Eternal Oath Read online

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Eternal Oath

  Copyright 2015 by Jewel Quinlan

  ISBN: 978-1-61333-900-8

  Cover art by Tibbs Designs

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

  Look for us online at:

  www.decadentpublishing.com

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Dear Readers,

  I can’t tell you how excited I am to have written this tale. When I was a kid my family owned a volume of Grimms’ fairytales. I loved reading these stories over and over at night in bed. So as you can guess, when I saw that Decadent Publishing had a line called Beyond Fairytales I just had to write something for it. Fundevogel, the tale that was randomly selected for me, is one of the more obscure ones but it is one I remembered well. To me it seemed that just the bare bones of the story were in the original and it was so much fun to flesh out all the space in between and modernize it into my own story; Eternal Oath.

  I would love to hear what you think of the contrast between the Grimm tale and my own, so feel free to write me. The best way to track me down is to go to my website http://jewelquinlan.com and leave me a message through whichever social media channel you feel most comfortable with. I hope you enjoy the story!

  Jewel Quinlan

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  Eternal Oath

  When Linda and her adopted brother, Falk, return home from school to visit their critically ill father, they never expect someone is plotting against them. But shortly after coming to terms with their feelings for each other, they find themselves running through the forest for their lives. Servants in the household have turned against them, but they don’t know who is leading them or why. Could the strange visions Linda has been having hold the answers?

  .

  Dedication

  Thanks Grimm Brothers for the inspiration. I remember reading Fundevogel when I was young. How appropriate that I finished this story while I was in Germany in 2014. Hopefully, you guys are smiling down on this one from Heaven.

  Eternal Oath

  By

  Jewel Quinlan

  A Beyond Fairytales retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s Fundevogel

  Prologue

  The crowd sucked in a collective breath as the tent flap behind the stage lifted and a small man in a red shirt and green, woolen britches entered.

  “Nicodemus.” His name echoed among the people who’d congregated for tonight’s performance. They had been waiting for him for twenty minutes, eager for his tale. Many, including the children crowded in the front row, already had their coins in hand so they could toss them in the hat he would throw down.

  In one of his hands, he held a steel pipe he used as a staff, so with the other, he shook out his clothes and his long gray beard. Droplets of water fell to the ground all around him. “Hasn’t been a storm like that in a long time,” he commented. “The damn wind stole my cape. I tried to get it back from the tree it’s caught in but couldn’t reach it. Maybe one of you will help me retrieve it later?”

  Several of the men in the crowd nodded.

  Nicodemus climbed up onto the rickety stage, pulled his hat from his head, and bowed to the crowd, sweeping the hat from right to left. Then, as he straightened, he threw the hat to the ground in front of him. The crowd surged forward to donate their coin, and Nicodemus settled himself on the platform. His legs folded like a bird’s, until he rested in a seated position. He laid the staff in front of him on the stage, and an electric-blue tarantula scurried from the end, running up his arm to his shoulder, its customary position. Nicodemus gave its hairy body a fond stroke and then looked over the crowd once again. Soon, everyone returned to their spots, and a hush fell over the space.

  The old man scratched at his chin, a thoughtful look on his wrinkled face. “You know, this rain reminds me of a tale I haven’t told in a long time. Not since my youth. And it’s put me in the mood to tell it to you rather than the one I’d planned.”

  Several of the children beamed and called, “Yes! Yes, tell it!” Excited at hearing a tale from long ago. For surely it was very long ago when they imagined the old man’s age.

  Nicodemus grinned at them. “Shall I tell you a bit about it first?”

  They nodded almost in unison, not daring to speak again because their mothers had shushed them after the previous outburst.

  Nicodemus clasped his hands in front of him and rested them on his belly. “It is a tale of love so pure and true it bonded the souls of the man and the woman together forever. So, no matter what their enemies did they would always come back together in another place and time. But they didn’t know their enemy’s hatred was so dark, they also reappeared as well. And all of their lives became entwined in a cycle almost impossible to break.” His last word trailed off in an ominous tone, and everyone stayed still as mice. “Would you like to hear what happened?”

  “Yes!” the crowd replied as one.

  Nicodemus grinned. “Well then, looks like we are in agreement.”

  All around the space, people snuffed candles until few remained lit, providing the ambiance every good story needs. Nicodemus paused, and it was as though a tangible power rushed toward him, filling him with the magic and mystery only the best of storytellers have. When he began to speak, his low, resonating tone filled the space.

  “Once upon a time….”

  Linda jolted awake, the col
ors and sounds of the dream lingering. She could still hear the echo of the storyteller’s voice in her mind, although she couldn’t make out the words. It had been so vivid, she felt like she’d been standing in the crowd, ears straining to hear what he would say. Whatever it had been, she knew it was important. Such a strange dream. Her eyes drifted closed, and she snuggled back into the covers. Maybe if she fell asleep again, she would get to hear the story. At least it was a nice change from the other dreams she’d been having lately.

  Chapter One

  Linda Hartmann stood by the bay window next to the front door of the family mansion and stared at the pouring rain. Her heartbeat quickened. At any moment, Falk would arrive, and they would be together again.

  They hadn’t seen much of each other since he’d left. First to go to a private boarding high school and then to college. About three years total. The time apart had been tough on them both. Emails, Skype, and school breaks hadn’t been enough to satisfy her their bond remained intact.

  She’d stood in this exact spot at ten years old, watching her father walk up the drive with a young boy in tow. Then, his hair had been curly and blond as the down of a duckling. His blue eyes had reminded her of a breathtaking, translucent frozen lake she’d seen with her father once in Canada.

  “I’m Falk,” he’d said, shaking her hand in a serious, grown-up way. Even though he seemed confident, she’d detected a tension around his forehead and mouth.

  When their hands met, a strange fluttering sensation had moved within her. “I’m Linda.” She’d known right away he was special.

  Her father, John Hartmann, had found Falk while supervising a logging crew. Falk had run away from an orphanage and gotten lost in the company forestlands. He’d promised her father he would work for him until the day he died and be his most loyal employee, if he would only not take him back.

  The softhearted man had melted under Falk’s pleading and brought him home. Many years later, he’d told Linda how they’d talked on the way to the house. How he’d immediately liked the boy. He’d confessed to always wanting a son and thinking it would be good for Linda to have a sibling. Dad had moved forward with the adoption paperwork right away. In fact, he’d pulled every string necessary so Falk hadn’t had to spend even one more night back at the orphanage. Which turned out not to be so difficult in a small town like Constance where everyone knew and respected him. Falk’s full name was James Falkner. Falk suited him better.

  Linda shifted her feet where she stood and cocked her head. She pushed the edge of the thin white privacy curtain to the side. As if moving one inch of fabric from the edge of my sight would help me see better through the rain and trees. But she couldn’t help herself. Was that a car she heard? No, just the roar of a truck passing from the main road. The nonstop pelt of the rain made it difficult to pick out specific engine sounds. Normally, she didn’t mind the rain, the comfy sound of home, of Seattle. But, today, she wished it would stop so she could hear a car approaching.

  She sighed. Then jumped as someone spoke.

  “Linda, dear, why don’t you come sit in the kitchen and have some coffee with me? Waiting by the window won’t make him arrive any sooner.” Sarah, their old housekeeper and distant relative, stood in the doorway. Her graying blonde hair was piled on her head in a dignified manner, and she wore one of her many neat black dresses.

  “It’s been so long. I can’t wait to see him,” Linda said.

  Eleven months had flown by since she’d last seen Falk on Thanksgiving. Flown was the wrong word for it, though. She had felt every single day of their separation. Maybe the term slipping away suited her feelings better. Whatever the right term was, the lack of contact caused a persistent ache in the back of her throat and heart. Did Falk feel the same way? Or had his feelings changed? Did she even know him anymore?

  “I know. We’ve all missed him.” Sarah patted her shoulder.

  Linda turned from the window and met the housekeeper’s brown eyes, set within folds of skin wrinkled from years of smiling. Gentle understanding glowed there. “I’d better go back upstairs and sit with Dad. Promise you’ll call me the second you hear Falk’s car?”

  “Of course.” Sarah nodded and reached out to squeeze one of her hands.

  Linda went up the grand curving staircase to the second level and headed down the east wing of the house to her father’s suites. The grand old mansion they lived in and had been in the family for generations and did its fair share of settling and creaking.

  So when she went through the double doors at the end of the hall and passed through a sitting room into her father’s bedroom, she did her best to avoid the floorboards that squeaked the most, not wanting to wake him.

  Her dad lay sleeping in his large, four-poster bed. Linda’s breath caught at his once jovial face so pale and drawn against the sheets, as though death loomed over him, preparing to take his soul. This time, with the light of day glowing through the curtains in addition to the lamplight, she registered just how much his condition had changed. He looked far worse than the last time she’d been home. Why hadn’t Sarah called sooner?

  She continued across the hardwood floor and sat in the chair next to his bed. She folded her hands in her lap, fingers twisting together even though the rest of her remained still. His time ran short.

  What will I do when Dad dies? Tears welled up in her eyes, and she pressed her fists to them, letting out a long breath. It wouldn’t be good for her father to wake up and see her crying. She would feel better when Falk arrived and they could have a real conversation. Not just about her father but something else bothering her. Something she couldn’t trust anyone else with. It had been weighing on her, scaring her so much she would give anything if he would appear by her side right at this moment.

  Why couldn’t everything go back to the time before Falk had been sent to a fancy boarding school in Montana? To when they used to complete each other’s sentences.

  But they had grown, as all kids did. For his senior year of high school, her father had sent him to the same place he’d been planning to send Linda—Pelham Preparatory. John Hartmann insisted on nothing but the best for his children. And, from the second Falk had set foot on their property, he had been treated as well as Linda.

  The three-year age disparity hadn’t made a difference to either of them. Falk had the confidence and devil-may-care attitude she lacked. Her patience and quietness balanced him. Somehow, watching and laughing at his antics had made her braver than she ever would have been without him. She no longer felt awkward and out of place being the child of a wealthy timber company owner in their small community. Falk had been there with her and shown her how to fit in with the kids at school. She had blossomed under his example. He’d had plenty of experience learning to fit in since his parents had lost custody of him at seven.

  More had been growing between Linda and Falk before he’d been sent to Pelham. Something unstoppable. They were each other’s heart and soul. He was her sun, and she felt nothing could be more concrete…well, until now.

  She’d caught the edge of a whispered conversation between her father and Sarah when she felt it came time to send Falk to Pelham. She’d been about to knock on the library door to speak with her father, but her fist froze when she heard voices.

  “It’s for the best.” She heard Sarah say in a low hiss.

  “He hasn’t been with us long. The boy needs stability in his life.”

  Linda had nodded with her father’s statement and hope rose in her at the he would allow Falk to stay and continue going to the local high school.

  “It’s been four years. They’re getting older and too close. It’s inappropriate.” Sarah had been reasonable and insistent. “Besides, the school will provide all the structure the boy needs. You’re not home enough for him.”

  Did Sarah see Falk kiss me the other day?

  Linda prayed in the following pause her father wouldn’t listen.

  But he’d cav
ed. “You’re right. I can’t stand sending him away from home, but he deserves the best I can give him.”

  Sending him away hadn’t been the end of it, though. Sarah’s words must have sunken into her father’s brain because he always kept both her and Falk busy during breaks to the point they were barely alone. But his efforts were in vain. She’d fallen in love with Falk years before, and he with her, and nothing her father did could make it stop.

  Footsteps sounded in the sitting room, and Linda lifted her head from her hands, wiping the last moisture from the corner of one eye. Maybe Falk had called, and Sarah was coming to tell her why he was delayed.

  But when the bedroom door opened, the man she’d been aching to see entered the room.

  Linda shot from her chair. “Falk!”

  Chapter Two

  For one slow, powerful moment, he drank in the sight of her. Then Falk strode across the room, lifted Linda into his arms, and spun her around. His entire being lit up despite the serious circumstances bringing them together.

  “Are you all right?” He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled the familiar scents of sunshine and vanilla.

  “I will be, now that you’re here.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back.

  Her soft breath grazed his skin, sending his senses spinning. She’d grown, no, blossomed, since he’d last seen her, and he cursed the duties driving him to work and study like a madman. He wasn’t himself without her. Never had been, never would be. They were soul mates. The knowledge still scared him.

  He set her down and led her to sit with him on the upholstered bench at the end of the bed. Her gray eyes were red rimmed, and a tightness lingered in the corners of her sweet mouth, but she smiled at him. Her classic girl-next-door look enraptured him, as it always had. There was something about the combination of the light dusting of freckles on her face and long brown hair which fell in waves around her shoulders. Video chat had not done her justice. With the barrier of electronic contact removed, everything about her slammed into him in a powerful wave.