Aurora Rose Lynn

by Witch Fire

  All within a matter of hours, she had learned the pleasure a man could offer and also how hardhearted and cruel he could be. The incessant chatter droned on around her as she muddled through her churning thoughts. Some fact about Kerrich was missing – something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

  She jumped off her perch when a man, as naked as the day he was born, ran out from behind the sheltering trees, hollering at the top of his lungs. What had happened? Had a highway robber attacked him? Then she saw his wide grin. It couldn’t be anything terribly serious.

  Seconds later, a woman, equally nude, emerged from the trees and chased after him. “He won’t give me his dick to suck!” she cried out. The small crowd laughed and the burly man boomed, “Should we catch ‘im for you?”

  The man on the run cried out, “No, no! She’s got sharp teeth!”

  Everyone hooted and laughed, slapping thighs, catcalling and simply enjoying themselves. Celestine couldn’t resist smiling.

  The burly man rose to his feet, rolling the sleeves of his tunic up as if he meant business. He raced after the man, yelling, “Baldric, you deserve what’s comin’ to ye!” There were shrieks of delight as he caught the naked man around the waist and held him as he struggled to escape.

  Baldric had a wicked twinkle in his eyes. “You can’t let her bite me!”

  One of the other men caught the naked woman. “Now Aline, promise ye won’t bite the poor sucker!”

  “Aye, I’ll be nothing but gentle,” she agreed, her hair flying all around her face as she remained still in his arms. “Maybe I can suck on yours too?” she asked, giving the man behind her a mocking glance.

  The gathering laughed again. “Maybe she can try us all out!”

  Baldric yelled louder than rest. “Me first! Me first!”

  “Aye, you big boy, you first.” The woman tumbled to her knees, grabbed Baldric by the dick and plunged her mouth over the throbbing muscle. Baldric quit resisting and gave in to the woman’s cock sucking. When his body tensed, and he tried to jerk away from her, she held onto him tightly. Baldric screamed in orgasmic release.

  As the revelry continued, Celestine became aware of a woman huddled in a gray hood, standing behind her. In comparison to the crowd who wore nothing to cover their heads, she huddled in a hood she held closed together with long, tapered fingers. A garnet ring sparkled on her middle finger.

  Celestine’s breath caught in her throat. The dark snatches of memory she battled with, engulfed her. She knew those fingers. In the recesses of her hazy mind, she heard, “I came to warn you, Celestine.”

  Celestine shrank back in horror. “You can’t be-”

  “You must flee for your life. Please. Do as I ask. Listen to none but your heart.”

  Celestine roused herself from the pain and looming shadows creeping around her. “Who are you?”

  “You must hurry. The handfasting will not take place. Leuric has other intentions towards you.”

  Before Celestine could ask more, she felt a whisper of wind brush by her cheek as if a hand had caressed it. She closed her eyelids, willing the evil to dissipate. When she reopened them, the woman was gone, as if she had never been there. The crowd continued their merrymaking. Had any of them seen the woman? Swallowing and stumbling to her feet. Perhaps she was coming down with some inexplicable illness and her mind was playing tricks on her. She had to get back home.

  Hungry and weary in body and soul, she headed up the path towards the castle. The shadows had lengthened into looming monsters, warning her the sun was about to set. The path in the forest, a companionable place in sun-drenched daylight, was no place to linger after the sun slid down into its resting place.

  The path turned to the right along a high thicket. Without warning, she came face to face with the Master of the Guard, Odo. The guards who surrounded him wore armor that shone in the ebbing sunlight and their blue and yellow crested shields loudly proclaimed they were Leuric’s men.

  Odo gave her a malicious grin. “Methinks the lord’s been searching for you these past few hours.”

  “What do I care what he does?” Celestine shot back, disliking the way he gave her an oily look. “I was doing nothing more than taking a walk.” She didn’t add a long walk and a bit longer than she had planned.

  “Milady,” he leaned forward, his eyes skimming the top of her simple dress, “he’s furious you’d slip out from the castle by your lonesome.”

  The way he eyed her made her cringe.

  “Matter of fact, he might have something special in store if his suspicions be well-founded.” His hand easily encircled her upper arm. He dragged her up the path.

  She tried to yank her arm free but his hold was as tight and unrelenting as steel. “Take your hands off me, you oaf!” His fingers pinched into her soft flesh.

  “Now, now. No need for hysterics,” he replied in a voice that grated along her nerves.

  She was forced to move along hemmed in by the men in a tight, closed formation. Their armor clanked as they took a path around the village rather than through its center. She thought about screaming as loud as she could but the sounds of Beltane feasting would surely drown her out.

  Resigned to the fact she couldn’t fight the guards to free herself, she marched along. What was the fuss about? In the morning, she would marry Guermont and that would be the end of her bid for freedom. But that didn’t excuse the guard’s dreadful behavior to a lady. On that count, she would make sure Leuric meted out punishment for the offense of manhandling a lady of consequence.

  ***

  The Hidden Observer studied Celestine’s pale face as the guards hemmed her in, cutting off any possible escape. It wouldn’t be long now before Celestine and he shared in the luxury of drinking the elixir. Then they would both have eternal life and he would be able to indulge himself in the satin softness of her body whenever he wished. He chuckled. The time was nearly upon them.

  Chapter Twelve

  Celestine stumbled as Odo pushed her forward into Leuric’s presence. The sun had set half an hour earlier and the chamber was now lit with candles. A quick survey showed Cecily standing to one side of the room, her head bowed, her hands clasped in front of her as if in prayer. Celestine reminded herself not to fear Leuric. What worse could he do than make her marry an old pig?

  “How can you allow this brute to treat me this way?” she spoke first, furious that the guard had threatened her in an unseemly matter. “He has the manners of an oaf. Tell him to release me immediately.”

  Leuric gave her a callous smile. Her heart sank within her. Did he know what had transpired in the hayloft? “My spies tell me you went feasting. Without my permission.” His eyes raked over her. “I have the perfect punishment in mind.”

  Celestine frowned. What was he talking about? He had no right to punish her.

  He shifted slightly in his seat and looked at something behind her. Celestine’s eyes widened. Was she mistaken or did he have an erection even as he spoke to her? Alarmed, she peeled her eyes from him to glance over her shoulder. Had Leuric sent his guards to fetch Kerrich and meant to torture him to death in front of her to teach her a lesson? Her heart thudded in her ears. Why had she hastened to listen to her body’s demands, placing his life at risk?

  She caught Odo giving her a thin smile. A shiver ran up and down her spine.

  “I have ordered that you be prepared to ride through the streets of Coventry tomorrow at high noon.”

  What kind of punishment was that?

  He gave a cruel smile. “Naked,” was all he said.

  She gasped. That was when the sun was at its highest and the market was the most crowded. How could he mete out a punishment like that? It was unheard of. What crime was she supposedly guilty of? She straightened her shoulders. “Weren’t you intent on my wedding that old pig?” she asked with as much venom as she could muster.

  Leuric held up a hand to silence her. “I’m not quite finished yet, my dear.”

  “You arrogant bas
tard,” she shot back. Guermont wouldn’t consent to the marriage if he knew his bride had been exposed to the public.

  “I’ll simply have the word spread that you consented to ride naked in public because you desperately want me to lower the taxes for the Mercian people. They’ll accept that.” His smile widened.

  Celestine stared into his revolting face. Of course, the Mercian people would allow that she would do something ridiculous to get relief from the horrendous tax but it was his gall in making them believe such a possibility existed that turned her guts inside out. Would they see through his ruse if he raised their taxes even higher?

  “If you think to fight me, you don’t have a chance against me. Remember what I told you earlier this morning?” He waited, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together at his thigh.

  Celestine said nothing although she remembered clearly how he had warned her that he was lord over everything in Mercia. She jerked on the arm Odo restrained but to no avail.

  “I said you had no power against me. When will that stick in your pretty little head?” He rose, closing the gap between them and looked down into her face. “I’m lord here, Celestine. Nothing will change that.”

  She barely controlled herself from spitting in his face but she couldn’t choke back the words, “You’re too confident of your power.”

  Leuric chuckled mirthlessly. “My dear, I wasn’t even finished with that. When you come back from your little ride, Guermont’s proxy will surely have heard about your shamelessness. Do you really think he’ll want his lord, that man you call ‘an old pig’ to marry you?”

  Celestine stood her ground, smelling the wine on his breath. His grin made her shiver.

  “I know of a man who won’t have any such hesitation though.”

  His words dripped over her like melted ice. “What are you prattling about?”

  He shrugged. “You’ll find out when the time is right. Take her away,” he ordered.

  She was immediately surrounded by guards and forced to march with them. She suspected their destination wouldn’t be her chambers.

  ***

  Kerrich continued his trek away from the village, his footsteps leaden, his mind perplexed since his encounter with the guards. From where he was, he saw a tiny moonlit castle in the far-off distance. Something didn’t ring right. Was it possible that the Celestine he had made mind-boggling love to this afternoon, was none other than the lady Celestine? No matter how he rolled the tenuous possibility over in his mind, he refused to believe she could give her body to just any man. Was that why the goddess/witch had been so willing to be secretive about both their identities?

  He had to return to the village, somehow sneak into the castle and make certain Celestine, if his Celestine and the lady Celestine were the same, was safe. He hoped he wouldn’t be caught and taken before Leuric who would unquestionably recognize him and throw him in the dungeons below the castle until he could be returned to his master. Fear clawed at his throat and his legs turned to jelly. He collapsed on a boulder. Why was life’s road filled with in insurmountable obstacles?

  Celestine’s flushed face came to mind and the trusting wide-eyed blue gaze. Wouldn’t she be safe as long as she said nothing about their tryst? His stomach seethed with apprehension. Leuric had never played fair. Why would Kerrich expect him to begin with Celestine? He remembered her little nod in the direction of the castle when he had asked where she had come from. Celestine wasn’t such a common name. If it was, why hadn’t he heard it before? He slapped his forehead with a broad palm. He had told her his name without hesitation. Could she have done the same thing? If Leuric hurt her in any way, would he be able to live with himself knowing he had done nothing to help her? On the other hand, if Leuric discovered him, he would be forced to live in chains, quite possibly for the rest of his life.

  “Master Kerrich!”

  He leaped to his feet. It was the goddess/witch, her hair in disarray, her heavy bosom rising and falling with each labored breath. She smothered a sob. “You’ve got to help her!”

  “I would rather wring your neck like I would a chicken’s,” he shouted, stepping forward, intent on doing exactly what he threatened. “How could you set something like that up? Force me into doing something I would regret? Something Celestine would regret? How could you?” He foamed at the mouth and wiped it away with the back of his hand.

  “Worry about that later. Right now she’s in danger. She needs your help.”

  She grabbed his arm. Her fingers burned into his arm through his sleeve. He tried to throw her off but even though he knew he was stronger than she was, she held onto him, her eyes pleading with his. “He has her. You must help her. If you don’t, worse things than death will happen to her.”

  “Be gone, witch,” he told her curtly. She had no idea as to what truth was.

  “What does your freedom mean to you if the lady is treated worse than an abject criminal? If you had any idea what he was planning to do to her-”

  “Does Leuric have her?” he asked coldly.

  His thoughts suddenly jumbled together. What was the fastest route to the castle, and Celestine?

  Suddenly mute, she nodded.

  He shook himself free of her tight grip and wrapped his hands around her throat. “If I find out you’re lying, I won’t hesitate to find you and kill you.”

  The goddess/witch nodded again, her lips slightly parted but he didn’t see any fear in her eyes.

  “The wind whispers through the trees,” she said softly. “Your freedom is two days hence yet your heart yearns more for the woman who has cast a spell on it.”

  He shook her to emphasize the gravity of his words. “Just remember. I won’t think twice to find you, to end your paltry life.” He threw her from him, and started running towards the castle.

  Once again Leuric was creating a living hell out of his life. Rage festered in his blood. Leuric had killed once and with a certainty, Kerrich knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill again. He also knew that Celestine couldn’t defend herself against such evil and that she desperately needed help.

  Several feet away, he glanced over his shoulder. The goddess/witch was no longer on the path. How had she faded into nothing in a few seconds? Bewildered, he stopped and made a quick search for her but she was nowhere in sight. Even though the moon spilled bright silver light over the night darkness, the shadows hovered all around him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Celestine bowed her head and cried softly. Her accommodations in the pitch-black dungeon were filthy and she heard rats scurrying to and fro. She drew her torn skirts around her as close as she could. The dungeon smelled of unwashed bodies, mustiness and urine.

  How could she ride through the streets of Coventry naked to the world on the morrow? She recoiled at Leuric’s cruelty.

  “Mother,” she whispered, waiting for a telltale sign that her parent was in the darkness but there was nothing but the rats scrabbling in the stinking rushes. It was hard to believe her mother had come forth from the shadows of death to warn her.

  Celestine couldn’t help but continue to cry. Perhaps her mother would come forth and tell her what to do, as she had earlier. Why hadn’t she taken her advice, on recognizing those elegant long fingers and the twinkling garnet ring she had always worn?

  Leuric was up to yet another of his dirty tricks and it involved her. Had she ever stood a chance against him? The pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. Angelet had often told her that the dead, who believed themselves wronged in life, would not rest in their graves until they had found justice. Thus, her mother might have returned to right a wrong she felt had been committed against her. Had her mother died in childbirth as Leuric claimed or had something else happened? Had she been murdered, perhaps because she wouldn’t meet Leuric’s demands for more and more power?

  Armor clanked outside the heavy wooden door, reminding Celestine that the guards, along with the hideous Odo, stood guard outside the door. The feast of Beltane, a time of renew
al and joy, had become a nightmare instead.

  She didn’t know how long she cried. Perhaps half the night, perhaps only a few minutes, she couldn’t be sure since time meant nothing in the darkness. No matter how she tried to calm herself, to think about how to evade the predicament she was in, she couldn’t think of anything. She didn’t want Leuric to tear her once pretty clothes off and drag her out at noon naked and screaming. Her heart pounded madly in her ears. She would never bear the shame. If only she had a brawny man like Kerrich to fight this battle for her – she had no doubt he would win. But she had no way to send a messenger to him.

  He brought her comfort in her chaotic thoughts, at his gentleness and his concern for her welfare. How she would have liked him to barge through the door, scoop her up into his strong arms and battle his way out. Her brow furrowed as she remembered how he had told her his parents had been killed in front of him by Leuric himself. How could she stop Leuric from killing innocent people again?

  Something small and furry brushed by her foot. She gave an involuntary scream and drew closer against the dank wall.

  She admonished herself to think, to find a way out. How much longer did she have? Was it already morning and her ride of shame was only minutes away? It was impossible to tell.

  The door began to creak open. Celestine got to her feet, ready to launch herself, nails and all, at any unwelcome intruder. This could only bode trouble if they allowed entry.

  The light from the candle she held shielded between her hands, caught the woman’s hair and the general shape of her plump body. “Angelet,” Celestine exclaimed quietly, fearful the guards would hear her. Where were the guards? Why hadn’t they seen her maid?

  “Shhh,” Angelet cautioned. “We mustn’t make any noise.” The flickering candlelight cast an eerie, wavering shadow on the wall.