The sinews in her mother’s hands stood out against her clenched knuckles. “She’s unhappy and she believes that I am the cause! Perhaps I am.”
“Please tell me why—”
“I’ll speak no more of Alexandra at the moment!”
Sofia drew back as if she’d been slapped.
Elena pinched the bridge of her nose. “Maybe Alexandra was right. Maybe I should’ve left and taken you with me long ago, but I never thought it would come to this. Perhaps … well, perhaps I should’ve done things differently. But Vilhelm begged me to stay … he promised to keep you safe.” She took a deep breath. “Now I’m not sure that’s possible. I promise I will tell you everything when I return. And if I don’t return then you must leave with Costin as planned.”
Sofia’s entire body went as rigid as a tree stump. “What do you mean, ‘if you don’t return?’ I don’t want you to leave if you’re in trouble.”
Her mother didn’t seem to hear her. Standing, she withdrew a large tin of beans from the shelf and poured them into an empty container. They sounded like hail as they bounced and settled. When they were nearly gone, she reached inside and withdrew a worn blue book. “I wrote this in case …” She sighed. “It’s a journal and it includes everything I should’ve taught you. Read it. Study it. Keep it with you.”
Sofia reached out to steady herself against the table. “Where do I meet Costin and when do I leave?”
Her mother’s gaze seemed to search for something inside Sofia’s eyes. “The river. The day after tomorrow.”
Sofia’s hand went to her mouth. “Will I see you again?”
Elena half-shook her head. “You will. I promise.”
Elena placed a cold hand against her cheek. Her mother was fully dressed in heavy winter clothing and she smelled like the wind. She held out a folded piece of paper. “If something … bad happens, I want you to read this letter and do as it says. Do you understand?”
Sofia nodded. The chill seeped through her clothes. She watched as her mother tucked the letter away in the money box. A sense of foreboding filled Sofia, leaving her body numb with dread.
“I’ve written my dear friend, the High Priestess, to look out for you. She’s a good woman. My dearest friend in the world and family to Alexandra but she would side with us over anyone.”
“Isn’t she the one who sent you here?”
“Yes.” Elena started down the stairs, “Not that she knew what her neice had in mind. I was only coming to deliver a baby. There’s something else I need to show you.”
TWENTY-TWO
Dublin, Ireland, 2031
The next morning, I found myself breathing rather fast as Sandra showed me into their rented flat. Remus was sitting behind a desk that was much too large, immersed in books and papers. The palms of my hands began sweating at the site of him. It had been easier last night in my home after several glasses of wine. Perhaps it was only claustrophobia; while the flat Remus and Sandra were renting was large, the room they were using as a study was small and cluttered.
I attempted to distract myself, perusing the walls which were painted a cool wedge wood blue and filled with beautiful, oversized oil paintings that splashed orange into the room. Remus stood and walked towards the window.
“Relax, my dear. You look tense,” he said as he pulled the curtains across, shading the room.
“Where should I sit?” I asked.
“Why don’t you try lying down?” Sandra said, motioning to the antique mahogany sofa carved with acanthus leaves and supported on lion paw feet.
“Yes. Lie down wherever you feel the most comfortable.” He glanced at Sandra, who had quietly seated herself in the wingback chair. She smiled and he turned back to me.
“We’re going to start with the ball of light again.”
TWENTY-THREE
Hunedoara, Romania, 1494
Kneeling before the kitchen stove, she wiggled one of the corner bricks. It gave way easily.
Sofia gasped at the gold glinting beneath it. Dropping beside her mother, she picked up a small leather-bound book and brushed off the soot with her thumbs. In all her life, she’d never seen a book shimmer. “Where’d you get this?” Betrayal and hurt mingled inside. How many lies had her mother told?
Elena took the book from Sophia and placed it back beneath the brick. “There’s gold under the hearth bricks too.” She met Sofia’s accusing stare. “I had my reasons for keeping this book from you. It is very powerful and I only use it on rare occasions. It was my great-grandmother’s, and I trust you not to use it without learning how to first.”
“Why not?” Sofia burst out. “Don’t you see? If you get into trouble then I could use the magic to save you!”
“What do you think the villagers would do if you used magic in front of them to save me?” Elena’s eyes clouded over and she looked away. “Besides, what do you think I’m going to do? I am planning to use a spell from the book to save the old woman. There are other reasons you can’t use the book. First off you don’t know how, and secondly the book doesn’t know you yet. Your power will grow now that you’re sixteen, but every witch knows only time with the book will strengthen you. The high priestess will explain all of this—should I be unable. Know this, Sofia: everything I did was to protect you. Only use the book if the high priestess is there to help you. Her powers will help channel it. Then and only then. Do you understand?”
Sofia refused to meet her mother’s gaze.
“Sofia?” Elena chided.
“I understand,” she answered coldly.
Elena stood quickly. She packed the potions, crystals and candles into a bag. “I have to go. When I return, I’ll tell you everything about our past.” She pulled a knit cap over her chestnut hair and kissed Sofia’s cheek. “Be safe.” She turned quickly, but not before Sofia saw the tears glistening in her eyes.
Sofia wanted to cry out, “No! Stop! Don’t leave me!” But the words wouldn’t come.
Her cheek still tingling from her mother’s kiss, Sofia watched Elena jog across the field, until the trees swallowed her whole.
TWENTY-FOUR
Dublin, Ireland, 2031
As I pulled away from the curb, I flipped the visor down to help fend off the glare of the sunlight reflecting on the road. Glancing down at the clock, I realized it was already four. I had been with Remus for almost three hours and yet it had felt like only minutes. In front of me the traffic blurred. My heart pulsed with excitement as I remembered the way I’d crept down the stone passage and waited for just the right time to sneak out. I felt strangely disorientated, half my mind still clinging to the dream, alienated from the hum of the Dublin rush hour pulsating around me. It was as if this was an imaginary world and inside my head a war was raging, threatening to pull me back.
The house was cool and shadowy, scented by the fresh flowers I’d placed on the table that morning. I stared out the window, after changing into my robe and pouring a glass of wine, and allowed myself to remember how it had felt to be in the past.
“Cullen, you’re home?” I said, surprised to see my strapping ginger hubby walk through the door. “Alana’s at the neighbors so I didn’t make dinner. Shouldn’t you be headed to the airport? I thought you were going to try to catch a flight.”
“I was. I still am, but the flight doesn’t leave til later. He sat down on the edge of the coffee table and cocked his head at me. His overgrown eyebrows were unruly and pointing in all directions, especially up, giving him a devilish Jack Nicholson vibe, betrayed only by the gentleness in his voice.
“I felt like being with ye, Aeval.”
“Awe. That’s sweet,” I whispered, walking into his chest as he wrapped his arms tight around me and pulled me down into his lap.
“How was ye’re day, darlin’? Bit of a tough one, I see, given the robe and the wine.”
“I went to see Remus and Sandra.”
“Ye just saw them last night. They’re not that remarkable, are they?” Cullen said with
a chuckle.
I stood up and took a step back.
“Did I offend ye, lass?” He looked to me, his concern etched all over his handsome face. “Wait a minute. Ye let him—”
I nodded.
“Don’t be upset,” I said hurriedly.
He raised his eyebrows.
“I wanted to go back. I wanted to remember... just for a moment.”
Cullen glanced at his watch. “I'm gonna ring Dylan and tell him I’ll catch the mornin’ flight.” He paused, most likely waiting for me to argue, but I said nothing.
I sat back on the couch limply, and placed my feet on the steamer-trunk-turned-coffee-table, sipping from my drink as he dialed, watching him, my eyes vague, as, one-handed, he slipped his tie over his head and unbuttoned his shirt. He looked good and he’d smelled even better. The wine was beginning to warm me.
Cullen was brief on the phone, then he put his cell down and came back to sit in the oversized chair adjacent to the couch. He leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. His lips tightened.
“All right, Aeval,” he said. “Let's have at it. Where did he take ye? Or do ye remember?”
“I went to Sapphira’s life but to a time before I’d ever traveled there. I don’t know what the date was.”
“Did it hurt?”
“No. it’s not like actual time travel.” I hugged my bathrobe around me. “Cullen, this is crazy. It was so different this time. It wasn’t like I was myself, waking up confused in someone else’s body. I was really her. I knew everything she knew and not because a little voice spoke in my head. I wasn’t Sophia at all. I was a spoiled Princess who was excited,” I hesitated, “but at the same time, scared.” I put my face in my hands. “An unruly teenage girl sneaking out of her room! Maybe this trip was meant to—to remind me what Alana must feel like.” I gave an unhappy snort.
Cullen raised an eyebrow. “Sophia, this isn’t a game. Look at what happened before. What if they don’t know what they’re doing?”
“He’s a world-famous hypnotist. Regression is his area of expertise.”
He cocked his head in a gesture that was neither a nod nor a shake. “Yeah well, it’s the quiet pigs that eat the meal.”
I shook my head. “I knew it. You don’t like him.”
He sat up, put his elbows on his knees, and leaned toward me, setting my wine down for me.
“It’s not that. I’m wary is all and it wouldn’t hurt ye to be, either. Ye’re not exactly like everyone else, Sophia. What if he accidentally sends ye back there?” His voice was gentle. “Like before. Can that happen?”
“No.” I frowned, thinking it through. “I'm not wearing the sapphire. Besides, we’re not using a spell from the book. It’s hypnosis.”
“I guess ye’re right.”
“The curse is over, there would be no reason for Rochus or anyone over there to pull me back.”
“Fine. I’m being paranoid. So tell me more—so ye remember being her, now?”
“It’s like this hypnosis has unlocked my memories.” My voice shook. “Oh, God, Cullen…It was me. I really was Princess Sapphira. I don’t know that I ever really truly believed in reincarnation. I thought I’d time traveled and that it was a spell. Simply the sapphire’s magic that allowed me to fall into these bodies. But I could feel it all, hear it, see it, smell it.”
Cullen smiled, but I went on. “It was all so vivid. Almost too real.”
“This is good, then,” Cullen said slowly. “Ye obviously needed some reassurance and you got it.”
“It's just so crazy!”
Cullen took hold of my arm gently, standing up. “Come on,” he said. “I need a drink. And something to eat. Is there anythin’ tasty in this house?”
I dragged my thoughts back to the present with difficulty. “Yes, but nothing healthy that I feel like making.” I gave a rueful smile.
Cullen grinned. “Throw on some jeans and let’s head over to the Pub then.”
“That doesn't sound very healthy, either.” I forced myself to smile. Standing up slowly, I pulled the belt of my robe more tightly around me. Then I headed toward the kitchen and pulled open the fridge door. “There's leftover pasta in here.”
“Pasta's fine. What did it feel like, being hypnotized?” he asked curiously.
I sighed. “That's the weird part. I'm not sure. I don't think I knew it was happening at the time. One minute I was looking at my feet and thinking this isn’t working and the next I was awake again and I realized it had worked. I’ll make a salad to go with this.”
“Is there any old vine left, love?”
“Check the wine rack,” I replied and took down two plates and bowls.
Cullen watched me cut up the lettuce. “How about a little music to eat by?” he said, switching on the iPod as we returned to the living room to eat.
“Maybe next time you should do it with me. We can see if you were really the Graf.”
Cullen looked away. “I’ve wondered from time to time about my dreams of the past, but I don't know. It seems dangerous to just hand control over to someone, especially someone we only just met.”
I nodded and let the music sweep over me, leaving my pasta untouched as I lay back on the sofa, my feet up, and my eyes closed.
“So, you’re done now, right? Ye’re not doing it again, are you?”
“Cullen, stop.”
“All right. But make sure ye tell them ye want to know everything that happens. You hear those stories about the crazy pervs that molest their patients and then make them forget.”
I patted his arm reassuringly. “You need to get over your trust issues, honey. Sadly, nobody wants to molest me anymore but you.”
“I’m serious,” Cullen growled.
“You’re silly. Sandra is right there.”
“Just do me the bloody favor, would ye, woman, and spare me the argument.”
“Fine,” I acquiesced, wondering why he was so worked up over this. “I will specify that I want to remember everything no matter what.”
TWENTYFIVE
It was Friday afternoon before I could make time to visit once again with the doctor. Sandra was waiting at the door, just as before, barely hiding her excitement as she led me into the study. Her husband was waiting for us by the open window, his glasses in hand.
“Sophia! Ready for another go?”
“Of course,” I said and threw my leather purse down on the sofa. “I must admit it was the coolest thing to happen to me in years, but I'm beginning to wonder if I imagined the whole thing. Maybe it was a dream conjured by my curiosity to return.”
He looked up thoughtfully. “It was a successful regression.” He drew his breath in with a hiss. “But I understand your hesitation. It’s unnatural for most people to believe just how much of the brain it’s possible to use.”
“This time I’d like to try my Aunt Zafira’s life. It would be easier for me to authenticate whether or not such occurrences happened.”
“We can attempt your Aunt Zafira’s life as well, but what I suggest is that we continue on this path for a few more sessions. It’s actually easier to stay put for a bit. So let’s ease in. Besides, you’ve obviously been drawn to this life for a reason. Now, last time we were following the Princess down a passage where she was off to meet with an alchemist by the name of Rochus.”
I swallowed hard. Did the ability to hypnotize me mean he could read my thoughts as well? I bit my lip, suddenly clueing in. “I guess I didn’t realize you knew what was happening.” I grinned at him sheepishly. “I talk when I’m under, I take it, like you see in movies? Describing what I’m seeing?”
Remus nodded and I suddenly felt chilled.
He handed me a brown wool blanket as he had done before, and I lay back on the leather sofa and closed my eyes. Every muscle was tense.
“Oh, wait. I wanted to ask you something. Can you make sure that I remember everything? No matter what. It’s really important to me.”
“Of course.”
***
Sofia felt the sun beam down on her as she left the cool cover of the forest and wandered down the road into town. She wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand and walked on, nervous that she was deliberately disobeying her mother. But she couldn’t turn back. It was only a matter of minutes before the town square loomed before her and beyond that stood the ominous castle. A small part of her wanted to flee back to the safety of the cottage, but concern for her mother tugged her on.
She hadn’t seen her mother on the walk. She’d taken too long to catch up. But a small crowd was gathered just ahead in the square. Off in the distance she heard chanting. They were chanting someone’s name. It was familiar to her. There was a rustling from behind her and she crouched down, listening. It was as if someone invisible was whispering in her ear.
She listened, half curious.
“Does she know about the curse?” a woman’s voice whispered somewhere off in the distance.
“Shhh.”
“Just ask about the book again.”
“She’s fighting for control.”
“What about Elena? She might be more pliable. We could try her.”
The word Elena echoed in her head for a moment, so clear it must have been spoken from beside her. She looked but no one was there. Then, as she kept walking, the voices receded once more but her mind was becoming clear. She remembered the name Elena.
***
The crowd was just up ahead now. She had to catch up to her mother but she didn’t want the villagers to see her. She took her time and crept through the foliage, careful not to be seen.
“And who do we have here? Elena Maria Catargiu-Obrenović’s daughter, if I’m not mistaken.”
She froze at the sound of a man’s voice from behind. His stale body odor hit her hard. She swallowed the urge to gag.
Cruel Fortunes Omnibus: Volumes One to Four Page 78