Soul of the Wolf by Judith Sterling

Author:Judith Sterling [Sterling, Judith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, historical, mystical, medieval
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2017-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Jocelyn stood beside Woden’s Stair, admiring the beauty and regularity of the snow-covered steps. The wind was bracing and friendly.

Here we kissed. I surrendered to Saxon magic, and to the man who wields it.

The trick was to summon that magic again, to make Wulfstan want her so badly he’d forget himself and consummate their marriage. But how?

Suddenly, the skin on the back of her neck prickled. Someone was watching her. Someone to her right. She turned.

An elderly woman in a gray gown and veil stood at the edge of the forest. She stared at Jocelyn with an expression that revealed neither kindness nor malice.

“Hello,” Jocelyn called.

The woman remained silent. Her gaze didn’t flinch.

Jocelyn advanced toward her. With every step, the fresh snow crunched and squeaked beneath her boots. “I’m Lady Nihtscua. Who are you?”

The crone kept to the tree line and moved to the point where the North Woods met the Long Wood. Not once did her stare waver.

Jocelyn kept pace with the stranger’s progress. “Can you speak?”

The woman backed into the woods, turned, and vanished among the trees.

“Who on earth…?” Jocelyn murmured. She started forward.

“Lady Nihtscua!” a male voice called.

Jocelyn spun around. Sir Robert le Donjon stood at the brink of the trail that led to both village and keep.

She smiled as they approached one another. “You’re the last person I expected to see today. What a nice surprise!”

His dimples appeared as he stopped in front of her. “I live to liven up people’s days. And I brought the wine you requested.”

“Wonderful.”

“You’re not wearing a headdress,” he said, pointing.

“Lord Nihtscua said I could forego it in and around the keep. Does he know you’re here?”

Robert nodded. “He does. I’m here to fetch you.”

She looked askance at him. “For what purpose?”

“My purpose is twofold: to tell you I’m here, and to tell you that Cearl has need of you.”

“Cearl? Why?”

Robert shrugged. “Something to do with a new recipe.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

He took a step closer. “Dare I tell you what doesn’t make sense?”

She gave him a dubious look. “I don’t know, but I would hope you’d tell me anything you deem important.”

He grinned. “I knew I liked you. And of course I dare. It makes no sense for you and your husband to sleep apart.”

She folded her arms. “Told you, did he?”

“I wheedled it out of him.”

“Hmph.”

Robert held up his hands. “Fear not. I’m here to help…if you want me to.”

She frowned. “How could you help?”

“Let’s put our heads together and see what comes of it.”

Extraordinary, she thought. I came hither to solve my problems, and Sir Robert simply appears and offers to help. ’Tis as if this place is a magnet, drawing toward it whatever one needs.

Robert trudged through the snow to the Wolf Stone, and she followed him. The whistling wind tugged at their mantles, as though guiding them to the site.

When they reached the white mound, Robert leaned toward the rune stone and examined it for a long moment. Then he turned to her. His steel gray eyes mirrored the leaden sky.

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