by Kim Falconer
‘What did she want?’ Rosette asked.
‘What all ambitious people want: power, and lots of it. She saw An’ Lawrence as a means to make herself indispensable. La Kaffa, I think, had the best intentions of Treeon in mind, though it was I who actually stirred up the biggest trouble.’ She chuckled before going on. ‘Makee and I—once as close as sisters—became very competitive.’
‘Over him?’ Rosette nodded to An’ Lawrence, her mouth turned down.
‘Not so much for the Sword Master’s attention as for succession to High Priestess. We both agreed anyone else would be dangerous in that position and that one of us should be chosen, to protect Treeon and the free lands of Gaela. La Kaffa was too uncertain in her reign—too indirect. We were losing ground to the Corsanon armies under her command.’
‘Who did she choose for the succession?’
Nell shrugged. ‘It’s irrelevant. Egos got way too involved and my bond with Makee frayed.’
Rosette stared at the Sword Master. ‘Because of you?’ she asked.
‘An’ Lawrence wasn’t responsible,’ Nell answered, looking directly at him as she spoke. ‘He kept his mind on the war for the most part, but we did end up together in Los Ghatos Regela after making one fine water spell. We changed the course of five rivers that day, and inadvertently awoke the Spell of Passillo in the process.’
An’ Lawrence’s eyes widened. ‘We did what?’
Nell ignored him. ‘We thought our task was over and celebrated all week in a beautiful little village above the falls. It was really something, a magical time. The cherry trees were in bloom…Do you remember, Rowan?’
‘Of course, but what do you mean when you say we awoke the Spell of Passillo? Nell…?’
Jarrod caught Nell’s eye and gave a slight shake of his head.
‘Back at Treeon, it was anything but peaceful,’ she continued. ‘I think Makee was doing her best to protect the coven—which in the end she did. Makee thought she’d save everyone the trouble and all but put herself in the dragon-bone chair. Of course, only one could wear the title of High Priestess and La Kaffa was still it. The tension arose when Rowan and I returned, especially when La Kaffa realised I had possession of the spell of legend.’
‘Passillo,’ Rosette said.
‘Yes, Passillo. The bane of my life—and yours.’
‘How did La Kaffa know you had it?’
Nell fidgeted. ‘I told her.’
‘And how did you know you had it?’ Rosette asked.
She sighed. ‘My mother and her mother and hers, since the beginning of our line, had known where Passillo was buried; they had entrusted each generation with the secret. We were told to keep it safe if ever there was a danger, and to guard it if it’d been discovered. But it had been such a long time since the first woman of my line had taken on the responsibility, that it seemed like merely a mother’s story to a young girl before sleep.’
‘I’m confused,’ Rosette said. ‘What’s this got to do with me?’
‘It has everything to do with you,’ Nell answered. ‘I showed Passillo to La Kaffa and explained the meaning as best I could. I needed help, and I left Passillo in the temple coffers for safekeeping.’
‘What happened?’
‘The voice of Passillo, like a screaming demon, came through my dreams. That’s when I knew I’d made a mistake. The spell called for me to take it back. The voice terrorised me until I awoke, sweating. I understood that it had to stay within my family, even though I didn’t fully comprehend why. So I stole it back from La Kaffa’s strongbox.’
‘I can see how that would have caused trouble,’ Rosette said.
‘And you were no help at all.’ Nell crossed her arms, looking at An’ Lawrence.
‘Excuse me? How could I be any help when you failed to include me in your plans? You didn’t tell me any of this! You just vanished.’ He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at her. ‘I came to you the night before you disappeared. Do you remember?’
‘Yes, I remember. I also remember that you were heading back to Corsanon. I was afraid of what might happen if Makee or La Kaffa, or anyone, tried to use Passillo, so I took action. I made choices. Don’t think for a moment it was easy.’
‘I might have been more supportive if I’d known what was going on.’ An’ Lawrence raised his voice as he spoke.
‘And you might not have…I didn’t trust it.’
‘You mean you didn’t trust me.’
An uncomfortable silence filled the cave.
‘Interesting,’ Jarrod said. ‘What happened next?’
Nell took a sip of water and continued. ‘I snatched the spell back and left before first light, heading for the ruined temple of Dumarka.’
‘And I was conceived when?’
‘Under the falls of Regela. Pay attention. I didn’t tell anyone I was pregnant because I wanted to protect you, Rosette. I wanted to protect my line. By then, I was starting to feel hunted.’ She looked at Jarrod.
‘And what about when I was born?’ Rosette’s voice was barely audible above the crackle of the fire. ‘Was giving me up part of the protection too?’
Nell didn’t answer for the longest time. The fire hissed and spat as she placed another log in the middle of the flames. ‘It was. Winter came and then spring, and then you. I also had a visit from La Kaffa.’
‘She found you in Dumarka?’ Rosette frowned.
‘She did, and so did others. I was being tracked and they were closing in. It took all my power to keep them away and when it looked like that would fail and I would lose the spell after all, I hid it in a place no-one would think to look.’
Rosette frowned but didn’t interrupt.
‘There was no time to mull over the consequences. I wove the spell into your blood three days after you were born.’
‘How?’
‘Let’s just say it had a natural affinity. Our blood is different, Rosette.’
Jarrod shot a warning glance to Nell.
‘I wanted to get you, and Passillo, safely hidden away,’ Nell continued.
‘Bethsay?’ Rosette asked, hugging her knees.
‘Bethsay Matosh was my best friend, even before I went to Treeon. She’d also apprenticed there, but not in magic or the warrior arts—she’d worked as a jeweller for two years before she met and married John’ra. She was fey though, Rosette. Never doubt that. She kept it to herself.’
‘And she took me?’
‘She’d just lost a pregnancy and was bereft. She also had plenty of milk and ached for a child.’ Tears spilled down Nell’s face. ‘She’d come for the birthing. She was more than willing to take you.’
‘She’d been a jeweller at Treeon?’ Rosette asked, unable to look at Nell.
‘She had,’ An’ Lawrence answered when Nell did not. ‘She made that pendant you wear. Of course, it was me who’d had it commissioned. A gift for Nell. You can imagine my surprise when I saw it around your neck.’ He turned to glare at Nell.
‘I wanted to let you know she was your daughter without broadcasting it to the whole Treeon coven,’ Nell said. ‘I had to keep Rosette safe, and I also had to make sure that when you met, you would figure out who she was. I didn’t think it would take you so long.’
‘You could have just told me,’ Rosette said. ‘Then, when I got to Treeon, I could have introduced myself.’ Her voice was tight. She didn’t look at either of them.
‘It wasn’t safe, Rosette.’
‘So you keep saying.’
Another lengthy silence surrounded them.
‘What happened to my family? Do you know that too?’ Rosette demanded. ‘Who wanted to kill us? Kreshkali?’
‘Not Kreshkali,’ she answered quickly. ‘That evening six years ago was the work of Corsanon assassins.’
‘Hired by?’
Nell shook her head. ‘I’m not certain.’
Jarrod murmured in Rosette’s ear and she nodded. He untied her hair, letting the braids loose, and began brushing through t
hem a few strands at a time. She closed her eyes and smiled. An’ Lawrence and Nell’s conversation disappeared into the background as she focused on the warmth of the fire, and Jarrod’s touch.
She was nodding off when Nell’s voice cut through her private peace.
‘I missed out on raising her too, Rowan! You think it was easy for me to have her come and visit for a summer every few years then disappear again?’
‘At least you had that.’
‘I sent her to you as soon as I could and what did you do? You promptly handed her over to the Lupins of all things.’
‘I didn’t promptly do anything of the kind. The idea was to…’
‘Use her as bait to get your hands on Passillo? Oh that makes it all right then.’
‘Hey, guys.’ Rosette’s voice rose above theirs. ‘You want to start another avalanche? Let it go. It can’t be undone.’
The fire crackled and Drayco stretched. The horses pawed the ground and Jarrod took them a bucket of water that had been set to melt. He refilled it with ice and returned to the fire.
‘She’s right,’ Nell said. ‘We can’t change the past directly, but we can alter the future. We have to work out what to do with Passillo now.’
No-one spoke for some time.
Rosette turned her palms up and studied them as if for the first time. They were glowing red now, finally warmed through.
‘Is that why my spells are so strong, Nell? Walls and mountains cracking when I’m trying to warm the kettle or close the door? Because of Passillo?’
Nell sighed. ‘It’s in your blood. It’s not really the Spell of Passillo any more.’
‘What is it then?’
‘It’s the Spell of Rosette.’
The familiars had stretched out side by side in front of the hearth. An’ Lawrence slept fitfully, his head injury still causing him pain. Jarrod’s eyes were closed, his hand on Rosette’s knee. She wondered if he’d fallen asleep as well.
The wind howled outside the cave. The horses shifted in the gloom beyond the fire.
‘What are we going to do?’ Rosette asked her mother in a low voice. ‘I’ve got something in the vial now, and I don’t even know how that happened, but the spell’s still in me. I can feel it.’
Jarrod’s head snapped up as if suddenly awakened.
‘Where’ve you been?’ Nell asked.
He exhaled forcefully. ‘We have to get the spell, and you, off the continent—beyond everything we know. Past the Isles of Landercan and out to the edge of the world.’ His fierce look gave Rosette chills.
‘Are you certain, Jarrod?’ Nell asked. She lowered her voice: ‘Trackers?’
Rosette barely caught the last word. ‘What do you mean, “trackers”?’
‘It isn’t safe here,’ Jarrod said. ‘The Eastern Range is too high to pass now and Dumarka is no longer a sanctuary. West is the only way.’ He drew a map in the powdery dust with a stick.
‘What are you talking about?’ Rosette asked.
‘The spell has a purpose, Rosette, and we can’t let it fall into the wrong hands.’
‘You mean you can’t let me fall into the wrong hands.’
‘Precisely.’ He looked at Nell. ‘That goes for both of you.’
‘And if they follow?’ Nell directed her question to Jarrod.
‘Eventually they will, but it won’t be easy across the Emerald Sea.’ Jarrod threw his stick on the fire and folded his arms. ‘There are too many islands, too many possibilities. The spell can just disappear out there.’
‘You mean I can just disappear out there?’
‘I meant…’
‘It sounds like the only way, for now,’ Nell said. ‘We can’t risk you either, Jarrod.’
Rosette laced her fingers and put her hands on top of her head. ‘What are you guys talking about? Who’s following? Kreshkali? Are you saying I’ll always be hunted? Always on the run?’
‘Not if we can get you off this world.’ Jarrod turned to face Rosette.
‘Off this world?’ Rosette wrinkled her brow. ‘You mean through the portal?’
Nell hushed them. ‘Before we contemplate that, we have to deal with La Makee. She’d lead them straight to us.’
‘Lead who? What trackers?’
‘What if they think Rosette was lost under Los Loma?’ Jarrod asked.
‘You mean dead?’ Rosette drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. ‘Sounds like I’d be better off.’
‘Think about it,’ Jarrod said. ‘No-one knows what happened in that avalanche. And no-one knows I’m here at all, so far.’
‘What are you suggesting?’
‘Nell, you and An’ Lawrence return to Treeon with the vial. Say that’s all of the spell that you got. It won’t do any harm and it might satisfy La Makee, at least while she tries to work out what it is.’
‘And Rosette?’ Nell asked.
‘Say that she and her temple cat perished in the tunnels under Los Loma. It’s not a far stretch and there’s the landslide to prove it.’
‘They’ll send scouts,’ Nell said, nodding.
‘It’ll buy us time, and put off any other…pursuit.’
‘It’s nothing new,’ Rosette said, closing her eyes. ‘I’ve been playing dead since I was sixteen.’
He leaned closer to her. ‘I won’t be left behind this time. I’ll sail with you. It’ll be all right. I promise.’
‘This will work,’ Nell said. ‘I’ll catch up with you in the islands, once Makee is satisfied.’
Rosette straightened her back. Drayco? It seems we’re on the move again.
I heard. Could be fun?
Maybe. How do you feel about boats?
On the water?
Generally, yes.
I don’t mind, as long as I can stay dry.
I’ll make sure you do, lovely. You can count on it.
Rosette added more wood to the fire, watching the flames until her eyes began to close.
‘Get your coat. I need you to come with me.’ Nell’s voice brought her out of a daze.
She yawned, following her mother out of the cave. The wind raged, whipping her hair about her face. The warm orange tones of the shelter vanished as she closed the flap, immersed now in the pale blue-grey of the moonlight. Nell’s face was covered in shadow. ‘Forgive me, daughter,’ she said. ‘It was always the hardest thing to live with…’
‘What’s that?’
‘Living without you.’
‘It wasn’t to be,’ Rosette said, her teeth starting to chatter.
‘Not angry any more?’
Rosette wrapped her arms around Nell and gave her a brief hug. ‘I think I’ll always be a little angry—something to live with. I’m proud to have Nellion Paree of the Dumarkian Woods as my mother. As far as I can see, you saved my life.’ She felt Nell’s tension ease.
‘My little Kalindi Rose, my Rosette. Those times you came to stay with me were the best of my life.’
‘Mine too, Nell.’
They embraced again until Rosette pulled away.
‘It all makes sense now!’
‘What’s that?’
‘My birth data’s correct, isn’t it?’ Her voice was a challenge. ‘You didn’t alter that?’
‘It’s exact. Bethsay timed it to the second.’
‘Then this explains my natal Moon in the sign of the Water-bearer conjunct Oraneus. It never really fitted before. You know, things like “Sudden and unexpected separations and reunions with the mother, disruption in the home, need for emotional freedom as well as intimacy and closeness…unconventional mother, strange family roots”. I’ve always tried to comprehend that in context with my life in Lividica, as a Matosh, and it never sat right. Now that I know the truth, it makes perfect sense.’
‘Always believe the horoscope, not…’
‘Not the history,’ Rosette laughed, finishing her mother’s sentence. ‘You gave me all the hints in the world, didn’t you?’
‘A few.’
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nbsp; She rubbed her hands together and thrust them into her pockets. ‘It’s freezing out here. Let’s go back to the fire.’
‘First, the vial.’
Rosette loosened her coat and reached into her bodice. She felt the ornate facets of the crystal nestled between her breasts and pulled it out, holding it up to the moonlight. It emanated a pulsing glow.
‘What is it, Nell? Not Passillo.’
‘No, not Passillo. That spell is woven into you now. This is a sample of your aura, a by-product of that weaving you did when you put Kreshkali to sleep.’
‘Can I do without it?’
Nell chuckled. ‘What do you think?’
‘I think I already have. Will it satisfy La Makee, though? Surely she will know it’s not Passillo.’
‘It’ll occupy her for a time, until she works it out.’
‘Then what?’
‘I’m not certain.’
‘That’s not really comforting.’
‘Rosette, it’s going to get…challenging.’
Rosette thought of the meeting with the Lupins, the release of magic that had dropped her to her knees, Drayco in the snow unconscious and the Sword Master face down, Scylla’s blood turning the ice red…Kreshkali’s strange words. Her escape. The avalanche.
She pursed her lips. ‘Going to get challenging?’
Nell laughed. ‘Keep that sense of humour, girl, and you might just come out in one piece! Can you sleep?’
‘Yes, if everyone would leave me alone.’ Rosette yawned massively.
‘The good thing about the northern nights is they last for so long. You’ll be able to get eight hours before dawn if you can keep your hands off Jarrod.’
Heat flushed Rosette’s cheeks in spite of the glacial wind. ‘I’ve always had a strong attraction to him,’ she said through violently chattering teeth.
‘I know.’ Nell led the way back to the warmth of the cave.
‘We all have,’ she added under her breath. ‘He’s in our blood, too.’
Rosette ran her hand across the furs that Jarrod had laid out. ‘Can I sleep with you?’ she asked.
Jarrod unlaced his boots and placed them next to the hearth. ‘That would be my pleasure.’
Rosette snuggled in, pulling the furs up to her chin. ‘I’m so tired,’ she yawned.