Deadly Fate [Book 1 of the Teadai Prophecies]

by Dana Davis

  Taniras fought the urge to curtsy and pulled Henny along with her. She also pushed down her own feelings of anger. Wren’s calming seemed to be wearing off and the isolation of the dome did nothing to soothe her mood. How she wished she could pull in the Energy. Or at least sense it. The servant led them down the corridor to the throne room and knocked. The mouse-faced Fetch opened the door. Once inside, Taniras and Henny walked down the green carpet to the three mothers and curtsied to the Vedi. Both sat regally on the throne, and Taniras felt all bravery wash away as the two sets of royal eyes fell on her.

  “Gypsy-child, Taniras.” Ved’nuri’s belly protruded slightly beneath the hideous swirls on her dress. “You’ll sing the lullaby, now.”

  So much for pleasantries. Through a shaky voice, she did as instructed. Her root mother hadn’t know what the words meant. She had asked the woman many years ago. The song was a family tradition, handed down for generations from mother to daughter, and Taniras had learned the unfamiliar words by the time she could stand.

  When she finished, Ved’nuri moved from her throne and cupped Henny’s face. The girl pinched her lips together as though she tried to keep from giggling, and her feet shuffled about on the carpet. “Be still, youngling,”

  Henny looked very uncomfortable but at least she stopped fidgeting.

  “I want those words written down,” Ved’mana said, and Taniras realized that he was now standing an arm’s length from his wife.

  “Yes, my husband. I agree with that.” The crowned woman released Henny’s face and stepped to Taniras to cup hers. Her hands were warm and her eyes pierced farther than any Gypsy’s ever had. Ved’nuri could no doubt see down to Taniras’s toes just by studying her eyes. “You say your root mother taught you that song?” Her hands released Taniras.

  “Yes, Ved’nuri. She sang that lullaby to me when I had trouble sleeping.” Suddenly, she missed this woman’s touch as much as she had missed her root mother during occasional absences when she was a small child.

  Ved’nuri smiled warmly. “Well, you’re not to sing that again. Not until you’re given permission.”

  “Yes, Ved’nuri.” She wanted to slap Henny for telling.

  The crowned woman took her face again. “So, that’s how this is to be.”

  Taniras nearly cursed when she realized Ved’nuri had heard her thoughts and she checked her wall, before remembering she couldn’t touch the Energy here.

  Ved’mana could hear her too, she realized, and she eyed the crowned man. How unfair the Goddess was. Frustration rose but Taniras pushed it down with great effort. She curtsied and apologized but Ved’nuri kept hold of her chin.

  “I’ll need your assistance, my husband.” Ved’nuri moved her hand to Taniras’s cheek.

  What in the name of the Goddess were they going to do? She wanted to run. Henny giggled and she turned on her clan sister, pulling away from Ved’nuri’s touch. “Stop that, Henny Iven Jesik. It’s your fault we’re here, you foolish girl.”

  Ved’nuri gripped her face again. Obviously being with child did nothing to deter her strength or command of presence. “That’s enough, youngling. I realize that lullaby is affecting you as much as your clan sister, but I won’t abide disobedience.”

  Taniras swallowed. “Yes, Ved’nuri. My apologies.”

  “Accepted.” She held out her other hand for Ved’mana and he took it, placing his free one on the nearby crystal until the floor vibrated with warmth. He then took his hand from the crystal and touched Henny’s face.

  Energy surged through Taniras’s body and washed away the anger. It happened so very quickly.

  Henny grew a stricken look on her face. The girl began to weep and dropped into a curtsy with her face pressed to the green carpet. “My apologies, Vedi.”

  “Stand, youngling,” Ved’mana told her in a fatherly tone, and Haranda assisted the girl to her feet. “Your actions couldn’t be helped. But you’re purged now.”

  Henny stood and sniffed but she no longer wept. Taniras realized that neither of them fainted during this healing and she studied the crowned man.

  “You’re surprised, youngling?” He looked amused. “Didn’t you realize your work with the Energy gives you strength?”

  “Yes, Ved’mana. Thank you.” She gave him a puzzled look. “What happened?”

  Wren and Predula crossed their arms and glared at Taniras, and Haranda stepped close as though preparing to call her down.

  Ved’mana held up a hand. “I will allow the question. The lullaby is of ancient magic, Elemental Magic, words we thought only Gypsies knew existed. The song has power to calm even without the Energy, and in some cases, intoxicate the subject. Your mother used it to ease you as a child. Do you remember her becoming irritable after she sang to you?”

  Taniras shook her head. “I don’t remember, Ved’nuri. I always fell asleep. But she would bang dishes in the morning when she prepared the meal.” Taniras woke to that clatter on more than a few occasions.

  Ved’mana nodded. “Yes, the song pulls composure from the singer and pacifies the subject. But since you have the ability to harness the Energy, the transfer was intensified and Henny experienced an intoxicating effect.”

  So, Taniras was responsible for Henny’s behavior. “My apologies, Vedi. I had no idea. My apologies, Henny.”

  “That’s what we like to hear, youngling.” Ved’nuri’s colorful eyes fell on Predula, Wren, and then Haranda. “These two are strong and they learn quickly.”

  “Yes, Ved’nuri,” the three Gypsies said in unison.

  Taniras felt that something else passed between them, something secretive. Five sets of invasive eyes studied her and she felt as though she were being stripped of her skin.

  Ved’nuri cocked her head and the gilded crown caught the light from the round window above. “Bring the younglings to my anteroom.”

  Taniras and the others held curtsies until Ved’mana left then they followed his wife toward a door behind the throne. Henny stepped close and Taniras placed an arm around the girl’s shoulders as they walked. Ved’nuri led them into a bright room with tapestries, a fireplace, a table and two chairs. She ordered a servant to bring a table leaf and five more chairs, along with midday meal.

  Taniras stood with her arm around Henny as servants extended the table and placed the extra seats around it. She was hungry and eyed the food with anticipation as they sat. This felt peculiar, sitting in informal surroundings with Ved’nuri. Taniras wondered at the extra chair until Saldia joined them. The shade walker made her curtsy to Ved’nuri before taking a seat then she smiled at Taniras and the others.

  “How’s the gardening today,” Ved’nuri said to Saldia.

  “Quite good, Ved’nuri. Nearly all the weeds are gone.” She held up reddened hands. “As my raw fingers will attest.”

  The crowned woman laughed.

  A surge of jealousy pumped through Taniras and she frowned at Saldia for an instant before checking herself. What in blazes was wrong with her? Jealous? Of being punished by the Vedi? That bloody lullaby must have taken her sanity. She had gone completely mad. That had to be what was wrong. So much for urging animals. The Gypsies would probably oust her for madness. At least she would be free of these bloody youngling rules and the ugly dresses. Ved’nuri regarded her with those colorful eyes and she remembered that the woman could hear every thought. She was about to apologize when Ved’nuri raised a hand.

  “You can’t be held responsible for thoughts, youngling. As long as they remain only thoughts.”

  All eyes moved to Taniras and her face burned with embarrassment. “Yes, Ved’nuri.”

  “And you’re not mad, Gypsy-child Taniras.”

  Her cheeks grew even hotter. Blazes! “My apologies anyway.”

  The woman gave her a motherly smile. “If you insist, I’ll accept your apology.”

  That made Taniras feel slightly better. Haranda studied her as a child would a puzzle and it took all her efforts not to squirm in her chair. They a
te and Ved’nuri had Taniras dictate the words of the song to her, while she wrote in a large, leather-bound book with gilded edges. Since Taniras couldn’t touch the Energy here and spoke the words instead of singing them, no one would be affected. This particular Elemental Magic spell needed to be sung.

  “May I ask you something, Ved’nuri?” she said when they finished.

  “Yes, youngling.”

  “How did my family learn this lullaby? If it has power even without the Energy and is of ancient magic known only to Gypsies, how did my ancestors even acquire that knowledge?” The woman’s eyes studied her down to her innards. She held the gaze but shivered.

  Ved’nuri looked thoughtful for a heartbeat. “My guess is that one of your ancestors was a Gypsy, maybe an errant, or perhaps one of our own who is no longer with us. It’s not uncommon for Gypsy blood to flourish in families after several generations of middlings. And from what you’ve told me, this Gypsy must have been a few generations back in your line, especially if your mother didn’t know the meaning of the words or the purpose of the lullaby. Since Gypsies have extraordinarily long lives, this ancestor would have been old very long ago.”

  “Is that why most Gypsies don’t have children?” Taniras had been bold in questioning the woman, may as well continue. And as far as she knew, Ved’nuri was the only one with a child growing inside her. As a former healer’s apprentice, she would notice a pregnant woman within the first three months or so. And there were no children in the Land of the Goddess.

  “There’s much more to it than that, youngling.” Ved’nuri’s gaze drifted briefly to the three Gypsies and they each looked a bit uncomfortable. “You’ll learn about that once you take the oaths.” One hand caressed her belly. “I will tell you that the prospect of outliving your children and their children is quite disturbing.”

  Taniras nodded. She had never really thought of having a family. Marriage, yes, but children never interested her much. Her eyes drifted to Ved’nuri’s belly. She just assumed that babies would become important once she wedded a man. Men seemed to want children more than women, and every woman knew which herbs kept her from conceiving. In Maricar, that was taught to girls at first menses. Her face burned at the crowned woman’s gaze, again realizing her thoughts were on display, but Ved’nuri said nothing, much to her relief.

  After the meal, a servant appeared to take Saldia back to her chores.

  “You have until the next new moon, my daughters,” Ved’nuri said to the Gypsies as they curtsied.

  “Yes, Ved’nuri,” the three women said in unison.

  Taniras made her curtsy then studied her clan mother as they were escorted through the throne room, past the receiving and waiting areas, down the entrance hall and finally out of the dome where she could feel the blessed Energy pulsing beneath her feet. She still hated being barefoot but it was a small price to pay for Gypsy power. She wanted to question Haranda. Prying was against youngling rules unless the questions pertained to lessons. Bloody blazes in the underworld! She was a grown woman. Not as old as the mothers, certainly, but still a woman. So she took the risk.

  “What did Ved’nuri mean about the next new moon, Mother Haranda?”

  Wren snapped her head so quickly that her looped braids swung hard.

  Haranda stopped and held up a hand to the woman. “I will accept the question, Wren. This concerns her. Concerns them both.”

  “Very well.” Wren visibly relaxing. “If you have decided.”

  “I have.” Dark, probing eyes focused on Taniras but she didn’t feel like squirming. At least, not at first. “We’ll be leaving here at the next new moon, chosen kin, including you and Henny.” Taniras gaped at her clan mother. “I’ve already made my decisions concerning which of my younglings will make the quests.”

  “Why?” Her heart raced with excitement. To finally be out of here. Perhaps she would have the chance to run away. Finally! Though, now that she thought about that, it didn’t seem such an urgent matter. What had these Gypsies done to her?

  “There are ancient texts containing passages the Vedi need to protect their coming child. Things we have forgotten.” The woman was actually admitting Gypsies had faults, that they could forget something so important? “A sickness grows within the Energy, a void. You may not sense it yet, but you probably will once you’re oathed. We need those ancient texts to purge the Energy.”

  “Does this have something to do with the attacks in the Netherworld?”

  Her clan mother raised a brow. “Yes. We shouldn’t have been so helpless there.” Her jaw muscles contracted.

  Wren placed a brief hand on her back. “You don’t have to talk about this now, Haranda.”

  “Yes I do. These younglings will be risking their skin as well. They have the right to know.” Wren nodded. “I couldn’t stop that beating in the Netherworld. I was helpless. The ones who held me captive know things that we’ve forgotten or pushed aside out of fear or arrogance. Who can say which? Knowledge from long ago that was forbidden to us and buried with the years. Or so we thought. We believe the texts will give us the answers we need to defend ourselves, to protect each other and purge the Energy of the growing void.”

  Taniras stood with her mouth open for an instant then clamped it shut. Henny had lost her color and she reached out to the girl.

  “I’m all right, Taniras. I’m not certain which surprises me more, what happened in the Netherworld or that Mother Haranda actually told us about it.” A slow grin spread across her face.

  Haranda chuckled.

  “That’s all they need to know for now,” Wren told her. “Until we gather the others.”

  “Yes, Wren.”

  Taniras watched the two a heartbeat and nearly smacked her forehead when she realized what she had missed. Wren was Haranda’s elder, more than an advisor, her former clan mother, and Haranda deferred to Wren whenever there was a dispute. Taniras had seen that before but it hadn’t gotten into her thick head until now. Or was the difference in station simply because the white-haired woman was stronger in the Energy? That would take more observation, she decided. Either way, Wren outranked Haranda.

  Wren eyed her. “You have a day away from the barns, Taniras. But you’ll return there tomorrow.”

  “Why? If we’re going to be leaving, I need to concentrate on people not animals, Mother Wren. There are herbs here that I still haven’t mastered.” Of course, she could have if she didn’t have to spend so many days with bloody animals!

  “Then I suggest you do your Energy work quickly.”

  “But what good am I going to be on this trip if all I can do is urge animals?”

  Henny chuckled. “You could make bulls prod their owners or horses buck riders. That would keep someone out of our way. Keep them distracted.”

  Taniras opened her mouth to protest but clamped it shut. “Actually, that’s a very good idea, Henny. Might be entertaining too. There are a few around here I’d like to buck—” She shut her mouth, thankfully. Even threatening kin with the Energy would earn her a trip to the Vedi. “My apologies, Mothers. I was thinking aloud. That won’t happen again.”

  Once she took oaths to the Goddess, she would no longer be a youngling, no longer be treated like a child. She was older than some of the seniors, even older than a few new-oathed. She would take the oaths before they left this place, of that she was certain. Finally, she would be treated as a Gypsy. She wanted to cry out with victory. And servants took orders from Gypsies. Camlys crossed her mind and she spotted the girl by the lake, fishing.

  Wren seemed to read her thoughts. “We accept your apology, youngling. But we don’t know who will be oathed before we leave. That is up to the Goddess. And you must remember that Gypsies are as protective of servants as any other kin.” Those gray eyes flicked to the lake and back to Taniras.

  “Yes, Mother Wren.” Was she never going to get the chance to repay Camlys for her numerous reprimands?

  “Besides, a sparking blanket is as effective on a waywa
rd Gypsy’s hide as it is on a youngling’s.”

  “I thought Gypsies didn’t do that to each other, Mother Wren,” Henny said with wide eyes.

  “There have been occasions.” Wren began walking again and the others followed.

  Henny laughed. “So, just because we become Gypsies, doesn’t mean we can do whatever we take a fancy to.”

  Haranda nodded. “Exactly, youngling. You’ll learn more after you take the oaths, what is expected of you as a Gypsy. For now, you have lessons. And Taniras probably wants to take advantage of her off day.”

  “That’s why our studies have been so intense lately,” Taniras said very much to herself. “Because of this search for the texts, the upcoming quests, the void.” The prospect of becoming new-oathed excited her, especially since she would have the freedom to confront Snowy with her feelings, but this void put dread in her heart. She took in a long breath, determined not to let that fear show.

  Haranda studied her a heartbeat. “Yes. We’ll explain more when we call the chosen together.” She and Wren turned toward their cottages and Henny headed to class, leaving Taniras alone in the village circle.

  The servants were all busy with chores so she decided to take a walk and think.

  Chapter 41

  Thad had moved up to senior youngling status, and his head ached from the strain of holding the Energy for long periods. Working with the Energy crystals and Energy unification drills, drained everyone, including the Elders. Each quest would take five crystals with them. One Gypsy couldn’t create enough Energy to use them, so several had to join hands in order to build enough combined power for one to work. Everyone, even those who would remain behind, learned Energy unification. The Vedi took no chances now.

  The crystal colors ran through Thad’s head again as he popped several nuts into his mouth, grateful for the snack. Clear crystals produced great explosions, an impressive power and not one to be used lightly. In fact, those explosions were so vicious that the Vedi forbad them to use the actual crystal while practicing. Instead, they used a mere stone. Those with strong sparking Energy, like Haranda, acted as leaders, and would fire off a few sparks to create the illusion of their success.