Page 42 of Magic Touch
She says, "It is something that lovers often share if their bond is strong. It is rare for someone to be able to accomplish this with every witch."
"It is more than rare. It is unheard of." Esme grips her arms tighter and looks as if her shoulders might snap.
"Not unheard of," Prudence corrects. "Rare."
"How rare?" I don't like Esme's obvious concern or the way she's avoiding eye contact.
The women exchange a look.
Prudence sighs. "We only know of one other witch, and he was malevolent in the extreme."
"Was? Then this witch is dead?"
"He is." Prudence's eyes glass over. "I killed him over a hundred years ago. He left me no choice, and still, I suffer from the act."
Esme rises and sits beside the great mother. She wraps her arm around Prudence's thin shoulders. "Tell him the full of it, if you will."
"So long ago, it has become a thing of myth, yet in my mind it might have happened yesterday. His name was Bertram Wells. I was still young, though old enough that I should have seen what he was. He came to Windsor shortly after I left this cottage. Handsome... Oh, even more handsome than you, William. Bertram courted me, and despite warnings from the coven, I fell in love with him. He nearly killed us all in his effort to reach the king. He had great plans to rule England through witchcraft. He might have succeeded if the veil had not been pulled from my eyes in time."
Imagining Prudence as a young woman in love, I lean forward with my elbows on my knees. It seems impossible that the wise witch of today might have been naïve so long ago. "What happened?"
Prudence's laugh is devoid of all joy. "We became lovers and were to marry. He was to be the first male witch in centuries who would be admitted to the coven. Once we were married, he would have had full access to the coven and perhaps could have wheedled his way in to see the king."
"How did you discover his true nature?"
Prudence slumps and Esme rubs her back.
Perhaps I pushed too far. "If this is too painful, madam, it is not necessary to tell me."
Patting Esme's knee, Prudence draws a long shaky breath. "You should know. The power you possess can be used for evil. However, it does not make you dark, William. I still feel nothing wicked in you.
"Bertram was very careful. He and I spoke with our minds, but he could manipulate others without their knowledge. He would plant ideas in witches' heads, and even before our marriage, he climbed the ranks of the coven. Nothing official, of course, but still, I was so proud of his talents and clever mind."
Tea arrives, and we all sit quietly as Anne puts the tray on the table.
Esme pours Prudence a cup and hands it to her before she pours for me and herself.
Prudence puts her cup and saucer down. "It was Sowen. The witches gathered to celebrate, and as the veil between living and dead thinned, we hoped to speak to those who were no longer with us. My mother had passed two summers before, and I longed to see or hear her.
"As the spirits came through, they all looked upon Bertram, but stayed silent. My mother pushed through his spell to keep them away and whispered traitor in my head. Still, I didn't believe her. How could the man I loved so be a traitor? In what way?
"I was a fool." Pale, she picked up her tea. "Willamina Blakely also got a message from her grandmother pointing a finger at Bertram. She accused him, and he struck her down with a forbidden spell. She was dead before she hit the ground."
Esme rubbed Prudence's back. "Tell the rest, Great Mother. I'm sorry, but he must know."
Prudence meets my gaze with a steady gray stare. "The witches went into a frenzy. They threw spell after spell at him, but he was so strong. In his efforts to hold off the onslaught of light magic, his glamor fell. He wasn't the handsome man I fell in love with, but a hideous mangled thing that black magic had twisted and warped. Still, I loved him and begged him to stop and return to the light.
"He laughed at me as if I was a naive child. And I suppose I was. I threw a bolt of power to bind him. I said the ancient binding spell. My sisters gave me all they could to help me bind him for all time. Then it was done."
My heart aches for her pain, so old and yet so fresh in her mind. "How did he die?"
Prudence shakes her head.
After drawing a long breath, Esme says, "It's said he relied on his evil to sustain him for hundreds of years past a natural life, and once he had no magic, he died. He died in the circle of witches on Sowen. His body was salted and burned that very night. The great mother was tried the next day and found innocent of any wrongdoing, as they all had been fooled by him."
"And he was the last witch to have this ability." I touch the side of my head.
"That is known. Yet I sensed no evil or dark when you were in my head. I only fear what I don't understand. Forgive me." Esme stares at her hands in her lap.
