Alec the Wanderer: Generations of Eredwynn #4 (20 page)

“Recite the Lord’s Prayer, warlock.”

I laughed. “I’ve never even heard the poem you’re wanting me to recite. How would that prove anything?”

“Can any of you recite it?”

The twins both nodded and raised their hands.

The priest smiled evilly. “I was sure that you two could, but the witches that are holding you can’t. That should prove to you that they are what I claim, and you should come to me.”

Mary spoke loudly, “Or it could mean that they come from a different country, and never learned it like we had to. We know them, Father, and they saved us from the plague. They are really good people and they aren’t witches!”

Next it was Mandy’s turn to talk to the priest and confuse us. She called out, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” She looked around at us, and we were all staring. She grinned. “I went to Sunday school a few times!”

“This isn’t over, warlock; I’ll be back.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I didn’t think it would be that easy. My name is Alec, by the way. When you do return, please don’t force me into using violence. My patience is growing thin, but I have a strong aversion to the taking of human life.”

As his men were mounting up, he had to throw out one more jab. “I’ve already decided that the young ones are innocent victims in all this. I just have to decide about you, your wife and the whores that are with you.

Before I could register what he’d said, the sisters had joined hands. Just outside our
dome
shield
, an enormous wall of fire, sixty feet wide and thirty feet tall, sprang to life. It moved toward the priest and his squad at a good pace. Horses and men screamed as they wheeled and charged toward town. When they’d cleared our property and were back on the road, the fire died.

I slowly turned and looked at the sisters. Barbara just shrugged. “He called us whores, Alec! My sis and I didn’t like that word back when we were… working girls.”

I chuckled. “I guess they got the point that we were holding back. I suppose that was one of those abilities that you thought you could do but would have to be joined?”

Amanda nodded. “And it worked exactly the way we thought it would. Just so you’ll know, we were in control of its speed and direction. We didn’t try to kill anyone.”

“Actually, that is comforting. Now, if Carol thinks that she can hold the
dome
overnight, we should get some sleep. I think that for the next few days, at least, things will be pretty stressful.”

Carol nodded, we got ready for bed and she joined me in our bed. Her efforts to work out the stress of the day made me wonder if I’d need a healer in the morning, but I didn’t complain.

We woke the next morning and went through our normal routine. We made beds, had breakfast and went out into the morning sun. The sisters spread their arms in the sunlight, replacing the energy they’d used in yesterday’s demonstration.

I looked down the new road that ran through our property to the main road. A dozen of Father Francis’ soldiers were stationed there to prevent access to our home. I could only hope that the plague in the area had run its course, and that we wouldn’t be desperately needed. If people died due to our besiegement, it would be on the priest’s head, but would anger me more than I already was.

Carol came outside carrying small bags filled with seeds and bulbs. She smiled at me. “If life is to go on until this priest accepts us or goes away, I need to get my flowers planted. With the soldiers on our road, I don’t know how we’ll plant the fields. I’m trying my best to keep a brave face for the twins, but I’m starting to worry.”

I hugged her. “They can think that they have us trapped, but we know better. We can always
port
to a different town, and we have plenty of local money now. We can buy supplies and I can go hunting. We have our home, people we love and won’t want for anything.”

“I know, but I already miss the freedom to walk through the city any time I want to. We don’t have any contact with the folks we met over the winter and I don’t like the trapped feeling. I heard once that ‘a gilded cage is still a cage’. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but now I believe I do.”

I sighed. “Things will work themselves out, and if they don’t by summer, we’ll leave. I hoped that I could give you and the other girls a home until we found our way back to Eredwynn. That simple goal isn’t working as I’d planned. This is worse than our two or three day jaunt to Vegas and back. It didn’t turn out as planned, either, but we got the twins. At least some good has come from my screw-up.”

Carol smacked me on the arm, hard! “Your ‘screw-up’ has saved the lives of hundreds of people. You’ve changed two cities for the better and you’ve shown five ladies how wonderful you really are. I don’t want you blaming yourself or thinking that you’ve caused us hardship.”

I bowed my head. “Yes ma’am. It’s just sometimes I think…”

“Well, quit!” She knelt and began planting her flowers.

I smiled and walked away. I knew that any argument I could come up with, I would lose. I wandered around the side of the house and into our back yard. I looked back over the lake and saw three small boats being rowed rapidly toward shore.

I thought back to the ladies, “
We have people showing up by water. Come to the back of the house so we can investigate. Carol, you might have to open a door in the shielding back here.”

I received acknowledgement from the sorceresses and walked past the
shield
to meet the boats. As I got close, I could see that some of the people in the crafts were ill. I ran forward and healed the ones that were having trouble making it out of the boats.

As they unloaded, a large man approached me. “Sir, you must be the most difficult physician in the country to get to! We would have been here three days ago, but were turned away by the guards at your gate. We were told that you were a wizard and in the service of the devil. Now tell me, can that make a lick of sense? Why would the devil want people to be well and healthy?”

I laughed loudly and patted the man on the back. “Sir, if you can explain it to me so I can understand, then why can’t Father Francis? So our healing methods can’t be easily explained by him; would that make them evil? I think not.”

The girls had all reached us by the time everyone was unloaded. The sisters healed right out in the open, and no one seemed to mind the glow. Before the boats had dripped dry, everyone was healed, happy and ready to be on their way.

Carol came over to the healthy man and me. “Alec, I can get them back across the lake more quickly if they’ll allow me to ride with them. I’m sure that you and the sisters will be able to protect the house while I’m gone.”

The man from the boat questioned her, “Are you an expert in boats, miss?”

Carol laughed. “Actually, I’ve never been in one in my life, but I think that if I go, the wind will be in our favor.”

I nodded to the man. “At this point, you can call it god, the devil or magic. I don’t care, because of the way that a man who is supposed to serve a caring god is keeping people from healing. If Carol says that the wind will be with you on your trip home, rest assured, it will be. If you’re in a hurry to get to the other side of the lake, you might want to hold on.”

The man shrugged. “His actions don’t seem like the actions of a man of God. It’s more like a man with a vendetta. You folks, on the other hand, seem to be caring people. This is a strange world we live in!”

I chuckled and whispered under my breath, “You can say that again.”

Carol loaded up with the now happy and heathy people. We gently shoved the boats out into the water and men with oars turned the boats to the south. Instantly a steady wind began, propelling the three craft back the way they’d come. We all waved and went back to the house to guard it and await Carol’s return. We were all a bit nervous, since this was the first time one of our group had been this far from the rest of us. I felt sorry for anyone who tried to take advantage of the situation and grab her.

A couple hours, which seemed like weeks, later Carol
ported
back in, smiling happily. “Those were some wonderful people. They said that they are going to… whatever that town was that has the priest’s boss. They are going to let him know about our problem and maybe we can go back to work!”

Chapter Eighteen

T
wo weeks passed without anything more than the threat of the soldiers on our road. We had a nice system of
porting
out whenever we needed supplies from a local town, to go hunting or gathering. There was no lack for food and Carol could provide all the water we needed with a simple spell she’d learned. We had just had a wonderful lunch when there was a call from the front of the house.

“Wizard! Come out and talk. I know you all must be starving by now. At least send out the little girls. I can’t believe you’ve stood by this long, watching them starve. We’ll clean them up, feed them and make sure that they are taken care of at the abbey,” rang Father Francis’ voice.

I called Mary and Martha to me. “Girls, I won’t hold you against your will. You can choose to go with him if you want, or stay here with us. You know we’ve all fallen in love with you and would hate to see you go, but the choice is yours.”

They whispered to each other for a moment, then Mary looked at me and smiled. “A while back, when the baker’s wife was grabbed, we heard Barbara tell you, ‘You say some of the dumbest things sometimes.’ Now you’ve done it again, by even suggesting that we might wanna go with that evil man, and leave our family!”

I laughed. “What can I say; I’m just a lowly male, after all. You should go outside, let him see how clean and heathy the two of you beautiful ladies are, and maybe he’ll go away. Just don’t get too close to the
shield
. If one of them were to manage to grab you, it would be a race to see who took him out first!”

They smiled, walked out the door and toward the priest and his waiting men. Father Francis spoke kindly, “Come along, girls. This is for the best. You are good, righteous young ladies, and shouldn’t be mixed up with the likes of the wizard and his sorceresses.”

Martha spoke just as kindly, “Father, Alec, Carol and the sisters took us in when we were strangers. They fed us and clothed us and treated us as family. We worked with them in two different towns, healing the sick. There is not an evil bone in their bodies. The sooner you accept that, the better off everyone will be!”

I heard the ladies behind me whispering and I knew that someone was coming up with a plan. Appealing to this man’s good nature wouldn’t get us very far. I didn’t think he had one to appeal to, but credited Martha for trying.

The priest hadn’t heard what he wanted and growled, “If they have you so ensnared that you’ll defend them like that, there will be nothing we can do but purify you by pain. Maybe you’ll be allowed into heaven when your time on the rack is through.”

Barbara yelled loudly and pointed down our walkway. “A pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day! I think that means that we’re being guided and blessed. Maybe not by the church, but who has more authority than someone who can do that?”

I looked where she was pointing and so did everyone else in the area. A huge
flamestrike pillar
and a huge, well-formed
pillar of cloud
was on either side of our walk, near the main road.

There was instant chaos as the soldiers dropped their weapons, bowed to us and backed away. The ‘signs’ were allowed to fade out and the men hot-footed it back to town. They left behind one angry and confused priest.

He yelled after his men, “It’s a witch’s trick! Don’t be fooled into believing God is with these people! They healed people that God had marked to die, without permission from the church. They are guilty of defying the church’s wishes.”

I called to him softly, “Father Francis, do you believe that everyone who was infected by this plague deserved to die?”

The man’s hard face crumbled. “My son died while I had you confined here. There were many that said you could heal him, if I would just swallow my pride. Now my granddaughter, the same age as the twins, is ill. I may lose her next, but how am I to ask forgiveness and request help from people I’ve treated so badly?”

Mary suggested, “My mom always said to say ‘please’!”

We all laughed and the Father sighed and nodded. “Alec, would you please forgive me and come see if you can help my little Thea? No tricks, no subterfuge, just a grandfather asking for help.”

Amanda asked, “How can a priest have kids? I didn’t think that you were supposed to marry.”

Father Francis answered, “You are from another land, aren’t you? In the eleven hundreds priests couldn’t marry, but we have been doing it for the last hundred and fifty years or so. Can priests not marry where you come from?”

Amanda shrugged. “I don’t know for sure; I guess I never paid that much attention.”

I turned to my ladies. “I’m going to go with him. I’ll be
shielded
and we can keep in touch with
telepathy
if we need to. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

I walked out of the
shielded
area and to the priest. “All right, Father, show me where we’re going.”

We walked in silence all the way to town. As we went through the gates, heads began to turn. People were gathering and asking with subtle signals if I needed help. I waved them away gently, but they continued to follow us. By the time we got to the house he was taking me to, we had gathered quite a crowd. He opened the door and ushered me inside.

“Alec, she’s right back here. Her governess is sitting with her, at the moment. Will you be doing any rituals or incantations that you don’t want me to see?”

I laughed. “You still think that I practice witchcraft and you brought me here anyway? I welcome you back in her room the whole time. Then you’ll see that our abilities aren’t from an evil source, but are something that many from my home country can do.”

We entered her room and Father Francis dismissed the governess. He shut the door behind her and began playing with some beads on a string. I walked to the bedside of the barely conscious girl, took her hand and whispered, “I’m here to try to make you feel better. Just relax and breathe normally.”

I scanned her quickly and saw that she was in a very advanced stage of the plague. For a moment, I was angry with the hardheaded priest, but I needed to heal. I focused and let the magic flow. The skin and blood were easy, but the organs were almost all damaged in some way. She was the hardest patient to heal that I’d had since we started in the healing business.

Finally, I was done. A rosy, natural color returned to her cheeks and her breathing was normal. She relaxed into a deep, restful sleep. I turned and faced the worried grandfather. “She’ll be fine now. Just make sure she gets plenty of clean water and rest. She’ll be up and bothering her grandfather in no time at all.”

Father Francis shook my hand. “After all the harm and trouble that I’ve caused for you and your family, you still were willing to assist me. You may or may not be angels, but you all are still very good people. I’ll call off the blockade to your home, and recant my position about you, at tomorrow’s mass. You’re free to come and go as you will, and can resume your work at the physician’s office that you were using before our trouble started.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you for looking past your pride, even if it was just to save this girl. A life saved makes my family and I feel better. Since Mary and Martha don’t know anyone their age here, perhaps you can introduce them to my latest patient. I know they’d be thrilled to meet her. Now that my work is done, I’ll be going. Take care of yourself, Father.”

He bowed slightly and was going to the girl’s bedside by the time I made it out the door. Once outside, I contacted the ladies. “
That young girl I healed was a tough one. A day or two longer and we wouldn’t have had her to heal the breach between us and the church. We now have permission to work in our office again. I’m on my way home and will be there shortly.”

I announced to the waiting throng that we’d cleared up our differences with the church and would be open for business once again on the day after Sunday. I’d never bothered to learn the days of the week; someday I’d be back in Eredwynn and they wouldn’t matter to me, anyway. The crowd cheered and I got a lot of pats on the back; they were followed by strange looks as they patted my
shield
. I was happy that things were going to be normal again, but not quite comfortable enough to lose the
shield
yet.

Things finally returned to normal after Father Francis’ recanting. We were welcomed back to the city like returning heroes. Our donation box seemed to fill even if we had slow days, as the town’s people showed their gratitude.

One afternoon while Amanda and I were covering the office, Father Francis and Thea showed up.

I welcomed them warmly. The Father informed me, “Alec, you’ve seen my granddaughter before, but have never really met her. She insisted that she come by and thank you for helping her, in person.”

I bowed slightly and she curtsied sweetly. “Sir, I was sure that I was going to die. Grandfather said that you saved me and pulled me from the brink. I owe you my life.”

I smiled. “Young lady, I have never been able to pass up someone in need, regardless of my situation. I’m glad your grandfather allowed me to help you.”

Father Francis smiled, then sighed. “I have heard rumors that others in the church have heard of what you’ve done for the two towns you worked in. There is a man, and I shouldn’t say this, because he is my superior, but he’s an evil man. I believe that he is the one who has been sent to investigate. I know I treated you badly, but that was nothing compared to what he would do if he shows up. He always gets a confession, and the ways that they are extracted, I won’t mention in front of Thea.”

I nodded my understanding. “When should we be on the lookout for this fellow?”

The priest shrugged. “That is the problem, I don’t even know for sure if he is coming, or where he’d be coming from. I just wanted you to be on the lookout and you should protect those ladies by any means necessary. I’ve seen some of what you’re capable of and know exactly what I’m suggesting.”

“No, sir, I don’t think that you do, but I’ll take your advice. If you hear anything before we walk into a trap, I hope you’ll let us know. Thank you for the warning and since you’re here, there is something that I’d like to ask of you. We’ve been working on getting home for a very long time now. I won’t bore you with the details, but someday we may just be gone. When that time comes, could you see to it that anything of value we leave is given to the poor? That includes our house, as well.

“You and the ladies will just disappear?”

“That’s the way it will seem, when the time comes. I’ve worked on it for a few months now without success and I don’t know when, or if, it will happen. I just wanted our wishes to be known.”

He nodded and shook my hand. “I’ll see to it, Alec. We will all miss you and your family when you’re taken back to wherever you’ll be going. But we’ll certainly have stories to tell!”