Lady and the Wolf (5 page)

Chapter 7

Wolf watched Winifred go, knowing he could do nothing to bring her back while in his wolf form. Arnon ran through the woods toward her, but he called the wolf back with his mind. Then he saw Dolan coming through the forest on horseback, followed by his brother, Stefan.

He didn’t like for anyone to see him like this, and ran into the witch’s secret lair and curled up on her bed. Then he willed himself to turn back into a human, but it was getting harder and harder to want to go through the change. Every time he had the urge to be in wolf form, he’d also had an urge to stay that way forever. He figured it had something to do with the witch’s curse.

He stretched out on the bed, and his legs grew longer and his snout shorter. He hated this feeling, as it was ghastly. It made him so dizzy and was so painful that he just wanted to die. His fur was gone now, and in its place was his own skin. Instead of four feet he had two, and the only thing to remind him he was even a wolf at all was the feeling that he wanted to kill anyone who came through that door.

“My lord!” His squire walked into the hut and without being able to stop himself, he jumped up off the bed and lunged for the boy. He took him down and started beating on him, the feeling growing within him to want to destroy.

“Nay,” cried the boy, fighting back, but he was no match for Wolf’s strength. Then Sir Stefan came through the door and the sound of his sword being pulled from his sheath made Wolf look up and growl.

“Hugh, you’re not in wolf form,” his brother reminded him. “Now remove yourself from the boy immediately or I will be forced to use my sword to make you do it.”

That knocked some sense into him, and Wolf quickly got up, and turned his naked body around, running a weary hand through his hair. He wanted to help Dolan to his feet, but was afraid to turn around to do it. His anger had gotten out of control and it was because he saw the witch trying to hurt Winifred.

“My lord?”

He turned to see his squire handing him his own cape. “Nay,” he said, shaking his head, feeling like he didn’t deserve it.

“Take it. I insist.”

He turned to face the boy again, and saw that he’d not only blackened his squire’s eye but also busted his lower lip. He was bleeding.

“Bid the devil, what did I do?” He snatched the cape from the boy and wrapped it around himself in order to hide his nakedness.

“You hurt your own squire,” said Sir Stefan. “This boy has risked his own life more than once to protect you.”

“I – I’m sorry, Dolan. I’m not sure why I did that.”

“It’s all right, my lord.” Dolan wiped his hand across the blood on his mouth. “You were angry – and you tried to save the girl.”

“The girl? Where is she?” asked Sir Stefan, scanning the area. “And what is this hidden room?”

“She’s gone and so is the witch who did this to me.” Wolf took his fist and smashed it into the wall. “God’s teeth, now I have nothing to bargain with when it comes to the earl, and I also have a witch to contend with. My rage grows each and every day and one of these times I’m afraid I’ll kill someone I truly care about.” He looked over to Dolan, and the boy lowered his head. “Can you ever forgive me, Dolan?”

The squire didn’t say anything, just stared at the floor and nodded his head.

“Sir Stefan . . . Dolan . . . I’d like to ask you both to help me before it’s too late.”

“Too late? For what?” Dolan looked up with curious eyes.

“I thought I hated no one more than the earl for torturing me, but now I see that I hate the old hag more. She’s turned me into an animal with urges that I can’t control. So I’m going to go after her and kill her, and I want you two to help me trap her, if you would.”

“Would this break your curse, my lord?” Dolan had hope shining in his eyes.

“Aye, how do you know it won’t seal your curse forever if you actually do away with the old hag?” asked Stefan.

“I don’t know, but I have a suspicion there is someone who does know.”

“The girl?” asked Dolan.

“Nay,” said Wolf with a shake of the head. “She’s not even sure if I’m a wolf or a man. Who I’m talking about is her grandfather. We’ve got to lure him away from the castle and into the forest, and I will get the information out of him before I kill him.”

“Kill him?” Sir Stefan looked up in surprise. “I knew you hated him, but the witch is the one you should be trying to stop, not the earl. If you kill him, it’ll only mean war between Tavistock and Babeny. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m not sure about anything anymore,” answered Wolf. “All I know is that I can’t live the half-life of man and beast much longer. So I’ll make something happen. And I can only hope for all our sakes that if half of me dies, it’s not the part of me that knows how to wield a sword.”

* * *

Winifred didn’t stop riding until she made it over the drawbridge and was safe inside the courtyard of Castle Chaserton. She didn’t bother to sneak in the postern gate, as this time she was angry and wanted to confront her grandfather about his secrets.

“Winifred, where have you been? I was just going to send out some of my finest knights to search for you.” Her grandfather darted out of the great hall as soon as he saw her, and made his way across the bailey to meet her. He was followed by several of his guards. “Egads, granddaughter, what is that you’re wearing?” He eyed her bright red cape.

“I’ve been out discovering your secrets, grandfather.” She quickly dismounted and was greeted by a stableboy who took the reins of her horse. She reached up and retrieved her crossbow and bolts before he took the steed back to the stable.

“My secrets?” asked the man in a breathy voice. He sounded out of breath and tired. Not at all like himself. “What about
you
sneaking out in the middle of the night and going to the woods alone?”

“How did you know where I’d gone?” She glanced over the man’s shoulder to see the guard she’d kissed in order to keep her secret. He was shaking his head in a silent signal telling her he hadn’t revealed her secret, but now it was obvious he had.

“It doesn’t matter, just don’t do it again.” Her grandfather didn’t look at her when he spoke for some odd reason.

“You aren’t going to punish her my lord?” asked one of the guards.

Her grandfather looked up in surprise, as if the idea hadn’t even occurred to him. “Aye. Of course,” he said softly. Then he spoke a little louder. “You will be punished for this, young lady. I can’t have you traipsing around the woods in the dark all alone looking like a strumpet. Do you know how dangerous that is?”

“Do you mean dangerous from the wolf or the witch that disappeared in a puff of green smoke?”

Her grandfather’s brows arched and his eyes opened wide. Then he walked closer and spoke in a low voice. “We will discuss this in my solar in private,” he whispered.

She stormed off to her grandfather’s solar, making her way quickly through the corridors, ignoring her handmaiden and the others who tried to stop her to find out where she’d been. Once inside the room, her grandfather entered behind her and closed and locked the door.

“I know your secret, grandfather.”

“Whatever are you talking about? Now sit down and let’s discuss this like adults.” He spoke in a cool, calm manner instead of blowing up in anger as she expected him to do.

She threw her crossbow on the bed and plopped down next to it. “I met the witch and she almost killed me. If it wasn’t for the wolf saving my life, I’d be dead right now.”

“Wolf? Which wolf? What color was it?”

“It was big and black and had eyes of steel grey, just like . . . Lord Hugh de Bar.”

Her grandfather cringed when she said the man’s name, and his face became ashen. “What do you know of this man?”

“I know you put him in a cage in the dungeon and beat and whipped him and left him for dead. That’s why I set him free. No one deserves that treatment.”

The man sighed and a sadness shone in his eyes. Then he slowly nodded his head. “You are right, Winifred. “I never should have done that. But what do you mean, you were the one to set him free?”

“I did it, and I’m not sorry about it,” she spat. “I don’t care how much you punish me for it, I will not regret my action.”

“I understand.” He nodded slowly, looking at the ground. “You have no idea of everything that’s transpired in the last year.”

“Well, then, why don’t you tell me? While you’re at it, the witch said you trapped her and bound her powers. Is that true?”

Her grandfather’s head snapped up, and his eyes actually met hers this time. His mouth was clenched tightly and she saw a muscle twitch in his jaw. This was the first thing that seemed to get a rise out of her grandfather today, and she was wondering if perhaps he was ill. Usually he was much more ornery.

He let out a deep breath and settled himself on a chair next to the bed. “Aye, Lady Winifred - granddaughter, it is.”

“How could you have accepted an old ugly hag into your castle to begin with?”

“She wasn’t ugly at the time and I had no idea she was a witch. I thought she was a beautiful young maiden named Sheena, when in fact it couldn’t have been further from the truth. I let her into the castle walls before I realized just who she was.”

“Who is this witch and what do you know about her?” Winifred wanted to learn more.

“She is Hecuba, a powerful witch who has lived for hundreds of years or maybe longer.”

“If she is so powerful, how did you trap her in the hovel and what kept her there? Are you are a warlock, grandfather?”

He hesitated before he answered, almost as if he couldn’t decide. “Nay,” he finally said, shaking his head. “I have no powers, although I wish I did.”

“Then how did you trick and trap a witch?”

“I had help from a most unlikely source.”

“Who?”

Her grandfather looked at the ground, then raised his head slightly and seemed to scrutinize her as if he were weighing out the options of telling her more. “You are better off not knowing.”

“Nay. I want to learn.” She jumped to her feet and put her hands on her hips. “Tell me all there is to know.”

“All I’ll tell you is that you need to stay clear of Hecuba. She is dangerous and can shapeshift into anyone or anything, so now that she is loose, no one is to be trusted.”

“Why did you put her in that room in the knoll?”

His voice was soft and it sounded as if it took all his strength to answer. “Her powers are muted when she’s underground. I had the room built from the wood of a Rowan tree that was in the center of a circle of standing stones, so it’s power was plenty. It’s said this wood is able to bind the powers of magic. And with a little help, it worked beautifully. Too well, actually,” he said, shaking his head and looking to the ground again.

“She took some of my blood and wanted more. Thank goodness the wolf saved me.”

“The wolf? Are you sure? No wolf would save a human from another.”

“Unless it wasn’t really a wolf at all.” She watched for her grandfather’s expression. When he didn’t say anything, she added more to shock him into telling her what he’d done. “It was Lord Hugh de Bar, wasn’t it? The black wolf with the steel grey eyes.”

He hesitated but then just nodded his head. “I’m afraid so. And now that he knows you’re my granddaughter there is no stopping him from coming for me. He’ll use you in the process to try to kill me. I’ve felt his anger growing for a while now. That’s why I can’t allow you out of the castle again, my dear.”

“How can you say that? I’m a noble and free to do as I please.”

“Not unless you want to end up a dead noble.” He got to his feet and headed for the door. “I will be assigning two guards to watch over you night and day, and you will no longer go to the woods with my hunting parties either.”

“Nay, wait!” Her grandfather stopped with his hand on the latch of the door but didn’t turn around. “Tell me – what did Lord Hugh de Bar do that was so horrible that you wanted to kill him in the first place?”

“Don’t you know?”

“I’ve heard you say he killed my parents. Is this true?”

He never answered her question. Instead, without turning around, he gave her a warning. “Stay away from him, my dear. He’s become dangerous and isn’t in control of his actions.

“I’m not afraid of him. He won’t hurt me, he saved me today.”

He turned his head slightly and spoke in a soft voice. “His bloodlust has grown strong over the past year and his hatred might get in the way of his decisions. He is an animal half the time, and a warlord the other half. He’s not to be trusted in this state. Either of them is dangerous, and you need to stay away from him before something happens you will regret.” With that he left the room and closed the door.

Chapter 8

Two days later Wolf paced the floor inside the hidden hovel that had at one time secured the witch. Why hadn’t he noticed this place hiding in the knoll this past year? And how did it take a young girl to find out the truth? He was sorely disappointed with himself as a knight as well as a wolf. In one form or another he should have been able to scope this out long before now. His only thought was that there must have been some kind of protection spell hiding the hovel from his sight as well as his sense of smell.

“My lord, will you be coming back to the castle anytime soon?” His squire stood in the doorway with Wolf’s helm and shield in his hands.

Sir Stefan was right behind him, looking over the boy’s shoulder. “Aye, you are needed back in Babeny, my lord. The knights are getting restless now that they’ve heard about Hecuba and that she has returned. They’re afraid she’ll come for revenge and their lives will be endangered. They want to ready an army to fight her, but they need you to lead them.”

“There’ll be no army nor fighting of any kind until I say so.” Wolf paced back and forth, feeling apprehensive since Winifred had left the woods. He’d had her in his grip and was careless and let her go. He could have used her for bait and lured the old man right to him, but now she’d most likely ran back and warned her grandfather. He’d have to come up with another plan.

“My lord, it’s been two days and the men are starting to wonder if their lord will ever return,” said his squire.

“Two days is naught compared to the time I’ve waited for this opportunity.” Wolf dragged a hand through his long hair in thought. “But now I’ve let it all slip through my fingers. Stefan, did you find the woodcutter I asked you to summon?”

“I did,” said the man with a nod. “He is out here waiting for his orders.”

“Bring him in.” Wolf crossed his arms over his chest and waited. Sir Stefan disappeared briefly, and then returned and stepped inside the hovel. Behind him at the doorway stood a large, burly man with an ax in his hand.

“Come in,” said Wolf with a nod of his head, but the man looked to be very bothered by the fact he was being asked to enter the hut that had housed the old witch.

“I’d rather stay at the door if you don’t mind, my lord. I don’t feel comfortable entering the lair of a witch.”

“Fine then.” He decided not to press the issue. He needed the man to do his bidding and didn’t want him to back out of the deal they’d made. “You are the woodcutter that works for the earl of Tavistock are you not?”

“Aye,” he said and bowed his head. “I cut trees in the forests of Lord Roland Chaserton. I am his personal woodcutter and the only man allowed to take wood from the royal forest.”

“Then you are the man for the job. Has my steward explained to you what I want you to do?”

“He has, milord.” The man raised his bearded face and glanced over at Stefan, however, he wouldn’t look Wolf in the eye. Wolf figured it was because of his horrid reputation of being a bloodthirsty killer now. He couldn’t really blame the man.

“Good. So just sneak the girl out of the castle and bring her here to me. Be certain to do it well before the sun sets, do you understand? If it is already nighttime, then just wait until the morrow.”

“The girl?” asked his squire, confused. “I thought you were after her grandfather.”

“I am. One step at a time. If the girl comes here, her grandfather will follow.”

“The earl’s never followed her here to the woods before,” Stefan pointed out. “Why should this time be any different?”

“Because our woodcutter here is going to run and tell the old man his granddaughter has escaped and where she went. Then he’ll say he saw a black wolf in the woods as well, and that’ll bring the old man right to me.”

“About my pay,” said the woodcutter with his eyes focused on the ground.

“Ah yes. Pay him, Stefan.”

Wolf’s brother untied a small pouch from his side and the coins jingled as he pulled out a few and handed them to the woodcutter. However, the man did not take them.

“I have no use for coin,” said the man. “Lord Roland takes care of all my needs.”

“Then what do you want?” Wolf knew where this was leading and it almost felt like blackmail.

The woodcutter looked around the room and his eyes settled on the hand mirror on the dressing table. “I’ll take that ornate hand mirror as my pay and require naught else.”

“That’s the witch’s mirror,” Dolan said. “It must be very magical and powerful.”

Wolf didn’t care about magic mirrors, and wasn’t even sure he believed it to be true. He figured it was just a mirror that Lord Roland had put inside the hovel for the hag to use. He had no need for it. If the woodcutter wanted it, so be it. He picked it up to hand it to the man, and when he did he saw swirling fog in the reflection in the mirror. It parted and then he saw Winifred locked in a room, trying to open the door, banging on it and crying.

“Nay.” He dropped the mirror on the table and shook his head. “You will do it for coin only.”

“I’m risking my life as well as deceiving my lord,” the woodcutter pointed out. “I’ll not do it for anything but the mirror.”

There was an awkward span of silence, and then Wolf finally just nodded. He needed this man to help him and didn’t have time to look for another person who would be able to get into Castle Chaserton unquestioned. “All right. Convince the girl to come back to the hovel – alone, and then make certain her grandfather follows. Do it during the light of day only. If you can do that, the mirror is yours. But only then – and not until you deliver.”

The woodcutter didn’t look happy with Wolf’s decision, but just bowed and backed away. “As you wish, my lord. I’ll be going then.”

“Give him the coins as proof of our agreement,” Wolf told Stefan.

Stefan handed the pouch over but the man shook his head. “No coins are worth the risk I’m taking.” The woodcutter turned and disappeared quickly.

“Did you want us to stay?” asked his squire.

“No need,” said Wolf. “Not now. I’ve got Arnon in the woods to help me if need be. Besides, I want to be alone with the girl. I’d suggest you two go back to the castle and ready the men in case the earl decides to bring an army with him when he follows. If so, then step in and fight, but not before.”

“Aye, milord,” said Stefan. “I’ll come back and act as lookout if you’d like.”

“Dolan can do that. Your talents are needed in readying my men for battle, Stefan. I need a man to lead them and you are my best warrior.”

“Do you think it’ll come to battle?” asked Dolan with turmoil written all over his face.

“Not if I can get to the old man first.” Wolf felt revenge boiling in his veins. Then again, his bloodlust was nothing compared to the sexual lust that filled his body and threatened to consume him since he’d met the man’s granddaughter. This kind of lust was only going to distract him and make him vulnerable if he didn’t do something about it soon.