Tales of the Northern Kingdoms volume 2

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "I'm not keeping you, Brendan." Mark winked. "Sebastian covets the captain's post..."

  Brendan laughed. "We'll leave once we're sure Donovan won't try anything nasty. He is recovering after all..."

  Mark's smile vanished and he looked beyond the sea of trees that blocked the sight of Lovenback Castle.

  "He'll come after me, that's for sure," he grumbled. "I dared steal his cousin from him. He wasn't fast enough in killing me."

  "Neither were we. We should have made sure he was dead before leaving. Theodore wouldn't have stopped us..."

  Mark sighed. "Too late. Let's wait until he makes his move. Gives me time to heal my knee..."

  "If you stop standing on it," Brendan teased. "Let's get back inside, my lord, and sit you down for the rest of the day..."

  "Brendan..." Mark glared at him. "Next time you call me my lord, you're dismissed from your post!"

  Brendan grinned as Mark leaned on his friend to leave the battlement.

  ***

  Donovan grumpily pushed away the servant that had helped him to reach the great hall, climb on the dais and sit down. Now that he was back in the seat of power, he straightened his back and scowled at the servants milling around. The castle had kept functioning even while he was bed-ridden, but now that he was in charge, things had better run smoothly.

  He wasn't in his best mood when Theodore entered the great hall with Clarissa, a beautiful woman with tattoos on her face and a dark gown. She must come from the same school of magic as the Black Sorcerer Rowan had summoned.

  Donovan had heard of her and wasn't really impressed by what he saw. He hadn't used any blood ritual to call her, and for once Theodore had dutifully fetched what he needed. The cowardly captain was obviously less scared by a witch than a sorcerer.

  "Welcome, Clarissa," the Duke said. "I need your help to get to my enemy."

  "He must be powerful if he has put you in such a state," she said, climbing on the dais like Jarin had done, with an amused smile on her lips painted red, in contrast with the dark tattoos around her eyes and down her cheeks.

  "It's just a minor wound, it didn't kill me," he snapped. "The bastard got away with it. The king approved his marriage and gave him my cousin's castle. I want her back too, with all her dowry."

  "And what will you do with him?" she asked.

  "I'll kill him with my own hands." He balled his fist as if he was crushing the life out of Mark.

  Clarissa scoffed. "And what will you give me if I help you?"

  "Whatever you want," he answered.

  "You want another woman and a man's life. I can only ask for your soul," she said.

  "When I die, it's yours."

  "Done deal."

  ***

  Spring had brought smiles back on everybody's face. The spring festival was a widely celebrated holiday at Logris, but Mark saw it for the first time. While the fief of Lovenback had hunters, woodcutters and blacksmiths, Logris had mostly farmers. Less forest and more fields in the plains opening in front of the castle.

  The fief had only a small portion of forest in its lands, while Lovenback was mostly forested. Mark understood now why Donovan had tried to unite his lands with his cousin's. Logris also had a vineyard on it's hilly part that produced a most excellent wine that reached the court's tables way down to the capital – that was why the king listened carefully when the lady of Logris requested something.

  Tables had been set up in the castle courtyard and spread beyond the castle walls. Villagers had come from the nearby hamlet, but also from other villages and the farms spread around the castle.

  Mark and Eleonor walked from table to table, smiling and talking to the people of the fief. Mark was amazed at how much the lords of Logris were loved. Donovan's father had been this much well-loved, actually, it was Donovan himself who was an arrogant master.

  Sebastian doted on pregnant Gwen, who sat in a corner by the main gate. Eleonor had told Mark the night before she was finally expecting too, but she'd deliver a couple of months after her maid.

  Brendan and Randy stood nearby, both fully armed and on duty. Randy still wore men's clothes, but she had a sweeter look on her face.

  Suddenly Mark heard a female voice calling him. He looked around, trying to figure out who it was, but couldn't see anyone.

  The eerie voice sounded again. "Mark! Come to me!"

  Puzzled, he left Eleonor's side and limped to the edge of the crowd of guests, hoping to pinpoint the woman's call.

  He forgot the pain in his knee as he followed the voice out of the castle.

  ***

  "Mark!" Eleonor called, seeing him head for the castle gate.

  "Mark!" Brendan called as Mark passed by him.

  Mark didn't stop, looking dazed and lost in a dream.

  Eleonor joined Brendan and Randy, still puzzled.

  "He was bewitched!" Brendan said, as it dawned on him what had happened to his friend.

  "Where did he go?" Eleonor asked, worried.

  "Donovan is alive." Brendan frowned. "And he has already used sorcerers before."

  "Oh my goodness!" Eleonor hid her mouth behind her hands, eyes wide in panic.

  "Sebastian will stay to protect you," Brendan said. "Randy and I will go looking for Mark."

  He signaled to Sebastian who was already approaching to see what was going on. He instructed his younger friend and left with Randy to follow Mark's tracks.

  8.

  Clarissa welcomed Mark in a tower's guest room of Lovenback Castle. She appeared to him as a beautiful dark-haired woman with no tattoos and a rich black and gold gown. Still spellbound, he stared at her with awe and adoration and asked her, "What's your name?"

  "Clarissa." She beckoned him, her gown spread over the big bed like petals. She locked the door with a spell while he walked to her, totally bewitched.

  She noticed his swollen knee and remembered the Duke had hurt him. The spell didn't make him feel the pain, so he had probably hurt himself by walking all the way to Lovenback.

  Clarissa thought Mark was quite handsome and it was a pity he'd die soon. She made him sit by her side and caressed the swollen knee, gently healing it. While she was at it, she wanted to taste the young man.

  She pushed him down and climbed on him, covering his clean-shaven face with butterfly kisses. She was used to having sex with spellbound men, but she enjoyed it nevertheless. She watched him fall asleep, spent both by the exertion to please her and by the spell moving him.

  The tattoos appeared again on her face and arms. She rose and dressed, the gown still the black and gold of a princess. She didn't need a castle or a kingdom, her magic gave her everything she wanted, including handsome lovers if she felt like it.

  She went to the door, knowing the Duke was impatiently waiting outside.

  "Did you send Theodore to get your beauty?" she asked, letting him into the room.

  "He should be on his way back." Donovan stopped by the bed and stared at his naked rival. "I see you used him."

  "A little bonus for me. The pain will be worse after the pleasure I gave him," she replied with an amused smile.

  "He was under a spell, maybe he felt nothing." He glared at her. "Wake him up, but he mustn't be able to move."

  Clarissa smiled. She'd love toying with the soul of the wicked Duke.

  ***

  Mark's eyes popped open and he suddenly came back to his senses with a gasp. Where was he? He couldn't move, except his eyes and mouth. Donovan leaned over him, coming into his field of vision.

  "I wanted you to know who killed you," he said. "And who will have your wife."

  Mark's fingers twitched, but his arms were as heavy as lead. He felt he was naked and in a bed and obviously back in Lovenback, but had no idea how he got there.

  "Eleonor will never marry you," he spat out venomously.

  A tattooed woman – who must be of the same breed as Jarin – climbed onto the bed next to him and pulled up his breeches.

  "Why do you cove
r him?" Donovan snapped. "Dead bodies don't need clothes."

  "I might decide to keep him alive if I keep staring at his family jewels," she replied with a grin. "He is a pleasant bed companion, after all."

  Mark thought that must be the witch who had lured him away from Eleonor and Logris. He vaguely remembered having sex with someone, but couldn't remember the woman's face.

  Donovan glared at her, then looked at Mark again.

  "Did you enjoy being a lord? I hope so, because it's over."

  "I was definitely more loved than you ever will be," Mark retorted.

  "Theodore went to get Eleonor. I'll give her your corpse as a wedding gift."

  "Brendan and Sebastian will protect her."

  "Only if they realize she's in danger." Donovan smirked. "They're probably busy looking for you."

  Mark scowled, pursing his lips.

  "I hate losing, Mark. That's why you'll die," Donovan continued.

  "You can't win! Eleonor..."

  Donovan put his left hand on Mark's mouth, silencing him.

  "Eleonor will do whatever I tell her." He took his knife. "And you die today."

  Mark glared at Donovan, but couldn't reply.

  "Clarissa."

  The witch made a bored gesture and Donovan took off his hand.

  Mark tried to speak, but no sound came out of his throat. He looked at Clarissa, panting in panic, still locked to the bed. She smiled at him with a shrug.

  "I don't need to hear you scream." Donovan's blade touched his cheek.

  Mark closed his eyes, then heard Donovan howl in pain. Startled, Mark saw Donovan holding his wrist, his hand pierced by a black and green arrow – Brendan's colors.

  Brendan and Randy were by the door, bows ready. Brendan had another arrow aimed at Clarissa, while Randy kept Donovan at arrow-point.

  "Mark, move!" Brendan ordered.

  Mark still couldn't speak. The witch made a small gesture and Mark sank into the mattress as if pressed down by a great weight. He panted for breath. Maybe Brendan and Randy wouldn't be able to defeat the witch – she was stronger than Jarin and he was doomed.

  ***

  Randy saw the small gesture and moved the bow, aiming at Clarissa and shooting. Her arrow hit an invisible shield, but the witch had to let go of Mark, who jumped to his feet and rushed by the door, not even limping from his broken knee.

  "One good deed and one bad." Randy nocked another arrow and aimed at Clarissa again. "Neat job, sister. Magic doesn't make you invulnerable, though."

  "Let's go, Randy," Brendan said bluntly, aiming at Donovan.

  Mark exited first, followed by Randy and then Brendan.

  "Guards, stop them!" Donovan screamed as they rushed down the stairs.

  "That's not Donovan's knife," Randy said, noticing a knife protruding from Brendan's back when they reached the stables.

  "The witch..." Brendan panted, leaning on the stables' wall while Mark found three saddled horses.

  "You should have let me kill her," she muttered. "Mark, two are enough, he can't ride on his own."

  Mark gasped in shock at the sight of his wounded friend and nodded.

  She helped Brendan onto the saddle and mounted with him. Mark followed them as they galloped out of Lovenback.

  In the forest, Randy felt Brendan losing his grip on her waist.

  "He's losing consciousness," Mark said, frowning in worry.

  Randy stopped the horse and Mark was ready to keep Brendan from sliding off the saddle.

  They hid behind bushes and rocks, and lay Brendan unconscious to the ground.

  A squadron of guards galloped by, not seeing them, headed for Logris.

  "We better go in deeper," Mark said. "We must tend his wound."

  Randy nodded and led the horses while Mark transported his friend like a sack of potatoes. They stopped near a great oak and tore Brendan's tunic to pieces to tend the wound.

  "The other wound was less nasty," Randy said. "Or maybe the witch's blade is poisoned."

  "We did what we could." Mark cleaned the sweat from his forehead. "Thanks for saving me."

  Randy shrugged. They washed their hands in a nearby stream, then Mark went to look for something to give Brendan water.

  Randy crouched by Brendan's side and pulled him up to have his head rest in her lap. She caressed his face and whispered his name.

  Brendan slowly opened his eyes. His cheeks were losing color and his lips were parched already.

  "Miranda..."

  "Don't move," she said. "We're taking care of you."

  "It hurts... I'm burning inside..."

  "You'll recover."

  "Give me a kiss."

  She leaned to kiss him. Mark came back from the stream with a piece of bark filled with water. They helped Brendan to drink, then he fell back down, as if exhausted.

  "He is feverish," Randy said.

  "I'll go hunting," Mark muttered. "See if I can find some herbs... Clean his wound again in the meantime."

  Randy nodded, worried. During the night Brendan worsened. At dawn his ragged breathing stopped.

  Mark awoke with the first light and came closer to see how his friend was doing.

  "Leave him alone," Randy said flatly, staring at Brendan's beautiful but still face. "There's nothing you can do for him."

  She felt empty, tearless. She glanced at Mark and saw his hostility. She rose from her cramped position by Brendan's side and went to the stream to wash her face. Another loved one to bury. She swallowed her sorrow. She shouldn't have stopped in Lovenback.

  ***

  Mark had woken up to find his best friend already cold. He hadn't talked to Randy much. She'd just joined them, what did she know of his past with Brendan...

  Mark was furious. He wanted to go back to Lovenback and kill Donovan, but he must find Eleonor first.

  He buried Brendan, then climbed back on the saddle. The witch had indeed healed his knee while bewitching him, and he looked forward to using his sword to tear Donovan to pieces.

  Sebastian emerged from the bushes, startling the horses, midway between Lovenback and Logris.

  "What are you doing here?" Mark demanded.

  "I was waiting for you," Sebastian answered. "I knew you'd be here sooner or later. Brendan?"

  "Buried in the woods," Randy said with her new flat tone. No tears on that cold woman's face. Mark wondered if she'd really loved Brendan in the few months they'd spent together.

  Sebastian gaped.

  "First Dave, now Brendan..." he muttered, looking away.

  "Where's Eleonor?" Mark asked.

  "Back at Lovenback, I guess." Sebastian shrugged. "As soon as Randy and Brendan left to rescue you, Theodore attacked and took her."

  "Why didn't you stay at the castle?"

  "What for? Nobody is after Gwen. You and Eleonor were in danger. Well, if Randy and Brendan freed you, you would probably need me free, not thrown in a dungeon."

  Mark cursed under his breath.

  "We must rescue Eleonor," Randy said. "Then you can get your castle back."

  "It's not my castle, it's Eleonor's," Mark grumbled.

  "So you give up on your wife?" Randy asked, skeptical. "Did Brendan die in vain?"

  He glared at her. "I'm not giving up on Eleonor. I'm going to rescue her and kill that bastard Duke."

  "Without Dave and Brendan?" Sebastian asked. "Lovenback will be well guarded now, unless they think you're dead."

  "No, they know we're alive. But Jeff can let us in undercover. Let's get back to Lovenback."

  "Got a horse for me?"

  Randy offered Sebastian her hand to help him on her saddle. Mark turned his mount around and spurred it towards the castle.

  9.

  Eleonor stood in front of her seated cousin in Lovenback's great hall, lips pursed and eyes glaring, but he didn't seem to care. Theodore had taken her back to Lovenback in a hurry and deposited her in front of his lord as if she were a parcel.

  "You insulted me by marrying
one of my men, a mere commoner, but I forgive you," Donovan said. "Mark is dead and tomorrow you'll marry me."

  "If Mark is dead, I'm mourning him and won't get married again soon," she replied defiantly. "You won't have my lands, cousin, nor me."

  "And how do you plan to stop me?" Donovan scoffed. "You're only a woman and all of our relatives want you to marry me. Are you going to the king again?"

  "Most definitely. He's proven most gracious with my previous marriage, I'm sure he'll approve of my retiring to a monastery to mourn."

  "Again! You're stubborn! But I won't let you, do you hear me? You'll marry me or nobody else!"

  "You can't force me, Donovan! I'll be a widow and raise my son in Mark's memory!"

  Donovan leaned forward, narrowing his eyes.

  "You're pregnant?"

  She smirked. "We were married, weren't we? It's my duty to give an heir to my husband, a boy that will rightfully inherit my father's castle..."

  "Your husband is dead!" Donovan screamed, losing the remnants of his coolness. "Dead, you hear me?"

  "Then show me his corpse," she replied sternly. One part of her was glad Donovan was showing his real face. She wouldn't let him win.

  Donovan stared at her with hatred.

  "I'd rather spare you the sight," he said through clenched teeth.

  "I insist." She crossed her arms over her bosom.

  Mark was alive. Donovan was trying to trick her into marrying him. She knew Mark was somewhere – either in the castle dungeon or in the forest, free, with Randy and Brendan.

  Donovan signaled to his men. Two servants brought forward the corpse of a man almost without face, obviously tortured to death, with long black hair and Mark's tunic.

  Eleonor gasped in shock and then fainted.

  ***

  Donovan smirked as Eleonor collapsed to the ground, unconscious. His cousin had tried to best him, but had proven to be the weak woman she was. Love was a weakness for everyone. Mark might be still alive, but when he found out that Eleonor was Donovan's wife, he'd crumble too.

  The corpse moved and morphed back into Clarissa.

  "That was the last favor, Donovan of Lovenback," she said, rising. "You can find Mark on your own. See you on the day of your death!"

  Donovan nodded and smiled triumphantly. Now he better prepare for Mark's homecoming – and death.