Kate's Legacy (Soul Merge Saga Book 2)

by M. P. A. Hanson

  She walked forward and did the spiral thumb thing, and knowledge instantly flooded Romana’s mind.

  “You will need several hours to process all of this. I suggest you allow Silver her time while you do that. It would be a most effective way to spend your time.”

  As she tried to deal with the cascade of information she felt Silver leap with the mention of her freedom.

  “Can you keep her from doing any harm?” Romana asked. “Could you get her to erase Marten and my brothers’ memories of my seal as well?”

  “I shall do it myself, and I shall also temporarily impair their ability to see through your glamour.”

  Silver surged forwards at that, and Romana didn’t have a chance, she was plunged into blackness without another moment of notice.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  THE SIX AMNESIAS

  Silver watched as her clothes changed automatically to become her leather and weapon holders. She teleported the swords and knives from her caves to her noting as she did so the large fingerprints smearing the blades. Damn princeling.

  “You are not to tell them of her new position.” Kate said from behind her.

  “You’ve been ordered to withdraw from the world again old woman.” Silver replied. “Your own race will punish you if you disobey that order.”

  “My race considers you a criminal and has been begging me to deal with you for centuries. The fact that I have spared you because of your obvious situation is something of a conundrum to them. They wouldn’t frown upon your leaving the picture for a while.”

  “Oh yes, I inhabit the body of your precious queen of wytchdom don’t I?” Silver said. “I was surprised you let her take her place with me in the picture.”

  “That’s because you’re going to give me your word that you won’t abuse her powers again. Teleportation and healing are the only two reasons you may control wind and flame. Or I will remove your soul from Romana’s body and I will escort you personally to be reincarnated as a slug.”

  Silver winced; Kate could do it as well.

  “I vow not to use this power except in the case of self-defence or teleportation.” She quickly swore.

  “Good.” Kate said. “Now I have an appointment with six princes I believe you are hiding from the consequences of the spell we just casted.”

  “You shouldn’t erase her memory from them.” Silver advised. “She’s his closest friend, doing anything like that could drive him or his animal insane.”

  “I know, but I need to erase any memory of her seal from their minds. That way she can meet with them in the future as the Lady of the Isle.”

  “He will need assuring that you won’t take anything he doesn’t want gone.” Silver informed her.

  “He won’t want to lose the only thing that will possibly lead him to her.” Kate informed her. “I cannot make that vow, as it is I don’t expect that he will just lay down and take this.”

  “He will not.” Silver replied even as they both teleported to the main room of her caves where the baby centaur and Leigh were playing chess.

  “Night Angel,” Miria said in awe, running up and bowing.

  The six princes were there only seconds after hearing one of her names.

  “Kate?” Marten said in recognition. “Traitor!” He yelled at Silver. “I won’t lose my memories of her!” He drew his sword, even as the other princes followed his example.

  “Would you lot relax already?” Silver replied in a bored tone, leaning against the wall. “She only wants to remove any memories you have of Romana’s seal from your mind so that you can't find her new Lady of the Isle.” Kate glared at her. “Oh and she probably now wants to rid you of the knowledge that Romana is now the queen of all wytchdom as well. Plus she wants you to forget Ash and Icarus, and probably the exact details of Romana’s powers, and probably the ability to see through her glamour.” Wow, the list was actually quite long.

  “Rest assured my princes,” Kate told them, “I vow only to take from you memories of her seal and the knowledge of her new elevation.”

  “Let me get this straight.” Marten began. “Romana is now the queen of all the wytches. I bet she took that well.”

  “It was either she took the burden or the Isle was left to burn.” Kate replied while Silver watched, bored as hell that they were having this conversation when he was just going to forget it all in a few minutes.

  “Can you just wipe him already?” Silver asked. “I’m bored out of my skull here.”

  “Will I find her again?” Marten asked Kate, desperation clear in his eyes that had turned animal with their entrance.

  “You will.” Kate told him in that calming voice that made Silver feel ready to vomit. “With your determination I have a feeling that it will be very soon.”

  “Define soon.” Endis ordered.

  “Less than a year, longer than six months,” Kate replied mystically. “Now, if you don’t mind you must not be allowed to remember this conversation.” Kate reached out her hand, freezing the princes in place with her magic before she walked over and briefly touched each of them on the forehead, sending them tumbling to the ground. “Now that that’s out of the way,” she muttered, “on to observation.” She said as she teleported away without pausing to say even a single word to Silver.

  “Oh! Fine! Just leave me here to deal with the six amnesias!” Silver moaned, staring down at the six men littering her floor before she went to find Leigh.

  The centaur was out in the dirt ring explaining the different weapons to Miria. Thankfully it seemed her staff had listened to her in the end.

  “There are six bodies in the living room that need moving.” She said, breaking up training. “If they wake up then force them out, if not, then just dump them by the city gates

  “I’m kind of busy.” Leigh replied, gesturing to Miria. “Plus, you grounded me, remember?”

  “Which is why I gave you the ‘if they wake up’ option.” Silver dismissed, leaving in the direction of the open forest.

  “I want un-grounding!” Leigh bellowed, as she disappeared into the trees.

  “Not happening!” She yelled back.

  She ran until she reached the gates of Morendor and breezed past the guards fast enough that they couldn’t catch her, but slow enough that they could clearly see her and know: the Silver Eyed Wytch was hunting tonight.

  She didn’t take long over the men she found that night, quickly torturing them just long enough for them to relent and give her the location of the nearest base before killing them with a fatal caress of her blades along their throats.

  By the night’s end she’s lost count of her kills. She left each and every one of them outside the palace gates, arranging them in letters before she teleported back to the Isle of Clouds and allowed her clothes to morph into the garb of a wytch queen, and forced herself back to the blackness of Romana’s subconscious.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ORACLE

  Romana woke to the sight of a calm shore with no-one in sight. She was on the Isle of Clouds she realised as she climbed upwards past untamed moonlit shorelines and almost immediately found herself in a building site.

  The high street was under construction below her, although she knew that with magic it would take only an hour before most of the buildings were complete. Even as she watched, rugs made of enchanted thread flew bricks into place while shovels piled sand into a cement barrel and stirred it round.

  Ancients, she loved magic.

  She was about to descend from the small bank she’d climbed when Cass ran up to her.

  “Romana,” She called as she ran towards her. “We have a problem. Or should I say problems?”

  And she had to solve those now didn’t she?

  “What is it?” Romana asked. “Shouldn’t you be inside? You’ll burn up if you’re outside in a few minutes.”

  “This can’t wait.” Cass insisted. “It’s about Silver.”

  “Can we at least talk inside?” Romana asked. �
��I can’t talk to a pile of ashes.”

  “Look.” Cass insisted, pushing a mental image into Romana’s head.

  A grisly scene of more than a hundred dead men and women outside the palace gates greeted her when she looked at it. The bodies had in some cases been dismembered and rearranged into odd positions with their missing limbs stabbed through them. The sight was gruesome in the extreme.

  “What has it got to do with me?” Romana asked.

  “See what she made them look like. Read the words.” Cass implored her.

  Romana looked again, and found that the bodies did indeed spell out a message. She read it aloud.

  “‘If you don’t find her, then Romana will die at the end of the year.’ That’s ridiculous.”

  “Not really. She’s an oracle. But we destroyed the bodies as soon as we were able.”

  It wouldn’t have been soon enough. Romana realised, even as her blood chilled. “Marten saw it, didn’t he?”

  “There were reports of a loud roar coming from the palace after the scene was found.” Cass confirmed. “But there are other things you need to know as well. But if we could discuss them inside it would be wonderful.”

  Romana nodded and teleported them both into Cass’ underground tunnels. The vampire was notoriously fond of being underground, and her home had been there in the last island, here was obviously no different.

  “Over fifteen more children were discovered in the sewers tonight. We received word from the palace that they need someone to come and explain the situation to them.”

  “Send Joanna.” The gentle thread wytch would do well with the children. “Let Casey go as well.” The girl would be able to back up the truth. “Next problem.” She was getting into the swing of delegating jobs to the appropriate members of the Coven but it was hard

  “The healing centre is nearly complete. Several healers want to go over there today but there’s no-one to guard them, everyone here with defensive or offensive powers is recovering from the spell from last night and then they’re adding their magic to the shield.”

  “I’ll go with them.” Romana replied. “I need to glamour myself first though. Tell them to meet me in the square at dawn.” She teleported away to her rooms, where she proceeded to quickly throw on the face of an ebony haired woman with eyes the colour of yellow gold and a shorter curvier figure. Then she used glamour to cover up her elaborate tattoos

  She decided to call herself Leanne Smiths today.

  She teleported to the square.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  ON MY TERMS

  Three-hundred and sixty four nights of killing worthless scum later, Silver decided to pay the good prince of the human realms another visit. She’d been mainly ignoring him for the last year, but now, when he seemed completely unable to find one woman in the world she decided he really did need some help.

  So when she dropped in through his window she was surprised to find the other five princes there as well. All sitting with their backs to the window, all slumped like they were completely defeated.

  “What, all six of you and you still couldn’t find her? You’re all useless.” She told them. “How the hell can you find my caves and not be able to find a single wytch? Is there or is there not a wytch that happens to act exceptionally shy around Marten, is five foot nine and reeks of glamour?” She ranted on at them.

  There was no response, so she moved over to shake one of them, hell, maybe they were drunk and had hangover. As soon as she touched one, she heard a hiss as air was compressed, and then felt a sting in her neck.

  She yanked the dart out at once, not that it would do her much good now, she thought as she ran for the window, determined to make it outside before the drug took effect.

  But suddenly the real Marten was behind her, holding her back even as her strength failed and his hold became one of support.

  “Hate you.” She slurred.

  “I need your undivided attention.” He told her. “The dose was just large enough to put you to sleep for an hour. By that time you’ll be safely in the world’s new most secure dungeon.

  “Kill you in an hour and one minute then.” She promised although the words seemed sleepy and incomprehensible.

  His amused chuckle was the last thing she heard as she went to the blackness.

  When she woke, she was chained up to a wall in a room with only a door. The chains were just long enough for her to kneel on the floor, to which her ankles were also securely chained. The walls were the grey colour of concrete, matching the floor, the only other thing in here was Marten who sat cross-legged on the floor opposite her. His face was, cold, she realised, looking at him. There didn’t seem to be any light or kindness to it anymore, like he’d given up laughter all together. And his eyes flickered constantly between animal amber and human blue.

  “Fifty-nine.” She began, “fifty-eight, fifty-seven, fifty-six…”

  Her countdown was interrupted as he walked over and swiftly gagged her.

  “I’m not in the mood.” He told her, kneeling just out of her reach. “Now you’re going to tell me everything Kate took from me and you’re going to do it because I know that’s what you like to do: break the rules. There will be no teasing and at the end you’re going to tell me exactly where I can find Romana.” But he wasn’t finished. “If you refuse to tell me, then I’ll take off your mask and hang you up where everyone can see you.”

  I guess her leaving you really did put your animal in the forefront of your mind. Silver told him mentally. You know I’m a wytch don’t look so surprised that I can do this. Although, it would appear your beloved happens to have given you shields at some point in the past. Clever girly. Oh and by the way, nineteen seconds.

  “Did I mention that you can’t do magic in here?” He asked. “The elven magicians were happy to oblige me when I asked for a magic-proof cell.”

  “Did I mention that for that to have been in effect I wouldn’t have been able to communicate to you just now?” She asked, the gag already disappearing from her as she called flame to burn it away. “Their magic is pathetic compared to what I have achieved.” She turned her hands and ankles incorporeal and breezed through the cuffs. “Now, what were you saying about not getting out?”

  “Forgive me, I should have told you that you weren’t getting out of this room.” He replied. “And the anti-magic spell, it only comes into effect if you try to hurt someone or leave.”

  “Idiot.” She snapped. “I don’t need magic to get my way out of this. I survived without it for years.” She walked up to the door and began to examine it for cracks, she turned to him. “There’s no lock.” She accused.

  “Told you, magic.” He replied, “If I can use it then I have nothing against it.”

  She banged on the door in frustration. “Congratulations, princeling. You have my undivided attention.” She prowled over to where he now stood. “Who knows, by the end of this I may actually deign to tell you some answers.” She paced along one of the walls, ensuring that she never had her back to him.

  “You have five questions before I won’t talk anymore.” She told him. “I guarantee it won’t be easy to make me tell you anything. You can’t break the broken. And my other condition is that you can’t ask any general questions.”

  “What did Kate take from my mind?” He asked.

  “Too general, try again.” She retorted.

  “Please?” He asked. “I’ll give you anything you want if you get rid of the no general questions rule.”

  “An open ended favour,” She confirmed, continuing when he nodded. “You’re giving those out rather liberally don’t you think?”

  “Not really.” He dismissed the comment with a shrug of his shoulders. “Do we have a deal?”

  “Of course,” she replied, much more content to answer him now that she had a failsafe way out of this damn cell. “Ask your questions.”

  He wasted no time. “How do I find Romana?”

  “I’ll answer that after I an
swer another of your questions.” She told him. “Then what should I ask instead?” He asked.

  “Repeat your earlier question.” She told him. “And hurry up, I’m getting bored.”

  “What did Kate take from my memories?” He replied.

  “Would you like me to give them back to you?” She asked. “It would be easier than explaining. But you’ll understand that you can’t tell anyone what you know. Kate would strip my hide.”

  “Yes.” He replied, walking closer to her.

  She took his left hand and spiralled her finger – which was thankfully devoid of the tell-tale graceful tattoos that now covered Romana’s entire left hand side – along his palm.

  “Remember now?” She asked, even as she saw realisation light into his eyes before they closed under the weight of the amount taken from him. She snatched her hand out and grabbed his dagger from him before he could notice. He was too busy having his thoughts returned to focus on anything physical, she thought as she hid the dagger at the small of her back just in time for him to open his eyes. “Now if you wanted to find the queen of all wytchdom, what would you do? Maybe go over and ask for an appointment with the Lady of the Isle who will meet with you because she doesn’t think you can see through her glamour? Maybe you’ve seen her over a hundred times in the last year.” He glared at her. “Next question, and by the way you only have three left.”

  “How can I keep her here? What do I do to make her stay with me?”

  “Well there are the usual things, flowers, chocolates, candle-lit dinners, but they’re all really dull if you ask me. Go for something with a bit more flair. Oh, and stop treating my girl like she’s a vase, you remember all those wytches that died at the destruction of the last Isle? Well she took out vengeance for each and every one of them, she’s the reason that the population of dragons has decreased by over a thousand in the last year. But there’s no way that she can really stay here, if she does she’ll just be even more vulnerable to Kobos, and he wants her vulnerable.”