“Ho!” Hugh yelled, armed and ready. He leveled the tip of his sword down the hall. He had yet to change his clothes for the night and still wore his long, green overtunic and breeches. A loud, piercing scream echoed over him. He flinched, instantly removing the tip of his blade from the direction of the hysterical serving maid. “What goes on here?”
“Oh, my lord,” the woman answered. “You must come down to the bailey. The devil comes to Bellemare.”
Who now?
Hugh was less alarmed than the woman by her declaration. His first thought was of his brother-by-marriage, King Merrick of the Unblessed. The man did have the manners of a devil about him.
The woman’s wide violet gaze met his. He was sure he would remember seeing a woman with eyes like that in his castle, but he had little time to try and place who she might be as she trembled before him, stumbling forward. Hugh automatically lifted his arm in a protective gesture, catching her against his body. The maid pressed against this chest, burying her head. The shock of her soft figure against his harder one made him tense as a sudden wave of desire washed through him. She smelled clean, sweet and made soft noises in the back of her throat—the kind of breathy, fragile sounds distinctive of the female sex.
He’d been celibate since meeting Tania, not trusting any woman enough to let her get close. But now the sudden press of feminine curves clouded his mind, stirring the all-too-neglected part of his male awareness. He became conscious of her breasts, the nearness of her thighs. For a moment, he considered kissing her, pushing her against the passageway wall and lifting her skirts. It wouldn’t take much to meet his release and the woman was beautiful. Hugh took a deep breath and instead patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, keeping his sword hand to the side. Now was not the occasion for such carnal pastimes.
“I saw him, my lord,” the woman continued.
“Saw who?” His voice was strained.
“The devil!” she cried in terror, moving torturously against him.
“Who is the devil?” Hugh tried his best to walk down the hall in the direction she’d come from. The woman clung to him, making it hard to move without brushing up against her.
“Hugh?” A shirtless Thomas appeared at the end of the hall, his overlong dark hair flopping around his head. He too carried a sword. His eyes narrowed in surprise to see Hugh holding the woman. Thomas stopped and pointed back the way he’d come. “Do you…? Should I…?”
“She has seen the devil.” Hugh forcefully put the woman away from him. Thomas’ face fell in disappointment. It was no secret his two brothers had tried to tempt him by bringing pretty women to the keep. Was this woman one such temptation? Did they seek to bring forth the protective instincts inside him with the frail, pretty maid? He thought of Queen Tania and the violet-eyed woman’s beauty paled in comparison.
The faery witch has ruined me!
“The devil?” William joined them at a slower pace. He looked like Hugh had as a younger man, with the same hair and dark eyes, though William wore his locks longer, letting them hang shaggily around his head. He also wore brown robes, a custom he’d picked up while studying at a monastery. Well, the family had thought he was at a monastery, when in truth he’d been apprenticing to be a wizard. Stopping, his eyes went to the woman curiously. “The real devil? Nay, that is not possible. The real devil cannot cross over—”
“William.” Hugh glared at the youngest brother in warning. The servants didn’t know about the immortal realm, beyond their everyday superstitions, and he had every intention of keeping it that way. The last thing he wanted was all of Bellemare running away out of fear. Or worse, accusing his family of witchery and devil worship.
All it would take was one of Bellemare’s enemies to spread a rumor that he’d sold his soul for good horse stock and riches, before the church would intervene, excommunicate him and steal his lands. Bellemare was the envy of many and whereas he demanded respect with his position, Hugh also walked a very fine line with other nobles. All many of them would need was one excuse to try and take what was his.
“I know what I saw.” Tears poured over the woman’s cheeks. “The devil waits outside the gate. He has come to Bellemare. Why else do you think the horses died?”
“What?” William’s expression fell. “What horses? What is she talking about?”
“We lost two foals a couple hours ago,” Hugh answered. “Stillborn.”
“But that never happens,” Thomas said. “Not in my entire life.”
“Nor mine,” said Hugh. “Nor in the life of our father.”
“Where is this devil, woman?” William moved toward her. She managed to compose herself, though she still shook. “Where did you see him?”
“The front gate, waiting to be let in,” she said.
“Did you let him in?” Thomas asked in alarm.
“Nay!” she spat, as if he were crazy for thinking such a thing.
“Did he speak? Did he say what he wanted?” William grabbed her arm.
The woman yelped and pulled out of his grasp. She signed her chest with the cross and looked at Hugh. “I do not converse with devils, my lord.”
“William, stay with,” Hugh struggled, but still couldn’t place who the woman might be, “her. Thomas, come with me to the gate.”
Hugh began to lead the way, when the woman said, “I do not need him to watch me. I’ll go to the chapel.”
“William, escort her to the chapel,” Hugh ordered, not stopping to argue with her over the matter. The last thing he wanted was a maid running around his keep screaming about devils. When they were away from her, heading down a stairwell lit by torches toward the great hall of Bellemare, he said, “It is odd, but I do not feel as panicked as I would have a year ago hearing her say that.”
“I know,” Thomas agreed. “My first thought was King Merrick.”
“Mine, too.” Hugh paused to grab an unlit torch off the wall as they entered the hall. He crossed to the fireplace and thrust it in the low flames. An orange glow came from the end of the torch, giving them better light to see by. He shared a concerned look with his brother. Mayhap it really was Merrick.
“Juliana,” they said in unison, drawing the same conclusion. If Merrick had come to the castle their sister might be in some sort of trouble. Had the war reached their sister? Had something happened to her? It had been so long since they’d heard anything from her—almost a year in fact and that was a letter telling them of the child she carried. There had been no news since.
Hugh was spurred into action, quickly weaving around the permanent dining tables to the other side of the hall. Thomas was right behind him. Going to a second stairwell that led outside to the inner courtyard, the brothers raced down and ran toward a tall stone and timber wall that guarded the main part of the keep. Hurrying through the opening in the wall, they went to the front gate. A second wall wound around the outside of the castle grounds. It was shorter than the inside wall, but still high enough to provide protection. A couple of the guards stood on the battlements like stone fixtures, their bodies unmoving and outlined by moonlight. At the sight of the two nobles, they sprung into action, hurrying along the top edge to meet them near the gate.
“Simon,” Hugh hollered, looking up at one of the men. “Have there been visitors?”
“Nay, my lord.” Simon, the guard, glanced across the top of the gate to the other man.
“Nay, my lord,” Tobias, the other guard answered.
“Check along the wall,” Hugh ordered. “Look for a man outside the castle.”
The guards obeyed.
“Hugh, wait,” said Thomas. “We have it wrong. It cannot be Merrick. If it were Merrick, why would he wait outside the gate? Why wouldn’t he just come in? He is family.”
“Family by marriage,” Hugh corrected. It pained him to admit it, but Thomas was right. Merrick didn’t seek permission from them to do things. He would have just appeared, not wait for an invitation.
“What of the other? The King of t
he Damned?” Thomas asked.
“King Lucien cannot come to our world,” Hugh said, thinking of the Damned King. “William said he is trapped on his side. But it could be one of his minions I suppose.”
“Mayhap it’s nothing,” Thomas answered. “Methinks the woman wanted some attention. Either that or the servants snuck into the brewery again, heard of the horses and scared themselves with things that aren’t there. You know as well as I how the night can play tricks on a person’s vision. Once, at tournament, methought I saw a two foot man playing a fiddle. It turned out to be a fallen log.”
“With our family, and what we have discovered follows us around this keep unseen, it could well have been a two foot creature playing a fiddle that you later mistook for a log.”
“Ah, good point.” Thomas nodded.
“You know as well as I that there are things we cannot know.” Hugh looked around the outer courtyard for a sign of what the woman had been talking about.
“And you know as well as I that if this same woman had come to us two years ago and said the same thing, we would not be out here chasing imaginary devils.” Thomas pointed the tip of the sword toward the top of the castle. “You would be up there, comforting the pretty wench as you tried to get her to play with your…” Thomas paused and swung his sword so it pointed at Hugh’s hips. “Little devil.”
“Things have changed. Demons do exist, as does magic. We know that now and must act accordingly.” Hugh shot his brother a bemused look. “And little is hardly the word for my devil.”
Thomas gave a short chuckle. “You keep neglecting it and it will most likely jump out of your breeches and leave you for good.”
“Thomas,” Hugh warned, shaking his head as he tried not to laugh at the imagery. How could he tell his brother that when he closed his eyes, all he thought about was the faery queen? Even now, after the time that had passed, he wanted to both strangle her and kiss her, but such women were not for his doing either to. She was a queen, a faery, a magical being that flew around her castle taunting him. He was better off without her. Now, if only he could convince his body of the same thing. “Do not pretend the knowledge of the immortal realm hasn’t affected you. You’re the one who has been having nightmares since we arrived back.”
Hugh gave him a teasing smile. Thomas rolled his eyes, and grumbled, “Bad dreams are one thing and they do not rule my life. At least I usually have a warm body in my bed to soothe me when I awake from them.”
Hugh grimaced. “I have no wish to hear your lecture. I have graver things on my mind than bedding the fairer sex.”
“It’s not your fault Juliana chose to stay,” Thomas said. The two were close, having grown up together, trained together, fought together. Hugh wasn’t surprised that his brother read him so well.
Nay, Hugh thought, it is Tania’s. She sent our sister to the Unblessed King’s palace. She delivered her into Merrick’s hands and detained us from going to rescue her before it was too late, before she became so warped, so tangled in Merrick’s dark web.
“She does not belong there.” Hugh took a deep breath. This was a worn conversation that went nowhere. “She’s not one of them. Her heart is too good.”
“According to William, Merrick’s not all bad. Mayhap our sister sees that. She chose him, Hugh.” Thomas lifted his hand, motioning helplessly to the side. “She loves Merrick.”
“But he does not love her. You heard him when we were there, as well as I. She asked him if he loved her and he said nay. I know she was upset about her fiancé’s death. We all know Lord Eadward’s undoing wasn’t her fault, but—”
“Nay,” Thomas interrupted. “I daresay she was more upset by Nicholas killing his father than her fiancé dying. She did not love Lord Eadward, merely knew him as a friend of our father.”
Sir Nicholas, their childhood friend, had been possessed by a demon and driven to kill his father, Lord Eadward. Nicholas was susceptible to the demon because he was in love with Juliana and jealous that his father should have her. Their sister never realized his feelings until it was too late. Hugh was convinced if Juliana knew Nicholas loved her, she would have chosen him, gotten married and none of them would have ever known the Otherworld truly existed. Now Nicholas was dead, killed by the demon that had possessed him.
“Then we are agreed,” Hugh concluded. Thomas frowned, confused. “Juliana stayed as a self-punishment. She blames herself for Lord Eadward’s death. I should never have arranged the marriage.”
“It’s not your fault. We all wanted her to live close to Bellemare and with Lord Eadward bordering our lands she would have been nearby. We all agreed on it.” Thomas patted his shoulder. “William and I carry just as much blame for the decision.”
“Nay, I asked your consent but in the end the decision was mine to make. This title is my responsibility to bear and, as head of the family, the blame for any decision made is mine.” Hugh’s gaze continued to search the gate, as he listened for signs of movement. He detected nothing.
“I wish Nicholas would have come forward with his feelings. This all could have been avoided.” Thomas also watched the gate.
“I should have guessed it—the way he would lecture her when we were young, the way he followed her around the castle. I should have known.” Hugh gripped his sword in frustration. “Methinks she blames me as well. Why else hasn’t she contacted us since right after we left her? Methinks she would at least tell us of the child she carried.”
The thought of his sister bearing an unblessed child worried him. What kind of being would the baby be? Half human, half unblessed creature? And why hadn’t she sent word about its birth? The silence was unbearable.
“Perchance there has been no way for her to send—” Thomas began, only to be cut off by the guard.
“My lord, there is naught but night,” Simon called down from the wall.
“All’s well,” yelled Tobias.
Hugh raised his hand in acknowledgement. “Keep your eyes open and the gate closed. No one gets in or out. We will sort it out in the morning.”
“Aye, my lord,” the guards answered in unison, not questioning even though Hugh knew they had to be curious about the late night search.
“Let’s go check on the mares.” Hugh motioned for Thomas to come with him. “Then we can deal with our devil-seeing woman.”
“I have one idea as to how you can deal with her.” Thomas laughed.
“Do not make me strangle you, brother.”
“I believe what you say.” William kept his voice low as he gave the pretty maid a come-hither smile. While he was away for five years apprenticing, his family had believed he was on the verge of taking religious orders. How wrong they had been. Anything but a pious young man, William knew he was the attraction of many women—much to the astonishment of his older brothers. But, his success wasn’t really a mystery. His boyish charms drew the women like bees to a field of flowers and his monkish robes didn’t hurt his chances either. The fairer sex liked the idea of the forbidden. “I said, I believe what you say about the devil.”
The woman turned her violet eyes to him, shaded partly by the silky strands of her dark hair as they fell over her forehead. He’d never seen eyes that color on a human woman before and suspected she was something different from the beginning—if not in whole than in part.
Hugh and Thomas were new to the ways of the immortal realm, still taking people and things as they saw them to be. They saw this woman, in her servant’s gown, inside a castle impenetrable by human forces and they thought “servant”. They heard that there was a devil outside the gate and they assumed that such a creature would stay there until he was let in. William knew better. Being in the immortal realm had taught him that things were not as they appeared and to look beyond what was right in front of him. If this woman was not a full-blooded human and if she knew anything about demons, why send his brothers to the front gate?
“Do you now?” She pursed her lips and stepped closer.
W
illiam swallowed, instantly aroused by her nearness. He licked his lips, hearing the telltale husky quality to her seductive voice. Eagerly he nodded. “Aye.”
They were in the great hall, alone, with no one in sight. He glanced around to be sure. The fire burned behind her, outlining her slender form. There were plenty of places for them to disappear to. Along one wall a table set up from the rest of the hall on a platform. It was where the family dined with honored guests. They could hide beneath it in the shadows, should she be willing. Blue tapestries hung on the wall, along with the Bellemare crest. How angry would Hugh be if he tore them down for a bed to lay her on?
On second thought, perhaps he should take her somewhere else.
“Then you know the devil?” Her long lashes fluttered over her eyes.
“You are beautiful.”
“Have you seen the devil?” She stepped closer.
“I really want to bed you.” William leaned his face toward hers.
“Have you slept with the devil?” Her eyes hardened, but William was too far gone in lust to react properly.
“Are you offering?” He started to close his eyes.
The woman lifted her hand and pressed it to her lips. Pulling it away, she blew him a kiss over the short distance. “I have done all those things.”
William felt her kiss like a cold blast across the face, paralyzing him. A short, feminine-sounding scream echoed over the hall and he realized it came from his lips. Weakly, he collapsed on the floor, unable to move from his uncomfortable position as the woman kneeled over him. He tried with all his power, but was unable to pull away.
“William the Wizard, I have a message for your brothers. The devil is coming to Bellemare and he is after your souls. Your magical guard is too lax. If I can get this close to you, he will have no trouble getting much closer.” She leaned over, kissing his lips. He felt another cold wave where she touched him before his entire world faded to black.
Faery Queen Page 2
