“You have no idea.”
~
Vatar carried his bags through the village to the Lion Clan’s bachelor hut. He was a grown man, now and there was no emergency like last year’s tiger attacks to force the younger men to stay close to help defend their families. It was more usual and appropriate for young men like him to live in the bachelor hut.
On his way, he saw his old friends Daron and Ariad across the central square. He hailed them, but got no response. Well, maybe they hadn’t recognized his voice. He had been gone all winter, after all. He hurried forward to greet them. Only when he got close did he realize that they were talking quietly to Miriada, Ariad’s tiger-scarred sister. Moreover, Miriada was weeping silently. He slowed down, not wanting to intrude.
“Hush, Miriada,” Daron was saying. “Don’t pay attention to them. They’re only jealous of your strength and courage. Those little fools know they’d never have survived what you did.”
Miriada looked up at him, adoration shining through her tear-filled eyes. Vatar noticed that her hair wasn’t tied back at the nape of her neck, as nearly all Dardani women wore it, but loose and trained so as to partially obscure the side of her face that had been raked by the tiger’s claws.
“What’s wrong?” Vatar asked.
Ariad spun, half in a fighting posture. He relaxed. “Oh, it’s you, Vatar.”
“What’s going on?” Vatar repeated.
Ariad scowled. “Oh, nothing. Just more of Maktaz’s petty little tricks. I don’t mind so much when it’s aimed at me, but Miriada had nothing to do with Torkaz’s death. Why make her life miserable, too?”
“Maktaz?” After the tiger hunt, Vatar hadn’t given Maktaz another thought. Well, to be honest, he’d been too occupied with Avaza—one way and another. He’d assumed that was all over after they’d proven themselves against the tigers.
“He hasn’t forgotten,” Daron said. “Or forgiven.”
“Mostly, it’s been small, spiteful things,” Ariad added.
Daron snorted. “Except when he influenced Rakela against me. That wasn’t so small, at least to me. She’s someone else’s year mate, now.”
“But he had no cause to tell those idiotic little Raven Clan girls that Miriada’s scars are a sign that she’s cursed. That was going too far,” Ariad said through clenched teeth.
Vatar could scarcely believe his ears. “He didn’t!”
Daron patted Miriada’s shoulder. “Oh, yes, he did. And just for spite, too.”
Vatar shook his head. “Can’t the chiefs do anything to stop him?”
“If he did anything overtly, maybe they could,” Ariad said. “But it’s all just snide remarks to gullible people. It’s always those people who go and do whatever Maktaz has thought up. Never anything that he can be blamed for. Never anything that we can do much about.”
Daron turned from Miriada momentarily. “Now that you’re back, you’d better watch out, too. It’s no secret that Maktaz blames you and the spears you made for our success in the tiger hunt. For us killing the tigers instead of the other way around. He’ll be after you, too.”
Ariad nodded agreement. “He’d rather hurt you than us, I think. He may even leave us alone to concentrate on you.”
~
Despite his friends’ warnings about Maktaz, Vatar felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He went to work at his improvised forge and sang along with the iron and steel as he worked. He slid the arrowhead he’d been working on into the fire and stopped to pull off his tunic in the combined heat of the forge and summer on the plains. Before going back to work, he grabbed a cloth to wipe the sweat from his face.
As he looked into the furnace to judge the heat of his arrowhead, Vatar blinked and smiled. Looking back at him from the flames was the face of a red-haired girl with startling green eyes. He hadn’t seen that face as he worked since . . . well, in about a year. Not since he’d taken up with Avaza. This girl wasn’t real, of course, but . . . there was no harm in a little daydreaming. For some reason, looking at that improbable face had always made him feel good. Sometimes, like now, even as if he were flying.
For just a moment, he thought about Cestus’s mention of a magical ability to communicate over distances. No. That was crazy. Vatar had no magic and the red-haired girl wasn’t real. But . . . what if?
He closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could, “Hello?”
He waited, but there was no answer. Just as he’d thought. The image faded away and Vatar pulled the arrowhead back out and put it on the anvil. Daydream over. He had no reason to feel disappointed at what he’d known all along. Time to get back to work.
Chapter 32: He’s Back
At the voice in her mind, Thekila’s concentration faltered and she started to sink toward the ground. She felt Quetza’s powers reach out and catch her by the metal-studded harness. Good thing she’d let Quetza persuade her to continue wearing it. A few powerful wing strokes carried her back to the updraft and she began spiraling upward in the rising air again. Quetza’s grip eased as the warm air took over the job of supporting Thekila’s eagle form.
When she’d risen high enough, she pulled her wings back and dove to land on the ledge. She took a step forward and then flowed back into her natural form.
“What happened out there?” Quetza asked. “You haven’t made a mistake like that in a long time. You were almost too far away for me to catch you.”
Thekila grinned. “Sorry. I lost my concentration.” She laughed. “He’s back.”
Quetza’s eyes narrowed. “He? As in the secret admirer that just disappeared last summer?”
“That’s the one.” Thekila frowned. “It looked like he’d had a rough time, lately, too. Kind of haggard.” One side of her mouth turned up. “But he smiled at me and said hello.”
“Well,” Quetza said. “I can’t say I think much of his timing. And you need to keep your mind on what you’re doing if you’re going to pass your test next month.”
Chapter 33: Twins
Vatar stepped up out of the bachelor hut one morning after midsummer to find an old woman of the Raven Clan waiting for him. He immediately remembered Daron’s warning and approached her warily. “Hello?”
“Fair skies, Vatar,” the old woman answered. “I’m Draza. I’ve come to let you know that your child is being born.”
Vatar drew in his breath sharply, an entirely different kind of apprehension flooding him. “Oh.” After another deep breath he added. “Thank you.” Swallowing down bile, Vatar followed Draza back to the Raven Clan huts. Pa and Mother joined him as he stood waiting outside the women’s hut.
Avaza’s screams penetrated even the thick sod walls, making Vatar flinch. He leaned his forehead against the wall, trying to concentrate instead on the feel and smell of the grass. Sky above and earth below! It sounded like she was being tortured. He could have been just a little more patient with her on the journey from Caere.
The screams stopped abruptly, followed by a faint wail. Vatar raised his head when the hide covering the door was pushed aside.
Draza stepped out and held a tiny blanket-wrapped bundle out to Vatar. “His name is Zavar.”
Vatar accepted the bundle and looked down into his son’s face. “It is a strong name,” he said against a sudden tightness in his throat.
Holding this precious new life, something opened in Vatar’s heart. He knew suddenly that he would do anything to protect his son. That nothing was more important to him. He looked down at Zavar in absolute wonder. The baby opened his eyes and looked solemnly up at Vatar with storm-grey eyes.
At Vatar’s sharp intake of breath, Mother asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. He has my eyes.”
Mother looked over his shoulder. “So he does. Babies’ eyes often change, you know.”
Vatar shook his head. Fasallon-grey eyes would put his son in danger in Caere. And according to Daron and Ariad, Maktaz had sunk low enough to strike even at Ariad’s bl
ameless sister. Vatar’s enemies must never touch this vulnerable child. He must protect Zavar. That was his job, the most important thing he would ever do.
Another scream split the moment of silent wonder. Vatar’s head snapped up and he clutched the baby to his chest. “What—?”
Draza disappeared back into the women’s hut.
Zavar wailed and Vatar began to absently rock from side to side as he’d seen Pa do with baby Fenar. “What’s going on? Why’d Avaza scream like that again?” He looked down at Zavar, now quietly sleeping. “I thought once he was born, it’d stop.”
Mother shook her head, a crease appearing between her eyes. “I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait for news.”
Vatar stared at his son, trying to shut out the renewed screams. What could be happening? He was done with Avaza. She’d proved to be shallow and selfish, but she didn’t deserve pain like that. Boreala had said she likely wouldn’t have any trouble with the birth. So what had gone wrong?
When the screams stopped, he didn’t know whether to be relieved or more frightened. What was that wail? Could Avaza have made that sound?
He started as the hide door-covering was pushed aside again. Draza came out with another blanket-wrapped bundle, which she held out to Vatar. “You also have a daughter. Her name is Savara.”
Vatar froze, mouth hanging open. Twins? Mother took Zavar from his nerveless fingers so that he could take the second baby.
Vatar was so stunned he nearly forgot to make the ritual response, acknowledging the girl as his daughter. “It is a good name.” He looked down into her sky-blue eyes. She was tiny and precious. Everything he had felt for Zavar was somehow doubled. He wasn’t sure how his heart could hold so much. “And Avaza?”
Draza smiled and her eyelid fluttered in something that wasn’t quite a wink. “Her lungs are strong. She’s fine.”
Vatar looked back down at his daughter.
After a long moment, Draza cleared her throat. “I should take them both back to their mother.”
Vatar nodded reluctantly. A cold fist closed around his heart. “Yes. They need her more than they need me right now.” He handed little Savara back to the old woman. And watched as Mother handed over Zavar.
There was no point in standing around here. With a heavy sigh, Vatar turned to go. He stopped as the itch between his shoulder blades warned him of some danger. Could something here threaten his babies? He scanned the area and caught sight of Maktaz skulking between the huts, a very unpleasant smirk on his face. A cold chill went down Vatar’s spine. He almost turned back and demanded his children right then and there, but he knew that even Maktaz couldn’t harm his children inside the women’s hut. He’d have to take thought on how to protect them for the longer term, though.
~
Vatar sat outside the men’s hut, digging in the dirt with the point of his knife. He’d never felt more torn in two. Not even in those first frightening days in Caere as a new apprentice. Not even during the anger and confusion of learning that Veleus was his father.
Pa and Arcas would be leaving for Caere to trade soon. Since Avaza had chosen to sever their relationship, Vatar’d planned to go back and learn more about making blades, but . . . how could he leave Zavar and Savara? On the other hand, if he stayed, he’d still have to leave them when the clans broke up and moved off to their autumn villages. He couldn’t go with the Raven Clan. It’d be hard enough to ride over frequently to check on them. Impossible once the clans shifted to their winter camps and the snows came. But Maktaz was Raven Clan. Vatar couldn’t be with his children to protect them, but he was coldly certain Maktaz would be up to something. What a tangle. How was he supposed to unravel this knot?
He looked up when a shadow fell across him. “Hello, Mother.”
Mother hunkered down next to him. “You look like you need someone to talk to.”
“I don’t see how you can help.”
Mother placed a hand on his arm. “Well, sometimes just talking it out helps to make things clear. Why don’t you try that?”
Vatar shrugged. It certainly couldn’t hurt. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t think Zavar and Savara will be safe with the Raven Clan this winter. No. I know they won’t be. Not with Maktaz around. He’s still looking for revenge for what happened to Torkaz. And he’s just low enough to use them to get it.”
Mother sighed and nodded. “I believe you’re right about that.”
“But I don’t see what I can do about it. They need to be with Avaza right now. And she’s back with her own clan. The Raven Clan. Maktaz’s clan. After all the fights we had, she wouldn’t come back to me even if I asked. And I don’t want her back anyway. But I have to find some way to protect our children.”
“Your children need both of you. And always will. You and Avaza will have to find a way to make that work. But . . . perhaps not this winter. Not with feelings still so raw.” Mother was silent a moment. “Weren’t you going back to Caere for more training this winter?”
Vatar shot to his feet. “I was. But how can I go and leave my children in danger?”
Mother stood up, too, laying a hand on his arm again. “By leaving your children in the care of those you can trust. Your clan.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Vatar, your children need Avaza right now—and she needs them. But they are Lion Clan and you are their father. You have the right to say where they will spend the winter. The chiefs will back you in this. Even the Raven Clan chiefs.” She shrugged. “Possibly with the exception of Maktaz.”
“You mean . . . take them away from Avaza?”
Mother chewed her lip and nodded. “If you must. To keep them safe. Better that than . . .”
Vatar sagged. “You’re right. But I hate to do that—to her and to them.”
Mother shrugged. “Then don’t. At our invitation, nothing prevents Avaza from wintering with our clan—and the twins—if she chooses. But perhaps she would be more willing to do that if you were not with us.”
Vatar shook his head. “Go to Caere after all and leave them?”
“Yes. Leave them with us. With your family. With your clan brothers and sisters. And with their mother, if she’s willing. We can see that they are out of Maktaz’s reach until you return. It won’t be easy for you. Maybe harder for you than for her, but it may be the only way.”
Vatar drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “You’re right.” He blew his breath out. “I’d better go talk to her.” He smiled wryly at his mother. “Cover your ears. There’s going to be some screeching.”
He half turned back. “You’re going to have trouble with Avaza this winter, you know. She’s difficult when she doesn’t get her own way.”
Mother smiled. “Well, if she gives me too much trouble, I’ll just treat her exactly like I do Kiara when she gets stubborn.”
Vatar snorted. “That’d be about right.” No, that’s actually doing Kiara an injustice. But he didn’t doubt Mother could handle Avaza—better than he had.
After a brief search, Vatar found Avaza weeding the Raven Clan’s vegetable patch alongside Draza. “Avaza, I need to talk to you.”
Avaza turned her back on him. “Well, I don’t want to talk to you.”
Vatar’s lips thinned. “I don’t care. I need to talk to you about Zavar and Savara.”
Draza took the weeder from Avaza’s hand and forcibly turned her around to face Vatar. “Whatever your personal quarrel, your children come first. And don’t try that pout on me, my girl. I’ve dealt with more silly, sulky girls than you have years—or brains.”
Now for it. “Avaza, I have to ask you to go with the Lion Clan for the winter,” Vatar said in a rush.
Avaza simpered. “I have no intention of coming back to you, Vatar.”
Vatar shook his head. He bit his lip to keep from saying the first thing that came into his head. “Fine. I’m not asking you to. In fact, if you agree, I’ll return to Caere for the winter. So long as I know the twins are safe, we don’t have to be an
ywhere near each other.”
Avaza’s eyes snapped fire. “Still trying to control my life? Well, this isn’t Caere. I want to spend the winter with my own clan. My babies will be perfectly safe with me.”
Vatar took a step forward, hands down and palms out. “I understand that you want to be with your own family, Avaza. I really do. But you’re wrong. Our children will not be safe anywhere near Maktaz. He’ll hurt them, if he can. Just because they’re mine. Because he blames me for his son’s death. I can’t let that happen.”
Avaza tossed her ponytail behind her. “What will you do if I refuse?”
Vatar drew a deep breath and looked up at the sky for a moment. Then he lowered his eyes to look squarely into hers. “Then you’ll leave me no choice. I’ll take them now.”
“No! Vatar, you can’t! They’re mine! They need me!”
Vatar nodded, but held his ground. “Yes, they need you. They’ll always need you. You’re their mother. I don’t want to take them from you—or you from them. But I am their father. It’s my job to keep them safe. And I cannot leave them within Maktaz’s reach. I can’t, Avaza. I will do what I must to keep them safe.”
Avaza was silent, mouth working, for a long moment. “It’s not fair.”
Vatar closed his eyes. Nothing about this was fair. It was just the way things were.
Draza took Avaza by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. “That’s why it’s the woman’s responsibility to see to it that no children come until the relationship is permanent. Because it hurts her worse when it breaks down like this.” She gave Avaza another shake. “And it was you who failed in that responsibility. It’s no good now trying to get out of paying the price.”
Avaza knocked the older woman’s hands away. “Don’t you see how he is? First he drags me all the way to Caere, where I’m cooped up all winter. Now, I can’t even winter with my own clan!”
Draza shook her head. “You don’t see half of what’s in front of you, girl. I think Vatar’s proposal is very sensible. I don’t trust Maktaz within a stone’s throw of those babies either.”
The Shaman's Curse (Dual Magics Book 1) Page 18
