SECRET OF THE AMULET

CHAPTER 4

Throughout dinner, Zacharias kept watching the woman beside the Duke of Dewbury. Although she claimed to be his daughter, he suspected that it wasn’t the truth. They were so affectionate towards one another, which was unlikely to happen between a father and a child.

After the sumptuous dinner, which consisted of wild games, fish, vegetables, and some dried fruits, Lord Thomas indulged his men with wines and liquors. He noticed that the Lady Bridgette bid goodbye to her father and made herself scarce from the dining hall from a distance.

He wanted to follow her, but he couldn’t just leave. However, a few minutes later, he had to excuse himself from the Duke to get some fresh air. It was just an excuse. He wanted to check on Lady Bridgette, so he went straight to her chamber to talk to her.

Upon his arrival, he knocked on the door several times. Nobody answered, but it was impossible that she was already sleeping. Then, he dared to enter and found it to be empty! Where did she go?

Zacharias wondered if Lady Bridgette has a lover, and she went outside to have a rendezvous with him. Jealousy sprung on his chest, and he went to search for her! Since the estate was big enough, he decided that it would be wise to take a horse, so he went straight to the stable and saw a nervous groom.

“Is there something amiss?” He asked the boy who tended the stable, and he looked nervous upon seeing him.

“Good evening, sir.”

“Boy, is there something amiss?” He asked again, and for a moment, the boy couldn’t decide on his next move, whether to tell him the truth or to remain mum. “Is it Lady Bridgette?” The question made the groom more uncomfortable, so he assumed that something was wrong with the lady. “Tell me!”

“She’s heading to the woods,” he replied.

“To meet her lover?”  He inquired, but the boy shook his head in denial.

“To confirm if there are real monsters in the woods,” he answered.

Zacharias closed his eyes in disbelief, and then he stared at the sky for a moment before demanding a horse! The talk about monsters or beasts in the woods was ridiculous, but he didn’t expect Lady Bridgette to be susceptible to the baseless rumours.

“Wait for us and don’t tell anyone about this,” he warned the young groom before he rode away.

He rode like a devil in the middle of the night, and he had no regard for his safety. He was worried for the stubborn woman who ventured into the darkness alone! What has gotten into her? If he didn’t look for her, he wouldn’t have an idea what she was doing behind her father’s back!

Clearly, the woman deserved a s******g, he thought.

The forest was far-reaching, forbidding, and primaeval. Its canopy was provided by hemlock, magnolia, and elm, and intermittent gaps in their crowns allowed sufficient light through for a variety of species to grow in the branch and twig filled ground below.

Peaceful limbs clutched the odd tree, and a potpourri of flowers, which were discovered in the quietest areas, provided some colour to the otherwise verdant lower level. A variety of noises, mostly herds of bigger animals, reverberated through the air and were curiously timed with the rushing river currents smashing against stones.

The moonlight allowed him to spot the woman immediately. Bridgette Montgomery scooped the hem of her dress to walk faster! Her uncle, Lord Thomas Montgomery, has prohibited her to venture into the forest because of a certain rumour that a beast was lurking in it. No, a beast definitely lived within the forest! She heard the tales herself. However, she believed that it was not true at all!     

Her elegant dress flowed from top to bottom and has a jewel neckline that hinted at the luxury garment worn beneath it. She looked stunning! A narrow fabric belt placed very low around her waist broke up the continuous flow of her dress' elaborate corset, which hid her tummy and allowed her to eat comfortably.

The dress below the fabric belt opened up on the left and right sides, revealing the dress beneath. Because the top dress was a few inches longer than the bottom dress, the front of the top dress bent outwards, while the back continued to flow a few inches behind her and ended in a broad curve.

They were almost as long as she was extremely wide; their flow was broken up just above the elbow, where they were divided by small, decorative bands made of the same fabric and colour used to outline her sleeves and neckline. Her dress has a v-neckline that was almost the same colour as her sleeves and neckline.

Suddenly, a pair of abnormally large wolves stood in front of her!

“Oh, God!” Bridgette mumbled when the wolves slowly approached her. She panicked at the thought of being shredded into tiny little pieces! She would be unrecognizable if ever it would happen. She placed her hands on her heart and prayed for help!

He was well-trained in the area, and the enormous beast was nothing compared to the larger animals he killed before. As a spare for George Blackwood, he had more time to do things he really liked. He enjoyed hunting, and so he became a hunter, and he was wealthy with experiences. Although he didn’t hunt for a living, he excelled in the field, and it was his hunting ability that convinced his father to allow him to train with their seasoned fighters and assassins.

He heard about rare and magical creatures lurking in any dark forest in his childhood days, but the most popular was about a Wolf King who led a ruthless pack of more than one hundred powerful wolves. They were a cohesive pack of predators under their King, whose name was still unknown, who was also rumoured to carry an influence of an evil force that unlocked magical powers inside him.

Rumours said that the pack eventually started roaming outside the forest and targeting people on the road. His father formed a group to eradicate those pests, but they failed! Some of their men died in the middle of fighting, but the mention of wolves and other magical creatures were banned in the Kingdom. There was another rumour that the previous queen possessed dark magic, which was why she was hunted for treason.

Based on the descriptions, the creatures before Lady Bridgette werewolves, and he wasn’t shocked at all if the woman would be devoured in whole. However, he couldn’t just let her die! She deserved a scolding, and he should do it once they returned to the palace.

Bridgette’s eye widened in surprise when a strong force knocked her down, and her eyes refused to believe the scene before her! “Milord!” Bridgette exclaimed as she recognized Lord Zacharias Blackwood, the Duke of Hartwell, who visited her uncle for an official business. 

“Stay back,” he ordered before he focused on killing the beast with his bare hands! He jumped into the beast with all his strength and used his special knife to cut open the wolf’s belly. He thought he succeeded in killing him until he felt his large teeth on his body, and Zacharias staggered as he endured the pain of being bitten.

“Milord!” Bridgette shouted again as soon as she noticed that the Duke was injured. When she looked at the beast, it was already in the ground and probably lifeless. She ran towards the man who saved her life and helped him to stand up.

“I’m dizzy,” he murmured before darkness consumed his entire being.