by Cathi Shaw
But she didn't want her sisters or mother suspecting such a thing. Not until she'd had time to talk to Teague herself and tried to make sense of what had happened that day.
She forced what she hoped was a reassuring smile to her face. "Really I'm fine. I just would like a bit of quiet time this afternoon."
"Okay, if you’re sure," Mina said and gave Thia a quick hug then gathered up her basket and gloves and disappeared through the back door.
It wasn't until Mina had been gone for a few minutes that Thia remembered the other part of her vision. Mina lying limp and broken in Caedmon's arms. Fear suddenly gripped her heart and she ran out the door, across the yard to where the gate was swinging in the wind.
“Mina!” Thia called.
She listened but all the she could hear was the wind stirring the leaves in the trees overhead. Mina was gone. And Thia couldn’t shake the feeling that she might not be coming back.
****
Kiara had to admit she was surprised at how quietly Caedmon moved. Although she'd made the jibe about his soldier's feet just to rattle him, she'd truly expected him to be loud enough to scare the game away. But both he and Teague were almost eerily silent as they followed her.
Kiara was not only happy to be in the forest but confident she could show the brothers some of her favorite hunting spots. Although she told herself that she wasn't trying to show off her skills to them, she was proud of her prowess as a hunter. But they hadn't been in the woods for long when Kiara realized that something was amiss.
After they'd been hunting for almost two hours and there'd been no sign of game, Kiara knew something was seriously unnatural in her favorite domain. There were some days when she went hunting and returned home empty handed but this was different. On those days she would be sure to stumble across the odd rabbit or squirrel, she didn't hunt those because when you were providing game for an entire inn, small animals were of little use. And Kiara didn’t kill for the fun of it. But today there was a strange absence of living things.
Kiara paused and looked at the boys. Teague smiled at her winningly. "Your woods are beautiful, Kiara," he said politely, but she saw the uneasy expression in his silver eyes.
Kiara automatically smiled back at him but then Caedmon intoned, "Where is the game?"
She frowned. Although she didn't really believe he meant it as an insult, part of her felt that Caedmon was blaming the poor hunting on her.
Kiara lifted her chin. "Usually the woods are teeming with animals." The feeling of unnaturalness swept over her again. She shook her head and looked around. “I don't understand it."
Teague's smile slipped and he looked troubled.
Caedmon spoke. "This forest feels wrong." His eyes shifted from left to right as if he were searching for an enemy that couldn't be seen.
Kiara suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine. Caedmon clearly felt it, too, which only confirmed what she'd been sensing. There was definitely something off today. The woods were deserted and there was almost a sinister feeling in the air.
Teague paused and seemed to be listening. "There's something here," he said suddenly.
That's when they heard the scream.
****
As Mina stepped into the forest she paused and took a deep breath filling her lungs with the fresh scents that always raised her spirits. Despite it being the early part of winter, the land was still green and there hadn't been any snow yet.
Mina realized that she hadn't taken the time for her usual wanderings since Brijit had broken the news to them about their origins. She'd missed this place so much. Usually this was her refuge.
Mina let her feet lead her, finding her favorite corners of the forest, places she'd been visiting since she was a little girl. As she began to fill her basket with herbs, roots and bark, she wondered about the Elders. Although no one had come out and said anymore about them, she hadn't forgotten that Brijit had suggested that Mina's birth parents were Elders. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Even though she'd longed to travel since she was a little girl, she'd always assumed that the Village was her home and that she'd came from, if not Village stock, then somewhere close by in the Lowlands.
She knew that she didn't resemble the Village folk – most of them were stocky dark featured people. In fact, she and her sisters really did stand out from the locally born children. But they hadn't moved to the Village until they were six or so. She’d assumed that at the very least they were Lowlanders. To discover that she was neither was unsettling.
As she wandered, Mina remembered a time when she was a young girl, shortly after they had moved to the Inn, and she'd caught a group of three or four Village children staring at her. When she'd smiled and tried to play with them, one of them had asked her what was wrong with her hair and eyes. She remembered the hurt she'd felt at being rejected by the children based on her appearance. When she'd arrived home and told Brijit about what had happened, her mother had sighed and taken Mina to the small looking glass in her bedchamber.
As Brijit stood behind her, they had studied her reflection together in the mirror.
"What do you see, Mina?" her mother had prompted.
Mina had stared at her reflection. She’d seen her long blond hair hanging in gentle waves framing her face. Her eyes were the same as they'd always been; a shade of green that she was told reminded people of the trees. But as her six-year old self had studied the reflection in the mirror, she hadn't seen anything too special.
She'd sniffled and said, "I see me."
Brijit had smiled at her then and hugged her. "Yes, you see you. My beautiful, unique girl. You are different than the other children, Mina, and people sometimes fear things that are different. You will make friends here. It will just take time."
But Brijit had been wrong. Making friends hadn't been easy for herself or either of her sisters. If the Village children thought her blond locks were strange, they found poor little Thia completely disturbing. With her copper curls that seemed to catch fire in the sun and her odd gold colored eyes, the children were often cruel to her. And Kiara, who might have had a chance of fitting in with her dark hair, couldn't help her naturally protective nature. She'd stood up for both her sisters when they were teased. Before any of the Village children could try to make friends with them Kiara had threatened the girls and challenged the boys to fights. It wasn't conducive to making a lot of friends.
But even without an abundance of friends, the sisters had one another and that had been enough when they were small children. But now that they were almost grown, Mina couldn't shake her growing desire to leave the Inn and explore the greater world. To maybe discover other people like her. She wondered if Séreméla, where the Elders came from, might be the place for her to start her travels.
Lost in her thoughts, Mina wandered deeper into the forest. She hardly noticed where she was going, as she was so familiar with this part of the wood. But a few minutes later when she knelt to gather some White Pine needles, she suddenly sensed she wasn't alone.
You're being silly, she told herself as she looked around the empty copse of trees she was kneeling in. There was no one else here. Still as she started to think it might be time to head back to the Inn, she couldn't resist the urge to turn every few feet and survey the area around her. Each time she stopped she saw nothing and felt foolish for doing so. Shaking her head she tried to lose the sensation that she was being stalked.
For some reason Mina found herself wandering forward instead of turning back toward the Inn. Soon her herbal collection was forgotten. Vaguely she realized that she was almost being herded toward the centre of the woods where there was a clearing but she couldn’t stop herself. She began walking faster. Eventually she broke into a run and that's when the shadow made itself seen.
It swooped at her and she screamed.
Its hands were outstretched as it lunged at her and grabbed her arms. Then she was overcome by light and pain before darkness enveloped her.
CHAPTER NINE
Kiara starting running before she'd even consciously registered that the scream had come from Mina. An inner protective instinct set her feet in the direction of the scream and it took a few seconds before her mind registered what she'd heard.
Vaguely she was aware of Caedmon cursing under his breath as he followed her through the trees but Kiara ignored him focusing only on the overwhelming sense that she had to reach her sister; that Mina was in terrible danger.
The forest shifted, opening before her into a clearing and Kiara came to a sudden halt, horrified by the sight before her. In the centre of the clearing was Mina, suspended in a black shadow's embrace. Her sister was limp, her arms hanging uselessly by her sides, her head lolling back and, most horrifying of all, her feet not touching the ground. Kiara reached for her dagger but before she could pull it from her belt Caedmon had grabbed her arms and held fast.
"Let Teague deal with this," he whispered in her ear.
Kiara began to struggle. He was crazy if he thought she was going sit back and just let his little brother help her sister. But as Kiara fruitlessly fought against him as she saw Teague remove his gloves and slowly advance on the creature.
Before Kiara's stunned eyes silver light flashed from Teague hands as he stretched his fingers toward the creature. It let out an unnatural screech and dropped Mina's limp body then turned toward Teague.
Kiara stopped struggling against Caedmon and stared at the thing in horror. Its body was cloaked in black robes but as it turned to Teague, the hood fell back revealing a man-like head.
The creature's hairless head was covered with translucent skin, through which fine blue veins were visible. Its eyes were a deep red and were trained on Teague but he held his ground, the silver light growing stronger. The creature advanced toward Teague reaching out its own hands, an inky blackness flying from the tips of them and blending with Teague's silver light. For a moment Teague seemed to be held by the creature, his face leaching of all color and the creature let out a hissing laugh and turned toward Mina again.
"No!" Kiara cried, once again struggling against Caedmon's grasp but his arms were like two bands of steel holding her fast. "Let me go!" she begged.
"Trust him," he said softly into her ear. "Teague can do this!" His voice was filled with utter confidence and conviction.
Teague took a deep breath and a sudden flash of the silver light flew from his fingers toward the creature. It howled in anger and pain, then in a blue white flash of light dissolved into black smoke and was gone.
Kiara broke from Caedmon's arms and rushed to her sister's side.
"Mina," she sobbed. Her sister's beautiful green eyes were open but they were staring into nothingness. Fear suddenly gripped Kiara's heart. "Is she …" she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Teague was kneeling beside her, his ungloved hands running over her body as he whispered something in a foreign tongue. Small sparks of silver were leaving his hands and entering Mina's lifeless form.
"She's alive," Caedmon said calmly. "Stay back and let Teague do his work."
Kiara nodding feeling hot tears well up in her eyes. If she should lose Mina... She pushed the thought away and continued to watch her sister's still lifeless face, willing her to respond to whatever Teague was doing.
Suddenly Mina took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Mina?" Kiara whispered. Her sister was breathing but unconscious.
Teague seemed exhausted from all he'd been through but he gestured to Caedmon, who scooped Mina up in his arms.
"We must get her back to the Inn as quickly as possible. Others will be near and will have seen the light," Teague said weakly as he gathered up his gloves and slipped them back onto his hands.
A million questions were racing through Kiara's mind but she suppressed them. She focused instead on leading them directly home. There would be time for questions later.
****
Weylon was waiting for them when they arrived at the Inn. He was heavily armed. The fleeting question of how he knew something was amiss flashed through Kiara's mind.
"What happened?" he asked Caedmon.
"They've found us," Caedmon replied grimly.
Who? Kiara wondered.
"The wards will keep them away from the Inn," Weylon said.
Caedmon nodded grimly, carrying Mina through the Great Room toward their private chambers.
Kiara heard their words as if from a great distance. She was too concerned about Mina, who still lay limp in Caedmon's arms, to really process what they were saying.
Brijit came running to greet them with Thia on her heels. Clearly Weylon was not the only one who had known something was amiss.
"No!" Brijit cried when she saw Mina.
"She lives," Teague said softly.
Thia looked at her sister, her golden eyes filling with tears. Kiara knew her little sister was as shocked as she had been but Thia immediately stepped into healer mode.
Hurriedly, Brijit led Caedmon through the kitchen to their private rooms. Kiara followed numbly. Brijit directed them to her own bedchamber. Caedmon lay Mina gently down on the bed. Kiara stood in the corner, biting her lip as she watched her sister for any sign of consciousness.
Kiara shook her head, as she looked at her sister, pale and unconscious on the bed. Mina's long platinum locks spilled over the pillow in soft waves, making her look younger and more vulnerable. Kiara clenched her fingers. What had happened to her?
****
Thia moved to Mina's side and was running her hands over her sister’s body in rhythmic motions. She concentrated on attempting to soothe Mina's energy fields. She had been successful using such techniques in the past but something was wrong here. Mina's energy felt ... disturbed. It was as though waves were pulsing through it at irregular intervals. Trying to smooth it was not working. Suddenly Thia stopped the rhythmic movements and touched Mina's forehead. "She is burning with a fever but I don't know what's causing it," she told Brijit. "And her energy feels ... wrong." Thia looked over at Teague who was standing in the far corner of the room. He was pale with a faint sheen of sweat on his face.
"Teague, are you well?" Thia asked.
Caedmon stood beside his brother protectively. "He will be. He needs rest. I'll take him to our rooms and then I must speak with my father. Kiara can tell you what happened."
Teague, Thia called out silently.
He looked at her, his silver eyes filled with utter exhaustion. I'll be fine, Thia.
And with that they were gone.
****
Kiara stayed with her sisters and mother for most of the afternoon. Although Brijit and Thia were doing their best to treat Mina, Kiara could tell they weren’t making any progress. And she still had no idea what had happened to her sister.
As she looked at Mina’s limp body, she felt a wave a despair wash over her. She had to get out of this room, to do something, anything, rather than just stand here uselessly.
With Brijit and Thia completely occupied with Mina, she slipped unnoticed out of the room and began to wander through the Inn. The last thing she wanted was to run into Sukey so she slipped into her mother’s private study, thinking that she might find something useful in one of the many books Brijit kept there. Kiara was wishing she’d paid better attention to the tedious lessons her mother had forced upon the girls as they were growing up. If she had she might have a better idea now as to what had happened to Mina.
She was trying to remember which of Brijit’s old books discussed magiks. She was sure there were a few on such topics. She pulled the door open and found Weylon behind her mother’s desk, clearly sifting through Brijit’s personal papers. She froze.
“Weylon, what are you doing in here?”
He looked up with guilty surprise on his face. Then his features cleared. “Your mother asked me to look over a few documents for her,” he said quickly. “What are you doing here, Kiara?”
She watched as he straightened the pa
pers on Brijit’s desk then looked at her expectantly.
“I was looking for a book. To see if I could find anything that might be of use in treating Mina.”
“Ah,” he nodded in understanding and looked at the bookshelves, teeming with volumes. “I’ll leave you to it then,” he said smoothly and quickly slipped by her into the hall.
Kiara stood for a moment after he left trying to pinpoint why she felt so uneasy about their exchange. Weylon was her mother’s husband; it shouldn’t be surprising that Brijit might ask for his advice. Still Kiara couldn’t help looking at her mother’s desk. The papers that he’d been going through were all neatly stacked. Kiara looked at the door and then moved behind the desk, her foot striking against something.
“Ow.” Kiara bent down and rubbed her foot and then saw what it was she’d stubbed her toe on. It was an intricately carved narrow wooden box. Kiara picked it up and placed it on the desk before opening the lid. It swung open to reveal a paper scroll.
Puzzled Kiara lifted the scroll out and spread it on the desk. It was very old if the faded ink was any indication. She studied the words on the page in front of her. If she had to guess, she would say it was an ancient dialect from the Western Realm.
Kiara had always had a gift for languages and Brijit had spent the long winters teaching the girls a variety of dialects used in the Five Corners. While Kiara generally despised books and complained when they were confined to studying in the house, she actually enjoyed their language lessons.
Now Kiara squinted at the words in front of her, trying to decipher this puzzle but she could only make out a few of the words. Suddenly she swept the scroll in her arms. While she might only understand a bit, it was clear that her mother was hiding more than just her secret marriage from them. Clearly Brijit knew the meaning of the Mark.
