Page 23 of The Wand of Lore

“Marvin? Who’s there?” she demanded, pivoting her head sharply around the room.

“Nobody—there’s a fire. My brother is here. He has come to kill me!” Vaylor’s face was beaded with sweat as he sobbed.

“A fire? Your brother?” asked Gwenneth, and she swished her wand through the air, but nothing happened. “Where? Are you okay?”

“It’s—” Vaylor paused and pulled the blankets off to look at his bare legs. There was no fire, but the black curse had spreadso that both legs appeared completely withered and gnarly. He covered them again, then buried his face in his pillow and moaned.

“The curse,” Gwenneth said, and only then did she relax her arm. “There’s no fire, Marvin, and there’s nobody else in this room. It’s just the curse working its way through you. It must be terribly deep by now.” She sat down next to him and gently touched his blackened leg.

“No, don’t look at it. Please, it’s too ugly.”

“Marvin, snap out of it. It’s okay. It’s just me. I’ve seen the curse on your skin already. Let me help you.”

Vaylor nodded. He winced as she pulled the blanket back again and touched his skin with the tip of her wand. He gasped as the pain crescendoed through his body in a climactic wave, then slithered out, down his leg, and through Gwenneth’s wand. He exhaled, and for a moment, the two sat in the loud silence of his room.

“Thank you,” he whispered at last.

“Time is running out for you,” Gwenneth responded, tracing her finger along the blackened skin. “It is more advanced internally than it is externally. You will not survive much longer. Tell me about your brother.” Though her voice was steady and calm, a glistening tear pooled in her large violet eyes, catching the moonlight that streamed through the window.

Vaylor sucked in his breath, unprepared for this moment. “My brother. He killed a frog I found when I was a little boy. One time my aunt snuck me a toy horse that fit in the palm of my hand. My brother saw the transaction, took the toy, threw it in the river, and had me whipped for theft. He’s never stopped hating me.”

Gwenneth wrapped her arms around him. “That wasn’t right, Marvin. You deserved better as a little boy. That’s not how normal kids treat their brothers.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t have a normal brother, or a normal childhood for that matter. Let’s just go now. I have no need to break my fast, and evidently every need to arrive at Gorenth Castle sooner rather than later.”

She shook her head. “I’m tired, Marvin. I need rest after casting, and I’m still depleted from speeding up Sir Henry during the day. I won’t be ready to go for some time now.”

Vaylor pursed his lips, annoyed with himself for his thoughtless suggestion. “Of course. Please, get some sleep.” He shivered, envisioning the pain from the curse overtaking him again while he slept. What would he do if the pain returned in the night?

“Would it help if I stayed with you for a bit? I would like the company,” she whispered, resting an arm on his shoulder.

“Please,” he said, choking back the emotion in his voice.

As she slipped under the covers, the smooth fabric enveloped them both in a warm cocoon. She nestled her soft body against his and wrapped an arm around his chest, holding him in a sleepy embrace. The gentle rise and fall of her breath was a soothing rhythm that lulled him closer to sleep.

He felt the weight of her presence, solid and reassuring, as if the world outside had faded away. Her warmth seeped into him, melting away the tension that had coiled tightly in his chest. A deep sigh escaped him as he fought the urge to pull away, leave this vulnerable embrace, and break the spell of her warmth. But the thought of leaving her arms was unbearable.

“Gwenneth?” he whispered into the night.

“Yes?”

“Thanks for being here with me. I wouldn’t want anyone to see me the way you did, but you are really someone special.”

She was quiet for a while. Her arms around him tensed and she pulled away, putting just a little space between her chest and his back.

“Are you okay?” he asked, silently cursing himself for saying anything. No woman wanted to be with a man who cried out in the night as he had.

“I’m okay. It’s just that . . . well, I saw you yesterday and I have to know. Tell me truthfully, who was it that pulled you into the alley yesterday evening?”

Instantly, Vaylor’s muscles coiled tight, like a spring wound too far. He gave a sharp, audible gasp. “Were you spying on me?” he growled as he jumped out of bed and stepped back from her.

Her eyes widened and she leaned back slightly. “No! No, I was looking out the window and happened to see it. You were hardly discreet. Who was it, Marvin? We’re travel companions and maybe lovers, but I don’t know anything about you!”

“How dare you question my personal goings-on! We are travel companions, and that’s it. Once we reach the city, I’ll show you the secret catacombs of the castle, where we are sure to find the wand, you can help me with my curse, and we’ll part ways, like we always intended.”

Gwenneth nodded and blinked her eyes until a blank look appeared on her face. “Of course.” Without another word, she stood and left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Aaarrgh!” shouted Vaylor into the empty room. How could he be such a fool, thinking he might be able to help the witch? She was meddlesome, spying on him while he was minding his own business. He lay back on his bed and buried his face into his pillow again, glad nobody was in the room to see him like this, and ashamed at what Gwennethhadwitnessed. She had been gentle and kind, sacrificing her own safety to provide him a little relief from the pain of the curse. And he had repaid her with cruelty. He hadn’t meant to lash out at her. He shouldn’t have. She was smart to inquire about any mysterious meetings he had while they were traveling together. In fact, shehad been right to suspect that it was a meeting that endangered her. He would tell her the truth. It was the right thing to do, and something about Gwenneth made Vaylor want to be the kind of man who chose the right thing to do.

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