A Witch's Quest

by Leigh Ann Edwards

  “I need to know you remain safe and well, Killian. That is why I must come to you. I need to have you love me and hold me in your arms for if you did not I could not bear to be here, to be near such evil as is present here!”

  He held her to him and placed his chin upon her head.

  “Have you spoken to Danhoul, recently?”

  “Aye, I was to see him early this morning. He was recently placed in the tower as well and is being held two floors below you.”

  Killian looked down at her and his eyebrows knitted in a jealous fashion she’d seen on occasion before. Though he did not speak, she was well aware he was filled with uncertainty. As was typical, she chose to use flippant sarcasm in order to mask her own ever raw emotions.

  “Aye, Killian, I come to Danhoul in order to service him as well, and every other man imprisoned in the tower also,” she bitterly remarked.

  She saw Killian’s face had grown flushed with fury, but she wouldn’t allow his ire to lessen her resolve. One day soon she would find a way to be free of this castle, and if it meant employing dark magic or being bedded by the repugnant English king, she was beginning to prepare for the worst.

  “I love you, Killian!” she simply said and she didn’t wait to hear his reply before she vanished. And she realized that left him more troubled than anything else she had said or he might have imagined.

  Chapter Five

  Alainn loudly pounded on the door until her fist hurt, hoping to finally make someone hear her. She hadn’t seen King Henry in well over a week and a half. Since she’d told him about her lost babe, he hadn’t ordered her brought to him. In truth, she wouldn’t have minded never seeing him again, but that would do little in aiding her cause to see herself or Killian and the others freed.

  A week earlier she’d begun receiving only a thin piece of bread and a small cup of water each morning instead of the adequate meals morning and evening as had been typical since her arrival. The last two days she’d been given entirely no food or water.

  The days past by unimaginably slowly and even more disturbing than the gnawing hunger in her stomach, or the unsettling thirst, was the cold dampness in the chamber for the small hearth in the room barely burned. She had used the last of the wood that had been stored in the hold by the fire, and had resorted to using her magic to keep it burning. She briefly wondered if something untoward had happened to the king especially since she was well aware many sought to harm him. She attempted to use her powers of perception to locate him, but was not able to sense him anywhere within the massive castle. Perhaps he had been simply called away or was off on one of his many hunting excursions and journeys to his other residences.

  With so much time and nothing to do to fill it, Alainn spent many hours dwelling on what the truth might be. She considered the possibility she might be kept here alone in hopes she would finally tell the king the truth about her husband. Perhaps this was simply punishment issued until she agreed to sing for him? She thought it more likely he had simply tired of her, or now thought of her as a wounded, grieving soul filled with torment, and he’d taken pity on her and lost interest in her as a woman. Although in part she felt relieved in that possibility, it would not be beneficial in seeing them released and if that was the truth of it, how long would she be locked away in this chamber? Would the few people who knew she remained here actually care should she be left here indefinitely?

  When she continued to pound on the door with no response, she attempted to use her magic to leave the chambers, to go to Killian or even to Danhoul as she’d done on various occasions, but to her terror, she found she was unable.

  Three nights previous she had gone to Killian in the tower, but she’d had little time to speak with him, for the guard who Killian had convinced to assist him, had called out to him as soon as she’d arrived in the chamber. Fortunately, she had appeared in the location to the side of the door where he wouldn’t have been capable of seeing her. Killian had hastily kissed her before hurriedly motioning for her to leave before her presence was discovered, and she’d done so without question.

  Although she’d been undeniably curious to learn whether they’d been able to form a viable scheme to see Killian soon freed from the tower, she had resisted going to him again for fear she might disrupt any planned actions. Should she be seen, it would undoubtedly cause undue trouble for Killian. Surely the guard would have a change of heart in assisting Killian should she simply magically appear out of thin air and startle the man. No matter how trusting the guard might be, if he witnessed something supernatural he may end his association with Killian entirely and perhaps report the happenings to the king. Once more the thought of being tied to a fiery stake left her shivering with fear. Although she knew allowing her mind to travel to such despairing possibilities benefitted her in no way, being alone, cold and hungry she seemed unable to terminate such thinking.

  The frightening thought occurred to her that perhaps Killian had attempted to escape and been caught. Had the king actually been preoccupied with dealing with an escaped Irish prisoner and one of his guards who had abetted him? Was that why he was not here in the castle? Alainn’s already wild and vivid imagination continued to many other disturbing possibilities that frightened her to the core. Could Killian have gone to the block without her even sensing it? That could not be the truth of it. Surely her magical abilities would not fail her on something that bore such importance as Killian’s life and well-being.

  She immediately called out to Danhoul in her mind. She waited what seemed an insufferably long time, but heard no reply. Once more she attempted to use her magic to leave the chamber, but yet again, she was unable. She felt herself becoming panicked. In her state of fearfulness, she glanced toward the hearth and used her nearly infallible ability to create fire, but to no avail. Alainn saw the flames had all but died, only tiny embers burned within the hearth. She placed her hands before her and called to the fire to blaze again, but with no response. Something or someone was capably blocking her magic, preventing her from employing her powers.

  She went to the door and called out, her voice quivered with fear at her sudden helplessness and the possibility of thirsting or starving to death in this pitiful chamber in the English king’s castle.

  As she placed her hand to the door once more and was about to pound even more frantically, she felt herself grow cold and filled with certain dread. There was a fate worse than meeting her end without food or water. She was standing in utter darkness, her supernatural abilities apparently rendered ineffectual and she knew without a doubt on the other side of the door, stood the despicable demon.

  “Are you feeling frightfully alone there in the dark, young witch?” She cringed at hearing his familiar inhuman voice from beyond the wooden door.

  Alainn was frozen where she stood. She did not reply, but slowly backed away from the door and nearer to the hearth. She felt chilled to the bone and her skin crawled knowing the demon was near when she was completely vulnerable without her supernatural abilities to fend off his malevolence. She knelt down by the few last embers, remembering Danhoul and her mother, Mara’s many warnings of keeping the fire burning and never allowing herself to be in complete darkness for she would be a much easier target for the demon. She blew into the embers and they scattered and rose in the air and up the flue. She closed her eyes and imagined the room becoming warmer and the fire blazing higher, but yet again, her powers remained unreachable.

  “Is your magic failing you, young witch?” The demon laughed in a disturbing maniacal manner.

  Alainn shivered again and rubbed her arms as the cold seemed to reach her very soul.

  “Danhoul” she whispered, even though it was through telepathy she called to her druid friend and guardian.

  “Your young druid cannot hear you. Nor will your husband come to save you even if he could manage to escape the tower. For you see, young witch, you are not the only one who can still time. The entire castle has now fallen under my powerful spell.
When you are cold enough and hungry enough, you will ask me to help you. You and I shall bargain, your life in exchange for your powers.”

  Even in her fearful state Alainn found herself questioning the demon’s actual motives, for at the moment her magical powers seemed entirely non-existent and clearly he had the upper-hand. Why would he not simply come through the door, the only barrier between them? She had placed a warding spell on the door each morning and each night and every time she entered the chamber. But if she couldn’t create magic now would the spells hold a powerful demon at bay? Why would he need her to ask him to save her life simply so he might take her powers? It all seemed muddled to her...and even if he had stilled the inhabitants of the castle, how had he managed to control her powers?

  The thought occurred to her that he really didn’t know how severely her magic was failing, that he was only bluffing in hope to create a growing dread within her. Well, he’d certainly done so. Yet he apparently knew well enough she was hungry and cold, so surely he also knew she was unable to do magic at the moment.

  Where were Lugh and Aine in all of this? Lugh was her guardian protector and Aine her own great-grandmother and was proclaimed to be the protector of all women. They could surely come to her aid should they choose to do so. The gods couldn’t be affected by a mere demon or his spell. Alainn was becoming consumed with fear and hopelessness when she saw a soft glowing light within the room. She was startled to see the spirits of Diadra and Shylie beside her. Knowing Diadra was limited to within the confines of the round tower, Alainn couldn’t decipher how she could actually be here with her now, unless somehow Shylie’s magic had combined with Diadra’s and the two spirits had diminished the holding spell.

  Diadra smiled warmly at her and Shylie immediately embraced her. Diadra drew nearer to a lighted location upon the wall and with her hand she traced an arched portal. With that she nodded toward Shylie who grasped Alainn by the hand and the three females magically stepped through the bright portal.

  Alainn was entirely startled to discover she was now standing in the round tower back in Ireland. She gasped aloud when she came to that nearly impossible realization and she glanced up at Diadra with a look of combined relief and confusion on her face.

  “How...what...why?”

  “Sure, we will have little time for discussion or explanations. Shylie and I sensed your unenviable predicament. I called to Aine and to Lugh, but as I suspected they seemed unwilling to assist you. I believe this is the beginning of the time they will test you and your ability to use your mind, your body, and your magic in unison. It is sure to be the commencement of the trials to assess you.”

  Alainn shook her head to clear her presently befuddled mind and stared at the two spirits hoping for a more satisfying or precise explanation.

  “Test me? Trials?” she whispered as her voice shook from the cold and hunger she felt.

  Shylie pulled her toward the hearth in the round tower and the fire’s warmth immediately brightened Alainn’s spirits and eased her fears. As soon as she began to grow warmer, her stomach protested its emptiness and in merely wishing for sustenance, she was swiftly rewarded with an ample tray of food before her.

  “My ability to work magic has returned,” Alainn said in relief.

  “I doubt it was ever truly gone,” Diadra offered. “In their tests and trials, the gods can make anything seem real. They can create a reality that is entirely imagined, but it can be very real to those they are putting through the trials. Above all Alainn, you must remember, not everything is as it seems.”

  Shylie brought her a cup of water and after she’d warmed herself by the hearth fire and had her fill of the food and water, she questioned the spirits once more.

  “How could you have known I was in such need, or of the gods’ tests?”

  “We simply sensed it, for we both endured such tests in our lives as well.”

  “But now you have assisted me in this, will the gods not see my failure?”

  Diadra glanced at Alainn and smiled.

  “I suspect the gods warded the chamber so that it appeared your magic could not be used, but also ensured the demon could not actually get to you. Young Shylie and I simply placed a temporary concealment spell from within the chamber so the gods could not see within. I suspect they will believe it was you who did so. But the concealment spell will not hold indefinitely. Now that you are warm and fed you must make a hasty return.”

  “But when I am back within the chamber, what if I should discover my ability to do magic truly has been taken from me? How will I deal with the demon?”

  “As I have said, not all is what it seems!” With that the spirit, winked and at once Alainn was back within the chamber in the Tudor castle. But this time the fire blazed warm in the hearth, bread and water awaited her, and the threat of the demon seemed entirely gone. Had she imagined it all? But if that was so, what had she actually imagined, being cold and hungry with a demon at the door and her powers gone...or being warmed and fed in the round tower in Ireland with two spirits so willing to assist her? Shylie had not spoken one word to her, which was entirely unusual and not typical of the young spirit. Alainn began to question her own mind, which she could ill afford to do.

  Whether the gods were testing her or simply making her believe she was in such dire straits, she was infuriated more than she would have believed possible. She was clearly not able to rely on them for assistance. She would need to come up with a way to contend with King Henry and see them all saved from their present fate. She knew the demon would inevitably cause further tumultuousness and that it would not be imagined. She would need to remain of sound mind in order to be of any use to herself or Killian, and if she was beginning to question her own ability to reason or to trust her own mind and clear thought, she would never be capable of discovering a means to be free.

  Chapter Six

  King Henry had once more begun having her brought to him in his official chambers. She knew it would be necessary to see them released and she remained ever-thankful she was not taken to his bedchamber, but after her discussion with Diadra she wasn’t entirely confident in trusting anything as truth any longer.

  The king had been somewhat more distant these times they’d been together. He hadn’t insisted on her singing for him or asked her anything regarding the identity of her husband. In truth, he had spoken very little, but he had observed her closely and watched her every move. This was unsettling to Alainn and she couldn’t help wondering what his motives were. As she began to read his thoughts he stared at her and his hand went to his head as though he were in pain. He must have sensed what she was doing or possessed the ability to feel her probing his mind. She distracted him by speaking.

  “Your daughter remains well?”

  “I have two daughters,” he replied. “I understand they are both well, although in truth I haven’t seen either in a time.” It was clear his mind was elsewhere and he was distracted by another matter. She simply cut to the quick of the matter unsure how long his temperament would remain calm or approachable.

  “Have you made a decision on allowing the Irish prisoners and my physician set free?” she dared to ask.

  Instead of responding to her query, he asked a question of his own, one that clearly took her off guard.

  “What do you know of magic?”

  “Of magic?” she repeated, certain her voice revealed her alarm.

  “Are the Irish not a superstitious lot, believers of such mystical happenings?”

  “Aye, most do believe in magic to some degree, I suppose.”

  “And you?” the king pressed.

  “It’s certain I have seen some events that could be declared magical, but there are those who might suggest they were actually miracles performed by God and his angels,” she cautiously replied.

  “Ah, yes, we must give God the credit for such rare wonders.” The cynicism in his tone also startled her.

  He was quiet again for some time and Alainn nervousl
y straightened her skirts and stared toward the window sensing he wanted to discuss another subject.

  “And what of the dissimilar type of magic of the darker contradictory ilk?”

  “Are you asking me if I believe in dark magic or in nefarious sorcery?”

  “Do you?” he hastily questioned, which left her wondering if he sensed the many evil entities that hoped to ensnare him. He stood awaiting her response.

  “I believe there are those who practice the dark arts and are given to baneful, wicked acts.”

  “And who then do these evil-doers follow, who can be credited for these unthinkable atrocities? If it is God whom we worship and who brings about joyous miracles, what power controls those who lean to the darker side?”

  “Does the bible not refer to the darkness as the devil who is Satan?”

  “Do you believe in this devil?”

  Alainn swallowed and took a breath before she replied.

  “I think there cannot be good without evil, in gods or in humans.”

  “Gods?” He turned sharply to stare accusingly at her. “You believe in more than one god? That in itself is a grievous, mortal sin!” he declared.

  “It is doubtful any of us are without sin, some are simply more selective in choosing what laws they abide, what godly commandments they wish to adhere to and others are apparently left to one’s discretion. I know many men who feel adultery is acceptable, yet wouldn’t dare to take the Lord’s name in maliciousness. There are those who feel murder is justified yet would rather be struck down dead than commit thievery or be unkind to their mothers. I suppose when the Lord passed the commandments to Moses he did not intend for the laws to be arbitrary, yet he knew as humans we will always be given to sin.”

  “You are a contradictory woman, and strong-willed. In truth you are most courageously forthcoming in offering your opinions.”

  “Some would suggest that errs on the side of foolishness not courage.”