Warden (Book 2: Lure of the Lamia) Read Online Free PDF

stiffen, become rigid as something like a fist grabbed hold of his mind. She had mesmerized him somehow, enchanted him such that he couldn’t move. Even worse, he had his warding wand pointed down towards the ground. (Not that he could move anyway.) The Widow cackled, an odd sound coming from such a beautiful creature.
    “My, my,” she’d said, looking at Errol closely. “You’re a long way from home, little one. It’s not safe in these parts. There are all kinds of fiends that lurk hereabouts.”
    As she spoke, Errol had noticed the Widow’s face undergoing a horrifying change. Her lips seemed to stretch back, pulled viciously towards her cheeks as if by hooks. Her mouth was a nightmare – razor-sharp teeth that looked as though they had been filed to a point, all set in gums as black as midnight. The sides of her jaw extended further and two dark fangs, one on each side, suddenly pushed out – extending at least half a foot from her face and clacking together audibly.
    “Don’t worry, dear,” she said, surprising Errol by the fact that she was still able to speak clearly. “I’ll take good care of you.” As she spoke, a huge tarantula scurried up from behind her back onto her shoulder; then it shot over to her neck and disappeared into her hair.
    The fangs clacked together again, and in conjunction with the motion, Errol saw one of the moles on her cheek twitch and roll slightly to the side, revealing a patch of white on the part of the mole that was normally subcutaneous.
    The moles were eyes!
    Errol had wanted to scream in terror – had actually tried – but nothing would come out. The fangs rattled against each other as the Widow tilted her head and moved closer.
    “Please be a dear and bend your head to the side,” she said.
    In utter horror, Errol found himself obeying, leaning his head towards his shoulder and leaving his neck completely exposed.
    Without warning, a soft but attention-getting cough sounded behind him. The Widow, with much of her visage hidden by Errol’s body, seemed to peek over his shoulder. Then, so fast that it defied belief, her face shifted back to its original appearance.
    “Warden,” she said, taking a slight step back from Errol and smiling as she looked past him to where his brother was presumably located. “I didn’t realize that you were here.”
    “Just checking in,” Tom said, “and hoping we could have a word.”
    “Of course, Warden. Just let me send my servant here inside and we can speak in privacy.”
    She looked Errol directly in the eye, and again he felt the power of her control overriding his will. “Go inside and wait for me. I shall see you when the Warden leaves.”
    Involuntarily, Errol turned and found himself marching towards the front of the cabin. He fought the Widow’s control, trying to reassert dominance over his own body, but she was far too powerful for him. The only thing he could control were his eyes, and he looked at Tom – who was still on his horse, wand in hand – pleadingly as he walked by.
    “Widow,” Tom said.
    “Yes, Warden?”
    “That’s my brother.”
    “Eh…?”
    A second later, just as he was about to turn the corner towards the front of the cabin, Errol felt the fist in his mind release its grip; he was in control of his own body again.
    “An honest mistake,” the Widow was saying as Errol turned and stumbled back to stand shakily by his brother. “I didn’t know he was with you Wardens.”
    “He’s holding a warding wand.”
    “Ah, so he is,” said the Widow, seeming to notice the wand for the first time. “Regardless, it won’t happen again, I promise.”
    Tom had then instructed Errol to mount up in front of the cabin where his horse still was and wait while he had a few words with the Widow. A short time later, Tom had returned and they had left.
    *****
     
    Reflecting back on that first encounter with the Widow as her cabin came into view, Errol suddenly felt less sure about his current decision