by A. E. Rayne
As hard as he tried, though, he couldn’t.
Draguta turned away, happy with what she had seen. Eadmund appeared to be compliant again, which was what he needed to be. She couldn’t afford for him to become a problem. Not now. Not when there were so many other problems she had to contend with.
She needed the Book of Darkness. Her Book of Darkness.
Draguta’s body tensed just thinking about it in Jaeger’s clumsy hands.
She needed it, and Evaine was the key to getting it back. If only she could be certain the stupid girl would be able to escape Hest.
‘What are you gaping at?’ Draguta growled, nudging Brill who had just seen Eadmund picked up and thrown to the ground by the enormous, bare-chested man. ‘Eadmund will be fine. But I will not. Not unless you find me some more wine. And another dress. This one is filthy!’
Brill turned from the training ring and followed her mistress who was stalking away, the hem of her dress trailing behind her in the dust, her mind already turning to Jael Furyck and what she would do next.
Jaeger glowered at Else as he strode into the chamber. ‘You can go,’ he grumbled, pointing her to the door. ‘I wish to speak to Meena alone.’
Else tried not to look as worried as she felt about that. She bobbed her head and picked up her basket from its place by the door. ‘Shall I bring your supper tonight, my lord?’
Jaeger shook his head, his eyes still on Meena. ‘No, we will be eating in the hall, Meena and I.’
Meena looked surprised, staring after Else who had quickly disappeared through the door.
‘Where did you go this morning? Where were you last night?’ Jaeger asked, pulling a chair out from the table. And turning it around, he sat down, his eyes never leaving Meena’s quickly reddening face.
‘I stayed with Morana,’ Meena said. ‘I told you I would.’
‘You did, yes. And then as soon as you saw me today, you ran away again. Why is that?’ he wondered, searching her big, blinking eyes. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
‘N-n-nothing,’ Meena insisted. ‘After I saw Dragmall, I, I thought I would check on Morana. She looked frail. I thought it best if I stayed. She needs someone to stay with her now. She can’t do anything for herself, and Sitha can’t stay there all the time. Other people need her help, and Morana isn’t ill.’
‘And you’re volunteering to be that someone? You want to stay with her?’
Meena started to shake her head but stopped as an idea formed. ‘Well, I am used to the chamber. To helping Morana. Perhaps I would be of more use than Morac? He doesn’t come often, and I don’t imagine he wants to clean out his sister’s chamber pot.’
‘Why not her daughter, then?’ Jaeger asked. ‘Surely that sort of help should be provided by a daughter?’ He smiled at the idea of Evaine stuck in that stinking stone pit, wiping Morana’s arse. ‘I don’t want to lose you from my chamber, Meena, and Evaine is useless to me, so I couldn’t think of a better solution.’ He leaned forward, pleased with himself. ‘I’ll invite her to supper and tell her the good news tonight. Now, let’s not talk of Morana or Evaine. I want to know about you. What did Dragmall say to help you read the book?’
Entorp felt shaken after his conversation with Edela and Biddy. Too shaken to eat the meal Runa had left for him. He hurried to check on Ayla, surprised to see that Bruno was not there.
Derwa, who had been helping Entorp as his patients started piling up, ran a hand down her long, white braid. ‘I’m afraid Bruno has fallen ill,’ she said. ‘I had him moved away. Into the first shed.’
Entorp was surprised and saddened, but he nodded, knowing that it was the right decision. Those who were in the initial grip of the sickness were distressed, disoriented, their bowels opening with great regularity. It took some time for their bodies to weaken as much as Hanna’s or Ayla’s or the men and women who lay on mattresses and blankets around them.
They were quiet. Waiting to die.
They needed peace, so this shed was reserved for them and their loved ones to say their goodbyes.
‘I will check on him,’ he mumbled, staring at Derwa suddenly. ‘Do you remember a woman called Briggit Halvardar?’
Derwa shook her head. ‘No, who is she?’
Entorp stepped closer, lowering his voice. ‘She was in The Following, from Helsabor, but she came to Tuura once. Ayla is dreaming about her, according to Edela.’
‘Why?’
Entorp retreated, realising that there were too many people in the shed to guarantee discretion. ‘I believe Edela is trying to find answers in her dreams. To find out what is causing the sickness. Hopefully, she will soon.’
Derwa didn’t look any less puzzled. ‘Edela is very determined, that is true. If there is something to find, you can be sure she’ll find it. Now, why don’t you come and have a bite to eat? It’s cold, but it looks tasty enough, and you don’t want to join Bruno in that shed, do you?’
Entorp followed Derwa to the table where his tray of food waited for him, Edela’s words echoing around his head. If it was indeed a curse, then perhaps only those who had protection from such things would be safe? ‘Thank you,’ he smiled. ‘But what about you? I think you should take a break. Get some fresh air. I can certainly recommend the benefits of inhaling something new.’
‘I think I might,’ Derwa said, looking around. ‘I can’t remember the last time I saw the sun.’
‘Yes, yes, you go,’ Entorp mumbled, nibbling disinterestedly on a soggy crispbread. ‘Stay away as long as you like. I’ll be fine here.’
Edela was pleased to have the opportunity to lie down. She needed a rest after the dream walk. Never in her life had she imagined doing a single one, let alone the amount she had completed since that first time with Aleksander.
It was exhausting, though, and her eyes needed little encouragement to close.
Eydis, who lay on her low bed, struggling with a wriggling Ido, who wasn’t feeling sleepy, was finding it much harder. But, finally shooing him away and gripping Ayla’s wedding ring tightly, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on Ayla’s face, remembering the last time she had seen her in her dreams.
It had been easy before, and now that she had given Biddy her symbol stone to take far away from the cottage, she hoped that Ayla would come and find her again.
They needed to know how to help her.
Jaeger ran his hand over the tattoo, watching Meena squirm. The intricate knot of symbols was blue, covered in a thick salve, but he saw how it had bled; how it was bleeding now as he pushed his fingers against it. ‘And this will help your dreams? These symbols?’
He sounded suspicious, Meena thought, her eyes watering from the pain he was causing. ‘That is what Dragmall said,’ she gasped. ‘He has them himself.’
‘But he’s not a dreamer.’
‘He said he dreams of things from time to time, but no, he’s not a dreamer.’
‘Well, we shall see what Dragmall knows of magic, then, for I need you to have dreams. And quickly. We need to find out where Draguta is. How she will try to hurt us. Take her revenge. She didn’t need the book to do what she did to Morana, did she? Wherever she is, whatever she is now, she’ll be working on ways to hurt us. Know that, Meena. You and I are in this together. She wants us both dead.’
Meena shuddered, certain that Jaeger was right. In her dreams, Draguta was raging, filled with a feverish anger so violent that Meena feared what she would do next. She was convinced that one night she would wake to find Draguta standing over her bed, her hands around her throat. Swallowing, she felt for her scabbard, hanging from her belt, comforted by the presence of the knife, but at the same time worried. The knife had killed Draguta, but not for long.
And if that were the case, what could stop her now?
Morac came up behind Evaine at the stables, and when she turned around, he could see that she was in quite a state. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ he wondered. ‘Is it Jaeger? Has he hurt you again?’
Evai
ne shook her head, irritated by her father’s arrival. She had been negotiating with a shy stable hand to get a horse, and she was not inclined to be distracted from her next task, which was to get into Jaeger’s chamber. ‘No, he hasn’t. I just wanted to go for a ride, away from the castle.’
‘You?’
‘Why not? Jaeger took me riding once,’ Evaine said, shivering at the memory; wishing she had seen the warning signs then. ‘It was enjoyable. I would like to try again.’ She turned to the stable hand and gave him her sweetest smile. His pouch bulged with her father’s silver coins, and he nodded at her.
‘I shall come with you,’ Morac insisted. ‘You’re not the most confident rider, so it will be good to have me along.’
‘I am not looking for company, Father!’ Evaine snapped, her eyebrows sharp. ‘I want to ride up to the top of the cliffs. See if there is any sign of Eadmund. I don’t want, nor do I require company. I am not a child. I am about to become a married woman. I have a son. I don’t need your fussing!’
Morac couldn’t hide his disappointment. ‘Of course,’ he said, nodding as he turned away. ‘You go, then, but,’ he added, looking back, ‘if you haven’t returned by supper, I shall come and find you. Know that.’
‘Fine.’ Evaine had already forgotten him, her mind humming with urgency. She needed to leave the city. She had her supplies. Her horse was paid for and ready, and she had some of the other items Draguta had requested, but she did not have what Draguta wanted most of all.
She did not have the book.
‘Oh, I forgot,’ Morac said. ‘We’ve been invited to the hall tonight. Jaeger says he wants to talk about Morana. We’re to have supper with him.’
Evaine scowled, then her face lightened. ‘He will be eating in the hall? And the girl? Meena?’ She tried to keep her voice even, but her nervous energy had her twitching all over.
‘She will be there too, I expect. She seems to be everywhere he is.’
Evaine smiled. ‘Well, I shall most certainly be there, Father, but do not wait for me. I may be a little... late after my ride. I want to look my best, after all.’
Morac couldn’t read Evaine’s face. The stables were poorly-lit, and she was standing in the shadows, but something about her voice worried him. ‘Don’t be too late, though. Not if you can help it. It would not do to irritate Jaeger. While we remain here and Morana is the way she is, there is little we can do but keep on his good side.’
‘Of course, Father,’ Evaine said, smiling agreeably. ‘I promise to be on my best behaviour.’
11
Morana agreed with the old man.
It was a curse.
But she had seen no way to break it. Not yet. Her dreams were not working.
Perhaps that was part of the curse too?
Deposited in her bed, she stared at the stone wall, struggling to even move her eyes to look somewhere new. Her head was filled with the Book of Darkness; worried that Draguta would return to claim it before she had recovered.
And she would recover. A curse could be broken.
As someone who had thrown hundreds in her time, Morana Gallas knew very well that a curse could be broken, and it was up to her to find an answer.
If only she could see a way back into her dreams.
Neither Edela nor Eydis had seen anything of Ayla in their dreams, which worried them both. Biddy had left supper on the table and gone to the ship sheds to find out how Ayla was. All three of them were fearing the worst, and Biddy decided that just hoping and dreaming would not help any of them sleep that night.
The chicken and ale stew was tasty, and Edela was grateful for it; it helped to take her mind off the urgent matter of how to break the curse, if what Ayla believed was true. She bit her tongue, exclaiming in surprise as a memory of one of her dreams drifted back to her.
‘Are you alright?’ Eydis asked.
‘I forgot! In all my worrying about Ayla, I forgot!’ Edela smiled. ‘I dreamed about Jael. She is coming home. Soon.’
Eydis almost bit her own tongue. ‘Really? And Thorgils and Aleksander?’
Edela nodded. ‘Yes, I saw all of them, on their way home. With the woman who was caring for Jael. They will be here soon.’
Eydis could feel tears of joy in her eyes. She shivered with happiness, then frowned. ‘But is she alright?’
‘No, I don’t think she is alright. But she is on Tig. Riding. That was what I saw, so she is well enough on the outside. It’s the inside that will need time to heal now. If only she could have a moment to do so, but I fear she will have much to attend to when she arrives back at the fort. I don’t think the dragur are going to wait for Jael to recover.’
Jael felt better and worse, and everything in between. Half of her was with Eadmund, worrying about Draguta’s plans for him, wherever they were. The other half was in Andala, worrying about how they would keep the dragur out.
She was trying not to think of her baby or her body which felt weak and uncomfortable, and suddenly very empty.
Aleksander watched her face contorting. ‘Sun’s going down. We should stop soon.’
‘Mmmm,’ Jael nodded, listening to Thorgils chatting away to Astrid behind them. She could hear the excitement in his voice, knowing that he would soon see Isaura. ‘We should. There’s a stream up ahead, from memory.’ She didn’t say any more, but she needed to.
Aleksander could sense it. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I had a lot of dreams while I was in that cottage,’ Jael said slowly, her eyes drifting to the left, watching the clouds darken over the hills in the distance. ‘I dreamed about Hanna.’
Aleksander froze, instantly uncomfortable, but Jael didn’t sound in any mood for fun. He looked at her, trying to read her face. ‘What about her?’
‘She’s dying.’
‘What?’ Aleksander hadn’t been expecting that. ‘What do you mean? Why? How?’
‘She has the sickness,’ Jael said. ‘Ayla too. I saw them in a shed with Entorp. Marcus was there, with Hanna. He was saying goodbye to her.’
Aleksander felt sick.
‘I saw pyres. A lot of them. It looks as though it’s spreading.’ Speaking about pyres reminded Jael of her daughter, and she bit her lip, not wanting to say any more.
But Aleksander had already stopped listening. His body was tense, his hands in fists, gripping the reins, his mind swirling with memories. He kept seeing images of Hanna’s horrible little cottage in Tuura; of her in the tavern, sharing a cup of ale with him.
Her smile. Her kindness. Her bed.
He had been so desperate to run away from her, but somehow, in the back of his mind, he had always imagined there would be a time when perhaps things would be different. When he wouldn’t need to run anymore.
But now?
He spurred Sky on, spotting a stream up ahead. ‘Come on!’ Aleksander called, turning to Thorgils and Astrid, barely able to swallow. ‘We camp here for the night!’
Evaine had spent two days creeping around the castle, finding the quickest route in and out of Jaeger’s chamber, and now she knew that both Jaeger and Meena were out of it, she hurried to Morac’s cottage and put on her cloak. It was too warm for a cloak, she knew, but she would be riding through the night, which terrified her, though she hoped it would make her harder to follow.
Evaine thought about leaving a note for her father, but she quickly decided against it. Once she was reunited with Eadmund and Draguta had her book, they would be able to return to Hest and get rid of Jaeger.
Morac didn’t need to know anything until then.
Evaine knew that the stable hand would keep her horse ready, and his mouth shut, as he appeared very keen to receive the rest of the coins she had promised him on her return.
Now, she just had to get into Jaeger’s chamber and retrieve the book.
Taking a deep breath, Evaine lifted her satchel over her head, adjusting it across her body, and headed for the door.
‘And where is Evaine?’ Jaeger wondered, raisin
g his goblet to Morac who held his up in return, his eyes struggling to meet Jaeger’s.
‘She went for a ride,’ Morac said, trying to keep the snarl out of his voice. He needed to stay alive to keep both his daughter and his sister safe, and picking a fight with a violent, young king was not going to help him do that.
Jaeger laughed, running a hand up Meena’s thigh, slightly drunk. ‘A ride? Evaine?’ He smiled at Meena, who was desperate to squirm away from his exploring hand and his lips which were coming towards hers. Jaeger kissed her, and she closed her eyes, embarrassed.
Morac felt uncomfortable sitting at the table with just the two of them, though not as uncomfortable as Meena appeared with Jaeger pawing at her.
His eyes kept returning to the entranceway, wanting to see Evaine.
He was starting to become worried about her.
Evaine glanced up and down the corridor, checking no one was around, and just as she reached for the door handle, she heard a noise from inside the chamber.
It was that humming again.
Listening carefully, Evaine was sure she couldn’t hear anyone else, so taking the risk that Meena was downstairs with Jaeger, she knocked on the door. Her heart was racing, and she could barely catch her breath, but in a moment the door opened, and an old woman stood there.
Jaeger’s servant.
‘Yes?’ Else asked, surprised to see Evaine, especially after what Jaeger had done to her. ‘Can I help you?’
Evaine smiled sweetly, slipping past Else, hurrying into the chamber. She took a quick look around and saw the book on the table. ‘I have come to take that.’
