Witchling (Curse of Kin)

by Ari Harper

  I knew he could feel the heat of the flames as they circled him—the panic in his eyes gave him away—but he stood still as the fire wrapped around his body. The cold drops of rain hit him like a hammer, and I felt a small tingle down my spine when his eyes showed the shock he felt. Before he could take any action, the air stilled, and all was calm again.

  Everything except Bones.

  I waited for him to yell at me again, but he said nothing. He turned and stalked away toward the house, leaving me standing alone on the cliff’s edge. “Bones wait.” I ran after him. “I’m sorry, really. I thought it would be fun to stir you up. Wait.”

  He ignored me as I tried to catch up with him and headed straight into the house when he arrived, ignoring the looks he got from Brie and Sully as he went. Jasper looked at me with disbelief when I came running into the garden.

  “Oh, Jasper, I really didn’t mean anything.”

  “What have you done, Nera?”

  “Don’t look at me like that. He had it coming to him. He’s so pushy! Come on,” I said, getting more embarrassed and flustered as Jasper got madder at me.

  “What did you do?” Jasper demanded, his voice cold and barely controlled.

  “I was practicing the elements and wrapped him in fire before putting it out with rain.” My earlier bravado disappeared and my temper starting to simmer as he growled at me. “He thinks he can push me around, and I’m fed up with his attitude.”

  “I just don’t understand you anymore. How could you do this to him? I am shocked with your lack of consideration toward Bones and your lack of control.”

  “Well, who does he think he is, for God’s sake? What gives him the right to boss me about with his high-and-mighty attitude?” I stormed away from him, my arms flailing as I ranted at him. “It’s not like he’s the king of the whole world, is it?” I scoffed. “It isn’t his place to take over my life.”

  I stormed back and forward in the garden while Jasper fumed at my lack of self-control, throwing me dark looks. Brie and Sully both sat frozen I knew I had to apologize to Bones, but it didn’t appeal to me at all. I was just getting my nerve together to go into him when he came back out to us in the garden wearing dry clothes.

  “Forgive me, Jasper. That was an incredibly bad lack of restraint. It will not happen again,” Bones said.

  “My dear friend,” Jasper said, going over and placing a hand on Bones’s shoulder. “You have no need to ask for forgiveness. I myself have lost patience with the girl many times; the hardest part is not showing her that I have. She can be very frustrating. I’m afraid that you more than anyone will bear her wrath while she learns what you must teach her. I am sorry for it.”

  I approached Bones. His body stiffened, but he kept his face neutral. “I know you must hate me,” I began, “but can you just hear me out without interrupting?”

  I took a deep breath and tried to get my words right in my mind. I lifted my hands and raked them through my hair so roughly that I felt strands loosen from my scalp. “I know I was wrong doing that to you. I could have really hurt you. I actually wanted to for some reason. I don’t know why, and I don’t understand that feeling. I wasn’t brought up that way. Anyway, I’m sorry, and I know I should be able to control my spells better than that. We don’t have the time for stupid games.”

  I looked at him with a winning smile, but he held fast and kept his face cold.

  “Well, can we forget this morning and move on. Be friends or something?” I stood nervously in front of him twisting my hands together.

  “I don’t think you want to be friends, Nera.” He leaned into my face and pursed his lips. “You can’t handle the fact that someone might not be happy with you. You like to feel like you have the upper hand all of the time, like you do with the childish boys on your school bus. Well, in this instance you don’t. I do. Deal with it. And as for your lack of control, yes, you do have more and should be using it, not lashing out at me for a few minutes of petty power. That wasn’t just a game to you. It was a slap in my face. I could crush you like a bug anytime I wanted to. Remember that, and have a little more respect for your craft.” He stepped back and put his hands on his hips, blowing out a huge breath. He looked at my face and shook his head as if he didn’t know what to do with me.

  I stood frozen to the spot, not liking the lashing I had just gotten from Bones but knowing it was the only way of moving forward. I glanced at Jasper. He turned away and let me work it out for myself. “You are right, I know that. I’m sorry, Bones. I let my heart rule my head. It won’t happen again.” I gazed down at my feet.

  “Let’s make sure it doesn’t, girl dear,” Jasper said. “We don’t have the time for these arguments. We must bond together or we will get beaten again this time. I for one am tired of it. Now, I think I think it’s time we had some lunch, so why don’t you give me a hand, Nera and Brie? Bones can have a break with Sully,” he said, leading us girls into the kitchen.

  ***

  Lunch was a quiet sandwich outside. Bones and I made an effort to be polite, but tension was still in the air. Jasper suggested I practice my skills on Brie for the afternoon while he and Bones tried to help Sully.

  “Just go with your feelings, girl dear. You should be able to see things now without trying.” Jasper disappeared into the library with Bones and Sully.

  By the time he came back outside, Dad had arrived with Roman. Dad and I were talking quietly while Roman was busy chasing Hugo around the garden. Brie and Sully had wandered off.

  “Hi, Jack,” Jasper said, sinking into his favorite garden chair. “Is everything all right?”

  “I think so, Jasper. I was just telling Nera that Hannah and I are going out tonight. I want to give my wife some romance for a change. Try to cheer her up. She’s feeling better about the babe tonight, so things are getting back to normal at home now.”

  “I’m pleased to hear it. Roman will be fine here. We can explore tonight when it’s dark and scary downstairs. I think we could choose a sword for him while we are down there. That should get the boy excited.”

  “That sounds like so much fun.” Brie had wandered over to join us. She sat down on the grass beside me and linked arms with me.”Can we take the flaming torches down to make it really scary?”

  “Only if you promise not to burn the place down,” Jasper replied, laughing. “Now then, how about a cup of tea before you go home, Jack?”

  “Why not. I’m not in any hurry.” Dad got up from the grass and followed Jasper into the kitchen. “Thanks for having them over so much. I don’t know how you do it,” I heard Dad say.

  “It’s quite easy really,” Jasper said, filling up the kettle. “As Nera said, they keep me young, to say nothing of having them learning something while they are here.”

  We quietly drank our tea in the afternoon sun, relaxing in the gardens. Dad took his leave, promising to return the next day.

  Jasper and Bones made a sumptuous dinner we all ate together in the huge kitchen. I washed the dishes, while Sully and Brie squabbled about the trip to the dungeons. They both wanted to carry the flaming torch and the argument between them was fierce over it. In the end they agreed to take turns and that had Bones and Jasper acting mortally afraid. Bones got to be the torch bearer with Roman as his helpful aid.

  We made our way downstairs, the air getting colder and the smell of years of disuse rising to meet us. Roman was excited about choosing a sword for himself. He envied me when I told him we were learning the art of the longsword. Hugo stayed close to me, his hackles slightly up as we made our way down the dark, dank stairs. Jasper followed after me, a battery-powered torch in his pocket as backup.

  Making our way deeper underground, Bones gave a short description of the rooms we passed. Most of them were for storage. Crops were once kept in them because the cold underground temperatures held the food longer. Weapons were stored in others. Old furniture and boxes in others. We eventually came to a large, hall that opened off the dark corridor two leve
ls down. Ornate weapons from a bygone age were hung on the walls. Large rugs draped from the ceiling displaying coats of arms. Shackles hung from a wooden raised platform in the center of the room.

  Brie shuddered, and we walked over to it. “This isn’t what I think it is, is it?” she asked Bones.

  “Yes. That’s if you are thinking it’s to hang prisoners from while they are tortured for information or punishment.” Bones looked at her with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

  “Bones, please don’t scare the children,” Jasper admonished. He shook his head as Sully laughed at Brie simpering until she attached herself to Bones.

  “No blood has been shed down here lately, Brie. That I can assure you of,” Jasper said.

  “That’s only because the thought of it always scared anyone to tell all,” Bones said as he tried to untangle Brie’s arms from his. He gently pushed her toward Jasper and moved away.

  “Did you torture anyone, Jasper?” Sully asked.

  “War was necessary. I won’t deny that. but torture was not something I condone these days. Being locked down here in these cells without food and light was usually enough for us to gather any information we needed. Most of our battles were fought out over the mountains. That is where our property ended,” Jasper said. He walked down a corridor off the great room. There were three doors in total, two on one side, each large enough to hold twenty men. The smaller one on the other side of the corridor was set beside an alcove, a rough wooden bench pushed into its dark depths.

  I felt myself go cold, the memory coming to the surface. Bones looked at me as he noticed the shift in my body. “This is it. The room I thought Roman was locked in that night in my dream,” I said. “This door wasn’t here, then.”

  I pushed at the heavy wooden door, and it opened into a dark, cold room. Hugo followed me in. He whined and pushed against my legs, trying to guide me out. The room felt old and evil.

  I will not be scared. There is nothing here to scare me.

  I tried to calm myself and breathed in steadily. The fear crawled over my body leaving my skin cold and clammy. Still I stayed. Roman was no longer here; it was just bad energy, I thought, left over from the Others who invaded my dreams. I put my hand on Hugo’s big head and calmed him down, stroking his soft ears. When I felt the chill leave the room, I turned and left.

  “Let’s choose some weapons for Roman to try out, Jasper,” I said, trying not to look at Bones. I kept my mind blank and calm, smiling at Sully, who was getting wound up over the weapons hunt. “I know that’s the only reason we really came down here. Sully is just about to bust with anticipation since you offered to let him have another one.”

  “Yes, splendid idea.” Jasper spoke to Roman. “I think we can come up with something for you, young man.

  “A real sword, Jasper?” Roman asked excitedly.

  “Well, almost,” he replied as he led the way back to the weapons room where most of the soldiers’ everyday swords were kept. Dress swords were hanging on the wall, arranged in a stunning display along with the family banners. He handed Roman a wooden sword called a waster. I watched as my little brother fought against Bones who was on his knees, encouraging Roman to attack.

  Sully and Brie took down an assortment of weapons, testing them out in play fighting.

  ***

  When I was settling Roman down for the night in his sleeping bag Jasper made us a final cup of tea. I listened to Brie and Sully discuss what they wanted to do the next day while my mind was on my normal early start to the day.

  “I’ll go for a run in the morning before we get into the sparring if that’s okay. Jasper, can you keep an eye on Roman for me till I get back?” I asked.

  “Of course, girl dear. He can help me with breakfast while you are gone,” Jasper replied.

  “How long can we train with the swords tomorrow?” Sully asked.

  “I think if we do a couple of hours, Sully, that will be enough for now. We still need to be aware of the next full moon, just over a week away. Consider the lesson a well earned break. Your arms would not be able to handle the swords for much longer than that anyway. We can do more with them next week once this is over.” Jasper finished his tea and bid us good night.

  ***

  I left the house in the morning while everything was quiet. Hugo ran with me, and we took our well-trodden path through the forest. It was a fresh morning, the sun was barely up, and it promised to be a bright day. The dew was clinging to the grass and wildflowers as I ran my usual route. The deeper into the forest I got, the cooler the air became.

  As we rounded the track near the Widows Lake, I slowed my pace. Hugo growled deep in his throat. A glance around showed a small rough timber cottage that hadn’t been there the last time I had come this way. Smoke drifted out of its single chimney to hang in the cool air among the trees. I stopped and tried to clear my head. I’m not asleep. This is not real.

  The door to the cottage opened. Several women came out of the door. They were clothed in dirty white ragged dresses that dragged on the ground. When they came closer to me, I could see they were not alive. They were the dead walking. The smell hit me as they neared the spot where I was standing. Their flesh was hanging off their bones, and maggots infested what was left of their bodies. Still they headed toward me.

  I gagged and turned away, pulling Hugo with me.

  They held out their arms. “Nera, wait.” They made their way to the lake across the path that I stood on. “Come with us. It is time.”

  I backed away farther, crouching by a bush when they passed. One by one, they walked into the lake and disappeared under the water as I watched. My gaze strayed to the cabin once again. Another figure stood in the doorway, shadowed against the light of day.

  “You should have listened to them, Nera. You could have gone easily with them, and it would all be over. But no,” the voice boomed, “you want to stand up to me and fight. Well, fight we will. And I will take you down, my girl, you and your family. Tell Jasper I am on my way.”

  I jumped when a hand touched my shoulder. “What the hell do you think you are doing, creeping up on me like that?” I yelled.

  “Your shadow, Nera, remember,” Bones said.

  When I turned back to the cottage, it was gone. The forest was quiet and still once more.

  “Well, that was a refreshing start to the day. I wonder what made her come out like that.”

  “Probably just testing the waters, playing with your head.” Bones fell in beside me on the way back to Jasper’s. “I need to talk to you about Roman. We need to work out what we can do to keep him safe and out of harm’s way when she strikes. I went over a few ideas last night, and I spoke to Jasper this morning about it. Come up to the war room after breakfast while Jasper is teaching the others to play soldiers and I’ll show you.”

  “Right.” Today I was going to try to keep on his good side. It was going to be hard but we had no time to spar for the fun of it. The Others could strike at any time. We had to be ready.

  I glanced at Bones as he jogged alongside me. He certainly had a good running style, I thought. He looked fit so why did I never seen him out running? Yeah, right, my shadow.

  I could smell the pancakes and bacon before we jogged into the garden. Bones cooled down by doing some stretches outside, and I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of cold water from the fridge.

  “Good run, girl dear?” Jasper looked up.

  “Fine, thanks. Look what I found while I was out.” I pointed to Bones. “Isn’t anyone else up yet?” I gulped down my drink, then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

  “Not yet. I was just going in to wake them. Roman was stirring when I last looked, but Brie and Sully are still down for the count. Give them a yell would you, Nera,” Jasper said as he put the bacon in the oven to keep warm.

  “I’ll just grab a quick shower and get this smell off my skin. I’ll be back in a minute, then I’ll get them.”

  “What was it this time, Bones?” I
heard Jasper ask as I headed for my room.

  “Just a few dead women going for a dip in the Widows Lake. The smell when they walked past us was rather gross, but Nera stood her ground and let it unfold in front of her. Edrith was there, hidden in the shadows, but I know it was her. She said to tell you she was coming. I would expect her to hit within the next couple of days, Jasper. We must be ready.”

  “Yes, well, we will be, I suppose,” he replied.

  “After breakfast, I want to take Nera up to the war room and go over those ideas for keeping Jack out of it. Can you take the others outside for a while? I really want her to concentrate for a couple of hours. I need to sort out a couple of things with her before her father arrives. I will call you when it’s done.”

  I shut my door to their voices and headed for the shower.

  After a noisy breakfast and clean up, Jasper spoke. “Roman, you, Sully, and Brie are with me. Bones and Nera, you have some unfinished work upstairs, I believe. We will meet here again for lunch. Come on, soldiers. Gather your weapons, and let’s go.”

  “Nera.” Bones stood back for me to proceed through the door before him. “Shall we?”

  I headed up to the war room ahead of him.

  We settled ourselves at the desk, and Bones pulled a book out of a drawer. He pushed it toward me, the look of disdain he usually wore replaced by sadness. His mouth was grim but not angry like it normally was, and he wouldn’t look me in the eye.

  “What’s this?” I was automatically suspicious.

  “It belongs to someone close to me. I think you should read the passage I have marked. And while you do that, please keep your father in mind.”

  I opened the book and began to read. I could hear the clashes of the swords while I read the passage he had marked for me.

  A strangled cry leaped from my throat. I pushed back my chair and knocked it over as I jumped to my feet. Tears ran down my face. I had to hold on to the edge of the table, my body was shaking so hard I doubted my legs would hold me up for long. I had thought all along I was hiding my powers from my father. I couldn’t have been more wrong. He was hiding his from me. I hadn’t even wondered where the connection was that gave me the craft. I was so intent on not falling in with Jasper’s plans it hadn’t even crossed my mind.