Enchantress Awakening: Part One of the Book of Water (The Elemental Cycle 1) (6 page)

“They’re Cruxiars, in other words.”

“No, we are the Knights Repentant.”

“I do not know what either is, yet I think Dana is right. If you want to help, let me find my path my own way.”

“As you wish, nevertheless I insist on seeing your party safe to Connlad on the morrow. We can spare a cart for the trip so at the least your journey will be swifter and less wearying.”

“Thank you that is most kind.”

…

The rest of the journey passed uneventfully enough. As promised it was both swifter and less tiring than their outward trek had been. The four of them sat in the horse-drawn cart while Brother Adam rode alongside. His outward appearance was little changed he still wore the brown, hooded, cassock and this almost completely covered the mail hauberk underneath. Likewise, stowed amongst his packs his longsword was not immediately obvious either.

For the most part he talked with Penric about his martial training and about the benefits of a sword with a longer cross guard. The Knights Repentant supposedly modelled their blades on the enchanted sword of Albion and it certainly gave them a distinct appearance from the standard design of the day.

In the event, no swords of any kind were needed and they rolled into Connlad in good time and said their farewells before heading into the main hall. Leaving the others to their purposes, Caleigh made at once for Sir Marc’s study, his usual point of refuge after a morning hunt. She wrapped on the door and was immediately met with “Come” from the inside.

“My liege.”

“Ah, Caleigh you have returned.” Caleigh tried to prevent colour from going to her cheek as Sir Marc’s eye accidentally skimmed over her cleavage causing him a brief flutter of excitement. “I trust your trip was enlightening? In truth, I am slightly surprised to see you returned so soon. What is the cause of this urgency? I do hope it was not for my wife’s sake. Whatever she may tell you she has been adequately attended in your absence.” Sir Marc said lightly.

“No, my lord, though you are right about my urgency. Sire, I need to see Tovrik. I know not how to seek him but I know you are friends…” Before she could continue Sir Marc held up his hand.

“So, this is the day. In truth, Caleigh, I have long known this moment would come.”

“My lord?”

“You may have wondered why we took you into the household a year ago. No doubt you have noticed that there are rarely enough duties to keep all hands busy. We took you in because Tovrik asked us to. Do not think we were unwilling; your presence has lightened our hearts each day. Indeed, Tovrik predicted that we would find you invaluable in ways far beyond the duties you might perform. Yet we always knew it would not last and that there would come a day when you would ask to see him and that from that day on we must free you from any ties you may feel to us or any notions of servitude or duty.”

“You accepted these terms readily?”

“Why not? We would not have otherwise known the kindness you have brought to our hall. Besides, Tovrik is a friend and it need not be more complicated than that. So now, I will send word to Tovrik and ere long he will come, I am certain. Is there more I can do for you?”

“No, my lord, you have done so much. I cannot begin to thank you for all that you’ve done for me.”

“Ah Caleigh, it was never a trial. Showing kindness to the kind is not a hard task.” Sir Marc and Caleigh exchanged smiles and once again she felt the knight’s guilty tension. She looked away and almost as if he was aware his feelings had betrayed him, Sir Marc looked away too and bid farewell in a rather forced and formal fashion. For the first time, Caleigh almost regretted the changes in her and looked back wistfully to the days when she was less aware. Moreover, she realised that what she really regretted was that she could both possess this knowledge and do nothing with it. She cared too much for Edith to lie with her husband, and cared too much for Marc to put him through the guilt he would feel if he strayed on her. Being gifted, she realised, was not always pleasurable.

This same thought occurred to her in the night as well. It was a hot night, the kind that causes restlessness and makes sleep hard to come by. From the sensations she felt coming to her through all the walls, it seemed to Caleigh that as many as could had chosen to resolve this restlessness with their bed partner.

She remained sure that parting from Penric was the kindest thing to do but nonetheless she almost wished she hadn’t in that moment. Regardless of all else, she had enjoyed the one congress they had shared and found herself yearning to partake in it again and each intimate feeling that strayed into her head from the other rooms of the castle conspired to exacerbate her own needs to an infuriating degree.

Her hands strayed beneath her night shift feeling at her sex and at her nipples in a flush of excitement. No cogent fantasy drove her, rather senseless images of sweaty bodies, male and female; Penric entering her as he did before became Robin taking her on the battlements where they spoke, which in turn changes to Sir Marc unclothing her in his study, then to almost random body parts; Robin’s arms and Penric’s eyes were accompanied by Ellie’s rump and Loreliath’s cleavage as well as Sir Marc’s broad shoulders from behind. Any thought or sight that spoke of sex forced its way into the confusion.

Eventually this assemblage gave way to a vision of a woman exiting the gardens by the southern wall and walking towards the trees in the direction of the stream. Caleigh came back to reality at this thought, which unlike the others, was not something arousing. Briefly she questioned why it had come to her amid all of them until she realised that close to the stream upon the very path that the woman was walking lay the old Senatian guardhouse, and presumably the woman’s partner in-wait.

Inspired, Caleigh rose quickly and picked up the secret key that Ellie had given her. The idea of watching a real carnal act felt more appealing on this occasion than inventing one in her own head. Quietly as she could, she hopped over the cold stone floor of the corridor and pattered down the staircase right into the hallway before the kitchens. Just inside as Ellie had described it there was the apparently blocked archway. It was hard to see in any light and near impossible in the dark, but feeling her way across the stonework Caleigh somehow found the keyhole.

As she opened this secret passage the key began to vibrate in her hand, warning that people had entered the space where they could be observed. Presumably it only did such when more than one person was there otherwise the old lord might have made many a trip only to witness somebody sitting alone, taking shelter from the rain or resting their feet after a long walk.

It was at this point she remembered that this ingenious piece of craft was given to the old lord by Tovrik. Whatever the rights and wrongs of being party to such an arrangement, that Tovrik could fashion such a tool suggested there was more to his abilities than mere stagecraft. Momentarily, Caleigh pondered how Tovrik, who had taken such an interest in her fate for so long, would feel if he knew she was putting his work to use for this end. She quickly put the thought aside, thinking about Tovrik and magic was not the kind excitement she was interested in at present.

At the end of the long corridor there was the faintest of lights flickering from the top of a very short set of stairs topped by a narrow space from which the observer could slip onto a comfortable bench facing the wall ahead. The light she had seen was coming from a small mesh-grill within this wall set just at head-height for someone sitting on the bench. For a moment, Caleigh worried that she would be visible once she sat before it until she realised that it was quite high up in the room it looked into and not directly lit.

The two people in the room she recognised at once. The woman, who was finding a place to hang her cloak, was Lady Esther, Dame Edith’s younger sister, who was married to another knight in the service of Earl Cynric. The man was none other than Robin Stronghand, also married and had spent much of the evening meal and after trying to corner Caleigh. She was almost affronted to see that his affections for women other than his wife did not run exclusively to her.

Esther moved to the centre of the room in the full glare of the candlelight facing Robin, who leaned against the makeshift bed on the left-hand side of the room. Her curly, dark-blonde hair was braided up around her in the fashion that was popular among the nobility. Caleigh was not able to tell what colour her dress was for it did not stay on long enough. Underneath Esther was completely naked in preparation for the night time union.

She moved together with Robin with an easy familiarity that suggested this was by no means their first dalliance. From her spy hole Caleigh had a good view of Esther’s form. It was an enjoyable body to look at, if a touch too slim, though not nearly so much as Ellie’s or her own. Esther’s small, well-rounded bust could not compare to the heavy bosom that Caleigh was struggling to free from her nightdress, nor could her flat behind measure to the pert and shapely rump with which Ellie teased the men of the household.

Robin had shed his clothes too and he looked much as Caleigh had pictured he would. His shoulders and chest were broad and muscular with a thin covering of dark hair on the latter. All round he was in the prime physical condition that befitted a warrior. Down below he was of normal proportions, or at least normal as far as Caleigh could tell from her limited experience.

She slipped her hand down into her sex and resumed the ministrations she had interrupted earlier, while watching in fascination as the two lovers below wrapped themselves around each other. She saw Esther shudder at the moment of penetration then, sitting on Robin’s lap, begin to grind herself up and down over his crotch. Robin held her with sure hands matching her movements for the best effect. Caleigh knew at this moment he was a competent lover from the feelings of pleasure emanating from Esther with every motion.

After a while they changed position and Esther planted herself alongside Robin and planted kisses on the side of his neck. To Caleigh’s surprise she began to talk even as he moved inside her again. “Who is the girl, then?” She asked with a slight labour.

“Which girl?” Robin grunted back.

“Ha, ha, which girl, as if you were not fully aware.” She stopped to exhale. “The girl with the huge bosom, or should I say the girl whose huge bosom you had your nose in all night.”

“Oh her, she is nobody.”

“Robin!” Esther stopped and became quite formal. “I am not your wife; I neither seek nor care for fidelity from you. So cease this play.”

“Very well, her name is Caleigh.”

“That’s better.” Esther resumed her motions. “She’s a handmaiden for my sister, is she not?”

“Yes.”

“Are you lying with her?”

“No.”

“Why ever not? Were I a man I would spend all my labours to find a way to stick my cock in her.” Caleigh barely suppressed a gasp hearing Dame Edith’s sister speak so. “Is she lying with Marc, then?”

“I believe not.”

“Then you are both fools. What has happened to you Robin? I would trust you to have made this your first task. It is evident that you want her.”

“I still intend to have her.” Both Robin and Esther were getting excited by this exchange and had started to move at each other more vigorously.

“Tell me, are you going to fuck her?”

“Yes.”

“Say it!”

“I’m going to fuck her.” Faster and faster they moved with these words.

“Are you going to fuck her hard?”

“I’m going to fuck her hard.”

“Are you going to make her come?”

“Yes.”
“Say it!”

“I’m going to fuck her hard and make her come!”

“I’m coming!” Esther groaned. “Hold on!” She arched her back and wasting no time slipped from his member the moment her convulsions were over and took it into her mouth as with a gasp he released.

Caleigh, her face squashed against the grill, swallowed back her cries as their orgasms resonated inside of her leaving her quivering gently on the cold stone. Momentarily she wondered whether at his moment of climax Robin had been imagining doing as he promised while little knowing he already had.

7. Tovrik arrives

Over the next few days Caleigh found herself at something of a loss. Sir Marc had relieved her of her duties and so she spent her free time doing tasks for her friends. First she had picked flowers to decorate Ellie’s room; next she assisted Dana in categorising all her remedies and potions. Lastly, she had aided Penric in his squirely duties, fixing saddles and polishing the armoury while he informed her of all that was required of a knight and his role amongst the nobles of the land. It was enjoyable spending time in this fashion but even so, after a while she felt they were humouring her and for all her good intentions she was simply getting in the way.

At last, the morning she had been anticipating finally came. Nobody needed to tell her of the event for she witnessed it from the battlements. A small, blue coach bedecked with silver stars and accompanied by four riders on horseback, rolled into the yard in front of Connlad hall.  Out of the coach stepped Tovrik, an elderly man robed in blue and sporting a diamond shaped hat perched over his grey brow. Behind him the riders dismounted, the first two wore matching coats of mail and sloping helms with low cheek and jaw guards hinged to the brow. These two guided the horses to the stable boys while the rest of the group continued on towards the hall.

The two other riders who had stayed with Tovrik were quite distinct from each other. One was armoured like the guards except his helm was covered in red leather around the crown and had a segmented aventail and he wore a breastplate of dark green, also leather, worked with brass and gold designs. The second wore no armour and his dark head was unshod. Around his shoulders he wore a light blue cloak over a black leather jerkin that reached down to his knees. Like Tovrik he carried a walking staff though even from distance he appeared much too young to require one.

Caleigh rushed inside and nearly crashed into Ellie coming up the corridor from the other direction. “I’ve found you!” She cried taking hold of Caleigh’s arms. “Sir Marc bade me to summon you to his study, Tovrik has arrived.”

“I know.” Caleigh kissed her friend on the cheek in excitement. “I wonder what he will say.”

“I know not. Good luck.” Ellie bid as they parted, Caleigh returned to a half run to reach Sir Marc’s study where he stood awaiting her outside the door.

“Ah good, if you’d care to take a seat inside we will be with you shortly.” Caleigh did as she was asked and took the seat closest to the window. She had never really examined the room before but now she did it struck her that perhaps it was an unusual thing for a knight to keep such a room. From all that Penric had told her, being well-read was not one duty expected of a knight.

Sir Marc re-entered and behind him followed Tovrik and the other two men she had seen from the battlements. Now they were close the size of the armoured man was very apparent. He was very broad and at first this disguised the fact that he was also rather tall, which soon became apparent when he stood alongside the other men, none of whom were short themselves. Without his helmet his features were much clearer and were immediately familiar. Though around his cheeks his beard was dark brown where it was thickest around the chin and under the nose it was blond matching his eyebrows and neck length hair. He inclined his head towards Caleigh and held his hand out to hers taking it with an assured gentleness that hinted at hidden strength. “Sir Ceolwulf of Crowbridge, at your service.” He said with a bended knee.

“I am honoured to meet you Sir Ceolwulf. Are you a kinsman of the Lord Cynric?” 

“I am indeed. Lord Cynric is my father and I, his second son.” Ceolwulf stood back to let the dark-haired young man come forward.

“Well met once more, Caleigh. Allow me to introduce my apprentice Gideon.” Tovrik said with a gesture to the newcomer.

“Likewise, it is an honour to meet you. We have all been quite excited since your news reached us.”

“Yes we have, but first I too must express my pleasure in seeing you again. How long has it been since I last saw you?”

“A little over a year, sire.”

“It seems longer, you have changed much in that time, as the young are wont. I apologise for confronting you so, it would be easier for you I’m sure to speak to me alone than in company but I thought it important to demonstrate from the beginning that you are not alone, for all the changes that are about to happen to you, remember you have friends. Everyone here in this room knows that there is such thing as magic in the world and can be trusted to aid and guide you in your journey.”

“I am grateful for that, sire, truly, yet I should say that I did not wish to see you for my sake alone.”

“Indeed no, Marc’s message said you seemed to have some urgent news to unburden.”

“Yes I do. A short while ago, at the same time as I became aware of my new gift, I began to be visited by visions that showed me a white-robed lady at the Shrine of Lost Souls. Following these visions, I visited the Shrine a few days ago and there saw this Lady with my waking eyes. She named herself Loreliath and warned that a demon of darkness she called the Beast was rising in the world once more.” Caleigh looked over her audience to gage their reactions. Unsurprisingly Marc and Ceolwulf bore looks of uncomprehending yet polite interest. Gideon she could not read. Tovrik regarded her with little sign of surprise, only a fixed gaze that encouraged her to continue. “Have you heard tale of Xyraxis and the Beast?”

“I know the tale and Loreliath’s part therein, please continue.”

“Have you heard that the five wizards who defeated Xyraxis alongside Loreliath took relics of his and have borne them for a thousand years?”

“Yes, this much is known also.”

“Well, Loreliath says that by doing so they have caused enough corruption for the Beast to break the spell that banished him. She says his return is now inevitable.”

“Did she bear any council with this news?”

“She said that all those opposed to evil should unite and if they do so there is still hope. Also, if the five relics are destroyed then the Beast will be weakened and she will be set free. It was very sad in truth.”

“In what manner?”

“She said that her freedom was the least of all concerns even though she has been imprisoned for a thousand years by those who should have been her allies.”

“I have no doubt she means it too.”

“You seem not surprised by anything I’ve said. Was this known to you afore?”

“No, this is news to me indeed. If I seem not surprised then that is because I trust what you say to be true and feel no need to question its veracity. Loreliath has been known to visit on a number of occasions over the centuries and each time she spurred men on to acts of greatness and virtue. To my knowledge you are the first to have met with her in over seventy years, the first since the fall of the Kingdom.” Tovrik smiled wistfully. “Were it not for the dire warning she brings I would say this was a cause of great joy. It was feared that she would not come again once the Kingdom failed. Did she tell you anything about yourself?”

“She said she chose me because it had to be me, that I am an enchantress and a spellsinger as she was.” Tovrik looked both pleased and excited at this.

“I had guessed that you were an enchantress but a spellsinger too, this is very good news.”

“Does this mean I am like her?”

“Not entirely, she meant you were both spellsingers not that you were gifted in the same art.”

“And what does it mean to be a spellsinger?”

“Very good news for you, Caleigh; a spellsinger is one who feels magic instinctively. If it is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, you should be able to learn spells much swifter than those with much more knowledge and experience. In short, it means you are doubly blessed.” Tovrik stood up paced to the window and leaned against its edge. “We will speak more of such things later. First there is much to set into motion.”

“Yes Tovrik, if I understand aright this message portends a terrible doom. What may we do to avert it?” Sir Marc asked.

“Indeed, if what Caleigh says is true then we should all be affected. Though I know little of the ways of magic and less still about demons, surely the coming of such a being will cause great strife.” Ceolwulf added.

“Yes, you are right both of you, this is indeed a dark omen. Should the Beast arise all who do not worship darkness will surely suffer. Therefore we should do as the Blessed Loreliath bids, we should be united and we should gather our strength for the time to come.”

“Easily said yet I cannot tell my father to beseech his fellow nobles to join him in the cause of righteousness lest they be consumed by a terrible evil.”

“Why not? It is what Priests of most religions do all the time.” Gideon said sardonically.

“And that is precisely why it would not be wise.” Marc added. “People will not be convinced by warnings of darkness alone. Until this horned monster shows its face our cause will seem no different to that of any number of clerics.”

“Except that when war is upon us it will not be a spiritual one. Yet I concede your concerns are fair. I would bid that you keep your efforts quiet, strengthen your bonds with those you trust, make friends with those who can be trusted and protect those who can aid us in the time to come, as you have done so until now.”

“You speak of wizards?”

“In part, it was wizards who sent the Beast from the world time ago and it will take wizards to do the same again but they cannot work alone. We are too few to act thusly and such would not be desirable even if that were not the case. We are not a people apart, we are merely people blessed with rare skills and we will need skills of all kinds if we are to be victorious.”  

“You can rest assured Tovrik that I will continue to aid you as I can and in return you can continue to trust me as you have.”

“The same is true for my family. We are by your side, now more than ever.”

“I am greatly heartened to hear so, as I am deeply impressed by your courage of which you show more than you realise. Now, I find myself in need of fresh air, would it be acceptable if Caleigh showed me around your delightful gardens, Sir Marc?”

“Of course.”

“I will leave Gideon here to answer any questions you might have about what we have discussed.” Both Tovrik and Caleigh moved to the door and Sir Marc caught her eye as she made to leave.

“Whatever you choose to do from now on, Caleigh, know that as long as you stay in Connlad you will have my protection.”

“Thank you, my liege; I cannot begin to express my debt to you.” Caleigh held his gaze hoping that he could see within how much she loved him and all the people who had shown her so much kindness in the time she had lived here.

Passing through the wisteria entwined entrance to the gardens Tovrik removed his hat and turned his grey eyes on Caleigh. In the times he had visited Connlad before Tovrik had often seemed something of a jester, with his strange hat and goat-like beard, playing tricks for the amusement of the crowd. There was no trace of that today; the Tovrik beside her now was one of deep wisdom and authority. Not for the first time she wondered who he really was.

“No doubt you have many questions you wish to ask.” He began.

“Yes, and also no. Now it comes to it, the questions I thought I would ask are not the ones that come to mind. It is clear to me that you have been expecting this for some time, did you never think to tell me anything?”

“It is always difficult to tell someone what they may be until they come to realise it themselves. I always knew you had potential but I did not know whether that potential would ever be tapped. It usually takes some kind of change in someone’s life to spark the magic inside them to life. Nobody can predict what that event will be and therefore I could not be sure when you would be ready to know of your true destiny. All I could do was as I did, provide you with a little guidance and let you know where to turn when the time came. Of course, in this regard I was very lucky that Dana lived in the same town as you and had taken an interest in you even before I had. Do you know what it is that prompted your powers to show themselves?” Caleigh blushed almost instantly.

“It happened after I lost my maidenhood.” She answered with an effort.

“Ah. That makes a certain kind of sense given the nature of your gift.”

“How do you mean?” Caleigh asked forgetting her embarrassment.

“Well, in essence the art of Enchantment lies in understanding that which moves people.”

“I only know what moves men’s loins.”

“For now, and that is because such desires are an urgent expression of the passions we hold inside. Therefore it makes perfect sense that experiencing such passions yourself might awaken your powers.” Noticing Caleigh colour again Tovrik quickly continued. “Console yourself that it was this way, for some it works the other way round, which is tragic for them you can imagine. Equally, many wizards first come to realise their powers in a moment of terror or peril and end up doing harm to themselves or others.”

“How did you come to realise your powers?”

“Oh, well, there is no great story. I was not a happy youth and wanted very much to be someone else, so much so that one day I became just that. It is a habit I’ve never completely outgrown, as I’m sure you will discover.”