CHAPTER 2 #4
Somehow she managed to refrain from striking him across the face.
He intended to use her, just as Robert had hoped to do.
No doubt he wanted her to bring him victory in war, render him invincible, and then fill his coffers with unimaginable riches.
Why had she thought, even for an instant, that this mad warrior was beyond such selfish, shallow cravings?
“Can you use your powers to heal?” he demanded impatiently.
“I can, but only to a certain extent,” she lied, realizing the need for caution as she wove her claims. “I cannot cast a spell to close these wounds, or else I would have done so already for you.” She pulled several more strands of hair from her scalp and threaded her needle.
“I can, however, call upon my powers to control the pain once the injuries are stitched.”
“Really?” MacDunn was obviously intrigued.
“That won’t be necessary,” announced Brodick. “I don’t believe I’ll be feeling any pain. In fact,” he continued, rising, “my arm is already much—”
“You will demonstrate this on my men,” MacDunn interrupted, firmly pushing him down again.
“What about you?” asked Gwendolyn.
“I prefer to watch you cast your spell.”
“It may not be possible,” she warned, searching for a tangible excuse in case her “spell” failed. “There are many things I need, and I have brought nothing with me.”
“Tell Ned what you require so he can fetch these things while you stitch Brodick and Cameron.”
Gwendolyn considered a moment. “I will require five smooth, unblemished stones no larger than the palm of my hand,” she began.
“I will also need a single, perfect feather from the wing of a sparrow hawk, a fistful of fresh, very green moss, a strip of bark from a pine tree, twelve crushed pine needles, six drops of blood, a freshly caught fish, a scoop of earth—”
“For God’s sake, it’s the middle of the night,” Alex complained. “How the hell is he supposed to catch a fish?”
“These are the things I require, MacDunn,” she informed him flatly. “If you cannot provide them, I cannot cast the spell.” She calmly began to stitch Brodick’s arm.
“Fine,” he growled. “Is there anything else?”
“No,” she replied. “That is all.”
“See if you can find these things, Ned.”
The small warrior looped his bow over his shoulder and disappeared into the woods.
Brodick’s arm was far simpler to close than MacDunn’s chest had been. By the time Gwendolyn was mending the tear in Cameron’s scalp, she was feeling somewhat confident in her stitching abilities.
“There, now,” she said, tying off the last of the thread. “Keep this clean, and it will heal very nicely.”
“Thank you, m’lady,” said Cameron, rising. “My wife would have been most upset to have me return with a gaping hole in my head. The lass is prone to rather unseemly fits of temper when it comes to my injuries.” His voice was gruff, but Gwendolyn sensed the warrior’s fondness for his wife.
“I don’t think Ned is going to find everything I need for my spell tonight,” she mused, relieved. “Perhaps we should just—”
At that moment Ned emerged through the trees. He went straight to Gwendolyn and deposited a knotted, squirming bundle at her feet.
“You’d better hurry,” he advised. “That fish won’t last much longer.”
Reluctantly, Gwendolyn unknotted the bundle and unpacked the items. She examined each one carefully, searching for some flaw.
“What about the six drops of blood?” she demanded, seizing upon the missing item.
Ned held up his hand. “You will cut me when you need it.” “Actually, I don’t believe I will need any blood for this spell,” she quickly corrected, sickened by the idea of cutting Ned’s hand for her little ruse. “I can manage without it.”
She made a great show of arranging the five stones in a circle around the fire, occasionally staring at the moon and stars to give the impression that she was positioning the rocks in accordance with some complex celestial relationship.
Once the stones were in place, she tore off a piece of moss and concealed it under each, then sprinkled a little earth over them.
That done, she took her place by one of the stones, lay the now expired fish at her feet, and placed the feather and the strip of bark beside it in the shape of a cross.
“Now, each of you warriors must pick up exactly four pine needles and take your place by the remaining rocks,” she instructed, her voice low and solemn.
Brodick, Cameron, and Ned glanced at each other uneasily.
“But I’m not wounded,” Ned protested.
“Nevertheless, I need all of you to participate,” Gwendolyn said. “Only MacDunn can watch.”
The three warriors reluctantly took their positions.
“You have one rock too many,” pointed out Brodick, stooping to pick it up.
“That one is left for the spirits,” Gwendolyn quickly improvised. “Now slowly crush the needles between your thumb and forefinger to release the ancient essence of the woods, then raise them to your nostrils, close your eyes, and inhale deeply.”
The three warriors regarded her skeptically.
“You must do as I say,” Gwendolyn insisted, “or the spell won’t work.”
Feeling foolish, they followed her instructions.
“Good. Now we must wait,” she said, closing her eyes and spreading her bare arms wide over the fire, “for the howling of the spirits.”
At that precise moment, Isabella stirred from her swoon. She took one look at them and screamed so loud she sent a flock of bats screeching in a furious cloud over their heads. Then she collapsed in a dead faint once more.
“Christ!” swore Cameron, swatting at a bat, “what the hell is wrong with that lass?”
“The spirits have howled,” Gwendolyn pronounced gravely, her eyes still closed. “They are with us.”
Brodick cracked open an eye.
“Close your eyes, Brodick,” Gwendolyn scolded.
He obeyed, uncertain how she had known, since her own eyes appeared tightly shut.
“Oh, great spirits of the darkness,” Gwendolyn moaned, swaying her arms over the fire, “I call upon you to relieve the suffering of these weak, foolish, ignorant, puny mortals.”
“Did the lass call us puny?” asked Cameron, baffled by her description.
“She must mean Ned,” Brodick decided.
“What do you mean by that?” demanded Ned, opening his eyes.
“You can’t think she is referring to me, Neddie,” Cameron scoffed. “That’s plain enough, I think.”
“Or me,” added Brodick.
“Maybe you’re the foolish, ignorant mortals,” Ned suggested testily.
Gwendolyn opened her eyes and planted her hands on her hips in exasperation. “Do you want me to cast this spell or don’t you?”
The warriors exchanged sullen glances, then closed their eyes once more.
“Fine,” she muttered. “Let’s just hope the spirits didn’t get annoyed with you and leave.
” She closed her eyes and slowly circled her hands over the fire.
“Oh, great spirits, I ask that you drain the feeble bodies of these warriors of poisons, illness, and pain, and fill them with strength.” Her voice began to crescendo as she continued.
“Peel away the layers of their pathetic mortal suffering, that they may rest well tonight and feel better with the rising of the sun!”
A deafening crack of thunder shattered the stillness, immediately followed by a silvery streak of lightning. Dark, ominous clouds suddenly choked the clear cape of night, and a powerful wind blasted through the forest.
“By God, lassie,” Cameron marveled, his red hair blowing crazily around him, “I think you woke those spirits up!”
Brodick warily eyed the roiling sky. “Do you think she’s made them angry?”
“Maybe they always react like this,” suggested Ned.
Another ribbon of lightning split the sky, followed by an explosion of thunder.
“Is this normal, lass?” Cameron shouted, his words muffled by the wind.
Gwendolyn regarded the sky in bewilderment. She had never witnessed such an abrupt change in the weather.
“Everything is fine,” she assured them loudly. “The spirits have heard my plea.”
They remained in their circle, watching the sky pitch and flash as a cool gale whipped their hair and clothes.
And then, just as suddenly as it had burst upon them, the storm died.
The wind gasped and was gone, and the clouds melted into the darkness, unveiling the silent, tranquil glow of the moon and stars once again.
“By God, that was something!” Cameron roared, slapping Brodick heartily on the back. “Have you ever seen such a thing?”
“Did you see that, Alex?” asked Brodick, looking uneasy.
“Aye,” Alex said. “I saw.”
Brodick raised his arm and cautiously flexed it at the elbow. “I think my arm feels better.” He sounded more troubled than pleased.
“I know my head feels better!” Cameron said happily. “What about you, Neddie?”
“I have no wounds for the witch to heal.” Ned frowned. “That’s odd,” he remarked, slowly turning his head from side to side. “My neck has been stiff and aching for a week, and suddenly it feels fine.”
Gwendolyn folded her arms across her chest and regarded them triumphantly, masking her profound relief. Clearly just the suggestion that they would feel better had had an effect on them, which was what she had hoped would happen. Luckily, the weather had complemented her little performance.
“Can you cast that spell on anyone?” asked Cameron, still excited.
“Not everyone,” she replied carefully. “And my spells don’t always work.”
“What do you mean?” demanded Alex.
“The success of a spell depends on many things,” she replied evasively. Although it was essential MacDunn believe she had powers, she did not want him to think she could simply say a few words and fell an entire army. “My powers will not work on everyone.”
“I don’t give a damn if they work on everyone,” he growled. “As long as they work on one person.” His expression was harsh. “Cameron, take the first watch. The rest of you get some sleep. We ride at first light.”