"Blessed be the elements. Wine from the soil." She swirled the cup, and a flame flickered over the chalice. "Fire from the sun." Drops of water fell from her cupped palm into the chalice. "Waters of the oceans." The air over the cup stirred, descending into the wine to form a vortex. "Winds of the sky."
"Do you consent to be bound in life, in death and in the dark places between life and death, joined in body and soul?"
Jonmarc's gaze locked with Carina's. "We do."
Taru took Jonmarc's left hand, turning it palm up. She withdrew a dagger with a moonstone hilt and an obsidian blade from her belt. In one smooth motion, she opened a thin cut to form half of the Lady's symbol on Jonmarc's palm, and flicked droplets of the blood into the chalice. She took Carina's hand and made a cut in the shape of the symbol's matching half, adding her blood to the chalice. Then she pressed their hands together so that their blood combined to form the Lady's mark, and took the mantle from around her neck, wrapping it four times around their wrists.
"Drink."
Jonmarc had spent enough time around mages to recognize the tingle of strong magic. He felt it sear through the joined blood between their palms, even as he felt Carina's presence slip against his mind. She smiled at the secret they shared, that she was a few days pregnant with his child. Then he felt the familiar burn of her magic healing the cut Taru had made, and Carina laced her fingers between his.
"Rejoice," Taru said. "You are joined in the law of the kingdoms and in the presence of the Lady, in life and in death-and beyond." She removed the stole from their wrists, and when they released their clasped hands, the cuts had healed into thin, white scars.
Behind them, the crowd began to clap and cheer as Jonmarc and Carina rose to their feet. Jonmarc took Carina in his arms and kissed her. The ritual bond heightened his awareness of her, and it felt as if her thoughts and emotions flitted just beyond his grasp. He could only imagine the strength of the bond for those who shared magic as well as love.
"Congratulations." Gabriel handed Jonmarc his shirt as well as his swordbelt and weapons, which Jonmarc accepted with a sense of relief. "May the Lady in all Her Aspects bless you now and always."
The guests crowded around them to wish them well. Riqua and Rafe were present, as were Kolin and Tamaq. Vigulf, the vyrkinshaman, added his blessing. Laisren stood arm in arm with Lisette, looking none the worse for the injuries he had sustained in the battle against Malesh. Jonmarc felt the absence of Yestin and Eiria keenly, and although the days of mourning were completed, he knew it would take a long while for the feeling of loss to lessen. Near the wall, Raen swayed to the music with her eyes closed, singing silently. From the cold spots in the room and the inexplicable drafts of air, Jonmarc was certain Raen was not the only one of Dark Haven's ghosts that was present, although she alone was visible. The head of the wine guild and the other town dignitaries were present, along with the vayash moruand vyrkinwho had fought alongside Jonmarc and Gabriel. Even Jonmarc's old friends Maynard Linton and Jolie had managed to arrive in Dark Haven for the wedding. But as Jonmarc moved among his guests, more than once he heard the others whisper an unfamiliar word, and he turned finally to Gabriel.
"Who are the 'mogorifi'?"
Gabriel looked at him. "You and Carina. It's an old word. It means 'the changed ones.' There are legends about a few who stand between the living and the undead, who are both and neither. In the legends, the mogorifiare guardians." He gave a pointed glance at the puncture scars on Jonmarc's neck. "You returned alive from making Istra's Bargain. Carina returned as a mortal from Malesh's attempt to turn her. Either one would be rare, to say the least. For the two of you together," he shrugged, "it's not unreasonable to view it as highly significant."
The implications of Gabriel's comments were more than Jonmarc wanted to think about.
"Oh, and just so you know," Gabriel continued, "the only ones who aren't aware that Carina is expecting are the mortals. The vayash moruand vyrkincan sense a shift in the life force like that." He smiled. "Congratulations, to both of you."
Jonmarc slipped his arm around Carina's shoulders as musicians began a round of lively tunes and drew her out on the dance floor for the circle dances, enjoying her laughter as they wove through the complicated steps. As the dance concluded, a hush fell over the room. Jonmarc turned to see an unfamiliar vayash moruin the doorway. He tensed, unsure whether the newcomer was friend or foe.
"That's Alfarr," Gabriel said in a low voice just behind him. "He's the keeper of the torches in the Lady's chapel beneath the manor house. He's kept them lit for hundreds of years, but he rarely ventures out. This is highly unusual."
Had Alfarr been mortal, Jonmarc would have supposed him in his middle years, with dark black hair edged with gray at the temples. He moved with a dignified confidence, and something in his eyes hinted at a burden long carried. Alfarr stopped in front of Jonmarc and Carina and made a low bow.
"Peace and blessings to you both." His voice had an unusual accent, one Jonmarc could not place. Alfarr met Carina's eyes. "Now I can rest, because my vision has come true. Twin daughters will each bear a son. One will wear a crown, and the other will wield a sword, and together they will challenge the abyss."
Carina's eyes widened. "Twins," she whispered.
Daughters.Jonmarc caught his breath and tightened his grip on Carina's hand.
Before he could collect his thoughts to reply, Alfarr was gone.
"What do you suppose that means?" Carina asked, looking toward the empty doorway.
"Visions are strange things," Gabriel said. "They can mean a great deal, or nothing at all. Even if they come true, they can lead to an end that the seer never imagined." Jonmarc met his eyes, and knew that Gabriel's insight came from visions of his own.
Gabriel clapped a hand on Jonmarc's shoulder. "Let the future take care of itself, for once. There'll be time enough for visions. Today, we celebrate."
"That works for me. I'm a one-day-at-a-time kind of guy." Jonmarc pulled Carina into his arms and looked into her eyes. "Twin girls, huh? That'll take some getting used to."
She chuckled. "It's too late for second thoughts."
He kissed the thin pink scar on her palm. "Second thoughts? Never. But even if they're healers like you, expect me to teach them to use a sword."
"We'll see about that."
Jonmarc leaned down to kiss her. As he met her lips and drank in the scent of her hair, he realized that for the first time in half his life, the future was no longer a dark unknown. He heard the crowd around them clinking goblets and cheering for their kiss as Carina leaned against him and returned his kiss with fervor.
Visions be damned.
The Lord of Dark Haven had come home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gail Z. Martin discovered her passion
for science fiction, fantasy and ghost stories
in elementary school. The first story she
wrote-at age five-was about a vampire. Her favorite TV show as a preschooler was Dark Shadows. At age fourteen, she decided to become a writer. She enjoys attending science fiction/fantasy conventions, Renaissance fairs and living history sites. She is married and has three children, a Himalayan cat and a golden retriever.
You can visit Gail at:-
www.chroniclesofthenecromancer.com
Read her blog:-
blog.myspace.com/chronicleofthenecromancer
And follow her on twitter:-
twitter.com/gailzmartin
Dark Lady's Chosen Page 37