Veil of Shadows

by Bowlin, Chasity

  “It wasn’t called that then. It was a castle she spoke of…little more than a fortified tower if her description is accurate. But yes, I did find such a spell!”

  Adelaide felt Eldren’s questioning gaze upon her. She glanced in his direction but said nothing. Disclosing that nature of her dream, the strange vision that had invaded it, in front of Father Thomas was not something she wished to do. She could only hope that he would recognize that without her having to verbalize it. At last, he turned away and addressed Mr. Barton.

  “Is there a way to undo such a thing?” Eldren demanded.

  “I’m a scholar, my lord. Not some sort of sorcerer,” the man answered. “Much of what is written here is sheer nonsense to be perfectly frank. It’s all superstition and mystics that cannot have any basis in reality.”

  Father Thomas arched one eyebrow but said nothing in response to that.

  “There are more things in heaven and earth, Mr. Barton,” Adelaide chided mildly.

  “Indeed, my lady, so there are. But this… the kind of magic and manipulation of the elements and the very souls of others, I cannot imagine such a thing to be possible.”

  “Can you imagine such a thing, Adelaide?” Eldren asked, his tone clearly suspicious. It was apparent from his gaze that he had realized she knew more than she was willing to say in present company.

  “We will discuss it later,” Adelaide said. “And I know just where we should go to continue our outing. For now, let us leave Mr. Barton to his translations.”

  Eldren nodded his agreement. “Thank you, Mr. Barton for your assistance with this… and you Thomas. I know this was not an easy thing for you.”

  “It isn’t. But I made a kind of peace with it, my friend. Good cannot triumph over evil by simply ignoring it. Sometimes one must look the devil in the face in order to know how to best him,” Father Thomas admitted sheepishly. “And that is what we are doing, is it not?”

  Adelaide smiled warmly at him. “It most assuredly is, Father Thomas. And I cannot thank you enough for your understanding and assistance. We will leave you to your work and check in again in a few days.”

  “I could bring it to the house when my work is complete,” Mr. Barton offered.

  Adelaide’s stomach churned at the thought and she felt a fine sheen of sweat begin to bead on her skin. “No, Mr. Barton. It may sound like silly superstition to you, but I cannot stress to you how vital it is that book never again cross the threshold of Cysgod Lys.”

  If he thought her response odd, he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he simply nodded in agreement. “As you wish, my lady. I will leave both the manuscript and my translations in the care of Father Thomas when I finish them.”

  “You seem to be rather speedy with such meticulous work,” Adelaide commented, hoping to change the subject somewhat.

  “Oh, I’ve been reading books written in the Olde English for as long as I can remember, my lady. I read them more frequently than I read books in modern English. It’s quite simple for me, really… and since much of it is drawings of plants and various symbols, the words themselves are simple and far fewer than you’d imagine.”

  “It’s still a task we found ourselves incapable of completing and you have our gratitude,” Adelaide said. “And naturally you will be well compensated for your time.”

  “Naturally,” Eldren agreed. “Now, we’ll bid you good day.”

  Once outside the rectory, Eldren demanded instantly, “How did you know that?”

  “I’ll tell you… but not here,” Adelaide stated firmly. “It isn’t safe to discuss it here.”

  “Nowhere is safe. The events that occurred in Chester should be proof enough of that,” Eldren replied.

  “There is one place. By the water on the beach near Cysgod Lys,” she said.

  “Why there?”

  “It isn’t the water, Eldren. It’s the salt. For extra safety, we shall cast our own circle, just as Madame Leola would. We will need to stop by the merchant for it, as I didn’t think to bring it with us.”

  “We’ll walk there,” he said. “It isn’t far.”

  They strolled through the small village to the store that was only a few meters from the church. If the shopkeeper thought it odd that an earl was purchasing his own salt, he said nothing if it. With the neatly wrapped package in hand, they returned to the carriage and made the short journey to that small rutted lane that led to the beach. Neither spoke in the carriage. There was little to say until she could explain where her knowledge had come from. She fervently hoped that he would believe her. It seemed that every day she was finding new ways to challenge and test the extent of his faith in her.

  They disembarked from the carriage and moved down the path, finally stepping free of the brush and rocks onto the beach beyond. Adelaide took the salt from him and sprinkled it around them in a large circle.

  “This is impossibly strange,” he admitted.

  “But effective,” she said. “You recall the night of our seance and what occurred there? This place, this beach, is the only place where I have not felt her presence. Have you ever felt her here?”

  Eldren’s expression went from thoughtful to puzzled. “I’d never considered it before, but no.”

  “You’re surrounded by salt here… in the water, mixed with the sand and even in the air. It doesn’t harm her, but it does limit her power sharply. So she avoids it.”

  “She?”

  “Igrida… But you know that, don’t you?” Adelaide challenged.

  “Madame Leola might have mentioned it,” he said. “How has this knowledge come to you, Adelaide?”

  “I saw it in a dream… all the things that are recorded in that book were revealed to me. She murdered her own daughters. It was never Alwen. She did so because she had a premonition that a woman of her blood would bring about her end. That is why your sisters died as they did. That is why every female who shares Igrida’s blood and lived within the walls of Cysgod Lys, dies tragically. She made him kill the villagers, but she was thwarted there by her own spell. She’d cast a spell to protect the souls of her people before hand. So when they were murdered, their souls to be claimed and used by her, she was unable to do so. No one killed on that moor would ever be hers.”

  “And that is why Madame Leola went there to escape Frances?”

  “Frances, as a minion of Igrida, would never have survived the moor. The spirits there would have made certain that she died there… tormented for all eternity. Leola knew that and knew Frances would not pursue her.”

  Eldren stepped forward and sank down onto one of the rocks at the center of their circle. He clapped his hands and let his elbows rest on his knees as he leaned forward. “And all of this came to you in a dream?”

  “Yes, and a vision of Igrida crafting another spell… She bound herself to this house. Every brick. Every stone. Every bit of wood and mortar.”

  * * *

  Those words echoed the very thing Igrida had said to him the night before. Eldren felt it like a punch to the gut. “What did you say?”

  “She’s bound herself to the house. And if we wish to destroy her, the house must be destroyed. It’s the only way… That’s why there has been less activity for a time. With her display of power in the cellars, with what she did to us in Chester, with all the manipulation and the strange visions, and whatever it was she attempted to do by climbing into my bed that night—.”

  “It was an attempt to scare you, nothing more. Just as she attempted to do with me just last night… She appeared to me, Adelaide, as you. I followed a form that I thought was you. With your hair, your dressing gown, the way you move—it was all there and completely indistinguishable. It was only when I spoke with her, when I could see the coldness in her eyes, that I knew it was not you. It was she who led me to Charles’ body.”

  Adelaide shivered in response to that and reached for his hands, holding them close to her heart. “She has driven Frances to commit murder… just as she drove Charles to attack Warre
n. Because anyone who dies at Cysgod Lys is trapped there. She learned from her mistakes with her own village. She uses those who die here for power, for a kind of fuel… just as Madame Leola said. This cluster of violence is giving her strength. If we permit it to continue and if her bargain with Frances is fulfilled, Eldren, she will never be stopped!”

  “How can we destroy this house, Adelaide? She sees everything we do. Any preparations we make will be seen. Any fires we set, she will simply douse!”

  “Because we will do it in such a way that she will never see it coming. You own a mine, Eldren, and with that mine, you have access to all the dynamite we would require.”

  “And how will we set enough charges to destroy a house the size of Cysgod Lys? She would surely know and surely stop us before we ever came close to accomplishing such a feat!” Eldren protested. The very idea of it, of destroying his home dark and dismal as it was, was more than difficult to process. It was the antithesis of everything he’d ever fought for and struggled for in his life—to maintain the history and prosperity of the Llewellyn family and the Montkeith earldom.

  “Christmas is upon us… Greenery will be placed in every room. And dynamite will be hidden within it,” Adelaide suggested. “And when the time comes for the fuses to be set, I will distract her.”

  “And how would you do that?” He demanded angrily.

  “By disclosing to her then what I have just told you… that I know what she did and why. She needed to become something more than human to amass the power she craved, and to do that, she had to give up her physical form. Now, she can be born again and bring that power with her. We cannot allow that to happen. No matter the cost.”

  She terrified him. “You are so brave that it borders on foolish,” he lamented. “It will get you killed.”

  “No. It will not. I saw this in my dream, Eldren. I know what I’m doing. We will hide the explosives in the Christmas greenery. On Christmas Eve, you will give all of the servants time off to attend a special church service that we will convince Father Thomas to hold for them. Warren will leave to find Frances.”

  “And what of you and I?” He asked. “Where will we be in the midst of this insanity.”

  She smiled. “We will be accompanying Lord Mortimer and Madame Leola to the village where they will be boarding a train to return to London… But in truth, it will be Lord Mortimer who must detonate the charges. You and I are too closely linked to this entity. And Madame Leola, as well, since she has been touched by it. Only Lord Mortimer will be able to keep his motives hidden. You do believe me, don’t you, Eldren? You believe in what I have seen?”

  “I do. But what you’re suggesting borders on madness… the house has been in my family for centuries, Adelaide. It’s our legacy, our heritage,” he protested.

  “It’s your prison,” she replied, fierce and impassioned in her speech. “It’s been a prison for every member of this family for all of those years. Is the house worth being it’s captive for the rest of your life? For the rest of mine?”

  He rose from the stones where he’d rested and paced across the sand. “Adelaide, I want so badly to be free of this… but I cannot think what my life would be without this house. I’ve devoted my life to it.”

  “It isn’t devotion, Eldren. It’s servitude. Captivity. Torment,” she said. “Can you not see that?”

  “I do. But I have never envisioned a life without it. I am not certain who I would be without this. It is all I have ever known.”

  She rose then as well, crossing to him so that she could stand behind him. With her face pressed between his shoulders and her hands resting on his arms, she said, “And I never imagined a life with a husband whom I desired above all things… a man whom I love. Please, Eldren. I am begging you to consent to this, even if it seems like the worst sort of madness to you. For me, Eldren. For us.”

  With the weight of her pressed against his back, and the weight of her words piercing his very heart, Eldren knew he would never be able to refuse her. “We will do it. Because I love you, too. Because I can’t deny you anything and if this is our one chance to have the kind of life I long to give you… then so be it.”

  “You love me?”

  “I do. I love you more than my own life. Certainly more than a pile of brick and stone,” he agreed. “We’ll need to be discreet. No one can know about this who frequents the house.”

  “Have the miners’ wives weave the garlands of greenery for the house and then you will place the dynamite in them before you bring them home,” she said. “None of the servants will know and the only people in the house who will know, at least for now, are you and I. Lord Mortimer and Madame Leola will be given vague details as they are needed. We can do this. I know it.”

  “I trust you, my love. And I believe in you. If this is how we must do it, then so be it,” he pledged. “And when we leave this wicked place as a pile of rubble, where shall we go?”

  “We could go to London… or settle in Chester as it’s closer to your mining enterprises,” she offered.

  “Or we could go further. America. Do you have no wish to return home, Adelaide? I cannot see fear holding you here any longer… You can face sailing across the sea if you can face this.”

  “I am home. Wherever you are. I am home.”

  Eldren let out a sigh, not of weariness or exasperation. It was a sound of contentment. For that brief moment, he was as close to being at peace as he had ever been in his life. But they could not afford to linger there. “We should return. The magistrate will have been by. And there is still Frances to contend with. If he did not collect her, or if he could not locate her to do so, that will fall to me.”

  “What do you mean to do with her?”

  “There will be an inquest. She will be arrested formally, but I can ensure that she goes to an asylum instead of the jail for the time being,” he explained.

  “I’m not certain jail would not be better.”

  He blinked at that. “For Frances?”

  “For everyone. She is not ill, Eldren. This is not like your mother. Frances knows precisely what she is about. Your mother had long ago lost sight of what was real, what was not, and what was simple manipulation from Igrida. Frances has never been manipulated by her that way. They are in league together. It’s a different thing entirely,” Adelaide insisted.

  “And the child she carries… would it fair better in a cold and drafty jail cell or in an asylum?” He asked. “I’m not doing this for Frances. I’m doing it for an innocent child who does not deserve to be borne to one such as her.”

  It was Adelaide’s turn to sigh. “You’re right, of course. You’re absolutely right. I only hope it isn’t too late.”

  20

  Frances was hiding deep inside the cellars of Cysgod Lys. To most, they were impassable following the explosion that had rocked the main corridor. But few knew the secrets of the house as she did. The passages and tunnels that wound through the ancient halls and intersected with caverns far beneath the house. She’d made use of them.

  The whispering voice of her conspirator had come to her in the wee hours of the night, warning that Charles’ body had been discovered. But Frances saw through her. Igrida was as full of lies and deceit as she was herself. It was Igrida who’d led them to the body of Charles. And Frances knew why. She’d not shielded her thoughts carefully enough, not concealed her intentions regarding the child she carried. Igrida meant to insure the safety of the vessel that would once more give her life.

  “I know you’re here,” Frances said. “And I know why you did it.”

  I only mean to insure that our bargain is kept. The child in your womb is mine… It is the life promised to me!

  “And when I’m locked away in a prison or an asylum, how will you claim it?” Frances demanded. Sometimes she wondered if the years of being trapped in the house, formless and forced to use glamour and manipulating the minds of others to have presence had robbed Igrida of sanity.

  I am not bound to t
his house as I once was. I have more power now that I ever have. The more people in this house who suffer, the stronger I become. Physical pain. Emotional pain. Fear and anxiety… all of it gives me strength. And the dead, well, they give me everything don’t they, Frances? If you harm the child, I will end your life. You will remain trapped here forever, powerless and alone. Do you understand?

  “I am not some novice mystic like my sister-in-law. Her fledgling abilities are nothing compared to my own… Do you think I am without protection from you?” Frances rose to her feet, her fists shaking at her sides as she clenched them tightly. She would not be cowed by the ghost of a woman long dead, by a woman who needed her.

  Only silence greeted her proclamation. Frances felt a moment of victory, but it was a brief one. Pain began stabbing at her eyes. She felt the first drops of blood that ran from her nose and dripped down onto the fabric of her gown. Within seconds, the pain became so intense it felt as if her skull would surely explode.

  She sank to her knees, clutching her head in her hands as a wail escaped her. “Stop it! Stop it!”

  I need you alive because I need the child to live. But I can inflict damage to you, Frances, that would render your mind useless and leave your body intact. Do not test me again.

  The pain simply vanished. It was there one second and gone the next, much like the being who had wrought it. Frances touched the skin between her nose and lip. Her fingertips came away coated with blood. She could taste the coppery liquid on her tongue and her stomach heaved in protest. It made her violently ill.

  Retching until her stomach had emptied itself of every crumb or morsel she’d consumed, Frances stood there shaking. She had underestimated Igrida. And now she was well and truly trapped.

  Placing one hand over the slight rounding of her belly, for the first time, Frances felt something for the life growing inside her. Anger. Resentment. Hatred. Those things blossomed inside her like pouring black ink into a bowl of water. It spread and undulated until everything was pitch dark. She would not be cowed by Igrida, but she would make her plans far more carefully and far from Cysgod Lys. That would mean surrendering to the less than tender mercies of Eldren. No doubt he already had an asylum chosen for her… a place to put his problems and forget them. She’d find what she needed there, and then use her own considerable talents to sway others to aid her when it was time to flee.