A Witch's Quest

by Leigh Ann Edwards

“Well you were most certainly rigid this night.” She smiled and her eyebrow arched as his so often did when they were discussing their physical love. “And aye, that is precisely how my legs feel after you love me, as well.”

  “Perhaps I’ll not be so quick to think I might like to be a woman, then.” He grinned and his smile faded when he glanced out the window to see the sun rising.

  “Be wise and cautious, my love,” she said as she kissed his lips and was gone.

  Chapter Eleven

  Alainn had barely lain her head on her pillow when a guard came to her door and announced she was to be taken to the king’s chambers. Her weary mind and fatigued body did not desire to have any unpleasant dealings with the king and her magic felt unusually depleted in employing it for such a lengthy time when she and Killian had been together. But she would never rue the night they’d spent together. They had reconnected and reaffirmed their love and passion, they had become filled with a hopefulness neither had felt possibly since the very moment they stepped upon English soil. Yet even now, as she tried to lift her hairbrush and call it to her by way of her magic to save her weakened legs from moving, she felt it was with effort and the object rose in the air and then soon fell back down. She would simply pray her magic would not be required this day.

  As she walked with the guard, she felt she needed to determine by what measure her magic was altered. She attempted to use her powers to detect why she was being brought before the king at such an early hour for it was not typical, but nothing came to her. Her magical abilities seemed gravely affected. This was already worrisome for her, but much more so when she was led into the chambers with the king and saw the demon was there as well. With Ciara now gone from the castle, he had evidently deemed it safe to return. He and Cromwell were speaking with the king when Alainn was shown inside. They seemed to be deep in discussion and she wondered why she was being brought before them when they were evidently conversing of a matter of importance.

  The king glanced at her with much suspicion. She attempted to read their minds, but although her magic was already weakened, she was aware the demon obviously had some control over the chamber. She surmised as she had often warded an area against evil, he had surely done the same against light magic.

  “It has been said you harbor a criminal,” the king charged as he stared at her.

  “A criminal?” She shook her head. “I know not what you speak of. I am kept prisoner within your castle; how might I harbor anyone?”

  She was filled with dismay when her friend, Conner MacLain was dragged into the room. It was obvious he had been severely beaten and he was now in chains.

  “Conner is no criminal; he is my groom and my personal attendant. He is tall and strong, powerful and physically threatening. He has been a great asset in keeping untoward sorts from harming me. What has been done to him, and why?”

  The king looked at the demon and Cromwell as though they may have fed him untruths.

  “He has been in prison for murdering a chieftain in his own country,” Cromwell announced.

  Alainn glanced at Conner with regret and he simply shook his head. Although he didn’t speak, she knew with his lopsided grin he was attempting to comfort her, even though both his eyes were black and swollen.

  “I am much aware of my groom’s past history, and that he has fully served his time in prison for his crime. Who better to offer me protection than someone who would take a life if it was necessary? It was that very aspect that ensured me he would be the man I would like to protect me. But why has he been beaten?”

  The king clearly chose to ignore her and continued to pose questions of his own.

  “And where was this man, whom by your own admittance is your personal guard, on the day you suffered the unfortunate mishap and were struck down by the coach?”

  “I said he was my attendant and my protector, not my jailor, and on the day you refer to, I was to simply be standing near the market stalls while he procured a horse for me to ride. He had no control over my choice to prevent the tragic death of a young child.” Alainn stared at the king and she was relieved to see he was heeding her words regarding saving his own daughter’s life.

  “But the man has not simply killed one man, but is a hired killer; he hunts men down for coin and ends their lives,” the demon in the form of a man assured King Henry.

  “Is there truth to these words?” The king was looking at Conner, but it was clear he was waiting for Alainn to answer his inquiry.

  “I have heard such rumors, but no one has proven them to be true. Besides, even if there was truth to any of this, can it be so different than ordering someone to take part in challenges when the victor is to take the life of the defeated? Or are those matters simply not ruled by law because they were ordered by the king?”

  “Did these crimes you speak of take place in England? These men this man has allegedly killed; were they English?” King Henry questioned further, for he apparently was spending much time attempting to decipher what was true and whom he should believe.

  The demon glanced at Alainn, but he lowered his eyes as he spoke.

  “I believe they were all Scots, Your Majesty,” he admitted.

  “Well perhaps we might employ him ourselves if that’s the truth of it, for those damnable barbarians to the north are a bothersome lot for the most part and have been a source of contention for some time. He’s maybe done us a service in ending at least some of their sorry lives.”

  “What’s to be done with him?” Cromwell inquired.

  The king must have observed her growing concern for he spoke further on the subject.

  “Are you certain he is only your groom? You do possess a fretful expression on your face at the moment, Lady McCreary. You are apparently given to befriending those who are in your employ, your physician and now your groom. With your husband nowhere to be found, and you seemingly fond of so many of the men with whom you surround yourself, it does not speak to your good character or virtuous countenance,” the king dared to suggest.

  “I’ve not lain a hand on her, nor has her physician. Lady Alainn is a fine lady and true to her husband, and no other. I’ll not permit you to speak such unfavorable words,” Conner loudly claimed, and the guards who held him struggled to contain the brawny enraged man.

  “Yet another man who clamors to your defense, Lady Alainn,” the king spoke her name with mock emphasis on Conner’s Scottish accent.

  “Take him to the dungeon, the deepest level, for he is a large strong one, and the Scots are as bad as the Irish, both notorious for their outburst and tempers. If he’s kept with those poor unfortunate souls, he’ll not be able to create any uproars, for sure that pitiful lot are more dead than alive.”

  “Conner has done nothing but defend my good name. Is that truly a crime in England then, to be a man of integrity and defend a woman’s honor?” Alainn objected.

  She attempted to employ her magic to sway his way of thinking, but it was taking a great deal of effort on her part with her weakened powers and the demon maintaining control over the chamber.

  The king stared long and hard at her and then at the man held in chains.

  “I’ve had a change of mind, let him go, but follow him and perhaps he might lead us to the woman’s husband. And if he should do so much as piss in the wrong place, bring him back and rest assured the dungeon may be the best he might hope for should he find himself in my company again.”

  Alainn was about to breathe an inward sigh of relief when she heard the demon speak again.

  “And what of the young girl that was discovered following the Scot? Shall I bring her in for you to appraise her, Your Majesty? She’s a pretty sort, quite lovely and timid. Most demure, for she’s not uttered one sound. I give you my word, she’ll not prattle on like this Irish wench for she’s a fine young English girl.”

  “That might be refreshing to see a demure woman for a change!” The king glanced at Alainn as he spoke. “Take her back to her chambers and bring th
e other girl to me at once.”

  The demon grinned fiendishly as the two brutish guards had begun to roughly escort Conner from the chamber and another took Alainn by the arm. A wide-eyed Lily was at the entrance of the chamber held by yet another guard, and her frightened amber eyes pled to Conner and to Alainn to save her from whatever indecencies these men intended.

  Conner had begun to protest in earnest and was throwing his weight against the guards. It was clear he wouldn’t stand by and see Lily violated.

  Alainn debated what must be done, knowing she must call upon her intellect and not simply her emotions or her almost entirely ineffectual magic in confronting this. Surely acting out of infuriated impulse would only worsen all their lots. Now that the door to the chamber was opened, Alainn attempted to use her magic to still time hoping the demon’s power would be lessened for it was always more difficult to maintain control in a larger room or when a chamber was not sealed, but she was disheartened to learn the demon apparently prevented it by his own dark magic.

  Alainn resisted the guard removing her. She stiffened and refused to take another step. He tugged on her arm and began dragging her, but she continued to resist and looked behind her.

  As the guard led Lily to King Henry, he eyed her up and down and he reached out and touched her soft light brown hair. Lily did not move a muscle, but Alainn felt her own stomach protest. Lily had been violated at a young age by several men, and left for dead. She hadn’t spoken a word for some time and only recently had begun to speak again. Having any sort of contact with a man would surely terrorize her. Alainn wasn’t even certain why Lily would have left the safety of the inn for she seldom left her parents or ventured further than the inn’s kitchen.

  Even with her supernatural abilities weakened, Alainn could hear what filled the king’s perverse mind, and knew young Lily had most definitely caught the interest of the man. His unwelcomed thoughts came to her. She was able to hear exactly what he desired to do to Lily and she knew the demon spurred him on with his unscrupulous intentions. Although she had been unable to use her powers when she’d attempted to do so herself, now the visions of the king and Lily together came to her with clarity. Perhaps that was the demon’s sole intent to cause Alainn to become disheartened or to force her unpredictable magic while he controlled the chamber with his spell. But she had no doubts the demon would see the king take Lily to his bed, and Alainn couldn’t allow that to come to pass.

  “She is rather pretty, quite young though, I suspect,” the king observed as he continued to touch her hair and then placed his face to catch the scent of her fine tresses.

  “Young, that is true. But you wouldn’t be the first, I assure you, you’d not be defiling her, she’s already spoiled in that regard,” the despicable demon revealed as the king let his hand fall from Lily’s hair to her throat and toy with the ties of her lacings.

  “Get yer damnable hands off wee Lily, she’s not but a child,” Conner blurted and he struggled further against the two men holding him. Alainn knew anything Conner did would only make things considerably worse for himself and surely not benefit Lily in any way. If he was thrown in the dungeon or perhaps even killed, Lily would still suffer at the hands of the king, and perhaps even more so if she were made to witness Conner being injured for she knew and trusted him.

  She couldn’t allow the king to act upon his desires. It was unthinkable and if she could prevent it and chose not to, that would be unforgivable. Although Alainn at eight and ten was perhaps only four years older than Lily, she hadn’t been violated, her innocence hadn’t been stolen. She had given her virtue to Killian gladly and willingly. She knew what it was to share a healthy physical relationship with a man. She would not desire to spend one moment in such a manner with the king, but if it was to be her or dear fragile Lily, her body and her spirit already shattered by cruel, lusting men, she knew what she must do.

  “Wait!” Alainn spoke in her loudest voice as the guard all but carried her through the doorway, and the king turned to look at her with interest at her obvious urgency.

  “Is there something you wish to say to me then, Lady Alainn; perhaps you might now choose to finally tell me the name of your husband?”

  “Aye, if that is your wish, it shall be so, but allow me to whisper it in your ear, Your Majesty,” she said in her most bewitching tone.

  The king nodded and the guard released her arm. As she walked to the king and smiled at him in a beguiling manner, she did as she’d promised, nuzzling closer to him and whispering in his ear.

  The deal had been forged. Lily had been sent home with a promise no harm would befall her and the king would never look in her direction again. She determinedly waited until she’d had word from one of the Irish messengers, that Lily had made it safely back to her parents at the inn. Then she and the king spoke on regarding the remainder of the conditions of their agreement.

  “Conner will be released from the dungeon!” she demanded, for after the struggle with the guards Conner had been taken to the pit straightaway.

  “That was part of the agreement, yes.”

  “How do I know you will comply if I have already done my part?” Alainn said as her voice shook.

  “You must take my word on it.”

  Alainn remembered only too clearly, how the king had told Killian he would be free to go if he fought one of his soldiers, but when that had been done, he’d been expected to fight another and another. She knew she couldn’t trust the word of the king, and yet the alternative was to have him seek Lily and take her to his bed. In her fragile state, even if the king did not abuse her in a rough manner, her body may not be damaged, but to be taken against her will, yet again, she knew her mind would never survive.

  Alainn felt offering herself to the king in Lily’s stead, truly was her only option. She continued to attempt to use her magic to control the king’s mind, perhaps even ensure he believed she’d lived up to her end of the bargain, but hadn’t actually allowed the king to have her. But each time she attempted it, she felt light-headed and uneasy, which was clearly the demon’s doing. If she were to fall unconscious, it would surely prove worse, for she would have no control or no memory of what the king or the demon might do.

  “And the Irishmen will be allowed to sail to our homeland? The chieftains, the clansmen, my physician and the Irishman who has been held in the tower for many weeks now?” she pushed.

  “Yes, if you desire it to be so, I will allow it!” he moaned. She inhaled deeply in anticipation of what would soon transpire, as he drew nearer to her, pulled her hair back and kissed her neck.

  The demon had remained behind after Lily had been taken from the castle and he’d worn an expression of triumph even though Lily had been spared terror and anguish. Perhaps it was his intention all along for the king to be allowed this time with Alainn, but she couldn’t see what the demon gained by this, bar her own deep displeasure. Although she hadn’t given the king Killian’s name, to spare Lily pain or humiliation at the king’s hands, she had promised him herself. She played it over and over in her mind in attempting to come to terms with what was about to happen and why the demon would want this to take place.

  She felt she had little choice. The demon had rendered her magic ineffectual and if she attempted anything more drastic she was fearful she would end up tied to a stake and lit ablaze this day.

  The previous evening when she’d been with Killian he’d spoken of the scheme he was forming with the English guard, but it sounded as though it might be some time in executing it, and she’d not seen or even heard from Danhoul since the day the demon had been in the king’s chambers with Ciara. Whenever she attempted to go to speak with him or summon him by way of her magic, she was unable. At the moment she felt little more capable than a woman with no supernatural powers. She believed it was now left to her to find a means to escape, and she would be forced to endure this unthinkable deed. To prevent young Lily’s loathsome assault and the possibility of much greater harm comin
g to Conner, she would permit this to happen, but before it actually transpired, she hoped to bargain further for all who remained imprisoned.

  “You’ll promise to let them go free entirely?” she questioned again hoping her fear and uncertainty weren’t evident in her voice.

  “Yes, if that is your heart’s truest desire, it shall be so.”

  “Even those held in the tower?” she asked again, attempting to plant the notion deep within his mind that they should be released, but feeling her magic remained greatly affected by the demon’s meddling.

  “I understand your connection to your physician and why you feel you must see him set free, but what of the man in the tower? Do you know him personally? Are you affiliated to him?” the king said with surprising clear-headedness considering his obvious distraction as he stood behind her and placed his face in her hair as he’d done earlier with Lily.

  Alainn pondered a believable, but non-incriminating explanation.

  “He is merely a distant relation, a cousin to my cousins, and if I do not attempt to see him freed, my family would ridicule me unrelentingly, it is certain.”

  He eyed her somewhat suspiciously, but his hand grazed her lips.

  “Before you continue you must first sign the decree freeing them,” she demanded as he untied her hair and it fell down her back. He seemed especially taken by her long golden locks and he caressed her hair.

  “You seem entirely mistrusting. I am the king; surely my good word is not to be questioned. Can this not wait until later?” he rasped.

  “Sign it!” she insisted.

  He squinted his eyes in displeasure, and huffed aloud impatiently, but reluctantly moved from her and went to the nearby table, retrieved a paper and a quill.

  “I shall sign one name before I have you, and one after. So tell me, which name shall I place upon this first decree; have you a preference? Choose wisely for if you do not carry through with what we have agreed upon, I tell you plain the other man shall surely meet a most torturous and gruesome fate.”