Nica's Legacy (Hearts of ICARUS Book 1)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  Nica’s heart seemed to stop beating for several seconds. When it started again it was racing. She swallowed hard, then raised her right hand to look at the ring she wore on her forefinger even in this unknown place. “This?”

  “Yes,” Eibhleann replied, pleased that she’d figured it out so quickly. “I created that ring and gave it into the keeping of a young woman whose own ancestry was more mysterious than she ever knew. I asked her to guard and keep it, and pass it down daughter to daughter, until she who it was meant for needed it.”

  “Me,” Nica whispered. “This ring was always meant for me.” Eibhleann bowed her head in acknowledgment. “It’s amazing that such a small object survived for so long, through so many generations. It was a big risk to take. Anything could have happened to it.”

  “It is not an ordinary ring, Nica,” Eibhleann said. Nica couldn’t argue with that.

  “So what, exactly, is the purpose of me having this ring?” Nica asked. “How does it change your situation?”

  “It doesn’t,” Eibhleann said. “You do.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “To tell you everything and answer every question would take time and that, I greatly fear, is rapidly running out,” Eibhleann said. “You asked me why I wished to place information in your mind, and I have answered. Will you agree?”

  “Yes, Queen Eibhleann, I agree,” Nica said. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Your body is lying down, and your eyes are closed,” Eibhleann said. “You should imagine yourself back there. This will not take long, and will cause you no discomfort, though you may become slightly disoriented and dizzy at first. It will be easier if your mind is not split between two places.”

  Nica focused on her bed in her room in Fadden House and the field of wildflowers rapidly grew distant until it vanished completely. A moment later, images raced through her mind so fast that it made her dizzy, just as Eibhleann had warned. Some were so alien as to make no sense, and yet they felt like her own memories, which was difficult to accept at first. After struggling with it for a few moments, she finally relaxed and let it happen. When the flow stopped she inhaled sharply and opened her eyes to find herself on her bed, the sprites still sitting on the pillow beside her. And yet, at the same time, she could somehow see Eibhleann again, standing among the wildflowers.

  She frowned and turned her head to look at Min who was, at the moment, Eibhleann’s eyes. “You’ve hidden a few things.”

  “No, Nica,” Eibhleann replied, her voice coming from Min’s mouth. “You’ve hidden a few things from yourself, which is quite troubling.”

  “Troubling how?”

  “Until you fully understand and accept all the information that I’ve given you, you cannot do those things which only you can do to save Apedra, and all who call her home.”

  “Is there a way for me to access the necessary information directly?”

  “Only you can answer that, Nica,” Eibhleann said. “It’s your mind, so it’s up to you.”

  Nica climbed off the bed, feeling the need to move. She crossed the room to the dresser, the carpet soft against her bare feet. She turned around and walked back to the bed, then turned to repeat the journey.

  “Why do you walk?”

  “It’s called pacing, and it helps me to think,” Nica said without pausing.

  “It takes so long to think?” Eibhleann asked a minute later.

  “You dumped a lot into my head,” Nica pointed out. “I need a little time to assimilate it. Why did you distance yourselves from the humans after you settled on Apedra?” Nica blinked, surprised that she’d asked the question, but she did not retract it.

  “Our interference in their lives on Earth did not do them much good,” Eibhleann replied sadly. “We did watch over them, though, and help them when they needed it.”

  “Until the Xanti.”

  “Yes, until the Xanti.”

  “What is it exactly that I’m supposed to do? To help you and Apedra, I mean? I’m not finding any answers to that question in the memories you gave me.”

  “And yet, it is there,” Eibhleann said. “I must break this connection soon as it is tiring for Min and Nim. Have you any questions for me before I depart?”

  “Yes, I do,” Nica said. “The first is, why do Min and Nim call me Bright Lady?”

  “I foretold that one would come, not of our blood, with a bright and shining soul, and that she alone will have a chance to…set things right.”

  “Set what things right?” Nica asked.

  “Those things that must be righted,” Eibhleann said unhelpfully. “What other questions do you have?”

  “Do you know who the Changeling is hiding in?”

  “No, I do not,” Eibhleann replied, her voice suddenly frigid. “That one will answer for his crimes, on this you have my bond, be it now, or a thousand generations from now. Until the barrier is removed, however, I am powerless to stop him.”

  “He doesn’t know that though, does he?” Nica guessed shrewdly.

  “No,” Eibhleann said. “When he begins killing many people a day and stops hiding his kills, then we will know he has learned the truth. Until then, it would be best that he not be told.”

  “Agreed,” Nica said. “Last question; will I be able to speak with you again?”

  “That will depend on the sprites,” Eibhleann said. “As I said, it takes much effort for them to do what they are doing now, so we cannot do it often, even should they agree. If you have questions for me, tell Min and Nim, and I will send my answers through them. Now that you know who I am, there is no longer a need for secrecy between us. I must warn you Nica, to take great care in sharing what you now know with others.”

  “I understand, Queen Eibhleann,” Nica said. “And I’ll try to stop hiding things from myself. I know I do that, of course, and I’m not sure how to stop, but I will try.”

  “I can ask no more of you,” Eibhleann replied. “Take great care, Nica of Jasan. You are the only hope all citizens of Apedra have, be they human, sprite, or Tuatha De. I know it is unfair to burden you with this, but we’ve no other choice.”

  “I have no complaints, Queen Eibhleann,” Nica said. “Helping others makes me feel useful.”

  Eibhleann bowed her head deeply and held it until after she’d released Nica and the sprites from her mind. When she opened her eyes, she saw Duhan kneeling before her throne, his face a mask of worry. He reached out and brushed his fingertip lightly against her cheek, then drew back to show her the tear shaped diamond that rested on his finger. “Why do you weep, Mother?”

  “When I placed the memories into young Nica’s mind, I felt her block, and saw its cause,” she replied. “I knew what happened to her, of course, but I’d never seen it from behind her eyes as I did just now. In truth, I would not blame her if she chose to walk away from Apedra rather than face it.”

  “Will she do that?” Duhan asked in a low whisper.

  “If she is able to accept her new destiny, then no, she will not,” Eibhleann said after a few moments.

  “If it is her destiny, there is no logical reason not to accept it, new or not,” Duhan said.

  “The heart does not deal in logic, Son. Once again we can only wait, and see.”

  ***

  After the sprites left for wherever they went to rest, Nica got up and took a long hot shower while she sifted through all Eibhleann had put into her mind. Most of it was in the form of memories, as though she’d been present during certain events, and that helped. She was relieved to discover that she knew exactly which memories were truly hers, and which weren’t, and surprised to find that she knew exactly where little bits of knowledge should have been, but weren’t. Like blacked out words on a page, she just couldn’t see what they were. She wondered if Eibhleann had lied about blocking those bits and pieces from her, but somehow she knew that wasn’t the case. She’d done exactly what Eibhleann had said. She’d blocked herself.

  Twenty minutes later, her h
air still wet and hanging down her back, Nica entered the morning room and went straight to the sideboard for coffee and a croissant. She put her dishes on the table, then went back for the newsreader, running one hand over the back of the chair where Ian always sat as she passed it, as had become her habit. Since Bree always slept just a bit later than she did, they’d developed a little routine of sorts. She’d have coffee and nibble on a croissant while reading the news, and when Bree came down they’d both eat a real breakfast while they talked.

  She poured cream into her coffee, turned on the news reader and tore off the end of her croissant while she waited for the news to load. She’d discovered how to set the reader to display real news instead of the entertainment section on the opening screen, so she no longer had to scroll through several pages to find something more interesting to read than the address of that evening’s ball.

  When it finished loading she glanced at the screen and froze in the act of putting the pastry in her mouth. After a moment she returned the croissant to the plate without looking away from the screen.

  “Nica?” Bree asked, and from the tone of her voice Nica knew it wasn’t the first time her name had been called.

  “Yes?” she asked, looking up.

  “What’s the matter?” Nica couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud, so she slid the news reader across the table toward Bree who looked at it and went pale. She put her hands behind her back and looked away from the reader. “I can’t, Nica,” she said. “I just can’t read it. They put in too much detail.”

  “I understand,” Nica said. Sixteen people had been murdered in the past two weeks, and nearly as many had been reported missing. Bree hadn’t known any of the missing, but she’d known all but two of the murder victims. Nica wouldn’t want to read about the murder of people she knew, either.

  “Who?” Bree asked in a whisper.

  “Kyle Layton,” Nica whispered back.

  Bree pulled out a chair and all but collapsed into it. “Flora?”

  “No, she wasn’t there,” Nica replied, watching her friend carefully. “There’s more.”

  Bree’s eyes closed briefly, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles were white. “Tell me.”

  “Kyle’s fiance, Janet Prescott.”

  “Is that all?” Bree demanded, her eyes dilated with fear. “Tell me Nica, was there anyone else?”

  “No,” Nica said, surprised by Bree’s behavior. “No one else.”

  Bree let out a huge sigh of relief and slumped down in her chair. Nica frowned. Two people had been murdered. Why was Bree so relieved? It took a few moments for her to remember that she and Bree had seen Kyle Layton and Quill Thomas talking to each other a few times over the past couple of weeks. It wasn’t much, but apparently it was enough for Bree to be afraid that Quill might have been one of the victims.

  “What happened?”

  “No one really knows,” Nica replied. “According to the article, they were at Layton House, walking through the garden. Apparently Janet went inside the house to use the restroom since that’s where she was found. Kyle was found in the garden.”

  “Power,” Bree said, then glanced quickly at the doors. Both were shut, but Bree still scooted her chair closer to Nica and spoke in a voice just above a whisper. “Kyle was a healer. He didn’t have a strong talent for it, but he was good with minor injuries and colds, things like that.”

  “Let me guess,” Nica said. “Janet had no power at all.”

  “No, not a drop, but how did you know that?”

  “Because Kyle was killed the same way as all the others,” Nica said, choosing her words carefully. “Janet was not.”

  “How was she killed?” Bree asked.

  “Her neck was broken.”

  “I don’t get it,” Bree said. “I mean, I don’t get why anyone would kill so many people, or take their blood, to begin with, of course. But every single person whose been killed or is missing had power except for Janet. Why kill her?”

  “That’s a really good question,” Nica said, wishing she knew the answer.

  “I just hope they catch this lunatic soon,” Bree said. She stood up and went to the sideboard to pour herself some coffee. “Oh no,” she said suddenly.

  “What is it?”

  “Ian,” Bree said, shaking her head as she returned to the table. “He’ll probably drop everything so he can come help Flora and her mother with the funeral arrangements.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Because he plans on marrying her, so he’ll feel like it’s the right thing to do.”

  A sudden roaring noise filled Nica’s head and her chest felt so tight that she couldn’t breathe. It lasted just a few seconds and thankfully Bree didn’t notice. She took a long deep breath and bit her lip hard. The pain cleared her head and she reached slowly for her cup with a shaky hand.

  “I knew that he was seeing her, but you didn’t tell me that he was going to marry her,” she said, glad that her voice sounded normal.

  “I only found out the night before he left,” Bree said with a shrug. “He hadn’t asked her yet, but he will.”

  “How do you feel about having Flora as a sister?”

  “She won’t be my sister,” Bree said with a grimace. “She hates me. I’ll be surprised if I’m allowed to visit here once he marries her.” Bree got up and went back to the sideboard, got a plate and began filling it as she talked. “I told Ian it was a mistake, but of course he didn’t listen to me.”

  “Why would you tell him that?”

  “You’ve seen Flora in action,” Bree said. “Can you imagine living with her for the rest of your life?”

  “No, but she was angry and upset at the time,” Nica pointed out. “If Ian is planning to marry her, there must be more to her than either of us knows.”

  “No, there isn’t,” Bree said, sitting down at the table with her breakfast. “I’ve known her most of my life, Nica. She does a fairly good job of pretending to be a nice person whenever Ian is around. The moment he’s gone, the mask comes off. Flora is just plain bad, and the reason she’s bad is because she likes it. Don’t ever think different, and don’t ever trust her.”

  A mental image of Ian kissing Flora filled Nica’s mind, and she searched frantically for a way to change the subject before she gave away her true feelings. “You don’t seem happy about seeing Ian again.”

  “I’m not,” Bree admitted. “To be honest, Nica, I don’t want him here. I’m afraid he’ll ruin everything between me and Quill. Once we make up our minds what to do, then I’ll tell him.”

  Considering the kind of person Flora was, Nica didn’t think Ian had much ground to stand on if he was going to object to Quill, but she couldn’t say that to Bree. “How long do you think it will be before he arrives?”

  “No telling,” Bree said. “If I have to guess, I’d say by the end of the week. That gives him three days.” She lifted a forkful of eggs to her mouth, then frowned at Nica. “You’re not eating?”

  “Maybe later,” Nica said. “I’m not hungry right now.”

  “Okay,” Bree said, then put the fork in her mouth. “Are you sure you don’t mind staying here alone today?”

  “Not at all,” Nica replied, suddenly very glad that she’d have a few hours to herself. Since she couldn’t use her vox or hand terminal, she’d have to go to the Tech Center or the skyport to book passage to Jasan. She wasn’t sure which, and couldn’t ask without telling Bree she was leaving, and she didn’t want to ruin her day. She decided to start at the Tech Center since it was closest. If she couldn’t book a flight from there, she’d grab a cab to the skyport. “I’m not sure if I’ll stay inside all day. I might go for a walk in the park later. It’s a beautiful day out.”

  “Yes, it is,” Bree agreed. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

  Nica nodded. “I promise, Bree, but don’t worry about me, okay? I can take care of myself.”

  “I know you can,” Bree said. “But be inside by dark
, okay? Most of the people who’ve been killed had power, but that doesn’t mean he won’t kill people who don’t have power. Like Janet.”

  “I’ll be careful,” Nica said. “Now, tell me what you plan to wear today?”

  Bree’s eyes lit up, just like Nica had known they would. She sipped her coffee while Bree talked, remembering a time when her best friend had talked about crop yields and commodities futures with as much enthusiasm as she now had for clothes and hairstyles. It was too bad that Ian didn’t appreciate his sister more. If he had, maybe she wouldn’t be so caught up with Quill Thomas. She sighed silently to herself. Bree didn’t want her advice, Ian didn’t need it, and none of this was any of her business anyway.