I have…these things you might call…visions. There…” She sighed. “I have said it.”
“You mean like dreams?” He frowned, thinking of his own.
“Somewhat.” She decided to put off the rest for another time. “At any rate, I needed to tell you that. Now you need to tell me what in heaven’s name you were doing roaming around at this hour.”
He grimaced. “Heaven had naught to do with it. Max, I had the most devilish nightmare.” He started then to tell her about his dream but immediately thought better of it. “It’s gone now.” He crushed her against himself, savoring the feel of her body beneath the thin linen of her nightgown. His cock was rock hard and needed attention. His mind was full of her; his heart and his blood burned for her touch and her kisses. He had to force himself to set her away from his treacherous passion.
“Right then,” he said, breathing hard, “off you go before your mother looks into your room again.” He was genuinely concerned about this.
“I don’t see why we have to wait…” Maxie said softly, her fingers already gliding down his chest.
“Nor do I, but not now, not now when your mother is awake and has already been looking for you.” He dropped a light kiss on her pursed lips and smiled. She pouted and then received her second swat to the rump that night.
Later in her own bed, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that something meant to come between her and Julian. It was out there in the darkness, lurking, waiting…
* * *
Lamia DuLaine never slept at night. It was something she often thought of as one of the curses of her existence.
Tonight, her restlessness consumed her, and yet she could not take the chance of prowling about the inn’s park-like grounds. She might be seen. That would look odd.
Indeed, though the inn was shut down for the night, it was fully occupied with weary travelers. There was always the outside chance that someone else might be up and about.
No. It would not do for a gently bred woman of title to be seen wandering about at such an hour. It would be too choice a piece of gossip to banter about. Appearances, as much as they were insipidly boring, were all important amongst her peers. Besides, something was wrong inside her head.
The flower girl? Had it been her blood? Had the child’s blood been tainted? Once before she had taken tainted blood, during the ordeal of the Black Plague. She had become ill then for a time…not like this though, not like this.
She frowned over the supposition. That had been so very different. Then, she had not felt the e
xtreme adverse effects she was now experiencing.
Her mind whirled with sounds, voices, memories, all of them making her disoriented.
It was like being trapped in fog and whipped by gusts of wind, and it was a force of nature she had no power against. And the voice in her head? Oddly familiar. Every instinct was on the alert. While Shamon had fully recovered and she had begun feeling better after they left Reigate, she was still unwell.
She had a nagging feeling that the answer lay in her memories. The years, hundreds and hundreds of years, were not easily recalled. And she didn’t want to recall them. How far back did she have to go?
She had buried her past. What she needed was the future, a future with Julian Talbot at her side. And she knew just how to get that!
To attempt to steal him from the Reigate chit was not going to work. She knew that, while Maxine lived, he would always want the miserable creature. A bond she did not understand existed between the two. Therefore, Maxine must die. So simple.
In the meantime, she must work on Julian. She must reach him in his dreams.
Perhaps it was not quite having him come to her of his own free will, but it was the next best thing. She had prepared for this possibility some time ago when they first met in Brussels and his resistance towards her had been too strong to break. She had taken a strand of his hair. Easy enough while they had danced.
She would use it now.
She prepared the sarsen stone fragments in the center of the floor. She lit the candles and made a circle around the sarsen with them. The stone fragments presented a power, a force from another place, another time.
Lamia chanted the ancient, forbidden words as she pricked her finger and anointed the stone with drops of her own blood.
She removed the strand of dark hair from her locket, licking it before she placed it on the blood-smeared sarsen. It was sacrilege to use the stones in such a way, but she had long ago forsaken such cares.