THE STORM CONTINUED to rage outside as Vincent carried Eldra through the doorway, sitting her on the edge of the table. She had regained consciousness as he raced through the storm, rain pelting down on them from the heavens, soaking them to the skin.
He carefully unwound the makeshift bandage he had fashion from his shirt from around her head.
Vincent retreated a few steps as the tempting smell of her blood stirred the beast once more.
He moved to the barrel of rainwater beside the table plunging the blood soaked shirt into its depths.
Then he lifted it out, allowing the excess water to spill onto the floor as he wrung it out with little care for the mess it had made.
Returning to Eldra and offered her the damp cloth.
"Here," he said softly.
She took it, using the wet material to carefully clean away the blood that ran down her face.
Vincent watched in silence as the last traces of crimson disappeared from her flesh.
Only when she had finished cleaning the wound did he step closer, gently examining it.
Thankfully the injury was not as severe as he had at first feared, he helped her redress the wound, from supplies from her apothecary box.
And Eldra looked up at him in relief.
"Thank you for rescuing me again," she said, with a weak smile.
Vincent nearly toppled backwards when Eldra suddenly leapt from the table and into his arms.
As she slid down Vincent's body to the flood Eldra clasped her hands to her aching head, with a groan she lifted herself back up onto the table.
"I will always come for you, my little raven." Vincent whispered close to her ear, as he lifted her from the table, cradling her tenderly in his arms as he moved her to the bedside.
Eldra stood on unsteady legs, allowing Vincent's body to support her as he helped her remove her rain soaked dress.
He then pulled the heavy garment carefully over her head trying to avoid her wound before letting it fall in a sodden heap upon the floor.
Exhausted and chilled to the bone, she climbed onto the bed and slipped beneath one of the thick furs, pulling it tightly around herself in an effort to regain some warmth.
Vincent removed his own sopping clothing, leaving it beside El-dra's discarded dress, then sat upon the edge of the mattress.
He reached for the bear pelt and drew it over his lap, the warmth of the fur offering little comfort compared to the concern weighing upon his mind.
For a moment, he simply watched her, making certain she was alright. Then he spoke.
"What happened when you returned to your cottage?" he asked quietly. Eldra confessed everything to him.
She spoke of hearing the voices of the two men outside on the road near her cottage, the sound of their approach sending a wave of fear through her as she wondered if they intended to enter finding her alone inside.
She told him of discovering the frightened boy huddled in the corner of her kitchen, and then she recalled the way he had looked at her, as though she were some creature from the depths of hell itself.
She had tried to approach him, to comfort him, but the terror in Robin's eyes had only grown, it had been the look of someone who saw a monster standing before them.
Her voice softened as she described fleeing the cottage with the book she had discovered trapped against the side of her mother's old apothecary box.
Then she stopped.
Her expression changed.
"The book," she whispered.
A moment later, urgency filled her voice.
"It should still be within the folds of my dress!"
Vincent immediately reached down and retrieved the soaked garment from the floor.
Eldra seized the dress from his grasp, searching the folds for the book, finding it safe tucked within the dresses folds, and untouched by the rain, she pulled the book free and showed it to him.
"You risked your life for a book?!" Vincent growled, a look of disgust on his face.
Eldra reeled back as if struck.
"Vincent this book could tell us what fate holds in store for us. It could be the key to winning the battle against Johnas." Eldra said pleading with Vincent to listen to her.
Vincent let the fur slip from his lap as he rose, crossing the small room toward the hearth.
He stood with his back to Eldra, the storm still raging beyond the walls.
Lightning flashed through the open doorway, briefly illuminating his naked silhouette against the darkness.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Eldra rose from the mattress allowing the wolfs fur to drop upon the floor.
Slowly, she approached him slipping her arms around him, while resting her bandaged head against his back. Vincent turned, gazing down at her.
His eyes fell upon the injury on her head, and concern immediately replaced the anger in his expression.
"Alright my little raven, tomorrow we will see what tales the pages of the book hold, but as for tonight you need to rest," he said, kissing her gently on the top of her head.
He gently took her hand and lead her back to the bed where he carefully lowered himself beside her, pulling the furs around them and drew her gently into his arms.
* * *
The following morning, Ferdy and Albert made their reluctant way through the rain washed streets towards Johnas's house. Neither had wanted to be the one to inform him of the incident at the witch's house the previous night, and so they had agreed to do it together.
After the boys Mam had taken the child home, Albert had followed her to their cottage to question him but Mabel had retreated inside, angrily slamming the door in his face.
Albert had hesitated on the stoop for a moment contemplating knocking on the door again, before he thought better of it.
The boys mother was a formidable woman, and Albert had had enough of her for one night.
Besides it had started pissing down rain as he had stood on the stoop, and After weighing his options, Albert decided he was sick of Johnas, and all his bull shite orders.
He was going to collect Ferdy then head to The Wolf And Lamb for some well deserved ale, and to warm his wet backside by the tavern's blazing hearth.
"Feck Johnas," he muttered under his breath, then he turned his back to the crazy woman's door, going in search of Ferdy.
* * *
Ferdy tapped lightly on Johnas's door hoping the man was elsewhere engaged, but was crestfallen when Johnas himself opened the door instead of his housemaid Bertha.
Johnas poked his head out the door, scanning the street when he recognized the two men then motioned stiffly for them to enter quickly, as if they were unwanted vermin paying him a visit.
Albert and Ferdy wiped their feet on the flagstones outside before entering, removing their caps as they stepped over the threshold mindful to keeping close to the entrance, not wishing to incur Johnas's wrath by tracking mud onto his freshly polished floors.
"Well, what is it?" Johnas asked impatiently as soon as the two men stepped into the grand entrance hall of Johnas's home.
Ferdy nervously fingered the bill of his cap as he informed Johnas of what had transpired at the witch's cottage during the night.
Johnas was outraged when Albert, and Ferdy had confessed that they had not questioned the boy, that they had instead let his mother whisk him away without so much as trying to stop her.
"Why did you not come to me with this news earlier?" Johnas raged.
"It wer a stormin somethin terrible sir." Albert answered weakly, casting his eyes down, pretending to study the mud on his worn boots.
"Oh it was storming! Is that your feeble excuse for not informing me about this earlier?! Fuck the rain, you fools! Are you going to abandon your stations when we search the forest for the witch if a few drops of rain falls onto your delicate heads?!" Johnas tirade continued.
He berated the two men for a few moments more before regaining control of his temper.
"Gentlemen," he said between clenched teeth, "where does the child live?
Take me there. Now!" he shouted.
Ferdy, and Albert jumped back, startled, then the two men led Johnas silently through the muddy streets, to the cottage at the village's edge where the boy and his mother lived.
Johnas stepped up onto the cottage's stoop pounding heavily upon the door, when Mabel pulled the door open so abruptly it left Johnas's hand hanging in the air ready to knock again, Mabel giving him a nasty stare. "What the Hell do yer mean pounding on my door at this time of the mornin?! Who are you anyway?!" Mabel exclaimed loudly, before recognizing Ferdy, and Albert from the previous night.
"I know these two men, but who the hell are you?" she asked Johnas sharply, as he still stood with his fist hovering in the empty air, a gob-smacked look upon his face staring at the intimidating woman looming over him in the doorway, his mouth hanging open like a dead carp.
Ferdy, and Albert exchanged amused looks behind Johnas's back, at the look on his face, the two men coughed imperceptibly, barely able to contain their laughter.
They had never seen Johnas left speechless by anything before as he was by the formidable woman who stood in front of him.
After snapping his mouth closed, Johnas rose to his full height as he tried to make himself look just as imposing as she, but failed miserably.
"Madame" He began " I understand from these gentleman that your son was found in the cottage along the road last evening. The cottage that belonged to the witch?" he asked her.
"Ey, our Robin was in the healer's hoose last evenin'. He oft walks at night when he sleeps. We have found him therr from time to time." A worried look crossed her face.
"But Robin never pilfers nothin, if that is what yer here aboot? He only curls up in the corners to sleep. My boy would never cause no mischief, sir," she pleaded, looking deflated.
"Tut, tut, my dear woman, that is not what we have come about, we only want to enquirer as to what the boy, Robin, is that his name? We only come to ask what he saw inside the witch's house that frightened him?" Johnas cooed, trying to calm the woman's fears, so that she would allow him to interrogate the boy.
After a moment Mabel nodded her head in consent, moving back from the doorway so that they could enter.
"Robin, come tell these men what ye saw last night," she called out to the little boy playing with his wooden soldiers on the bedsit.
Robin dropped his toys climbing awkwardly down from off the bed, crossing the room, hide behind his mother's skirts from the mean looking men.
Johnas looked at the dirty little urchin with disgust, then asked him what he had witnessed in Eldra's cottage.
The little boy moved deeper into his Mam's skirts, before peeking out around her.
"The witch," he whispered, then pulled his head quickly back within the folds of Mabel's skirts.
"What was the witch doing Robin?" Johnas asked in a friendly voice.
Robin poked his head around her skirts again and said. "Lookin through a box."
"What box?" Johnas asked Robin, interest flashing in his eyes.
"The box with all the bottles." Robin said from behind his mother's legs, then he began cry softly.
Mabel reached her hand down to rest it on Robin's head protectively, pulling him closer, then Mabel straightened her spine, glaring down at Johnas with open distaste.
"I think ye ave asked our Robin enough questions for one day. He's tired and needs his tea, please leave now." She pointed one plump finger at the door.
Johnas gave her a peevish look but did as was told.
Ferdy, and Albert followed behind Johnas as he stepped out into the early morning sunlight as Mabel slammed the door heavily shut behind them.
Johnas had a priggish look on his face as he turned to Ferdy and Albert.
"Did you notice any boxes disturbed in the cottage when you were there last night?" he asked the two of them.
"No," they said in unison.
"But we wern't looking for not but the screaming child when we were in theer. It was fierce dark, we could hardly see our hands afore our face much less if anythin had been disarayed." Ferdy replied.
"Come gentleman, lead the way. We will examine the cottage for signs of a search." Johnas ordered.
Ferdy and Albert led Johnas through the back garden of the cottage where they entered through the unlatched doorway, and into the main living space.
Johnas glanced around spying nothing out of place in the tidy room.
He crossed to the kitchens entrance, and noticed the open apothecary box almost immediately.
Johnas peeked inside, finding it empty.
He could see there had been a false bottom in the box at one time, and he wondered what it may have held?
"Come men, I believe we need to call another meeting.
We now know the Witch is still in the vicinity, so we must bring forward our plans to search the forest before she attempts to visit the village again. Who knows what nefarious plans she may have in mind for the village children?" Johnas said, as he, Ferdy and Albert made their way to The Wolf And Lamb.
* * *
Maeve bustled through the village feeling the need to confess her sins to the Priest, their weight pressing down on her. She found herself in the candle lit vestibule of the church, frantically looking around for Father Thomas.
When suddenly she spotted him exiting the sacristy, she rushed towards him.
"Father please, I know it's not the hour for confession, but I have a great need to unburden my soul," she pleaded frantically.
"There now my child, pray calm yourself. I'm very busy today, but if you would come back during the hours for confession I would gladly hear your contrition then," he replied, patting her on the hand.
He shot a nervous look over his shoulder at the sacristy door, hoping the altar boy inside would not exit the room while the red haired woman was in the church.
"Please, Father, I beg of you, I need to confess now or I may lose my nerve." Maeve implored him, tears welling up in her eyes.
Father Thomas found himself trapped between this frantic young woman's desperate pleas, and his own desire for the boy awaiting him in the sacristy.
The priest gave a long sigh, reminding himself that his duty as village priest was to serve his parishioners needs above all else, even his own desires.
The Priest excused himself for a moment, asking that the girl wait for him in the confessional.
Making the excuse that he had to attend to a small duty in the sacristy before returning to hear her confession.
Cursing under his breath Father Thomas entered the sacristy, giving the boy waiting for him there a farthing from the collection plate, and requesting that he return before mass that evening for his "lessons".
After sending the boy on his way, the Priest left the sacristy, moving hurriedly to the confessional to hear the woman's contrition.
Maeve entered the confession box as the Priest had asked, kneeling on the uncomfortable, velvet covered stool waiting for Father Thomas to return. When the window slid opened Maeve made the sign of the cross, then recited:
"Bless me father for I have sinned. It has been, I know not how long since my last confession."
Maeve hesitated for so long that Father Thomas prompted her with, "Go on my child."
She drew in a long breath, spilling out her confession in one long rush.
She told Father Thomas of the assault by Johnas in the alleyway across from The Wolf And Lamb.
About the intense hatred that she harbored in her heart for him, and how it burned so brightly in her heart that she could not think of anything else.
She confessed what she let the men who frequented the bawdy house do to her body nightly.
Then she confessed to the Priest that she was with child, and that the babe belonged to Johnas, and that she had not had her monthly courses since before Johnas had raped her in the alleyway.
Father Thomas listened with interest his eyes narrowing, absorbing the girls every last word, a sense of exaltation building within his heart.
Finally he possessed something to hold over Johnas's head.
The Holier Than Thou Pustule of a man who knew of Father Thomas proclivities with the altar boys and now at last he had proof that Johnas was no better than a common ravisher of women.
"Father?" Maeve asked timidly when the priest did not respond with her penance.
"Yes, my child," Father Thomas replied, straightened in his seat, and clearing his throat before continuing to speak.
"I am sorely sorry for what you have suffered, recite four Hail Mary's, three Our Fathers, and you must promise me that you will extract yourself from your current employment. Find your way back to God my child. Raise the babe you carry in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ." Father Thomas made the sign of the cross then continued.
"Jesus will absolve you of your sins if you do all these things, and may God go with you." He finished.
Maeve wept openly with relief at the Priest's words.
"Thank you father. I will do as you say. Thank You, thank you!" Maeve choked out between sobs.
She raced from the confessional, fleeing the church before Father Thomas could make his way out of the confession box, not knowing that Father Thomas would sit in the confessional for a long time after she had left.
So Johnas was a ravisher of woman, or of at least of one young woman, thought the Priest, imagining she was not the only one poor soul that Johnas had forced himself upon.
Father Thomas had heard the rumors of why Johnas had been banished from court and had no doubt now that the rumors were true considering what he had just been told by the red-haired girl.
And now all Father Thomas had to do was decide how he could best turn such information to his advantage.
* * *
Johnas entered the tavern with Albert, and Ferdy in tow, as he strode to the bar where Robert was standing, with a scowl on his face as he had entered. "Robert what ails you on this glorious day?!" Johnas asked the bar keep, his voice ringing off the walls of the empty tavern room.
"A better question is why are ye so chipper, Johnas?" Robert inquired, a sick feeling growing in his stomach.
"My friend I have had wonderful news from Ferdy, and Albert here." He gestured to the two men who stood to his left with sheepish looks on their faces.
"The Witch was spotted in her cottage last evening, meaning she is still hiding close by. I want you to inform all of the men who come to the tavern to gather any weapons they have, and meet me in the village square at three of the clock this day. We are going witch hunting in the forest!" Johnas finished, with a disturbingly toothy grin.
Here Johnas turned to face Ferdy and Albert, instructing them to visit any house that they knew to deliver the same message around the village. "But I thought ye were waiting for Mathew to finish the witch chain before venturing into the forest?" Robert spoke up.
"Mathew is taking too long to complete the chain." Johnas said in disgust. "Did you not hear me say the Witch has visited the village? Who knows what she could be planning. We must begin our search, chain or no chain!" he exclaimed angrily bringing his fist down on the bar with a thunderous crash.
Robert gave him a queer look before running a damp cloth over the place where Johnas's fist had struck the bars top.
Meanwhile Ferdy and Albert retreated from the tavern lest they incur Johnas's wrath again.
"All right, all right, Johnas. Don't get your braies in a twist. I'll pass on yer instructions to my patrons." Robert replied, turning away with a snort, leaving Johnas to look at the back of his head.