A Circle of Crows (17 page)

Letting go, she dropped to the ground, unsure of how she would defend them now. She rose to kneeling when she felt talons rip her newly healed scalp. She remembered she had a small pocket knife and proceeded to plunge it into the creature's Achilles tendon in the leg holding her.

The creature screamed and released its grasp. Standing this time, it came at her again, and she fought futilely as its talons wrapped around her arms. She flailed and managed to free one of her hands. Then Rae hit it in the eye as hard as she dared. Bellowing in pain, the Sepulachar grabbed the offending hand. Suddenly feeling pain, Rae looked up to see blood streaming down her arm toward her shoulder.

Her index and middle finger were now missing from her right hand.

She began to swoon, and saving the baby was uppermost in her mind as she fought the darkness threatening to overtake her. The world was turning dark, and she felt the creature release her, then she fell to the ground.

She forced her eyes open and saw a flaming arrow embed itself in the creature's torso as it attempted to take flight.

Rae heard her sister's voice say, “Not my child.” And the last sound she heard was the Sepulchar falling to the ground only feet from her.

Rachael sat on the bed in her sister's room with one of the cats, which wound his way ‘round and ‘round her legs. Standing, Rachael went over to Rae's “tea” trolley and poured herself a drink, which contained her twin's odd alcoholic interests (as far as Rachael was concerned). Rae had first discovered absinthe on her trip to Europe during a holiday break from college. Having all the appropriate paraphernalia—a slotted spoon to place a sugar cube on—Rae poured water over it into her cup a million times as Rachael watched. It was actually quite vile without the sugar; Rachael drank it for the first time when Rae went to the other side in an effort to try and maintain some sort of bond with her twin.

Uncomfortably aware she was following in her sister's footsteps of near alcoholism, Rachael found herself coming up with excuses to visit to Rae's quarters during the day, where she would pour herself a drink and sit in Rae's rocking chair and stare at all of the photos. She never thought she would resort to turning to medication for any problems, but ever since Morgana's disappearance and the sequelae of events that followed, Rachael had felt as if the pressures of her life were almost too much to bear.

She stared at the photographs which littered every square inch of Rae's room. A picture of the two of them on Papa's pony; they were probably around eight years old with long plaits down their backs, grinning like fools for the camera. A picture of her holding a one day old Morgana in the hospital; and beside her bed on her nightstand, their mother and father in front of Rae's beachfront house taken the day they dropped Rae off in Massachusetts to begin college.

"I never even considered how much you gave up to come back to help me with Morgana, or to help support Bella,” she said, then sighed. She picked up a picture and stared at it. “I miss ya, Rae."

She downed the absinthe and was tempted to spend the night in Rae's room, sleeping in her bed to feel close to her, but Rachael knew the girls would be frightened if she wasn't in her own room when they woke. She took the photograph of Rae on her first day of college with her as she started out the door, then reached back in and grabbed the bottle of alcohol before closing it.

Colin rode into camp, his mare covered in sweat as he had pushed her without letup since he learned of his children's abduction. He began to jog through the camp, holding up his hand to stay the many men who were anxious to speak to him regarding the pursuit of the regime.

"Where is Nathaniel?” he queried Quentin, a young officer, whom Colin did not believe he had ever spoken to before. Rummaging around in the central command tent, he grew uncharacteristically flustered and angry. “Private Quentin, where is Commander Nathaniel?"

"I do not know, sir. He has not been seen since he departed on his quest to return to the settlement."

"What of Oliver? Has he returned?"

"Yes, sir. I will go and fetch him."

Colin opened and closed trunks without really seeing anything. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He remembered what his father told him his first night in battle,
Focus on the task at hand, and do not try to speculate on what tomorrow will bring.

He opened his eyes and looked in the trunk again. Lying in full view was the map for which he had been searching.

Setting it flat on the table, his dirty fingers traced the path that had eluded his memory. He nodded and folded it up, then put it into his pack.

Quentin returned and hastily opened the flap for Oliver.

Colin grasped his hand and pumped it. “Oliver, what news of Nathaniel?"

Oliver's face betrayed his thoughts. “I have not heard from him since we parted company. I was hoping he would return with you, sir."

"Let us not give up hope. I am leaving again. I know the militia needs me, but I have another duty at this time. You are the eldest and most experienced in camp, I am placing you in command. Christian will prove a great asset to you, he is..."

"Going with you, Colin. So I am afraid I must make a recommendation for Oliver's second. Corry MacMillan will do fine. He has been serving with me for two years."

"Absolutely not. I am going alone, Christian."

"Permission to speak in private, sir."

Colin eyed him furiously. “Granted. Could you excuse us for a moment, Oliver?"

As the tent flap fell shut, Christian was two inches from Colin's face, and with a fury that matched Colin's own, said, “Those children are my niece and nephew, Colin. I am going and you cannot stop me. I will desert and follow you if I must. Mari would want me to go with you."

Resigned, Colin sighed. “Alright. Quickly assemble your pack. We need to leave at once."

Christian raised his eyebrows and said, “I am assuming you have a plan."

"Yes. My father once told me of an ancient pass and showed me the map of the terrain. I have found it, and that is the route we will take. I do not know if it will be passable, but I feel it is our only chance at surprise. We cannot take them in hand-to-hand combat; there will be too many of them."

"I assume that is what Nathaniel would have done. What do you think happened to him?"

His eyes filled with tears and he wiped them away quickly. “If Nathaniel were successful, he would have been here by now."

Chapter 31

Bella gently cleansed the gashes in her sister's scalp. Rae winced and bit her lip as she tried not to cry out loud.

"I don't know, Rae. These look terrible. Inside the gashes it's all greenish-yellow, and they're still seeping blood everywhere."

"Bella, I have to find Colin, since now I know you and Finn are safe."

"I want to go, too. I love those babies as if they were my own, but I can't leave Finn, and I surely cannot take him, either. You, however, aren't going anywhere till we mend these wounds. I've been in this village almost a year, and I've learned quite a bit about this world from Colin and many of the townsfolk. The carrion crows and the beast, they can smell blood up to half a mile away, so if you go traipsing around looking to help Colin now, you're liable to get him killed. We have to fix your scalp first."

"Do you have anyone here who would know how to do that?"

"Well, I have been training with the midwives and healers for six months now. Kate and Ellena...” she broke off. “Ellena was rough, but she had a big heart. Kate is in the town. Why don't you rest a bit, then we'll go find her?"

"Alright. Bella, what was Mari like?"

"Very much a younger version of you—beautiful, headstrong, but good. We were very close. I promised her before she died that I would help Colin take care of the babies, or at least find someone who would. They used to tell me stories of what it was like here before the king died. It was a marvelous place back then."

Rae's eyelids began to droop at the sound of Bella's voice, and she never heard why it was a marvelous place to live.

Rachael dreamt. In her dream, she was ten years old, in the kitchen, listening to Gran Moira spin another of her yarns, along with Rae. Rachael could hear her three year old sister running and slamming doors somewhere.

Gran was cooking, which seemed to be the only thing Rachael could ever remember her doing. She ladled the hot soup into each of their bowls, then sat at the table, looking ancient.

"I saw them today while you two were at school."

"Saw who, Gran?” came Raena's voice from beside her.

"The crows, they was circling the inn again, looking for children."

Rachael elbowed her sister under the table and they stifled their giggles.

"Gran, you just say that to scare us into behaving,” said Rae.

"No, child. They want children; and the younger, the better. You two best watch out for that wee blond babe running around in the library. She would be the perfect age for taking."

No giggles now. Rae grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"There was only one child who came back after the crows had taken her."

"Who, Gran? What happened to her?” asked Rachael earnestly.

"I'm too tired to tell ya of that tonight. You just keep an eye on yer sister."

She shuffled back over to the pot on the stove and began stirring again.

Rae silently got up from the table and walked to the library, where they both remained till bedtime, watching Bella play.

Rachael woke up and sat on the couch which had become her permanent sleeping spot since Morgana's disappearance. For some reason, her own bedroom felt aloof somehow.

She got up and peeked into the door of Morgana's room.

Morgana and Eva were both sandwiched into one of Morgana's twin beds with the Jack Russell terrier across the bottom of it.

Rachael went over to other twin bed and laid down. The only time she felt at ease was when she could see the girls before she slept. She laid facing them in the other bed till sleep overtook her once again.

Colin halted his mount before the entrance to the narrow crevasse.

"How can you be sure this is the place she is taking the babies?” asked Christian, his usually jovial face etched with anxiety.

"Because I know Hyde is there. Since it is her goal is to gain control over him—to ensure her reign never ends—she will be found where Hyde is. She is still in possession of the book, which must be destroyed.” He looked straight ahead into the distance.

"She wants to completely destroy my father's line. She hated him. He scorned her advances once when the king was still alive. My father was in charge of the palace guards. She took it upon herself from that time forward to make his life as difficult as possible, and when the king died, she made sure Da's problems increased tenfold."

"Not just for your family, mate. When he died, all of us began to suffer."

"Of course, Christian. We should try to get past the area where the crevasse splits before nightfall, as it will be easy to lose our way in the dark."

They clucked to their horses and began to enter the narrow opening in the rocks.

There was no sign of life in the crevasse. It looked as if no creature had been through the pass in ages. The horses were on guard; frequently, they started or bucked at the slightest noise, and their ears were laid back for minutes at a time.

"Colin, what other creatures use this pass?"

"I am not sure. It was rarely used in my father's time, since it was peaceful then and very few stealth operations were carried out. When my father sent scouts through it a few times, there were only signs of life, but not a single creature was actually seen. At least we are safe from the Sepulchar in here.” He glanced up at the dizzying height of the walls, “Their wings could never fit through that opening."

"My father told us stories of the Antioch, although I was convinced as a child they did not exist."

"Aye, but that was what I thought about the crowstorm, and indeed, we both witnessed one with our own eyes the other day, so who knows?"

Christian's eyes clouded as he said, “Mari used to love those stories. The creatures were always good and so valiant."

"Yes, I heard more of them from her than from my own family. They are white, and it is said a powerful light shines from their eyes, and the sound of their voice can make a man go deaf with its sheer power and decibel."

Colin stopped speaking abruptly and pulled his mare to a halt. His torso swung around in the saddle to peer behind him. Christian turned to face him and Colin put his fingers to his lips in a sign of warning.

A figure approached on horseback in a silver, hooded cloak which obscured its face.

Christian put his hand over his shoulder to retrieve his bow, but Colin held up his hand to stay Colin's action. He recognized the horse; it belonged to Kate the healer.

The rider was almost upon them when he said, “You there, halt and show yourself as friend or foe."

The rider halted and lifted its hooded head to face them. Raena let the hood drop to her back and stared at the two of them.

Colin immediately noticed that her hair was parted oddly; he also noted it was crusted with black thrombata, the ashlike mixture the healers used to stop bleeding. His stomach and chest tightened at the sight of her, and as he nudged his horse forward, he remembered Christian.

He turned to stare directly into his brother-in-law's eyes and saw comprehension in them. Colin dropped his eyes first and went to meet her.

Rachael walked down the creaking old steps into the dark as the familiar smell of the root cellar permeated her nostrils. Smell is a strong sense for memory, and immediately, she was inundated with visions of herself and her sisters playing hide-and-seek and other games in this damp place. Shaking her head, however, she knew there was no time for nostalgia or heading up to Rae's tea trolley today. She had just gotten the girls off to school, Morgana to her middle school, and Eva to her new preschool, so her time alone was limited and she had to make the most of it.