came to see exactly what the curse had done. That might be why she failed. So, I am gathering all the truth I can and recording it. The answer is in there, I am certain of it. I can feel it within my reach.”
Eric leaned against the side of the stables he had been trying to escape into when she had caught sight of him. “The lairds of the MacCordys grow to monhood watching their fathers change into some creature from a nightmare. They then become men and begin to change themselves.”
Sophie crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “That isnae verra helpful. How do they change? A lot of what I have been told is difficult to believe. I do ken that the laird cannae abide the sun.”
“Nay. The light of the sun fair blinds him. Alpin finds it increasingly painful as he ages. Three years ago he spent but an hour in the sun and it was as if he had been dropped into boiling water. If not for the heavy clothing he wore, I think he would have died. He hasnae ventured beyond the shadows since that day, except at night, or, if heavily cloaked, on sunless days.”
“And he needs blood.”
“Aye,” Eric snapped, then sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “That need grew slowly. He now eats naught but nearly raw meat, seared just enough to warm it, to make the juices flow. His usual drink is now an even mix of wine and blood.”
“Do ye ken if he felt the change immediately, or if it was a slow awareness?”
“Since this affliction has been visited upon every laird, ’twas expected, so I cannae say. The first hint comes when the heir becomes a mon and when next he becomes angry. The eyes change to those of a wolf and the teeth become sharper. After so many years we have learned to watch for the change, to guard against that first attack of anger. There were some tragedies in the early days ere we learned what to expect. Alpin was little trouble, for he, too, had studied the matter and was prepared.” Eric shook his head. “He has great strength, m’lady, and fights to control this affliction, but the change cannae be stopped.”
“What if one ceased to feed the need for blood?” she asked.
“Och, nay, ye dinnae wish to do that. ’Twas tried and the need grows to a near madness, endangering all who draw too near.”
“Restraint willnae work?”
“Nay, not e’en if one finds the means to hold him in a way he cannae break free of. The strength of these men can be terrifying to behold. So can their ability to persuade, to beguile, be beyond compare. E’en if ye find chains strong enough to bind them, they can eventually get some poor fool to set them free.”
Sophie stared down at her foot as she tapped it slowly against the hard-packed dirt of the bailey, her hands clasped behind her back. Most of what Eric told her matched what she had learned from others. He told her the truth without any gruesome elaborations or tales of the devil, however. The truth was not good. No normal restraints or cures had worked. It had been foolish to think the MacCordys had left any stone unturned in the course of over four hundred years. Rona’s curse refused to be denied its victims.
“None of the lairds lives to a great age, aye?” she asked, looking back at Eric.
“Sadly true. A few have killed themselves, a few died in battle, some are murdered by their own people.”
“But nay until they have bred an heir.”
“Aye, and after the son is born, the change often happens more quickly. The old laird, through sheer strength of will, held back the worst of the affliction for thirteen years, but I believe seeing the curse appear in Alpin broke his spirit. The verra next battle he fought, he died, and I think he planned to do so. In battle, the beast within the lairds bursts free in many ways. Their strength is that of many men, their ferocity unmatched, and their skill at laying waste to the enemy a source of legends. ’Tis why we are so often sought out by men who wish us to fight their battles for them.”
“Has there been a laird or two who was seduced by such power, began to welcome it?”
“Oh, aye, a few. But nay Alpin,” Eric said firmly, “if that is what ye think. Alpin has more strength of will than any mon I have e’er kenned or heard of. If any mon could beat this, he could, but there isnae any sign that he is winning that battle. Nay, at best he but slows the tightening of the grip of this affliction.”
“Then he doesnae grow worse as quickly as his father or grandfather?”
“Nay, but his father was married by now and had bred the heir. His grandfather, weel,” Eric shrugged. “He was verra bad from all that I hear. I dinnae ken if he was weak or one of those who reveled in the fear he could stir. He was killed by the villagers after he killed his wife. Tore her to pieces, ’tis said. Her and the lover he found her with.”
Sophie ignored Nella’s muttered prayers and nodded. “The rage. Catching one’s wife with another mon would certainly stir it up.” She suddenly smiled at Eric and rubbed her hands together. “I think I have a plan.” She briefly scowled at Nella, who groaned, then looked back at Eric, pretending she did not see the smile he quickly hid. “I shall immediately start doing all I can to help Sir Alpin fight this curse. I ken all manner of things to shield him, protect him, strengthen him. Rowan branches, rune stones, herbs,” she muttered, trying to recall all she had and to think of what more she might need.
“Er, m’lady—” Eric began.
Caught up in her thoughts, Sophie started toward the keep. “I dinnae suppose the laird would wear an amulet or two. Nay, he is being most uncooperative. He avoids me as if I am some toad-sucking demon waving a dead mon’s hand at him,” she mumbled to herself.
“Arenae ye going with her?” Eric asked Nella, who just stood there frowning after Sophie.
“She is muttering,” replied Nella. “ ’Tis sometimes best nay to hear what she is saying when she mutters. She only mutters when she is angry, and though she be a sweet, bighearted lass, when she is angry she can have a verra wicked tongue.”
“She willnae give up, will she?”
“Nay. She is a stubborn woman, and I think she is weighted with shame o’er what her ancestor did. Aye, and she was sorely grieved by what happened to her mother. M’lady will keep at this ’til she joins the angels.”
“Nella?” called Sophie, suddenly realizing she was alone.
“Coming, m’lady.” Nella hurried to Sophie’s side.
“Good. We must change and go to collect some rowan branches.”
“For what?”
“I intend to place as many as I can around this keep to try to weaken the power of the curse,” Sophie replied as she entered the keep and hurried up the stairs.
“The laird isnae going to like this,” Nella said quietly as she followed Sophie.
“Then we shallnae tell him.”
Alpin knew he should not go to the great hall even as he found himself walking toward it. Sophie would be there with her smiles, her undampened hope, and that innocent beauty that made him ache. Avoiding her did not work, for he found himself trying to catch glimpses of her like some besotted youth. She also had a true skill for appearing around every corner. It was time to stop hiding in his own keep, he mused, as he strode into the great
