Shasta Summer

by Teresa Geering

  Merlin, walking back to her caravan with her, was becoming very moody as he heard this and it didn’t go unnoticed by Shasta.

  “Seth seems to have changed quite a bit lately and become a much nicer person since the villagers have become friendlier towards him. Perhaps we should do the same, Merlin,” she said.

  Merlin did not agree but decided to hold his own counsel.

  Chapter 35

  Seth went back out to his garden to finish the patch he was working on and also to think about what had happened with Shasta.

  Normally he was in control of his feelings; he usually took what he wanted from women and then left them. Being Jack the Lad with women was part of his reputation. He wasn’t interested in what the villagers thought of him. They expected him to be drunk most of the time and take women on a whim, and he had lived up to their expectations. Since the first time that he had met Shasta, though, things had changed. Yes, he still had a few tankards of ale in the village tavern and entertained a woman now and again, but he was much quieter these days and the locals had remarked on it and become friendlier.

  When he had kissed Shasta, it was as if someone else had taken over from him, producing an urgency he had not experienced before. Shasta had kissed him back with equal fervour, encouraging him and then drawing back and making excuses to leave. She and Merlin were betrothed, he knew that, but he didn’t want to accept it and, if he could win her over, his life would be complete. This was the reason for the changes he had made; he hoped to let her see that he could change his habits.

  When he had met her and May in the forest recently with their picnic, he had been making his way to the village, but had seen Shasta’s caravan and decided to have a look round inside instead. This in itself was unusual for him. He respected other folk’s privacy and property. As he had walked away from Shasta and May, he suddenly found himself outside of Shasta’s caravan, yet he couldn’t recall how he got there. Oh well, maybe it was something to do with the magic of the village.

  He had been resting on his hoe as he had been passing these thoughts through his mind. Applying himself to the work in hand, he leant over once more and began to hoe between the flowers. Suddenly he felt there was someone behind him and yet he hadn’t seen anyone approaching. As he stopped hoeing and turned round, he was startled to find a man he didn’t recognise. As he got over his surprise, Seth noted that this man was dressed very expensively and was probably a good deal older than himself.

  “I’m called Seth. Can I be of help to you, Sir?” he asked.

  “I think it is I who can help you. Shall we go into the cottage?” the man replied.

  Without waiting for an answer, Erasmus lifted the haggaday and walked in, expecting Seth to follow, which he did, silently.

  Sitting in the chair at the table, Erasmus watched Seth for a few moments and said, “You must be wondering who I am and what I am doing here?” Without waiting for an answer he carried on. “My name is Erasmus. I have lived through many lifetimes and I am many hundreds of years old.”

  He allowed Seth to ponder on this before continuing, but Seth was far too confused to say anything anyway.

  “You want the woman Shasta and, for personal reasons, I don’t want Merlin to have her. Because of this, I am prepared to help you, but on my terms.”

  Seth was very wary of this man, Erasmus. He had suddenly appeared from nowhere, or so it seemed, and if he was to be believed he was hundreds of years old, which in itself made him want to smile with amusement.

  He would have liked to win Shasta by fair means from Merlin and for her to come willingly, but could he trust this man? He doubted it.

  Erasmus easily read his mind and he could see the glint in his eyes.

  “You are a good looking young man, Seth, with a good strong body, and the women respond to that, as I saw earlier when you were with Shasta.” Seeing his startled look he said. “You didn’t see me, of course, because I wasn’t here. I do not need to be here. I can be anywhere, even in a different country, but I can still see anything I choose to see. You felt that someone had taken over your body when you kissed Shasta. That was me, and if Shasta had opened her eyes she would have seen me leave your body. I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss a beautiful woman again after so many years. I can only do that if I enter a mortal’s body. With Shasta it was particularly enjoyable. My time with her will not come for many years hence, after your lifetime of course, Seth.”

  This was only half true; Erasmus hoped to have her long before that, but he wasn’t prepared to tell Seth that.

  Seth hadn’t moved from the moment that Erasmus had started talking. Not only had this person that outwardly looked like a man expressed an interest in the woman he wanted, he had entered his body to kiss her. At first he felt sick to the stomach, but then he suddenly realised that he still didn’t know what Erasmus wanted of him.

  Erasmus spoke again. “You want to know what I expect of you, Seth.”

  “Can you always read my mind?” Seth asked startled.

  “Very easily. In fact you have been one of the easiest so far.” Erasmus said. “It’s very simple. If you want Shasta, you must get rid of Merlin. I will leave it up to you how you fulfil this task. For reasons I am not prepared to explain, he has to be got rid of by a mortal and that is the reason I cannot do it.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Seth. “If you are that powerful, why can’t you do it and leave Shasta for me?” he asked as it seemed so simple to him.

  For a moment Erasmus’ face changed to a vile mask. His eyes turned into thin slits which became blood red and instantly changed back again so fast that Seth thought he had imagined it.

  Erasmus, now calmer after being challenged, said, “Merlin and I have met before. I was unsuccessful then, so I intend to make sure this time.”

  With that, Erasmus stood up and, with a horrible cackle, he disappeared, leaving a thin trail of what looked like smoke.

  Seth still hadn’t moved and really began to wonder if he had imagined it all. But there was a sweet sickly smell in the cottage that had never been there before. It had arrived with Erasmus but stayed in the atmosphere. Standing up, Seth opened the door to let in some fresh air and tried to make some sense of it all. Was he losing his mind perhaps?

  He had many things to think about if he wanted Shasta for himself. In the beginning he had been prepared to court her in the usual fashion, and bide his time, but now that had all changed.

  He didn’t want to kill Merlin; it wasn’t in his nature to kill someone, let alone in cold blood.

  He realised he had two choices. He could risk the wrath of Erasmus and try and court Shasta in the normal way to win her from Merlin. Or he could get rid of Merlin in a planned accident.

  Somehow he didn’t feel he should cross Erasmus, having seen his face turn to anger. At the same time he didn’t want to hurt Merlin.

  He went back outside to the garden to ponder on a satisfactory solution, the hoeing long forgotten.

  He had seen Merlin drinking in the local tavern, although recently he had been spending more time with mistress Shasta. Perhaps it would be wise to try and offer his hand in friendship to him.

  When Merlin left the fields with the other locals, they often walked past his cottage. He would suggest that they meet for a drink in the tavern in the village. If the other villagers saw that they were becoming friendly, suspicion hopefully wouldn’t fall on his shoulders when anything untoward happened.

  He was still unsure of his feelings about actually hurting Merlin. After all, Merlin had never done him any harm. In fact, on one occasion when he had been the worse for ale, Merlin had ensured that he got safely back to his cottage. Although he had not approved of his liaisons with the local married doxeys. Merlin's kindness had got the better of him. Seth had never got around to thanking him. Maybe this was the excuse he was looking for.

  His mind made up, Seth waited for Merlin to return from the fields.

  Unbeknown to Seth, Erasmus had
been aware of his indecision over Merlin. The achievement of his goal was very close and he wasn’t prepared to let anything go wrong, even if it meant eliminating Seth and using someone else.

  He had tasted Shasta’s mouth and he wanted much more, regardless of what it took to get it.

  Chapter 36

  Abelia sat on her lavender throne and sighed deeply. “I fear trouble ahead for Merlin.”

  This was said to none of the faeries in particular, but as Evening Primrose was closest she felt obliged to respond.

  “What do you mean, your majesty?” she asked worriedly. All the faeries had a soft spot for him.

  “I believe his life is in danger because of his betrothal to Shasta. She is a very beautiful woman and this wood cutter Seth is also showing an interest in her. Erasmus is also back and you know that he is an old adversary of mine. He will do anything to get rid of Merlin. His powers have got stronger recently and although he is immortal, he can also take on human form at will. His only weakness is his fondness for women. If he takes the life of a human, he will have to remain mortal for many years but without any powers. This has happened in the past because of Merlin, and he has only recently regained his powers. He is now ready for revenge. If we are to help Merlin, then we need May and Shasta’s powers combined with mine. Now back to your duties and leave me to think.”

  Abelia reflected that her immortality had its’ compensations but sometimes, just sometimes…….. Oh well there was work to do.

  Chapter 37

  Shasta sat outside her caravan, still coming to terms with what had happened between her and Seth. She loved Merlin with her whole being. In fact she had travelled back into this lifetime, putting her own life at risk, to change history in an effort to save him. So why was Seth having this effect on her.

  Over and over she had asked herself this question. It seemed that she had been unable to control her own actions. She couldn’t deny that she had enjoyed kissing Seth, but it was only one kiss after all. She could never tell Merlin or May, but she felt a need to seek out May.

  Walking through the gate of the cottage into the back garden, Shasta couldn’t see May, yet she sensed that she was there. Following her instincts, she began to follow the path towards the end of the garden by the wishing well. Sure enough there was May by one of the fruit trees.

  “Hello, May. the garden looks so beautiful I really enjoyed walking through and inhaling the lovely perfume of the many blooms,” Shasta said.

  “Thank you, mistress, It gives me great pleasure too.”

  “Tell me more about the wishing well, May,” asked Shasta.

  “The wishing well has always been in this garden and it enables me to visit Queen Abelia. Perhaps you would like to visit her yourself now that she has made her introduction to you, then you can see for yourself how it works?”

  “She certainly looked beautiful in the vision I saw of her. Yes, I think I would like that. Could we go tonight, May, just the two of us?”

  “Yes, of course, if you wish. My intuition tells me that Abelia is expecting us to visit anyway.”

  The decision having been made, May and Shasta made their way to the top of the garden to await Merlin’s return from his work in the fields.

  “I still don’t see why I cannot come with you to see Abelia,” said Merlin sulkily during their evening meal. “After all the faeries look forward to my company, I brighten up their evenings.”

  Shasta was amused by this and smiled lovingly at him. “It seems to me that most women are over-awed by your good looks,” she said, knowing that he would be easily flattered. “I’m sorry, Merlin, but I need to do this without you. May is coming because I haven’t visited Abelia before.”

  He still grumbled for a little while but said that he would go to the tavern for a glass or two of ale with Seth. Seeing Shasta’s face change, and assuming that she was pleased that he was making an effort, Merlin stated that he had seen Seth on the way home earlier as he passed his cottage. They had talked for a while and Seth had made a point of thanking him for getting him home safely when he had been the worse for wear on a previous occasion.

  * * *

  As the night drew on, Merlin began his walk to the village, leaving Shasta and May to visit Abelia.

  He was aware of soft footsteps behind him. Thinking he would enjoy company on the walk to the village, he turned expecting to see someone he knew but he was confronted by a stranger.

  “Good evening, Sir. I don’t think we have met before. My name is Merlin.”

  “Yes, I know,” said the man quietly.

  “I was walking to the local tavern for a glass of ale. Perhaps you would care to walk with me. Will you tell me your name?” Merlin asked as they fell into step together.

  “My name is Erasmus,” he said, trying not to show his hatred for Merlin.

  “How do you know me? I don’t think I have seen you in the village before?”

  “I live on the far side, but I do hear the local gossip and I know that you are betrothed to Shasta. She is a very beautiful woman, Merlin. Ensure you don’t lose her.” Erasmus said.

  “Have no fear of that. I have no intention of losing her,” Merlin said with confidence.

  On reaching the village Erasmus explained that he would be walking to his cottage on the far side of the green and declined Merlin’s offer to buy him a tankard of ale.

  He stood watching Erasmus for a while as he walked across the green, unable to make up his mind about him. There seemed to be an air of solitude about him. Maybe he just likes to be alone, thought Merlin. As this thought entered his head, Erasmus was suddenly no longer there although he had been in full view a few moments before. Merlin decided it was probably his eyes playing tricks as Erasmus was quite a distance off.

  As he opened the door of the tavern, the combined smell of smoke, ale and sweat hit him all at once. Ribald laughter in one corner came from a local man with a young wench on his lap. She had her arms around his neck and was kissing him on the mouth, oblivious of the strong ale on his breath and the black rot of teeth. She was only interested in the few coins she would pick up by the end of the night, even if it meant being bedded for a few hours by men who had lost interest in their own wives. Slapping him heartily as he tried to kiss her again, she made her way towards Merlin. He didn’t come into the tavern very often and several times she had tried to gain his interest.

  As she approached him, she said, “How be, Merlin?”

  Deep in thought, he automatically took a coin from his pocket and threw it on the bar without looking up. “You seem very distant, Merlin, my lovely. Can I make you feel better?” she asked as she put her hand on top of his leg suggestively.

  “No thank you, Adie. I’m not in the mood for female company tonight,” he said quietly.

  Picking up the coin, she went to walk away to find a more accommodating customer.

  “Do you know a man called Erasmus that lives on the other side of the village?” he asked.

  “Nay, but I’ll ask for you, my lovely,” she said, eager to please him.

  Leaving Merlin to his thoughts, she found another customer to keep her supplied with drink. He was the local smithy and sometimes wheelwright. When a cart was in need of general repair, the villagers would go to him because he favoured the barter system, unlike the other wheelwright who charged regular rates to suit his pocket.

  Sitting comfortably on his ample knees, she allowed him to fondle her buxom bosom, precariously balanced just inside the top of her low cut blouse, before asking him, “Do ‘ee know a man called Erasmus who lives on t’other side of the village?”

  “Oh aye, he be a strange one, and they do say he casts bad spells and the like. You stay away from him, Adie. He be trouble and no mistake.”

  She agreed and stated that she was just asking for someone. Slapping away his hand which had been creeping down her cleavage as they spoke, she readjusted her breasts which were in danger of popping out over the top of her blouse, and made her way rou
nd the tavern earning her usual few coins here and there. Finally she reached Merlin in the hope of persuading him to spend time with her.

  Placing her hand on the top of his thigh, this time with obvious intent, she told him what she had found out.

  “Thank you, Adie,” he said with a grin as he gently removed her hand from his thigh. “You’re a beautiful, tempting, wench but I’m betrothed to Shasta and I would never hurt her.”

  “Can’t blame a woman for trying, Merlin” she said with a coarse laugh and went back to earning her living.

  Merlin saw a small unoccupied table in a far corner. Taking his drink over, he sat down and thought about this man called Erasmus. Judging by Adie’s remarks, he didn’t seem very popular in the village.

  He had often watched May cast spells, but she only ever did them for the good of the village. No spells were ever cast to hurt anyone. If Erasmus lived on the far side of the village, this could be the reason Merlin had not made his acquaintance. Yet his instinct convinced him that they had met before somewhere. While he pondered on this, the door of the tavern opened, distracting his thoughts. Adie was going outside with one of the field hands he knew well. They were so preoccupied with one another they bumped into Seth who was just coming in the door at the same time. Merlin, although still having slight reservations which he had kept to himself, bought Seth a drink and they took it over to the table he was occupying. Merlin watched Seth silently as he acknowledged most of the occupants of the tavern. Generally they seemed a lot friendlier towards him these days and it seemed to make him more amiable. He also reluctantly acknowledged that Seth was a good looking man and he could understand why all the women were attracted to him, including Shasta, if he was honest with himself.

  As Seth raised his tankard to drink Merlin asked, “Have you met a man called Erasmus, Seth? Apparently he lives over the other side of the village.”