PART ELEVEN
Chapter Seven
"Where's Marion?" asked Robin, when he entered the camp and found she wasn't there.
"She disappeared after you left for Nottingham," said Tuck. "We haven't seen her since."
"Disappeared?" stated Robin anxiously.
"Rode off more likely," answered one of the outlaws. "Her men aren't here and the horses are gone."
"I'd better go find her," spoke Robin.
"But you've just ridden to Nottingham and back. You must be exhausted," implored Tuck.
"I'm all right, but if she's really disappeared I must find her. She could be hurt or in danger."
"My lord, I'm sure she's fine."
"Come and sit by the fire," suggested Much, trying to be helpful. He filled a bowl with delicious smelling broth. Robin's stomach stirred zealously in response, but his heart remained aloof.
"My lord?" prodded Tuck.
"She's safe," spoke Loxley, who had woken from a light and feverish sleep. "I saw her go. She was heading back to her castle. You can leave at first light to find her."
"Sit down and eat," persisted Much, holding out the bowl of hot broth. Robin sighed and surrendered, allowing his weariness to envelop him like a blanket. He settled between Much and Tuck and gratefully sipped his broth.
"How did things go with your brother?" asked Tuck. "Did you manage to speak with him?"
"Yes, but I could have saved a journey, as well as my breath," replied Robin, tossing a twig into the fire. "Talking to him is pointless. He won't listen to anyone."
Even before he opened his eyes, he knew that she was standing there in front of him, studying his manacled hands, gaining satisfaction from his helplessness.
"You stupid whore," he said, lifting his head and the lids of his eyes to see her. Marion only blinked and stepped back a bit from the prisoner chained
against the wall. Gulnar came into Guy's line of vision and grinned grotesquely.
"Surely that is no way to speak to the woman who is to become your bride?" he sneered.
"I'd sooner marry my horse!" Gisburne growled.
"Unfortunately, that cannot be arranged," snapped the sorcerer. Gulnar walked away, but Marion remained where she was, still and silent.
"What are you going to do to me?" asked Gisburne. His question was directed at Marion, but it was Gulnar who answered.
"Don't you remember? I told you all about it last night."
"But you couldn't have actually meant it."
"Couldn't I?" Gulnar started to laugh. Gisburne looked back at Marion, who still hadn't moved or said a word.
"Who are you?" he spoke.
"My lord?"
"You're not Marion of Leaford. Who are you?"
"I don't understand."
"You understand. You understand perfectly. Just tell me. Who are you?"
"Enough!" protested Gulnar shrilly. He took Marion by the elbow and guided her away. "Let me take care of him, my lady," he purred. Marion saw a startled flash in Guy's eyes before he managed to bow his head again to hide it.
"What will you do to him?" she questioned, sounding somewhat hesitant.
"Don't you trust me?"
"No. I don't trust anyone." Gulnar gave a quiet chuckle. "Neither do I." He went up to Guy and lifted his head by the chin. "Look at him," he hissed. "He's terrified of us both and yet too strong-willed to obey us. We must break that
will, Marion, and there is only one way to do it. You cannot break a man's will until you have first taken possession of his soul." Gulnar gazed into the eyes before him that burned with so much hatred. But there was fear as well. It
intensified as Gulnar lifted his favourite weapon, the treasured skull, and put it up to Gisburne's face. Guy instinctively tried to snap his head away, but a bony claw forced it back. The sorcerer's eyes bore into his and Guy fought to
break free of the hypnotic spell...
Guy was suddenly thrown into a void of darkness and free of his chains, floating lifeless towards a lighted door. It slowly opened and he felt himself being hurled through it. Then, his feet seemed to touch the ground again and he was walking down a corridor. It was dark and he did not want to pass through it, but the force that had placed him there was pushing him forward. He reached a large, empty room and experienced a sense of recognition. Had he not seen this room before?
He heard a noise and turned to see a set of stairs. Blocking the stairs was a pair of hounds and a little boy who sat on the third step. He laughed as he stroked one dog and allowed the second to lick his face.
Where am I? What is this place? Guy tried to speak aloud, but the words couldn't escape from his mouth. He heard the creak of wood and whirled around again. An empty cradle rocked as if by its own volition. It was covered by dust
and cobwebs. It was cracked down the middle as if it had been struck. The boy's laughter stopped abruptly.
The angered shouts of a man and woman arguing flooded into the room. The man's voice was harsh and unrelenting. It seemed to surge through the wall with the force of a battering ram.
The woman's voice came close to holding equal force. But then she was screaming and screaming as if she would never stop. Then, it was quiet and Guy could only hear her weeping. The boy started to laugh again, but it was in a mocking fashion. The hounds growled and backed away.
What are you laughing at? Why are you laughing? He's hurting her! Can't you see that?
The boy looked up at him and smiled, a blue-black bruise marking the side of his face. Guy stared at him in horror. The eyes looking up at him were his own.
* * * *
"No!" cried the voice. Robin gave a start. It was the first real sound of life he had heard since he had entered the castle. He moved towards the voice, remembering its note of urgency and terror. He prayed that Marion was not victim of the same predator as the voice.
Robin rushed down a dark corridor and up a set of stairs, ignoring the evil presence that seemed to pervade the air around him. With some effort,
he managed to find his way to the chamber he was seeking. He gazed into it in surprise.
His eyes first fell on Marion, then Gulnar, then what appeared to be Gisburne chained and manacled to the wall. Robin's eyes darted back to Gulnar, who had begun a rendition of his usual hideous laughter. Then, in an instant, Gulnar
was gone, disappearing out of an alternate door and down another staircase.
"Don't just stand there, you idiot!" Robin heard Gisburne shout. "Go after him...Kill him!" Robin ignored his advice, knowing that such a course would be useless at this point. He noticed the skull on the floor. He recognized it immediately and understood. Only recently, he too had been the victim of one of Gulnar's hypnotic spells. Robin walked towards Gisburne and stood directly in front of him.
"What did you see?" he demanded.
"Nothing!" hissed the knight, almost savagely. He jerked his hand away as Robin tried to examine the to examine the manacle.
"Relax. I'm trying to help you for once," spoke Robin, deciding to let his question rest. He heard something clatter and looked at Marion, who had wordlessly dropped the key on the ground.
"Marion?" She turned and quickly fled from the room. Robin picked up the key, but instead of releasing the knight from his bonds, he went off in pursuit of the Baroness.
"Wolfshead!" yelled Gisburne, straining against his chains. "Wolfshead!" Robin heard Guy's voice echo down the stairs after him, but kept going, following Marion as she headed for the crypt. Again, the same penetrating force of evil seemed to linger around him and prevent him from moving forward. Robin battled against it fiercely, fighting back the compulsion to turn around and flee from the morbid charms Belleme Castle had to offer.
He shook the feelings of fear and apprehension away and urged himself to go on. The sound of his own footfalls rang in his ears as he came upon the eery silence of the dark crypt. Robin ventured in cautiously, observing Belleme's magical paraphernalia as he did so. Then, he saw the stone coffin that held Simon
de Belleme's body. His widow was weeping beneath the huge iron pentacle nailed to the wall.
Marion heard Robin approach, but she did not lift her head until he sat beside her and touched her gently on the shoulder.
"Keep away from me," she spoke, shrinking from his hand. Tears streaked down her pale face and Robin lifted his fingers to smooth them away.
"I told you to keep away! Keep away!" she shouted.
"Not until you tell me what happened. What is going on here, Marion?"
"I can't. I can't tell you. You'll want to kill me...They'll kill...I'm already dead!" she cried.
Robin grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him.
"Who? Marion, who is going to kill you?"
"Azael and the Lords of Darkness," she whispered, as if fearing they might hear the words. Robin's hands dropped from her shoulders.
"What do you mean? Why should they want to kill you?" She shook her head and turned abruptly.
"I can't...I can't tell you..." she whispered again.
"You must. I have to know," spoke Robin firmly. Then, in a softer tone he said, "I could never hurt you, Marion." She looked back at him for a moment and read the look of tenderness and concern in his eyes. She started to cry again. Robin put his arm around her shaking form and pulled her towards him, holding her as she wept against him.
He held her for a long time, thinking about how good it felt to hold her in his arms again. He gingerly stroked the curly locks of her hair. Finally, the well of tears subsided. Marion pulled herself away and tried to poise herself in
a more dignified position. She folded her trembling hands in the creases of her dress and, as she eyed Robin again, her back was straight and she sat up tall.
"Marion," he prompted.
"I know," she answered. She pulled the tattered remains of pride and courage around her and began.
"When I married Simon de Belleme, I was just a girl, but even then I understood the strength of his evil and the power wielded by the devils he chose to worship. I tried to resist them, but they were too strong..." Her voice faltered for a moment. Then, she swallowed her fear and continued.
"When he died, I was left alone with...with them. What they demanded of me I could not refuse. I tried, but they were so powerful and I...I was so afraid...I wanted to leave from this place, to get away," she spoke wistfully. She looked
around her and Robin thought he saw her shudder.
"Even if I could have left this place, where would I have gone? Who would have taken me in after I had been his wife?" She forced a smile. "Why would they have let me escape? They would have killed me...
"One day," she continued, after a long, shaky pause, "they wanted more than I could give them. They wanted a lord to take my husband...Simon's place. But they wanted a lord who was more powerful than he had ever been. They wanted a king! They wanted someone to reign over the people, but someone who would reign over
them with force and terror. They wanted to spread evil and chaos everywhere. To destroy everything in their path. They wanted slaves, not subjects. Slaves to worship them, slaves to control, slaves to be sacrificed in their honour...slaves to satisfy their hunger. Absolute power is what Azael and the Lords of Darkness wanted. They still want it...
"I couldn't find them a king, but I found them a lord who was both young and powerful. I found someone who would have power over the people and be able to gain worshippers...victims for Azael. But I didn't know if Azael would gain a victim out of him.
"I knew of only one way to make a worshipper out of such a lord. I would have to trap him the same way Simon trapped me...I would have to make him marry me..." Marion bowed her head, her cheeks burning with shame. Robin took her hand.
"It's all right," he said, and Marion seemed to take comfort in the strength he squeezed into her hand.
"I had found my lord," she began again, "and all I had to do was win him over. But I didn't want to use sorcery or try to possess him. I didn't want him to suffer the way I was made to suffer...I wanted to win him fairly...to even make him love me if it was possible...I might have succeeded...I could have succeeded if--"
"If Guy hadn't been killed by Owen of Clun," supplied Robin, who had slowly and unwillingly started to figure things out. Marion nodded helplessly.
"I know that you must hate me, but you don't understand--"
"You're right. I don't understand," replied Robin coldly. "Tell me more. How did you meet up with Gulnar. Was he a part of all this?"
"Yes, but not at first. Not until the night of the feast. The night Guy...I did not know him before then."
"What happened?"
"The hall had been crowded and I needed air and a place to think. He followed me out into the courtyard and confronted me, claiming he knew all about my plans. At first I thought he was lying, but when he started to speak of Azael and the Lords of Darkness and told me that he knew I was trying to marry your brother, I had to accept that he was telling me the truth.
"We made a pact. He said he would help me if I could convince your brother to allow Margaret to marry his master and spare the house of Clun when Azael and the Lords of Darkness came to power. But everything went wrong..." She looked down at the floor and waited for the question she knew Robin would ask. It was the same question that had been nagging in his mind since yesterday in Sherwood.
"Guy," he spoke. "He was dead. We both saw him die. How is it that he came back to life again?" Marion hesitated, wondering whether she truly wished to answer him or not. He would find out soon enough from his brother. Gulnar had told Guy of Huntington everything. But this man, Robert, had been so kind to her. He deserved to hear the truth from her lips.
"When Guy died, I was terrified. I didn't know what to do now that the lord I promised Azael was dead. Gulnar came to me again. I accused him of betraying me and again he promised to help. He said we could bring him back..."
"Back?"
"From the dead," she replied. For the first time Robin carefully scrutinized the crypt. He saw the rings painted on the floor and the guttered wax of the black candles that had toppled. Then, he could hear Gulnar's maniacal laugh as if
the sorcerer himself was standing beside him. He looked back at Marion, who had followed his gaze.
"He had stolen Herne the Hunter's arrow," she spoke, as if that would explain everything. It was enough, at least, to instantly capture Robin's attention.
"The Arrow? Gulnar took the Silver Arrow?"
"You know of it?" asked Marion in surprise.
"Yes. I know it well. Where is it, Marion? Does Gulnar still have it?" Marion nodded her head sadly.
"We must get it back."
"We?"
"Yes. Gulnar will only use it to cause harm," stated Robin. He looked back at the ring and candles, remembering what Marion was trying to tell him. "He already has caused harm with it, hasn't he?"
"I wouldn't have thought you'd call it harm," she answered defensively. "We used it to save your brother...or the man I thought was your brother," she added in a whisper. "Gulnar summoned Lilith, who knew the spell needed to conjure his spirit back to life."
"And what did Gulnar do?"
"Do? I don't know what he did. I don't think he did anything..." She hesitated.
"What is it?" questioned Robin, reading her puzzled gaze.
"He had a bit of paper with some kind of writing...magical symbols written across it..." She rose from the ground and looked around the crypt. She returned shortly and knelt beside him, holding the parchment before his eyes. He studied it closely, trying to remember where he had seen it before.
"Gulnar had this in his hands," said Marion, "and when I tried to look at it, he hid it away. When your brother...when he..."
"Came back to life?" asked Robin in amusement.
"Yes. When he came back, he did the most surprising thing. He spit something out of his mouth. It was this piece of paper."
"He had this in his mouth...?" said Robin in amazement. Then he gave a start as he looked carefully at the paper again. Surely it was the same kind of parchment Gulnar had scrawled another spell on, one that Robin was familiar
with: the spell Gulnar had used to bring his demonic clay beast to life. Gulnar had rolled up the spell-bound strip of parchment and popped it into the clay being's mouth...
Had he used Guy of Huntington's body as a man of clay? Was the fact that Gisburne had appeared an accident, or had it been a deliberate part
of Gulnar's spell?
"When Gulnar disappeared just now, where did he go?"
"I don't know...Back to his master?"
"Yes," murmured Robin. "We've got to go after him. He's got the Arrow and Clun has Margaret. We might still be able to save them both." He stood up, expecting Marion to follow suit. But, if it was possible, she shrank even farther into the shadows of the wall.
"I want to help you, Marion, but I can't unless you help me as well." Marion stared at him and Robin saw the terror cross her face again.
"You can't help me...No one can help me!" she shouted.
"No one can help you because you won't let them," responded Robin. Marion placed her head in shaking hands.
"You don't understand. They'll kill me now."
"No one's going to kill you. They have no power over you anymore. They can't hurt you unless you let them. Marion, any bond you had with them is broken."
"No," she moaned. "It will never be broken." She lifted her hands before her face, her eyes fixing themselves upon the monstrous wedding band that bore down on her finger. Robin saw it too. He grasped hold of her hand and wrenched
the ring off. He threw it to the ground and crushed it beneath his boot.
"There. Your bond is broken now. It's been broken since Belleme died. You just haven't seen it."
"No! It's not as simple as that! The ring means nothing! I would have destroyed it myself if it had!"
"Then why keep it if it meant nothing?"
"Because I am still his wife. I am Marion de--"
"You're Marion of Leaford! You were never his wife...not in your heart." Marion glared up at him.
"What do you know of my heart?" she demanded fiercely.
"I know it well enough to be certain that you could never be in love with a man as evil as Belleme," answered Robin. She shook her head.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because I want to help you, Marion!" he cried.
"I don't need your help!" she exclaimed, trying to stop her voice from shaking. Robin went down on his haunches and Marion turned her head away.
"If I can't help you," spoke Robin quietly, "then perhaps you can help me."
"Help you? How could I possibly help you?"
"My sister has been taken by Owen of Clun. You might be able to help me save her."
"Me?" She turned her head back, seemingly stunned by such a notion. Robin took her hand.
"Yes, Marion. You." He rose to his feet, raising her with him. She studied him in confusion, remaining silent for a long time.
"Why...why would you trust me? Your brother hates me--"
"Don't worry about him," said Robin, tossing an indignant glance back towards the stairwell.
"But he's your brother!"
"Yes," murmured Robin without enthusiasm. "I had better go speak with him." He walked to the stairs, then stopped.
"Marion--?"
"Go see your brother. I'll be here when you return." She was standing tall and straight like a statue, but life seemed to have filled her eyes again.
