Chapter Six
“I’ve got plenty of respect for people who know their place.”
“Are you saying that I don’t?” Dylan’s voice lowered dangerously.
“Perhaps you don’t, if you’re one of those witches. Have you cast any spells lately?”
“I don’t cast spell,” Dylan ground out. “I was born with my powers, the same as every Vallen.”
“Then why do you defend them? They all deserve to be rounded up and thrown in prison,” the man said.
Thomas and James stood up, immediately followed by a few men at another table halfway across the room.
“You can’t mean what you say, Richard,” James said, his voice calm and soothing.
“Don’t use your magic on me, James.” The man, Richard, only glanced at James as he spoke to him, but wisely did not look away from Dylan for more than a second.
James raised his hands. “No magic.”
“Your magic’s not in your hands, it’s in your voice. You think I don’t know that?” Richard was sounding even angrier.
“You just stay out of this, James,” one of the men from the other table said.
“But, surely, Richard doesn’t believe these witch hunts are justified,” Thomas said to the men at the table.
“I most certainly do,” Richard defended himself.
“I thought you said this was a Vallen pub?” Dylan asked Thomas.
“It is,” Thomas agreed.
“Then how was this ordinary allowed in?” Dylan asked.
There were gasps of outrage and Dylan found himself pinned to the bar by the man’s magic. “What did you call me?” he growled.
“You heard me,” Dylan said, not backing down despite the fact that he couldn’t move. “Only an ordinary would accept his own people being captured and treated like animals.”
“It is the witches they’re capturing,” Richard said.
“It’s the Vallen, you idiot. Now, let him go.” Old Maud was standing by the doorway, her hands on her waist.
Richard swung around, his hand shooting out toward her. The old woman went flying sideways into an empty table. She landed on the floor hard with an “oof.” The table teetered for a second and then fell on to the old woman’s legs. She cried out in pain.
“How could you!” I yelled, as I ran for the woman.
“You’re worse than an ordinary,” Dylan shouted, still pinned to the bar.
The man’s eyes widened when he saw who he’d just attacked. “Didn’t know…” the man started to say before Aron punched him so hard he went flying.
“That’s the way,” Old Maud encouraged him, and the others, who joined in the fight.
“Maud, are you all right?” I asked, brushing the old woman’s spindly gray hair out of her face.
“No, but I do like to see someone get their comeuppance.” Her lips twitched into a smile before hardening into a grimace of pain.
I turned and found Scai and Sir Dagonet right next to me. “Can you get the table off of her?” I asked, putting my hands to the old woman’s face.
“Consider it done,” Sir Dagonet said, pointing to the table. It righted itself, but Old Maud cried out even as it lifted off of her. I dissipated as much of the pain as I could.
Running a hand over the old woman’s forehead, brushing her hair back, I sent soothing feelings into her mind and down into her legs. I may not be able to know what someone was thinking or the emotions they were feeling, but I knew all about pain and how to make it go away. The old woman sighed and closed her eyes.
Grunts and splashes and the sound of wood breaking made me turn around. There was total chaos behind me as all of my brothers, Aron, and Dylan battled it out against a number of men I didn’t know. Punches were thrown, balls of energy whizzed past, and a strong wind blew through, sending doors opening and shutting, banging as they flew this way and that.
The wind stopped abruptly, making me look to Scai. She gave me a nod and a little smile. But just as she did, a man close to us suddenly threw back his head and howled as if he were in the greatest agony.
“That must have been Dylan,” Scai said, her eyebrows knitting over her forehead.
I could only nod.
“Might want to put that out,” Sir Dagonet said, pointing at a fire that had just come to life in another man’s hand.
I didn’t know if he was about to throw it or if someone else had set him on fire, but I doused the flames with my mind. I quickly ducked back toward Maud when the man looked around to see how that had happened and Sir Dagonet stepped between us and the advancing man.
When I peeked over my shoulder again, he had wisely decided against attacking Sir Dagonet and was instead advancing on Joan who was standing against the wall trying to stay out of the way.
Thomas threw himself sideways at the man, tackling him to the ground. “Not her. Not her fight,” he growled, threatening the man with his fist.
The man threw up his hands to protect himself. “All right, all right!” he cried.
A gentle hand on my arm made me turn back to the old woman. It was too easy to get caught up watching the fight. I had a patient to care for. “Sorry.” I took one more quick glance up to see that Sir Dagonet was still defending Maud and me from anyone who dared to get too close. His presence made me feel a lot better.
A quick feel of the old woman’s legs, and I knew that one of them was badly broken. “We need to get her out of here,” I said, raising my voice to be heard over the noise. I peeked over my shoulder again just as Piers got a chair smashed over his back and Aron dodged getting a face full of someone’s fist. Sir Dagonet had moved out of sight.
“Aron!” Scai and I called together. We turned and looked at each other, both of us trying not to laugh that we’d had the same thought at the same time.
Aron ducked the man who was trying hit him and gave him a shove into Dylan, who had been released from the bar. Dylan turned on the fellow with an elbow to his gut and then a knock to the back of the man’s head when he doubled over so that he went sprawling to the floor.
“Do you need help?” Aron asked, winded from the fight.
“Yes. We need to get Old Maud upstairs to a bed so that I can heal her leg,” I told him.
Aron looked to the old woman, clearly still in pain as she lay on the floor, then turned around to look at the chaos blocking the way to the stairs. He turned back to me, shaking his head. “I don’t know how we’re going to do that.”
I thought about it for a moment and then stood up.
“No fire, please,” Aron said quickly.
I just smiled back at him. “I promise, no fire.”
I then turned back to the fight, put my fingers to my lips and whistled. The high, piercing sound made everyone stop whatever they were doing and turn toward me. There was only one more “oof” as a punch was carried through.
“That’s enough!” I said, taking charge. “You are all Vallen. Whether you are stupid enough to believe that anyone labeled a witch should be rounded up or not, you need to stand together. Only together can we protect ourselves and our people.”
“And what about the charlatans, the witches?” Richard growled out.
“They have never bothered us before, there’s no reason why they should now,” I answered. “Now go home, all of you.”
There was grumbling, but they all did as I told them. The man who started the whole thing turned toward Old Maud on his way out. He wiped away the blood that was trickling from his nose. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have attacked if I’d known it was you, Maud.”
“You never look,” the old woman scolded. “You always act before you think, Richard. Hopefully, tonight, you’ve had some sense knocked into you.”
The man scowled at her harsh words, but nodded and went out the door.
As my brothers began to leave, I called out to Thomas. “I’ll be home soon. I need to care for Old Maud.”
“I’m going to take Scai back, she looks exhausted,” Aron said, puttin
g his arm around my sister just as Dylan approached them with Sir Dagonet.
“I’ll…” Scai began.
“Go home,” Dylan finished for her.
“James and Sir Dagonet will stay with me,” I reassured her.
Scai nodded and then left, flanked by Aron and Dylan. I tore my eyes away and focused on Old Maud, ignoring the jealousy that was jabbing into the pit of my stomach.
James turned at my words and came over. “What can I do?”
He had been working for Old Maud for years. I was certain the older woman would feel more comfortable with him nearby. “We need to take Maud upstairs. Her leg is broken.”
A look of serious concern spoke from his eyes.
“It’s all right, I can fix it.”
“You can?” My brother looked at me, truly amazed.
“You can heal bones?” Old Maud asked at the same time.
I smiled, but it was Sir Dagonet who answered. “Trick Merlin taught her, don’t you know?”
“Well, then, I know I’m in good hands,” Maud said. Her lips quirked up, but I wasn’t sure if it was a smile or a grimace of pain.
As James turned to find the innkeeper, Sir Dagonet lifted Old Maud as gently as if he were holding a newborn baby. I kept a hold on her leg to keep the pain to a minimum, and we made our way across the wreckage-strewn taproom. The owner nodded to James and jumped in front of us with a lit lantern and keys jingling in his hand.
We followed him up the stairs and down a short hallway to a room, which he opened for us.
Maud tried not to cry out as she was lain on the narrow feather bed in the center of the otherwise bare room. It was clear that she was in a great deal of pain. The fire was laid, so I lit it with a wave of my hand and made a note of the table with a basin on it. It was probably empty of water, but I didn’t think I’d be needing any. At least the room smelled like it had been aired recently.
“James, you talk to her, keep her calm,” I directed.
My brother kneeled next to the bed so that he wouldn’t jostle the older woman.
Old Maud raised her other hand and held it out. “You come hold my hand,” she said, looking at Sir Dagonet. “I like handsome young men.” Her lips quirked into a little smile despite the fact that her eyes were still filled with pain.
The knight chuckled as he moved around to the other side of the bed and followed James’s lead, kneeling on the floor.
“How do you do this, girl?” Old Maud asked me.
“I’m going to meld your bone back together. But it’s going to hurt.”
“Did it to me,” Sir Dagonet said. “My leg was like new, don’t you know?”
Old Maud nodded and closed her eyes.
I knelt next to my brother. Feeling the bone just at the break, I first made sure that the two pieces were aligned. It was a clean fracture, so I wrapped my hands around the old woman’s leg and concentrated. Bringing heat and healing, picturing the bone melding together to become whole. Flames filled my mind, heat my hands. Luckily, my magic was getting stronger so it didn’t take as much energy to mend Old Maud’s bone as it had when I’d done the same for Sir Dagonet.
The sound of Maud whimpering slipped in to my consciousness, but I couldn’t let it distract me. The bone wasn’t fully melded yet. I brought more heat, more fire and felt the bone knit back together. As soon as it was whole, I doused my flames and cooled the old woman’s leg. Gently, I smoothed my hands over the skin, cooling the burn. The woman sighed and I opened my eyes again.
James had been quietly whispering to her, his voice soothing her throughout. Slowly, he let his voice fade away. After a moment’s silence he asked, “Are you all right now, Maud?”
We waited. The old woman’s chest slowly rising and falling with her breathing. At least that was a good sign, I thought.
Maud cleared her throat. “It’s all right,” she whispered. She opened her eyes. “You were right. It hurt like the dickens, but it’s much better now.”
“As good as new, wot?” Sir Dagonet smiled at her.
“You’re Sir Dagonet, aren’t you?” Old Maud asked.
The knight bowed his head. “At your service, madam.”
The woman smiled. “James has told me of you. Fought with King Arthur, and worked with Merlin.”
“I have had the honor,” Sir Dagonet answered.
“I have another piece of your puzzle, Bridget. Remembered it not too long ago,” she said.
My breath caught in my throat.
Sir Dagonet looked confused. “Piece of what puzzle, madam?”
“Merlin’s prophecy. He gave a piece to you and a piece to Lady Morgan to pass down to her daughters.” Old Maud’s eyes flitted back to me.
“You know the prophecy?” I asked, breathing again.
“Your mother told it to me before she died.” The old woman licked her dry lips. “Said I was to pass it on to you and Scai when the time was right. I figure that would be now. You’ll share it with your sister.”
The old pain of not having ever known my mother cut through me. I hadn’t felt this or even thought of it, for so long, but now the old wounds were feeling raw and new.
“Of course!”
“By all means, madam, by all means. Had no idea there was more,” Sir Dagonet said, riveted by Old Maud’s words.
“Let me get you some water,” James said, disengaging his hand from hers. Briefly, he put a consoling hand on my shoulder.
Maud nodded, and he slipped from the room. His warmth stayed with me as we waited in silence until he returned with a tankard.
He gently sat down on the bed beside her and then worked his way under her back and lifted her up so that she could drink.
“Ah, ale, even better.” The old woman laughed.
“Sorry, they didn’t have any clean water at hand,” James apologized.
“No, no, this is better. Fills the belly,” the old woman said.
“The prophecy?” Sir Dagonet asked, prodding her on now that she was fortified. He was clearly very eager to hear this.
I had to admit a flame had lit in my stomach, too, at the prospect of another prophecy, especially one that had been passed down for generations through the women of my family intended for me and Scai.
The woman wiped the foam off her upper lip and then cleared her throat. Her voice was strong but quiet as she recited.
“Coming to the end of time
All things now will start to align
Hark ye to this last advice
With little time left, I’ll be concise
To join with me is what you need
Defeating her with haste and speed
It’s lips and gaze and then the will
The one that’s left will have the skill.
Come to me so you may prevail
Fear not, the right shall never fail
From she who wants, have no fear
Forever will I hold her dear.”
The old woman’s voice faded away and she closed her eyes clearly worn out.
There was silence.
I sought James’s eyes and then Sir Dagonet’s. I had no idea what it meant. It was almost nonsense.
“Is that all?” I finally asked.
“Sure you got it right?” Sir Dagonet said.
Old Maud nodded. “From her mother’s lips to mine, that was all she said.” She paused. “I need to sleep now.” She raised a hand and idly waved us all away.
“I’ll be back in the morning to check on you, Maud,” I said, as we all slowly left the room.
Only a soft snore answered me.
Chapter Seven
Joan was still patching up my brothers and Dylan when James, Sir Dagonet, and I returned home.
“Where are Aron and Scai?” I asked, coming into the drawing room.
“In your room,” Matthias answered, with a sly sort of smile.
I frowned at him, not even wanting to know what he was implying with that grin.
“Got something important to disc
uss, don’t you know,” Sir Dagonet said.
“I’ll get them.” I turned away from my brother and went down the hall to my bedroom.
I was about to push open the door, which was mostly closed, when I heard Scai make a noise that almost sounded like a moan. Thinking she was hurt, I started to take a step into the room, but I stopped abruptly at the sight in front of me.
At first I thought Scai and Aron were embracing, but then I saw that it was much more—they were kissing! I squeezed my eyes shut so I didn’t set anything on fire with the fury the engulfed me. The burning pain in my belly was enough to deal with. I just stood there holding my breath trying not to feel. Not to think. Not to scream.
What were they doing?
How could she? How could he?
Hadn’t he very nearly kissed me today?
Had that just been my imagination? No. It couldn’t have been. So, what the hell was he doing kissing Scai?
And what about Dylan?
Poor Dylan! I thought Scai loved him. I was sure he thought so, too.
What the hell?
I clamped my mouth down on the words, the scream that wanted to burst from me, and instead took a slow step back out of the room.
I leaned my head back against the wall next to the partially open door.
Blinking back the tears, I tried to get my scrambled mind working again. What should I do? Should I do anything? Should I say anything? Should I tell Dylan?
Oh, goodness, no! That I definitely should not do. We needed to work together. We still had to defeat Nimuë and there was no way that was going to happen if I told Dylan.
Maybe I was imagining things. I was very tired.
I peeked back into the room. Nope. Scai now had her head resting on Aron’s chest.
If I said anything to Scai, she might get angry that I was snooping on her. I couldn’t say anything to Dylan. He would be hurt beyond measure. No. There was nothing I could do until we finished with Nimuë.
And Aron? What could I say to him without sounding like a hurt child? I thought you liked me? I guess I was wrong. I dashed a tear from my cheek.
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