J.C._Wilder-_Lady_of_Maragorn.pdf

Lady of Maragorn

by J. C. Wilder

originally published in the DREAM QUEST

anthology

J. C. Wilder is an award-winning paranormal romance author who also writes erotica as

Dominique Adair. Readers can check out her website at http://www.jcwilder.com

As long as she lived, she would never kiss another man.

WHACK!

Nia attacked the small pile of leafy herbs with her butcher knife, releasing the pleasing

scents of basil, rosemary and sage. Considering she was immortal, as long as she lived meant an

eternity without kisses.

She cast a mournful glance at the row of stone statues lining the rear of her worktable.

Her gaze followed the statues around the small, comfortable room. Small groups of stone

creatures crowded the corner pantry, the bookshelves over her bed, the fireplace mantel and the

shelves above her windows and doors.

Finally, after having run out of shelves in her cozy cabin, she’d resorted to placing the

wee beasties in rows before the fireplace. During the cool evenings, she’d prop her feet on their

little ugly heads and warm her toes.

In fact, there were so many of the creatures surrounding her that there were times when

she felt like she were suffocating. The cabin she’d called home for the past two hundred years

was bursting at the seams with her victims.

Her victims.

Her shoulders slumped. It was her fault. These men, mortal men who had been lured into

the woods by stories of the Lady of Maragorn—a healer of unsurpassed skill, a she-elf of

incomparable beauty—were turned into gargoyles. It was said that a man could find paradise in a

single kiss. They came to her, at least four to five a year, wanting only to kiss her, to touch her.

But at the first touch of her lips, they’d been transformed into stone statues of hideous little

gargoyles.

She looked at two sitting on the edge of the mantel over her eastward window. Some of

them, like Ran the Dark and Nikolaz of Riverhaven, a fellow elf, she’d truly loved. In her heart

of hearts, she’d believed they could be the one to set her free.

Dream Quest: Nine Spellbinding Paranormal Romances

According to the story her mother had told her from her deathbed, the only action that

could release her from this endless curse of immortality was true love’s first kiss. Only, for her, it

hadn’t worked. Both men had turned to stone at the touch of her lips, leaving her alone and

heartbroken.

But today was going to be different. Today she was taking her fate into her own hands.

Nia squared her shoulders and set the knife aside. Today, on her two hundred and twenty-

second birthday, she was going to end her curse by taking her own life.

Outside the window over her workbench, a soft, late spring rain fell. The scent of wet

earth, loam and growing plants teased her senses. How she loved the spring, the ripening of

nature after the release from winter’s icy embrace. The creatures coming back to life, the

newborns to be found in the woods, it was like magic.

Just like herself.

Humming under her breath, she added the chopped herbs to her conjure bowl, which was

already half-filled with the ingredients she’d gathered fresh from the woods earlier in the day.

Taking her pestle, she began grinding the contents into a fine paste. As she worked, she chanted

the sacred words, passed down by her mother, under her breath.

Megrew lithra arowen nighlie.

The familiarity of the chant and the soothing movements calmed her soul. For months

she’d been contemplating taking her own life, and now that the time was near, she felt oddly

calm. Almost as if she knew she was doing the right thing. It was time to end the torment and

loneliness she endured every day of her life.

Two hundred years was a long time to spend with only the woodland animals as

companions.

But first, before she could complete the job, she had to free her victims from their cursed

existence. Leaving them to dwell as statues forever while she took her leave was something she

could not bear. Over the years she’d tried numerous times to reverse the spell to no avail. She

was hoping that upon her death, she could turn everything to right and undo all of the damage

she’d inflicted upon these men. It only made sense that, if she were dead, all of her spells would

reverse.

When the herbs had reached the desired consistency, she put aside her pestle. Taking up

the bowl, she approached the first row of statues. She sprinkled a small amount of the herbs over

their little stone heads. As she moved along the rows, she spoke her incantation.

Goddess of dark and light,

Upon my death, set this wrong right.

Break this curse and set them free,

For now, forever, so mote it be.

She repeated the incantation several more times as she worked her way around the room,

taking care to not miss a single stone creature. When she was done, she placed her empty bowl

on the workbench.

In less than an hour, she would be dead and these men would resume their physical form.

Both her curse and theirs would be ended. She cast a final glance at the two statues of Ran and

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Dream Quest: Nine Spellbinding Paranormal Romances

Nikolaz. Shoving her regret into a corner of her heart, she turned to the cupboard where she

stored her clothing.

From the depths of the narrow space, she retrieved a floor length, white beaded gown.

Her mother’s wedding gown. With great reverence, in the flickering light of the low fire, the

material glowed with an unearthly sheen. It was surprisingly heavy and she ran her fingertips

over the myriad of pearl and glass beads that covered the dress.

If she wasn’t mistaken, the Wood Elves of Siravar to the north, the people of her

mother’s line, had made the material. Her mother had told her on many occasions that when she

was cast from the tribe, she’d taken only the material, her hunting bow and the silver crown that

now rested on Nia’s head. She’d never seen any of her kin in all her years, but Nia had seen fine

elven material before. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was some of the finest.

Shedding her simple cotton gown, she pulled the wedding dress over her nude body. Her

mother had made the dress in the hopes that Nia’s father would marry her, but instead Nia’s

mother had been rejected. Love had turned its back on Kara twice as it had her daughter. Her

mother had never worn the gown, but her daughter would.

Nia straightened her shoulders and tilted up her chin. Instead of wearing the gown to her

wedding, she would wear it to her death.

Turning away from their staring stone eyes, Nia felt a sharp pang as she exited the cabin.

She was angry that her life was ending like this. As a child, she’d had such high hopes for life,

love and a family. Instead she was doomed to carry the curse of a bitter man who’d mistakenly

believed himself wronged. Turning away from his own true love, her father had destroyed so

many lives.

The ground underneath her bare feet was wet, the grass springy and soft. The rain had

slowed and she let her head fall back to receive the caress of the earth mother’s precious gift one

last time.

Over the years, she’d tried to kill herself twice before. Each time she’d awoken from her

folly to find herself hail and disgustingly hearty.

But this time would be different. She could feel it.

At the far end of the clearing was a narrow line of trees and beyond them were the

forbidding cliffs of Maragorn. Just past the trees, the grass faded to sparse weed then nothing but

the rocky edges of cliffs paved the way. The wind blowing in from the sea tugged at her gown as

she beheld the stormy gray of the ocean before her.

The cliffs were sheer, flat rock walls for hundreds of feet with the ocean roiling amongst

large boulders at the bottom. Once she fell, there was no way to scale the cliffs and her body

would be pulled out to sea. She would find her peace in the ocean’s embrace.

Nia lifted her gaze to the heavens. Images filtered through her mind, the names and faces

of hundreds of people she’d known. Her mother’s beloved face came first, then was followed by

each of the people she’d treated over the years. No matter how cursed her life had been; she’d

saved the lives of thousands with a mixture of elven magic and her herbal healing skills. That

was reward enough. She’d done well and now it was time to rest. She was weary, unutterably

weary.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped to the edge. Drawing a cloak of serenity around her,

she closed her eyes.

Freedom…

She lifted her foot and her body swayed with the breeze. She lost herself in the peaceful

embrace of her pending death, when the sound of a man’s gruff voice shattered her serenity.

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Dream Quest: Nine Spellbinding Paranormal Romances

“’E went this away.”

Startled, Nia’s eyes flew open. Who would dare to come to this lonely place and interrupt

her death? For the most part, people didn’t come to Maragorn unless they were seeking her help.

“Why would ’e come this way? Everyone knows the Witch of Maragorn lives yonder.

This place is cursed.” The last was said in a loud hiss.

Nia stomped her foot as she scowled in the direction of the voices. Cursed? Little did this

blathering fool know about curses, but she’d be sure to show him. Education was the path to

enlightenment and she was about to educate this trespasser. She turned in time to see a man

stumble through the trees toward her.

He was a big man, tall and broad, his hair darkened by the rain. He wore black from head

to toe with a gold link belt around his waist. This was no common hunter, his belt alone

proclaimed him to be a man of worth. His garments were mud-splattered and, in his right hand,

he carried a massive sword. Her eyes widened when she recognized blood coating the blade.

His face was deathly pale and his eyes were midnight blue against his unnatural pallor.

He caught sight of her and swayed before falling to his knees almost at her feet.

“Please, milady,” he gasped. “Help me.”

Nia ran forward and caught him before he pitched face first onto the rocks. Staggering

under his weight, she fell backward and his upper body landed across her legs, pinning her to the

ground. She shifted beneath him and barely managed to maneuver him to his side.

She laid his head in her lap and sheltered his face from the soft rain with her bowed head.

He was a handsome one. His hair was long, his features rugged. Thick lashes created shadows

against his cheeks and his skin was cool to the touch. A scar marred his left temple and cheek.

But, even with that blemish, he was a very handsome man. And his lips looked so… kissable…

Nia felt her gut clench and her breath left her in a rush. The urge to lean down and press

her lips to his was overwhelming. To breath life into him or to feel his flesh against hers, she

wasn’t sure. Almost as if in a trance, her head descended to his.

“Wot’s this?”

She’d been so engrossed in looking at the man, she’d neglected to listen for the owners of

the voices she’d heard. Two stocky figures approached, their swords and shields in hand. They

were barely as tall as she and dressed in dirty brown leather jerkins with darker brown clothing

beneath and heavy laced boots.

Her eyes narrowed. They were dwarves.

“A woman in the woods?” said the first. His knotted, filthy beard wobbled with each

word. “What do you suppose she’s doing ’ere?”

“I dunno,” said the second. He had no beard though he was no less as filthy as the first.

The bearded one stepped forward. “Woman, what business ’ave you ’ere with our man?”

Nia’s gaze flicked from one to another. Dwarves were, at best, full of bluster. The

animosity between elves and dwarves had existed for centuries. The reason for the animosity was

lost in the shadows of years long past. But Nia knew both she and her new patient could be in

some danger if she made one wrong step.

She lowered the man’s head to the ground, then rose to face the newcomers.

“I live in these woods.” She linked her hands at her waist. “I must ask you what business

you have here.”

“Yew dunna live ’ere,” the second one said. “Only the Witch of the…” His voice trailed

away as his eyes grew round.

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Dream Quest: Nine Spellbinding Paranormal Romances

Nia glanced from one to the other, allowing them to draw their own conclusions. The first

one looked from the unconscious man, to her and then back again while the second took several

steps back toward the safety of the dense woods.

“She-elf,” the first one spat. “We’ll just take our friend and be gone.”

“Indeed.” Nia looked down at the man, seeing for the first time the large smear of blood

on her dress and the sword wound on his side. “Your friend seems to be a bit ill-used.”

The dwarf gave a loud guffaw. “He ran afoul of some shady characters—”

“Helped along by you, no doubt. And this is why your sword is stained with blood?” She

shot a pointed look at his sword. “You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe your tale. I think, if

I were to compare his blood with that on your sword, they would match.”

The false smile faded and his expression grew dark. “I dunna care what you think she-elf.

Take your parlor tricks and be on your way as we’ll be taking ’im with us.”

“Branch—” the second man’s voice held a note of warning.

Parlor tricks?

Nia pulled inward to concentrate on the beat of her heart. Once she had the rhythm firmly

in her mind, she allowed it to expand throughout her being. With each thump, her physical body

lengthened and she expanded . Within seconds she’d gone from just over five feet tall to well

over eight feet.

“Dwarf, do you mistake me a mere conjurer of childish tricks? A jester like those at the

markets who entertain the offspring?” Behind her, she heard a crack of thunder as black

thunderheads rolled overhead. Within seconds, the landscape around them was as dark as night.

“To do so will spell your dooommmmmmm.”

“AHHHH!” The second dwarf screamed as he turned tail and ran into the woods as fast

as his stubby legs could carry him. Branch’s mouth dropped wide open as his bladder let loose

and he urinated on the front of his grimy pants.

“I would suggest that you hasten back to whatever hovel you’ve come from.” She

towered over him, her nose wrinkling at the rancid smell of unkempt dwarf and fresh urine. She

poked him in the chest with one finger and his sword hit a rock with a clang as he dropped it.

“Now,” she said.

He spun and ran, disappearing into the woods after his cowardly partner.

Nia covered her mouth lest her laughter be heard. The clouds departed as fast as they’d

arrived, and she shook her head. Turning back to the unconscious man, she scooped him into her

arms. In her enlarged form, she could easily carry a grown man.

After casting a mournful look at the sea, she headed in the direction of her cabin. It would

appear that she had more work to do before she could take her leave.

* * *

When Ranulf opened his eyes, two things became abundantly clear—he was dead and he

was in Ador, the underworld of the damned.

He blinked several times but the scene before him didn’t change. He turned his head as

much as his aching skull would allow, and the leering stone faces above him did not move.

Weary, he closed his eyes to take stock of his situation.

Every inch of his body, from his toes to his eyebrows, hurt. He moved his arm

experimentally and felt a sharp pull in his side that took his breath away. A dull throbbing on the

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