Through the Looking Glass (23 page)

“She is the one.”

******

“Did you find her,” Jakar asked of Nana and Nyla when he met up with in the kitchen.

“No, no one in the castle has seen her for some time now,” Nana replied while wringing her hands.

Jakar’s heart sunk to the pit of his stomach. This was bad, very bad. He and most of his staff and servants had thoroughly searched the castle and gardens for any sign of Isobel. She couldn’t have disappeared that quickly!

“Nyla, go to the market and see if anyone has seen her.”

He had to find her. He needed to tell her how wrong he had been. He needed to apologize and tell her… tell her what? He knew what he needed to tell her. He had been so blind and full of suspicion that he never realized that he falling in love with her. When had it happened? The night they first made love? The time he took her to the market? Oh God, he wasn’t sure but only knew that he had been a fool and now his wife was in danger
because of him.

Nyla zipped back in and found him questioning one of the children that lived in the castle. “My lord! My lord!”

Jakar swung around to face her. “Did you find her?”

“No, but one of the woman in the market saw her heading to the gates. There had been some kind of commotion under the gatehouse and she had lost sight of her.”

The blood drained from his face. If she left the confines of the castle walls there is no telling what had happened to her and if Nyla was right about Betsy, he would bet that the servant was long gone too. Without another thought, he took off out of the castle and headed to the stables. He go would after her and get her back. Even if it was the last thing he ever did!

Chapter 22

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Tuloch asked Isobel.

Isobel raised her head and looked at him defiantly. “I don’t have anything to say to you!”

Tuloch laughed then said, “A feisty one, isn’t she?”

The room laughed along with Tuloch and nodded their heads in agreement. No matter what this man did to her, she wasn’t about to cower in front of him.
She held her head up high and straightened her back.

“Let’s see how feisty you are after being in the dungeon for a few days. Take her away!” Tuloch flicked his hand at her as if he was shooing away a bug.

A hard grip clasped around her upper arm and forcefully pulled her away from Tuloch. Her insides felt like a bowl of jello but she needed to remain calm and appear as if she didn’t care where she was headed. She could hear the whispers as she was lead out of the room then down a long narrow staircase that was lit with torches. The air smelled of rotten flesh and urine. Her eyes had to adjust to the low light as she descended into the bowels of the run-down castle.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she was steered to the right and straight into a very tiny cell. She was shoved roughly into the room, the rope around her wrists was cut then the door slammed shut with a resounding clang. Only the tiny, barred, square hole in the door let in any light and it was definitely cold in the small confines she found herself in.

Her emotions finally took over and spilled out. She backed up until she hit the wall then slid down it to sit on the filthy floor. The tears she had been holding in while trying to act brave in front of Tuloch now escaped their own prison and silently slid down her face. Her heart ached for the man who didn’t want her and didn’t love her. She was stuck in a world she couldn’t escape from and now she was going to die in it. A choked cry forced its way out of her mouth. She drew her knees up and lay her head on her hands. How long was she going to be kept here? Was Jakar going to come looking for her? The questions were endless and raced through her mind as she cried her heart out. She could only pray that Nana or Nyla would notice that she was missing and send someone to look for her. Nana knew she was the one that Tuloch wanted, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to know where she probably was. If she got out of this alive she would go to the elder fairies and beg them to send her home. Back to the world she knew.

******

Brock and Lizzy arrived at Jakar’s castle in the midst of a big commotion. Horses and men filled the bailey and looked as if they were preparing to go to war. The horses were suited with the body armor custom made to fit each horse individually. The men were checking saddles and storing supplies as directions were called out.

Brock directed his horse to the stable that stood empty. He helped Lizzy down then searched the surrounding area for his brother. His eyes came to a halt when he spied Jakar sitting astride his massive horse who was eagerly waiting to begin his journey.

Holding Lizzy’s hand, he headed over to Jakar to see what the hell was going on. “Brother!” he called out as he meandered his way through the horses and men. “Brother!” he called again and held up his hand so Jakar would see who was calling him.

“Brock! What are you doing here?” Jakar asked of his brother. “Who is the female?”

Brock didn’t have the chance to reply because Lizzy stepped forward and spoke. “I’m Isobel’s friend. Where is she? Is she alright?” Lizzy’s voice held a hint of alarm.

“Isobel’s friend? From her world?” Jakar stared at Lizzy with his mouth hanging open. “But how? How did you get here? To this world?” Jakar had to use his legs to keep his horse still as he spoke to Lizzy.

“I don’t know exactly how it happened, but it was some kind of a mist that surrounded Daniel and I as we were fighting in the room Isobel was staying in at Ackergill. I went there looking for her when I hadn’t heard from her for some time.” As she spoke Jakar dismounted and stood close to her.

“Tell me,” he demanded of her.

Lizzy looked at the imposing man. He was huge compared to her and he was even bigger than his brother who stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder. This was the man her long-time friend had been forced to marry? She had to admit he wasn’t bad looking, but it had to be something very serious in order for Isobel to marry a man she didn’t know.

“Has Isobel told you anything?” She waited for his reply and when he nodded his head she continued. “She was hiding from Daniel, the man who murdered her parents. I sent her to Scotland where I thought she would be safe from him but somehow he found out where sh
e went. After I hadn’t heard from Isobel I scared shitless that he had found her, so I dropped everything and went to find her. I arrived at Ackergill and had to break into her room. I was in the middle of searching her room when Daniel surprised me. We fought for a while and I must have ripped his shirt pocket or something because glass shattered and a green mist began to swirl around us immediately. Next thing I know I am falling and don’t know why.”

“Isobel told me she came here through a mirror, a looking glass
, but….” Jakar faltered.

Lizzy reached out and put her hand over his. “But what? Tell me she’s okay!” Tears brimmed her eyes as she looked up at Jakar.

Jakar huffed out a sigh, “I’m afraid I didn’t believe her. I was sure she was a spy for Tuloch and was here to find out any information she could and report it back to him.”

Lizzy sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh God,” she whispered. “Daniel had said something about a man named Tuloch but I didn’t understand what he meant.”

Brock spoke up next. “Brother I will go with you to search for your wife. If I think this Daniel is the one I am thinking of, you need to make haste. His father was once a faithful citizen of father’s but something happened between them and Daniel’s father moved his family to South Aslog. I only know of the stories associated with Daniel’s father after he pledged his loyalty to Tuloch and let’s just say a wee one like Isobel will not stand a chance in his custody.”

“Thank you, Brock. I have been a fool and am now paying the price. Our mother and father would be ashamed of the way I have acted towards my wife even after being told numerous times who and what she was.” Jakar mounted his horse again and turned back to look at Lizzy. “I promise, Lizzy, I will find her and bring her home. You will have your friend back and I will have my wife. Brock, get a fresh horse and make ready to head out.” Jakar nudged his horse in the ribs to get the animal moving.

“Will you be alright here while I am gone?” Brock took Lizzy’s face in both his hands then placed a tender kiss on her soft pink lips.

“Of course she will be alright,” Nana called out from behind them.

Lizzy looked at the old woman and tired her best to give her a smile. “I will be fine, Brock. Go find Isobel and bring her back.”

“You will take good care of my Lizzy while I am gone?” Brock asked Nana.

Nana made a face as if she had been wounded with his words. “When have I ever not taken care of someone in my charge?” She folded her arms across her generous bosom.

Brock moved to hug Nana and placed a kiss
on top of her head. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Nana. You have always taken good care of us. I have to go.” He kissed her on the head once again then quickly kissed Lizzy goodbye.

Lizzy stayed where she was until she could no longer see Brock. She trembled with the fear that was coursing through her at the thought of Isobel being in Daniel’s clutches. Her poor friend had barely escaped that dreadful night with her life only to be
hunted and found by him here, in this new world she had landed in.

“Come on in, my sweet girl. It is warmer inside and I can find you something to eat if you are hungry.” Nana put her hand into Lizzy’s and tugged her in the direction of the castle. Nana noticed how Brock’s new love continued to look over
her shoulder as she was led away from the group that was departing. “Don’t worry. He will be fine. Brock and Jakar are tough men and have been through much. They know how to handle this. Come,” she said.

Together they walked into the castle and shut the door. How long would it be before they received word from Jakar? Would they be in time to save Isobel from certain death
?

******

Jakar pushed his men through the night and all the next day. By the afternoon of the third day, Brock had to demand that the men and the horses be given time to rest. Reluctantly, he had to agree with his brother. His men would be of no use if he ran them into the ground before they reached Tuloch’s home.

They had made good time and didn’t have much farther to travel until they would be on the outskirts of Tuloch’s holdings. The time to discuss the plan they were going to use get to Isobel without the entire castle knowing about their presence was at hand. He needed to make sure that every man knew his part in the raid. He didn’t want to take any chances on Isobel being harmed
, if she hadn’t been already.

Chapter 23

Isobel woke up at the sound of the key turning in the lock of her cell door. She raised her throbbing head and peered at the man who had entered the cell with a torch. The light the torch casted off was barely enough to light the room but she was able to see the face of the man. She didn’t recognize this one.

“Here,” the man hissed while holding out a cup and a piece of stale bread.

She took the offered food in silence and waited for the man to leave. Once she was alone again she took a sip of the warm water and let it run down her parched throat. There was no way for her to tell what time it was or how long she had been in the dark place. All she knew was that it was colder in the cell then before and sitting on the damp floor didn’t help any.

She chewed her meager slice of bread in little bits at a time and had to stop herself several times from gulping down the water in the wooden cup. She wanted to try and save a few drops of the precious liquid for later but it was beginning to be too hard. She hadn’t eaten anything since lunch on the day she and Jakar had fought in the garden and Daniel hadn’t given her much water on the ride.

After her bread was gone and her cup empty, she leaned back on the wall and closed her eyes again. She was so tired an
d her head continued to hurt. She would just take a small nap and hope it helped with her head.

It felt like seconds later when Isobel jerked awake at the sound of someone yelling at her from above. “Get up bitch!”

It was Daniel. She pried open an eye and looked at a dirty boot. “Leave me alone,” she mumbled. Next thing she knew she was being hauled to her feet.

“When I say get up, you get up!” He fisted a handful of her hair and pushed her out of the cell.

“You’re hurting me!” she said as she tried desperately to pull out of his grasp.

“That’s the point!” He laughed at her.

Up the stairs and down a long hallway Daniel navigated her until they reached a set of double doors. Daniel knocked loudly on the wooden door with the metal knocker. A voice from within called for them to enter.

Daniel thrust her into the brightly lit room. She had to squint her eyes from the brightness since her eyes had yet to become readjusted to light. Tuloch stood in the middle of the large room and watched her as she drew nearer to him.

“Ah, my guest has appeared. I hope the accommodations are to your liking,” he asked her sarcastically.

“They’re a dream,” she respond
ed with such loathing that she wiped the grin off Tuloch’s face.

“Well, if you don’t like your room I can see if we have another available. Maybe,” he tapped a finger on his lips as he thought, “maybe in the cemetery? Would that be more suitable for you?” He strode up to her and grabbed her painfully by the chin to make her look at his face. “No? You might want to reconsider m
y offer after I finish having my discussion with you.” He jerked his head at Daniel who forced her to move forward until she stood between two columns.

She had no idea what was about to happen to her until she saw the
ropes hanging down each column. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears as she thought about what was to come. She broke out in a cold sweat and tried to jerk away from Daniel.

“What are you doing?” she screamed as she fought Daniel. If he was going to tie her up he was going to have to work for it. She kicked out her leg in a vain attempt to catch him by surprise. Unfortunately, her kick landed only on his shin and only caused him to grunt. With one arm securely tied to the column, Daniel reached for the second rope while he held her by the free arm. She saw a prime opportunity to kick out again when he had his back slightly turned away from her. Just as he grabbed hold of the rope she swung her leg forward and made contact with
his balls.

She was ecstatic when her tormentor doubled over and howled in pain. But her happiness was short lived when she felt her body being turned around to face Tuloch.
He back handed her so fast that she didn’t even see it coming. Her head snapped back and she bit her tongue, drawing blood. Her vision blackened for a time before it cleared enough to see Tuloch glaring furiously at her.

“I will kill you right where stand if you do that again!” He shouted in her face, spit flying as he spoke. “Finish tying her up and be quick about it. I want to play with my little pet for a while.” He reached out and fingered a strand of her hair that had fallen over her face and in her eyes.

Isobel hissed in pain as Daniel tied her free arm to the opposite column. She was positive that he had made sure to pull her as tight as he could before tying the end of the rope off. She almost had to stand on tip toes in order to relieve some of the pressure her arms and shoulders were experiencing. With her senses back, her eyes moved around to follow Tuloch’s movements throughout the room. She was no longer worried about Daniel doing anything to her because she automatically sensed that Tuloch was going to have that pleasure. She felt like she was going to throw up when she saw her captor pick up something off the long table that stood on the opposite side of the vast room. Pure terror washed over her when he turned around with the object in his hand and grinned at her.

“You have caused me a lot
of trouble,” he said as he inched his way near her. “I just don’t see how the fairies predicted that you,” his eyes roamed up and down her body, “were going to be the one to take me down!” He broke into a hysterical laugh in which Daniel joined. “After I am done with you, I will make it a point of informing the fucking fairies that their asinine prophecies are false!”

Tuloch stopped in front her and she wa
s able to see the thing he had picked up from the table was a flogger. It was brown and made of leather. The numerous thin strips of leather fell limply from the handle as Tuloch gestured with it as he spoke to her. Her heart skipped several beats at the thought of being struck with such a weapon. Her eyes widen in terror when he held it up close to her face so she could inspect the thing that was about to cause her agonizing pain.

“Aww, what’s the matter, my lovely? Scared?” He rubbed the handle of the flogger down the side of her face. I was going to let it be a surprise but since you took it upon yourself to attack my man I decided I would let you see it.” Tuloch nodded his head once to Daniel who had come up behind her.

She felt hands on the back of her gown at the neck line then the sound of ripping material alerted her to why Daniel had been standing behind her. He didn’t stop until he had ripped the gown all the way down to her waist revealing tender white skin.

“No, please!” she cried out and struggled to get loose.
“Daniel, I thought you loved me at one time,” she said as Daniel pushed the split dress off her shoulders. She felt the cool air in the room touch the sides of her breasts that could be seen from the side.

“I never loved you. I did what I had to do in order to gain your trust.
You weren’t even a good fuck!” Daniel stepped away from her ear and came to stand in front of her with Tuloch. “She’s ready, my lord.”

“Thank you, Daniel. It
’s standard to administer twenty-five lashes to someone accused of a crime but I am feeling generous today. Let’s just make it fifteen unless you don’t cooperate then we will make it the full amount.” He chatted to her as he walked out of her line of vision.

She hadn’t been prepared for th
e first strike and when it struck, her breath was instantaneously take away. The sting of the lashes cutting her skin was unlike anything she had ever felt before in her life. Unable to contain her scream, she let it out just as she heard the lashes coming in for another hit. Again and again the beast swung the vile weapon at her back, striking her up and down the skin on her back. She could feel the blood running down her back and soaking into her gown as she hung on to consciousness. She had no idea what the count was and prayed with everything she had that it would stop. Her backside was on fire and she could barely stand anymore, letting the ropes tied to her arms hold her up. Tears coursed down her face and dripped to the floor along with the drops of her blood. Her ears were ringing and she knew she wouldn’t be able to remain conscious for much longer.

“Ah, that was such a wonderful way to release some of the stress I have been under.” Tuloch’s face was splattered with her blood. “Take her away!” he ordered and walked out of the room.

She felt someone untying her arms and someone else holding her up. She would have fallen directly to the ground if it had not been for the one supporting her underneath her armpits. When she was free each man took one of her arms and dragged her back to her hell hole.

They dumped her unceremoniously on the cold, damp floor then shut the door behind them, but she didn’t hear the lock click. A second later the door open back up and a woolen blanket was tossed in, landing too far away from where she lay.

“Why in the fuck Tuloch ordered me to give you that, I will never know.”

Daniel
’s voice sounded so far away. She stretched her fingers out in an attempt to pull the blanket to her. She cried out in pain as every little move she made sent stabs of pain and fire through her body. She had to get that blanket, she was shivering from shock and hoped that it would offer a bit of protection from the cold. Holding her breath, she pushed against the wall with her feet and slid her body forward enough to reach out and grab a corner of the material.

She cried in relief as she pulled it to her and slowly wrapped her battered body in it while she still lay on the floor. Sitting up was out of the question even if she had wanted to. For now, she just wanted to sleep, sleep and let the pain go away for a while. She let her eyes flutter close at the same time she rolled to her stomach. This was going to be the only way she would be able to sleep.

******

Jakar and his men slowly approached the outskirts of the Tuloch’s holding. It was heavily guarded in the front so they would have to find another way into the castle. Brock came up on side of him and whispered to him.

“We need to send out a man to search for another way in. We’d never get pass the front gate.”

“Have Lore and Vic go. They are the two most suitable for that. Have them strip off anything that might identify them as my men.” Jakar glanced behind him in search of the two men he spoke about.

Brock moved away quietly. Jakar’s eyes roamed over the castle desperately trying to find some kind of breach. If they didn’t find a way into the fortress Isobel would surely die. He slid back on his belly until he was sure he wouldn’t be seen when he stood up. He made his way back to where he and his men were hiding in a large cave they had found in the side of the mountain they had come across.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave and he was able to find his way deep into its mouth until he reached his men. A fire was burning in the center of the large room and the horses were tied to the odd structures that jutted out of the ground and rose several feet into the air.

“My lord,” one of his men said and offered him a piece of the salted meat they had brought with them.

He took it and bit
off the tip. He chewed for a moment then had to spit it out. “I cannot eat,” he said. The chewed piece of meat sizzled when it landed in the fire. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“We’
ll get her back, my lord,” his man said to comfort him.

“I hope so. I hope so.”

Jakar waited for hours for Lore and Vic to return to the cave. It was long after midnight when they appeared in the cave looking exhausted.

“Well,” he wanted to know immediately.

“It took us some time but we think we found a way in. On the east side of the castle there is a small opening that goes underneath the wall. Looks like someone has been sneaking in and out of the castle by the look of it. We’ll have to dig it out a bit more but that won’t be a problem.” Lore sat down heavily in front of the fire. “But we will have to wait for night to come. The hole comes out near the back door of the kitchen. We had just made it back through when the first of servants awoke to begin preparing breakfast.” Lore poured some water over his head to wash away some of the dirt that crusted his face.