The Second Talisman: (Book II of the Elementals Series)

by Marisol Logan

  The

  Second

  Talisman

  -Book II

  of the Elementals Series-

  by Marisol Logan

  Thanks to my wonderful sisters and my mom, and love to my husband, for all their support. Special thanks to my editors, whose guidance and dedication made this series possible.

  Copyright © 2017 Marisol Logan

  All rights reserved

  Cover Design: Romacdesigns

  Editors: Jessica Evans and Jessica Young

  -I-

  Veria was not ashamed to admit that she would have appreciated the services of a Diamond Mager, the sect of Earth Magers who had the ability to erase memories, today. She had been beached like a whale on the sofa in the library, reading some of her father's early journals about his apprenticeship with Daloes, when she felt the first few stabs of pain, starting in her back and ripping around to the center of her giant, swollen abdomen.

  Tanisca had been nearby in her den and heard Veria's groans of pain as soon as they had left her daughter’s mouth, sending one of the servants into town to fetch Turqa immediately. And once Turqa arrived, Veria had been under the impression that the process might get better, or easier, or go relatively quickly, but she was wrong on every account. Hours and hours went by of the frequent, rhythmic, clamping squeeze of her muscles, each one accompanied by escalating pain that felt like a hot knife across her entire belly.

  Turqa had felt the process would go faster if he drew the water out of the womb with his powers, and Veria had quickly agreed, willing to do anything to get it all over with. He had shifted the fluid inside of her just enough to cause it to rupture with a pop, and it gushed out of her like a bucket of warm water.

  But Turqa hadn't warned her that the pain would immediately get worse after the water was gone. Veria had managed to breath through and stay relatively composed through most of the pain up until that moment, but after the removal of the water, it was too much for her. She had screamed and cried and writhed in her bed, begging everyone to make it end. She had known for certain there was no way she could go on, there was no way she could get through it, and when they told her how wonderful her progress was and how she was going to feel like pushing soon, she had felt quite certain that she'd rather die than do that.

  Turqa must have sensed her exhaustion and surrender as he had produced a small vial from his bag and instructed her to drink it. He had called it 'Tranquil Tonic', and explained, though Veria had hardly been listening, that it was a tried and true Water Mager recipe passed down for several centuries, collected from the stillest waters of...

  She hadn't heard the rest. Turqa's potion had kicked in quickly and removed enough of the pain that she knew it was her window of opportunity to get the whole thing over with. The rest of it had gone by so quickly, she hardly remembered the details. She remembered contorting herself and squeezing every muscle in her body as tightly as she could, but she wasn't entirely sure she knew why. She remembered shouting at the top of her lungs through the pushes and crying for help in between them. She remembered feeling like she hadn't made any progress on anything, and not knowing how she would even know if she had, when Turqa and Tanisca and all the nurses faces suddenly lit up while watching the space under her gown while she labored.

  She remembered wanting to give up right as they told her she was “almost there. Almost done!” The two nurses Turqa had brought with him had tucked her knees up to her chest on either side of her bulge, practically folding her in half, and with one final contraction of what felt like every fiber of her entire body, it was over.

  Having been drained of all her energy, she vaguely remembered the nurses cleaning the baby and handing it to her. Tanisca had cried and exclaimed “A beautiful daughter!” And Veria had felt her vision go blurry, like the life had been sucked out of her.

  Tanisca had taken the baby so Veria could rest, and Veria wondered how long ago that had been as she sat in her bed replaying the events, groggily realizing the pain had returned and, on top of that, she was starving.

  As if on cue, Tanisca entered the room, with the baby swaddled in a cream-colored wool blanket in her arms and a smile on her face like Veria had never seen. She was followed by one of the maids, who brought in a tray of food and situated it over Veria's lap. Veria struggled to bring herself a bit more upright in the bed, and every muscle protested at her attempts. The maid assisted her efforts by placing several more pillows behind her back, which certainly propped her forward into a more comfortable position for eating.

  “How are you feeling?” Tanisca asked as she sat in a rocking chair in the corner of Veria's room.

  “Like I have been dragged by a horse from here to the castle and back,” Veria groaned, surveying the meal on her tray. At least she had food now, she thought, ravenously attacking the crispy spiced bread first, then switching abruptly to the juicy guinea hen breast, not even bothering with utensils, just grabbing the meat up with her bare hands.

  “It will pass in a few days,” Tanisca replied, but didn't take her eyes off the baby the entire time she spoke to Veria. “You just need rest.”

  “How can I rest if I'm supposed to be taking care of a baby?” Veria asked, bits of meat and bread still tucked on either side of her tongue.

  “Ha!” Tanisca laughed out loud. “You take care of her?!”

  Veria scrunched her face at her mother. “Well, I'm her mother,” she said in slow confusion.

  “And I'm her grandmother,” Tanisca retorted, “so good luck getting this baby out of my arms any time soon.”

  Veria smirked. “Suit yourself,” she muttered. She did have to admit it was nice, albeit thoroughly strange and unsettling, to see her mother being so maternal and loving. Veria wondered if this is how Tanisca had been when she was a baby, or at any of the times in her childhood that she didn't remember because of very young age, or because of her Father testing out his memory-clearing skills on her.

  It didn't really surprise her though. She had seen a completely different side of Tanisca over the last several months. Her mother had doted on her, comforted her, sat and talked with her through the sleepless nights because her back was in painful knots, and was always one step ahead of all of Veria's needs. Every morning there were biscuits and that magical spicy tea that cured her queasiness sitting by her bed. Every afternoon there was a spot made up for Veria in the library, with a stack of books for her studies and a fresh pitcher of cool water, and plenty of pillows for her back and cookies for her stomach. Every evening, Tanisca drew her a hot bath to unwind her tight and aching muscles.

  Veria was sure all that care and attention would now be heaped on the baby currently in Tanisca's arms, and she didn't mind. It was obviously making her ecstatically happy.

  “You know, you should settle on a name,” Tanisca advised. “I cannot keep calling her 'the baby'. I can tell you a few of the family names again: first, obviously, there is my mother, Mitala, who she sort of looks like with this dark hair; then I also have an aunt, on my father's side, named Ardenis. Or there's my grandmother—”

  “Rezmina, I know,” Veria sighed. “I knew them all before you told them to me a dozen times this past month while trying to get me to choose a name.”

  “Well, then?”

  “Well, I don't like any of them,” Veria said, starting in on her braiberry yogurt parfait. “I want something...softer. Prettier.”

  “They were strong women and they had strong names,” Tanisca rebutted.

  “You don't need a strong name to be strong,” Veria argued.

  “Well I don't think anyone is going to be
afraid of her if you go naming her after a flower,” Tanisca grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

  Actually, Veria thought, she hadn't thought of any flower names, but that was exactly the delicate grace and beauty she had been trying to capture in a name. And now she knew it would bother her mother, which always gave her at least a small shred of satisfaction.

  “That's perfect, Mother. A flower!” Veria said with a grin. “Thank you for the suggestion.”

  “That is not what I meant and you know it,” Tanisca sneered.

  “You know,” Veria continued on playfully, pretending to ignore her mother's remark, “I've always been quite partial to ireas. What do you think of Irea?”

  “I think she'll be terribly underestimated everywhere she goes,” Tanisca answered.

  “Well, maybe that will end up being an advantage for her,” Veria replied.

  “Now that sounds like something I would say,” Tanisca laughed, changing her tone. “Irea is a beautiful name. And she is a beautiful baby, so it certainly fits.” She lowered her face to Irea's and wiggled their noses gently against each other with a wide smile of her red lips. “We will have suitors lining up at the door when you come of age,” she told the baby in sweet, high-pitched voice.

  “I don't know what makes you think she's going to have suitors,” Veria grumbled through a mouth full of food.

  “She'll be legitimate in no time,” Tanisca stated, still using her baby-talk voice. “That feeble little Lady Ambra will die if she catches a cold, and certainly would not survive what you just did. And as soon as she's gone, Rames will marry you and Irea will be legitimate.”

  “You are basing this on the assumption she's even Rames' child,” Veria pointed out.

  “Look at this dark hair!” Tanisca replied. “Of course she is Rames' child.”

  “Andon has dark hair,” Veria said softly, never feeling like she wanted to speak or hear his name.

  “Well if I were you, I'd be hoping that Rames is the father,” Tanisca turned her attention to Veria and dropped the baby voice. “He will provide Irea a much better future. With the Guyler Estate vacant, Chadron is the most wealthy Estate in the Regalship.”

  “Is that how you picked out father?” Veria chuckled with a mouth full of yogurt and braiberries. “The most wealthy Estate in the Regalship?”

  “Ha! No,” she answered with a laugh. “Not even close. I chose your father because he was ravishingly handsome.” Her red lips twirled up in smirk. “I have quite the soft spot for golden hair and green eyes.”

  “Well, I suppose I have to tell him now,” Veria said with a reluctant sigh. “My gift to the newlyweds,” she added with a sarcastic laugh.

  “Send him a letter today, and tell him we are happy to cover Turqa's fees for a fatherhood examen,” Tanisca instructed. “Set a date for him to come by, but make it a few days out in case he wants to find himself a verifier.”

  “What's a verifier?” Veria asked.

  “One of your type,” Tanisca said with a hint of disdain. “The most typical career for an Earth Mager—following rich and important people around and telling them if they've been deceived, for a price.”

  “Well, in this case, that's good, right?” Veria asked. “We want to know the truth. And we want him to be sure of it.”

  “I suppose so,” Tanisca shrugged.

  Veria sighed and flopped her head back. She had devoured every bit of food on the tray and now felt exhausted again. The last thing she wanted to do was write this letter.

  Actually, she thought, the last thing she wanted to do was see Rames...

  Three days went by, and Veria was starting to feel better, but still not like her old self. Her body still felt sore and like maybe some things were still out of place. Rames was scheduled to visit before lunch, and Turqa had already arrived that morning to check on Irea before the fatherhood examen.

  Veria loathed that she had to put on an actual dress, instead of the nightgowns she had been wearing for days. She had to search her wardrobe for something without a waist sewn into it, as nothing else would fit. She did have a flowing green tent dress that she had rarely worn, and it was comfortable enough once she got it on that she wasn't as upset about having to get dressed.

  “Don't worry,” Tanisca said, eying the green dress as Veria came into the nursery, “we will have you back in your best dresses soon.”

  “I wasn't worried,” Veria groaned.

  “A strict meal plan of yogurt and braiberries in the morning, greens at lunch, and peppered caro soup at dinner,” Tanisca continued on, ignoring Veria's statement. “Plus we will walk the baby around the grounds everyday for an hour.”

  “That all sounds excessively boring,” Veria said.

  “Oh, stop your pouting.”

  Turqa chuckled at their conversation from the corner of the nursery where he was leaned over the baby's bassinet.

  “How is she looking?” Veria asked, joining him at the bassinet.

  “She's perfect,” he answered. “Healthy blood, healthy organs, limbs are strong and eyes look great—a very healthy baby, indeed.”

  “Wonderful to hear!” Tanisca exclaimed. “Veria, it's almost time for Lord Rames to arrive, and I think you should be the one to greet him. Also I've had the cook prepare a tray of tarts and tea—will you go check if they're finished and put the tray on the table in the foyer?” she suggested.

  Veria didn't protest, other than a tired sigh on account of the stairs, which caused her legs to quiver and pain to gather in her lower back. Though, she noted as she descended the grand staircase carefully and slowly, today wasn't as bad as the day before. She walked through the dining room and into the kitchen.

  “Mornin', Lady Veria,” the cook said brightly. She tossed a bowl of field greens, and Veria lamented that the greens were likely for her lunch. “The tray is all set, sittin' there on the work table.” She gestured with a jerk of her head since both of her hands were busy tossing the greens.

  Veria's stomach fluttered as she walked to the work table to fetch the tray. She ran her fingers lightly along its surface, remembering the fullness of her heart in her few passionate encounters with Andon. The kitchen always made her think of him—of them, together. She could see his old room off the kitchen, the rough blanket still there on the bed, and she could still, all these months later, remember how it felt against bare skin.

  The room had been empty until a few weeks prior, when the cook had requested to move closer to the kitchen for her convenience. She had been living on the third floor with the maids, but had been recently complaining of back pain, which Veria could sympathize with, and Tanisca suggested she move into the work hand room to avoid the constant trips up and down the stairs.

  Veria thought that the cook moving into the room, or anyone moving into it for that matter, would help her to stop thinking of it as Andon's room, but so far it hadn't.

  “Everythin' alright with the tray, my Lady?” the cook asked, and Veria realized she had been standing and staring at the work table for an unusually long time.

  She heard the bell at the door ring, and she quickly grabbed the tray and made her way back to the foyer. She set the tray on the table and took a deep breath before opening the door.

  Rames and a man she had never seen before, likely a verifier, like Tanisca had mentioned, made there way into the foyer at her gesture.

  “Please, come in,” she said softly, and as enthusiastically as she could muster. “Help yourself to tea and tarts.”

  “I'd rather get this over with,” Rames snapped as Veria closed the door behind them. His eyes were sharp, his lips pursed, and cheeks sucked in, his angled jaw rigidly clenched. Maybe it was just Veria's imagination, but he seemed more handsome when he was angry and uptight like this, she thought.

  “Turqa is just doing a quick check on her,” Veria answered. “I'm sure they'll be down any minute.”

  “I'd like to see her as soon as possible,” Rames replied, abruptly turning his head to look Veria
in the eyes, which caught her off guard enough that she leaned away from him slightly. “Can we go up to the nursery?”

  “I don't see why not,” Veria said, and before the last word had even escaped her lips, Rames had headed up the staircase. The verifier, a short, older gentleman with a well-groomed mustache the color of tree bark, quickly finished the tart he had started and replaced the cup of tea he had taken from the tray. With shuffling steps, he rushed after Rames, and Veria followed them, lamenting having to go back up the stairs. Maybe the cook was onto something, she thought. Maybe she would just move into the library...

  Before Veria had ascended the steps, she heard Tanisca cheerfully and pleasantly greeting the two gentlemen and introducing them to Turqa as the best Water Mager in Londess.

  “Madame Tanisca is a flatterer,” Turqa responded as Veria finally made her way into the nursery with sore legs and an aching back. “But the Laurelgate's have always been wonderful patients, and a pleasure to serve.”

  Rames didn't seem to be listening to the exchange, but instead was fixated on Irea in her bassinet. He looked over his shoulder to Veria. “May I?” he asked, his tone still brusk, but his eyes slightly pleading. She nodded, and he wasted no time leaning over and scooping the baby into his arms.

  Tanisca cooed softly, “She looks like you.” Veria restrained a roll of her eyes. Her mother was always a bit over the top when other members of the Regalship were around. She certainly had her airs and graces down, Veria thought.

  “She's very beautiful,” Rames agreed with a nod, his eyes still on Irea's face, a hint of emotion in his voice.

  Turqa cleared his throat, hesitant to break the touching moment. “Lord Rames, I will start the process by doing a quick scan of your blood. Then I will search the baby's blood for your energy imprint. It is completely painless for both of you, and all I have to do is place my hand near a major blood vessel. The abdomen or inside your elbow, here, work best,” Turqa explained. “When would you like me to begin?”