Chapter
Six
Lynn woke up to a blood curdling scream in the dead
of night. Her breath was ragged and shallow. Her bed clothes clung to her
soaked skin. But the night was still, she could hear the crickets outside the
lead glass window. Nickolas woke to her gasp. “You alright?” he questioned,
stroking her damp hair. Lynn looked at him with confused eyes and replied, “I
believe so.” “What happened, dear?” Nickolas pressed. Lynn took a deep breath,
that horrible sound still in her mind. “I heard a scream…it was so terrifying,
so….” Lynn stopped as she began to cry. Nickolas comforted her as best he
could, taking her into his arms and rocking her slightly. “It was only a
dream,” he whispered. “It was so….awful as if she knew this was the last sound
she would make,” Lynn sobbed. Nickolas held her as she calmed down and fell
back asleep. It may have been a dream, but with Lynn, Nickolas knew her dreams
had power.
That morning, Nickolas went to the fields and Lynn
went to work in the castle, as usual. But the day brought a visitor and
unsettling news. At first Lynn was delighted to see her dear friend, Michelle,
making her way up the path. As children, the two young women were like sisters.
Lynn, being slightly older, taught her many things and felt she had a hand in
shaping her into the woman she was today. But as Michelle came closer, Lynn saw
her face was drawn in sorrow and tears had salted her cheeks. She left the
gloomy confines of the kitchen and met Michelle in the path. Michelle fell into
her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Lynn knew not what was wrong, but knew it to
be horrible. Her stomach knotted at she held her friend, calming her as best
she could with soft words and caring hands.
Lynn led Michelle to a bale of hay that had been
left out and guided her into sitting down. Michelle clung to Lynn desperately,
her sobs slowly subsiding. Lynn continued to stroke her friend’s back until her
emotions were through. “What happened?” Lynn asked carefully, not wanting to
upset her again. Michelle took a deep breath and choked out, “Sarah….she’s
dead.” She looked up into Lynn’s eyes. The green orbs were glassy, a far away
look in them. Images and feelings passed through Lynn’s mind’s eye. Images of
blood and torn flesh, feelings of terrific pain and hurt….torturous pleasure.
She saw Sarah’s clothes torn, half off her body, her nails frantically clawing
at her attacker, her eyes dimming as her life drained out of her. Her broken
body lying dead in the cold woods, her once playful eyes staring blankly at the
frozen sky. Lynn squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pictures to go away. She
doubled over in emotion, her body retching nothing.
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Sarah was like Michelle and Lynn’s sister as well.
She was an orphan, taken in by a kind, but poor family. At age 14, the family
could no longer afford her, so she earned her room at the tavern working for
numerous families in the village. She performed housework for the women and
other favors for their husbands. Not the purest girl, Sarah had a heart of gold
and would never hurt anyone. Michelle and Lynn were the only ones who didn’t
judge her, but accepted this is as what she had to do to survive. Once every
week, they performed protection rites against any harm that could come her way.
She did not deserve this death.
The two women sat in front of a roaring fire,
blankets wrapped around their shoulders. Nickolas had grown up with Sarah as
well. His eyes glistened with unshed tears as accounts of her death passed
through his brain. Brutally taken, forced, and killed. Strange markings on her
neck. It was troubling altogether. No one knew what to make of it.
Lynn’s strained voice broke the silence. “It was
her scream I heard last night.” Michelle just looked shocked, “What?” she
whispered. Nickolas knelt beside her and held her hand as she explained, “I
woke to a scream last night, but it was still…like I had dreamt it.” “I…I had a
dream too,” Michelle confessed. Lynn and Nickolas looked at her, their eyes
surprised. She went on, “I met a man a fortnight ago. We were intimate.” She
stopped in embarrassment, took a deep breath, and started again, “Every night
since, I have been having dreams about him, doing odd things with him.” “Like
what?” Nickolas asked. Michelle shifted uncomfortably, “Things I’d never do in
a sane mind. We kill animals and it feels like the best feeling in the world,
spiritual in fact. We make love, our bodies soaked in blood…” She shut her eyes
and shook her head, as if to shake the images out. Lynn reached out and
squeezed her hand. Tears leaked out of Michelle’s eyes. “I know it’s wrong, but
in the dreams, it’s right.”
A heavy door slamming broke their conference and
Lord Alexander soon entered with a tall, dark stranger. “Oh, I’d like you to
meet my guests, Nickolas Carter and his wife, Lynn. They are staying with me as
Nickolas works my personal land,” Lord Alex said. Nickolas stood up and made
the customary bow, as he is a peasant. The mysterious man nodded his head and
turned to Lynn. She bowed her head as he took her hand, kissing it lightly. Lynn
felt a cold chill slither down her spine and breathed out in relief as he let
her hand go. “Come, my weary friend, let us drink into the night!” Alex said,
leading this man back the way they came.
