Conjuring Love
(note: This is an unedited sneak peak.)
Chapter 1
Spring 1315 -
Nottingham England
Bernard sat alone in the tavern quietly sipping his small ale. He didn't like to venture into the village often but his supplies were running low and he had just come in to stock up on a few things. It was far too big a village for his liking and he preferred the solitude of his single manned farm. He wasn't a people person at all, why would he, he was a wizard and a damned good one at that, which was the only reason Lord Talbot had given him his own parcel of land. The plentiful crops and access to artesian wells had been more than enough to convince the Lord it was a good idea to keep Bernard around, and to achieve that all he had to give him was privacy. The villages were fearful of him for they heard the rumours about the mysterious wizard living on the border of the village. This made Bernard happy, if the rumour mill kept them away from him it made him very happy indeed for he valued his privacy above all.
He had already gotten wind of the fact that the Guardian was supposed to be close but he figured he didn't have anything to hide so he wasn't really all that worried about her. If she was that way inclined she would be able to find him in any case so there was no point in even trying to hide. His thoughts were averted soon enough when a beautiful woman walked into the tavern. She walked up to the bar and asked for a small ale, paying him
no mind at all as she passed his table, but why would she? He was fairly unremarkable. Dressed in the dark heavy clothing of the times she would hardly even notice his fair skin and red tinged hair. It used to be a lot brighter but had lost a lot of its colour over the years and was left now with no more than a few highlights. He still had the sprinkling of freckles over his nose that is such a typical trait with the fair skin and copper coloured hair.
The woman sat down at the bar and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Her long dark hair was almost down to her waist and her dress fitted her snugly in all the right places. She had fair skin and was probably about the same age as he was physically. Of course his actual age was much older than he looked, he was already almost a century old but as a wizard, his aging process had stopped at a physical age of about twenty seven. He really hadn't changed much since then. His hair kept growing of course and he didn't cut it anywhere often enough so it was pulled back into a low pony tail that was quite popular at the time, he worked on the theory that if he kept up with the times he had half a chance of blending in.
He couldn't stop thinking about the woman sitting at the bar behind him, even though he had turned back towards his ale he kept glancing back to look at her. He had never had an interest in a woman before. Actually he had never had an interest in anyone before. His parents had been killed by a group of Nephilim when he was fifteen years old and he been on his own and kept to himself since then. If he could mostly stay unnoticed, he could mostly stay alive was the theory behind his life's outlook. But somehow this woman was calling to him, like a siren.
He turned back again in her direction but this time she was turned in her seat and was staring straight at him. He was surprised when she didn't look away in embarrassment and made the assumption she must already have a matrimonial partner. If she was unattached there would be no way she could stare him down so boldly. Her deep blue/green eyes staring relentlessly into his own near black ones. They had an intensity that reminded him of his mother and in turn bought memories that he didn't like to be reminded of to the forefront of his mind --
Susannah knew he was there before she even walked into the inn. She had already sensed him on the outskirts of the village and was relieved to have found him so quickly, she'd heard he was a bit of a recluse and was scared that he might be hard to find.
She tuned into his thoughts as she walked into the inn and couldn't help but smile to herself at how easily distracted he was.
When she turned and looked into the darkness of his eyes she was totally surprised by his thoughts. She stopped for a second but refused to look away even though she was definitely unattached, it might not be the right way for a single lady to act, but she was no lady. she was the Guardian, and although she could pretend to be a lady in a public environment, she wouldn't let any of the crudelitas, treat her as anything less than the one in charge.
The crudelitas are the supernatural, the vampires, werewolves, fairies and mermaids as well as the angels children the nephilim and the wizards which would become known as witches or warlocks as times changed.
She wasn't going to let him stare her down under any circumstances. Of course she was single, she might look like she was too old to be an unwed woman but as the Guardian she wasn't willing to bring a human into her life and her mother had drummed into her over and over again that the Guardian could never be with a crudelitas so that didn't leave her with any option except to remain single.
Suddenly she found herself bombarded with the memories playing through his mind.
Chapter 1
Spring 1315 -
Nottingham England
Bernard sat alone in the tavern quietly sipping his small ale. He didn't like to venture into the village often but his supplies were running low and he had just come in to stock up on a few things. It was far too big a village for his liking and he preferred the solitude of his single manned farm. He wasn't a people person at all, why would he, he was a wizard and a damned good one at that, which was the only reason Lord Talbot had given him his own parcel of land. The plentiful crops and access to artesian wells had been more than enough to convince the Lord it was a good idea to keep Bernard around, and to achieve that all he had to give him was privacy. The villages were fearful of him for they heard the rumours about the mysterious wizard living on the border of the village. This made Bernard happy, if the rumour mill kept them away from him it made him very happy indeed for he valued his privacy above all.
He had already gotten wind of the fact that the Guardian was supposed to be close but he figured he didn't have anything to hide so he wasn't really all that worried about her. If she was that way inclined she would be able to find him in any case so there was no point in even trying to hide. His thoughts were averted soon enough when a beautiful woman walked into the tavern. She walked up to the bar and asked for a small ale, paying him
no mind at all as she passed his table, but why would she? He was fairly unremarkable. Dressed in the dark heavy clothing of the times she would hardly even notice his fair skin and red tinged hair. It used to be a lot brighter but had lost a lot of its colour over the years and was left now with no more than a few highlights. He still had the sprinkling of freckles over his nose that is such a typical trait with the fair skin and copper coloured hair.
The woman sat down at the bar and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Her long dark hair was almost down to her waist and her dress fitted her snugly in all the right places. She had fair skin and was probably about the same age as he was physically. Of course his actual age was much older than he looked, he was already almost a century old but as a wizard, his aging process had stopped at a physical age of about twenty seven. He really hadn't changed much since then. His hair kept growing of course and he didn't cut it anywhere often enough so it was pulled back into a low pony tail that was quite popular at the time, he worked on the theory that if he kept up with the times he had half a chance of blending in.
He couldn't stop thinking about the woman sitting at the bar behind him, even though he had turned back towards his ale he kept glancing back to look at her. He had never had an interest in a woman before. Actually he had never had an interest in anyone before. His parents had been killed by a group of Nephilim when he was fifteen years old and he been on his own and kept to himself since then. If he could mostly stay unnoticed, he could mostly stay alive was the theory behind his life's outlook. But somehow this woman was calling to him, like a siren.
He turned back again in her direction but this time she was turned in her seat and was staring straight at him. He was surprised when she didn't look away in embarrassment and made the assumption she must already have a matrimonial partner. If she was unattached there would be no way she could stare him down so boldly. Her deep blue/green eyes staring relentlessly into his own near black ones. They had an intensity that reminded him of his mother and in turn bought memories that he didn't like to be reminded of to the forefront of his mind --
Susannah knew he was there before she even walked into the inn. She had already sensed him on the outskirts of the village and was relieved to have found him so quickly, she'd heard he was a bit of a recluse and was scared that he might be hard to find.
She tuned into his thoughts as she walked into the inn and couldn't help but smile to herself at how easily distracted he was.
When she turned and looked into the darkness of his eyes she was totally surprised by his thoughts. She stopped for a second but refused to look away even though she was definitely unattached, it might not be the right way for a single lady to act, but she was no lady. she was the Guardian, and although she could pretend to be a lady in a public environment, she wouldn't let any of the crudelitas, treat her as anything less than the one in charge.
The crudelitas are the supernatural, the vampires, werewolves, fairies and mermaids as well as the angels children the nephilim and the wizards which would become known as witches or warlocks as times changed.
She wasn't going to let him stare her down under any circumstances. Of course she was single, she might look like she was too old to be an unwed woman but as the Guardian she wasn't willing to bring a human into her life and her mother had drummed into her over and over again that the Guardian could never be with a crudelitas so that didn't leave her with any option except to remain single.
Suddenly she found herself bombarded with the memories playing through his mind.