Spellbound: The Awakening of Aislin Collins

by Margeaux Laurent

  “No,” I have no horses to pull the carriage. You will have to walk.” He leaned casually in the doorframe, his massive shoulders taking up most of the expanse as his green eyes landed coldly upon me.

  Zachariah lifted his head, “She can not walk back to town alone. What if the men who attacked me are still out there? What if night falls before she gets home?”

  “We have searched for miles and found no one who meets your description. She will be fine.”

  Zachariah did not look convinced, “Leave us for a while,” he motioned to the door.

  Everyone walked out except for me. Once again, I was alone with him. He gestured for me to sit near him on the bed and I did so, knowing that all I had to do was hit his hand and he would pass out.

  “Aislin, my memory of yesterday is quiet blurry. I need help remembering what happened.”

  I looked away from him. I did not know what to say. If I told him even a fraction of the truth, he might have his memory return completely. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to create an answer. He reached up and pulled back my cloak, then pulled the top of my dress down just slightly. I slapped his hand away but it was too late. He saw his nail marks that had now scabbed and dried. A smile stretched across his thin, chapped lips. He looked satisfied. He believed that he had accomplished his goal.

  “Well, well, well. How does it feel to have your innocence taken?”

  I did not answer, but it did not matter. He reached up to play with my hair and I slapped him.

  “You can come back in,” he yelled toward the door, a smile still suspended on his face.

  His mother and father came into the room and leaned in close, as though getting ready to hear a prophecy from a great leader.

  “She can walk by herself. I think you are right father, she will be fine.”

  Then I knew without a doubt what he meant. He had never cared if he married me, that was merely a means of taking what he wanted, and all he desired was to be the one who took something from me that I could never get back. Now that he thought he had, Zachariah did not care if I was raped or murdered when I left his home. I was just bragging rights amongst his friends and nothing more.

  I stood from his bedside and walked from the room. I did not bother to say goodbye and he did not bother to obtain any formalities. When I reached the front door, I noticed that Becky was waiting for me and we walked outside together.

  “Did they tell you that you had to walk with me?” I asked.

  Becky shook her head, “No, my mother told me to.”

  We walked out into the dark night. She carried a lantern and I wrapped my cloak tightly around me. It was then that I realized I was wearing my mother’s cloak. I did not have any of my protective charms with me—or my bell.

  “Becky, you must go back. There is something terrible in these woods and it is after me. I cannot endanger you,” I whispered.

  Becky smiled at me and handed me a fabric pouch from under her grey woolen cloak. She held up the lantern so I could see in the thick darkness. It was my pocket, the one I had forgotten to take with me in the haste of the morning. In it were all my protection talismans, herbs and my bell.

  “How did you get this?” I asked in amazement.

  Becky winked at me and smiled deviously, “Magic,” she whispered, as she shook her hair loose from the bun she had been wearing. Her raven hair went wild as she walked forward into the night.

  We walked on, and could hear every footstep we took as though it was amplified. The sound of our feet on the dirt road was deafening and I wished that we could quiet our steps, but it was impossible in our shoes.

  The lamp was bright and helpful, but it could lead a predator directly to us, and that worried me. The night had grown far too dark to extinguish the flame. The moon had not risen yet and even if it had, it would only be a quarter full and barely help with visibility. Without the lamp, we would not be able to see our hands waving directly in front of our faces.

  In the woods, close to the road, branches and twigs were cracking under the weight of something large. It was tracking us, following close by in the shadows.

  “It could be animals, wolves perhaps… or it could be something else,” Becky said in a shaky voice, as we proceeded toward town.

  We kept walking but in silence. We were both listening to the strange noises, and trying to filter out what was typical from what was out of the ordinary. Then we smelt something—something foul, like rotten eggs. The stench was coming from directly in front of us and we both froze.

  “Get out your bell,” Becky whispered.

  I did as she said and it gave a little ring as I pulled it from its casing.

  Then we heard a low growl coming from a mere few feet in front of us. It sounded unlike any animal I had ever heard before. It was deep and rattling. It filled up the night and its sound pounded in our ears. The only sound that competed with the menacing noise was my own heart, which was beating so fast that it threatened to fail.

  “Be gone Abiku!” Becky screamed at the invisible beast.

  It grunted and hissed at her words, but we did not feel it leave. I reached into the pouch and grabbed a handful of salt, I quickly scattered it around us in a circle and we heard the creature howl in rage. From the beast’s screams, I knew the charms were working, so I threw more salt in its direction and it made a noise as though it was injured. We could hear the gravel and dirt scattering further away from us, as though it was retreating.

  I took a moment to turn my attention to Becky. She was holding the lamp up high and her face was terror-stricken. We stared at each other, not knowing what to do.

  “How much further do we have to walk?” I asked feeling disoriented.

  “A long way. We are nowhere near town,” she answered nervously.

  I reached into the bag again and felt that our supply of herbs and salts were running low. I pulled out the charmed talismans and placed them all around Becky’s neck. I remembered Martha saying that my necklace from Greer was powerful enough, and I hoped she was right.

  Suddenly, I could hear the creature moving toward us with great speed. The sound of its hooves thundered on the dirt road as it charged in our direction. I grabbed Becky and threw myself on top of her, forcing her to the ground.

  On the far side of the road, I heard something crashing through the trees. I thought the beast was rounding upon us again, this time taking a different path of attack. As I looked up, the light from the lantern caught the reflection of a large rock flying passed us and I heard it make contact with the beast.

  The monster’s screech of anguish filled the night. I scrambled to my feet and as I reached for Becky’s hand to help her to her feet, I heard her cry out in pain. The lantern lay on the ground next to her, and in its light, I could see Becky’s body being pulled backward with great speed. I lunged forward and held tightly onto her outstretched hand. She screamed out again as I heard the Puca hissing behind her. I had her by the arm now, but the beast had latched onto her leg and was dragging us both off the road and into the tree line.

  “Hold on Becky,” I shrieked, as I clung to her. She did not reply but kicked with her free leg and tried to fight the beast off. It did not respond to her kicks, but instead pulled harder. She screamed out as the demon’s claws ripped into her calf. We were both on the ground now—me holding onto Becky, her struggling against the monster, and both of us being pulled off the road.

  “Aislin!” she shrieked, as I felt her grip loosening. I would not let go of her, no matter what. I would not leave Becky to die alone. I looked back into the darkness, the bell had fallen from my hand when the Puca lunged at us and the only thing I now had left was my pocket of herbs.

  I let go of Becky’s arm with one hand and twisted my free hand into my pocket, grabbing the last of my salts, I flung it all towards her feet.

  The beast howled wildly and Becky dropped to the ground as it released her. Still holding onto her, I pulled her to her feet, wrapping her arm over my shoulde
r to support her weight.

  “We need to keep going. We can not stay here and wait for it to come back,” I said, taking Becky’s arm and leading her forward.

  She was limping badly as we moved.

  “I cannot walk,” she whimpered.

  I heard the monster moving about. It was not finished with us.

  “We must keep moving,” I insisted as I picked up the lantern and tried to sustain her weight.

  We were walking directly into the path of the creature, and I did not know what to do to fend it off. The smell was horrible and every step we took in its direction seemed to lead us deeper into pitch darkness, until the lantern was barely useful. The air around us was frigid and we could see our breath as we walked, step by step, closer to the monster but also closer to home.

  “Becky, do you know any prayers?” I asked quietly.

  “Yes,” she stammered through her pain.

  “Start praying. Do it aloud and I will do the same. Do it in your own language if you think it will give you more strength.”

  We both took a breath and started pleading to the spirits for help, each in our own sacred tongue. The Puca snarled and hissed. It was unrelenting. We would not make it back to town alive.

  We crept forward and could hear the beast’s hoofs scatterings pebbles on the path before us. It was encircling us again. It must have sensed that we were running out of protection and now it was playing with us.

  It would rush forward at great speeds and then knock us over and retreat. Becky and I clung to each other, and she forced herself to use her injured leg as we inched our way down the dirt path towards town. We could not see the demon, but we could feel the air rush around us in chilling bursts as it charged.

  “What are we going to do?” I asked Becky as we both looked around frantically.

  “We must try to keep moving,” she grimaced through her pain.

  I secured my hand around her waist and she tightened her grip on my shoulder as we pressed forward. The Puca howled and the reverberation thundered in our ears.

  “We aren’t going to make it,” Becky whispered as she dropped to the ground.

  I knelt beside her, “I won’t leave you,” I promised as she took my hand.

  “Aislin, you must go…go tell my family that I love them. I can provide you time…” In the dim lantern light, I could see tears streaming down her face.

  “No,” I stammered as I clutched her hand.

  Ahead of us, I could hear the demon snorting, its heavy breathing sounded like a bull about to charge. I looked in its direction, but saw only darkness.

  Then a little ways ahead of us, a light appeared in the darkness. It was small, but it was moving in our direction. We kept chanting and slowly moving toward it until finally we heard a strong, sweet sounding ring fill the night air.

  The beast wailed in misery as the bell kept ringing. Martha was walking toward us and was swinging a large bell back and forth in her hand.

  “Keep praying!” she instructed us, as she wrapped her arm on Becky’s free side and we all walked together. The Puca soon disappeared into the night. We had won. It had enough and fled from us.

  We could see the lantern lights from town now, and we whispered our prayers, so no one would hear us. At last, we reached my house.

  “Please, stay here tonight so you do not have to walk on by yourselves,” I said.

  “No child. I need to tend to Becky at my house,” she said.

  “But will you be safe?” I asked in concern, as I looked passed them into the dark night.

  Martha nodded and I then hugged Becky tightly. “I have no way to thank you for your bravery tonight.”

  Becky reached for my hand and held it. “You are like family to me.” She looked away for a moment at the crescent moon and then back to me, “You are a most powerful witch Aislin. I am glad to have been with you tonight.”

  Martha placed Becky’s arm over her shoulder and I watched as they walked away. I went into my home and shut the door, locking it behind me. I may have encountered a demon tonight, but in so many ways, I was surrounded by angels.

  ********************

  I had been lying in bed, trying desperately to fall asleep, but I could not. Sneachta had curled up at my side and kept flicking her tail at me, conveying her annoyance at my constant tossing. I had already sewn the latch of my cloak back on, and gave up embroidering the holly and ivy to go on my gown for the Governor’s Ball. Yet, I could not stop thinking and could not fall asleep.

  My mind has been churning over the images of tonight’s events, of the beast, of Becky’s face twisted in fear. Images of the whole event slowly passed through my mind. Curious happenings that I had not bothered to notice suddenly made themselves clear. Where had that rock come from? It flew out of the woods and sped passed us—it must have been Greer. I settled on that thought happily, but my mind would not subside.

  It then drew me back to the night in the woods with Zachariah; to when he was looming over me and then he suddenly stopped, frozen in place. I had always assumed that it was because he sensed Greer behind him, but my mind was telling me otherwise. The trees, my mind screamed at me. I thought back, straining to remember every moment—and then I saw it. I had fought as hard as I could. I was losing strength against Zachariah but something within me gave one last effort. The trees moved. The branches were cracking above Zachariah’s head. Then, Greer was there and the trees stopped moving.

  Questions filled my head. Was this Greer’s magic, or was this my magic at work? If it was Greer, why had he not shown himself tonight? Why would he let the demon get so close to us and why would he let Becky and I believe that we were alone?

  I looked over to find Sneachta stretched across my pillow, her paw was resting on the book. I knew what she was telling me, and I opened up the book, letting the pages fall to the information I needed.

  I reached for a candle as to see the pages more clearly. Bogadh was the title of the page that now lay open in front of me. I rubbed my eyes and tried to remember the language. It meant—movement.

  Bogadh

  Few are gifted with the power of Bogadh. This is a skill that must be honed to reach its full potential. Young witches will be able to use natural objects, these items will be mainly small and light in weight. It takes time and practice to move larger items. A witch with such powers must learn to control them or they risk their powers giving away their identity.

  I got up from bed, went over to my dresser, and started collecting items to practice with. I placed them at the foot of the bed and then crawled back in. Leaning upon my pillows, I sat facing the items. I looked at the thimble that I had placed on the mattress and I willed it to move. It did nothing at all. Then I aimed my attention toward the kerchief that I had placed next to the thimble. I stared at it for what seemed like an eternity, yet it did not stir from its spot. I looked at Sneachta for guidance, but she just stared at the items and ignored my impatience.

  I took a breath and tried again. This time I thought about the rock that shot from the forest. I had not even thought about the rock at that time. I just needed help and it was there. So I thought about needing the kerchief in my hands and I stared at the item. Slowly, faintly, I saw the cloth flutter and then fall still. I jolted backward from the astonishment of seeing it move, collected myself, and tried again. This time it lifted a little higher into the air and landed on my right foot. Sneachta purred with approval.

  I sat up into the early morning learning to work with this new power, until I saw the sunlight streaming into my bedroom window. Before I went downstairs, I was able to lift the book in the air and twirl it in a circle. I tried to lift Sneachta but she would have nothing to do with it, and bolted out of the room when I opened the door.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  November 16th 1734

  My mother and father were downstairs, talking in hushed tones as I entered the room.

  “When did you get home last night?” my father asked.

&nb
sp; “Very late. Becky and I had to walk home by ourselves.”

  My mothers clasped her hand to her mouth and my father's eyes grew wide.

  “You mean to say that no one escorted you home?” he raised his eyebrow in astonishment.

  “Well Becky, Martha's daughter, was with me.”

  He shook his head angrily, “No man accompanied you?”

  “No,” I replied.

  My mother turned red with rage and rounded on my father, “I told you it was a horrible idea to leave her in the care of the Marthalers! She could have been killed on her way home.”

  My father did not answer her but grabbed his coat, “I must go to the shop. Aislin, I am sorry that you had to walk back by yourself. Forgive me,” he said in a gentle voice.

  “I am fine father.” This was the kindest thing I had said to my father in weeks and he looked grateful to hear something other than a harsh remark from my mouth.

  When my mother opened the door to see my father off for the day, they were startled to find Mrs. Marthaler and Abigail walking up the path to our home.

  “What are you doing here so early?” my father asked.

  “The church is having a prayer vigil for Zachariah and we came to get Aislin,” Mrs. Marthaler replied.

  She was dressed in black and looked as though she was already in morning for her beloved son.

  “You expect us to trust you with Aislin after you let her walk through the woods by herself last night? After your own son was attacked and hunters are searching for an unknown beast, you send a young woman into the darkness with nothing more than another young woman for company? How dare you!” my mother bellowed at the Marthaler women.

  Mrs. Marthaler looked as though she had smelled something rather rancid and Abigail kept her head down. “We needed to tend to Zachariah and she obviously could not stay the night at our home. There was no other choice.”

  My father shook his head in disbelief, “You should not have kept her so late if you could not make arrangements to have her escorted home safely. If someone had treated Abigail with such distain you would have them flogged.”