by test
She concealed Anwyn beneath her long coat, as Collin followed her. She slipped into the kitchen, and smiled calmly at Mrs. Carpenter.
“Mrs. Carpenter, I’m going to have to ask you to go upstairs with my friend, Collin. I fear someone is trying to break into your house. “
“Merciful Heavens!” Mrs. Carpenter exclaimed, pressing her hand to her heart. She turned and reached for her phone. “I’ll dial 911, don’t you worry, dear,” she said, giving Molly a comforting smile, even though her hands were trembling.
Here she was, a fifteen-hundred-year-old witch with a heap of wisdom and life experience, and this mature woman was trying to ease her worries.
She felt a wealth of emotion reach out toward the woman, and Mrs. Carpenter’s hands stopped shaking. Molly moved over toward her and gently took the receiver from her hand.
“I fear the police won’t be able to help,” she murmured, filling her voice with warmth.
“But I promise you, I can. “ She placed her arm around Mrs. Carpenter’s shoulder, and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 19
Molly didn’t have much time. Eventually, the men would break through her hastily erected shield. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a glowing pink crystal orb. She placed it in Collin’s solid grasp.
“The phone wasn’t working anyway,” Mrs. Carpenter said, perplexed. “It just kept on ringing and ringing,” she rambled.
Collin put a hand on Mrs. Carpenter’s shoulder, and shuffled them toward the kitchen door.
“Place the crystal in front of the bedroom door, and as I said before, shoot anything that comes in the room. Don’t hesitate. If they break through the crystal’s defenses, blow them straight back to hell!” she said with urgency breaking into her voice.
Collin grabbed Mrs. Carpenter’s hand, and continued to pull her toward the stairwell off of the kitchen.
“What about you?” Collin halted in mid-step.
Mrs. Carpenter didn’t even look behind her. The woman had gotten the message. She’d already begun climbing the steps.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him, unsheathing Anwyn from her scabbard now that Mrs.
Carpenter was out of viewing distance.
Anwyn’s long blade arced through the air, as she limbered up her sword arm.
“Adria, and Millicent weren’t fine,” he pointed out, worry creasing his brow.
How the hell had he figured out how to use that knowledge against her? He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told her he was a fast read. She grimaced, feeling her forehead crease into a frown. Well, at least she didn’t have to worry about wrinkles.
“And I was the first and I will most likely be the last,” she shot back, wishing that she had more time to explain her situation to Collin.
He had merely read the diaries. He didn’t fully understand the whole picture. She would have a hard time giving him full appreciation about what had happened to her in the past.
She was a witch of Merlin’s High Order, and the great white wizard had taught her everything she knew. He had long since disappeared into the fabric of time, though she still wished to see him again one day.
Adria and Millicent were still alive somewhere in time, even though they’d been killed in this century.
She would find out who was murdering the members of her High Order, and then she would vanquish them. After that, she would consider whether or not to travel back in time, and correct everything that had been wrought upon her friends, or leave it all to fate. Time traveling could be tricky. She didn’t really have the right passport for that kind of trip.
It was a conundrum she didn’t want to ponder, especially before a challenging battle.
“Get your booty moving!” she snapped leveling her gaze at him, hoping he’d see her anger.
Collin sprang into action, as if he’d been charged with electricity. “Be careful,” he called out, running up the stairs.
She considered his words with a throaty chuckle. No one had ever told her to be careful before.
Perhaps, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in Collin’s case. Adrian had been a wonderful man, and though he hadn’t been part of her elite order, his mother had. After they had lost their parents, at a tender age, Molly and Adria had grown up under Merlin’s tutelage.
LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 20
Adrian never had the chance to see his son grow into a man. In fact, Adrian had never seen Collin at all. When Adrian had been murdered, his lover had been pregnant with Collin.
Molly shrugged off the deep melancholy, threatening to overwhelm her. Adria had fallen when Collin was only a few months old, and Molly had been immersed in saving the Order.
She and the remaining members had gone into hiding and made their battle plans.
During that time, Collin’s mother fled with him to Scotland. At the time, Molly and the rest of the Order had believed a life of anonymity would keep Adria’s legacy safe. With this belief set in stone, the Order allowed them to leave. Had they not wished Collin’s mother to take off with him, they could have successfully stopped her—but their lives had all been turned upside down and they were not prepared to protect Collin. Binding his powers had been the only option at the time to keep him from doing irreparable damage once his magic emerged.
Collin’s mother never told him his true identity. Molly was hesitant to tell the pompous man something that would only inflate his ego further.
Collin was untrained, and his powers had been bound; only to be released if he committed a selfless act.
As it were, Molly highly doubted that would ever happen. Collin came across as being egotistical and selfish.
She held Anwyn between her two hands and focused all of her internal energy. Her magic reawakened and flowed through her body, creating a sphere of iridescent light around her.
Placing her feet in a firm, fighting stance, she breathed in deeply, just as the door was knocked from its hinges.
It flew into the country-style kitchen and Molly somersaulted up into the air, as a rain of wood chips rained down around her.
She narrowed her eyes with determination, all the while hearing Adria’s rich booming laughter, echoing around her. Immediately, her heart grew full, and she knew that though she seemed alone, she would never be truly alone.
Adria had been her fighting partner and they had been the most formidable pair of Witch Warriors the world had ever seen.
They had been Merlin’s best students and now the partnership was broken. Tears gathered in her eyes, as she sadly contemplated living for a possible eternity without her best friend by her side.
Large figures draped in black cloaks came charging through the door and she let Anwyn dance. Steel clanged against steel.
She made short work of the first shadowy figure and plunged her Elvin blade through his gut. He was consumed by fire and howled in agony. In one loud explosion, he was gone. His ashes lingered in the air for a moment and then fell to the floor. She coughed, as the ashes swirled in the air and burned her nose.
Her sword had been wrought by the finest, strongest Elvin silver-steel and it would always vanquish the creatures of the dark she continually battled. She didn’t need a wooden stake, though in desperate circumstances, they did work remarkably well. They were particularly quick and effective if they were made from wood hailing from Avalon, or another mystical realm.
She was a warrior huntress and no dark creature could withstand her light, least of all, the low-level vampire’s that had decided to attack her in the still of the night.
She whirled around and caught the figure’s hand as he tried to lock her in his firm grip.
Wrenching it backward, she heard his bones crack beneath the pressure she inflicted upon him.
LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 21
She had to be done with this one quickly, for the last two were already searching out fresh prey, realizing they had met their match. Reaching her free hand out she shot a gl
obe of blue fire at one of the vampires heading toward the stairwell.
Her magical fireball connected with him and he let out an agonized shriek. The blue sphere surrounded his body. Slowly, he began to burn up. Then, with one last loud explosion, he disappeared into a heap of dust.
Wrinkling her nose, she turned back to the vampire she still held and smiled at him. She plunged Anwyn deeply into his side. She turned her head away as he shot up into flames, which fortunately, could not affect her. She sprinted out of the way, so that she wouldn’t be covered with dust.
A chime met her ears. Her magical sense tuned in. She flew up the stairs after the last vampire, and prayed that Collin had been heeding her advice.
She caught sight of the figure bathed in blackness and reached out with her mind. In a mere second, he was rooted to the spot. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move.
The vampire let out a blood-curdling scream and she elevated herself a good foot off of the cherry hardwood floor, holding Anwyn at the ready.
In a heartbeat, she’d crossed the considerable distance between them. Freezing him with her magic, she ran him through with her sword.
She heard a sharp drawn intake of breath, and turned her head to see Collin staring at her in a mixture of relief, and what could only be described as pride.
She was so dumbstruck by such an unfamiliar reaction that she released her grip on Anwyn, and it clattered rather noisily to the ground. The noise jarred her senses, almost wrenching her attention away from Collin. Almost. Try as she might, his penetrating gaze rooted her to the spot much as her magic had just rooted the last vampire to his spot.
As she looked into Collin’s proud eyes, she could have sworn that she was once again staring into Adria’s eyes. A shiver ran up and down her spine.
At the sound of Mrs. Carpenter’s relieved sigh, Molly scrambled to call Anwyn to her.
The magnificent sword flew through the air and landed in her grasp, just as the door to the bedroom was pulled back.
Mrs. Carpenter stood staring at Molly and her sword and smiled, fixing Molly with an unwavering gaze.
“Well, I must say it’s about time,” Mrs. Carpenter declared brightly.
Collin leaned against the bedroom doorframe and perused the older woman with unabashed interest.
“I’ve been studying your legend for quite a long time, but I never dreamt that I would meet you! No one will ever believe magical royalty has visited me. Why, Clara will take a hissy fit when she hears my tale. “
Molly stared helplessly at Collin, who galled her to no end by impishly shrugging his shoulders.
“Yes, princess, do tell us more,” he invited. Collin winked at her, and then grinned.
Molly was annoyed that Collin had read the information in the diaries, but to find out that Mrs. Carpenter was investigating her legend was a bit much.
Granted, everyone knew about Merlin and his involvement with King Arthur, even if most of the legend was myth rather than fact.
She was a normal everyday woman, despite her magical abilities, and it terrified her to know that people were now taking an interest in her.
LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 22
“Shut up, Collin,” she barked out, just as a strong gust of wind tore through the hallway.
She opened her senses up and relaxed when she realized she had nothing to be concerned about.
Mrs. Carpenter fainted dead away when she set her eyes upon the short stocky figure standing at Molly’s side. As Collin caught Mrs. Carpenter, Molly turned on the person standing next to her.
“I thought I told you to take a freaking hike,” she spat out, as the green-garbed man at her side stared up at her and stuck out his tongue.
“I did, after ye put me on that godforsaken mountain, you bitchy witch!” the leprechaun said in his thick Irish brogue.
“That’ll teach you for turning my hair green,” she hollered.
The leprechaun took his hat off and shuffled nervously. “It ‘twas a wee Irish jest among friends,” he murmured, moving toward her. “But now, after much consideration, I’d like to make a truce. We were friends for nearly a millennia, surely you can’t turn your back on me. “ His voice was plaintive and his moss green eyes were filled with desperation.
“Remember, Molly, you took a vow of magical chastity except when you were on the hunt,” Collin pointed out. She closed her eyes. Damn the man. Then, she smiled over at him.
“Thank you so much, Collin. But I put Lachlan on that mountain in 1875, and as far as I’m concerned, you should have stayed there, you old greedy whelp. “ She nearly yelled, as Lachlan the Leprechaun King stared up at her in shock.
“And here I thought women folk were supposed to be compassionate creatures at heart,”
Lachlan drawled, darting a furtive glance behind his shoulder.
“What, or should I say whom, are you looking for Lachlan, and why do you have to pester me with your problems?”
“Because the person that’s coming after me is our common foe,” he answered, sidling even closer to her. “I gambled with her, and lost, and then I got me self sidetracked, and I ended up coming to you instead of Millicent. You two always were uncannily familiar to me. “
“You haven’t been in the human world for a long time have you, Lachlan?” she asked wearily, sadness circling her heart.
Collin scowled at the leprechaun and let out an outraged snort.
“No, not since the end of the war,” Lachlan said.
Collin snorted again. “Which war?” Collin piped in.
Lachlan crossed his arms, and craned his neck to stare haughtily up at the much taller Collin.
“The pig war,” Lachlan muttered, rolling his eyes.
Collin heaved another great sigh and stared at Lachlan as if he were the village idiot.
“You mean the Boar War,” Collin corrected, ambling out into the hallway.
“Yes, that,” Lachlan agreed, waving his hand as the ground beneath them began rumbling. “Oh, no…brace yourselves!”
In a fluidly quick motion, Collin shielded his eyes. In the next instant, a fiercely brilliant dark pink light shot through the hall.
Molly couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She sheathed Anwyn, bit her lower lip, and knew that her vow of magical abstinence would be tested greatly in the coming moments.
“Hello, Morganna,” she said, wincing as irritation carried through her voice.
LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 23
Chapter Three
Morganna glanced at Molly briefly, and then turned her piercing blue-eyed stare on the shifty Lachlan.
“I’m going to finally put you out of my misery, you little green wart!” Morganna raged.
Molly watched alarmed as the woman’s flawless alabaster skin became mottled with fury.
Lachlan quickly dashed behind Molly and grabbed hold of her crimson leather trench coat.
“Let go of me, Lachlan,” Molly said, trying to wrench out of his tight-fisted grasp. “What in the great stars above did you wager that has riled Morganna so?” she demanded, calmly staring at her aunt, who was at the moment flexing her long fingers before she used her magic.
“We were playing a wee game of faerie chess,” Lachlan began, poking his head out from behind Molly. “I had a wee bit much of Poteen and well, I was a bit tipsy,” he continued to hedge, as Molly spewed out an impatient gust of air.
Morganna cleared her throat, and was about to speak when Lachlan let out a horrified gasp.
“What am I standing in?” he asked, staring in dismay at his polished black boots. “Saints above, me boots are dirty!” he exclaimed, letting out a loud and clearly emphasized sigh.
Whatever was said about leprechauns, there was one thing one could always count on.
They were lovers of all things that adorned your feet, and prided themselves in the shoemaking craft.
Molly knew it had to be killing Lachlan to see that his prized boots had dust all over their soles. If he knew
what kind of dust he would have an even bigger fit. So, she would just have to tell him the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Sometimes, she even impressed herself.
Molly rolled her eyes and casually rested her hand on Anwyn’s jeweled hilt. Trying to maintain her calm composure proved to be quite the challenge. She wouldn’t lose it and start laughing. She’d just dealt with a very serious matter and no matter how funny Lachlan’s reaction might be, she had to stay focused.
“Vampire dust,” she declared nonchalantly.
Lachlan yelped, did a jig and then quickly jumped out of the dust.
Morganna seemed unperturbed by Molly’s announcement, though she did stiffen slightly.
Molly reached behind her and pulled Lachlan out in front of her.