Scarlet Moon (Once Upon a Time) by Debbie Viguié Read Free Book Online Page B

me that none who know you speak well of you. You yourself have admitted to being dangerous. But I don’t see that.”
    He bent down suddenly and kissed her. Almost against her will she closed her eyes and surrendered to his embrace. His lips were warm upon hers and it felt like her whole body was on fire.
    She opened her eyes as he pulled away. His own eyes pierced her as he whispered fiercely, “I
am
dangerous”
    She blinked, and in a moment he was gone. She turned all around but could see no trace of him, as though he had vanished into thin air.
Just like the man I found on the path.
Her hand flew up to her lips as the realization hit her.
William and the man I found sleeping in the woods are one and the same!
    He cursed himself as he slipped into the forest, hiding from her probing eyes. For the last month he had done nothing but think of her. For a week he had carried the cross with him, debating whether to try and see her, whether to give it to her. He had never thought beyond that. He had never anticipated kissing her.
    She had looked so beautiful, so innocent and helpless, and like a wolf drawn to a lamb he had pounced. He could still feel her lips on his, and he knew the memory would haunt him until he died.
She tasted so sweet.
    He was starting to lose control; he could feel it. He had spent years training his mind, learning how to control his thoughts and his feelings. Since the moment they had met he had been reverting, losing his ability to concentrate.
    “I am a man, not an animal,” he whispered to the forest.
    The ancient trees shook in the breeze, denying hisclaim. They spoke to him, telling him that he was not what he wanted to be, that he was everything he feared to be. He covered his ears with his hands but could hear them all the same.
    “No, I’ve fought so hard to control myself. I can’t let go of that, I must not let passion hold sway.” The words sounded empty and hollow even to him.
    He turned and fled through the woods back toward the castle. He ran from her and from himself. All he knew was that if he stayed in the woods, he could not be held responsible for his actions.
    That night William woke up shaking and covered in sweat. He had had the dream again. He had been in a battle, fighting and killing the dark-skinned men who surrounded him. Their blood sprayed across his chest. His sword was slick with crimson liquid and he fought to keep his hand around the hilt. The fighting ceased for a moment and he stopped to catch his breath. A sound behind him caused him to turn, and he plunged his sword into another mans chest. It was only as he pulled it out that he realized the man was no warrior, just a simple farmer whose land was being desecrated. Next to him his wife stood, screaming in a language he could not understand. She pointed her finger at him, invective flowing out of her small, quivering lips. He knew that she was putting a curse on him, though he didn’t know how he knew. A light flashed around him for a brief moment and he blinked. He stared at those sputtering lips, now flecked with foam.Her lips were still moving after he cut off her head.
    Every time he had the dream it was the same. Only upon waking would he remember that it had not been he, but a distant ancestor who had committed the crime. “And unto your sons, for seven generations” he muttered, quoting from the Bible, The sins of his forefather that were being visited upon his head, though, had no such time limit. Every male in his family was cursed, until the end of time. The dead witch had seen to that.
    “God forgive me,” he prayed, as he always did upon waking from the dream. He dropped his head into his hand and sobbed. The dream was bad enough, but what was coming next was worse. The dream always preceded his three nights of hell. The full moon and the night on either side of it always bore witness to the price he paid for ancient sins.
    The sun was streaming into his bedchamber, and he wished, as always, that