She wasn’t sure what to expect from the drink, perhaps she would become somewhat groggy, or maybe she would feel particularly odd. But as it turned out, her mind steadily turned reality into dreams. She was in the herbal room one moment, trying to avoid eye contact with Sir Gothry—and the next, it was as if she blinked and found herself standing in a field of bright red poppies.
Marlene spun in a circle, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Had she actually left the manor, or was this just another vision?
The sun was shining high and bright in the sky, not a cloud to be found. Not even the fluffy white ones she enjoyed seeing on an otherwise clear day. Not a single, solitary tree rose up to offer a source of shade, just blood red as far as the eye could see.
Marlene…
She froze, hearing her name called upon the wind. It was just a whisper of sound, impossible to determine if it was male or female. “Who’s there?” she called out.
No answer came.
She decided that she would start walking in the direction she thought she heard it coming from. As she strode along, she strained to glance over the horizon, but it was endless, the gentle swaying field of poppies the only thing her mind dared to comprehend. She took a deep breath and held up her skirts, the same dark green that she had been wearing in the herbal room, as she starting running through the flowers. She ran until she thought her lungs would seize, until black spots danced in her vision from the security of her stays.
She abruptly fell to her knees, collapsing as she tried to catch her breath.
Still, there was nothing but the poppies all around her.
Marlene…
This time the disembodied voice seemed to come from right behind her. She turned around, but she was alone. She pursed her lips, her anger starting to rise to the surface.
“Stop playing games!” she shouted to the wind. “Show yourself! Tell me what you want!”
There was the sound of laughter on the breeze, but again, it was too distant to be clearly defined.
She got back to her feet and furiously swiped at her skirts. “You’re nothing!” she cried out. “Do you hear me? If you can’t face me, then that proves your cowardice!”
A sudden burst of wind lifted her off of her feet and sent her flying backward. She landed hard on the ground, her lungs fighting for breath once more. Rather than allow it to frighten her, she struggled to her feet. Shoving at the loose hair that had fallen out of her pins, she shouted, “Is that all the power you have?” she taunted. “My cousin has more power to injure than you do!”
This time, a malicious snarl rumbled up out of the harmonious scene around her. Dark storm clouds rolled in with a vengeance and the ground beneath her shook with a mighty force.
Marlene braced herself for what would happen next.
Blinking, she found herself sitting in the chair in the herbal room once again.
She exhaled sharply, forcing her hands to relax where they were clutching the arms of the chair in which she sat. She glanced up at Sir Gothry with wide eyes. “Why did you pull me out? I might have learned who was calling out to me.”
“I couldn’t take the risk. You might have been pulled further into the trance where it would have been impossible to free you.” He shoved a hand through his hair, his gaze upon her steady and thoughtful. Appearing restless, he got up and began to pace the room. “That was powerful dark magic at work. I haven’t encountered such evil in many years.”
She leaned back in the chair. “Was it Hector?”
He shook his head. “Hector might have been able to grow his power after he was removed from the coven, but this is something that is even beyond his realm of expertise.” He paused and stared in her direction, but more as if he was looking beyond her to some other place and time. “Beyond mine.”
Marlene feared for what he was about to say. “Are you saying it’s more powerful than witches?” She swallowed hard. “A sorcerer, perhaps?”
He gripped the edge of the mantel, and the warning of something dire prickled at the back of her neck. If he was this shaken by whatever had passed around him, it must be grave indeed. “What did you feel?” she asked, scared to even speak the words, because she was afraid of the answer he would give.
He slowly turned his head. His blue eyes were haunted as they pierced her. “I believe it could be the Prince of Darkness himself.”
Marlene could feel the blood recede from her face. She clutched the arms of the chair once more. It was so much worse than she could have imagined in her most horrific nightmares. “Are you claiming that the dev—”
His eyes flared with warning. “Don’t speak his name lest you are prepared for the consequences.”
She pursed her lips together and put a hand on her forehead. “I don’t believe this. It’s too…”
“Impossible?” he suggested, as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Au contraire. It could be the reason Hector is so fascinated with you. I’ve long considered that he was behind these occurrences, because I was told he had returned to England. If he knows of your power, it could be that he believes you are powerful enough to raise his master from beyond. It would make sense as to why he continues to maintain his distance from me, because he knows you are under my protection. But with a foe that strong on his side, I will definitely need to reach out to the others for assistance.”
Marlene wasn’t sure what to think. She was too stunned to comprehend much of anything at this point. “I need a drink,” she muttered. “But nothing that you might make in here.”
