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

by Mark G Heath

“ Not quite. The river came at me when I was down by the mill.”

  “ Ah, Harriet Alluvior,” remarked Kathryn with a confirmatory nod.

  “ That’s right.”

  “ What did you do to annoy her then? Not that it takes much,” queried the landlord’s daughter as she adjusted the blankets to ensure that he remained as fully covered as possible.

  “ I caught her and the Maunsells, along with the alchemist’s tiny helpers plucking the corpse of Kendra Leventhorp from the river,” explained Thaindire feeling the first stirrings of some strength returning to him.

  “ And they didn’t take kindly to you finding them fishing?”

  “ It would seem so. Who is this Alluvior?”

  “ She is a water enchantress. Lives down by the river, bit of a recluse really. Something of an expert at fishing oddly enough, she catches them for the village. Seems to have some way of controlling the river, father says it is an ancient art,” continued Kathryn as she made her way about the room, carefully lighting a number of thick yellow coloured candles.

  “ She’s a witch you mean,” commented Thaindire.

  “ You might say that I suppose,” answered Kathryn with a dismissive shrug. “ You should have just left them be.”

  “ They were interfering with a dead girl,” responded Thaindire quickly, unable to conceal his anger. “ That is wrong.”

  “ Well, they evidently have their reasons. What did they do with the corpse then? Did you manage to stop them?”

  “No, Maunsell delayed me while the miniature men scurried their prize away to Alluvior’s dwelling. She used some kind of glyph to create a waterfall, which stopped me going along the path any further.”

  “ You are better off away from her, she is an odd one,” offered Kathryn, “ Plus she smells of fish,” and at that she stuck her tongue out pulling a distasteful face.

  “ Feeling better?” she asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “ Yes, I am warming up, thank you,” answered Thaindire.

  “ Good,” smiled Kathryn. She lit another two candles set on the mantelpiece and after a few moments an aroma of apples and cinnamon drifted through the air towards him. Kathryn walked across to her dresser, in front of the window, through which Thaindire could see the sky turning azure as darkness descended on the village. She reached for a slender cylindrical bottle and pulled out the stopper, tilting the bottle against her neck on either side, applying some scent and then doing the same across the top of her breasts. She returned the stopper and gently placed the bottle back amongst the mass of glass.

  “ Quite a collection,” remarked Thaindire.

  “ Yes, I made them all,” answered Kathryn sweeping an arm before the array of perfumes.

  “ Really?”

  “ Yes, it is what I do. You didn’t think my expertise was in the serving of ale and mopping of floors did you?” she turned shooting him an inquisitive look.

  “ I wasn’t sure, truth be told,” confessed Thaindire.

  “ Yes, I make scents for myself and also to sell beyond the village. Father takes them to Lancester and there is a merchant there who buys them and sells them further a field I think. They are very special you see. This once will bring a sense of calm to those who smell it,” she commented placing a finger on top of a bottle holding a deep blue liquid. “ This one will bring good cheer.” Her fingers danced across to alight on a squat bottle containing a sparkling gold liquid

  . “ This one induces slumber, this is best for imbuing one with a sense of urgency, another to bring about love, this one to generate rage, they all have differing properties you see and this one,” her fingers floated through the air and landed on the thin bottle she had used on herself, “ is the most potent one I have made for arousing passion.”

  “ Something told me you would have such a scent,” admitted Thaindire.

  “ Why Master Thaindire, do these charms not work to arouse you?” she laughed pushing her hands to her full breasts, accentuating them, before lifting her skirt to show off her lithe legs.

  “ Now you mock me,” responded Thaindire averting his gaze and staring into the flames of the fire.

  “ Come now, you know that not to be true,” she skipped over to the seated Thaindire and gently pushed her fingers through his still damp white hair. Thaindire shifted his head in irritation as he caught the smell of her perfume. It made his head swim within seconds, the heat increasing throughout his body. Kathryn stepped away from him, the aroma receding again.

  “ I heard you talking with Master Lancaster earlier,” she declared.

  “ Eavesdropping were we?”

  “ Oh no, it is hard to miss your voices, both so distinctive,” replied the young woman. “ What did he want?”

  “ What makes you think he wanted something, Kathryn?”

  “ Master Lancaster is always wanting. It is his natural countenance. So, pray, do tell.”

  “ He wanted me to act as his protector.”

  “ Thought he might.”

  “ What makes you say that?”

  “ He is no fool. He wants to secure your allegiance and keep you in the village,” commented Kathryn as she sat on the edge of the bed, to Thaindire’s right.

  “ Not so, he wants me to escort him to Lancester,” countered Thaindire, twisting in his seat to face Kathryn.

  “ Is that what he told you?”

  “ Yes.”

  “ False promises, issued so easily.”

  “ You yourself said he was a guest here, that he stays to escape his wife,” asserted Thaindire.

  “ Indeed I did and that is most true.”

  “ Well, if it is true, he will return to her won’t he and leave Aftlain.”

  “ Did I say his wife lived away from Aftlain?” remarked Kathryn arching an eyebrow as she loosened the strands on her top.

  “ She lives in the village of that there is no doubt but he prefers to reside in the inn so he can get on with what best pleases him.”

  “ You mean cavort with young women and imbibe strange concoctions,” snorted Thaindire.

  “ Pretty much.”

  “ Have you no scruples?” muttered Thaindire.

  “ I prefer to let people live their lives as they see fit. Tolerance is a marvellous trait, you ought to let it into your heart Samael,” commented Kathryn as she began to unbutton her corset.

  “ What are you doing?” asked Thaindire as the corset was placed to one side and in one movement; Kathryn removed her top exposing herself. Thandire looked back at the fire once again.

  “ Undressing, Samael,” said Kathryn softly.

  “ I must ask you not to.”

  “ Too late.,” answered the landlord’s daughter as Thaindire heard the sound of fabric sliding to the floor. She moved back into his view, naked, her pale skin seeming to glow in the fire and candlelight. With a dart of her hand she whipped the lower blanket away and before Thaindire could react she peeled open the blanket that had been wrapped about his torso. A wave of scent crashed against him and the light-headedness returned, a sense of calm swept over him as he felt his arms relax and flop to his sides. Kathryn took a moment to regard his athletic body, not overly muscular but defined and a body which belonged to someone who was always moving.

  “ My darling Samael,” Kathryn whispered as she straddled Thaindire. He could not help but let a sigh escape his lips as he felt her thighs encompass him and the swell of her breasts press against his own chest. She pushed the blanket back further, exposing his shoulders as he felt a rushing sensation from the depths of his stomach and climbing up into his chest. Her scent was now enveloping him, like a sea lapping against him, buffeting him repeatedly with the captivating aroma, which left him enraptured by her presence.

  Kathryn smiled, cupping his face in her hands and staring intently into his piercing blue eyes.

  “ Be mine, my handsome man,” she spoke softly.

  Thaindire tried to fight the growing arousal, which overtook him. He fought to ring
his heart with ice but he could not, the intoxication of Kathryn’s scent and her beguiling body had him fixated.

  “ Stay in Aftlain, stay with me,” exhorted Kathryn as she writhed against him. He felt his own instinctive reaction to the delight of her caressing flesh against him and her eyes flared wide in recognition of his reaction.

  “ Why are you all trying to keep me here?” questioned Thaindire. Kathryn nuzzled his neck with her delectable lips, her tongue tracing a line up towards his ear and she gently bit at the lobe, before moving back to look at him.

  “ Why?” she repeated, “ because we need a white blood and you are a white blood.”

  She kissed him on the lips and he felt a dizzying elation.

  “ Why a white blood?” gasped Thaindire as he felt Kathryn’s hand reach for him. Her touch was magnificent and he uttered a low groan.

  “ Your purity is unrivalled and the power within your blood immense,” answered Kathryn. “ And the village needs that if it is to fulfil its role in this life,” she smiled again.

  “ What role?” asked Thaindire.

  “ Ssssshhhh. This is about you and me now,” she kissed him once again and then stood off him.

  “ Even if you have me,” Thaindire found himself surprised to be saying such words but felt an inevitability about what was going to happen and now his reservations seemed to have vanished, his will to resist had been eroded and he wanted her, wanted to consume her, to meld himself with her, couple and never be uncoupled. So this was what the blood passion was like? He had never experienced this previously, indeed he was forbidden to do so, but none of that mattered now, all he wanted was Kathryn, to bury his face in the nape of her neck and be inside her, locked together.

  Kathryn stood over him still as he sat before the fire naked. She reached out a hand to him and he found himself taking it.

  “ Come, it is time,” she declared. She pulled gently at his hand and he rose, so he stood tall over the enchanting woman. He felt as if he were floating, the scent, the heat, the beauty before him. Slowly she led him and turned him so that he faced her and was stood with his back to the full-length mirror that he had looked into earlier that day. He waited for Kathryn’s next instruction as he continued to drink in her exposed body, savouring the curves and softness. He watched, transfixed, as she reached towards the dressing table and in her right hand she picked up a dagger. The blade was long and serrated. A single ruby was set in the cross piece, like an eye, the gem flashed in the candlelight as she raised the dagger and stepped forward towards Thaindire. He made no attempt to move, he could not, but found that all he could think of was becoming one with the woman. She kept her gaze on his eyes as she moved up against him, bringing the dagger around behind him. He felt no fear but waited for the sensation of the dagger entering his flesh, but no piercing pain came about. Instead he felt her right arm move against his left, as she began a sawing motion. He did not twist for his eyes remained locked on hers. The movement continued and then she halted before there was a thud as something hit the floor behind him. Kathryn brought her arm back around and replaced the dagger on the dresser. Thaindire flexed and felt a curious sensation in his lower back. It was not uncomfortable at all; in fact the aching that seemed ever-present, if even mild had vanished altogether. Instead, it felt as if there was something ‘there’ at his lower back.

  “ It is done, it is done,” said Kathryn her eyes lighting up gleefully. Thaindire frowned as she stepped back from him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, to examine his back. Gone was the head-sized lump that had been there this morning, in its place he stared at a white, scaly tail with a point at the end, which lazily wove from side to side protruding from his back.

  “ What is that?” asked Thaindire. There was no horror or alarm in his voice as if there might normally have been. Instead, he asked the question in a matter of fact way. Kathryn nodded and smiled, noting that his reaction amounted to confirmation that her enchantment had finally taken effect.

  “ It is done, it is done. That taint has taken hold,” said Kathryn in triumph.

  “ I knew it could be achieved. I have done it. He is mine, his white blood is mine,” she grinned twirling in excitement. Kathryn walked forward and took both his hands in hers. She smiled, her face one of lust and delight and gently pulled him in the direction of the bed. He felt himself be guided towards him and he did so willingly. Surging within him came the overwhelming desire that he now had for Kathryn as her enchantment engulfed him. The landlord’s daughter drew him close to her on the large bed, her eyes wide in anticipation. She placed a lingering kiss on his cheek and pushed herself back across the bed, sliding her legs apart in invitation. Thaindire stood, the bright blue eyes now glazed, all thoughts of returning to Lancester and his Order having evaporated, banished by the strength of the enchantment. Kathryn tilted her head, the dark tresses of hair tumbling across her shoulders and down her back.

  “ Now it can begin, Samael Thaindire, our union. I have seized the power and they shall soon know of it. Come, love me, you are now ours.”

  Thaindire climbed onto the bed and padded towards Kathryn, his eyes fixed on her naked body. She reached out a hand and placed it on the back of his neck, pulling his mouth to hers. They embraced and after a few moments, with a gasp of delight, she pulled back from him and stared directly into his eyes.

  “ Nobody leaves Aftlain,” she whispered.

  ***

  Follow the White Blood Chronicles

  Book Two: The Righteous Whisper of Allsaints

  Book Three: The Noble Corrupt The Insidious Charm

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