Read Online Faery Queen by Michelle M. Pillow - Free Book Online Page A

pounding his own heart in his ears? He couldn’t be sure.
    â€œBlessed Saints, Hugh,” Thomas said at his side, trying to hold the wound on Hugh’s arm as he dragged his brother out of the burning stables into daylight.
    Hugh tried to answer, but it was too hard. Though he could hear, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t see what was happening around him.
    â€œEasy, brother,” Thomas said, his voice strained, “remain with us.”
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    William moaned before taking long, deep breaths as he opened one eye. The chamber was dark and quiet, and an uneven surface jabbed against his back, uncomfortable but not unbearable. His body felt heavy, pulled, and it took a moment before he realized he hung from chains along a damp stone wall.
    A prisoner? But whose?
    His first thought was the giant, Lord Angus. While he slept, William dreamt of the giant’s daughter, his mind stuck in a continuous loop of memory as their time together started and ended only to start again. As far as dreams went, it wasn’t a horrific one for he had found pleasure in her arms, though their time together didn’t end well. Lord Angus hadn’t been happy to discover the tryst.
    Did Angus find him and take him prisoner? Without light, it was impossible to tell where he was. He could very well be in a giant’s dungeon or in a farfadet’s. His feet touched the floor, but that wasn’t a clue. Aside from the darkness and the chains, his senses were almost completely deprived of any outside stimulation. All was quiet, except when he moved.
    It took some concentrating, but he remembered seeing the woman with violet eyes at Bellemare. She’d been magical, of that he was sure. A magical mercenary sent to the mortal realm to bring him to justice? By the feelings in his limbs, the tingling knowledge that magic surrounded him, he knew he’d been brought back to the immortal realm.
    â€œLight. I need light,” he said to himself, racking his brain for the right spell to use. William struggled with his chains, but they were too secure. He doubted mere strength would free him of them. Looking around, he couldn’t see anything in the pitch black. He sighed heavily and called out, “Ho! Does anyone there remember the spell to make light?”
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    Thomas paced outside his brother’s bedchamber. Even though it was daylight outside, the hall was dim. The faint sound of a bell ringing followed by Hugh’s weak cough made him stop his pacing so he could lean his head against the door. The physician had shooed him from the room as he worked applying herbs, burning incense and placing holy relics along the chamber to incite a recovery.
    William was gone, completely disappeared. Word of Hugh’s illness had spread, inciting a panic within the population of Bellemare. Charms were carried and placed through the castle and grounds. The small chapel was filled daily and the monk was up at all hours blessing the castle and pleading for deliverance against the wickedness that plagued them.
    It had taken some doing, but Thomas finally convinced the monk that a crazed peasant had attacked Hugh and not an evil spirit. The stables had burned and any evidence to the contrary was hidden within the ashes. Though they managed to save the horses, many of the animals were ill from breathing smoke and a few were scarred by the fire. A couple of the stallions had been struck by fiery thatch from the stable roof and were in much pain. Killing horses was never a pleasant task but it was one that had to be done. Luckily, Geoffrey had taken care of the nasty business for him. Another one of the mares had lost her foal, leaving only one pregnant horse. Guards sat by the animal’s side day and night to protect her. She was one of the last to get pregnant and it would be awhile until she delivered.
    At times, Thomas would almost convince himself that it hadn’t been Lord Eadward back from