CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR - FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Time was away in haste, and I knew that I had to get my foot into gear. Strange sensations assaulted me, and I had a headache that came with excruciating discomfort. Samsidion had already commissioned a gold smith to turn my deeply toned purple stones into golden rings. I had given him specific instructions as to how I needed the rings to be made because this would have to last him two centuries. The messenger took two days before he arrived with the finished product. My health was deteriorating to a point that I felt that I could not function. This was a clear indication to me that my time was forcefully being cut down. I spoke my fears to Samsidion and above all the stress that he was undergoing he was quite supportive. I did have one request from him, but I decided that I would first complete the process of healing Count Thaneus before asking this huge favor of him. I must admit that my nerves were shot but inside the embers of my heart I wanted this to be the perfect exit for me. The rings were crafted in magnificence. It was better than I had envisioned it and it came at exactly the right time. Count Thaneus whom I suspect was on edge in case the spell did not work. This time my confidence was elevated because I no longer needed Gram's book to act as a crutch. I was crushing this witch gig and most important of all, I was embracing my powers. I figured if I was doing good for someone then why not. Grams did tell me that my Count would play an integral part in society. I believed that with all of my heart. He was a good man and he always showed me explicit kindness. I took a bath in the morning and of course fasting was the essential part of me performing a ritual. I went down into the dungeon and Samsidion and his brother awaited me. The caldron awaited me, and I awakened the power with only my presence. My command had grown in the realms of the centuries, and I have to admit that a paradox of arrogance engulfed my ego. Grams words were coming to me bit by bit. As I was growing up Gram had given me stingy pieces of information that only makes sense to me now. She did not want to overwhelm me, and it only presently gave me the intelligence to understand her motives. She had told me that commanding a room would be the respect that dignity was made of. At the time I had thought that she meant people but now I comprehended that it was my craft that she spoke about. The caldron spoke to me not in words but actions as it had done before in the neck of the woods. I walked to it; glad that I had changed into a gown that my Count had provided for me. The black material swished across the room, and it gave me a sense of power. I was capped with a black bonnet and my entire garment was threaded in black lace. I felt majestic and even if I was the queen of the dark, I felt proud. I had the two rings in my hand and dropped it into the steaming caldron. It was not as long as the last time but this time I showed no reverence to fear and worry. My confidence level was no longer erratic; instead, it was parched with a thirst that awaited more responsibility. There was a down slide to this method of madness. The witch in me had a built-in hunger. The goodness and kindness were sniffling in cowardice, reminding me of who I was and my higher purpose. All this was trivial to me as my Count and his brother depended upon me. I became hungry too. I needed to yield power too and the only way that I could do that was to sacrifice a living full bloodied being. This time Count Samsidion had been uninvited to my party of thoughts. I did not think that it was necessary for him to be privy to private parts of my thinking. A girl needed her secrecy at times. I looked at him; my normal self was incognito as the witch had risen. He was confused because he could not follow my thoughts. I was neutral and went on as though I did not know just how crafty I had become. For one thing that I was quite certain was that I was a woman in control of her own convictions. This time, my spell would not be pliant; it was going to be molded in eternity. For Samsidion and Count Thaneus that meant eternity was earth only. This time I had to forgo the witches of the covenant and I totally bypass them to go to the Wizard of Manta. The wizard of Manta was not one to be played around with and I was not much in a playful mood. I was taking my craft seriously and I did not need room for any mistakes or comebacks. I did a dance around the big black pot, to my pleasure summoning the white Lord of Epitome. Grams came in a flash before me, reddened in anger. I held my own and just shrugged. She of all witches should understand my needs and for now I needed more control and a full proof result. I went into incantation mode, delving deeply into the soul of my thoughts. I bypassed every celestial being in my path and drove into the web of a dark court. Because of the force of my might, I peeked into his realm. He had caught me, and he did not look too pleased. I had to convince him, but he was the argumentative type. Manta was his haven where he felt cocooned, and I had just burst the embryo by grabbing his privacy and questioning his safety. Known as the Wizard of Manta, he was majestic and supreme. His beard of snow white fell over his chin in a luxury of silk. His dress was a robe of brown tied together by a sash of golden threads. He was revered and respected. It was said that the ultimate source of power that can be given to any witch comes from him. Right now, he was annoyed that I was invading his space. When he ignored me, I persisted by pushing into his head, hurting his thoughts. I nagged him until his head whipped and followed me home.
"You dare bring me here." He was howling, frigid with anger that I had disturbed him in his domain. He looked around the dungeon with dismay. "A place that houses the creatures of the undead."
That savagery angered me and I looked at him as though he mauled my insides. "You should not speak so harshly, mighty wizard of Manta." I took the low road and adjusted my tempo to that of humility. He grazed me with impatience. "Why do you summon me witch?" He demanded with flexes of fire flinging out of his milky eyes.
"I seek for the spell that will tie an amulet securely so that it may never be stolen." I know that I was being bold but there was just no other way but to come straight to the point.
He gave the two Counts a look that would burn holes in their already dead flesh. "You wish for me to help these." He did not care that he was being flippant, and I could not offend him by pointing out that he should speak with respect. His apparition hovered over the caldron, and he came forward to inspect me. I did feel a trite uncomfortable but for now I would adhere to his scrutiny.
"You look oddly familiar, witch."
I shot a gun in the dark hoping that this bullet of information would gain a status of matter. "I am the witch known as Gabrelle St. James. First in Nottingham to be burnt at the stake." While the notion was heinous, it was with pride I spoke to make the Wizard realize that I was not short on honor.
He came closer. "No that is not it." He sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. "There is something about you that makes for familiarity." He took his time and then he spoke. "Are you related to the witch Hannah."
I smiled. I was in the game and this particular spider was in my parlor. "Well Hannah was my mother, but my maternal grandmother was also Hannah." With a mischievous chortle I could not help but add. "A witch too."
"I know her all too well. Pushy little damsel if ever I saw one. Always fighting to have her own way." He gave me a quick once over. "A chip of the old block."
He was revered and I could see why. His wisdom was embedded in the paleness of his eyes. I waited because this process took patience. The room was silent, and I could tell that both Samsidion and Count Thaneus were getting fits of impatience. I dared not turn around and give them any sort of encouragement because distraction would waiver the Wizard`s interest. I looked at him full on; showing him that I did not fear him because respect was the only compulsion that I could honor him with. The hard chips of ice that kept his lips taut with refusal was melting away.
He knew the answer to the question, but he felt that he must ask it. "Why do you feel the need to give the magical gift of healing to these two?" He flung his hand in the direction of the two Counts, dismissing them as though they were non-entities. I had to admit it especially to myself it hurt that my Count and his brother had to be dissed in this fashion.
"You would never understand," I hissed at him. So much for me from becoming less flagrant.
"Try me." He was stalling and with emphasis being on stubborn he was outright baiting me.
"They are good people fashioned with kindness." That was no lie and I was not going to allow him to use me as bait.
He gave a harsh bark of laughter. "Do you take me to a fool witch?" This time my reserves were packing on low. Perhaps it was time to spit out the truth. It then occurred to me a powerful wizard such as himself was not without proclivities of knowledge. This was a test, and I was busy failing it. It was time to make amends and join the party with all the might that I could muster.
There goes everything. I needed to break the bank in order to gain more. "The older Count." I turned and looked my man in the eye. He too was waiting to see how I approached this situation. "He is my husband." I did not hold back because I was proud to be his wife. I focused my attention back to the wizard. "The younger Count is his brother but most importantly he is my brother too." I spoke out heartfelt words. "It is imperative that I give them the best chance of existence that I can." Another impassionate plea.
The wizard had already known that Count Samsidion was my betrothed, but he was putting me through a mill of fine interrogating me. I needed to be the puppet and dance to the pull of his strings. His gaze fell upon the Counts and then to me. He sure as hell was taking his time in making a decision. I looked at him with eagerness and then my gaze dropped.
"I cannot be a part of this." He eventually spoke out. "It is just not our way of life and you." He pointed out to me with no hesitation have broken the laws of our way. "You were a sacrificial lamb for the ones that feed of our people."
It was Samsidion that could no longer manage the brunt of his anger. "You are mistaken great Wizard of Manta." He had clearly enough from the old man. "We do not kill any man with blood vessels of kindness. We allow for a mutual transaction, but it is the wicked we take to the edge that eventually collapses to death." I had to lift up my eyebrows after hearing my Count give a clear account of the source of their meal. This was not sitting to well with the wizard being stood up to.
"You dare disrespect me boy." He howled throwing pressure and emphasis on the threshold of his station.
It was Count Thaneus that eventually spoke up. "We cannot disrespect you Sir, but this is a question of our existence." I loved the way Count Thaneus just spoke with ease. "If you do not wish to help us then you may be excused. Lady Gabrelle will give us a temporary one until we can get another witch to service us with another." That was about right, and I knew that Count Thaneus was right. I noticed that the wizard was having a tough time accepting that someone could talk down to him. He took a moment then he decided.
"Very well," I could see that his brain was working on over drive. "I have just one condition." Three pairs of eyes looked at him as though we were in the audience looking at a stage of an interesting play. "I will need revenge on the clergy that made an example of a witch and burnt her at the stake. He was talking about me of course.
Count Samsidion rose to the occasion. "It will be my biggest pleasure."
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
The rest of the ceremony took flight from there on. Eventually the steam dissipated, and I retrieved the rings from the huge black pot. The incantations that the wizard chanted enhanced the power of the ring to many variables. I could tell that it was power packed when I touched it in the palm of my hand. As I handed it to the Counts, I took away Samsidion`s old one and watched it turn into ash in my hands before dissolving with the sand on the floor. As we waived off the wizard, I was sure that he was still not happy about negotiating with the enemy, but he knew that an example had to be made. The test had arrived and this time I did not have the luxury of being nervous. My gut had told me that we had accomplished greatness and history was being made. My faith walked with ease as my beloved Samsidion and his brother Count Thaneus took to a walk into the sunlight. No one burnt; instead, the sunshine washed their faces as though it were rain. Count Thaneus grinned at me and spoke.
"You are just great Lady Gabrelle." He placed his hands over his face as though he was crying tears of joy. "You have given me a new lease on my existence." I returned him smile and then I felt the little devil with the hammer knock into my head. My Count looked at me as he knew that my torture came from the nagging that went on in my head. It was almost time for me to take my departure but there were three orders of business that we needed to take care of. I knew that this was the task of all three of us.
Count Samsidion joined me in the courtyard and encircled my waste in his arms. "He is right, you know." I wanted to ask who, but I already knew of who he spoke about. "I should have set an example on the day that you were burnt." We both still winced at the thought of me roasting a fiery death.
This was thought for soul food. "It was not the time. Now that I am here, we will take matters into our own hands."
Count Thaneus with his supersonic hearing joined us. "As a man that is undead, I still see the lack of compassion in what had happened to you." He looked directly at me as he spoke. "The best form of punishment would be befitting that the perpetrators should benefit the same ending that you had Lady Gabrelle." I nodded and it was befitting that he should address me by name from the past because the punishment that would be meted out belongs to Gabrelle only.
"We will need to do this fast and with skill." I did not explain further because it self-explanatory.
Samsidion knew what I was speaking about. My time in this century was almost up and there would be no way that I could prolong my destiny. The three of us hatched a plan, meticulously outlining our duties and exactly at the stroke of dark we left with Samsidion carrying me, so we reached the destination in record time. My task would be to approach the priest which I did covered in a veil of black lace. I took my seat on the pews of the church and pretended that I was a parishioner just going to church looking for God. He came to me just as I had expected. A smarmy man with double standards but a leech that pretended to be celibate while he preyed on the poor lasses that could cry to no one except a quiet field. I fitted into my role quite easily and began to sob.
Sputnik could have not been faster than him as he came to my aid.
"My child," there it was the smooth voice that he had used when he needed the flesh of a woman. He had used the same voice on me once, but I had turned him away. He had gotten his revenge over me. I buffered my voice to camouflage my old one.
"Oh, father this life is so unjust." I inwardly congratulated myself on how expertly I had played my role.
"Talk to me child." He was over eager, and I was only glad to oblige.
I took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Perhaps somewhere a little more private." He fell for that hook, line and sinker. He escorted me to his chambers and that is where Samsidion waited for him. As we entered the room and he shut the door, I removed my veil. From zero to ten his expression simplified into a change of horror.
He whispered, "You!" I gave him a silly chortle. "It is not possible."
"Why?" I begged the question. "Am I not dead?" I was hungrily baiting him, and I wanted to toy with him first before Samsidion took him away.
"I saw you burn." His eyes became beacons of shock.
"And that made you happy, did it?" He was furthering me into a state of anger. When I looked at him all I could see that he had shown me no mercy. "You burnt me alive." Tears were threatening to spill and just in time my Count came to the rescue. I was grateful to him that he did not allow for my emotions to melt in front of this piece of dirt.
"Make him suffer." I ordered Samsidion as he tied his hands and covered his mouth before carrying him off. It did not take Samsidion to come back for me and he took back to the exact spot that I was burnt alive. There were three stakes ready and already trussed with the playing participants. The Mayor who had already pissed his pants. The sycophantic priest that was bawling like a little baby and of course the sheriff who was too drunk to notice what was going on.
"It`s time brother." Thaneus was already with a lit bamboo torch in his hands. "Time is running out."
Samsidion went one last time and whispered in the three men`s ear. I did not care to know what he said but I knew fulfilling the promise that we had made to the wizard had become an essential must.
Count Thaneus came to me and handed over the torch. "I give you the honor Lady Gabrelle to do what was done upon you." I looked at my Count and he gave me a simple nod. I did not want to do this. It was shameful that one could lose humanity but my word to the wizard was golden. I stopped thinking and went straight to do the deed. In no time the fire was raging, and the men were screaming. We took many steps back and hid behind the thicket of the bush. No one had come to save these three lousy men and as I watched them waste away, the old feelings of my execution were fast fading away. Once we were fully satisfied that they would not come back to tell the tale, Samsidion carried me back to the castle while Count Thaneus followed.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
If I told you that I did not feel like crap after I played God and took things into my own hands, then I would be a terrible liar. Even though I was the subject of their hatred, I still felt a plethora of pity consume me. The wizard had appeared in my dreams, and he was happy that we had fulfilled the promise. Grams had also come, devoid of any emotion but reminded me that it was time that I got back home. Samsidion stayed with me the night and he knew what was eating away at me, but he consoled me in the best possible way he could. We had settled on the date of me going back home. I was going to have three glorious days with him before I surrendered myself back into the lake. That was one trip that I was not looking forward to. I still needed to ask my Count that question that I was plaguing me but that would be soon.
"Are you not asleep dearest." He asked me even though he knew that I did sleep for a while.
"I fear of missing every single lost minute with you." I was ladling the soup rich and heavy for him to salivate about me. He went stone quiet, and I suspected that the spasms of pain were attacking his heart to. I wanted to feel him next to me and I draped my arms around him tightly.
"It has been an amazing journey with you, my love." I comforted him.
"What would you like to do tomorrow?" He asked, changing the subject hoping for the heaviness to fly away. I had already thought of that, and I was enthusiastic when I answered.
"Let`s pack a picnic and go up to the mountains in the morning." It was there that I intended to bully him into giving me my desire. I could not see him but through the dark it was telepathic, and I could feel him grin.
"You are smiling right?"
"You know me so well." He laughed a breathy, whispery eruption of mirth. "Yes, we can spend the day high up in the mountains." His promise was good as gold. I was happy and satisfied and before long I fell off to sleep, snoring softly because I was safe in the arms of my Count.
As promised Samsidion had everything ready for us in the morning. The basket emitted aromatics of food that promised to be tantalizing. I asked him how were going but he said that it would be a surprise. He had gone ahead to set up a picnic and half an hour later he came back for me. We walked into the meadow, hand in hand until we were out of sight from anyone, only when Samsidion was sure that it was safe, he gathered me in his arms and ran up the mountains. He was amazingly fast and of course he did not feel any fatigue, but I was just compounded by exhilaration from the beauty of the mountains. When we got to the top my Count had already set up a heavy cloth in lieu of a blanket on the grass and the relaxed atmosphere got me basking in the winter`s sun. I caught a bird's eye view as we were at the peak of a mountain top that gave me the most spectacular view that was essentially one of God`s greatest creation. The mountain was dusted with a sprinkling of winter`s first snow and while I would be expected to feel the smatterings of a chill, it was the sunlight that nourished me with warmth.
"Cozy?" Count Samsidion`s was in good spirits despite the melancholy that we both felt of recent days. The ring on his finger gleamed and I felt extremely proud of my accomplishment. I took Gram's spell, and I aggravated it to a point of magnificence.
I oozed, enthusing, "This is one of the free gifts from a hierarchy that no one knows."
He was hesitant to ask but eventually curiosity broke free. "Did you get to meet your maker? He was trying to be gentle because my previous life death was something of a sore subject.
"I truly cannot remember." I resounded with honesty and to prove to him that I did not care about my circumstances of my last life I added. "It`s okay to talk about my life as Gabrelle." I swallowed my pain which now was very faint. My Count joined me on the ground and came close to me.
"My emptiness will be back once you go away." I too was feeling that deep void; a shame of leaving behind all that mattered. It was the order of life that we had already tampered with and there was no way that we could avoid it.
I took this opportunity to lay my head on his shoulder. The moment was pure perfection for me to ask him a question. "Sam," I strolled on his name, giving it the balance of a new era. "I have two requests to make." It was barely audible because on nerve endings I wanted to ask. Lucky for me Sam`s hearing was impeccably potent.
"If it is within my power there is nothing that I can deny you, my lady." I bit my lip but made sure that I did not draw blood. This was not the way that I wanted to draw my Count into my life. I did want to be wholly into his sphere but not in this way.
I took a breather then I went for gold. "The first time that we married it was in haste." I took a pause for him to drink in my words and feel refreshed to give me a well attired response. "Before I leave, I would love for you to remarry me." I did not think that it was a heady and unreasonable request. While I expected him to jump at joy and readily agree, he stalled. I have to admit that I was feeling the sting at his obvious rejection. "It is not a difficult request." I was going to be like a dog with a bone that I did not want to give up.
His grip on me loosened and he gave off a rigid imbalance. Even though he exuded no warmth I had always felt his love for me. Now he had gone stone cold on me. This was not going at all the way I had envisioned.
"Do you not want to marry me?" At this point I was oozing bitterness.
It was then that he decided to hail in exertion of emotions. "Is that what you think?" He growled out at me, but his tempo was low. In my experience when Samsidion was upset it was worse when his reprimands were at a low pitch. "You are my entire world Elle." I knew that but it still hurt when he was deflating my happiness by completely blowing me off. "It is off late that I have been seeing the error of my ways."
I blinked and asked. "I don't understand what you are saying per say."
He then changed his attitude and hugged me tight, almost crushing me. "I have been most selfish to you, and I cannot help but think that had I not been in your life you would have been alive today."
This amused me. "I am alive, Sam."
Obviously, he was not finding all of this funny and he snapped. "Just look at the circumstances my dear." There was a fire of resentment that was flying off his face. He was pissed off but not at me. He was crazily angry at himself. "You are alive in another century, and you came back for me." He was feeling the motions of helplessness. "Now you have to go away again." So that was the suffocation of his dilemma.
"We will find each other again." I spoke with conviction, but it was not enough for him. In the midst of his maddening words, he was coming to a point.
He shrugged. "For you it will be okay because you will be transported back to your world." Noises of emotional distress was grinding at the back of his throat. "For me I will have to find a way to live without you." I saw his point with pearly clarity, and I felt emotionally blackmailed. Was he trying to tell me that he wanted to move on with someone else.
"No that is not in accordance with my way of thinking."
"I just hate it when you get into my head and damn hijack my thoughts." I saw the confusion paste his features into lost and I had no intention of explaining to him. It was obvious to me that Samsidion did not want me to be part of his life. This was not only disappointing, but it was a spiral of pain and hurt with history repeating itself. I would have to return home with a broken heart and licking my wounds until I can no longer bear the pain.