A Turn of Curses
A fantasy novella
by Melanie Nilles
Paperback © 2009 by Melanie Nilles
Kindle E-book © 2009 by Melanie Nilles
All Rights Reserved.
For Information, contact [email protected] or visit melanienilles.com.
ISBN: 1-441-49486-3
A Turn of Curses
The faint light from the mark on Selina's neck confirmed the release of power. When it faded, she sat back and blinked away the dizziness from expending her energy. The room's sparse décor spotted before her, from the bare wood walls to the bed with its handmade quilt.
The boy lying beneath the quilt groaned.
"Toby!" The distraught mother kneeling on the opposite side of his bed bent over and pulled her son into her arms. She kissed his forehead and held him tight until he squirmed away. "Thank you, Na'Y'dom! Thank you!" Tears filled the woman's eyes.
"You're welcome." Healing the sick was Selina's calling, although she wished she could heal in other ways. To be chosen as a child of Y'dom was both a blessing and a curse.
The boy reached for Selina's hand and smiled. "Thank you, Na'Y'dom."
She gave a gentle squeeze of his hand, glad to know she could do some good. "Avoid the needles of the baru blossom. They don't care who touches them."
"I will."
"Good." She let go and stood, eager to leave the reminder of what she would never have.
The mother released the child and stood with her. She moved around the bed, a worried look on her face as Selina took the sheer, green scarf from her attendant, Beth, and covered her head. The mother spoke in a low voice. "Blessed Na'Y'dom. I have nothing to give in return."
"It's my place to serve. I saved your son's life but I won't see it fade because you can't feed and clothe him. I ask nothing but that." The lack of decorations in the small, one-room dwelling proved the family had nothing of material wealth. That didn't matter to Selina. She freely gave of her healing gift, whether the priests of the temple approved or not. All needed healing, rich and poor alike.
The woman's lips quivered, her eyes puffy and blurred with tears. "Thank you!"
Selina smiled and strode from the single room of the house, Beth a step behind. Her green robe over her pantsuit billowed behind her. The gold trim on the high collar highlighted the swirling and looping pattern of the mark around her neck, while allowing the top of the growing mark to show only from the front to hide its progress to completion. Her long brown tail of hair ended at her waist.
Outside in the chill of the night, Selina gazed down the quiet, darkening street splashed by the light of the lantern Beth held. While using her powers to save a life tired her, it also gave her a rush of satisfaction. This time had been different, though. She would never have children.
"Selina?"
"Go on ahead. I'm not tired." Beth knew better. It was late and had been a busy day. Of course Selina was tired, but she needed to get away. She rarely had time alone. Always in demand. Always surrounded by worshipers or servants. She often wished for a quiet, normal life.
"You're sure? You didn't look too well this time. It's been a long journey and we've far to go." Beth had joined her when the request came from the White Prince, Sorvin fay Renald, to make the journey to heal his father. They traveled a full cycle of the first moon already. Selina vowed to make the most of what time remained to her and to experience what she could on the journey. It would be her only true adventure in her short life.
"I know. That's why I need a walk. I'll be sitting the rest of the journey. Some time alone to stretch my legs is what I need more than sitting in a room staring at four, boring walls."
Beth gave her a look of worry. "You shouldn't go off alone."
Selina pointed down the dusty street. Two armored men bearing poleaxes stood near the end. "I'll be fine. See, two of the soldiers patrol the area."
"But the reports of the feyquin, Faldon—"
"I thought you better than to trust rumors. Go on. I'll be at the inn shortly." Selina had heard a few stories—most of them conflicting about the nature of the intelligent, magical creatures. She saw no reason to avoid the feyquin, despite the warnings reported of recent, questionable activities by Faldon's band.
Beth hesitated but held the lantern out to Selina.
Selina waved the offer away. "Moonlight is enough for me."
"I don't like this. I should stay with you."
Exactly what Selina didn't want. "I need time alone, Beth. I don't get that in the carriage. I mean no offense."
"All right. You win." Beth shook her head but turned and walked away with the lantern dangling before her.
Selina took a deep breath and walked the opposite direction. A small walk before bed was what she needed, and she should be safe there. Safe enough for a little walk. She wouldn't wander far.
No one understood what it was like to know one's life would soon end. Such was the fate of any bearing the mark of their god. Selina had only been fifteen, younger than most, when it appeared with the healing power; betrothed but not married, nor did she marry. She would have no children, no family. Beth would. Seeing the mother's adoration for her child cut through her sharper than Selina cared to explain. She needed time alone. Time to think and forget. After four and a half years, the mark around her neck was nearly complete. She would die before her twentieth birthday.
Selina passed the soldiers in their armor and helmets, who acknowledged her with nods. She held a hand up to stop them from following. Always someone. Even alone she was never truly alone.
Cast in moonlight, the trees beyond the clearing at the edge of the small town took on a new life and bowed under the weight of their fruits, a fresh treat to savor and maybe a few for their journey. The people wouldn't mind. She was touched by a God. Any offering to her was as good as those to Y'dom for his favor. There was one benefit of being Na'Y'dom.
She reached for one of the largest of the yellow, oblong fruits, her mouth watering with anticipation for the freshness.
A movement among the shadows stopped her. She watched but saw nothing. Only the wind. She plucked several fruits. Beth would enjoy the sweet ponan, too.
Selina turned—
And gasped. The fruit tumbled to the ground.
"Go back." The strange man wore a scowl on a face shadowed by wild black and gray hair. She had seen no one approach, nor heard any sound. Where had he come from?
"What?"
"You're not safe here." He brushed his hair aside, giving her a clear view of his features. Shadows defined the strong lines of a face too young for gray hair.
"Who are you?" Untucked shirt and oversized pants... Who dressed him?
"Go back, Na'Y'dom. Do not set foot in Vastorn."
"Why? Who are you?"
He took a step towards the trees.
He wasn't getting away until she had an answer. Selina grabbed his arm. "Tell me why I should return. I've almost reached Vastorn."
"It's not your concern. Go back!" He yanked his arm away and turned to the trees.
She refused to let him go without answering her and hurried to step into his path. "Tell me, so I can understand. Otherwise, I'm going, as I promised the lord of this land." Who had sent the invitation to her specifically of many Na'Y'dom in Hallor, her home country.
Besides, the soldiers must have seen him. They should arrive soon. If she could delay him, the soldiers could take him into custody for answers.
"Don't argue! I know your purpose. Sorvin is a coward. You will not help him. If you go on—" He turned his head, his body rigid.
Selina peered past him at the faint clink of metal from the approaching guards. Finally!
Before they could arrive, the
stranger rushed into the trees and vanished. No! He couldn't escape like that. It wasn't fair! She wanted to know why he didn't want her continuing her journey. Now she might never have that answer.
"Na'Y'dom!" The soldiers ran past her to the place where the stranger disappeared but stopped at the edge of the shadows. After a few seconds, they returned to her, their armor clinking with each movement.
"Did he threaten you?" the first asked.
"No...Yes, I suppose." She frowned. "Who was he?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads. "We've never seen him."
"I didn't recognize him, but it's too dark to be sure." The second soldier stretched his arm towards the town. "I think it best if you stay inside."
She glanced again at the trees where the stranger vanished. Who was the strange man? Where had he come from? Why didn't he want her to complete her mission of mercy?
How did he know about her journey?
He might have told her if the soldiers hadn't interfered.
What about her fruit?
* * *
The next day—the day she hoped to continue her journey—clouds moved in and dropped their rain. Selina watched from her room at the small inn with Beth. Where had the stranger disappeared?
"You're thinking about him again."
"Who?"
"The man from last night. What did he do?"
Selina shrugged and stepped away from the window. The encounter affected her more than she expected and far more than she admitted to Beth last night, or even to herself. "Nothing. He made it clear that I shouldn't go any further. He didn't put a hand on me, if that's what you wanted to know."
"Then forget it, and forget him. You're putting credit in his words, when you don't plan to heed them anyway."
Selina sat down on the bed, her mind on the evening before. She couldn't get the man's face out of her head. He ran before giving her an explanation. The lack of closure to the discussion left her needing to know more.
But if he wasn't from Breach's Pass, she might not see him again. The guards hadn't bothered to pursue him, but at least they acknowledged his presence. She wasn't crazy.
A knock on the door yanked her from her restlessness.
Beth crossed the room and opened the door. "Yes?"
A young boy a head shorter than Beth licked his lips, his hands wringing around something. "Ah...I—" His eyes widened when he met Selina's gaze. When her mark first appeared, such reactions startled her; now she ignored it. "I was sent to find you, Na'Y'dom. It's your driver."
Selina's blood ran cold. "Reen?"
"H—H—He's—"
Before the boy finished, Selina rushed past him. "Where is he?"
"The livery."
At least he could spit something out without trouble.
She hurried through the inn, pulling her scarf over her head as she ran. Her feet carried her out the door, across the wet stones and puddles in the street. Water soaked through her thin shoes, chilling her from the bottom up while the drenching rain soaked her head and shoulders. She ignored the cold, focusing instead on finding the old carriage driver and healing any number of fatal injuries she imagined.
The moment she flung the livery door open, she hesitated. The fragrance of freshly-cut hay helped mask the fouler odors of animals.
After the initial bang of the door, all fell quiet. Nothing appeared wrong. Cropes, the waist-high animals known for the best milk, chewed their hay in their pen. Her carriage was at the back of the livery among the straw bundles, unmarred from her view.
She stepped in and let the door slam shut behind her. Her heart raced. If the stranger hurt Reen— "Reen? Reen, where—"
"Here, Miss!" He stepped around a pile of hay into sight, his gray hair disheveled under the cap, but his shirt and vest bore a streak of mud.
She sighed, relieved to see him but confused by what she saw, or didn't see. "The boy; he made it sound urgent, that something happened to you."
Reen pulled off his hat and scratched the bare top of his head, a hint of a smile lifting his cheeks. "Bit a fear of a lashing, I s'pose," he mumbled. When he looked up and replaced his cap, his smile faded. "Not his fault though."
When he took a limping step towards her, Selina rushed to his side. That limp was new.
The door creaked and slammed behind her.
"Reen!" Beth hurried to his other side.
"Sit down and let me take care of that," Selina said to Reen.
He grunted but let them help him to a wooden chest to sit. Although a local medic could have done just as well with a splint and bandages, the least she could do was to take away his pain. Reen had been her driver without any complain from the beginning of her days as a healer.
She knelt and put a hand to his leg. With little effort, the power flowed from her and the mark around her neck glowed. After a few seconds, it faded, and she sat back against a post for balance from the dizziness. "How's that?"
He moved his leg and a broad smile stretched across his face. "Thanks, Miss."
Selina scanned the livery for anything out of place. "What happened?"
"Doxon."
"Doxon? I thought he looks out for you? Why would he attack you?"
Reen stood and walked without problems to the sleeping felipar chained near the carriage. At his approach, it lifted its angular head from its paws. He scratched the throat stretched out at his touch, eliciting a soft rumble from the felipar. "You were just defending me. Weren't you, Doxon?"
"Defending? From whom?" With Beth's help, Selina rose and dusted herself.
Still scratching the felipar's thick neck, Reen turned to her. "A stranger. Came in before dawn. I caught him trying to chase off Doxon, who knocked me down coming to my aid. Guess the man didn't realize how attached Doxon is."
"What did he look like—the man?" Selina joined him and scratched behind the felipar's dark ears. Felipar were difficult to tame and had to be hand-raised to form the kind of attachment between Doxon and Reen. Few were used as beasts of burden, but they were the most loyal of creatures when they bonded to a person. Such an intelligent creature at one's command was highly prized, and dangerous to others.
"About so tall." He held his hand at a level half a head higher than her. "Black hair with a touch of gray, about to his chest. Too young to be gray. Said if we wouldn't turn around, we'd go nowhere."
Anger flared. Him!
"Is that the same man?" Beth asked.
"Sounds right," Selina growled. "I don't know anyone else in this town who fits that description."
"What will we do?"
"Continue. I won't give in to harassment." Selina whirled away from them to hide her face and the display of dark emotions.
A child of Y'dom was supposed to be merciful, not vengeful. She didn't doubt the same man who demanded she turn back was the one who caused trouble for Reen. The thought filled her with hatred. How dare he force his will on her! Now, more than ever, she was determined to finish the journey and cure the king.
"When would you like to leave, Miss?"
"Tomorrow, if the rain stops." She took a deep breath to calm her anger before facing them. "We'll leave at dawn. I don't want to give this stranger any more chance to cause trouble, but I don't want you sitting in the rain if you don't have to." She directed the last part at Reen.
"Not the rain that bothers me, what with the canopy, but the cold."
"It's the same either way. I won't have you suffering if I can help it. Tonight we'll keep a watch for the stranger. If he causes any more trouble, we'll let the soldiers deal with him."
"Sounds good, Miss. Now, I have some work to do. If you'll excuse me." He took a brush to Doxon's cream-colored coat with the dark points.
Selina waved for Beth to join her and both left the livery to hurry through the rain back to the inn. They had a day to enjoy before the boredom of travel. She had no intention of letting it slip by and every intention of asking two guards to take duty at the livery.
*
* *
With a dozen soldiers escorting them, they left Breach's Pass the next day, a perfect day, too. The sun emerged to dry out the land. Selina sat back in her carriage, disappointed but relieved. The stranger never returned. Too bad. She hoped to see him punished for harassing Reen and Doxon, but was glad he didn't caused any more trouble.
The beauty of the passage known as The Breach stole her attention from lingering questions about the stranger. This was the only gap through Sunders Mountains, the border between Hallor and Vastorn. The layers of color exploded in the brilliance of the sun, ranging from bright oranges to occasional stripes of black. Layer upon layer stretched high on either side of the valley, which crooked through the mountains, widening in places to allow stretches of grass.
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