Assassin's Curse (40 page)

“It is similar to what coven healers do with their unborn children of power.
 
They establish a bond between them to help the children through the difficult transition of realizing their potential with the power.
 
Surely you know of this.”

“Yes, but we of the gypsy nation do not practice this magic.
 
We keep our children by our side, teaching and training as they grow.
 
We find no need for bonding.”

“In our communities, healers are often called away to help others in need and of necessity must leave our children to be raised by others.
 
The bond keeps us linked and ensures the children do not get hurt in their explorations.
 
We have practiced this for generations untold.”

“But what does this have to do with my daughter?”

“She must have perceived a danger to the child and bonded with him to protect him.
 
The danger must have been great, because she has bonded so tightly with the child that she can no longer perceive herself as separate from him.
 
A mother’s love for her unborn child is limitless and most will do anything to protect them, including sacrificing herself for the baby’s welfare.
 
Jeda mentioned Darkshade.
 
What does that have to do with her?”

“It was the guild,” Jeda replied from the doorway.
 
“They finally found us and attacked Keisha to get at me and the twins.”

“And where is Kala’s sister now?”

“Kara was captured and taken to Constantine.”

“Well, that is exactly where we have to go.”

“No, it’s too dangerous for all of us to go to Constantine.
 
The guild fortress and rescuing Kara will require my full focus.
 
I will have no time to watch over you or any of the others.
 
It is my problem and I will go alone.”

Gelda sighed.
 
“Oh please, enough with the manly speech.
 
We are not going to Constantine to attack any fortress.
 
We have to go to Constantine to seek help from the sisters there.
 
My power alone is not strong enough to overcome the bond that Keisha has created.
 
She is a very powerful witch in her own right.
 
Even joined with Natasha, the two of us would not be strong enough to break the bond, but a full circle of women just might be enough.
 
I have never seen anything like this before, and I am afraid that if these two are not separated before the child is born then we might lose them both.”
   

“Then we should leave immediately,” Jeda replied.

“Not before I’ve looked at that arm of yours.”

“It’s not necessary.
 
It is more important to get Keisha to the coven at Constantine and save her.
 
I will be fine.”

“No, you won’t,” Gelda said stepping up beside him.
 
“If you are planning on rescuing Kara, you’ll need to do so fully healed.
 
That arm needs healing.”

“I don’t need your healing,” Jeda replied angrily.

Gelda shook her fist in front of Jeda’s face.
 
“Those bastards took my granddaughter,” she snarled, “and you will not jeopardize her life with your masculine bravado and stupidity.”

Jeda’s jaw fell open.
 
“What did you say?”

“I said those assassin bastards took my granddaughter,” the old witch repeated.

Jeda looked at the healer with the wide eyes of absolute shock.
 
He shook his head, not wanting to believe what the old woman had said.
 
It opened a wealth of emotions and intrigue that Jeda could not deal with at the moment.
 
He had to focus on getting Kara back and could afford no distractions.
 

“I don’t have time for this,” Jeda said, turning away.

“Well, make time,” Gelda said and, touching the side of his neck, concentrated slightly until he slumped to the ground.

“What did you do?” Natasha asked, shocked as much as Jeda was at the old healer’s announcement.

“Oh, that?
 
I just put him to sleep.
 
He is too much of a pain in my ass to be awake for the healing that shoulder will take and he would have never taken another of my potions.
 
Now we have little time for explanations.
 
I have to fix his shoulder and then we must leave for Constantine immediately after.”

“What can I do?” Natasha asked.

“Help me get him into a bed.”

Once the women put Jeda into one of the beds, Gelda looked at Natasha.
 
“You look worn out.
 
Help yourself to tea and some food.
 
We will have a long journey ahead of us and I can heal Jeda.
 
I’m sure Kala could use some food as well.”

Kala stood off to the side, tears welling in her eyes.
 
It had been a harsh couple of days and the young girl was worn out.
 
“Will Poppy be OK?
 
Can you fix him?”

Gelda touched Kala’s cheek.
 
“Yes, dear.
 
I will fix your poppy.
 
Go with Natasha now and eat so you will be strong for the journey to Constantine.
 
Can you do that?”

Kala nodded and Natasha held out her hand.
 
They walked to the kitchen area while Gelda worked on Jeda.

Once Kala was out of the room, Gelda turned her attention to Jeda’s shoulder and arm.
 
It was a mess, but not beyond her abilities to fix.
 
As she reached inside to begin the healing, she felt the well of pain emanating from the depths of his essence.
 
She tried to surround him in a blanket of warmth to relieve some of the pain and speed the healing process, but instead, what she found amazed and shocked her at the same time.
 
She nearly lost her concentration with the discovery.
 

At the core of Jeda’s being, she found the twins’ bond that her daughter Miriam had transferred into him before she had died.
 
It was like a welcoming presence to the old healer and she dwelt there for a moment, reveling in the ghost of her own daughter’s aura.

“Oh Miriam, my darling daughter.
 
You have no idea how I wished things had been different for us.
 
Stubborn pride was our undoing, but I have never stopped loving you.”

After a few moments, she sensed another, deeper, older bond, a bond locked away within the deepest recesses of his mind.
 
While she could sense the bond, she couldn’t touch it.
 
As she probed it, she recognized the faint glimmer of the one who put the bond deep into the young man.

By the Stone, Gelda thought, Cassandra!
 
How could this be?

She tried to probe the bond further, but met an impenetrable barrier that locked her out.
 
No matter how much she pushed against it, she could not break through.
 
Finally she gave up and surrounded Jeda in the blanket of warmth and healing she had originally intended.
 
He immediately sank into a deeper sleep, allowing the old healer to complete her task of healing.
 
As she worked, Gelda couldn’t help but wonder at the second bond in Jeda.
 

Cassandra had been a strong elemental witch, one of the strongest of her time.
 
Gelda and Cassandra had been the closest of friends during their years together in the coven, and it was Gelda who had introduced Cassandra to her brother, Jacob.
 
Jacob and Cassandra had eventually married and Jeda was the child of their union, but she had died in giving birth to him.
 
Her death was a mystery, surrounded as she was by so many healers, but no foul play was ever discovered.
 
Jacob never stopped probing her death until a suspicious fire killed him, too; a fire that Gelda knew had been purposely set to permanently shut him up.
 
It was believed to have killed their young child, but the boy’s body had ever been found.
 
Many thought that Cassandra would be the leader of the Constantine coven, but when she had died, it was Elizabeth who took up the reins of power.
 

The tragedies that surrounded her family were beyond belief and were actually part of the reason Gelda had left the coven so many years ago.
 
It was a move that had alienated her from many of her fellow sisters who looked to her for leadership and wisdom, not least among them her own daughter, Miriam.
 
Miriam had been furious with her mother for not staying at the coven and Gelda, being the proud and independent witch she was, would let no one sway her decision, not even her own daughter.
 
How foolish she had been.
 
A lifetime lost with her only child.

Gelda sat back, looking at the sleeping man in front of her.
 
The man she always suspected of being complicit in the killing her daughter, the man who raised her granddaughters like the father they had lost, the man who was the son of her beloved brother and closest friend.
 
Feeling eyes upon her, she looked up to see Kala staring at her.

“He’ll be fine, little one, do not worry.”

“I’m not worried about my poppy.
 
I can feel he will be well.
 
I’m wondering why you said Kara is your granddaughter, ‘cause if she’s your granddaughter that means I am, too.”

How strange life truly is, Gelda thought, wondering how she would sort this mess out.
 

***

“They are here in Constantine?”

Elizabeth cringed at the screech in her sister’s voice.

“No, I said they are coming and
might
be here already,” Elizabeth replied, struggling to keep the frustration out of her voice.
 
It had been such a chore keeping Catherine focused all these years and the strain was definitely showing on Elizabeth.

Thankfully this painful ordeal is almost over.
 
Sister or not, I want to strangle her just to shut her up.
   

“I received a message from Gelda in Rocher that she is bringing them.”

“Oh thank the gods they are finally coming home to us,” Catherine replied, her eyes brimming with tears.
 
“I can’t thank you enough for all the help you have offered over the years.”

Actually the message from Gelda said she was coming to Constantine and wanted to form a circle of woman to save a
lost soul
, whatever that meant.
 
What was important in that message was that Gelda had one of the twins with her.
 
Elizabeth did not feel it necessary to mention to Catherine that there was only one twin coming.
 
She figured they would discover where the other one was in due time.

Hopefully, the other one is not dead in a ditch somewhere.

“I must inform the guild that they can cease looking for them,” Catherine replied.

“It might be best to wait until they are here before you mention that to them.
 
One never knows what might happen in these precarious times.”

Especially with the idiots I am forced to work with.

“Very well, Elizabeth, whatever you think best.”

***

Mave stood in front of the Grand Masters of the Constantine guild, waiting for them to respond to the report he had given them.
 
They were as silent as the unconscious child that was lying on the floor beside him.
 

Finally, Master Dykara leaned forward and spoke.
 
“Brother Mave, this news you have brought us is most encouraging.
 
This cloud of darkness has hung over our house for far too long and you have brought us hope.
 
I am sure it will be as you perceive and Brother Jeda will bring the other twin when he comes here.
 
Your assistance in this matter has been noted and it will not be long before you will be able to return to your post in Lakeside.”

Brother Jeda?
 
Assistance?
 
Lakeside?

Mave did not let any emotion reach his face, but his banishment had been a festering wound long left untreated.
 
His assignment to the backwater city of Lakeside had been a clear sign of the masters’ disappointment in his failure to capture the twins all those years ago.
 
He had hoped that bringing one of the twins to the guild house might entice them to bring him back to Constantine and finally promote him to master.
 
Mave had always aspired to become the next Grand Master of the School of Swords within the guild and claim a seat on the council.
 
If he was to be exiled back to Lakeside, then it was a clear sign of his continued disfavor.
 
He would be far away from the seats of power and would probably never be promoted.