Spellbound: The Awakening of Aislin Collins Read Online Free PDF

listings.
    The book appeared small when you first
looked at it, but it was heavy to hold and the pages went on much
further than a book of its size should. I found things in it that I
had not noticed before, listings of monsters, demons, creatures and
faeries. I read about the werewolf. A man who could turn into a
wolf on the full moon nights and prowl the countryside for human
flesh, turning those that it did not kill into its own kinsman.
Surely, that was not what my protector was. I read about woodland
folk who lived under the hills of Ireland. The faeries, which would
play tricks on those they did not like but were loyal to those they
admired; witches. On and on I read, but the answers never came to
my pressing questions. My mother said the book would reveal the
answers when I was ready to receive them, and perhaps that time had
not yet arrived. I reached down to my dress pocket and held the
little silk pouch that was tucked inside. It was full of herbs and
salts that I was to keep with me at all times. These items had been
blessed, and would help to keep me safe.
    I placed the book down and went to the back
door, hoping that a stroll in the yard would clear my mind and
allow me to have some solace. My cat, Sneachta, followed me
outside. She was ready to hunt.
    I sat on a bench near the garden and watched
as the pure white cat tiptoed about, sticking out against the
darkness of the fall leaves and barren ground. She walked around
and flicked her paw at the leaves, turning them over to inspect
what may lie underneath them. I was surprised that she had not left
the yard. Normally, she would have gone into the woods behind the
house by now. Yet, she stayed close to me and every once in a while
turned to look in my direction.
    I had brought out some embroidery that I was
working on. It was a pattern of holly berries and ivy leaves. My
mother had plans to inlay the holly and ivy into the bodice of my
dress for the Governor’s Ball. I had no idea why I was working on
this ridiculous task. I had no interest in going to the Ball and
was only doing so to please my father and retain his good standing
in the town. No one mentioned it, but everyone knew that the Ball
was where good matches were made between the parents of young women
and potential suitors.
    There was no one I was interested in being
courting by—well, perhaps there was one man. I reached up and
touched the garnet stone that sat close to the base of my neck and
I found my mind drifting back to my protector again.
    My mind stole away to the moments we spent
in the shop together. I was so frazzled at the time that I did not
pay attention to details, but my memory had preserved those moments
and I now reflected upon them.
    He was tall and had broad shoulders, with
sculpted muscles in his back and arms . My
mysterious protector resembled a highly trained soldier; he
looked rather athletic and strong. He was dressed well, but did not
wear all the adornments that the other men of the town did. He wore
no lace, nor floral patterns of shiny silk. His clothes were of
fine quality, but they were very plain. It was odd to see such a
man dressed so conservatively, although as my mind’s eye settled on
his features, I realized that he was so staggeringly handsome that
he did not require all the adornments that other men used to
enhance their looks. His hair was cut short compared to the
townsmen. It was dark and wavy, with an occasional curl that hung
into his eyes, and he had soft, full, lips. His face was burned
into my memory, but my mind focused on his eyes. It was not the
coloration of his eyes that was so beguiling—although they were
quite beautiful. It was the way that his eyes reached mine. There
was something in the way he looked at me, as though he had always
known me—as though we were connected. Even his voice was strangely
familiar to me. It called to me and it resonated long after his
last words were spoken.
    A sharp pain caught my attention and I
dropped the