***
Spurius hummed pleasantly to himself as his servants dressed and washed him for bed in a long tunic. They then brushed his hair and brought him a basket of fresh fruit and a jug of water for the night, which they set upon one of the small tables beside his canopied bed. He continued to hum as one of the servants picked him up and placed him amidst his silk bed linens and goose down pillows. When they were satisfied that he was comfortable, they left the room, leaving one small brazier to burn throughout the night.
When the boy was sure that all the servants were gone, his lifted his small voice to the wind that blew in from the open windows and asked, "Mother? Are you there?"
It was a few moments before he heard a reply in the form of a darkly husky utterance from somewhere in the room, "Yes, my son. Your Mother is always here, always watching over you." Then, a hand gnarled with age and tipped with blackened fingers, slipped from between the gauze like material that hung from the bed's canopy and rested upon the boy's head but despite its appearance of a talon, it was gentle upon his crown.
"I am glad you have found me, Mother." He yawned as sleep tugged at him. "Never leave me again. Do you give your promise?"
"Oh, my boy," the voice rasped within the walls, "this Mother never abandons her children. Now sleep and dream of the days yet to come."
***
A Sword Of Wrath, Book I: Blood And Dust Page 21