The Knight of the Witches
Published by D. Anthony at Smashwords
Copyright © 2011
He hadn’t felt this wanted since the fifties. The chance to fight again and resume the craft of killing was exhilarating and made him feel ten years younger. Eager to get back out there he wanted to get started in whatever way possible. Sooner than he thought, however, the time came to once again run cold steel through an enemy’s still beating heart. Despite his previous glee, Aleksander von Plötzke had a lot on his mind during his journey east through the mountainous and untamed forests of Central Europe. He was all parts pissed-off, doubtful and frustrated.
Topping his list of priorities was the specific details related to the upcoming military action. Elated that he was on his way to bust some skulls, further thought on the subject riled him for he wondered why he hadn’t been put on this assignment years ago. Hell, in his opinion if they would’ve asked him to kick some pagan ass when this uprising first began it’d be ancient history by now. Seven years ago he’d also have been in better shape, keener with his blade and unmarried.
The seven year timeline of events during this most recent pagan uprising had produced the highest amount of casualties for the Christian armies of Polska. Aleksander knew that the pagans were much stronger than they’d ever been and that their ultimate defeat would take a lot more time and energy on his part. He’d have to beat a numerically superior force that had been fighting repeatedly for centuries. There was even a chance at this stage of his life that he might not see the end of fighting.
An additional weight on Aleksander’s psyche was the political game he knowingly entered into by marrying the former Gisela Fredericksson, the daughter of Otto III of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and a girl half his age. Gisela’s exotic beauty, youthful kinkiness and firm curves were a plus for Aleksander because he really loved the sex. On the contrary, his primary objective of the marriage was to disrupt the smothering status-quo of fragmented leadership that had existed in Polska for over three hundred years.
He thought if he could become more powerful than the Prince of Kraków, Boleslaw V (the Chaste), he could gain Brandenburg’s support in a bid to break the Piast Dynasty’s hegemony over the region. He was a soldier after all and would command a large military force once he reached the monastery. The one nagging wrinkle for Aleksander was his belief that the motive for his marriage would be viewed as somewhat unbecoming of a Teutonic Knight; even a Teutonic Knight that was a Masovian Duke.
Aleksander was a Landmeister in the Order and was about to forcibly Christianize pagans under the Teutonic coat of arms. He valued his status with the order and truly believed in its tenets but wanted more than anything to secure the future of his progeny. As the titular Duke of Plock, he needed an heir to prevent ownership of the mineral rich lands near the Vistula River from reverting to the Piasts.
Ironically, Prince Boleslaw, who was a Piast, requested help from the Brandenburgs which is why Aleksander was on his way to Central Polska. Still, the dust hadn’t settled on this game of chance and he was unsure as to the final outcome of the strategic union. What was going to happen to Masovia, Brandenburg and the pagan territories after all of this fighting was over? Would his father-in-law, Otto III of Brandenburg, back him in a power struggle with the Piasts and the other houses of Polska?
Amid the current turmoil and foreshadowing of upcoming battles, Aleksander was frustrated that his wife would not let him travel alone on this campaign. In his opinion, the only thing he needed for this journey was Jakob and the armed guard of knights on horseback numbering six that rode two by two behind, beside and in front of the four wheeled horse drawn rocking carriage.
Gisela’s presence meant that the carriage would have to carry a whole bunch of crap for women including Helga, her maid servant. Upon second thought, Aleksander didn’t really mind Helga’s being with them. She was older than Gisela but still attractive. She had all of her teeth and didn’t have any warts on her face. Although her breasts sagged a little, she was bustier than Gisela. Better yet, she had a big hairy pussy and was much more experienced. She did things to and for Aleksander that Gisela wouldn’t. She also let him touch and lick her anywhere on her body. He would enjoy his fun with Helga but the soldier within wished he could have kept both women in the Margraviate.
He especially felt this way about Gisela. She had grown up surrounded by armed conflict produced by the many crusades prosecuted by her family and countrymen so Aleksander was well aware that she knew the sacrifice and commitment required for his mission. He also knew that she did not want him to miss the birth of their first child as she was eight and a half months pregnant; so he accepted her plea to accompany him. This was okay as long as he had enough room to pack his armor and weapons.
Jakob Gruttensen was Aleksander’s squire. He was used to the austere life and had pledged loyalty to Aleksander a long time ago to begin his training towards Knighthood. He was an excellent student and although young already a great swordsman.
The rickety swaying motion of the carriage annoyed everyone. It was early fall and although it was getting colder, the trails and makeshift roads were still passable. Riding in the carriage was better than walking but the benches, made of pure oak and buttressed with straw and cotton, were hard and uncomfortable.
Up…down, left…right, way up…way down. The constant movement of the cab was making Gisela more nauseous with every turn of each of its four wheels. Helga tried her best to assuage the situation but they were going to have to stop again.
“Alek, how much longer?” asked Gisela.
“We’re only a few hours away from Łysa Góra, my love. The Order has identified a monastery that will be our new home and my base of operations.”
“We have to stop soon, Alek,” said Gisela, panting and holding her stomach.
“My dear, we must push on. The pagans will not wait,” said Aleksander. “They grow stronger every day. Plus we must make it to the monastery before nightfall. The men are leery about the tales of these woods.”
“Please, I beg of you,” said Gisela.
Aleksander bent over to speak with Jakob. “Fool woman can’t keep anything down,” he said with a wink then smiled at his young apprentice. “We’re going to have to stop the whole damn procession. Have the driver pull over at the next opportune moment.”
“Yes, my Lord,” said Jakob as he got up from his seat. He climbed out of the carriage and walked along the running boards until he was near the driver. Tapping him on the shoulder, Jakob pointed to a clearing where the driver could stop the wagon. The driver nodded to Jakob and pulled back on the reins to slow the horses. Jakob re-entered the cab.
Upon feeling the wagon slow, Gisela prepared to dismount. “I need Helga to help me,” she said.
“Why don’t you take Jakob with you instead?” said Aleksander. “For protection no less…”
“I’d rather have Helga as I’ll need to remove my under tunic.”
I’d rather have Helga right now too, Aleksander thought to himself. She’d been propping up her breast and squeezing them seductively for most of the trip. She was also looking at him and licking her lips for the past hour while Gisela was asleep and he was horny. “Under tunic; I thought you were sick and had to throw up?” Aleksander said to Gisela.
“I still feel bad, Alek, but I also have to take a poopie.”
“Okay, my dear. How much time will you need? It’s getting dark.”
“I don’t know. My body will do what it will do.”
“Whatever you do, dear, please hurry up,” said Aleksander, in a demanding tone. “I don’t want our guards standing around picking their noses too long. Also, once you remove your under tunic, Jakob will stand watch over you.” Aleksander knew that the time it would take Gisela was more than enough time for him and Helga.
Gisela and Helga got out of the carriage and looked around for a good place to go. It was near dusk, so the women went to the edge of the wood line to handle their business. Once Helga helped Gisela remove the under tunic she yelled out for Jakob to switch places with her. Upon hearing Helga, Aleksander nodded his head to Jakob. “Jakob, make sure that you take your shield, your sword and a few daggers just for safety. Also, don’t peek at my wife’s backside; you’re there to guard it,” said Aleksander.
“Yes, my Lord.”
Next to making his point to Jakob about ogling Gisela the only thing Aleksander wanted to do was have his dick sucked regardless of the location or his marital status. Helga did it well. He jumped her bones the minute she returned to the carriage. He grabbed her breast and squeezed them with utter joy. Sticking his hand between her legs and under her skirt he rubbed in specific places and started kissing her ferociously on the neck and in the mouth.
She broke away from Aleksander and pulled down his trousers. He loved how she ran her lips the length of his manhood before taking the whole organ into her mouth and down her throat.
“Ooh…aah..,” he sighed, pleasuring the fellatio.
Helga, on the other hand, started to gag from a lack of air and pulled away to take a deep breath only to gobble down on Aleksander once more.
“Swallow my balls,” Aleksander said in ecstasy. She swallowed his testicles one at a time, played with them with her tongue then kissed each on their way out of her mouth making a popping sound. Outside of the carriage the mounted knights broke formation and moved closer to the love shack to enjoy the show if only audibly. They had heard about Aleksander’s exploits and viewed it as manly that he was living up to his reputation.
“I want you inside of me, my Lord,” said Helga as she stood up and shoved her nipples into Aleksander’s mouth.
“We don’t have that much room or that much time, Helga.”
“I beg of you, make me scream,” she said, demanding more of him while removing her under tunic and straddling the Teutonic Knight. They started slow but soon Helga was bouncing up and down on Aleksander like she always had. The two transitioned into a really good rhythm so much so that they rocked the carriage back and forth as if it were still traveling down the road. “It’s so good, my Lord, it’s so good. Give me more…more!”
Helga slowed the pace and forced her weight onto Aleksander, grinding her vagina into his lap with a figure eight movement of her hips. She loved the stimulation of the clitoral sensations. Soon, she was grabbing his neck and shoulders with all her might while she leaned backwards and began to scream. Aleksander tried to cover her mouth.
The guards closest to the carriage removed their helmets in order to hear Aleksander and Helga better. None of them could contain their laughter.
“My Lord, you’re hitting my spot,” said Helga as she sped up her rocking action again. They were having such a good time that neither Aleksander nor Helga heard Gisela and Jakob walking back towards the carriage. Gisela and Jakob heard the screaming, the panting and saw the rocking of the carriage. Once the guards saw them returning, they sped back to their posts and remounted their horses.
Gisela and Jakob moved in closer to the carriage. “Helga…Helga,” she called.
Helga jumped up fast and attempted to put herself back together. While she pulled her long skirt down, Aleksander struggled to put himself back into his trousers desperately trying to cover his hard dick before Gisela could stick her head into the cab. Mouth agape and eyes wide open after seeing the peak of his excitement, Gisela grabbed her heart and began to cry. “Alek, how could you? I thought you loved me. I’m having your baby…the heir to your Duchy!”
Aleksander could only think of one way to act – macho. “My dear, whatever are you babbling about?”
“What am I babbling about? Alek, for one, you’d better be glad that I don’t have a battle axe right now. What do you take me for?”
“You’re a woman, plain and simple. Your lot in life is to serve me, remember?”
“Not in this day and age, Alek. It’s twelve hundred and sixty seven. I will not have my husband with his trousers on the floor, his better part pointed skyward, Helga’s mouth dripping of white matter and her old nipples hanging out of her bodice.”
“My dear, I promise you that nothing has happened. You’re imagining things again. Helga spilled some grog on my trousers and was helping me to change pants. I wouldn’t be caught dead with a peasant like Helga, you know that.”
“Do I really know that, Aleksander?” said Gisela. “Save it for my father because we’re going back to Brandenburg; right now. I hope it was good for you…both of you.”
“Listen here, woman, we’re not going anywhere and you’re going to get your little ass in this carriage and accompany me to the monastery. You begged me to bring you, remember? Deal with it.”
Gisela turned away in disgust and began to run down the road crying with her hands covering her mouth. Aleksander motioned to Helga to calm down. Next, he stood up very slowly and knelt out of the cab. “Jakob…go after Gisela. I will join you shortly.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Every part of Aleksander had calmed down and he glanced to his side noticing that Helga was steaming mad.
“How could you say those things about me after what we’ve done in the past?” she asked.
“What?” he asked. “You know I don’t love you…you’re the help and my fancy when I see fit. Get yourself dressed and go to help Jakob fetch Gisela.”
Helga finished dressing, put everything back in place and wiped her mouth clean before rushing out of the carriage in a bad mood. Alexander heard her scream again, this time it was urgent. Helga’s body ricocheted off of the carriage and fell to the ground in a bloody heap. Through the open door, he could see that she had metal projectiles jutting out of one of her eyes, her throat and her chest. He also heard the driver yell out and noticed that the horses pulling the wagon were agitated by something. Next he heard the screams and grunts of all of his guards as well as the rumbling of many horses on the road. He quickly put on his trousers and used a trap door on the floor to exit the carriage.
Aleksander lay under the carriage for a second. Looking out, he saw that there were a lot of horses on the road; more than he remembered. He had to get to his weapons; time to make a move.
As soon as he was on the road, Aleksander looked around and saw that his entire armed guard, all six soldiers, were dead and their horses scattered. He wondered why all of their helmets were missing. In front of him were eight mounted knights cloaked in black armor with no recognizable coat of arms. Ambush, he figured, as he moved to the rear of the carriage and grabbed his shield. Gisela might be upset and in need of coddling but he’d have to deal with the present situation in a hurry.
Hoping for a miracle escape, Aleksander, in addition to the shield, was able to secure his main sword, two throwing axes and his Prussian dagger. With the protection of his shield he moved backwards and used the carriage as cover. From his rear, the crossbowman that had nailed Helga and the driver landed a bolt to the meaty portion of Aleksander’s leg.
Fighting through the intense pain in his hamstring, Aleksander reached for his dagger. Once in his hand, he aimed, coiled and threw it at the archer and hit him in the throat. The archer fell flat to the ground as blood sprayed from his body in all directions. Aleksander gathered himself and stumbled towards the rear of the carriage again. He made quick use of the throwing axes by hurling them in quick succession at two of the oncoming horsemen. Luckily, his first shot landed through the opening of the first enemy knight’s helmet visor. With blood squirting from his face, the knight fell backwards and off of his horse into a motionless heap on the ground. Aleksander’s second volley pierced the second knight’s aventail and neck area; killing him instantly.
A second duo of enemy knights came after Aleksander. He readied his sword although he grimaced noticeably from the intense pain brought about by the shot to his leg. He knew that his chances for survival were slim; therefore he quickly pulled out a musical pipe and blew it producing a high pitched shrieking sound. Alexander pulled out his sword and tapped it on the ground attempting to time his impending action with the momentum of the oncoming knights on horseback. He was surprised when the knights dismounted.
They approached Aleksander one in front of the other and both laughing. The knight in front looked back to his comrade saying, “I thought Aleksander was a warrior; what was he doing with that pipe?”
He took no time swinging his large sword in a slashing motion against Aleksander as the other knight ran behind him trying to catch him off guard. Aleksander ducked the lead knight’s slash and grabbed hold of his arm that held the sword and took control of it. He was able to slice the knight behind him under the nose which caused the man to fall to the ground face first and dead on impact with his blood spewing onto the road.
With his free hand, the lead knight punched Aleksander in the face and knocked him to the ground. The black clad knight then tried to capitalize on Aleksander’s fall but was tripped up by Aleksander’s perfectly timed extended leg. Aleksander rose to his feet and rammed his sword through the knight’s throat.
Aleksander knew that this wasn’t over. There were still three of them. A knight twice his size threw what appeared to be long spear at him from the distance. Aleksander used his shield but the spear went through it with ease and punched a gaping hole in his shoulder. He fell to his knees and dropped his sword then watched his own blood gush from the open womb in his shoulder. Life was slipping away but he had enough gumption to get to his feet, recovery his sword and begin the painful process of pulling the spear out of his body
He screamed loud for every inch the spear moved while coming out of his shoulder. Aleksander kept his head on a swivel alternating between watching his blood splash on the road and keeping tabs on the large knight, also dressed in black, who was approaching. The knight trotted his horse right in front of him and dismounted.
The large knight pulled out a really long main battle sword and swung it with intentions to slice Aleksander’s head. Aleksander was weak but he was able to block the blow with his shield. The force of the blow was intense enough to cause Aleksander to lose his balance and skip a bit to the right. Next, the knight aimed a back hand slash at Aleksander’s head. The blade was turned sideways and the flat meaty part of the sword hit Aleksander on the jaw and knocked out several of his teeth.
After a quick recovery Aleksander backed up to create distance between he and the behemoth. He had his hands on his knees and was spitting blood. As the big knight attacked again, Aleksander quickly spun toward him and caught the knight in the head and knocked off his helmet. Aleksander was pleasantly surprised and felt that he might make it out alive. He even saw that the other two knights looked at each other in disbelief as if they had never seen the giant touched. The giant removed his helmet completely and revealed a battle worn, totally scared and partially burned face. Two elongated lumps on either side of his forehead jutted forth like horns. Aleksander looked up to him and grimaced in shock. “No…no, this can’t be,” he said in horror. “You’ll never get away with this.”
The larger knight swung his sword again, this time shattering Aleksander’s shield. He sliced a deep gash into Aleksander’s chest then quickly stabbed him in both legs. Aleksander was woozy. He wobbled all over the road, disoriented and oblivious. Determined, he wouldn’t stop fighting and began to swing at his opponent haphazardly. The giant was able to gracefully dodge every thrust and parry and after a while grabbed Aleksander by the throat and lifted him in the air.
Aleksander let out a manly shriek of pain. Next the big knight pulled out his larger than normal sword and jammed it into Aleksander’s stomach using it to support Aleksander’s weight. His face cringed with pain and he fought the urge to cry out in agony. Blood filled his mouth and he spit it all over his assailant’s face in one last act of defiance. The larger knight wiped blood off of his face and twisted the sword upward farther into Aleksander’s abdomen seemingly ending his time on earth.
The gargantuan knight dropped Aleksander’s body to the ground like a sack of potatoes and knelt down to ensure he was dead. He could barely understand Aleksander’s incoherent banter.
“Gisela…Gisela,” said Aleksander, struggling to utter the whisper. The whispers waned and then he stopped breathing. As the light passed to the dark, Aleksander’s body along with Helga and the guards were thrown together around the carriage and set ablaze.
Gisela heard the musical pipe in the distance but did not know what it was. She did notice however, that Jakob sped up his pursuit and unsheathed his sword. This made her continue to run despite the onset of fatigue and body aches.
“Milady, wait, you must come with me,” shouted Jakob from a distance. “Something has happened to Sir Aleksander.”
Gisela turned around somewhat surprised and for a brief moment satisfied. She stopped in her tracks. Kneeling down on the road, she caught her breath. Jakob ran to her. “Something’s happened to Sir Aleksander?” she said. “Please tell me that Helga kneed him between the legs.”
“No, milady, much worse…the carriage has been attacked. Look.” He pointed back from where they’d come. Although it was dusk, they could see the haze of billowing smoke. “We must move to safety,” he said, while grabbing her arm. “Follow me.”
Gisela couldn’t believe what was going on. She was late in her pregnancy, had just caught her husband with the maid servant and now her life was in danger. Jakob led her into the roadside woods where they knelt down and tried to be quiet. Beside them was a trail that went farther into the forest.
They heard the galloping horses of the killer knights and saw the glow from their torches. Jakob looked at her with his finger over his mouth. He whispered, “be very quiet, Milady. Maybe they will pass.” Jakob heard the horses stopped. “They know we’re here. Run, Milady, run. Use the trail and stay away from the road.” Jakob ran up towards the road as Gisela watched. He turned around once more. “Run away,” he said.
If Jakob was going to die, he decided that he wasn’t going away easy. In fact, he wanted to definitely take a few of the knights with him. Taking advantage of the darkness Jakob surprised two of the four remaining enemy knights. He jumped onto road and sliced off one of the knight’s arm with a quick swing and crushed the other knight’s skull with a two-ball flail. Next, he threw his dagger at a third knight and hit him in the chest.
The knight whose skull had been shattered dropped his crossbow when he fell off of his horse. Jakob collected the weapon and aimed it at the last remaining yet mammoth knight. It was dark now but Jakob could see the silhouette of the large knight saunter towards him. He shot bolts at him as fast as he could. The knight blocked some of the bolts with his shield and others he caught with the flesh of his forearm. He was so strong that the forearm shots did not deter him and he smiled as if he liked the pain.
Jakob stopped firing bolts at the knight for he was close enough for battle. “Who are you?” he asked.
“The last person you’ll ever see…but if you must know, I’m known as Dominik. Most people call me the Destroyer.”
“Where is my Lord…Aleksander von Plötzke?”
“Lying up the road with his dick in his mouth,” said Dominik.
Their engagement was rapid. The knight toyed with Jakob and even left his mid section exposed. He dodged all of the boy’s attacks and even started to tease the young squire. Jakob made several attempts to defeat the knight’s armor but could not damage the large man in any way. He hit Jakob on the side of the head with his large blade and knocked the boy to the ground. Next, the big knight grasped his sword with two hands and repeatedly stabbed Jakob until he was dead and the knight’s black armor was turned red.
Gisela did exactly what Jakob told her to do. She got on the trail and walked as fast as she could. In the distance, she heard the clanging of swords. Her hope was that Jakob was kicking some ass and would make out it alive but she didn’t have much faith. Her faith really took a blow when she heard a long moaning scream of death from what she believed was Jakob.
Heartbroken, tired and terrified, Gisela knew that she had to keep moving. It was dark now, nearly pitch black. She could hear the rustling in the forest and thought that it was the knights coming for her. Attempting to quicken her pace, Gisela tripped over a random branch and fell down a hill. She rolled head over heels; slamming her head on the ground; banging her arms, elbows and shoulders and bouncing on her stomach. The vegetation was sparse enough that it didn’t break her fall or slow her down but it was thick enough to rip her to shreds and cause bodily harm.
She felt a bone in one of her arms snap and nearly passed out when her left leg collapsed and a bone tore through her skin. Her snowball like tumble ended on the edge of a creek that was next to a large grassy clearing. Gisela had been hurt badly and was a bloody mess. She couldn’t pick herself up and but now she was worried about the baby because of the unimaginable pain coming from her pelvic region. She hurt so bad that she briefly forgot about everything else that had happened. Still conscious, she could see a fire in the distance with what looked like naked women singing and dancing around the blaze.
CHAPTER II
Gisela teetered on the edge of oblivion but was able to hear bits and pieces of what the dancing women were singing. They sounded as if they were humming familiar although inharmonious melodies. She also noticed that two silhouettes left the circle of fire and walked towards her position. As they got closer, Gisela saw both of the women place garments over their bodies. When they were close enough she reached out a limp arm and extended a trembling hand to beg for help. “The pain…the pain,” she said while pointing to her stomach.
As incoherent as she must have sounded to them Gisela sensed that the two women knew what she needed. She could hear them talking but was uncertain as to what they were saying. Were they good friends? Were they sisters? They hadn’t threatened her yet and that, for now, was good news for Gisela. Her arm hurt like hell, her leg was throbbing like mad and she could feel liquid running out of her vagina. She hoped it wasn’t blood but she could feel the baby coming.
Despite the mounting pain and impending crisis, Gisela continued to listen to women’s conversation. It was dark and Gisela couldn’t see their faces so she had to rely on vocal tones and the pace of their speech to stay attuned as to what she thought was going on. One of the women did most of the talking as if she were encouraging the other one to help with Gisela. The second woman sounded uneasy about Gisela’s appearance at their exclusive séance and more importantly the method that she had arrived. It sounded like the woman was spooked by the whole ordeal.
Gisela heard the first woman turn around and yell an extended diatribe to the others surrounding the fire. Next, she grunted in pain as they lifted her damaged body and started to move. She understood enough of the women’s discussion to discover that one was named Sarah and the other Rebekah.
After passing out from the pain, Gisela woke up inside of what appeared to be a cave. It was cramped, cold, dark, damp and smelly. She scanned her surroundings as best she could to try to determine her next move. This was despite being interrupted every now and then by sharp pulsating muscle spasms. Her insides felt like a cold sword was being twisted amongst her internal organs plus one of her arms and both of her legs were numb. The rocky insides of the cave were covered with strange drawings and dripped water intermittently. Candles burned throughout the enclosed space; some on the ground, some suspended in the air and some in the rock. One side of the cave was dominated by animal hides and fresh organs. The other side of the cave had mounds of skulls and bones.
The shredded regal gown she’d been wearing was now nothing more than a bloody rag. It had been replaced by something that Gisela wished not to know the exact identification. Even though they still hurt, her broken leg and shattered arm didn’t feel as bad. Seemingly someone had attended to them. She was lying on what felt like a bed of straw and although she couldn’t see the entrance to the cave the multitude of candles produced enough light to allow Gisela for the first time to get a good look at her two heroines.
She knew Sarah as soon as she saw her. Her appearance matched the most audible voice from the dark of the forest. Sarah’s tall curvaceous frame was topped with golden blonde hair which ran all over her angelic, although extremely pale, face and slightly covered her deep blue eyes. Rebekah was much shorter and a bit thicker than Sarah but was just as voluptuous. She had short blood red hair extenuated with tight curls. Her demonic countenance was ruddier than Sarah’s and subjugated by large all black eyeballs. Gisela was initially frightened by Rebekah’s eyes but kept looking at them; staring as if Rebekah was drawing her in. Over the course of a few seconds the eyes became less startling to Gisela and damn near alluring.
Gisela’s condition was getting worse. She could feel that the vaginal secretion had become more vigorous which compelled her to reach up under her cover with the good arm to find out what was happening to her. In horror, she pulled back a bloody hand.
The two women jumped to her side when they saw that she was conscious. Rebekah grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped Gisela’s hand. Gisela could finally understand what they were saying as they surprised her with their speech.
“Don’t worry, my pretty,” said Rebekah, while looking down to Gisela and rubbing her arms. “It’s going to be all right. Sarah, I need your help, the baby’s about to come.” Rebekah started to rub Gisela’s forehead.
“Tell me again why we’re helping this Christian, Rebekah? We could have just as easily offered her as a sacrifice and drank her blood. Her presence will bring us ill fortune.”
Gisela looked at Sarah then looked at Rebekah. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing and tried to get up.
“Settle down, my pretty. I’ll take good care of you,” said Rebekah, as she laid Gisela back down. Gisela tried to get up again; she didn’t feel reassured by Rebekah’s promise. Rebekah again gently pushed her body down. “Sarah’s only kidding,” said Rebekah, smiling at Gisela. She turned her attention to Sarah. “I understand where you’re coming from, sister, but we decided that the baby makes all the difference.”
“Damn right the baby makes all the difference. It makes for a better sacrifice,” said Sarah.
“That’s not gonna happen, Sarah,” said Rebekah. “We’ll talk about this in more detail later.”
“What do you want me to do?” asked Sarah.
“I want you to do the same thing you did for Rachel when she gave birth to Leah, right here in this cave. First, I want you to open her legs wide but mind your tongue. Second, use a cloth to wipe away the blood and please don’t you dare lick it up. Last, ready your hands to catch the baby. Please make sure that you keep your hands to yourself. I’ll make sure the Christian doesn’t swallow her tongue.”
Rebekah looked at Gisela. “What’s your name, my pretty?”
“My name is Gisela,” she said, despite the intense body pains, in between extended pants and grunts.
“Okay, Gisela, we’re gonna be fine,” said Rebekah, while stroking her forehead. Rebekah took hold of a nearby besom and slammed it to the floor breaking it in two. “I need you bite down on this,” she said while reaching down toward the splintered remains. She gathered a random birch twig and placed it in Gisela’s mouth. She continued to rub her forehead and soon started to pantomime what she wanted Gisela to do. “Breathe with me and when I say push, I need you to push.”
The next two minutes were déjà vu all over again and again and again. Gisela was the spastic patient; herky, jerky and shaky. Rebekah was the demanding coach and Sarah was the seasoned pro. Gisela screamed and shook, Rebekah encouraged and said push and Sarah guided the baby home. Gisela’s blood spewed all over Sarah’s face and chest. Sarah broke her oath and gathered as much blood as she could with her tongue and hands. They all continued their roles and then a baby boy emerged from Gisela’s vagina.
“It’s a boy,” said Sarah, grimacing as if the baby were a piece of human waste. “A Christian boy,” she said while reluctantly gathering the newborn and handing him to Gisela. She quickly rushed away to clean herself.
Gisela cried with joy for this precious little life had come from her despite all of the obstacles of the day. Slow tears accompanied her smile for she didn’t think she was going to make it; she had given all that she could on this day.
“What are we going to name the little fella?” asked Rebekah.
Gisela could only think of one name and it wasn’t Aleksander. The only man she could think of was her favorite uncle named Heinrich. “Heinrich,” she said…“Heinrich.”
“Good, we’ll name him Henryk,” said Rebekah.
With all of the energy she could muster, Gisela desperately shook her head from side to side. She could barely talk but quietly uttered, “Not Henryk…Heinrich.”
Rebekah looked at Gisela. “That’s what I said, my pretty…Henryk it is.”
Gisela laid her proud tired eyes on the baby and smiled. Her head rolled to one side and she stopped breathing. As Sarah returned from washing herself, the cave began to shake violently and all of the candles blew out.
“Sarah, can you help me out here?” said Rebekah.
Sarah raised her left hand and snapped her fingers saying,
“From the North and the South to our Goddess’ delight, ground stop shaking and fires relight.”
The cave floor stopped shaking and the candles relit immediately.
“What are we going to do now, Rebekah?” said Sarah. “She’s dead.”
“I know this, Sarah.”
“We’ll be pursued all over Masovia for this. This woman was a Christian noble and she died in our presence. Look at that ring on her finger. Someone is going to be looking for her and the baby. We’re going to have to give him back to his family.”
“What family, Sarah? We think that Gisela was a noble, but we don’t know that for sure and we definitely don’t know from which family she belongs.”
“Can you look into her eyes to find out?” said Sarah.
“I can’t see visions from a dead body,” said Rebekah.
“What about the baby?”
“It won’t work until he is at least three years,” said Rebekah...“something to do with his brain matter.”
“Well, she was also wearing some kind of medallion. Maybe she was a member of one of those Christian orders. You know, the knights that live in those big castles,” said Sarah.
“They’re lots of different groups of knights, Sarah. Like her family, that medallion could’ve belonged to anybody. If we try to give the baby to the Christians no one’s gonna believe our story,” said Rebekah, as she removed the baby from Gisela’s arms and cuddled him. “We’re gonna to have to keep him at least until he’s three. Until then we can raise him as our own along with Leah.”
“I don’t know about this, sister. He’s a Christian baby who can bring us nothing but harm. We should’ve sacrificed his mother while he was still in her womb.”
“For the last time, Sarah, we’re not going to sacrifice anyone. You haven’t been practicing negative magick lately, have you?”
Sarah was shocked by Rebekah’s accusation. “Why, heavens no, my sister…I’m just concerned about this situation.”
Rebekah relaxed and rubbed Sarah’s face. “It’s okay Sarah. Remember, we’re healers…I don’t care if the Christians think we’re in league with Satan; we’re healers. Think about it…if Leah represents the Maiden, you the Mother and me the Crone, little Henryk can be our family’s representative of the Horned God. This will complete our circle and bring about our ultimate protection.”
Sarah paused for a bit and looked to the ground. She was thinking. Thinking long and hard; would this baby boy ruin her plans? She looked to her sister and smiled. “I see your point sister and I agree on one condition.”
Rebekah smiled, thinking that she had finally won Sarah over to her point of view. “What is it my sister?”
Sarah’s smile became a scowl. “He’s totally your responsibility,” she said. “Don’t expect me to do anything for him. No cleaning, no nursing, no nothing.”
Rebekah continued smiling and perked up even more. “I’m glad that you agree, Sarah,” she said.
“What about her?” Sarah asked as she was pointing to Gisela.
Rebekah looked down at Gisela and shook her head in sorrow. “She was very beautiful wasn’t she? What a trophy. I fancied sucking her nipples and kissing her lips. Too bad we’ll have to burn the body.”
“Burn the body? A Christian burned near our folk?” said Sarah.
“It’ll be fine Sarah. No one will know what’s going on. Let us not forget that our grandmother was considered a Christian until she was nearly burned at the stake by a mob of impious men for refusing to remarry after her husband died. Besides, we’re not breaking any rules and she was non-threatening. Also, she died while we were helping her. Are you forgetting the Law of Three?”
“I thought that only refers to us, sister?” said Sarah.
“It refers to everything we do, Sarah.” Rebekah broke away from Sarah to clean little Henryk and make him a sleeping place next to their baby niece, Leah. Next, Sarah and Rebekah proceeded with the plan for burning Gisela’s body. They’d have to hurry in order to keep this news from everyone else in the village. Sarah wrapped Gisela in a loincloth akin to an ancient mummy. Rebekah went outside to gather wood and erect the pyre next to their cave upon which they’d place Gisela’s body and burn it the next day.
When they were finished with their separate activities, Sarah and Rebekah returned to their extended family of women who were still dancing around the huge fire. Rebekah brought a few trinkets from the cave for the delayed reunion. In the middle of the fire, which was not apparent to Gisela earlier, was a large cauldron that was filled with amongst other things boiling liquid.
Rebekah gathered all of the women together. They were all naked and didn’t mind at all standing nipple to nipple, hip to hip and ass to ass with their village sisters. Together, they numbered thirteen. Soon everyone was seated around the fire in anticipation of the vision that would be produced from their meditation.
Rebekah tossed a human skull and a deer’s liver into the boiling pot. All of the women bowed their heads. Rebekah’s eyes began to flutter. Sparks flew from the cauldron and dark images emerged from the smoke. “Something’s wrong,” she said, as she sprung into the air and walked into the smoke.
“What do you mean?” said Sarah.
All of the women stood up and backed away from the casting circle coughing emphatically from the effects of the ever spreading thick black smoke.
“Sarah, something’s wrong, we’re in danger. We need to hide the village,” said Rebekah, talking loud due to the hysterical chatter of her other sisters.
“Do you this it has anything to do with Gisela?” said Sarah.
“I don’t know, Sarah. It could be anything.”
“Well, since you don’t know, I feel we’ll have to burn her tonight,” said Sarah.
“I agree, my sister. No one needs to know that she was here.”
“What about the baby?” said Sarah while pointing at the small Christian.
Sarah had caught her sister off guard. The baby would still leave a trace. He wasn’t of them but could they kill an infant? She thought.
“I don’t know, Sarah; we’ll figure it out,” said Rebekah. “Come on, we have to finish building the mound in front of our cave. Our sisters can help us with everything else we need to do later.”
Reluctantly they returned to the cave to finish Gisela’s burning platform while the rest of the village women started to move back around the fire. The thick dark smoke had subsided so in Bacchanalian fashion the other women started to kiss, rub and lick one another in coordinated moves. Hedonistic moans soon erupted from around the blaze. Lips touched lips. Tongues extended into mouths. Lips and tongues touched pussies and even assholes. Hands and fingers also got involved and found their way into mouths, pussies and ass holes.
After two hours of work, Sarah and Rebekah finished. With the snap of a finger, Sarah started the blaze. Next, she walked beside the young fire and blew air onto it. At first, nothing happened. She blew on it again and again more fierce and vigorous each successive time. Soon the fire exploded into flames and in no time grew hotter and more intense.
Sarah and Rebekah picked up Gisela’s body and brought it to the edge of the blaze. “On three,” said Rebekah, as they began to swing the body back and forth. “Three,” she said, and both women heaved Gisela’s body into the flames and watched her burn.
In concert with Rebekah’s vision, Dominik traveled to their village the next day. Since the previous day’s ambush of Aleksander’s convoy, he had reinforced his numbers with eight more knights. They followed the most probable trail that they estimated Gisela would have taken and it led them to the village of the women of the woods. The scouting party moved slowing through the area looking around for any clue. All they saw were the remnants of what was one hell of a bonfire.
“There’s nothing here, sire,” said one of the knights.
“Take your men and look into the wooded areas and the nearby hills,” said Dominik to his next in charge. The large man turned around and guided his destrier towards the creek to conduct a separate search.
“Yes, my Lord,” said Dominik’s next in charge. He turned his courser and rode away with the other knights.
Four teams of two knights each scoured the area looking for any sign of Gisela. Over the next two hours none of them found anything. Dominik returned from his search and sat down by the remnants of the fire and began to sharpen his sword. Where can she be? He thought to himself. There was nowhere else for Gisela to go. She should’ve been here. What are these cunning bitches up to? He thought. I know they’re involved.
The four groups of knights all returned close to the same time and rallied around Dominik. “My Lord, there’s no sign of any human life,” said one of the knights.
Dominik shook his head. “How do you explain this fire pit?”
“I don’t know, my Lord. We didn’t see anything anywhere. It’s like whoever was here has vanished.”
Undecided in regards to his next move, Dominik decided to leave the village and return at a later date. All of a sudden nothing was going according to schedule. He needed Gisela and the baby for Christ sake; dead or alive.
CHAPTER III
Dominik and his posse rode to the north throughout the day. They were headed to Wloclawek castle in the Duchy of Kuyavia. Dominik knew that his employer was not going to like the news from Łysa Góra but at least he could complete phase two of their scheme.
What Dominik knew of Casimir I was that he was an old man with few allies. Rumor had it that he had offspring but no one had ever seen them alive. The old nobleman was afraid of dying and wanted to hold onto control of his Duchy at all costs or at least protect it from pagan invasion or annexation by one of his countrymen. He found a strange bedfellow in Boleslaw V, the Prince of Kraków, who had pledged his loyalty and protection in exchange for Casimir’s financing and planning for the assassination of Aleksander von Plötzke and his bride.
The two noblemen sought twin objectives by killing Aleksander and Gisela. First, they projected that Otto III would be so enraged by the murder of his daughter at the hands of pagans that he’d send more troops to crush them into submission. Secondly, without an heir, the Duchy of Plock could be split between Boleslaw and Casimir.
Wloclawek Castle had been around forever; believed by many to be more than five hundred years old. Regardless of its age, the edifice was visibly old and sadly in disrepair. In need of many bricks, a lot of tar and tons of concrete, the castle was very near to falling apart. The moat surrounding the building was dried up except for random puddles and the bronze ornaments meant to adorn the family coat of arms were tarnished.
Dominik and his troops proceeded into the castle not believing their eyes. They thought that all nobles lived well. To make matters worse, the draw bridge almost collapsed under them as it was lowered to receive their procession. Each knight had to guide his horse carefully over the bridge in order to dodge the large holes in the wood. Taking much more time than it should have, Dominik and his crew made it across and entered the gates.
“The Duke has been expecting you, my Lord,” said the guard at the entry to the castle.
“We don’t have much time soldier. I’m ready to see the Lord Casimir,” said Dominik.
“No problem, my Lord. I will make quick arrangements.”
“Please do so,” said Dominik.
Dominik and his troops dismounted their horses quickly. They handed them off to the castle servants. Next, all of them entered the structure and were led by Dominik and another guard. Dominik backed up to be closer to his men. He was neither surprised nor bothered by the dark, drab and drafty interiors of the castle but he thought that it might annoy some of his guys. They continued to walk down what Dominik considered a longer than normal hallway which boasted nothing more than cold barren stone walls and large torches that were spread apart about every six feet. After passing a large double door, the guard stopped walking and turned around facing Dominik and his men. He instructed them to wait in the nearby banquet room and remove their helmets.
All of the knights including Dominik took seats around a long wooden table.
“His majesty will call for you shortly, my Lord,” said the guard.
“Thank you,” said Dominik. He waited for the guard to close the door. Once the man was gone the largest knight motioned to his troops hailing them to come closer together. He began to speak to them. “Phase II is active. You know what to do.”
“As you wish, my Lord,” said Dominik’s second in charge. Four of the men left the banquet room.
The guard returned to the banquet room to collect Dominik and his remaining troops. He opened the door and stuck his head inside. “My Lord, his majesty Casimir will see you now,” he said.
“Thank you,” said Dominik, standing up and waving his men forward. He wanted them to follow him.
“Your numbers seem to be smaller, my Lord,” said the guard.
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. A few of my men said they needed some air. I hope it’s not a problem.”
“Not a problem, my Lord,” he said while extending his arm to show Dominik and his entourage the way to their next stop. They continued down the long hallway until they reached another room behind double doors. The guard opened the door. In stark contrast to the rest of the castle, Dominik saw that Casimir’s throne room was well lit and decorated with the finest metals and jewels. It glistened.
“My Liege, may I present, Sir Dominik,” said the guard to Casimir, who was far away from them across the large room and slumped over in a large chair. Dominik thought that the Duke’s chair was worth more than his castle. It was garnished with gold and other precious jewels.
Casimir had been dozing. He opened his eyes and looked up. “Ah, Dominik, yes, I’ve been expecting you. Tell me about Aleksander. Did you kill that arrogant son of a bitch?”
“He is dead, my Lord, as is his squire and all of his knights,” said Dominik.
“What about his wife?”
“We’ll get her soon,” said Dominik.
Casimir sat up in his seat and straightened his crown. “What do you mean you’ll get her soon? The plan was for her to die as well. What will Prince Boleslaw say about this?”
Dominik shrugged his shoulders; in line with his plans he saw that his remaining four knights pulled out battle axes, swords and maces and began to attack the eight guards protecting Casimir. One guard was beheaded and another had his skull obliterated. Their blood splattered all over the room making the stone walls dark red and dripping wet. So much blood spilled that puddles began to emerge as a result of the carnage. Casimir’s eyes came to life in disbelief. He knew he had been double crossed.
“Boleslaw will give me time to find her but he doesn’t want to share Plock with anyone,” said Dominik.
“How could you, we were all partners?” said Casimir.
Dominik bowed to the old man and smirked. “Don’t take this personal, its business,” he said.
“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Boleslaw,” said Casimir.
“Sounds like you should’ve gone with your gutt,” said Dominik, as he pulled out a dagger and long sword. “This will only hurt a little,” he said.
Next he threw a dagger at Casimir that hit him directly in the middle of the forehead and killed him instantly. The death blow also permanently attached the monarch to his regal chair. Dominik followed the killing shot with a sword trust and twist to the abdomen. Casimir’s blood spilled onto his chair and snaked its way to the puddle that had already formed from the blood of his protectors.
Dominik rallied his band of eight knights again and gave more orders. “You know what comes next,” he said. As if he was a proud father, Dominik watched his mercenaries pour tar throughout the castle including the three upper floors and the dungeon. Next, three of the men gathered all of the wood furniture and stacked it in the foyer. As Dominik led them out of the castle gates, he threw a lit torch onto the furniture and the castle started to burn.
Upon leaving Wloclawek, they linked up with the four soldiers who had left the group earlier. “Are you finished?” said Dominik to the leader.
“Yes, my Lord; phase II is complete,” said the man. Dominik listened to the man’s report as they rode away from the castle. He delighted in hearing that the plan had gone off without a hitch. His force had surreptitiously attacked the castle guards and decapitated each man while stabbing them with rapid slashes as if they were dicing meat. Dominik found particular amusement in the descriptions of how the dead guard’s blood shot out of the annihilated bodies like lava from a volcano.
Another knight from the team that worked outside of the castle told Dominik about how they dealt with the servant boys. According to the second knight, the servants didn’t pose a challenge. Dominik’s men, as told by them, quickly subdued each of the four servants and after stabbing the boys in the heart and abdomen they promptly castrated them and paired their testicles with the severed heads as proof of their extreme prejudice.
A few hundred miles south of Kuyavia, the women of the woods of Łysa Góra could no longer hold on to their spell. The village came back to life and reappeared. Sarah and Rebekah gave much thanks to their village sisters who had helped them to avoid Dominik and the other knights.
When Sarah and Rebekah returned to their cave, both babies were crying emphatically. Sarah ran directly to Leah because she had no intentions of ever doing anything for young Henryk. This duty would fall to Rebekah.
Sarah and Rebekah were both very beautiful and well endowed. Each sister pulled out their melon shaped breasts with near perfect nipples with which they shoved into the mouths of Leah and Henryk. Although one day old, Henryk’s eyes opened wide with excitement once he clamped down onto Rebekah’s tit and appeared to smile.
“Rebekah, why are you nursing him? Let him drink the milk of the village goats,” said Sarah.
“He’s hungry now, Sarah,” said Rebekah.
“You know what you run the risk of doing, don’t you?”
“We’ll be fine, Sarah. We’re going to raise Henryk and we’ll be able to control him.”
“We’ve seen this before,” said Sarah as she put Leah on her shoulder and burped the young girl.
“Yes…we have,” said Rebekah, talking slower and more intense. “We’ll be fine, I’ll handle it.” Rebekah tried to remove Henryk from her nipple but he wanted more.
“Okay, little guy,” she said, “let’s get some more from the other breast.” Rebekah turned Henryk around and he clamped down on the other breast for more nourishment. To her surprise, he enjoyed the ice cold fluid. Sarah placed Leah in her bed and looked backed at her sister shaking her head in disgust.
Once the castle at Wloclawek was completely burned to the ground, Dominik and his killer knights headed south to Kraków. As they moved through the thick forests of Polska, Dominik couldn’t take his mind off of Łysa Góra. Something wasn’t right. Something was downright fishy. Gisela should’ve been there. What had happened to her? Why no sign of her body? Were the women of the woods really at work?
Dominik knew that he’d have more opportunities but this slip up dogged him all the way to Kraków.
Kraków was the polar opposite of Kuyavia in every way. Farther south, the city had bigger buildings, wider roads, more beautiful women and a more majestic appearance. Prince Boleslaw was investing in project after project to prepare Kraków for the demands of being the capital of Polska. This was a reality that he wanted to happen soon or at least as soon as he was able to overthrow the other fiefdoms in his country. It had started with Plock and Kuyavia; now he needed the rest of Masovia and all of Silesia, Sandomierz, Łȩczyca and Pomeria.
Dominik and his troops arrived to town the next day amid many city dwellers who silently watched their procession towards the castle. It was widely known throughout Kraków that Dominik was the leader of the Prince’s secret police. The city folk also knew that he had the authority to do whatever he wanted.
At the Piast Palace of Kraków, Dominik and his men moved their horses across the gold plated drawbridge into the simple splendor of the castle main gate. Two well built guards let them in and directed them to the mews. Next, their horses were given over to servants for care. Dominik and his men were led through a huge door into the foyer, which looked like a ballroom. Dominik huddled his troops again. “Great service for the past two weeks,” he said.