The Fragile Fall At Tallow Bridge (The White Blood Chronicles Book 1)

by Mark G Heath

  “ So,” continued Kathryn, “ I need to speak with Alyssia about the flowers I need and of course to thank her for the excellent medicines she has provided which are restoring you to full health,” she added.

  “ Hmmm, yes, although I must confess this wretched lump on my back is becoming rather troublesome,” admitted Thaindire and reached around under his cloak to gently prod at the protrusion.

  “ Is it sore?” asked Kathryn.

  “ A little, it is more that I keep bumping the lump on things and it disturbs my sleep.”

  Kathryn nodded sympathetically.

  “ Well, why not come with me to see Alyssia and you can ask her how long it is likely to last,” suggested Kathryn.

  “ Not a bad idea,” conceded Thaindire. “ Let’s do that.”

  Kathryn slipped her arm through his once more, pleased that he had taken on board an idea suggested by her as she continued to talk about the colours and extent of the decoration of the two buildings. They crossed the bridge and made for the apothecary. Thaindire mused that his delayed departure was bearing fruit, as his list of those who would be arrested and judged grew longer. The witch Thorne would be right behind Campion on his list and he swore he would see her burn.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Treading up the wooden steps. Kathryn pushed the door of the apothecary and they both stepped inside the store immediately assailed by a hundred different scents. Thorne was in the front of the store, behind the counter placing a box on a shelf, before she turned. Thaindire was struck at just how beautiful she was. Her features were delicate and her skin so clean-looking. Kathryn was a handsome woman, that much was true, but Thorne transcended her beauty.

  “ Good morning Kathryn, Master Thaindire,” spoke Thorne politely. Her voice was low and had a strange effect to it, almost sounding like the breeze making its way through the trees.

  “ Hello Alyssia,” chimed Kathryn, “ I need to talk to you about the flowers for the feast and then Samael just has a query about his injury,” explained the younger woman.

  “ By all means,“ answered Thorne casting a smile at Thaindire, which made him suddenly tremble. The radiance that emanated from her perfect mouth was overwhelming. Thaindire noticed that the dress she wore on this occasion was lilac but as he looked closely he could see that it was formed from petals, which merged into her body, just as readily as if they were growing from her. The petal-dress extended to the floor as he leant across the counter to obtain a better view, obscuring her feet and he wondered if she had feet or perhaps roots? She was engaged in conversation with Kathryn as Thaindire turned his attention to the shelves. Each shelf was labelled but he was unable to discern what was written given the distance he was from the racks. Carefully stacked vials, pots and boxes lay arranged on the shelving, containing no doubt a vast array of sensational medicines and remedies. He cast his eye back to Thorne and he noticed that she repeatedly glanced in his direction as she conversed with Kathryn, a gentle, playful smile forming on her mouth each time she looked at him. He found himself captivated by not only her striking looks but also her unusual attire cum body. She had a beguiling effect, similar to that which Kathryn’s perfumes had on him. He shook his head as if trying to shake the effect off, was he being unwittingly enchanted by her appearance? Thorne saw his momentary expression of confusion and arched an eyebrow in a knowing fashion. He realised that he had heard nothing of their conversation, the words having just drifted over him, as if they were a foreign tongue of which he had no comprehension.

  “ Samael,” barked Kathryn breaking him from his reverie. He gave a start and looked to the landlord’s daughter.

  “ Er yes,” he answered trying to avoid looking back to Thorne.

  “ I need to go and count how many bouquets are needed, you wait here with Alyssia whilst I slip back to the tavern.”

  “ Very well,” he answered and she skipped through the doorway, leaving Thaindire with the apothecary.

  “ So Master Thaindire,” spoke Thorne in her strange rustling voice, “ Kathryn said that you had a query about your injury. You were bitten by wolves weren’t you?”

  “ Yes that’s right,” affirmed Thaindire, finding his gaze resting on Thorne’s seductive eyes.

  “ Yes, Kathryn told me this when you first arrived at the village. She explained that your injuries were sufficiently serious to require a strong poultice followed by the application of the tincture. Are you taking the tincture now?”

  “ I am,” he replied with a nod.

  “ Good, good. The healing process is such that it creates a protective shell about the wound. The shell is quite firm and hard to the touch, like a lump really,” she explained, her slender fingers gently gliding across the top of the counter.

  “ That’s just it, I have a lump on my back and it is a little sore, but mainly uncomfortable if I try to lie on my back or against a wall. How long will it last?” he asked.

  “ Hmm, a few days yet I should imagine. The concoction I supplied is very effective at healing and such is its efficacy that your injuries will heal three times quicker than say something dispensed by a physician.”

  “ So what makes your concoctions so special then?” queried Thaindire.

  “ Why, their ingredients of course.”

  “ Which are?”

  “ Oh come now Master Thaindire, you do not expect me to reveal the secrets behind my craft do you?”

  “ Well, that all depends on whether that craft is one which is ungodly and aided by forces not of this world,” he said firmly.

  Thorne’s eyes flared and she took a step backwards, hands leaving the counter.

  “ What do you mean by ungodly?” she asked.

  “ That which is not in accordance with the One True God’s decrees and it is becoming increasingly clear to me that in order to achieve the recovery you have effected on me, you must be engaging crafts which are unholy.”

  “ Even though you have benefited from them?” queried Thorne.

  “ If I had known their provenance I would have rejected them.”

  “ But you do not know their provenance Master Thaindire. You assume that because your wounds have healed faster than that which you are used to, that something untoward has been used, yes?”

  “ The thing speaks for itself,” replied Thaindire.

  “ Could it not be that what your physicians do, I do better, faster, more effectively? Why should that be deemed as not of this world?”

  “ Then tell me what you have used in the poultice that has been administered to my injuries,” urged Thaindire, “ If you are unwilling then truly you are hiding the remedy and without any other explanation, unholy crafts must have been invoked.”

  Thorne regarded him for a moment, those beguiling eyes shining.

  “ Very well Master Thaindire, you shall see what has been the source of your recovery,” she replied as she lifted part of the counter up and swung open a door allowing him to enter behind the counter. Thorne turned about, her petal skirt softly skimming the ground as she glided through the archway. Thaindire followed and passed into a living area at the rear of the store. He had little time to scrutinise the back room as Thorne headed for the back door.

  The two of them exited the apothecary, into the cold afternoon air. The small garden lay before them. Thorne walked down the wooden steps into the garden beckoning for Thaindire to follow her.

  “ You grow the ingredients here, in this garden?” asked Thaindire, looking about the neat rows and wondering what unusual flora was coaxed from the ground.

  “ My my, no. This is merely a cottage garden, which I use mainly for vegetables and flowers for decoration,” replied Thorne as she kept walking along a narrow row towards the wall of trees.

  “ Then where?” asked Thaindire.

  “ You shall see.”

  They reached the end of the row and Thorne paused, allowing Thaindire to stand besides her. He was easily a foot taller than her and being stood so close to her enabled him to se
e how she and the petals really were one. She looked up at him, eyebrows raised and smiled.

  “ Ready?” she asked. He nodded. She waved her left hand upwards, then to the left and then to the right as she whispered in a tongue he did not recognise. Instinctively, he reached to his sword, hand tightening around the hilt. The trees before them parted, the leaves peeling back as if a pair of curtains was being drawn. The tangle of roots over the ground receded like a withdrawing tide and a gap opened up which Thorne stepped into. Thaindire hesitated, gazing into the hole uneasily.

  “ It is this way if you still want to see,” she remarked pointing ahead of her.

  He stepped up behind her and she began walking. Her heard the forest close behind him and a slight surge of panic leapt inside his stomach as he turned and looked over his shoulder. The branches had closed up behind him, the ground once again knotted and impassable. He looked back around and hurried up slightly so he was right behind Thorne, somehow fearful that he might lose her and become trapped in the suffocating forest. She walked purposefully, the forest continuing to open up before her, the branches lifting and withdrawing, allowing them ingress until they both stepped from amidst the flanking trees and into an open space. With a scraping and rustling, the forest closed up behind Thaindire and he stood on a perfectly manicured lawn. The grass was verdant, neatly trimmed and perfectly flat.

  “ Welcome to my secret garden,” announced Thorne with a smile. Thaindire stood amazed at the scene, which greeted him. The forest enclosed the clearing, the dark walls of wood surrounding it all on sides. Above, the sky was a scintillating blue and cloudless and he immediately noticed the warmth of the sun on his face. The frosted chill of the day had vanished and instead it was as if he emerged into a beautiful clearing on a summer’s afternoon. Expertly tended flower beds edged the lawn, long green stalks bearing blazing red flowers, a rounded bush adorned with white petals, a bed of roses which were striped white and crimson. Placed about the lawn were other circular beds, the lawn surrounding them, where there grew other remarkable plants. Thaindire walked forward and examined one such bed. Narrow stalks of dark green burst from the fertile soil, clear bell-shaped flowers hanging delicately at the end of the stems. He leaned down and gasped as he could see through the flower. Thorne watched him with a knowing, amused expression on her face. He moved to another circular bed and marvelled at the dainty flowers that grew there, the plants were squat, the leaves broad and a light blue in colour. Sat in each plant was a cluster of trumpet-style flowers coloured a brilliant yellow. Thaindire looked across the garden and saw a pond near to where Thorne stood. A statue was in its midst, a winged, naked lady from whose mouth a stream of water fell, gently tinkling as it landed in the pond below. Serenity swept over Thaindire, his earlier anxiety at being trapped in the woods melting away under a tide of calm. A hundred exotic scents rose in the air, his senses pummelled by the vast array of colour and perfumes. The clearing was a bastion of magnificence contrasting with the dark of the impenetrable forest beyond.

  “This is impossible,” mouthed Thaindire his eyes slowly gazing over the variety of plants and flowers.

  “ How so Master Thaindire? You can see it,” commented Thorne. She walked across the lawn as the petals on her dress shifted colour, changing from the lilac to white, save for the green bodice part where the flower part of her met her human form.

  “ What are you?” said Thaindire as she walked towards him, hair shifting to a silvery-white also.

  “ I am Alyssia Thorne, spirit of the forest, a dryad,” she said gently, her voice sounding like a thousand petals gently disturbed by the wind.

  “ Then, then I was right,” continued Thaindire, “ you are not of this world. You are a witch.”

  “ Oh but I am very much of this world. I am the life that thrived long before man sought to exert his ways over the land. I am the trees, the flowers, the grass, the ripe berries on the burgeoning bushes, I am nature incarnate and I am blessed so that I may bring nature’s power for the use of others,” she explained drawing near to Thaindire.

  “ You see all of these flowers and plants around you, you will not find them beyond this garden. Here I tend to them, coaxing forth their amazing properties so that I may harvest their offerings and in turn create, using the crafts that have existed for thousands of years, the infusion that heals, the paste that protects. Combining the seeds, the roots, and the petals I can create an elixir that will give you the strength of five men, or cause your skin to become like rock. The berries and leaves become a potion that brings lovers together so that they can never be cast asunder or a poison that will dissolve the innards of a foe. Imagine Master Thaindire, what you could do with such knowledge, think of the enemies you could bring under your control by the careful of administration of a few drops of Hesaile into the casks from which men drink their beer. You see we are all borne of the forest and thus its bounty is available to affect and change the very way being of man,” she continued as she paced around him.

  “ No, you are meddling with the One True God’s creations, it is his bounty and only He has the power and knowledge to apply its use,” retorted Thaindire.

  “ Oh that is all you have been led to believe. Kept in ignorance and thus fear so that you dare not harness the natural power that is open to you. You believe that the One True God created all of this, don’t you?”

  “ Why? Yes.”

  “ Then why must it remain a secret to man? Oh I know there are fools who would seek to engage these wonders and not have the strength to apply them properly. Those weaklings would soon be consumed by the power they sought to exert, but those of a true calling, those such as you are destined to embrace the many advantages that the forest and its bounty can provide. Notice how calm you feel,” commented Thorne.

  “ Yes, yes I do,” admitted Thaindire. The tranquillity of the clearing was immense and it readily engulfed him.

  “ That is because you are inextricably linked with this place. The sap from the plants runs through your veins, ready to be awakened. The bark of the trees amounts to your skin, the perfumes filling your lungs right now invigorate and revitalise you. With my knowledge you will soon embrace the spirit within and with that you will bring all those who tread the wrong path, to heel,” whispered Thorne seductively, laying her hands on his chest as she halted before him.

  “ Why not stay awhile, let the glade complete your recovery?” urged Thorne as she gave a gentle push on Thaindire’s chest. He felt his legs bend as he began to sink towards the lush lawn.

  “ Enjoy the scented air, let is purify you and rid you of your ailments,” she continued as Thaindire moved lower. His head felt light, almost as if he was floating. The glade seemed to be caressing him, easing him downwards, drawing him into its self. Thorne continued to apply her hands, moving them to his shoulder as she smiled at him. He put out his hands to allow him to sit down, the blades of grass cool between his fingers.

  “ Stay here, stay with us,” entreated Thorne, her light rustling voice lulling him.

  The stab of pain from his back as the lump touched the ground, jolted Thaindire from the beguiling wiles of Thorne. He squirmed to one side, legs sliding as he fought for his footing as she let out a small cry.

  “ What are you doing enchantress,” cried Thaindire pointing an accusing finger at her.

  “ Sssh, rest here Master Thaindire,” replied Thorne.

  “ I shall not,” responded Thaindire firmly as he drew himself to his full height, towering again over the dryad. He shook his head to try and dispel the charm that Thorne seemed to be exerting over him.

  “ Such fortitude,” remarked Thorne, “ as resolute as we imagined.”

  “ Take me back to the village, away from this cursed glade,” ordered Thaindire.

  “ But why would you want to leave such a scene of beauty?” asked Thorne stepping towards him once more. Thaindire backed away and drew his long sword causing Thorne to halt.

  “ I will cut you down,” he
warned.

  “ Then how will you return to the village?” asked Thorne raising her hands.

  “ I will find a way,” answered Thaindire uncertainly, “ but it matters not as you are going to take me back there, now,” he demanded.

  “ Well, as you wish. There is no hurry to have you remain here,” she smiled.

  Thaindire watched the dryad carefully as she stepped past him and made for the wall of trees. As before, she gesticulated and muttered something before the trees once again yielded and they both marched through the forest until they had returned to the cottage garden.

  Immediately the cold air pressed against his face and he noticed that dusk had arrived. Thaindire frowned as he looked up and could see the moon rising as the sky began to darken.

  “ What? How is it already evening?” he questioned puzzled by the sudden onset of time.

  “ Oh we were there longer than you would imagine,” explained Thorne as she walked towards the apothecary. Thaindire walked along behind her, sword still drawn, feeling somewhat disorientated by his experience in the glade. He toyed with striking the dryad down there and then, for she was a clear exponent of witchcraft, but he was alone in this village and such an act could bring about significant repercussions given the esteem in which Thorne was held. He checked his thoughts and decided that he needed no more to report on with regard to her ungodliness and she also must face trial and subsequent punishment when he returned reinforced.

  The pair entered the apothecary, which was dark and still. Thorne led him through to the front of the store and let him step through the counter, closing it behind him.

  “ Can I interest you in anything before you go?” she asked, sweeping an arm towards the array of stock.