by April Wood
“That was even better,” she stated.
“I latched onto your wake,” I said with a smile.
“Very good. Now I think we should practice casting. You have done some very minimal things in the past. We will focus on conjuring actual objects. You call Andess and I will call her sister Andesis.”
Seconds later I was holding my wand. Mother’s wand was very similar to mine. It made sense as they were sisters. This just meant they were carved from the same vein of the same tree. They were also covered by the same pearl. Every detail of their birth was ensured to keep them together forever. They would always know each other and always work together. It was appropriate.
“Now I want you to conjure a creature that couldn’t possibly exist.”
I was a little dumbfounded. I vaguely remembered my father reading a book to me when I was a girl. In it there were all kinds of things. There were fairy folk, trolls, and dragons. That was it. I would conjure a dragon. Closing my eyes I focused on the crude drawings my mind could recall. The color and detail weren’t much anymore, but it was something. I opened my eyes and flicked my wand. The color coming out of the end was deep purple. It moved as a mist from my wand to the ground in front of me. It spiraled up and grew. Then I could start to see the hint of a shape forming in the mist. It began with a tail. Then grew to a body and finally a head. It was magnificent. The purple scales shimmered in the sun. The yellow eyes gleamed as it looked down at us. I stared up at it transfixed by its beauty. Then it spread its wings.
“Now you must let it know who is boss,” mother said.
“How do I do that?”
“Look it in the eye and command it.”
I did just that. “Kneel síos go dtí mé anois!” It did. I visualized a saddled and climbed on its back. “Eitilt anois.” That was it. My Gaeilge hadn’t failed me. We were flying through the air. I couldn’t have imagined such a thing could happen to me. It was breathtaking at this altitude. Mother was standing there looking at me for a moment. Then she conjured one of her own. Where mine was purple hers was red and green. She mounted and took off so gracefully. This couldn’t have been her first time. She was much too graceful. My mount almost didn’t happen. If the dragon hadn’t shifted I would have been on the ground.
“It was my pleasure to assist you mistress.”
“What?”
“My name is Wrath. That is my brother War. We are at your service.”
“Wow.”
“You like that word.”
“My apologies. I have just never had a conversation with a dragon before,” I said with a laugh.
“I have not had a conversation with a high priestess before. So wow.” She snorted and then tipped her head.
I looked over at my mother. She seemed to be very familiar with War. I was certain this wasn’t this first time she had ever conjured him. She looked over at me and pointed to the ground. It was time to land.
“Must I command you in Gaeilge?”
“No. You can simply think what you would like me to do.”
“Good. Wrath we need to land.”
“As you command.”
She started to dive toward the ground. It was almost too intense for me but I could feel how much she loved it. I closed my eyes and let go. It was marvelous to be so free. She swooped up and landed with such grace I almost didn’t know we were on the ground. It was incredible. I jumped down and walked over to my mother.
“Now what do we do? They can’t stay here like this.”
“Certainly not. They have a home on the Isle they will stay at,” mother replied. She walked around her dragon stroking his scales. He loved her. I could see it. He would protect her until his death. I instinctively felt the same way about Wrath. I would never let anyone harm her. She lowered her snout to me. I petted and she blew on me. The heat was lovely. I knew she could blow fire if she wanted to. She was a flying killing machine and I loved her.
“As I love you. We are one now, Riona. I will fly for no one but you. I will live my days to keep you safe.”
“As will I you.”
“It’s time to go home my lovelies. We will call when you are needed. I fear it will be soon,” mother said. They both bowed and took off. It only took seconds for them to be out of sight.
“I can’t believe this.”
“I knew one day you would call her to you. It had to be. War came to me when I was much younger. Wrath would have come to you if you had been in my care. Everything is finally coming full circle,” she said, throwing her arms around me. She was right. I knew it in my soul. This was the way it should have been all along.
Then I felt a pain like I had never felt before. I doubled over and hit the ground. I couldn’t speak. There was just the constant attack on my flesh. I screamed out in pain. Mother fell down beside me and tried to comfort me. I couldn’t tell her what was happening. I didn’t have the words for it. She stroked my hair. It calmed me a little.
“Break the connection. You have to. If you don’t he will find us,” she whispered.
I didn’t know what she meant until I felt it. I was connected to Carolyn. Aidan was beating her. He was trying to get our location. Before he noticed my spirit I broke the connection. I lost my breath and collapsed on the floor. The next thing I knew Tomlin was holding me.
“It’s alright,” he whispered.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Aidan came home early.”
“We have to get her before he kills her.”
“I know,” he said, stroking my face gently. I could see he was hiding something. Then I looked around. Mother wasn’t standing there.
“She didn’t!” I screamed.
Chapter Nine
I knew she was crazy but this was more than insane. Mother went after Carolyn on her own. She wouldn’t wait for back up. This was something I wouldn’t have done. Aidan was crazier than the day was long. He would stop at nothing to punish Carolyn. That was what she needed according to him. I knew Deheune was the high priestess, but I wasn’t convinced she could handle Aidan.
Tomlin had convinced me to go into the house and eat something. Then we headed to bed. I just couldn’t lay down. They weren’t back yet. All I could do was worry about the both of them. It was making me twitch.
“Would you stop pacing and come to bed,” Tomlin asked, patting the bed beside him. I think I had worn a path in the floor. I hadn’t even taken my gown off. It was well beyond midnight and neither one of them was home.
“I can’t help it. They should have been back by now,” I said, flopping down beside him. He untied my dress and it fell to my waist. He smiled at me as I sat there topless. I knew what he was hinting at, but I was too worried.
“I love you,” I said leaning over and kissing his cheek.
“Then come to bed and show me how much,” he replied with a wink.
“I just can’t. I’m too worried to concentrate on anything else. They really should have been here.”
He took my hand and stroked it gently. His countenance changed instantly. Until that moment I really hadn’t seen how worried he was about his sister. I’m sure he must have been blaming himself. It wasn’t his fault or hers. We needed some supplies, someone had to go. That was just the way things were. I wanted to call Wrath and go find them. Night would give me great cover. I pulled my top back up and tied it. Without saying a word I headed for the door of our room. I had a plan and it was a good one. Tomlin jumped out of bed and pulled up some pants quickly. He caught up to me as I put my hand on the front door.
“What are you doing?” He grabbed my hand and spun me around.
“I’m calling Wrath and going to find them,” I explained.
“One, who’s Wrath? And two, how are you going to find them?”
“Wrath is my dragon. I will find them the same way I found my mother this morning. I will follow my heart.”
“But what if Aidan has them both? If you connect he might be able to find us,�
�� Tomlin said.
“Not this way. It’s not traceable. Just trust me,” I said, looking deep into his eyes.
“I don’t have a choice do I?”
“No.”
“Just be safe,” he said, kissing my cheek.
“I will.” I put my hand on the knob and opened the door. Standing in front of me was Deheune and Carolyn. Though Carolyn barely resembled a human being. Aidan had beaten her to within an inch of her life.
“Carolyn,” I gasped.
“She’ll be fine. Clear off that table,” mother ordered.
I did a chant and instantly it was clear. Mother laid her down with her face against the table. She ripped her dress down the back to just above her buttocks. There were red cane marks and deep cuts all over her back. Apparently he graduated from the cane to a cat of nine tails. This one must have had razor blades on it. Her back was nearly filleted open. I wanted to vomit, but mother needed my help.
“Get me rags, witch hazel, bay leaves, rosemary, and sage.”
I ran around the kitchen quickly gathering everything she asked for. It was a laundry list of items. I wasn’t sure what they were all for, but I was going to watch and learn. First she took the bay leaves and placed them on all the deep cuts. Then she put the rest of the ingredients in a pot with some water. She had conjured a small cooking stove and pot. She brewed them together for a few minutes and then tore up some rags. She dipped them in the water and then rang them out. She let them cool to air temperature and then placed them on her back covering the entire expanse. Every time a rag was placed down Carolyn would wince. Finally on the last rag we heard nothing. The pain had gotten to her so much that she fell asleep.
“She needs to rest. We should get ours as well,” mother suggested.
“Is it safe?”
“Of course, I cast a circle of salt around the place yesterday. Now sleep.”
We did as mother instructed, though I didn’t get much sleep. Carolyn’s injuries were so much more severe than I thought they would be. I knew he would beat her, but his sadistic side was uglier. He never showed that to me. He beat me plenty, but never tried to make me bleed. It wasn’t something I would have tolerated well.
“Is she okay?” I asked, walking into the kitchen. I finished my morning routine as the sun crested the horizon. Tomlin was still in bed. When I came into the kitchen mother was sitting beside the table. She was watching Carolyn like a hawk.
“I’m not sure, Iníon. I’ve never seen someone so tortured. He did things to her I have never seen.”
“Really,” I said, pulling out a chair and taking Carolyn’s hand.
“The worst thing is he took her maidenhood. I’m afraid he took it just at the right time to plant his seed.”
“How?”
“You know how.”
“Yes, but I mean how could he have done that?”
“She was unconscious. She may not even know yet. He waited for her to slip away and then he took her forcefully. She will be bruised there for a while.”
“What will she do if his seed did take hold?” I asked. I knew how she felt about giving birth to Aidan’s children.
“There are medicine’s she can take. It’s all up to her,” mother replied.
“I just feel so bad for her.”
“Don’t worry about me, deirfiúr.” Carolyn’s voice was weak, but she grabbed my hand with plenty of strength. She hadn’t opened her eyes, but her body was moving around.
“How are you feeling?” It felt stupid to ask, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“I have had better days. How am I healing, Deheune?”
Mother got up and removed some of the rags. “Looks very good.”
“Good. What’s this I hear about needing medicines?”
“It appears your husband took your virtue,” mother said delicately. It was almost a whisper.
“He did what?” she said with as much force as she could manage.
“I got there just in time to see him doing it. There was nothing I could do to stop it. My apologies,” mother stated.
“You need not apologize. This wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry you had to see it. That horrible…well there are no words for men like him.”
“Scoundrel?” I offered.
“Worse.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“There are worse things that could have happened. We will see what comes out of this if anything.”
She closed her eyes again. As I watched her I saw tears flowing down like a river. My heart broke for her. It was the one thing she had held from him for so long. She wanted nothing to do with him or his seed. I wasn’t sure how she could possibly keep going.
“There is nothing more we can do for her right now. Shall we go sit on the porch?” Mother put out her hand for me. I took it and followed. We sat down on the rocking chairs. The morning dew was still collected on all the grass. The air actually had a great deal of moisture in it. I felt it on my skin and in my lungs.
“You know he is coming for her?” It wasn’t really a question. This was a fact in my world.
“He will come later this day.”
“How do you do that? I mean I knew he was coming, but not exactly.”
“I have been a high priestess for many, many generations. It takes time to build up the power.” She smiled and conjured a cup of tea. I followed suit. We sat there sipping and rocking for nearly an hour before we were joined by Tomlin. I could see he had been crying. His sister was the only family he had here, other than me. He had always fought to keep her safe.
“Good morning, grá geal,” he said, bending to kiss my cheek. He pulled a rocking chair over and sat beside me.
“How did you sleep?” I asked.
“Not well.”
“That is to be expected,” Deheune replied.
“Will she recover?” he asked.
“In time she will physically recover. I can’t say that she will recover mentally. That is something I can not heal. It’s up to her,” Deheune replied.
“I will,” Carolyn said, walking out of the house. Her steps were slow and her back wasn’t straight. I wasn’t expecting her to get up from the table at all, so I was amazed.
“Good,” Tomlin said.
We all just sat there watching the sky and the earth revolve around us. It was time to store up our energy. No more practicing was required. I couldn’t agree less with that, but there was a war coming. We all needed to be at our best. There would be no time to recharge. I knew Aidan and my father were coming for blood. They would kill us all to get Carolyn back. I was certain they were sure she was already pregnant. That was all they needed to get into the line of our people. We were never going to let that happen.
Chapter Ten
It was about noon when Tomlin turned to me. I knew what he wanted without him speaking a word. My body responded quickly, but my mind wasn’t sure. I knew we were preparing for battle. I didn’t know if expending that kind of energy would be a good idea.
“Go be with your husband. It will not be a waste of energy I assure you,” Mother stated. My face turned a bright red. It was kindly meant but knowing she knew what was going on was a little more than I was hoping for.
Tomlin took my hand and led me back into the house. He closed the door to our bedroom and spent the next hour worshipping my body. It was a much needed reprieve from the endless waiting. It actually increased my energy and made me feel more than ready to fight my father and his evil son. I could do this.
I stood up and dressed quickly. Tomlin was a little slower to move. The smile on his face was worth it. His blond hair was resting on the top of the pillow and his blue eyes gleamed as he looked at me. I bent over and slapped his butt through the sheets. “Come on Grá geal. We have a war to win.”
“I know.” He smirked at me and got up in one motion. I had to admit my husband was perfect from his head to his toes. “As are you.” He smiled.
“I didn’t know I sent that
out,” I said, blushing.
“You didn’t. I could read the appreciation on your face. I just assumed,” he said, pulling up his pants.
“Well, shall we go?”
“Lets.” He pulled his shirt over his head and grabbed my hand with his left. With his right he conjured an apple and shoved it my mouth. Then he conjured his own and took a great big bite. It took me a minute to recover, but when I did my bite rivaled his. We needed to replenish any calories we had spent. I knew he was smart, but he always surprised me. One of these days I would be able to surprise him. I just knew it.
“Good timing,” Carolyn said. She was standing on the edge of the porch in a flowing pink dress. The wind was blowing just hard enough to send it flying around her. Her red hair was twisting in patterns that were mesmerizing. She called her wand and instantly her hair was braided intricately on her head. Mother was standing on the opposite side. Her white gown looked much the same as it did when we first met. Her raven hair was already twisted up and Andesis was in her hand. Just two seconds later they were both wearing metal breast plates. Carolyn also had on all her archery gear. The bow slung across her back was gorgeous.
Tomlin went to Carolyn’s side. It took him less time to arm himself. Mother nodded her head at me. I saw nothing on the horizon, but I was the less experienced one standing here. I called Andess and my armor. I looked down to see an emblem being emblazoned on my chest. It was two dragons entwined with each other. I couldn’t help but think of Wrath. Mother looked at me and shook her head. I cleared mine immediately. We didn’t need our dragons yet and revealing them would be a fatal flaw. Like Carolyn I had archery weapons. I didn’t call them to me right away. I wasn’t sure I would have the strength to kill my father.
“You will need them, Iníon. You must call them.”
I did as instructed. My wood bow slung itself across my chest and back. My quill was purple like my gown and had the same emblem on it. I had practiced a few times, but it wasn’t what I would call enough.
There we stood. The wind blowing our skirts behind us. The four posts of the porch where what we echoed. They were steadfast and unyielding as we were. We stood there staring off in the distance until the sun crested the horizon. Then I could see them riding up. It was more than Aidan and father. They had brought several of the town’s people with them. It must have been twenty or so. They must have told them what we really were. They had come to kill us. In that moment my resolve changed completely. This man that had raised me had come to kill me. He would try but I would be successful.
