„This is bloody creepy", Laertes muttered under his breath. He was hidden behind a tree and observed the scene in front of him. Fiona had just approached the guards outside the gate of the fortress. The forestman could not understand what she told them but it must have been something along the lines of being half ghoul and desperately awaited by their mistress. When the guards appeared to doubt her words Laertes was witness to one of her transformations. He kind of got used to her changing her eye colour from blue to that particular shade of green. But what she did to convince the guards did impressed him deeply. Fiona reached out for the walls of the fortress. The moment her fingers touched the stones her long black hair started to become lighter until it was of a dark grey. She stepped closer to the wall and her whole form seemed to fade into it as she gradually changed the colour of her garment and skin.
The guards were convinced enough by her performance to grand her entrance.
"She has got a lot of ghoulmagic in her already", Laertes thought as he let his eyes travel over the fortress walls to contemplate the best way in. "If that's only half I really don't want to go up against a true ghoulwarrior. Just my luck that there will be no way around it."
He sighed irritated not only at that realisation but as well at the sight of the fortress in front of him. He could be as stealthy as he wanted to but neither the gate nor the walls would be easily overcome. He kept behind the trees as he made his way around the looming walls of the sisters castle. Some trees showed yellow leaves on the top branches and he made sure to avoid them. Fiona had told him to be aware of dragonflies as well. At first he found it hard to take her warning seriously but when she explained to him about the chosen animals of the ghouls his mirth had died away. The memory of that bird of prey still drove shivers down his spine. He had become very accustomed with the animals of the forest and seeing one behaving so out of its natural way had disturbed him more than he cared to admit. No dragonflies were around though and he relaxed a bit. He had had a very long sleep the night before. It had been very refreshing thanks to the healers efforts. But now he could feel the old pain throbbing in his arm. The birds gifts were as well still making themselves known and he really wished for an other rest before braving the fortress. All his tiredness was forgotten though as he saw a little stream coming up in front of him. It seemed to flow right through the castle grounds. There was a low grid where the stream entered the castle. It provided the best way in yet. Laertes sat down cross legged and watched the stream for a while. The grid would not provide a problem as he was very slim and agile. His swimming skills were not the best but if he was right he would not have to swim for too long. Inside there surely would be a cellar or dungeon bordering onto the stream. His eyes fixed the flowing water following its casual whirls. He rubbed a hand over his face and allowed himself to close his eyes briefly. The problem was his aversion of being near any kind of water. Crossing the lake had been a trying journey. He had done his best to keep a straight face and not let any of his emotions show. Fiona was very observant and much to kind hearted for his liking. Laertes was really grateful for her not too compassionate reaction to his revelation about his family. Anyone who had tried to comfort him had only resulted in fuelling his anger so far. Maybe apart from Sally, his late wife's cousin, who worked at the tavern in which the guards had arrested him. Strange that he had to think of Sally now. He had not spoken to her in years. Maybe she still had his instruments stored away for him. Laertes had played the fiddle and the flute many times in the tavern before the Lake Bellomore attack. Sally's hope had always been to coax him out of his anger and mourning enough to get him to play again. Maybe one day he would. Maybe when the thought of entering water or just being close to it would not make his chest grow tight with grief. With a deep breath he squared his shoulders and brushed the rising memories of his family away. He got up and stepped closer to the edge of the stream.
"Pull yourself together, man!" he thought. "Afterall, you grew up next to a lake and you can`t avoid water forever!"
Later Laertes could not say what alerted him. Maybe his subconsciousness had registered a presence already while his mind was occupied with other thoughts. He did not tense or turn around but waited. The forestman felt more than heard something coming towards him from behind. Just before it reached him, he side stepped. In the fraction of a moment he hit his stumbling opponent on the back and had him on the ground. Placing a knee between the shoulder blades of the figure before him he grabbed a fistful of its dark hair and jerked its head upwards.
"You better give me a good reason to stop now", he hissed. The hair in his hand changed colour the moment he touched it.
"Don't think you can disappear on me. I know all your little tricks."
The ghoul did not answer. Laertes pushed his head down again and grabbed the ghouls wrists. He hold them with one hand as he pulled out a piece of cord from his bag. Strangely the ghoul did not put up a fight. Laertes had no time to wonder about that. Just when he had tied his hands he heard a rustling noise behind him. The forestman spun around and ducked out of the way of a heavy branch that sailed past him and crushed into the stream behind him.
"Stop that right now, my shifty friend or I get really unfriendly!" With that he turned the ghoul around and put his dagger to his throat. Green eyes stared at him. Maybe there was a flicker of fear in them but Laertes could not tell for sure with these ghoules.
"Who send you? The castle guards?"
Of course the ghoul did not answer. Laertes was not sure whether they even talked his language. He was rather certain that this one came by himself though. As far as he still could trust his senses he did not notice anyone else nearby. But what should he do with this one now? Leave him here? Gag him?
Following a sudden idea he took out the small vial of green liquid the Countess had given to him. If it helped to stop the sisters invading Fionas mind maybe it would have an effect on any ghoul? The chances were slim but he uncorked it anyway and poured some of it in his hand. The effect was astonishing. Just the strong smell of the potion seemed to scare the ghoul already. He flinched away violently and kicked out as he saw Laertes bend down. The forestman swiftly brushed his hand over the ghouls face avoiding to be bitten by him. The green potion ran in little streams down the ghouls face and he started trembling. Then he tensed and his eyes rolled back in his head.
"Dear me", Laertes breathed as he saw the body of the ghoul go limp. The figure before him had changed colour again. Now he was of a pale grey that looked very unhealthy.
Laertes quickly made sure that he still was breathing and he had not unwillingly killed him.
"This is more powerful than I thought", he muttered and put the vial carefully away again. He might just have found a way to fight his way from the island should it become necessary.
The forestman looked down at the ghoul before him. He figured that the spell the Countess had performed on Fiona had been to weaken her sorcerer side. The waves of dizziness had been before he put the potion on. The potion seemed to have to be applied to battle down Fionas ghoul side as well. No wonder she had virtually passed out the minute he had touched her forehead.
"A caring grandmother would have told me of the dangers this potion holds", he thought. "She told me never to use much, but this stuff is lethal!"
On the other hand maybe Sophie had thought it was best not to let him now what powerful poison he had on him. Perhaps she had been afraid of him trying to harm her granddaughter.
Laertes shook his head.
"I could have easily harmed her seriously just by putting accidentally too much on." To his surprise the thought bothered him more than he would have expected.
He quickly shook himself out of these musings and stretched his senses to check the surrounding. Still everything seemed quiet. With a few determined steps he was waist deep in the waters of the stream. Suppressing a shiver as the cool water brushed against him he lowered himself down and swam towards the grid. As he had thought it did not provide any real difficulty. He dived through and swam into the darkness of the fortress beyond. The water felt eerie. At first he put it down to himself but the more he felt it close around him the stronger grew his suspicion that this stream was not at all a normal creek. It got confirmed the moment he felt a ledge next to him and pulled himself out of the water. His clothes needed only moments to dry. Laertes patted them a few times but there was no doubt about them being dry.
"There is bloody magic everywhere!" He did not feel comfortable to be surrounded by it all the time. Things never were the way he expected them to be. The water did not seemed to have harmed him though. On the contrary he felt strangely revived. Even the wounds on his arms and back where the bird of prey had attacked him did not hurt that much anymore.
His fingers felt for any obstacles coming up in front him in the darkness as Laertes slowly made his way along the ledge. He kept close to the wall and strained his ears for any sound, but apart from the soft murmur of the stream nothing was to be heard.
After a while the wall ended and gave way to a flight of stairs. Laertes could make them out in the faint light of a torch that illuminated them somewhere on the top of the stairs.
He had found his way into the fortress. Now he just needed to find Fiona.
ooooOoooo
The Sisters and Fiona sat in what could be described as the banquet hall of the fortress. Chandeliers hang from the beams of the ceiling and the long table underneath them seemed to loose itself in the vast room that stretched around it. Ghouls were known to be dancers and the wide open hall underneath him did seem to be for just that purpose. Laertes lay on one of the beams and watched the three women. The sisters were small ladies with dark grey hair. Their skin was brown and their eyes shone in that vivid green he could even make out from his high post of observation. They were dressed in very plain dark green garments. As he watched them he could not help but notice a certain similarity between them and Fiona. Maybe it was the way they moved. As if they would blend in everywhere – literally being one with their surroundings. He had noticed that with Fiona before. She seemed to be comfortable in every surrounding as if she could touch the very soul of the place and ask its permission to be around. Laertes shook his head slightly. It was not like him to have fancy thoughts like that. On the other hand these ghouls were peculiar beings.
"Of course that would be what the Countess would suspect us to do, my dear", the taller one of the sisters said in a soft melodious voice. "But I can assure you we have no interest in taking your power. No marriage was ever planed." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"We don't want an other war with the Countess. Although it is good to hear that she still is afraid of us we have to admit that we are not powerful enough to overthrow her. Or willing enough to sacrifice more of our people to a foolish war." She turned to her sister who had folded her arms at her words."You know it is true, sister, and it is only fair to be honest with Fiona." She smiled at the young healer. "I would lie if I said that we have no desire for revenge, Marena more than me, but its futile at the moment. Maybe we wont live to the day when the ghouls rise to leave these islands and their exile behind. But the day will certainly come." She looked at her sister and Marena continued.
"The reason why we wanted you here on the islands is the last wish of your father." She got up and stepped closer to Fiona. Her hand reached out as if to touch the young healers hair but she withdrew it in the last moment.
"He was our nephew and very dear to us."
"Your mother as well", the taller one chirped in her melodious voice. "It was a dark day when the Countess henchmen took her life."
Laertes looked at Fiona from above. Her face was impassive. He had noticed before that she could conceal her emotions just as well as him. But he saw her nod once curtly as if she would not trust her voice.
"Your father died of an illness two years ago. In his last days his thoughts were all about you and he begged us to take care of you and help you to enable your powers as a ghoul once the time had come."
Fiona looked up sharply.
"So you want me here to perform the rites that give me full use of my ghoulpowers? But … I thought only real ghouls are allowed to do it …"
The taller sister came to stand next to the young healer as well.
"And who told you that, Fiona? Your grandmother?" As Fiona averted her eyes she nodded.
"You have every right to do the ghoul rituals." She gently turned Fionas face towards her. "We have been watching you, my child. It has been a great joy for us to see you use ghoulmagic in your healer profession and your decision to refuse sorcerer magic warmed our hearts."
"In fact that was when we decided to try and get you to the islands. It was clear to us that your ghoul side is much stronger than your sorcerer side", Marena added. She gave her sister a warm smile."Leandra had the idea of trying to get to you through your mind. There is not much a sorcerer can do to stop ghouls linking their minds."
The sentence hang in the air. There was something in Marenas tone that said more than her words. Fiona leaned back in her chair and looked at the sisters. Then she sighed softly and a defeated smile played around her lips as she bowed her head to the sisters in acknowledgement.
"You knew all along. We did not even fool you for a bit."
The sisters simultaneously shook their heads and Leandra gave a small laugh.
"Yes. We also know about your red headed friend." She looked up and her eyes found Laertes without hesitation.
"You can come down now and join our little talk in a more comfortable position, young man", she said. Laertes could see a twinkle of amusement in her green eyes. With an annoyed grunt he slid from the beam until he only got hold of it by his hands. He dangled above the table for a while and then jumped. The muddy marks his boots left on the white table cloth gave him a grim satisfaction. He did not like being outwitted so easily. Well, the whole journey had not been his plan but still he would be damned if he knew how the sisters knew exactly where he had been hiding. Maybe even the very walls of their fortress were their spies. He came to stand next to Fionas chair and gave the sisters a deep bow.
"Greetings, creepy Ladies. I hope you have no intentions of invading my mind any time soon. It is full of insults and swearing at the moment and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings", he said in his sweetest tone.
Fiona laid a warning hand on his arm but the Sisters didn't`t take any offence at his words.
Leandra let her eyes travel over him. "A Bound One", she muttered. Then she fixed Laertes with her eyes. "I see you have come armed." She did not point to the dagger he had concealed in his sleeve but to the pocket in which he had the small vial.
"Yes, and I prefer it that way, thank you very much."
Leandra shrugged and turned away.
"We do not mean any harm to both of you", she said. "You are free to stay for however long you want and leave whenever you wish to."
She gave Fiona a smile.
"We know this must be very disturbing and new for you. But be reassured that we wont link minds with you again without your permission. We just wanted to have a chance of meeting you here on the islands. It shall be an opportunity for you to return to your roots and become one with yourself. And for us to fulfil a promise we gave to a loved one." She paused. "Not everyone has just his own advantage in mind", she added and for the first time Laertes could detect an underlying bitterness in her melodious voice.
"We will leave the two of you alone now. I am sure Fiona will have a lot to think about." Leandra motioned for a servant that had waited by the door throughout the conversation.
"Bring some food and drink for our guests", she instructed him. Then she nodded to Fiona and left the room. Before her sister could follow her Laertes called after her.
"My lady, if you mean me no harm why have I been attacked by one of your henchmen outside the castle? You knew all along that I was with Fiona so why was I welcomed in such a rude way?"
Marena stiffened at his words. She turned to face him and he could read anger in her green eyes but her voice did not show any sign of it.
"He came to greet you and show you an easier way in than the one you chose. You were the one attacking him. He is not faring very well, if you are interested."
"Well, I am sorry to hear that", Laertes answered and it partly was true. "But when somebody sneaks up on me from behind I don't greet him friendly. He did not explain himself but tried to crush a tree onto me as well."
"He does not speak your language, Bound One." With that Marena left.
"Then send someone after me who does next time!" Laertes called as the door fell shut behind her.
Silence filled the room. After a while Fiona got up and looked out of the window that gave a good view over the island and the Lost Lake beyond. Laertes watched her and said nothing. She had taken off the blue coat of the healers and her dress showed signs of their eventful journey. The rim had muddy stains and he was sure it was not only torn at the sleeve where his dagger had sliced past her. She had her back to him and he wondered which thoughts went through her mind. It certainly was not an easy situation for her. He was not sure himself whether to believe the sisters or not. Although he was partly inclined to take their side just because they were Sophies enemies. And powerful ones at that. On the other hand he did not trust their soft spoken words and velvet voices. They were a bit too selfless for his liking.
His musings were interrupted as the servant brought the food in.
Laertes sat down and started eating straight away. Maybe he did not believe them entirely but he would not miss an opportunity to fill his belly with good food.
"Sit down and have something to eat as well", he said as the young healer did not leave her window. "I am sure thinking and eating do not exclude each other."
She gave a small laugh at his words. Then she came and joined him at the table. They ate in silence until Fiona finally looked up from her plate and searched his eyes.
"What do you make of this?" she asked.
Laertes leaned back and folded his arms.
"Here we go", he thought. "Consultant to Sophies granddaughter, what comes next?"
"I don't think you really want to hear my opinion on this. Anyway what ever you decide I have to follow."
Fiona brushed his words away.
"Oh, stop that Bound One talk now, Laertes. You are very outspoken and that is exactly what will help me in my predicament."
Laertes raised an eyebrow at her.
"Is that an order, princess?"
He knew his words had hit her the moment he saw her expression go impassive. She laid her fork down and carefully folded her napkin next to the plate.
"I see you don't want to discuss the matter", she said evenly and pushed her chair back. Fiona took her blue coat and draped it with a swift movement over her shoulders.
"Please excuse me now. I will have a stroll round the gardens. Walking clears the mind and helps making decisions, don't you agree?"
Laertes filled his goblet again with the sweet red wine of the sisters, took a sip and watched her leave the room. As she shut the door softly behind her he shook his head.
"Too soft hearted and far too trusting", he muttered and finished the wine.
He had just started his second plate as he felt the silver bracelet around his wrist go cold.
"Ah", he thought. "Sophie is getting impatient." Laertes took his time finishing his food. Just as the cold silver threatened to burn his skin. He pushed his chair back and grabbed one of the empty bowls. Carefully checking that no one was around he placed the bowl on a little table near the window and poured some water from the carafe into it. As soon as the grey powder from his bag had dissolved and he dipped his wrist in, the greyish water cleared and showed Sophies face.
He took his hand out and shook the water from it as he started to tell her what happened since his last report. This time he enjoyed reporting to her because he could see that she did not like the development one little bit. The Countess stared at him but he had the feeling her gaze went right through him.
"So she is going to betray me as well", she said. Sophie spoke quietly but it did not soften her tone. It felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped a few degrees and Laertes could not suppress a shudder at her words. Her eyes where hard as flint as she finally focused on him again.
"Kill her then. And make sure it is done before these ghoulcreatures can perform any ritual with her."
Although his cynical mind had always seen the possibility of something like this happening the order still came as a shock to Laertes.
His thoughts were racing through his head as he carefully set his face into a mildly surprised expression. He raised an eyebrow at her and asked:
"Is that not a trifle premature, your highness? She has not betrayed you yet."
"She will. Just like her mother. I can`t take that risk. Kill her tonight."
Laertes gave her his mock smile and tried to calm down is racing heartbeat.
"Dear me, Countess, this is evil even for you."
A second later he gasped. Not at the hot pain that shot through his arm but at the translucent hand that came out of the water and grabbed his wrist.
"You are mine, Bound One and you will do as I say", Sophie hissed. The hand was gone as fast as it had appeared but Laertes felt himself trembling. Anger at his own weakness rose in him and he clenched his hands to stop them from shaking.
"I have no intention of disobeying you. I don't care whether she lives or not!" he spat. "But this is nasty work and I want your word of honour that I am free once I did it!"
The Countess face broke into a smile that let Laertes blood run cold.
"Oh you have my word of honour on that, Bound One. But be sure, should you fail me you will die in agony in less than three days."
Laertes cradled his burning arm and gave a slight shrug.
"Yes, yes I know. I am not new to this, remember?"
The water in the bowl clouded over again.
"Just don't fail me", he heard the Countess say before her picture disappeared all together. Laertes gave the table a kick that send the water bowl flying through the room. It shattered on the stone floor. He stared at the water pooling around the shards and felt his shoulders slump. The silver bracelet glowed and send stabs of pain already up his arm as if the countess wanted to make sure he did not forget how her punishment could be. Laertes leaned against the wall next to the window and slid down until he sat on the floor. It possibly was going to be his last quest. Last one or not it certainly would be the hardest up to now. He heard the door opening again but did not turn his head. Without looking up he recognized Fionas footsteps. She paused briefly next to the shattered bowl then she came to stand next to him.
"Laertes? What happened?" She sounded concerned
"Too kind hearted, too trusting and far too forgiving", he thought.
As she bent over him to touch his shoulder, he could feel his dagger in his sleeve, ready to slip into his hand. Laertes looked up. She was so close now that he noticed tiny drops of water in her hair from the drizzle outside. He could smell the faint scent of pine and lavender that he had noticed on her before.
"Too easy to kill", he thought and grabbed hold of her arm.