Chapter Ten #3
Edmund watched his sister as she lost herself in a stupor. Opening the door, he barked breathless orders to a guard and the man disappeared down the hall. Edmund closed the door, biting his nails as Johanne continued to hex Micheline.
A knock on the door came several minutes later and Edmund yanked the panel open.
“My lord requires me?” Corwin asked quietly.
Edmund nodded, practically dragging the man into the room. When Corwin saw the heap on the floor, his nostrils flared.
“Dear God,” he breathed. “You… you cannot mean….”
Edmund refused to listen, shoving him in Micheline’s direction. “Take her,” he commanded. “Johanne has wished her away and it is your duty to fulfill her desire.”
Corwin was pale. “Not again.” He turned beseechingly to Edmund. “Kirk will return tomorrow. There is not enough time to…”
“There is plenty of time!” Edmund shoved him again. “Take her and be rid of her. It is your duty!”
“My lord, I cannot!” Corwin was trying to stand his ground. “This woman is not like the others!”
“She is!”
“She is your wife, my lord, and Kirk has taken a personal interest in her. He already suspects my participation in these vanishings!”
“He does not. ’Tis Niles he suspects thanks to the seeds of doubt I myself planted. Now move!”
Corwin would not be swayed. “But Niles is with him. He’ll know it is me if…!”
Edmund grabbed him, slapping his open palm over the man’s mouth. Hurling Corwin against the wall, Edmund’s face was ashen as he faced off against the reluctant knight.
“We are only doing as Johanne demands.” His lips were against Corwin’s cheek, the foul stench of his breath pervasive. “This is her doing, not ours. We are merely instruments through which her mighty powers work. We are but servants!”
Corwin was terrified of the glint in Edmund’s eyes. “We are murderers!”
Edmund yanked him away from the wall, tossing him toward the fireplace in his dementia. Corwin stumbled over the billows, landing next to Micheline’s feet. Before he could scramble away, Edmund leapt on top of him, grabbing him by the hair and forcing him to look at the lady’s limp form.
“Look at her,” he hissed, yanking the knight’s hair until the man gasped in pain. “Look at her! She is not worth the price of your worry, Corwin, for just as easily she could be your wife if you do not cooperate. Do you understand me clearly?”
It was always the same threat. A threat Corwin always succumbed to because he believed Edmund would carry it through. Ever since Corwin had married his cousin, a woman he had been in love with since childhood, his wife had been wielded against him like a weapon.
“I refuse to do this again. You cannot threaten me with…!”
“Do it or I tell Kirk the vanishings were all of your doing. He will have no choice but to believe me and after your execution has been carried out, I will make sure Lady Valdine and Lady Wanda live nothing short of a hellish existence!”
God help him, Corwin knew he spoke the truth. And he was disgusted that the man was able to control him so easily. Edmund released his hair, rising unsteadily from the floor. Corwin rose to his knees, struggling to recover his composure.
“Remove her, Corwin,” Edmund said again, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Remove her and we will see her no more.”
Swallowing hard, Corwin cast Edmund a loathsome glare as he stood on quaking feet. As Johanne continued to pray and Edmund poured himself a chalice of wine, Corwin scooped Micheline up from the floor. He was silent as he moved to the door.
“Corwin,” Edmund called to him before he could quit the chamber. “Leave the lady’s clothes in her chamber. Everything shall remain untouched.”
Corwin paused. He could hardly speak through his disgust. “And what will you tell Kirk?”
Edmund savored his wine, feeling the calming alcohol flood his veins.
“We shall tell him that the lady threw herself from the tower window, her reasons unknown.” He turned to the pale-faced knight.
“That is what you intend to do with her, is it not? I believe the tower would be a proper exit for my distraught wife.”
Corwin did not reply for a moment. “I suppose, considering you drown the last one. And the one before her. If I drown another, the lake will be floating with bodies and our activities will be obvious.”
Edmund looked to his sister, eyes closed as she wished her brother’s wife far, far away. He knew her simple mind hadn’t heard a word of what had been said. “Not our activities, Corwin.” He gestured to his sister with a raised goblet. “Johanne’s activities. This is her doing, after all.”
Corwin shook his head, slowly. “Why must you blame her? Her thoughts may be evil, but it is you and I who carry out the sentence.”
Edmund drained his cup, moving to the bed where his sister continued to pray. Reaching out, he stroked her tangled hair. “We must keep Johanne happy, Corwin.”
Corwin left the chamber without another word, Micheline’s limp body flopping in his arms. The sun was setting, intermittent rays of light streaming through windows as the knight mounted the stairs for the tower.
The cylinder was narrow, the steps winding an endless circle skyward. Micheline stirred, groaning softly as Corwin neared the top. Just as he entered the dusty, unused chamber at the summit, Micheline raised her head, her eyes struggling to focus.
“Sir Corwin,” she mumbled. “What… happened?”
Corwin was beyond all rational thought. He dumped Micheline on the floor, his eyes wild.
“You will stay here,” he gasped, wiping the sweat from his brow. “You will not leave this place if you value your life. Do you understand me?”
Micheline stared at him, her stomach lurching and her head spinning. Tears filled her frightened eyes. “What has happened?”
Corwin struggled with his control. “Your death is what will happen if you leave. Kirk will return in two days and we must wait for him. Until that time, you must stay here and remain completely silent. No one must know of your presence.” He suddenly grabbed her by the arms, shouting.
“Tell me you understand what I have told you!”
Micheline burst into terrified tears. “I do,” she sobbed. “Did Edmund… is he…?”
Corwin did not answer. Releasing the dazed woman, he stumbled from the chamber and slammed the door. Micheline heard the rusty bolt as it slid across the panel, locking her in. His footfalls faded down the stairs, leaving Micheline confused and scared.
Looking about the cobwebs and broken furniture of her new home, she covered her face and wept.