by Barb Hendee
Aunt Doreena was now holding the black cloth, but she seemed beyond words.
With everyone looking on, both Rosario and Heraldo faced Corbin, who stood staring at the ground.
“Why?” Heraldo asked in pained confusion. “Why would you do this?”
Corbin’s face twitched, but he didn’t look up.
“Answer him!” Rosario ordered.
Jan had never seen his uncle so angry.
Corbin was silent a moment longer and then whispered, “For Belle.”
A hush fell over the group. Belle was sitting by the fire, near Julianna, but she didn’t react in any way to Corbin’s words.
“For Belle?” Rosario asked.
“So she would turn to me!” Corbin suddenly cried, looking up. “She loves me. She’s told me so, but Rico protects your family, and so she doesn’t need me. If he... if he was gone, she would need me, and if she needed me, she could be with me.”
Rosario and Heraldo both seemed so stunned that neither could respond, but Doreena stepped forward, holding out the glimmering cloth. “So you what... you stole an enchanted cloth that allows you to shift your shape?”
“I didn’t steal it!” Corbin shouted at her. “And it doesn’t change my shape. There is no cloth that could make me into a shifter. It’s a glamour... nothing more. When I wear the cloth, people see and hear a great cat.” He pointed to the metal hand-rake on the ground. “I used that for my claws.”
Rico was tightly poised outside the circle, glaring inward, and as Jan glanced over, he hoped his tall cousin would stay out of this and leave it to Aunt Doreena and Uncle Rosario and Heraldo.
The two older men still appeared speechless, trying to absorb a betrayal they probably thought far, far beyond one of their own.
“You bought the cloth?” Doreena asked Corbin. “From whom?”
“A kettle witch, when we stayed in Enêmûsk over the summer. I learned he was skilled with glamours, and I asked him to make it for me.”
Jan tensed as the story grew more bizarre. The term “kettle witch” was used by the Móndyalítko to describe someone without natural powers like the Mist-Torn or the shifters but who had created power for him or herself via the study of spell components. Most of the Móndyalítko avoided them when possible.
“But Corbin...” Doreena went on, her voice softer now. She held up the cloth again. “Glamour or not, this cloth is no trifle. Just the components would cost dearly. You could not possibly have purchased this with any side money that you earned from...”
She stopped. An instant later, Rosario’s eyes widened.
“The box?” he asked hoarsely.
Julianna reached up and gripped the back of Jan’s hand, and the implication became clear to him. Corbin had stolen the money from the group’s community box. That would mean that Aunt Doreena hadn’t checked it since leaving Enêmûsk, but why would she? Serov was the first place where they’d needed to purchase supplies.
“Two years, Corbin,” Doreena said. “Two years of saving.”
After that, everyone remained quiet for a few moments, and then from his position outside the circle, Rico asked, “What are we going to do? We cannot turn him over to Braxton.”
“Why not?” Jan countered. “Maybe we should just turn him over and let him pay for maiming two townspeople.”
Corbin began breathing faster.
“And tell Braxton what?” Rosario asked raggedly, finding his voice. “That Corbin was trying to discredit my son, who is a shifter, to get Rico arrested? And that in order to do so, he purchased a cloth to make himself appear as a great cat? Is that what we tell Braxton?”
Jan looked away, feeling foolish. “No... no of course not.”
“I’ll handle this,” Heraldo said, his eyes bleak. “He is my responsibility, and I was blind.” He glanced over at Belle. “About many things.”
Grabbing Corbin’s arm, he led the young man away, but Jan knew nothing would ever be quite the same among the family again. One of their own had betrayed them. Rosario put his arm around Doreena gently, and the two of them walked off, speaking quietly to each other. Other people headed for their own wagons as if wishing to be away from the scene they’d just witnessed.
Rico turned and stalked toward the forest. “I’m going hunting.”
Jan didn’t blame him for wanting to be alone.
Finally, only Belle, Jan, and Julianna remained by the fire.
Julianna was uncharacteristically quiet. It left him unsettled, and he remembered what she’d told him a few days before... about someone needing to do something about Belle.
“Isn’t anyone going to eat dinner?” Belle asked.
Jan stared at her. “You’ll need to apologize to Heraldo for your part in this, and try to make amends.”
“Me? Make amends for what?”
He could barely believe her answer. “I’ve seen you leading Corbin on, teasing him, dancing for him. But I’d no idea how far it had gone. He said you told him that you loved him. Have you?”
“Of course I have!” Her eyes flashed. “I love all my family. Men fall in love with me all the time, Jan, and you know it! It’s no fault of mine.” She turned away angrily, putting the back of one hand to her eye, as if she were the injured party. “I can’t help what men feel.”
Shaking slightly, Jan realized that more words were futile, and he drew Julianna up to her feet.
“Let’s go to the wagon.”
Julianna walked beside him. Doreena and Rosario had wandered off, and Jan and Julianna had the inside to themselves. She sank on her bunk, and he sat beside her.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes. Do you think Rico will be all right?”
“I think so.” Jan paused. “No one can prove anything against him, and the attacks will stop now.”
He studied her profile and thought on how she’d uncovered the truth tonight. He remembered the sight of her scrambling around and grabbing the branch to defend herself. Also, she’d seen the danger Belle posed when no one else had. Long suppressed feelings rose up inside him, and he struggled to keep from reaching out and grasping her hand.
“I’m... I’m so glad you came with me on this trip,” he said quietly.
She turned to him in surprise. He didn’t often express such sentiments.
“I’m glad too,” she whispered.
They were both quiet for a little while, and he wondered how she’d react if he did take her hand, touch her fingers with his.
“So, what happens tomorrow?” she asked, breaking the moment.
“Tomorrow? I expect we’ll go into town and set up a show. Do you want to come with me and bring your tambourine?”
She smiled. “I do.”
Other Works
About “Pending” Works:
This indicator within brackets is only used for works confirmed for release within six months following the release of this text. Where a more specific schedule has been set, this is usually mentioned instead.
The Noble Dead Saga
by Barb & J.C. Hendee
Series/Phase 1
Dhampir
Thief of Lives
Sister of the Dead
Traitor to the Blood
Rebel Fay
Child of a Dead God
Series/Phase 2
In Shade and Shadow
Through Stone and Sea
Of Truth and Beasts
Series/Phase 3
Between Their Worlds
The Dog in the Dark
A Wind in the Night [1/2014]
[…and more to come.]
Tales from the world of
the Noble Dead Saga
by Barb and/or J.C. Hendee
“Homeward”
The Game Piece
The Feral Path
The Sapphire
The Keepers
The Reluctant Guardian
Captives
Claws
“Bones of the Earth”
; Karras the Kitten
Karras the Cat
“Tales of Misbelief”
The Forgotten Lord
“Sagecraft”
Puppy Love
The Mist-Torn Witches Series
by Barb Hendee
The Mist-Torn Witches
Witches in Red [5/2014]
The Vampire Memories Series
by Barb Hendee
Blood Memories
Hunting Memories
Memories of Envy
In Memories We Fear
Ghosts of Memories