Bridging the Storm

by Meredith Bond

  Lady Vallentyn gave a little gasp. “You mean she could do all of these things and more?”

  “Merlin gave her a good chunk of his powers, don’t you know?” Dagonet said. “She could run with the wind and made me relive some nasty times, I can tell you.”

  “And she used these powers against the Children as well?”

  “Naturally. And many more. Very clever, she was, with her magic! Very clever.” He shook his head sadly just thinking about all the nasty tricks she played on those children. It still pained him even after all these years.

  “What else? Tell me.” Lady Vallentyn demanded, clearly fascinated with the topic. Perhaps a little too fascinated? Dagonet began to wonder.

  “She set animals after us. Some were true beasts she controlled with her mind. Others were men she’d transformed.” He paused as Lady Vallentyn gasped again. “She made pictures in books come to life and set the creatures to attack us.”

  “Turned men into animals?” Lady Vallentyn asked. “Pictures come to life?”

  “Have you never heard of these things? Were they not chronicled?” Dagonet asked, truly wondering why Lady Vallentyn was so curious about all this. None of these powers could help her children.

  “I’ve heard stories from my mother, that is all.” She stood up and took a few steps toward the fireplace. “There was a terrible accident.” She turned and looked around at the books that lined the walls of the room. “A fire. It destroyed my family’s library before I was born. All the books, all the diaries, just about everything that had been so carefully preserved through the centuries by the women in my family…” she paused, blinking quickly.

  “Gone?” he asked gently. Her anguish at the loss radiated from her like heat from a fire.

  Her hand covered her mouth, and she could only nod.

  “Ah. I see.” So she had heard stories, but all the first–hand accounts had been destroyed. “A great loss.”

  “Yes. Yes, it was.” She turned back toward him, having regained control of her emotions. “So you see why I am so desperate for knowledge? I know so little compared to what my grandmother knew. I had so little to study, to learn. And now, here I am, the high priestess of a people with abilities I cannot fathom. And when the Seventh is elevated, who knows what she will face.”

  Chapter Six

  DAGONET NODDED. HE understood now why she’d asked him here. It made perfect sense. It wasn’t solely for her sick children but for her as well. She knew he could teach her the history of their people and about the magic they could wield. He honestly didn’t think he could help to heal her children, but he was more than willing to share what he knew. If she hit upon something that might help the children, that would be a good thing. A very good thing indeed.

  “Well, I’ll tell you what I can, but I don’t know exactly how they did these things. Only that they willed them so, and they were.”

  She turned toward him, smiling. “What is it that you can do, Sir Arthur?”

  He chuckled. “Me? Not much, I assure you. I’ve never been very powerful. Got a good intuition, though, don’t you know. Get feelings sometimes.”

  “Feelings?”

  “Yes. Feelings that I should be somewhere or do something. Always worth listening to. And I can talk with people, know what their intentions are and whether they’re being honest or not. Useful skill for someone like me.”

  “In what way?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

  “Oh well, with my explorations and what–not. I travel quite a bit, don’t you know?” Did he dare mention that the reason for his travels was to find someone to remove his curse? No. He’d promised Lord Vallentyn he would not broach his personal reason for being there, and he was not about to break his word.

  “No. I didn’t know.”

  “Oh, yes. Travel. Meet people. It’s what I’ve been doing all this time. Knowing whether someone means me and my companions harm has come in handy quite a few times.” He laughed as he thought of how often his intuition had gotten him away from difficult, and sometimes deadly, situations.

  “Could you tell from my letter that my intentions were honest?” she asked.

  Dagonet nodded. “Didn’t know why you needed me, but your intentions were good.” He smiled. “Wouldn’t have come otherwise. Your worry for your children is clear, Lady Vallentyn. Your plans to use me to learn all that you can about our people is good, and I will do all that I can to help. Don’t think any of it will help you cure your children, but I’m always willing to share my knowledge.”

  “You are a good man, Sir Arthur,” she said, her eyes shining with emotion. “A good man.”

  DAGONET WAS TIRED by the time he left Lady Vallentyn—even young men needed more rest than he’d gotten the past few days. She hadn’t finished asking him all that she’d wanted, but they’d both needed a break. There would be plenty of time for her to probe him for more information later, he’d promised.

  He didn’t relish a walk in the heat, but only by claiming to need the exercise had he managed to stop Lady Vallentyn from accompanying him. She was a nice woman, but rather an intense one who didn’t let go of things easily. Yes, very determined, that one, he thought with a laugh.

  His excuse for exercise had actually been honest. He did not do well staying still for very long, so Dagonet lengthened his stride and started on a good brisk walk.

  He followed a path leading from the gardens filled with the most alluring scents—almost stifling in the heat of the day. He wondered if Lady Vallentyn chose the flowers just based on how they smelled. The path skirted a tranquil wood that lay just to the east of the house and wound pleasantly past the fields, lush with wheat and barley. As he rounded a turn, he found the wooden bridge of the entrance road. A swiftly flowing river tumbled underneath.

  After spending so many months at sea, the sound of rushing water soothed him. But something odd hung off the side—a pale colored bundle… no! A girl! And she was hanging dangerously out over the river off the edge of the bridge.

  “Hang on, I’m coming!” Dagonet called out, breaking into a run.

  The dark head flipped around at the sound of his voice and began to teeter off the edge; pale blue eyes widened in shock.

  “No!” she screamed as Dagonet caught hold of her. Something flew out of her hand, hit the side of the bridge and tumbled toward the water.

  His hand shot out without thought, stopping the book in mid–air.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the girl’s arm also outstretched. She had done exactly the same thing as he!

  She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, as together they lifted their arms so that the book floated toward the girl.

  As it settled into her hand, their eyes met. Something inside him stopped. Or maybe everything had stopped. Yes, that was it. His heart, pounding one minute, seemed to have ceased beating entirely. He did not breathe nor blink for fear that she would disappear if he did.

  She swallowed hard, and he found that he was still holding on to her arm.

  In a rush, his heart began to pump again and hot blood raced through him. He laughed awkwardly and then let go of her after making sure she was standing properly on the bridge.

  “I wasn’t falling,” she said, taking a step away from him. He was glad she did because somehow she had ended up close to him—very, very close—and it made breathing difficult. “I was perfectly stable until you startled me.”

  “Beg your pardon,” he said, finally finding his voice. “Looked like you were teetering over the edge,” he explained, trying to slow his heart that was still beating uncommonly fast.

  A good thing he’d become young again only a few months ago, otherwise he couldn’t have run as he had and saved—or inadvertently saved—this beautiful, incredibly lovely, young woman.

  “I wasn’t falling. I was reaching for something under the bridge,” she explained.

  “Oh!” He took a step toward the edge of the bridge and looked out over the water. “The
re’s something there?”

  “Yes. I’ve got my… well, never mind,” she said. She looked down, but then deliberately stopped looking over the side where she had been before he’d “saved” her.

  “Your…?” Dagonet prodded. What could she possibly have over the edge of the bridge? He took another step toward the edge to see if he could spy anything hanging underneath. If there was, it hung too far away for him to see.

  The young woman seemed to be looking straight down. He followed her gaze and saw two ropes tied around the wooden plank just under her feet.

  He knelt down, shimmied the ropes closer to the edge of the bridge, then reached around underneath and found a bag tied to the underside of the bridge. It held something heavy and rectangular. His fingers touched a string holding the bag closed. Opening it carefully, he used his magic to keep the contents from spilling out and then put his hand in to pull out the object.

  He examined the book he found in his hand as he stood back up. It was a rather large, heavy volume. “Explorations Along The Silk Road: A Journey Into...”

  The young woman snatched the book from his hands, adding it to the first one she still clutched to her body, before he could finish reading the title. “Thank you.”

  “Of course. Happy to…” he began, but his attention was snared by her eyes… Just like Lady Morgan’s, they were filled with laughter and intelligence. Her dark lashes contrasted with her flushed cheeks.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” she said, her cheeks flushing an even deeper shade of pink.

  “Er, uh, no! No,” he chuckled. “I beg your pardon.” He executed a grand leg for her. “Sir Arthur Dagonet, at your service.”

  She curtsied in response. “Miss Kate Cherington. I’m Lord Vallentyn’s niece.”

  “Ah! Had the pleasure of his company at breakfast,” Dagonet said, smiling. “Shame about the children.”

  “So you are the man Aunt Vallentyn invited here to cure them.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, debated whether he should make a joke, or just affirm she was correct. He decided to play it safe. “Yes.”

  “Will you?” Her beautiful eyes, so expressive, seemed to get paler in the sunlight. Was that possible?

  “Will I what?” he asked, his mind befuddled by her beauty.

  “Be able to cure them?” she asked.

  He almost asked who she referred to but quickly pulled his mind back to the situation at hand—and not a moment too soon. He’d almost made himself look like an idiot. Why did he always make a fool of himself in front of women he was attracted to? He was determined not to do the same with Miss Cherington. He was too old to fall into such silliness. Lowering his eyes to the ground, he placed an appropriately somber expression on his face. “No, I’m afraid I don’t have that ability.”

  “But Aunt Vallentyn said you had knowledge that she might use…”

  “Oh, yes! Plenty of knowledge. Just not the, er…” he paused for a moment. She was Vallen, right? Yes. She’d used magic to stop her book from falling into the river. That he’d done exactly the same thing at exactly the same time didn’t make a difference. The point was she was Vallen. “I’m not associated with Fire. Can’t actually heal anyone, don’t you know?”

  “No. I didn’t know,” she said, her head tilted slightly, as if trying to figure him out.

  This time he couldn’t help but laugh. “Lady Vallentyn…” She’d called her ‘aunt’ hadn’t she? “Your aunt?” At her nod, he continued. “Yes, well, she thinks that I may know of some magic that she could use to cure the children. Don’t know that I do, but I'm more than willing to explore the possibility with her.”

  Miss Cherington looked confused. “You don’t know if you know how to cure the children?”

  “No. Lady Vallentyn ’s going to, or, well, she’s begun to explore my memories, don’t you know?”

  “Explore your memories? And what does she think she’ll find there that you don’t know about?”

  Dagonet burst out laughing. Luckily, even Miss Cherington saw how ridiculous the question, in fact, the whole situation, was.

  “You’re a very funny man, Sir Arthur,” she said laughing. “I only hope my aunt finds whatever it is she thinks you have in your memories, and that…”

  “I’m not aware of?” he chuckled.

  She laughed. “Yes.”

  “Yes, well. I hope so as well.”

  There was an awkward pause before Dagonet decided a change in topic was in order. “So, is there a reason you keep your book hidden dangerously close to the water?”

  “Oh! Er, no. It wasn’t hidden exactly. It was just, um, it’s where I, uh…” Now it was Miss Cherington’s turn to stumble over her explanations.

  “In a bag, tied under the bridge?” he asked, grinning broadly at her.

  She gave him a shy little smile and shrugged her shoulders. “I wasn’t supposed to remove it from my uncle’s library. But it’s perfectly safe under the bridge,” she added quickly. “The bag has a charm placed over it so that it doesn’t get wet.”

  “A charm, eh?” He’d never heard of someone being able to do that. Had magic changed since he’d been away exploring the world? Seemed as if many of the more powerful magics had been lost, while other, new ones had developed. Charms!

  “Yes.”

  “And were you adding that second book to the first? Or is that one you were allowed to remove?”

  She peeked at the book closest to her. “This? No. This one I’m using for a more urgent matter. It’s…” she looked up at him, clearly wondering if he was trustworthy. “This one is an herbal glossary.”

  There was something she wasn’t telling him. He didn’t know what, but considering that they’d just met, he wasn’t surprised that she might not divulge everything to him. He respected that, in fact. She was clever. Circumspect.

  “Interesting reading?” he asked.

  She flushed slightly. “Yes. Learning about herbs can be useful… I hope.”

  Useful in treating incurable diseases, he wondered. He didn’t say anything aloud, however. Whatever it was that she was doing, or trying to do, she was clearly going to keep to herself. Again, that was probably wise. “And the travel book?”

  She shifted the books in her arms so the one on the Silk Road sat on top. “This one is just for fun.”

  “Ah. Reading for fun is important, too. Is it a good book?” he asked, just to prolong the conversation.

  “Oh, yes! It’s an account of the forging of the Silk Road. Quite fascinating!” She launched into a long, detailed explanation about the explorations described in the book. Dagonet hardly heard a word, distracted by the way her face lit up and her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. She was truly the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a very long time.

  Well, he chuckled to himself, considering the minimum staff kept to maintain his estate, and his days on board ship with more than a hundred men for months on end, he hadn’t seen many young women for a long while.

  But there was something about Miss Cherington—more than just her beauty and femininity. There was something… comforting and exciting about her at the same time. He felt a stirring within him that he hadn’t felt in centuries. A desire to be with her. To touch her. Protect her.

  It startled him to realize he wanted to claim her as his own.

  Chapter Seven

  KATE FOUND HERSELF donning one of her most flattering gowns that evening. It was sadly out of date with a waist that came all the way down to her natural waist rather than ending just below her bust line. Current fashions were so much more simple now, elegant, Kate thought. She probably looked horribly provincial. She turned this way and that in front of her mirror. At least this was flattering, showing off her small waist, which modern dresses didn't. She hoped Sir Arthur wasn’t a stickler for fashion.

  She giggled at that thought. Granted, she didn't know how fashionable his coat was, but she couldn’t imagine a gentleman with red hair and the d
eepest green, laughing eyes to be a pink of the ton.

  Still, she took more care with her toilet that evening, managed a more complicated hairstyle than the simple knot she normally wore and allowed wisps of her horribly curly hair to fall gently around her face. There was nothing she could do to straighten her hair at this late hour, but at least the style wasn’t too severe. It would do.

  Her uncle was the first one down as she descended the main stair. It was a medieval abbey, but there had been an attempt to modernize the old place. Vallentyn was still dominated by the great hall. Her uncle now stood by the enormous hearth that took up most of the far wall. It was large enough for a man to stand in, and there was nearly always a fire burning there. The old stones of the building never managed to warm, so even a small blaze was still required in the heat of summer.

  “Good evening, sir,” Kate said, joining him.

  “Good evening, Kate. My, don’t you look pretty tonight,” he said, rising from the chair in front of the fire. His smile quickly faded into a look of concern. “I take it you’ve met our guest.”

  “Yes. I had the pleasure this afternoon when I took a walk.” She joined her uncle in front of the hearth.

  “Kate, I should warn you…” her uncle started.

  She turned toward him, but he seemed lost in thought for a moment.

  “Sir?”

  His eyes snapped to hers, softening with obvious fatherly love. “Sir Arthur… Well, it is not my place to reveal a man’s business, but let’s suffice it to say there is more to him than meets the eye.”

  A man’s business? So, he had secrets? Is that what her uncle was trying to tell her? How very intriguing. And more to him than met the eye—although what met the eye was very pleasing indeed.

  She had only spoken with their guest for a short time on the bridge that afternoon, but he had seemed to be an interesting man. He was at least a polite one since he had listened to her prattle on about the book he’d recovered for her. But now that she thought about it, he hadn’t revealed all that much about himself—except that he might possibly know some magic that could help save the children. He’d been vague about that as well.