A Shaper's Birthright

by Karen MacRae

  The first to wake was Sy. He felt like he’d run ten miles with Rojoch on his back. “Is everyone all right?” he groaned.

  “All still sleeping peacefully, my boy,” answered Lord Goldsmith. “Finn too. Out and out miracle-worker, that Shaper girl.”

  Sy fell back onto his bedroll with a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I can get up, Larry. Never ached so much in my life.”

  “What happened?” asked Lord Goldsmith.

  “As far as I can gather, a crested blade wound is about as difficult to Heal as death itself, especially when it’s had a chance to get hold. Anna had to throw so much power at it, we had to hold Thornson in place or he’d get blasted off and that would’ve been bad for Finn. You’d have to ask Anna or Seleste exactly what happens to anyone close in, but I can tell you from my perspective that it’d be easier to brawl with a dozen Rubrans.” Sy winced as he shifted to try to get more comfortable. “Make that two dozen.”

  “There’s a load of Healers milling about in Novac’s lounge. Shall I call for one?” asked Lord Goldsmith.

  “Thanks, but no. Anna’ll fix us all up once she’s awake and she doesn’t have any Healer’s well for me to worry about. I’ll live. They might not.”

  Lord Goldsmith nodded his understanding. “You’re first to wake because of your Health gift?” he asked.

  “I guess so. Last to conk out too. Right after Anna. I don’t know how she does it, but I guess it comes with the territory.”

  “Light! What hit me?” came a new voice. Malik.

  Lord Goldsmith chuckled. “It appears the Shaper packs a punch.”

  “Remind me to be at least a hundred miles away next time she needs help.”

  “Finn’ll be pleased to hear his life isn’t worth a few aches and pains,” joked Sy.

  “He’s all right?” came an anxious voice. Spider.

  “He’s fine,” replied Lord Goldsmith. “At least, he’s sleeping peacefully and one of the Healers says she can’t detect anything wrong with him. We’ll know for sure when he wakes up.”

  “Thornson?” asked Malik.

  “Alive, more’s the pity. Still, given that my good wife will be leading him by the nose for the rest of his miserable life, he might wish it weren’t so.”

  Seleste was next to wake. “How’s Finn? And Anna?”

  “They seem to be fine, miss,” Malik answered.

  Spider wondered at Malik’s use of the word ‘miss’ before belated remembering his manners. He’d forgotten to introduce them last night. “Oh, sorry, Cherry, I should introduce you. This is my sister, Seleste. Seleste, this is Malik Brewcherrion of Mastra.” It was a strange introduction, being made with all parties lying on bedrolls, too pummelled to get up, but the two introducees managed to turn their heads to find the other and give a small smile.

  Seleste silently acknowledged she’d never seen anyone as handsome as the Mastran spy. Even Finn was a poor second and she’d not thought that possible. Malik’s reputation was legendary though - one lover would never be enough for him. Her mind stopped in shock as the word ‘shame’ appeared from nowhere. She gave herself a mental slap. What was wrong with her? Thinking of a man in that way!

  Malik regarded Spider’s sister with interest. He’d heard a lot about her. Feared swordswoman, brilliant with any bladed edge and more besides, a gifted Dancer and the King’s favoured assassin. Also as prickly and cold as a Kydrum ice storm, according to Spider. She had the loveliest eyes though.

  Seleste blushed at his appreciative look and turned her head away. Good grief! Had she just blushed? Something was seriously wrong with her. Desperate to get her control back, she turned her mind to the problem of how to contain Sesi’s gift when she woke up from the bash on the head Finn had given her. A blindfold was all well and good, but if the Channeller linked with her master, he could listen in and perhaps even Shape without being able to see other people in the room. Anna could probably block the Channeller’s gift, but she’d have to see it in action to be able to locate it in which case Nystrieth would effectively be in the same room as her. That couldn’t happen until they were ready… until Anna was ready. What they needed was for the woman to be unable to Channel at all. And they needed it before she woke up.

  “How did Finn end up like this anyway, Cherry?” Sy asked.

  “We had a bit of difficulty finding out where the meeting was being held. This room’s well-hidden if you don’t already know how to find it and the servants are all terrified of Novac. We finally got one of the maids to talk by threatening to tell Novac her sweetheart had cooperated. Crazy…” Malik shook his head. “Then we ran into the conspirators. Like a flock of startled hens, they were. Scarpering all over, squawking like the end of the world had arrived. When I finally got here, Thornson was about to do a runner, Novac was standing over Finn, a sword in his hand, Sesi’s carer was lying in a heap, dead, Finn’s poison pins sticking out of her temples, and Sesi was flat out with blood pouring from the back of her skull. My number two grabbed Novac and I grabbed Thornson.”

  Seleste interrupted, her voice urgent. “Sesi needs to be blindfolded before she wakes. If he sees…”

  “It’s done,” Malik reassured her. “Rybis’ librarian was here about a second after the news reached the palace. He knew of a chapter on Channelling in an old book about unusual gifts. Probably the same book you read. We’ve got her locked up and isolated, but it’s not looking too good for her. Finn gave her one heck of a crack on the head.”

  The assassin hadn’t been paying attention past his first comment. “Nas-something. Nassy? Nasvy? Navsy? No, it had a kind of buzzy, hard sound in it too. What was it?… Got it! Navzdy!” Seleste said triumphantly. She felt all eyes on her and blushed for the second time in a decade. Even worse, she hadn’t realised she’d been thinking out loud.

  “Are you all right, sister?” Spider asked cautiously.

  “I’m fine, Spider,” she lied, hiding her discomfort at her unusual behaviour. “I’ve been thinking about Sesi. Remember Anna couldn’t Heal me in the mess? Sy, you carried me outside instead? Lord Witheridge worked out it was because of the flooring in there. It’s stuff that Lady Braxton had put in because it’s virtually indestructible. It’s called navzdy and it turns out it blocks more than scuff marks. It blocks crystal energy too. If we can get Sesi into a room lined with the stuff, Nystrieth won’t have a prayer of getting through to her.”

  Spider and Sy looked at Seleste in amazement, not because of the information, but because of the number of words she’d taken to tell them about it. They shared a glance. Sy raised his eyebrows. Spider shrugged. Maybe it was some weird aftereffect of taking the brunt of Anna’s white power for the third time in a week.

  Unaware of Seleste being anything but herself, Lord Goldsmith and Malik were excitedly discussing where navzdy might come from. Sy broke into the conversation to put them right. “It’s not Kevan or Khustifian, it’s Sevian. It was one of Seask’s most recent discoveries.” His voice almost broke as he quietly added, “I hadn’t even noticed what covered the mess floor.”

  The room fell silent, all too aware of the horrors of Seask’s end and Sy’s heartbreak at the loss of his wife and son.

  “I don’t know where you’d get it now,” Sy murmured, remembering the destruction of his home city. It had been virtually flattened by Nystrieth’s army.

  “If it can be got, I’ll get it. If it was new and expensive, someone in Alscombe will have installed some. We’ll go and rip it up if we have to. You leave it with me,” Lord Goldsmith said firmly before marching out of the room.

  Lady Goldsmith provided a welcome interruption, ushering in servants with trays piled up with freshly baked bread, cheese, what smelled like ham soup and a load of pastries, water and juice. The newly awakened got themselves sitting up with no little wincing. They were starving.

  “Anna’s going to want all of that,” said Spider with a laugh, looking at the heavily laden tray before him.

  “And more!” Sy smiled
.

  “But there’s nothing to her!” Malik protested.

  Seleste laughed. “You wait and see. She eats more than Sy!”

  “Never! I don’t believe you!”

  “I’ll put ten silvers on it,” Spider added.

  “Done!”

  Seleste giggled.

  Spider and Sy’s eyebrows shot through the roof. Seleste had giggled?

  Anna was next to wake, her usual ‘headache hangover’ making it impossible for her to even open her eyes. She felt her new staff lying next to her and drew enough energy to burn away the black stains in her aura. White flared momentarily and the headache disappeared. She sighed in relief then realised her belly was screaming for sustenance.

  “Any food around?” she asked, sitting up, her nose twitching.

  Everyone laughed.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” answered Spider, “we just knew you’d be hungry. Marissa, Lady Goldsmith, ordered a whole tray full of goodies for you.”

  “Oh, thank you, milady, wherever you are. But, first, how is everyone?”

  “Finn’s still sleeping, but fine. Thornson’s still out too and seems only half dead, unfortunately. The rest of us feel like we’ve been run over by a caravan of fully laden supply carts.”

  The Healing took only minutes. Malik was astounded when he placed his hand in the Shaper’s and within moments felt like a new man. “Miss Northcott, my name is Malik Brewcherrion, Cherry to those who prefer it. It’s an honour to meet you.”

  The Shaper looked at the beautiful man before her but had eyes only for his aura. A stunning shade of rich purple, it was strong, loyal and full of honour. The rest, she’d have to wait to observe. “Likewise, Master Brewcherrion, but, please, call me Anna,” she said politely.

  Anna moved over to Seleste without waiting for the Mastran to reply. The assassin held out her hand with a smile on her face, her silver aura shining brightly around the grey patches Finn’s Healing had left behind. “Thank you for saving Finn, Anna. You were amazing.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you all,” Anna murmured shyly, taking Seleste’s hand. It was only then she noticed just how silver Seleste’s aura seemed to be. She told herself it was difficult to see colour properly with the candlelight reflecting from the piles of crystal, but she couldn’t kid herself it was the same unreadable grey it had been when they first met. “Seleste…” she began. She took a deep breath before lowering her voice and whispering to her companion. “I think it might be a good idea if you heal naturally this time. Something’s going on with your aura. I’m not sure having more crystal energy in you would be healthy.”

  Seleste Read the uncertainty and concern in the Shaper’s aura and felt scared for the first time since she’d learned to kill. “It’s changing me,” she whispered. She looked up at her friend, anxiety clouding her eyes. “But what to?” she asked.

  CHAPTER 4

  F inn woke to find the meeting room had been transformed into a crystal cave. The only other conscious person was the Goldsmith’s groom, George. He was standing guard over a sleeping Lord Thornson. “Best fill me in, George.”

  The groom grinned. He had a soft spot for the spy. “It’s good to see you awake, sir, and all that black dye gone. I do prefer the red hair. Tell me, sir, are you well enough to keep an eye on his lordship here while I nip out and tell your friends that you’re up?”

  Finn looked at Edward Thornson’s grey face and nodded. “I doubt he’ll be any trouble for at least a week. Off you go.” He got up from his bedroll and walked over to the horizontal Healer. “What happened to you then, Thornson?”

  “He’s come down with an extreme case of exhaustion. It does that to a man, Healing for two days without sleep.”

  “Malik! Damn, it’s good to see you, but don’t tell me Thornson managed to Heal that wound. Not only was it courtesy of a crested sword, the room looks like it’s been moved underground.”

  The Mastran laughed. “The men thought I’d gone mad when I made them start digging up rocks. Seemed to do the trick though.”

  “Sesi?” Finn asked.

  “Alive, but unconscious. She’s in a nicely appointed dungeon with a slot for food and water. No one will be going anywhere near her until her gift’s nullified.”

  “Novac and his conspirators?”

  “All but Taylor safely caught. He’s still managing to elude us. We’ll get him though. Marissa swears he’ll come out as soon as the hunger pangs are too much for him. If all else fails, she’ll go through this sprawl inch by inch herself until she detects a heat glow in a place it shouldn’t be.”

  “I assume it was Novac who decided to run a sword through my back?”

  “It was indeed. He’s currently occupying the dungeon next to his master’s Channeller.”

  Finn nodded, reassured that his injury hadn’t scuppered the mission. “How long was I out?” he asked.

  “Too long, my friend. Marissa uncovered documents at Sesi’s safehouse. We need to be off to Shae as fast as we can get there. Mystrim and Elona are on their way and they’re weeks ahead of us.”

  Lord and Lady Goldsmith were the next to arrive. Marissa gave Finn a huge hug before looking at him with a deathly serious face. “Finn, while you were out, something horrific happened in Alsham. I’m terribly sorry to tell you this, but your sister was killed.”

  Finn’s face whitened. “Aibreann?” he whispered, desperately hoping he’d misunderstood the spy mistress’ words.

  Lady Goldsmith nodded, her eyes full of tears. “I’m so sorry, Finn.”

  “Sweet light. Why Aibreann? She was no threat to anyone!”

  Spider and the others arrived at that moment. Their smiles faltered as they picked up the mood in the room. They stood quietly behind Lady Goldsmith. Finn looked at each of them in turn. “What the hell happened?” he cursed. “How the hell did you manage to let my sister die?” He knew he was being unfair. He knew they would have died themselves rather than have allowed such an innocent to lose their life, but the pain of his loss made him lash out. His friends accepted his words without complaint. They understood.

  Anna and Seleste could see the anguish in Finn’s aura. Gradually, the ripples settled and the sorrow was buried deep inside. It would resurface, but duty came first. He was his mother’s son, no doubt.

  The spy drew a deep breath. “Malik tells me we need to get to Shae. You can fill me in on the way. Are the horses ready?”

  Everyone clamoured to reassure Finn that all was ready. Anna just had one more job to do and then they were good to go. The group watched as the Shaper went to stand over Lord Thornson.

  “Only his health and the oath, Anna,” Lady Goldsmith reminded the Shaper. “Everything else must be left as it is. He’s no use to us if he can’t continue to participate in Nystrieth’s perversions.”

  Anna looked at the man she despised. His aura was a very ordinary shade of blue, but the level of selfishness, perversion and narcissism was extraordinary. It repelled her. She took Lady Braxton’s medallion out from under her shirt and held it aloft as she’d once seen Finn do. “My life for the Kingdom,” she swore. “My life for the King.”

  She caught the golden arc as soon as it appeared. A quick flick of her gift channelled it into the Healer, piercing his heart with the King’s Oath. He was now and would ever be a King’s man, whether or not he liked it.

  She looked at his aura again to work out what to do to ensure he’d survive. She could see his well was almost full. She could also see that it held no compulsion to Heal. Typical, she sneered. One rule for his minions and another for himself. She considered changing it, but Lady Goldsmith’s reminder restrained her. She would have to be patient for justice. “He’ll die if he ever Heals again,” she told the spy mistress. “I’ll have to take some of the poison out of his well.”

  Lady Goldsmith nodded her approval.

  Anna bent over the Healer and touched his arm with her left hand. By habit, her right hand re
ached for the raw crystal handle of her dagger. At the last moment, she changed her mind and focused her gift on the crystal she always wore under her shirt. It would be a useful weapon and she’d rather use it up than her dagger.

  Reluctantly, she visualised the black dissolving at the entrance to the Healer’s well and streaming into the crystal. She stopped when roughly half the poison had been removed. She could sense the blackness had almost filled the pendant. She’d need to get another from the piles of rock in the room. First, though, she pulled energy from the nearest crystal boulder and fed it into the Healer’s depleted aura. She stopped when the man began to stir. She pushed his aura just enough to make him fall unconscious again. She didn’t think she could control herself if he woke in the same room as her.

  “The oath is fixed and his well is half full. He’ll wake up soon,” she said tonelessly.

  Seleste stepped forward and put a hand on the Shaper’s arm. “I know that hurt, Anna, but it’s for the best. He’s useful to us.”

  Anna shrugged off the sympathy, her mind full of memories of her mother’s death. She’d be back for Lord Thornson, light help her.

  The others watched as Anna began searching the nearest stack of crystal. “What’re you looking for?” Spider asked.

  “My crystal pendant’s full. I need a new one.”

  “Best get several. We don’t know when we’ll next get the chance,” Finn said.

  “Any particular colour? It looks like there was a bit of a fall over here. There’s light blue, dark blue, red, pink, orange, purple, a load of clear and a kind of yellowy green. Oh, and some…”

  “It doesn’t matter, Spider. Any will do. It all works the same.” Anna removed the pendant from its pouch around her neck and replaced it with a fresh shard of bright green crystal. She held the used crystal up to her friends. “Remind me to use this red crystal sparingly, please. It was new so it’s full of crested blade poison. It’ll kill at least thirty people so there’s no point in wasting it.”