H. Copella
Kate Dalana paced the entrance to the covered bridge. She was in the middle of no where on a deserted back road by herself. She wrenched her fingers together and eyed every shadow. Kate walked closer to the worn path leading to the stream just under the bridge. She drew a deep breath and turned around.
A man casually sat on the stone wall just before the bridge. Kate gasped and jumped back a step.
�What have you done with my friend?� Kate demanded to know.
He aimed a small dart gun at her and pulled the trigger. She gasped as the dart struck her in the shoulder. She stared at the man and appeared surprised. He slid off of the stone wall but didn�t approach. Kate placed her hand to her forehead and appeared disoriented. The man approached her. Everything went dark.
Kate woke in an unfamiliar room on a king-sized, hard top, canopy bed. The entire room was decorated in medieval, castle garb. There was a huge, stone fireplace across the room and shields hung on the walls as a form of decoration. Kate looked around an appeared confused. Kate jumped off of the bed, momentarily clutched her head, and ran for the door. She turned the iron latch, but it was locked. She looked around the room and hurried to the large, stained glass window. There were iron bars outside of the glass. She could barely see through the colored glass, but she could see a courtyard ten stories below. She was in the tower of a castle!
She heard the latch on the door spring. Kate spun around with fury. The door opened and the man from the bridge entered.
Kate pointed a finger at him. �I curse you!� There was a clash of thunder.
There was a flash of light just before him. He covered his eyes and turned his head. Kate breathed heavily as her heart pounded.
The man slowly lowered his hands and looked at her. �Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?�
�Where am I? What have you done with my friend?� she demanded.
�You�re in King Quinn�s castle. You and your friend are his guests for the weekend,� he replied.
Kate folded her arms across her chest and walked toward him. She tilted her head and glared with an evil look. �You don�t know who you�re dealing with.�
He chuckled lowly, which appeared to only irritate her more. �I have a pretty good idea,� he simply replied. �You�re a witch, but that�s not going to help you here.�
Kate frowned. �Are you a warlock?�
�No, I�m Sir Brennan Renshaw, Knight to His Royal Highness.�
�So your king is a warlock.�
He nodded.
She looked over him. �You�re protected by one of his spells, I presume.�
He again nodded. �King Quinn would like to see you in his chamber.�
They entered the master chamber. It was twice the size of her room with the same medieval d�cor. A handsome man approached her with a broad smile.
�Ah, Kate, so glad you could join me,� Quinn said in a pleasant tone. He reached for her hand.
She pulled it away. �Where�s my friend? I want to see her--now.
�Shortly, my dear. I�d like to discuss business with you first,� he said and offered her a seat. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. �I�ll make it brief. As you may already know, I�m a warlock. What you may not know is, when you were born, we were promised to each other.�
Kate stared at him with some surprise. �What are you talking about?�
�Our father�s decided we would be married when we were old enough. But before your fifth birthday, your mother ran away and took you with her. There aren�t many full witches in our society today--least not in my age group. Far too many have been marrying mortal men, weakening our people. When I have children, they will be full witch and warlocks. I want you as my bride, Kate. I�m considered a fine catch, and you�d have everything you want.�
�You�re insane,� she snapped. �You abduct my best friend then ask me to marry you? Flowers would have been a better start.�
�You�d never accept me as a warlock. This was the only way,� he said. �Don�t answer me now. Take a couple of days to think about it. I�d like for you to get to know me. If you decide at that time we�re not compatible, you and your friend can leave.�
�Where is she?� Kate asked.
�Brennan, bring Ms. Kenton here,� he said then looked at Kate. Brennan left the room. �You can spend time with her as well. I�ll even show you around the kingdom--your home. Just one word of warning. Don�t attempt to remove your friend from my kingdom. I�ve placed my own spell over her. She stays until you�ve given me the requested couple of days to think about my proposal.�
Brennan returned to the room with Bev, a young, attractive woman around the same age as Kate. Bev hugged Kate.
�Are you okay?� Bev asked.
Kate nodded. �You haven�t been harmed, have you?�
Bev glared at Brennan. �No, but I�ll never trust another man who asks me for the time again.�
Brennan eyed her but didn�t respond.
The front sitting room was decorated with the same medieval furnishings as the bedroom chambers had been decorated. Bev and Kate were alone and stood by the window. Both stared out to the medieval kingdom.
�Nice of Quinn to give us the grand tour of his kingdome. What is this place, Kate? Can you get us out of here?� Bev asked.
Kate shook her head. �This entire kingdom has a spell around it, and you can't pass beyond the high walls. Did you notice the villagers?�
Bev nodded. �They should have been suspicious of us. They didn't even notice the difference in our clothes. What are we going to do?�
�We have two options. The first option would be to wait the couple of days and hope Quinn is a warlock of his word. The second would be to figure out a way to break his spell.�
�He�s never going to let us go, I know it,� Bev said.
�I�m not counting on it either. He wants his way, and he�s going to get it any cost,� Kate replied. �I�m almost positive we�re actually in the thirteenth century. I could see some of the countryside from the tower, and Brennan said he�s a knight. With that accent, I�m convinced he�s telling the truth.�
�How can any of this help us? It just means there isn�t any help on the outside,� Bev announced.
