He eyed the demon and Ciara with equal displeasure.
“Not alone!” Alainn responded and smugly stared at the demon.
“You are foolish, young witch, if you believe the druid can assist you when his powers are much less consistent than your own, although he does possess a sturdy mind unlike your own that even now questions if any of this is real or simply imagined. Are we even here now or is it a vision?”
The demon purposely disappeared and reappeared several times, taking the others with him each time. Alainn rubbed her eyes and shook her head to clear her muddled mind. She stared at Danhoul for confirmation.
“The tests have begun?” he asked through telepathy.
“Aye, apparently so,” she affirmed his suspicions.
“They do choose the most disharmonious times to commence the trials.” Even his telepathic voice revealed his growing displeasure of the gods and their ways.
“This is real, the demon is here with us along with Ciara McCree, Cromwell and King Henry VIII.”
Although not entirely pleased with the reality, Alainn was relieved to know she remained of sound mind, although the recent vision of the demon’s fiery demise still filled her thoughts as well, and that had clearly been a guise.
At the moment Danhoul appeared intent on watching the king’s eyes and how they were gazing at Ciara. The demon noticed as well.
“You cannot prevent what is fated to be,” he warned Alainn and Danhoul.
“We certainly won’t see you and your kind victorious without a worthy battle!” Danhoul retorted.
Alainn saw the king’s eyes had blinked and knew her spell of holding time at a stand-still was obviously wavering since she’d used her powers to enlist Danhoul. She reasoned firstly, she could ill afford for the Tudor king to fall under Ciara’s dark enchantment. She began to chant the incantation within her mind and she saw Danhoul was aware of her intentions. He turned his attention to the demon and she knew he was using his druid gifts to prevent the demon from hearing her thoughts. She nodded ever so slightly to him in gratitude and she continued on.
Chapter Eight
“Even now as the sun and moon meet in the sky, my powers the strongest with the full moon this night.
“From then till when the moon does not visibly glow, and only the stars shine above will remain so.
“The dark witch, Ciara, shall appear to males all, as a hideous beast entirely appalling.
“They’ll not bear to rest eyes upon her for her mere presence shall cause certain foulness and terror.
“No form of magic of any degree shall reverse this spell spoken by me.
Now I have deemed it, so shall it be.”
Alainn called to her charmed anelace which she’d sensed was kept within the guard’s pocket. He must have taken it sometime after she’d been brought to the castle when she remained in an unconscious state. He surely thought it an admirable weapon easily concealed, that no one would be the wiser, and that a woman so near death would have no use for it.
It sailed through the air to her waiting hand as she’d aptly commanded it. Her amulet glowed brightly with the use of such powerful magic. She procured the weapon and swiftly sliced a thick section of Ciara’s long, dark curled hair.
With Danhoul using his magic as well, together they had cloaked themselves from the demon, Ciara and the others, therefore momentarily rendering them incapable of preventing her actions. Alainn used the weapon to slice her palm, she dabbed her blood with Ciara’s strands of hair, closed her eyes, spoke the incantation one more time before loudly clapping her hands together and capably sealing the spell.
Danhoul inhaled deeply as though he’d been holding his breath and together they released the cloaking spell. Danhoul staggered and nearly lost his balance with the degree of magic he’d needed to employ to assist Alainn, but even in his weakened state, he actually smiled and chuckled to himself at hearing her spell. Their eyes met and she was pleased that even with the direness of the situation, they shared a similar sense of humor. They had little time to wonder if the spell had been successful for as the previous spell of stillness was lifted entirely, Alainn swiftly witnessed the results and the magnitude of her most recent capable spell.
Danhoul glanced at Ciara and turned away so swiftly he did, indeed, fall over, knocking over Thomas Cromwell in so doing. The startled man looked up to see what had caused the strange young man who’d appeared out of nowhere, to react so oddly. As he stared at Ciara, he became immediately and violently ill. As he remained lying on the floor, he turned over and began to loudly wretch and spew in earnest.
The king who had been gazing at the woman, entirely besotted by her beauty, suddenly became frantic. Holding his hand over his mouth, he gagged and hollered at the demon and at the guard by the door.
“Take the hideously grotesque creature out of my sight. Never bring her near me again. If anyone should do so, they shall be sent to the block straightaway. See it done immediately!”
He then turned his back as well. The guard at the door raced toward the woman in order to comply with the king’s order, but in so doing he looked upon Ciara and stopped in his tracks. He stared at the king’s back and then simply turned tail and hurried out the door as fast as his legs would carry him.
Even the demon was not immune to the potent spell. He took one look at the woman and although he appeared infuriated, he used his powers to hastily disappear. Cromwell remained incapacitated and Danhoul and the king still stood with their backs to the woman. Alainn touched Danhoul’s arm and whispered in his ear.
“I shall spare you further cruelty and send you back to your chambers until I learn how best to deal with the king. The spell will hold for a fortnight and although I doubt the king would ever care to see her again, l fear Ciara and the demon won’t give up on this cause.”
“You couldn’t risk making the spell last for a longer duration?” Danhoul suggested. “To allow us more time and ensure she will not return.”
“I needed the spell to be immediate and powerful. I chose those certainties over duration.”
“Aye, surely that was the wisest of choices. Be cautious, Alainn. You are aware your powers are fleetingly inconsistent and with the gods testing you, your mind will need to be ever-diligent and clever. And the demon will now be thoroughly enraged.”
She nodded in agreement, closed her eyes and sent Danhoul away.
Ciara stood staring apparently entirely unaware of what had actually happened to cause such reactions within the men. However, she was undoubtedly astute in knowing Alainn had been responsible.
“Whatever have you done?” she snipped in a whispered voice as she drew nearer to Alainn so the king wouldn’t hear. Although she couldn’t actually see her as the men did, Alainn had caught the horrific reflection in the king’s eyes, and although Ciara was never a welcomed sight to her, she supposed she was pleased to be spared the despicable sight the men now saw.
However, Alainn took much delight in touching Ciara’s head and capably revealing the image of how she appeared to the men around her. She gasped aloud, her mouth agape. But now there she stood, unsure what was to be done now that the demon had abandoned her and Thomas Cromwell was indisposed as he attempted to crawl from the room leaving a trail of spew.
“Shall I see to it she is taken from the castle, then?” Alainn suggested to the king.
“Yes, yes, get the despicable beast far from me before I see her tied to a stake for witchcraft for she must be associated with the dark arts. How else might she be able to change her appearance or temporarily hide her actual true form?”
She considered advising him in that regard and concurring with his wishes, for seeing Ciara meet her end in such a manner might appease her by some measure, but she most certainly did not want to encourage such harsh and inhumane punishments.
“Take her to the dungeon, and call my priest for surely he would know how best to deal with the likes of this hellish abomination.”
Alainn gai
ned far more satisfaction from seeing the humiliation and fear in Ciara’s cat-like eyes, than perhaps she should have, but she knew she was dealing with pure evil and she would not let her guard down with the woman. She took her by the arm, and a huge spark was emitted as the two magical women touched. Ciara immediately pulled away. Alainn continued to walk with her and she watched the varied reactions of every male who happened to see them as they drew near the castle’s door.
“You shall be made to pay dearly for this day’s deeds, Alainn O’Brien,” she warned. Alainn ignored her words and spurred the woman on with spiteful words of her own.
“I am much regretful Killian will not look upon you as you appear this day, for I should dearly wish to witness that. I have no doubt our paths will cross yet again one day. Perhaps then I will see you sent away for all eternity, Ciara, for your deeds toward Killian and me, your poor elderly grandmother, Glynnis, and who knows how many others you and your coven have harmed. But for now, the king must be my first concern and making certain you do not influence him in any way.”
“The demon will soon find you and it is my hope you will suffer endless torture before you meet the cruelest of ends.”
“Sure it will not be this day, for your demon in his cowardice has slithered back to his dark realm. Even he and his malevolence are not willing to risk looking upon your revolting bestial presence, Ciara.”
Alainn smiled at the other woman’s distress and she considered following through with the king’s wishes and actually taking Ciara to the dungeon. While it would be advantageous in knowing her location if she were to be held there, Alainn had no desire to involve a priest or to incite hysteria regarding evil. The priests were always more than eager to admonish their power in the name of their god. She’d seen it before. No, she would not summon a priest or any member of any church.
The fact could also not be overlooked Ciara did possess magical abilities and in truth, Alainn had no fondness of her anywhere near herself or Killian, in the dungeon or otherwise. She’d seen some of her magical abilities presented this day, and she was not to be underestimated. She had no further time to determine how best to contend with the unsavory woman for as she walked beside her, Alainn was suddenly overtaken by a distinct sense of foreboding. She glanced at Ciara and saw the knowing satisfied smile cross her lips, as eleven witches appeared in the castle’s dimly lit corridor. Ciara’s coven had come to her aid, and Alainn was now surrounded by the lot of them.
Already having engaged her magic several times this day, Alainn was reasonably certain her powers would be diminished and she could not fend off the entire coven on her own. She wasn’t even remotely sure she and Danhoul together would be capable of doing so. She had little time to consider what might be done to confront and overpower the witches for to her complete astonishment, they simply collected Ciara, leered at Alainn, and disappeared into twelve black wisps of smoke without a spoken word or even a distant cackle.
But in her mind she heard the voice of Ciara McCree.
“Be ever on-guard, Alainn O’Brien, for sure you’ll know I’ll not let this rest until you pay for this day’s deeds.”
As she’d done so often in the past days, Alainn questioned if the witches of the coven had actually been there. Had it only appeared to be so that Alainn would be caught unaware in order for Ciara to escape? She cursed the gods and their damnable tests and trials which had done nothing but leave her constantly questioning her eyes and her mind, and even her perceptive intuition.
Perhaps she might better have simply dealt with Ciara more swiftly and severely, even ended her life then and there, but there was nothing to be done about it now. She would not rue this day, but instead form a plan for the days to come.
She simply returned to the king. She explained the wicked creature had escaped her. Although he wasn’t entirely at ease with her revelation, she felt he was undoubtedly relieved to have her gone from his sight and the possibility of being forced to endure looking upon her again.
Alainn knew she must do whatever she could to ensure the king stayed clear of the demon and his alliances. She would need to act quickly and find a means to see Killian and all of them freed for the spell would only hold for half a moon and then the demon would return and surely with a vengeance, and the coven may return to confront her even sooner.
Chapter Nine
Alainn had experienced the same terrifying dream for the past three nights. It unsettled her more than she would care to admit. Even now she was in the middle of another such disturbing dream. She attempted to calm herself, all the while telling herself it was only a dream, or perhaps it was simply the damnable gods presenting her with a vision as another one of their ludicrous tests to see how she would respond. Yet, she couldn’t be certain. In truth she felt certain of nothing and had begun to question everything, most especially her own mind.
In her present dream as with the previous two nights, she witnessed the coven of thirteen witches, one more than had been at the castle when they had come to rescue Ciara, even including Ciara herself. They wore dark gowns and black cloaks and odd pointed black hats. They danced together and eerily chanted incantations. Although she wasn’t able to distinguish their faces, she knew it was Ciara’s coven and not another.
They moved slowly, purposely, as though each movement held relevance and would result in a significantly desired outcome. Alainn took note of the circle of standing stones, attempting to determine if this was the circle located near Castle O’Brien where they had found the gruesome remnants of what remained of Glynnis the healer. Alainn decided straightaway this was clearly not the same stone circle. This circle was much wider, the stones considerably taller and as she dared to draw nearer in her dream, she saw how remarkably massive the huge stones actually were. This circle was in England, she had no doubts now. Druids often believed the larger the circle and the higher the stones, the more mystical powers they possessed. If this held truth, this circle must be immeasurably powerful.
Alainn recalled hearing of a circle just as this. It was apparently deemed to be the largest of such structures in the entire world and evidently shrouded in deep mysticism. If Ciara’s coven were there now and performing a ritual or sacrifice, they might be attempting to undo her spell so Ciara would no longer be offensively disfigured in the eyes of men. This would allow the demon to return and contribute to their power and aid in their nefarious intentions of reeling in the king to the side of evil. Surely they couldn’t accomplish such a feat, even in the most mysterious and magical of places, even with thirteen witches in a dark coven. Alainn, as she said it in her mind, did not find herself feeling confident in her thoughts. If it was the stone circle of legend and lore, it may very well be possible and it would be located directly west of her present location.
Alainn forced herself to waken from her dream. She leapt from the bed with newfound urgency and lifted the straw mattress. She retrieved the tied strands of Ciara’s hair from where she’d hidden them. Sitting upon the bed and staring out at the waning moon, she held the hair in her hand and summoned the image of the coven in her mind. If she conjured the image within her own mind of her own accord, surely it would be accurate and unaffected or influenced by the Celtic gods, or their tests.
Almost immediately the image of the coven was there in her mind, the vision was clear, but preposterous and impossible for as the thirteen women looked up at her, Alainn saw three women who appeared to be Ciara, two youthful and beautiful and one older with scrapes, bites and scratches and putrid rotting flesh. Could her eyes simply be failing her or was it her powers or her mind? Alainn cursed the gods once more and their absurd trials and tests.
She saw the faces of all thirteen women staring up at her with taunting eyes and wicked smiles.
Alainn pulled herself from the vision, now questioning her mind entirely. Uncertain if she was actually able to form clear thought at the moment, she strained to come up with a reasonable explanation for what she had seen...or thought she’d se
en.
She stared out the window at the sky and shook her fist at the Celtic gods for causing such unrest and uncertainty within her mind.
The face and the voice of Aine, her great-grandmother, the Celtic god and fairy princess came to her and she heard her voice as clear as if she’d been there in the chamber beside her.
“The coven is near, and assuredly not imagined. If they are able to vanquish your spell and summon the demon, you will not be capable of preventing what is sure to come to pass. Find a way to keep them at bay, or you, your husband and young Danhoul will not live to return to your Ireland.”
“Then assist me in this, Aine, I beg of you. Send Lugh or the searcher to assist us, to save us all.”
“I regret to say, none of us are able to get to you at this time,” Aine claimed and Alainn found herself in disbelief. The goddess showed her a vision of the events now happening in the realm of the gods. It was certain the truce between the Fomorians and the Tuatha De Danann was broken. Once more war reigned throughout the realm, and chaos ensued, but this time it appeared not only the gods were involved, but other creatures as well. Although the vision was only shown to her for a brief instant, amid the melee, Alainn aptly spotted the hell hounds and the four druid dragons.
Alainn saw Lugh and she noted even now his face was taut with intensity as he tossed his infamous spear at an enraged Fomorian.
“And what of the searcher? Could he not be summoned to come assist me as he’s done in the past for sure he’s not always found in the realm of the gods?” Alainn dared to ask.
“Return to your vision and you shall receive the answer you seek, though surely not one you care to learn.”
With that, the image of Aine’s face and her strong voice disappeared entirely and Alainn was left alone in her silent chamber to despair over much.
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