“Who’s your daddy?”
The baby boy smiled at the question, showing off his dimples. His magic, which was just potential really, and not anything the baby could access, was nothing like any other magic she'd ever encountered.
“No, seriously, who is your daddy? I'd really like to meet him.” Actually, she’d like to do far more than meet him, but the boy was too young to speak intelligently. All that came out of his mouth was a babble of sounds. Hyntra returned him to his carrier, but he kicked and punched her when she tried to secure him in place.
“You ungrateful wretch. This is for your protection.”
She raised her hand to strike him then froze as she sensed a presence behind her. Even the baby quit struggling in favor of pushing himself up to a sit so he could see over the rim of the basket. It was just barely big enough to contain him. He was a big baby and an agile one too.
“Do no harm if you wish to enter here,” said the shining angel standing in front of the golden curtain of light, marking the outer shield of a haven.
Hyntra suppressed the sardonic retort rising to her lips. Instead, she said, “is that your fee for sheltering us in there?” She gestured to the shimmering golden dome that cupped a clearing in the forest and both protected it and controlled its weather.
How she wished her plan didn't require the use of a haven. Their magic made her skin crawl. But it did, so she’d have to make do. Only a haven could supercharge these babies and turn their proto-magic into the raw power needed to summon a fallen god. And that meant getting permission to enter. Hyntra suppressed a sigh. She hated asking for things. She preferred to take what she needed, but that wouldn’t work here.
As she waited for the angel to reply, winter bore down on them. But on the other side of that golden light, high summer reigned. At least it did inside that shimmering dome of power. The angel didn’t react to the cold or the snow piling up on his sandal-shod feet. Golden laces wrapped around his ankles and calves holding his impractical footwear in place. Other than that, his legs were bare under his knee-length robe.
It was a pristine white, of course, with purple bands at the hem and the edges of his bell sleeves. A purple sash cinched the ensemble closed and held a sheathed sword at his hip that flickered in and out of view. White flames raced over its hilt. Very impressive. But Angels of Place generally were since their job was to protect, and they had a license to dismember anyone who threatened the safety of those staying in the places they were bound to.
What a fight that would be. She salivated at the thought. After she completed the ritual and divested herself of all authority, Hyntra hoped she’d get the chance.
When the angel continued to regard her with unreadable violet eyes that glowed softly in the deepening night, Hyntra put on her most charming smile and lowered her eyes demurely.
“You honor us with your presence.”
Usually, the haven’s guardian didn’t pop in for a face-to-face meeting. Either the shield let you pass, or it didn’t. That was the usual way of things. What had drawn him out? Perhaps it was the baby she’d brought. What interest could an angel bound to a haven have with that smiley tyke?
The question gnawed at Hyntra as she sought something to say so he’d let them pass. What did he need to hear?
“Is the haven occupied?” That was the only reason she could think of to explain his presence. It had better not be because she needed this particular haven. None other would do. The spell in her pocket was very specific about that, but it didn’t state the reasons why.
The angel shook his head. Then, why the hell was he barring her way?
“Would you let so innocent a child freeze when you can grant him warmth and safety?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. It was the mage’s son. He was a few months shy of a year old and leaning over the side of the tilting basket to stare up at the angel. He smiled, and the angel stared at him with wonder in his eyes.
Well, well, well, what have we here? Could this angel be interested in this baby?
Hyntra wished she knew his parentage. He had the same eyes as the mage she’d tried to snatch earlier, but all mages with access to earth magic had those green, green eyes. So that was no help. And that mage had struck her as a little too young to have a son of his own. But she could hope this child turned out to be his.
Since the angel was so taken with the child, she plucked him out of his carrying basket before he climbed out and presented him to the angel.
“Hi,” the baby said as Hyntra’s hunch paid off.
The angel backed away, waving his hands to fend off the reaching baby. “I can’t,” he said, turning his face away.
Hyntra advanced as he retreated into the haven. Part three of her plan was nearly complete.
“You offer us the hospitality of this haven then?” she pressed before the angel realized what had just happened.
Hyntra held the baby up, who kept waving and saying “hi,” and, made it clear that the ‘us’ encompassed the child and her party. Behind her, the rest of the Wild Hunt follow her through that golden shield before the angel could protest. Hyntra heard their suppressed gasps of surprise and alarm at the strange feel of its magic on their hides and ignored them for now.
They weren’t important. Gaining permission to stay was paramount to her plan. This haven would be her base and the site of her greatest achievement. But the angel had to agree first.
Hyntra signaled She-Anne with a glance to move up to stand beside her to add some extra pressure. The smart faun held the other basket out. In it, the Witchling slept. She was a tiny thing, but she was only a few months old.
“The night is long and cold, and these little ones need the warmth and safety of this place.” Hyntra turned up the charm, and the baby in her arms waved his chubby fists happily.
“Hi, hi, hi,” he said before dissolving into baby talk again. That unexpected greeting softened the angel’s heart, and he nodded.
“I grant you the hospitality of the haven. Do no harm here, and no harm will come to you.” That said, he vanished just as swiftly as he’d appeared, but he wasn’t gone just invisible and ever vigilant, which was fine.
She didn’t intend to harm the babies. She preferred to prey on teenage boys, not young children. But she couldn’t say the same for the spell she intended to use. It didn’t say what would happen to the babies nor did she care. They were tools.
Now, for the tricky part. She needed one more thing from the angel of this haven.
“Do you grant us the freedom to come and go as we please? Since we can’t do any harm while here, we also can’t hunt, only forage. But we can’t live on plants alone.”
Just the idea revolted Hyntra. She liked her meat red and dripping with blood. Cooking spoiled the flavor, but it was necessary to preserve some meat for the lean season because the beasts she liked to eat were scarce then.
“The babes will stay here,” she clarified when he remained silent for too long. He was still there. She could feel his presence. “We would only leave to acquire food and bring it back.”
Oh, that was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that. She still had two more babies on her list. One should be taken oh, about now, but the other was more complicated. She needed to lead that mission personally.
“You may leave and return for two days. On the third day, you must depart and stay away for one year to the day, so others may use this haven.”
“Then we have a bargain.”
The angel reappeared briefly and nodded. “Yes, the bargain is struck. Hold to your end of it, and I will uphold mine.”
And he would have to keep out anyone who wasn’t part of the Wild Hunt out. Hyntra smiled at that. If any of the parents of these children managed to track them down, they’d never pass the haven’s outer shield. Its angel wouldn’t allow them in until the third day, but by then, she wouldn’t need these brats anymore or the haven.
“Good.” Because she had preparations to make. The spel
l called for a complicated set of drawings to be traced on the ground in a specific sequence. She’d better get someone on that. They looked awfully time-consuming.
The End
* * *
Continue the Robin of Larkspur Series with Rogue Night.
https://melindakucsera.com/Rogue-Night/
https://melindakucsera.com
* * *
Get the only character-run newsletter of its kind. Sign up today:
www.mkucsera.com/welcomecharacters
About the Author
Melinda Kucsera writes fantastic short stories, novels, and books when not being kidnapped by dragons or chased by armies of fictional creatures. (We do, on occasion, rescue her.) She leaves the running of her newsletter to a cast of lovable characters who hog her inbox.
Enough about her, it’s us you’re really interested in, her cast of characters. Join us every week for a new story at www.mkucsera.com/welcomecharacters. Let us take over your inbox. We promise to behave.
Read More from Melinda Kucsera
https://melindakucsera.com/the-curse-breaker-saga/
Hunter's Night Page 17