Through the Looking Glass (3 page)

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              The days passed quickly for Isobel and before she knew it she had been at the Tower for a week. Everyone at the Tower were extremely nice and welcoming to her and soon learned of her story. Mrs. Bailey told her she could stay for however long she needed to stay without any worries. Isobel was kind of happy and sad at the same time when Mrs. Bailey had taken her under her wing. She made sure Isobel had everything she needed and that she ate the food sent up to her room. A couple of evenings the older woman had come to her room and ended up staying for hours, just talking with her. It felt so good to have someone to talk to about what had happened and who would understand what she was feeling. The older woman even held her as the tears she tried so hard to hide finally fell without reserve.

             
Isobel’s only concern at the present time was letting Elizabeth know that she was okay. She didn’t want to call her incase Daniel would be able to trace where the call came from. One evening Mrs. Bailey suggested she send her friend an email from the Tower’s email address that way no one would know it was coming from her.

             
“Do you think that’s a good idea though?” she asked Mrs. Bailey who was sipping her tea.

             
“Why not, my dear? You could send it somehow as a coded message to your friend.”

             
“That might just work,” she said as she tapped her index finger on her lips, thinking how she could do it.

             
“Come down to the desk in the morning and ye can use the computer.” Mrs. Bailey’s accent was thick with the local dialect, but she was getting used to it.

             
“I think I will!” She was excited about contacting her longtime friend.
Elizabeth must be going crazy wondering if I am alright,
she thought to herself.

             
“I need tae be goin. It’s getting late and ye, my dear, need your rest. Guidnight!”

             
“Goodnight, Mrs. Bailey. Thanks for everything.” She smiled when the woman turned back around to face her.

             
“Ye’re welcome, Isobel. Everything will work itself out. Don’t you worry now,” Mrs. Bailey said as she walked to the door then waved goodnight, closing the door behind her.

             
Isobel sat back in the cushioned chair that she had turned to face the window. The sun was quickly setting and soon the night sky would be lit up with thousands of stars that weren’t possible to be seen in the city. Ever since her first night at her temporary home she would sit in the chair looking out the window. It was a sight that never got tiring to look at. But, this night the sky was different looking. As the sun was setting off in the distance bright colors of pinks, oranges, and yellows lit up the horizon while the opposite side of the sky was dark and foreboding with clouds that were racing towards the Tower.  Flashes of lightening could be seen lighting up the dark sky with low rumbles of thunder following close behind.

             
“Oh well. Looks like a storm is coming,” she said to herself. “My first Scotland storm.” She rose up out of her chair and went into the bathroom to change into her more comfortable night clothes. A pair of old, gray, baggy sweat pants was her favorite thing to sleep in. She slipped her long sleeved t-shirt over her head then pulled on a fresh pair of green poke-a-dot socks. Her room got chilly at night with the winds constantly beating at the window, so she had started to wear socks at night while she slept. 

             
She went back to her chair to watch the storm as it approached. The setting sun was now gone and what was left was dark and eerie. The winds howled and rattled the window as she pulled a flowered blanket over her lap that Mrs. Bailey had given her. The book she had been reading earlier in the day lay open on the small table that stood between the two chairs in the sitting area. Isobel wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue reading the book or just sit there and watch the storm.

             
The thunder and lightning drew closer and closer each minute and it wasn’t long before the first drops of rain splattered against the window. As the lightning flashed across the Scottish sky, she could see the waves of the bay crashing against the shore right below her room. The loudness of the thunder that followed each flash rattled the windows and doors of her room causing her to jump.

             
“You are being so silly, Isobel.” She curled up in the chair and laid her head on the soft arm rest and stared out the window. Her body and mind was so tired that it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, especially when the rain started to pour down in buckets.

             
It must have been hours later when a huge crash startled her awake with a jolt. The storm was still raging outside and the lightning was popping all around outside at a consistent rate. With her mind foggy with sleep, she moved out of the chair to go climb into the big bed that offered more warmth than the blanket she had drawn around her.

             
The power in the Tower must have gone out because the lamb she had left on was now sitting dark on the night stand. It wasn’t too much of a problem to make her way over to the bed with the bright flashes of light that lit up the room every few seconds. She was sitting on the edge of the bed when suddenly she heard voices coming from behind her. Turning her head in the direction of the voices she saw no one in her room. She immediately thought the voices had to be coming from outside her door. Maybe it was the maintenance men trying to get the electricity back on before the few guests the Tower had started to complain.

             
Sighing, she shifted again to get into the bed. The sheets of the bed were cold at first as she pulled up the thick bedspread. The underneath of the canopy lit up as yet another lightning flash bolted across the night sky. A roll of thunder soon followed as the rain continued to beat on the window. Closing her eyes, she listened to the rain and thunder, hoping it would lull her back to sleep. A momentary break in the storm brought silence to the room, a silence that just about hurts her ears. But, before the rain could pick up again another strange sound came from somewhere near her. This time though it wasn’t voices she hears but rather the sound of horses running.

             
“What the hell?” she said as she sat straight up in the bed. The room was dark without the flashes of lightning or the lamp but there was definitely the sound of horses running. The sounds only get louder as she strained her ears to try and find where the sounds were coming from, but it was too confusing. It sounded as if the horses were surrounding her in the room even though she couldn’t see a thing out of the ordinary.

             
Her heart started to beat wildly in her chest with the thought that it could Daniel trying to scare her before he burst in and killed her. He’s found her! She slid out of the bed and crossed the room to go look out the window.

             
“There’s nothing there, you fool. Your mind is playing tricks on you,” she mumbled to herself. Without warning a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder came at the same time. It almost sounded as if a bomb was set off it was so loud. The sound of the horses’ hooves were still in the room as she turned around and caught a glimpse of the lightning flashing in the mirror on the other side of the room.

             
She noticed that the mirror was not the same as it had been everyday she been there so far. Taking a tentative step closer, she saw that the mirror appeared to be wavering, almost like the ripples in a small pond. A few steps closer brought her directly in front of the shimmering mirror. Burst after burst of light came into the room, lighting up the mirror to reveal it was definitely moving.

             
“I know I shouldn’t do this but…” she answered her own question that her mind is sent out to her.
Don’t touch it!
Her mind screamed but she was unable to resist the urge to touch the ripples. “Something bad always happens in the horror movies about this type of thing.” She jerked her hand back for a fraction of a second then without thinking, she reached out to touch the mirror. Her hand disappeared somehow into the mirror.

             
“I have got to be dreaming!” she said as she watched her hand then her wrist disappear. “Enough of this crap!” She tried to pull her hand back but whatever was on the other side wouldn’t let go. “Shit! Let go!” She used her free hand to pull on the trapped hand but with each jerk backwards her body was jerked forward, closer to the mirror. “No! Let go of me!” A desperate feeling surged through her as she fought with an unseen force. Her feet slid across the carpet as she was pulled right up to the mirror, with her nose practically touching it. For a moment she thought whatever had her let go until one last hard jerk pulled her into the mirror and into the darkness behind it.

Chapter 3

             
“Bring the horses around to the other side of the river!” Jakar ordered his men.

             
Sitting astride his grey stallion, Jakar surveyed the area where he and his men were preparing for battle with Tuloch, ruler of the southern half of Aslog. Dawn was breaking over the ridge and soon he would be able to see what he was up against this time. His men were dressed in full battle gear and swords were at the ready. His men as loyal they might to be him, knew that many of them probably would not return to their homes. Tuloch was a vicious and relentless fighter and took no prisoners.

             
The sound of a rooster crowing in the distance alerted him to the movement in the trees that lined the open space between where he was waiting and the ridge. A light rain had begun to fall about an hour ago turning the field they would fight in to nothing but mud. The only advantage to the heavy metal armor they wore was to ward off the chill that filled the morning air. Winter was not far off and the snow would begin to fall within the next few weeks. The vast area he was looking out over would be blanketed in snow that took months to melt.

             
“My Lord, there is movement to the left,” Elcon, Jakar’s second in command, told him.

             
“I see it. Fall to the rear and gather a few of the men and break off to the left. Come around to the back and over take them. Tuloch never fights fair.” Jakar’s ice blue eyes scanned the distance to gain sight of his enemy.

             
“Aye, my Lord.”

             
Jakar hated the silence that fell over the land immediately before an attack. His muscles tensed as he gripped his horse tighter with his legs. It was the eerie quiet that always haunted him after the battle. He would have nightmares where he relived a battle but only in slow motion and complete silence. Many nights he woke up sweating and breathing hard.

             
Without warning, a band of men came streaming out of the trees headed towards him. He gave the command to charge out to meet the invading force which he was determined to defeat on this cold, miserable day.

             
“Attack!” Jakar shouted as he held his sword in the air, kicking his horse into action.

             
The two forces came together with a resounding clash. Men screamed and swords swung without mercy. It didn’t take long for the muddy field to become laced with the blood of the fallen men.

             
Jakar raced into the middle of the battle without a second thought. His blood raced through his veins, filling him with a rush that left him feeling invincible.  A rider on a white horse, charged him, swinging a mace at his head. He ducked in time to avoid a direct hit to the head but the rider managed to whip the mace backwards as he rode by, hitting him in the back of his armor. The force of the swing knocked him off balance and he plummeted to the ground with a hard thud. Lucky for him, the spikes on the ball of the mace did not penetrate the heavy suit, but the fall knocked the wind out of him.

             
The rider of the horse turned to see the damaged he was able to do. When he saw Jakar getting to his feet, the horse rounded and came back at him. He stood his ground and prepared to take the rider down. Men fought all around him. Metal on metal clashed over and over again, echoing through the field. The sound of hooves pounding on the ground was lost in the chaos, but Jakar’s attention was drawn to the approaching horse. The rider twirled the mace above his head as he closed in on Jakar. At the last second he ducked beneath the mace as it slice through the air once again directed at his head. He came up and twisted as the horse slowed in front of him. His sword whistled through the air and landed on its target.

             
The rider crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap. His sword had caught the rider across his unprotected back, slicing him open. Without a moment to waste, Jakar turned to face another enemy as his men fought alongside him. Things weren’t going exactly as he had planned and he wondered where in the hell Elcon and the rest of the men had gone to. At this point they were outnumbered and barely holding on.

             
Tuloch obviously succeeded in rounding up extra men to join him in his quest of gaining control of his land. Or rather, he forced new, unwilling recruits to fight for him or face death at the end of a rope, along with their families.

Out here in the battle field, Tuloch hadn’t been spotted. He was known to hide out while a battle was taking place, letting his men die on their own as he sat back and watched unharmed. He was a coward as far as Jakar was concerned and not much of a man if he wasn’t willing to stand next to his men and fight for something that he wanted.

A war cry came from the tree line. Jakar whipped his head in the direction of the sound and felt a sudden rush of renewed energy as the men he had sent to pull up the rear of Tuloch’s men were now streaming forward into the fight at hand. Several members from Tuloch’s army saw the swarm heading towards them and turned to run away. A few were cut down as they ran but most got away as the enemy began to withdraw.

A deafening clap of thunder rolled across the dark skies followed by a bright flash of lightening.
Horses reared up at the sound, taking off if they were rider less. The light rain had turned into a down pour, making it even harder to fight the remaining soldiers who had yet to run away.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jakar spied Tuloch on horseback near the edge of the trees. He took off after his enemy, hoping to catch the evil man unaware of his advancing stance. As he pushed through the last of the men and stood out in the open,
their eyes locked. A wicked grin spread across Tuloch’s face as he glared at the younger man. Then just as quickly as Jakar had spotted him, he was gone again, but he kept running in the direction Tuloch had taken off in.

As he ran, his feet slipped in the muddy water puddles. He scrambled back up as quickly as he could, but by the time he reached the area where Tuloch had been he was long gone. He ran to the large stone that sat on the edge of the trees to check behind it. Just as he touched the stone another clap of thunder sounded followed closely by with another bolt of lightning that felt as if it hit nearby, stunning him  for a moment.

He shook his head to ward of the ringing in his ears and the spots before his eyes. His hand groped the stone to steady himself as he walked to the back of it. The rain was coming down so hard now he had to use the tip of his shirt to wipe the water out of his eyes. Blinded temporarily by the water, he never saw the figure fall from the sky and land in the mud directly in front of him. His foot caught on a large branch or so he thought, pitching him forward half in the mud and half on whatever he tripped over.

A grunt of pain came from beneath him as he pushed himself to his knees. What he saw lying beneath him in the mud was a woman. A very small woman who was dressed in funny looking clothes.

“What in all of hell? Where did you come from?” he said to the woman.

Jakar stared down at the woman who was lying partially underneath his large frame, not moving. For a second he thought he might have killed her because her eyes didn’t move and she wasn’t breathing.

“Who are you?” he yelled at her as he shook her arm.

The woman sucked in air as if she had been robbed of it for a long time. Her eyes blinked closed then reopened, repeating the process seve
ral times. Her chest was heaved in the cold, damp air as her eyes focused on him.

“I said, who are you?” He was growing impatient with the stubborn woman. He didn’t have time for this. “Well”

The woman’s lips were turning blue from the cold and the rain as she struggled to form the words that needed to come out of her mouth.

“Is…
Isobel. My name is Isobel.”

He could tell just by the look on her face that she was terrified, but something eerie crept over him as he let his eyes roam over her body. A tiny voice whispered into his ear that she was not from around there. His eyes took in the strange clothing she was wearing and was tempted to r
each out and touch the material that was plastered to her shivering body.

Suspicion flowed through his veins as he rose up off her and stood towering over her. She had to be a spy for Tuloch. There was no way it was coincidence that a woman would be out in this kind of weather especially unescorted.

“Who are you with?” he demanded.

“With?”

He grabbed the front of the soaked shirt and yelled into her face. “Who are you with, damn it? Did Tuloch send you here to watch the slaughter of these men?” His hand circled behind him to indicate the battle he had just walked away from. “Tell me!”

“I…I…I’m not with anyone. I…I don’t even know how I got here!” Her cold hand covered his as he continued to hold onto her.

He didn’t know what to think. What was he going to do with this woman who appeared out of nowhere? It didn’t make sense to him. The only thing he could think to do, was take her along with him, back to his castle. Then he would be able to deal with this spy, or whatever she was, in a better manner.

He hauled her to her feet then let go of her shirt. If he had thought she looked small lying on the ground beneath
him, then she looked even smaller when she stood in front of him. He had to be a good foot, foot and a half taller than her.  

“You’re coming with me,” he informed her as he roughly took hold of her upper arm.

His aggravation was growing quickly. She struggled to pull her arm out of his grasp as she began shouting at him.

“Let me go!” She dug her heels into the mud to create resistance. “I’m not going anywhere with you! Let go!”

Her nails raked across his hand that was holding her, drawing small dots of blood. “Woman!” He turned to glare into her face. “You try my patience! You are coming with me whether you like it or not! If you don’t stop fighting me, I will tie you up and carry you back.”

His threat seemed to have an effect on her, but only for a moment because the next thing he knew she had swung her hand up to his face, attempting to claw at his eyes.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he said as he twisted the arm he held behind her back. “I guess we will just have to do this the hard way.” He had her arm behind her back as he pushed her forward into the stone they were still behind. He was amused by the amount of strength she had for such a tiny woman but he had had enough. With her front pushed into the stone, he withdrew a piece of the thin rope he always carried with him. He shoved a knee between her legs to spread them enough to make her feel off balance. As he tied the end of the rope around her little wrist, she used her other hand to reach behind her. She was swinging blindly and he knew that it only enraged her even more.

“Keep still damn it!” The rain wasn’t making it much easier for him. The rope slipped twice when he w
ent to tighten it enough so she wouldn’t be able to get her hands free. He felt the area between her legs bounce off his knee a few times as she struggled with him. His armor didn’t cover his legs so he was able to feel her heat quite nicely through the material of her pants.

“Keep bouncing like that on my knee and maybe when we get back to my home we can explore that little area,” he spoke softly in her ear. He got the reaction he was looking for when she stilled at his words. She was breathing hard but no longer fought him as he tied her free hand together with the other one. “Now, that wasn’t so bad was it?” He turned her around to face him.

Her face was flushed from fighting him and a thin trail of blood oozed down her cheek where he had pressed her against the stone too hard. He instantly regretted the wound he caused but she had left him with little choice. He wasn’t about to let her go and run back to Tuloch.