Shadows in the Stone

by Diane Lynn McGyver

  Chapter 01

  Maternal Instincts

  Alaura of Niamh bit her lip and twiddled with the small ring on her finger. She glanced around the one-room dwelling and tried to identify the source of a lingering odour which renewed itself when a person moved. Could it be the smell of decomposing food or drying afterbirth?

  The dwelling appeared like many in the town of Maskil except this one had no glass windows. Instead, the occupants had boarded-up the openings. The lantern Alaura had lit upon arrival at Maura of Ealasaid’s home provided the only light. It illuminated the bruises on Maura’s calves and wrists. Alaura surveyed the half-naked hauflin; she looked slim for a woman at full term. Maura caught her staring, and she quickly averted her eyes.

  Alaura didn’t want to be here, but Catriona Wheatcroft, her teacher, had insisted. She had made an excuse, but Catriona ignored it, saying, I need you. Maura needs you.

  Although a stranger in Maskil, Alaura had been accepted as an apprentice by Catriona. Her teacher had told her she’d be capable of great deeds if properly trained in magic. Those deeds included helping others in their time of need. Though Alaura believed a more experienced apprentice made a better choice to assist in the childbirth, she felt compelled to fulfil Catriona’s request.

  Maura cried out, making Alaura jump. She watched the pain rip through the small hauflin’s body. Drenched in sweat, Maura clenched her teeth and gripped the frayed blanket beneath her.

  “Push, Maura!” Catriona glared at the pregnant woman. “One great push for your baby!”

  Alaura watched Maura. She lay on a dilapidated bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn’t want to be here either. Her tattered dress, hiked up past her swollen belly, appeared unfit for washing a floor.

  “I can see the head!” Catriona beamed at Alaura. “It won’t be long now. Support her.”

  Alaura gripped Maura’s hand and gazed into her face; the worry etched deep lines. “One more,” she whispered. She forced a smile.

  Maura clasped her hand and stared into her eyes as if to gather strength for the final push. “You’re like me.” She spoke faintly, but Alaura heard every word. “Hauflin child.”

  Alaura gasped. Maura detected her hauflin origins! No one, not even Catriona, suspected her race to be anything other than full-blood human.

  Maura held her breath. As if forces of their own making worked upon her body, the baby withdrew from her womb. The final excruciating pain subsided, and Maura fell limp against the mattress.

  “It’s alive!” Catriona wrapped the baby in a blanket and gave it to her apprentice.

  The infant wriggled in her arms. Its large brown eyes circled the room then swept over Alaura’s face. A toothless grin lit up its dark complexion, making Alaura giggle. She opened the blanket. “It’s a girl.” The woman held the baby for the new meeme to see. “It’s a girl, Maura. A beautiful, healthy girl. Now you have one of each.”

  “Shhh!” Catriona hushed her apprentice.

  Alaura clamped her mouth shut. No one but the three women and a new baby occupied the room. What triggered Catriona’s uneasiness? The baby kicked the blanket away. “She has strong feet. She’ll be running before long.” Hauflins had thicker skin on the bottom of their feet than humans and walked barefoot easily. Before arriving at Maskil, Alaura lived most of her time without shoes.

  “Ignorant hauflins go shoeless in town,” said Catriona. She took a silver necklace from a chest and draped it around the baby’s neck. The cold jewellery on bare skin made the baby purse her lips in surprise. The five blue stones imbedded in the medallion sparkled.

  “She’s a dear,” said Alaura. “Full of happiness.”

  “She’s not meant for happiness.”

  Alaura stared at Catriona. Why did she say this? Maura’s horrid condition meant she’d expire soon, but her child had hope for a better life, not misery. She felt a tug on her arm.

  “Keep her safe.” Maura’s weak voice trailed off into almost inaudible words. “You’re one of us. A woman. A hauflin. Upon my death, it becomes your duty.”

  Catriona hadn’t heard the last few sentences, but Alaura’s hauflin ears caught every word. “I’ll keep her safe. You have my word.”

  “Your word?” asked Maura.

  Alaura caught her breath as the woman’s grip tightened; she hadn’t meant that word. She glanced at Catriona, who was cleaning the birth mess at Maura’s feet.

  The sorceress had warned her apprentice not to get personally involved. The baby had been assigned a home. Giving her word meant Alaura would be bonded to Maura’s daughter. The new meeme couldn’t see Catriona’s negative expression, but she’d feel the pain if Alaura obeyed her teacher.

  Only eighteen years old, Alaura had problems of her own which forced her to hideout in Maskil. Still, Maura’s eyes begged her to accept the covenant, and the soft smile of the baby cradled in her arms tugged at her maternal instincts. How could she deny a dying woman’s wish for her newborn to be kept safe?

  “I give you my word,” said Alaura.

  “Your word is your bond.” Maura presented the covenant.

  “My word is my bond.” A strange sensation stirred in Alaura’s stomach and moved into her chest. It entered her throat and caused a small burp.

  Satisfied, Maura released Alaura’s hand and sank into the pillow. Her daughter safe, she appeared to welcome the journey to the Plane of Peace. Alaura watched her place a gentle hand upon the baby’s cheek.

  “Isla of Maura.”

  “A beautiful name.” Alaura gazed upon the bright child, full of innocence and bliss. She glanced at her teacher who covered the hauflin with a warm blanket.

  Catriona frowned. Although an apprentice for only two months, Alaura had an idea of what Catriona might be thinking: It’s senseless to think of protecting the child when it’s destined for a family in Petra.

  Alaura gave her word to protect the child until then. Her bond dissolved when Isla arrived at her new home in the northern town. At the very least, giving her word eased Maura’s concerns.

  “Tend to her as a garden throughout the seasons,” whispered Maura in Hauflin.

  “I’ll do my best,” said Alaura.

  Pain gripped Maura. She cried out.

  Catriona ushered the young woman from the bed. “You know what to do.” She pulled the blanket over the baby’s face. “May the night fairies see you safely to your destination.”

  Alaura held the baby close and went for the door.

  Suddenly it swung open and Keiron Ruckle, Maura’s mate, walked in. The women froze.

  “What’s going on?” Keiron cast a scowl around the room, taking in the scene.

  “Maura lost the baby,” said Catriona. “Alaura, take away the remains.”

  Alaura attempted to pass, but Keiron grabbed her arm. “Show me the body.”

  “Allow her to proceed out of respect for the deceased,” said Catriona in her sternest voice. “Your mate is in need of your attention. She’ll soon join your child.”

  Keiron withdrew a dagger from his belt and held it to Alaura’s side. “It’s my right to witness the passing.”

  Alaura’s eyes implored Catriona. What could she do? She had never before been threatened with a weapon. This man of the same race as her das had a scowl that conjured nightmares. Her hands trembled, but she held the baby securely.

  Keiron gripped Alaura’s arm and used the dagger to flick the blanket from the baby’s face. He grunted in disgust but the sight of the jewelled necklace stifled him.

  “Maura is a breath away from death! It’s your duty as her mate to grant her your time!” Catriona stood strong, but the shakiness in her voice betrayed her.

  “If she’s that close to death, she ain’t needin’ me but the undertaker.” Keiron stared at the necklace.

  “She’s a helpless child.” Alaura tried to pull away but ceased struggling when the dagger poked her side.

  “If yew know what’s good for yew, yer’ll hand over the bairn and run as if th
e harpies are at yer heels.”

  “Keiron, allow the girl to pass. The baby will be taken care of as Maura instructed.” Catriona kept her distance.

  “The bairn’s mine!”

  “You can’t have her!” Alaura planted her feet and held the baby tighter.

  “Maura gave the baby to me!” lied Catriona.

  “If it’s the necklace you desire, take it!” The smell of meat and sour rum in the man’s breath filled Alaura’s air passages. “But leave the baby!”

  “No!” Catriona stepped closer. “Alaura, we can’t—”

  “The Law of the Land grants me right to my child.” In a flawless motion, Keiron struck Alaura in the jaw with the butt of the dagger and snatched the baby from her arms.

  He pointed the dagger toward Maura. “I expect this mess to be cleaned up and yew hags gone by the time I return.” He left the dwelling, slamming the door behind him.

  Alaura struggled to her feet. “You should have given him the necklace! It’s what he wanted!”

  Catriona clasped her hands in front of her. “The Law of the Land grants him the claim to his child. We can’t challenge it. As for the necklace, it must remain with the girl.”

  “Keiron will sell it!”

  “I believe otherwise.” She remembered Maura and raced to her side too late. The hauflin had completed her trip to the Plane of Peace.