Lady and the Wolf (8 page)

Chapter 11

Stefan rode up on his steed. Wolf was about to take his horse and go after Red when the woodcutter appeared from nowhere and held out his hand.

“I’ve done what you ordered, now I’ll take the mirror.”

“Where is the old man?” Wolf glanced around him, but the earl and his men had yet to show.

“They’ll be here any minute. Now, the mirror please, as we’ve agreed.”

“Fine, go get it. It’s in the hovel. Stefan, lend me your mount, I need to go after Red before she’s hurt.”

“Red?” Stefan dismounted and handed the reins to Wolf.

“Lady Winifred,” he told him. “She stormed off and I need to find her.”

“I want the mirror.” The woodcutter was adamant about it, and becoming irritating.

“I said – go get it, woodcutter.” Wolf didn’t have time for such nonsense.

“Nay. I will not step foot into the hovel of a witch. Now we made a deal and you must keep your end of it.”

“My lord,” said Dolan, riding up on his horse to meet them. “I’ve got your shield. Lord Roland and his men are headed this way and you’d better get ready. I have your back, my lord. I will die to protect you if need be.”

“Hold on, squire,” he told the boy and looked back to the woodcutter. “It seems you’ve kept your end of the deal, so come with me and I’ll get the mirror for you.”

He hurried back into the hovel, just so he could get this over with and concentrate on the battle about to begin. He didn’t want the woodcutter distracting him from his mission. The woodcutter followed, but stopped at the threshold and would not step inside. It was understandable for a superstitious person to act this way, and Wolf might not have thought much of it, hadn’t he glanced into the hand mirror as he picked it up from the dressing table. In the reflection he could see the woodcutter behind him, standing at the threshold. He froze when he realized it wasn’t the woodcutter at all. What he saw was the old, gnarled body of the witch who cursed him.

He swung around and at the same time drew his sword, but found himself looking at the woodcutter once again. The man raised his hands over his head.

“My lord, have I done something to offend you?”

Wolf thought for a moment perhaps he’d become addled. So he held up the mirror and turned slightly, and looked into it again. This time he saw the witch for sure, and she noticed what he did.

“Damn you!” said the witch in her own haggled voice. Wolf hurled his sword through the air at her. Right as it was about to go through her heart she dissipated into a puff of green smoke. The sword clattered to the ground at the threshold, and Stefan and Dolan came running.

“My lord, was that the witch?” asked Dolan.

“Aye,” he answered.

“She got away again,” added Stefan. “Shall I go after her?”

“You won’t find her. She’ll return sooner or later because she’s after the magical mirror and for some reason can’t step foot into the hovel to get it. We’ll deal with her later. Right now we’ve got an army headed in our direction, and Red is riding into the middle of what can prove to be a very bloody battle – on my horse nonetheless.”

Arnon howled from afar, and Wolf looked upward. “He’s found her.” He put his toe in the stirrup and started to mount Stefan’s horse, but a severe pain cramped his stomach, and instead he fell to the ground.

“Nay, not now,” shouted Stefan as Wolf started to shapeshift once again.

“I – can’t control it,” said Wolf, trying his best to stand, but it was too late. He already felt his tail emerging and his teeth elongating as well.

“Shall I go after the girl or the old man?” asked Stefan. “Or should I split the army and send half each way?”

“F-find Lord Roland and b-bring him to the castle alive. I n-need to talk to him about – about his granddaughter.

“What about the girl?” asked his squire. “Do you want me to go after her?”

“Nay.” He bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes, feeling his vision blurring and his mouth becoming dry. “I – I’ll f-find her myself.” He shouted out as his paws started to emerge and the pain became intolerable. He knew it would be mere minutes before he was fully transformed, and he would no longer be able to communicate with his men.

As he shifted, he heard the laughing of the old hag in his head. He saw her in his mind’s eye and she was following Red. He had to get to Red before the witch did, or he might lose the woman he loved forever.

Chapter 12

Winifred rode like the wind through the forest with her red cape flowing in the breeze behind her. The horse she was on was Wolf’s warhorse and it was harder to control and not as agile as her own mare.

She felt used and betrayed and it angered her that she’d willingly given her body to a man who wanted nothing more than to use her to sate his own needs, as well as to use her as a lure. Why had she felt such an attraction to him? Why hadn’t she stayed at the castle when the woodcutter told her about Wolf? She swore she’d never be fooled again.

The horse beneath her stopped suddenly, and it reared up on two legs as something spooked it in the night.

“Grandfather, is that you?” She hoped to find him before Wolf did. She didn’t want to go back with Wolf, and she needed to warn her grandfather that his life was in danger.

“Whoa, there, whoa.” It was the woodcutter. He held his ax in one hand and held out his other arm, trying to still her horse.

“Down boy, it’s all right,” she said to the horse, trying to still it, but it remained spooked. “I’m so glad to see you,” she said to the woodcutter. “Even though I’m not happy you didn’t tell me that Lord Hugh de Bar paid you to bring me to him.”

“He tricked me,” said the woodcutter, grabbing the horse’s reins. “He made me do it. I didn’t want to betray you nor your grandfather. He promised me the mirror and didn’t deliver.”

The horse reared up again and this time she slipped off and fell to the ground. The horse pulled away and ran off, leaving her there alone with the woodcutter.

“Can you get the mirror for me?” asked the man.

“Me?” She shook her head. “Nay, I’m not going back to the hovel. Wolf might be there and I don’t want to see him.”

“I saw him turn into a wolf and take off after your grandfather. There’ll be no one at the hovel now. Will you do it for me, please? I risked my life to bring you to him. If your grandfather finds out he’ll have my head.”

“You’re right,” she said. “He would. All right, I’ll get the mirror for you, but you have to escort me back to Castle Chaserton in return.”

“We’ll use the horse and cart,” said the woodcutter, pointing to a small clearing. She looked over and saw the woodcutter’s cart there, and shook her head. She hadn’t noticed the horse or cart at all when she rode up. Her awareness was slipping. She had no other choice but to accept the escort of the woodcutter because she was weaponless, as her crossbow was still tied to the saddle of the horse that just ran off. She’d be lucky to find it and retrieve it in the dark.

“All right, let’s go,” she said, leading the way to the cart. She scoped the area, looking for her grandfather or Wolf but saw neither. With any luck, she’d be able to retrieve the mirror and get back to the castle before either of them found her.

Did you find her?
Wolf talked to Arnon with his mind. He met up with him and the two wolves ran side by side over the damp and musty earth.

Aye, she’s with the witch.

Damn, I’m too late.

They are headed back to the hovel,
Arnon told him.

Then that’s where I’ll go.

The old man and his army are approaching, and he has twice the men that you have. We need to help Stefan and the knights or they’ll be slaughtered.

Wolf raised his snout and sniffed the air and realized what Arnon told him was true. The earl was headed right toward them and if they were going to capture him and keep anyone else from getting killed, they were going to have to move quickly.

We’ll surround the earl and herd his horse to the river. We need to separate him from his men. I know Stefan will be leading the warriors from Babeny and he’ll be sure to see us and take Roland prisoner.

What about the rest of the men?
asked Wolf’s brother.

Once we have him, I’ll try my best to shift back into my human form. Then I’ll tell Stefan and the others to get back to the castle and not fight until I have a chance to talk to the old man and find out exactly what’s going on.

So are you saying he’s not . . . responsible?

Nay. I’m only saying I think there’s more to this than we know. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for Red’s sake. But if I find out he is solely responsible for hurting my family, I’ll kill him personally.

Let’s go then.
Arnon led the way and Wolf followed. He hoped to hell that the earl wasn’t the man he thought him to be. It would be nice if things were different. If not, he would have to kill him, and he knew Red would never forgive him and he’d lose her forever.

Chapter 13

Just like the woodcutter had said, the hovel was unguarded and Winifred walked right in to retrieve the hand mirror. She picked it up quickly and turned around, but her eyes fell on the bed with the covers still rumpled.

She’d just shared some very intimate moments with Wolf and she couldn’t wipe from her mind what happened between them. It felt right in his arms, and she didn’t regret what she’d done, only that he’d deceived her.

“Hurry up,” called out the woodcutter, standing in the doorway and motioning with his hand. “Someone is coming.”

“Of course.” If she had been looking at the mirror instead of at the bed, she might have noticed the woodcutter’s reflection. It was too late. She reached out her hand with the mirror, and as the woodcutter grabbed for it, she saw the bony, gnarled fingers of the witch in the mirror’s reflection. She cried out, and dropped the hand mirror.

“You fool,” said the witch in her own voice now, grabbing hold of the mirror before it hit the ground. “You almost broke it.”

“You’re Hecuba, aren’t you?”

“Ah, so the old man has told you about us, has he?”

“My grandfather told me that you tricked him into thinking you were a beautiful young maiden just to couple with him.”

“Is that what he told you?” She cackled, and the sound of her voice cut to the bone.

“So what really happened?”

“Your grandfather is not telling you the whole truth. But it’s too late for that now.”

“He told me he’s not a warlock.”

“Oh, you are a smart one, aren’t you? However, not smart enough to realize that your grandfather won’t be giving me any more trouble.”

“What do you mean? You speak as if he’s dead.”

“He is dead. The first thing I did after I escaped the hovel was to kill him – just like I killed your parents. I wanted him to suffer for deceiving me when he was supposed to kill Wolf’s father, Lucio, but didn’t.”

“You killed my parents?” She backed away in fright. “Tell me - what do you mean my grandfather is dead? I’ve just seen him and he is alive and well.” She realized just how much danger she was now in. She didn’t want to anger the witch, but she had to know more. “I don’t trust you. You are lying.”

“You saw someone who looks like your grandfather, but that’s all.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t the only one locked up for a year, there was someone else. But when you stepped over the threshold, you set him free. With each person to enter the hovel, one captured person is set free. I almost wasn’t able to leave, until the wolf came over the threshold to save you, allowing me to escape my confinements.”

“Someone else was trapped and escaped? I didn’t see anyone but you in the hovel.”

“You saw him, but he wasn’t in human form. He left in the form of a mouse – the image I gave him after he told your grandfather what to do to trap me in the hovel in the first place.” She chuckled. “Little did he know he’d be trapped as well.”

“What are you talking about? Do you mean Wolf has captured my grandfather?”

“Your lover has captured the man known as Lord Roland of Tavistock, but you fool, I told you he’s not your grandfather – not anymore.”

“Then – who is he?” She wished she hadn’t left her crossbow on the cart. Not that it would do any good to fight against a powerful witch, but she would at least feel safer.

“The man you think is your grandfather is one of the most powerful warlocks of all times. He’s also been my lover for years.”

“For years?”

“That’s right. I wanted him to leave his wife and children, but he wouldn’t do it. That’s why I had to kill his wife as well.”

This was going from bad to worse and Winifred’s head started to spin from all these awful stories. “What do you mean? Whom are you talking about?”

“I’m speaking of the de Bar family.”

“Wolf?”

“Aye, he’s one of them.” She cackled again and it unsettled Winifred.

“You’ve done something to them all haven’t you?”

“I have,” she said with an evil grin. “I’ve cursed them all in one way or another. Each of them will live a life of hell because of the way Lucio deceived me.”

“Lucio? Wolf’s father? Are you saying he was your secret lover?”

“Yes. And now that he’s escaped, he’ll never be the handsome man again that he once was. I gave him a new image – and everyone thinks he is Lord Roland, the old earl of Tavistock. And now that I’ve got my magic mirror back, I can watch as the fun unfolds.”

“Fun? What fun? And do you mean to harm me too?”

“The fun of watching Lucio’s own son kill him. And no, I have no qualm with you, my dear. You will get what you deserve too when you watch your lover die – as a wolf.” She waved her hand in the air and a green fog encompassed her.

“Wait! Tell me, what did you do to all the siblings?”

“I’ll let you find out for yourself, my dear. You see, some of them don’t even know their curse or what’s about to happen to them. Others – already know, and it only gets worse from here.”

“Is there a way to break the curse?”

“Would I really tell you if there was?” She left in a cloud of smoke, and Winifred was left standing there in the dark all alone. She couldn’t believe what just happened and all that she’d heard. She cried for the loss of her parents, wanting to kill the witch for what she’d done. She also cried because her grandfather was dead as well. She felt angered, but knew she couldn’t go up against magic. She was helpless in this situation.

She wished she were dreaming, because she realized all the horror of the past was about to become worse with everything that was about to transpire. Her heart sped up and she darted for the horse and cart knowing she had to stop the battle before it began. Wolf was about to kill her grandfather – and he had no idea that the man was really his own father.