Page 37 of An Enchanted Knight

“I’m Ryan.”

“Have you been watching Meliot torture me?”

Once again Ryan’s eyes flashed across his body. “Sometimes.”

“Will you torture me?”

Ryan’s discomfort radiated from him. He was not cut out to be one of Meliot’s henchmen.

“I don’t think so.” The man turned to walk out.

“Wait.”

Ryan hesitated but didn’t turn.

Tristan scrambled for a way to stop him. “Do you want to touch me?”

This time Ryan turned. His eyes flashed, angry, but at the same time they locked on to Tristan’s mouth. “What the fuck?”

“I know you want to.” Tristan told him, forcing his eyes to linger at the male’s mouth. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Ryan’s hands clenched at his side, he glanced to the man on the floor before answering. “Yeah. Fine. You’re right.” He locked gazes with him, but didn’t move. Slowly he dragged his eyes away from Tristan. “But I’m not stupid.”

Torn between relief at not having to follow through and disappointment at not being able to stop the man from leaving the room, Tristan tried another angle.

“If you want power, you’ll have to take it. Meliot will never let you be more than his lap dog, to sit and beg as he commands.” When Ryan’s shoulders sagged, Tristan knew the man believed him, already suspected as much.

“Meliot is very powerful; you made a mistake joining his ranks. There is only one way you’ll ever leave this place. Believe me. I know.”

A moan from the guard on the floor caught Ryan’s attention. He kicked his downed cohort back to unconsciousness.

“This fuckin’ sucks,” Ryan yelled to no one in particular. The man stepped toward the table and Tristan waited to see what he would do. He placed his hands on Tristan’s knees, sending healing power into the broken bones; the muscles around his knees tightened, accompanied by heat flowing through his legs.

“I wish I could do more for you.” Ryan’s tormented eyes met his before he stormed from the room.

The frigid ground was hard when Gwen landed on her rear. Padraig stood next to her holding her hand. He pulled her up to her feet. “Sorry about that, it’s hard to retain your balance when leaping.” They were in an icy hell, nothing but white as far as she could see.

The alter-world was nothing like she expected. The air felt dense, the sky a strange hue of purple, with reddish streaks resembling claw marks across the expanse. There were trees, but they were not like any she’d ever seen. With twisted, blueish trunks, and ice-covered black leaves hanging from limbs that stretched sideways.

Big fluffy flakes fell to a ground already covered by grey-hued snow. Icy wind blew across the frozen expanse. She shivered, not only from the cold, but from fear of being stuck there forever.

In the distance, turrets of a castle caught her attention.

Just as Gwen was about to ask if it was where the evil wizard lived, the sound of a low, guttural growl announced the presence of an enormous white wolf. Gwen scurried behind Padraig and peeked around him at the wolf that stood silently watching them.

“Why is he staring at us like that? Is he hungry?” Gwen whispered. “I have a granola bar.”

“No. He is a friend who guards the lands around Meliot’s castle. Not unlike our home, which is surrounded by our enemies. It keeps balance in this world, I suppose.” Padraig held his hand up to the wolf, in some sort of greeting gesture. Two additional wolves appeared, eyeing them with suspicion.

Seeming to be satisfied, like the humans had passed some sort of inspection, the wolves trotted away. Padraig took her hand. “They’ll lead us to their leaders and shelter. The weather is about to get bad.” He glanced at the sky. Gwen looked up as well, but didn’t see anything that stood out.

She glanced back towards the castle. “I don’t want to get shelter. We need to go rescue Tristan.”

Padraig’s eyes were soft. “I know. I can’t stand the idea of him being there any longer.” He hurried behind the wolves, Gwen almost jogging to keep up. “But we must let those that live here know why we’re here, and hopefully they’ll agree to help us. Just being invisible won’t help us get Tristan out. If Niall was able to sense us, no doubt Meliot will too.”

They arrived at a cave entrance. Two even larger wolves exited as they approached, and sat on their haunches watching their every move, but allowing them to enter.

Only the first wolf continued inside ahead of them. Gwen looked around in awe. The rock walls were smooth. Both sides flanked with lit torches every few feet. Once they arrived at a set of wooden doors, the large panels swung open slowly, allowing them into a large room, warmed by a huge fireplace.