Spellbound: The Awakening of Aislin Collins (12 page)

“What did you want to talk to me about?” I
replied apprehensively.

“I want to push the wedding date up.”

“That cannot be. My father is struggling to
obtain my dowry now. There is no way that he could get it to you
any sooner then next year.” I tried to remain calm but my voice was
trembling, giving away my internal panic at his words.

He stopped walking and looked down at me,
tracing his finger over the latch of my cloak. “I do not care about
the dowry. There is nothing your father can give me that I need. In
fact, I do not even care about the sanctity of our vows. All I care
about is the wedding night,” he said, in a sinister voice.

“My father needs time,” I insisted, as I
slapped his hand away from my cloak.

I could not stand his touch upon me anymore.
He withdrew his hand back into his coat but he moved in closer to
me. His foul breath was unbearable. He stood over me and I stepped
back a few paces to put some distance between us.

“Perhaps we do not have to wait,” he said,
as I heard a little
click
come from his pocket. I knew it
was his pistol and I knew what he intended.

I immediately bolted. I screamed as I ran
but there was no one to hear me. The Marthalers’ owned all the land
from their home to the town, and no one else lived in this
direction. Although I was fast, Zachariah was faster. He grabbed me
by the back of my cloak and dragged me into the thick woods. I
kicked and punched but he kept dragging me. The latch of my cloak
was choking me as I was being pulled backwards, away from the road,
and away from any chance of help. Then my cloak ripped and I
dropped to the ground. I scrambled to get to my feet, but he turned
quickly and seized me by my hair, still pulling me deeper into the
ever-darkening forest. My energy was fading, but I still cried out
for help. I received no reply and tears streamed down my face. I
realized that he had planned this.

He knew exactly what he was going to do even
before he had picked me up this morning and escorted me to his
home. I would bet anything that his father also knew, and that was
why he had not allowed us use of the carriage. It would have been
far too suspicious if the Marthaler carriage were abandoned in the
middle of the road. Someone might have spotted that, but no one
would think to look for two young people wandering in the woods
when everyone had been warned to stay away from the forest.

I clawed at the ground as he dragged me
through the woodland, grasping at anything I could find to break
his hold on me. We were in a small clearing. It was covered with
soft moss and stones. Great trees encircled the area. He threw me
to the ground and pulled out his pistol, pointing it toward my
chest as he towered over me.

“Now if you are smart Aislin, you will stop
fighting me,” he said between shallow breaths.

“Would you kill me Zachariah?” I said in
disbelief. I knew many things about this boy and although he was
horrible in many ways, I did not believe that he contained the
ability to murder another person.

“Shut up!” he screamed at me, “You will do
as I say.” He moved in quickly, looming over me, he pulled me by
the front of my dress and yanked me to him.

I tried to pry myself free, but he was too
strong and too big. He pressed his mouth to mine. His breath was
horrible
and I found myself gagging. I struggled
against him, slapping, clawing, and screaming at him to stop. In
response, he wrapped his fingers around my throat to silence me. He
was rough and harsh as he pulled at my clothing, and I could hear
the fabric ripping as he tried to remove my undergarments. He
placed his knee into my stomach to provide himself with leverage
and his nails frantically dug into my skin as he attempted to pry
my dress off with one hand, the other still tightly gasping my
throat and holding me down.

I closed my eyes as not to look at this
deplorable creature and I instantly saw myself in my vision. I had
fought off the Romans. I had defeated numerous trained soldiers at
one time and I could surely defeat this despicable coward.

I waited until he pulled away from me and
then I reached back and hit him, just as hard and fast as his
father had struck me. He lurched backwards and I once again tried
to move, but he recovered quickly and threw himself on top of
me.

“You will learn to obey me!” he
screamed.

I felt a large stone underneath my right
hand and I clutched it
.
I will strike him in the head, as
soon as the opportunity presents itself.
As quickly as the
thought passed through my mind Zachariah saw the rock and struck me
hard in the face.

All hope faded from me. In my vision, I had
been so strong and well trained, but in this life, I lacked any
form of training in warfare. I realized that I had no hope of
escape. He was too strong to defeat and I was far too weak now. I
pleaded with him, but he ignored me.

“I have waited for this day for a long
time,” he said, as he groped me.

I whimpered and cried but said nothing. He
leaned back as to survey me before taking what he wanted. I looked
away. I was sobbing now. I could feel him hovering over me, his
breathing accelerated by his excitement. I summed up as much
strength as I could to repel his next attack but he never came
closer. I heard the trees above me crack and groan as though a
person with great strength was pulling upon them. I looked up at
Zachariah, who had taken a step back and raised his gaze toward the
swaying branches. A large white hand then reached out and clutched
his throat. It lifted Zachariah high in the air. It was Greer. He
was standing behind Zachariah, his face filled with rage.

“You have made a fatal mistake you ignorant
bastard,” he growled at the gasping boy who was turning purple in
the face.

He grabbed the hand that Zachariah hand
intended to hit me with and squeezed. I heard
cracking
and
popping
noises coming from Zachariah’s hand as every bone
was being shattered and crushed. Zachariah made a moaning sound,
but Greer’s other hand was still clenched around the boy’s throat,
keeping him from screaming.

Greer spun Zachariah around so they were eye
to eye. His eyes had gone completely black, just as they had in my
vision. Zachariah’s eyes grew wide with fear. I watched as Greer
effortlessly threw Zachariah backwards and his body slammed hard
against a large tree. He fell limp and did not move. Greer moved in
to finish him, but I let out a painful moan and he stopped. He
rushed to my side and lifted me into his arms, his face now full of
worry.

“My love, can you hear me? Oh please Aislin,
tell me I came in time?” his voice was cracking as fear and sorrow
threatened to reveal his anxiety.

I tried to respond—to tell him that he had
saved me, but I could not find my voice. I was numb and unable to
move.

He looked over me and then took off his
coat. He wrapped it around me and fastened it closed.

“He has ripped your dress to shreds.”

Greer pulled at every one of my limbs and
looked at all my skin for cuts, but did not tell me of my injuries.
Instead, he retrieved my cloak and wrapped that around me as well.
I was shaking now and I felt rather sick.

“You are in shock,” he said in a worried
voice.

I could only blink at him. He looked back at
Zachariah and started to walk away from me.

“I need to finish him off. Cover your eyes.
I do not want you to see this,” he said.

He walked over to the limp body and bent
down beside it.

From deep within me, I mustered my last bit
of strength. “No!” I exhaled.

Greer was startled by my words and stopped.
He was frozen in a crouch position over Zachariah’s body.

“But Aislin, why should he live?” he
protested.

“You will be discovered. You can not do
this,” I wept. “Please Greer. I need you. Do not do this!”

Greer ran back to me and wiped away my
tears, “Alright, but we must do something. His father will be
looking for him.”

I nodded and tried to stand. “I will cast a
memory spell. But I may need your help getting to him.” My legs
were still shaking and I could barely move.

Greer carried me to Zachariah and I sat next
to him. He looked like a corpse but I knew he was merely
unconscious. Greer handed me my pocket. Zachariah had ripped it off
my dress and thrown it, but it was still intact and my herbs were
still inside. I grabbed a little bottle of potion that my mother
had given to me. It was for emergencies only, and now I could think
of no better way to use it. I sprinkled it into his mouth and he
moaned. I chanted over him and felt magic moving through my body. I
knew my spell would work, but it drained the remaining energy that
I had left. I felt extremely weak.

Greer picked up all the pieces of my
garments and made sure that not even a strand of my hair remained
on the ground. He moved with great speed and I could not understand
how Greer could see well enough in the darkness to find everything,
but he seemed to be unhindered. I tried to stand on my own, but I
was still shaking and found it impossible to move. Greer picked me
up and I rested my head upon his shoulder. I felt safe at last.

“What spell did you use?” he asked, as we
moved through the woods.

“A memory spell, he will think that he has
been attacked by highwaymen.”

Greer laughed, “Very clever. What do these
highwaymen look like?” he asked.

“Just like Zachariah, only in silks. He will
have no recollection of us. In fact, he will believe that he was
attacked after he had seen me to the safety of my home.”

Greer asked me more questions, but I did not
have the strength to answer. I closed my eyes and listened to his
breathing as he drew me closer to safety.

********************

When we reached the back of my house, my
mother flung the door wide open. She knew something was wrong and
she had been waiting for me.

“What happened?”

Greer walked passed her into the warm house,
“May I take her to her room? She needs to lie down.”

My mother shut the back door and showed
Greer the way. Sneachta had followed us inside and stayed close as
we walked.

“What happened to her?” my mother asked in
an unsteady voice.

“It was Zachariah Marthaler,” Greer replied
in a whisper, “He tried to rape her in the woods by his home.”

I heard my mother gasp, “Is she… did he?”
she could not ask the question.

“No,” he replied, “I got to her, but barely
in time…”

I heard the door to my bedroom open Greer
placed me on my bed, but left his coat around me. I was still
shaking but it came in waves now, as though my body kept cringing
from the thought of Zachariah’s intentions.

My mother placed a hand on my forehead and
pulled the covers over me. “I will go and take all the possessions
off Zachariah so it looks like a robbery. You stay here and keep
her safe,” she told Greer.

Greer looked surprised, but my mother
touched his hand, “I know who you are. You are welcome in this
home.” She turned and walked out the door.

Greer walked over to the new basin my mother
had put in my room and he wet a cloth. He came back and dabbed my
forehead with it. I pulled the cloth from his hand and wiped at my
lips and cheeks where Zachariah had placed his mouth. I wanted the
scent of him off me—I wanted the sensation of his lips to be
scrubbed away.

Greer took the rag from me and wet it again,
this time gently wiping my face for me.

“You need to get out of these cloths and
into something clean. I will step outside so you can change,” he
said. He walked out the door and shut it behind him

I slowly got up and undressed myself. I
still felt shaky, but being home and knowing that Greer was near
me, seemed to calm my nerves

I was alarmed when I started to pay
attention to the state of my dress and my body. In the forest, I
had not noticed how much damage Zachariah had done to my gown. I
had been practically naked from the waist up. My undergarments were
destroyed, and the lace bodice of my gown was shredded and hung in
great pieces. There were bruises all over my arms and wrists, and
scratch marks were strewn across my breasts. The sight of my torn
skin brought my lightheadedness back, and I stumbled as I reached
for my sleeping gown.

When I had dressed, I opened the door to my
room and let Greer back in. He moved toward the bed, pulled the
covers back for me, and bade me to lie down. Then he tucked me in
tightly as though I was a small child.

“How did you find me in the forest?” I
asked, as I stared into his beautiful eyes.

“Sneachta came for me. She is always
watching you,” he rubbed his hands briskly over the covers where my
feet were and warmed them.

I pulled my hand out from the blanket and
started rubbing my face again. I was still haunted by the feeling
of Zachariah.

Greer stopped what he was doing and moved up
closer on the bed, “What is it my love?”

“I can still feel him,” I shuttered.

Greer leaned close to me and took my face in
his hands. He gently kissed me. His lips were soft and full and his
touch was gentle, just like in my visions. He placed his forehead
upon mine and stroked my hair.

“Is that better?” he asked softly.

I gave a slight nod and he kissed me again,
this time longer. Our bodies moved close to one another and as he
drew me near to him, we melted into one another. I had never felt
like this before, as though I was finally whole. I clung tightly to
him and he gently caressed me. I felt all my fear leave as he
kissed my forehead and looked intently upon me.

“Your mother is back,” he said.

He covered me in blankets again and
retrieved his coat.