The Ghosts of Talverton Keep

"I was trying to say . . . carve." You get it out slowly, articulating the word. Jerome nods.

"Etching." He says. "We don't know why, but for some reason the universal translator struggles whenever we talk about the details of applying pressure to the alloy." The effect was becoming more pronounced. Jerome took a sip of the tea, thoughtful. "If I didn't know better, I would say that it is a sore subject for the pocket world itself."

Lightning crashed outside and a sudden gust swept into the room. CRASH! The tea kettle lurches forward, arcing towards you. You give an alarmed yelp and try to leap aside but in a flash, Jerome is there, knocking the kettle aside with a sweep of his arm.

The two of you collide, tumbling together in a moment, his body pressed against yours. He says something, distantly.

"Are you alright?" He repeats, his eyes searching yours. You feel his body pressing against you, the blood pumping in your veins. You swallow and shake your head.

"Yes, yes I'm okay. You moved so fast . . .are you?" He slowly, reluctantly, untangles himself from you.

"Only a little wet, I'm afraid." He says politely, wringing the water from his sleeve. "Here, let me get that." He strides to the open window, now spraying rain into the room, and with some effort, muscles the shutter back into place. For your part, you relight the lantern at the head of the bed.

You feel his eyes upon you before you turn, your cheeks burning hot. You turn, your long dress rumpled, the light low. His eyes, crystal piercing blue. The moment hangs, filled with unspoken thirst.

"I should . . . I've got to get a dry . ." he waves his arm somewhat awkwardly. "And I shouldn't . . ." he bites his lip, his voice tight " . . . I shouldn't stay up late." He takes the last sip of his key as you close the distance.

"Thank you," you say, voice soft. "For coming in for tea." His lips are there, so tantalizingly close, the magnetic connection pulling you in.

"Good night, Brenna." His voice is warm and with the slightest of nods, he slips out of your room. You close and latch the door behind him. Before attempting to escape your dress, you fetch the tea kettle from where it fell in the corner.

"Yowch!" You snatch your hand back, waving the singed fingers in the air. You fetch the hot pad and maneuver the kettle back to its spot. You glare at the cockblocking shutters, now slightly ajar after Jerome's haphazard repairs.

Castles can be damn obnoxious too. With that, you begin the tedious task of unlacing yourself.

###

You awake in a fervor. The evening's activities had left you quite excited but you had dropped off without a chance to release some of that tension. A jolt of the outside wind brought you suddenly into consciousness, but with the hearth nothing more than a couple of red embers, the only light came from spluttering stub of a candle in the lantern at the head of the bed.

Your body is on fire, nipples tight against the fabric of the sheets, your fingers tracing familiar patterns in your slick sex. You move faster and faster, the heat building in waves, you thoughts spirally. Jerome's body pressed against yours. Michael thrusting in your body deep in the forest hut. Mary cheeks flushed, her mouth thrown back in a cry of pleasure.

Your hips start to buck, you pull at your nipples, your breath coming short and fast. Caroline's lips on your clit, Lord Douglas throwing you to the floor, the taste of Maurie's chapstick. You gasp as you push yourself higher and higher. Your body feels hot. Feels watched.

Your eyes snap open and there - at the window, there are two golden glowing orbs reflecting the candlelight. Adrenaline surges through your body and you go to scream, just as the orgasm hits you.

"UUAAGGHHHHHghhbnnnn . . ." your body shakes, helpless as you cum, hard, on your hand. The eyes never leave you, drinking in your personal pleasure like a thirty man escaping a desert. You breath, now shuddering gasps, recedes enough for you to snatch the covers, yanking them up to your neck.

The eyes blink, and then with a huffing sort of shuffle, they are gone into the still raging storm.

"Fuck." You mutter and pull the pillow over your head.

###

"Miss Brenna." Isla's voice is whispered but firm. "I'm sorry Miss Brenna, but it is time to get up." The willowing dark haired waif has brought a tray, with a hardboiled egg, a couple biscuits and some butter as well as a steaming beverage.

"Is that coffee?" You ask, confused. Isla nods.

"The southern drink Lady Josephine brought with her, yes. She mentioned you might be partial to a sip of it in the morning like her." You sit up, giving Isla an impressive view. She blushes, suddenly glancing at the floor.

"Begging your pardon, Miss, but I must say," this part comes out as almost a whisper. "You are a very beautiful woman." You give her a surprised smile.

"Thank you Isla." You fumble around and locate a thick cotton shirt and pull it over your head. Isla, still blushing up a storm, lays out the food.

"Tell me Isla, Lady Josephine must have let you know, did she have any plans for me today?" Isla shakes her head.

"No miss. I am just to provide you with whatever you need while you do your work." Isla hands you a buttered biscuit.

". . . so where shall I take you today?"

"I want to go to the village - get to the bottom of these hauntings."

With only minimal assistance Isla helps you into a tunic and skirt that complement the shirt and after a brief moment to eat, the two of you head down the stone steps of the keep to the courtyard. The rain has dwindled to the all-too familiar misting. Isla offers a simple brown cloak that fits surprisingly well.

With only minimal assistance, you saddle up and the two of you take the stone road over the gushing dark river and into the woods towards the village.

Throughout the journey, Isla prattles on about her family. Her father, Lennox, who owns the bakery and her aunt who is a weaver. You try to keep the names and stories straight but you are quickly lost, instead enraptured by the peaceful brook, the sweeping evergreen trees and the approaching stone and thatch houses that make up the village.

Isla waves at a dour-faced man in the watch tower as you make your way into the village. He gives the barest of nods before returning to staring at the dark woods surrounding you.

"What is he watching for?" Isla pinches her mouth, her dark hair falling in front of her face.

"By day? Pict raiding parties coming in from the islands, although we haven't had one of those since I was just a girl."

You are still just a girl, you think, but keep it to yourself. The waif of a woman was barely nineteen.

"And by night?" you ask. Isla shudders.

"I think you best talk to Aileena about that."

###

SCREEEEETTTTTT. The whetting wheel grinds away just outside the blacksmith's shed. A stooped woman in a dark leather jerkin works an axehead back and forth. You dismount, a little shakily but you land solidly on your feet and the horse didn't buck so you are feeling more confident about it. Isla takes the reins from you, hollering above the clatter.

"AIleena!" The grinding continues, the woman sparing Isla the briefest of irritated glances before noticing your presence. She pauses, eyes sweeping you from head to toe. She's young, not as young as Isla but there is such an intensity there. She gives you a dismissive toss of the head and returns to sharpening.

"She's always like this!" Isla shouts over the clammer to you.

"Like what?" Aileena shouts back from her work, not looking up.

"Like a RIGHT PAIN IN THE ARSE!" Aileena suddenly stops the stone so Isla's words echo across the village square, disturbing two crows resting on the nearby roof. An older man, bald and jowled, leans out an upstairs window.

"Language, Isla!" He scolds.

"Sorry Malcom." Isla calls out, shooting dangers at Aileena who pointedly ignored her, rubbing the axehead with a soft piece of leather beforefore working it back onto the shaft by her side.

"Well, that's a horse from the castle, so either you're some high-born lady come to gawk at us in the muck, or you're here doing Lady Josephine's bidding. Either way, I've got no want to speak to you." With that, she turns abruptly to start putting away her tools.

"Aileena, this is Brenna. She's here to deal with the hauntings. She might be able to banish whatever is causing all this."

Aileena whips around, her eyes alight.

"The only thing that needs banishing is Lady Josephine! Her and her god-forsaken men. Talverton was a good town before she came and will be a better one once she is gone!" Aileena stomps off.

Isla turns to you. "Aileena is the best forest walker north of Hadrian's Wall. She hunts game, helps lost travelers and finds herbs for Salden when people are sick. If there's something going on out there in the woods, she will know where to look."

"Second best." Aileena says over her shoulder. "My brother is better."

"Caelen?" Isla asks incredulously. "He's not really . . ."

"Maxwell." Aileena says firmly.

"Aileena . . . he hasn't been home in over a year."

"That doesn't mean he's gone!" Aileena snaps. There's a pause as the two women glare at each other for a moment.

"Aileena," you finally break in. "I've traveled a long way to be here. I am no high born lady, feel my hands." You reach out and she takes your hand in hers. Her grip is strong but as she traces her fingertips across your palm, she is surprisingly gentle. You are grateful for the calluses you've acquired over the last eight years of parenting.

She meets your gaze as you continue.

"I've got no love for Lady Josephine - but I do need to know what has been going on here at night. Will you help me?" Aileena, still holding your hand, looks into your eyes, big and earnest. She blows a breath out her nose and gives a little shrug.

"Fine. But your nursemaid has to piss off."

"I'm not a nursemaid!" Isla says indignant. You give her an apologetic look. She throws up her hands. "Fine, fine. I'll be at my father's house. It's there, on the other side of the well." She points across the town square. "I'll take care of the horses. Just let me know if we are going to be here after dark."

It is hard to tell, through the thick grey clouds, but you suspect it is almost Noon.

"You hungry?" Aileena asks.

###

Her house, a simple cob building with a thatch roof on the edge of the village, is everything you hoped. Herbs hang from the ceiling, simple wood furniture is set about the main room, and the thick walls mean the inside is warm and dry from the drizzle.

You hang your cloak up to dry on the peg by the door while Aileena assembles a plate of nuts, berries, some sliced root vegetables and some dried pieces of jerky. Ignoring the meat, you nibble at the rest while Aileena begins her story.

"It all began three years ago, when Lady Josephine arrived. The first couple of months were fine, we had just finished harvest season and having a new Thane was a welcome diversion from the winter gloom. But I knew something was wrong right from the start."

Aileena shook her head. "Lady Josephine, and her men. McCormac, and that strange doctor of theirs, they may talk like us but they are not from here. They came and talked to us here in the village. They told us about the mine they intended to build and how it would all bring us riches beyond imagination. They had gifts too. Gold coin for the men, trinkets for the children."

"What did people think?" You ask, gratefully accepting a cool glass of water.

"Hmf. Like the fools they are, my people clapped and jumped with glee. The Talverton's had returned with a glorious task for us! Yes m'lady. Right away, m'lady." Aileena gave a mocking curtsy.

"But I knew it was too good to be true. It wasn't long before the voices started calling out of the woods." Aileena shuddered.

"Anyone who was out after dark would start hearing them. A loved one - someone alive or dead - calling their name, asking for their help. They would go after them, and that would be the last we saw of them. We lost so many friends that winter." Aileena gives a heavy sigh.

"Eventually, we were able to spread the word and that's when the spirits started appearing. You would catch glimpses of them at the edge of the woods - people you wanted to see more than anything else in the world. And so many people would walk willingly into their arms."

"I would search the next morning, following the tracks, trying to find where they ended up but no luck. We couldn't even find their bodies. And that was just the start." She shakes her head.

"Since then, our village has been beset by terrible things. Just last month Salden's house moved in the dead of night. She's our village healer or at least she was until that creepy doctor arrived, but she went to sleep and when she opened her door the next morning, it was on the other side of the village."

"I heard Friar James died recently." You ask. Aileena nods.

"Aye, never cared much for the man. Too much in his cups but still, what a way to go. Looks like he was scared right to death. Another loss at Lady Josephine's feet."

"You seem pretty convinced that this is all her fault." You say. "Do you have any proof?"

"What more proof could I need? Talverton was at peace before she arrived and we will not know peace until we drive her from our lands!" She pounds the table, causing the plates to jump.

The door to the cottage swings open and in strides a young handsome man, carrying a large leather-bound tome and slender flask.

"I've returned, Aileena. The priest had the materials on hand . . ." his voice trails off as he catches sight of you. "Oh! We have company, I apologize." He goes to put his cloak away but cannot tear his eyes from you and ends up dropping it on the floor.

"No trouble on the road to Lairg?" Aileena inquires. He shakes his head. "No. No trouble at all. And I got what we need." You wrack your brains, where had you heard Lairg before.

"What you need. I'm not sure if it will work." Aileena gets up and gives him a brief embrace.

"Brenna, please meet my brother Caelan." You stand and offer him a hand, which he enthusiastically accepts.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss." He says.

"I thought your brother was . . . missing?" You ask. Caelan gives Aileena a worried look before turning back to you.

"That was her older brother, Maxwell." He says apologetically. An awkward silence comes and then just as quickly, goes.

"Brenna is here to solve the hauntings." says Aileena. "On behalf of Lady Josephine." Caelan's mouth twists as if tasting something bitter.

"I just want to solve the mystery - if Josephine is the cause of all of this, then that is the problem I will solve." Both of them look at you in shock.

"Do you speak truly?" Aileena asks, coming right close to you, her body inches from yours. "Are you serious about this?"

You take a moment to consider. What if the hauntings are a result of something Josephine has done? What would you do? Probably return home, tell Maurie and then the FBI would arrest the whole operation. Meaning that no one would enter through the well house for a while. Yes, that is something you could promise.

"If Josephine or her men are causing the hauntings, I will make sure they never return to Talverton Keep." You promise, holding Aileena's gaze. "I swear it."

For the first time yet, Aileena cracks a broad smile. "Well then, let's get to work!"

###

Caelan's plan is simple - there was a flask of consecrated water and a book of prayers. You read the prayers and sprinkle the water. Together, the three of you made a slow circle along the edge of the village. Caelen, squinting to read the scrawling handwriting of the monk from Lairg. Aileena, glaring at any of the other villagers who dared approach while halfheartedly sprinkling the holy water and then you, pulling up the rear.

Talverton looked much the same from all sides - thatch roofs, stone buildings, laundry hanging on twine, and far too many animals under foot. The fast moving river that roars past the keep is a deep and fast moving snake, coiled along one side of the town. On the other side, a mossy thick forest.

The thick trees, heavy branches and wet underbrush would normally set you right to ease - but this forest wasn't the reassuring douglas firs and western hemlocks of home. It was subtly, but fundamentally, different. It felt unsettling, and sinister.

"Have you spent much time in the forests? After sundown?" Aileena asks.

"A bit." You answer truthfully. You had enjoyed a backpacking trip in the Olympics last summer with Ryan and the kids - not far but enough. Silas managed to bust his knee jumping off a rock and Lyra had gotten a worrisome-at-first-but-ultimately-just-fine bug bite, but neither one minded because the meteors that night were spectacular. Both children had stayed up late into the night, all oohs and ahhs, until all four of you mutually, and without any previous coordination, fell promptly asleep.

"Tell me about these woods, Aileena. What do I need to know about them?" You leave the question open-ended and aren't disappointed. Aileena pauses and thinks for a moment, letting Caelan stumble on a few paces ahead.

"If you are talking about the land, this river cuts through the valley south here for good ways - the going is rough if you don't know what you are doing but you can follow along the banks and get up onto that ridge there," She points at the nearby foothills.

"And from there, you can make your way most of the way around our valley. It takes you about a day and a half, and then another half a day to get down but you can do it."

"Aileena!" Caelan waves at her, twenty paces ahead. She gives him an exasperated look and springs some more of the holy water around her before setting off at a trot to catch up. You follow.

"If you want something from outside Talverton - you've got to either saddle a horse and ride to Lairg, which isn't much bigger than us - or push your way through the woods to the ridge and ride it south towards Old Road. Either way, it's a difficult journey."

"What about boats?" You ask. "You've got the river right here, do you get many visitors up or down the river?" Aileena frowns.

"The village elders say that it is because the current is too swift, that the river is violent and dangerous and will smash any vessel to bits." Aileena lowers her voice. "But I know what it's really about. It's Nyree." She glances over her shoulder towards the woods.

"She's . . . well, some say she's the witch of the woods. She bends the river to her will and lives in the darkest parts of the forest. Malcom thinks she's a woman who conjoined with the devil and curses travelers. Lennox say she's a water nymph, bound to this glen ages ago by some horny old wizard. " Aileena's voice is low - but you aren't sure if she is worried about Caelen or the woods themselves overhearing.

"What do you think?" Aileena gives the ground another splash.

"What I think of her doesn't matter. She and I have crossed paths a couple of times, we stay out of each other's ways."

"So she was here before Lady Josephine arrived?"

"Nyree is no friend of our lady of the keep." says Caelan, suddenly appearing at your side. "But she's no evil haunting either." He closes the book.

"We are done. The circle is cast, and just in time too." He nods towards the west where the gloomy grey light of afternoon was already beginning to fade into evening.

"Everyone should be coming back from the quarry right now, with darkness not far behind. I'm going to grab something to eat at Moira's and then find a spot to camp out where I can watch this line." Aileena takes the book from him.