Chapter 21
Helsop
Electra found Serafina standing beside the dining table in the school of medicine. The twins stood beside her, keeping their balance by clinging to fistfuls of her cloak. Electra hugged her surrogate mother tightly, feeling the fear and loneliness of Dagon's leaving begin to drain away.
"It is so wonderful to see you. And you have brought my sisters." She dropped down to one knee to kiss each of them on the cheek. She looked up at Serafina. "They stand on their own now."
Serafina reached down to cup the backs of their small heads in the palms of her hands. "As long as they have something to hold on to for balance." Serafina glanced out the window by the dining table. "Was that Juanita and Esmeralda I saw running from the clinic when I arrived?"
"Yes," Electra said. "They were afraid you would kill them if you saw them."
Serafina made a clucking sound and her expression showed distain. "If I had wanted to kill them they would be dead." She leaned forward and studied Electra's face. "You have been weeping."
Electra turned away, embarrassed.
"Silly of me, isn't it? Dagon has just left on a mission of mercy that may be his undoing." As these words spilled out a new round of tears followed. Electra laughed as the wet trails ran down her cheeks. "I do not know what has come over me."
Serafina tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "You love him."
"I suppose I do." Electra wiped her face with her sleeve. "We have set a wedding date for mid summer." She did not add the words 'if he returns'.
"Tell me about this mission of mercy," Serafina said.
"It is a story of conquest and the inhumanity that often follows," Electra began. "Would you like some tea? Perhaps something to eat?"
"Both. We are all hungry." She moved to sit down at the table and the twins walked with her, holding their mother's hands.
Electra watched with fascination. "They are walking. Have they taken their first steps alone as yet?"
"They still need their hands held, but any day now they will take their first steps independently. I am sorry I will not be here to see it." Serafina sounded cheerful as she said the words, but Electra stopped short.
"Whatever do you mean? Why wouldn't you be here to see them?"
Serafina sat down on a stool beside the table. "I am on my way south. I have only stopped off to leave them with you for a visit."
Electra heard a low chilling snarl and looked beyond Serafina and the twins to see Ebony lying in shadow under the dining table. She put her hand to her heart and drew in a breath. "Ebony! Does she remember me?"
"Yes. She is hungry and out of sorts. I decided it would be best for the twins to bring her along. They would be too distraught were they separated from Ebony as well as me."
"I see." Electra waited to make sure her heart was beating normally before moving. "Let me fix us all some lunch."
Serafina stood and let the twins crawl under the table. "The girls can play with Ebony. That will settle her down. I will bring in her food."
With the panther full of red meat and the twins full of milk, mashed squash and applesauce, all three napped under the table. Shalin slept with her head on Ebony's paw and Esme slept curled up against the cat's belly.
Electra sat on a stool across from Serafina, ready to begin their conversation. "Why are you headed south?" she asked.
"Our source of the white powder for exploding arrows has been curtailed. I go to find a new source. There are rumors of a low grade of the powder in great quantities on an island near Manoa. I hope to gain control of this bonanza."
"You think it necessary to go yourself?"
Serafina's eyes changed from their usual green color to the dark blue-grey cast they took on when she was plotting some nefarious activity. "Access to the island may require a delicate touch."
Electra tried to keep her tone casual. "Might it prove dangerous?"
Serafina was not fooled by her casual tone. "I see you still find worry a worthwhile emotion." She lifted the cup of tea that had grown cold over lunch.
Electra shrugged. It would be useless to deny that she was worried. Why did the people she loved persist in dangerous undertakings?
Serafina continued. "The man who owns the island does not welcome strangers—or anyone for that matter. Many have tried to renew the trade in guano that once flourished, but none has succeeded."
Electra found herself intrigued by the problem. "Have you a plan?"
"I will study the man and his habits and devise a plan accordingly." Serafina sipped her tea.
"It seems a challenge. Happy as I am to have the twins here for a visit, I find the problem intriguing. I wish I could accompany you on your journey."
"You no doubt find it strange that I did not leave the twins with their father. The fact is, I find that solution untenable."
Electra said nothing, hoping Serafina would explain.
After a brief pause, Serafina continued. "I find it odd that Prince Blackwell accepts my own occult gifts without question, but seems reluctant to acknowledge similar gifts in his own daughters. I believe he will accept them in time, but that time is still in the future."
Electra saw that Prince Blackwell's denial of the twins' abilities was a deep concern for Serafina. "Of course he will, in time. Ah..., what sort of abilities have shown themselves?"
Serafina put her tea cup on the table and looked at Electra with a piercing gaze. "They are able to plant suggestions or requests in the minds of people or animals. This you have already experienced yourself. They are able to draw objects to themselves through the air. Again, you know this to be true. At present they only call objects they can see, but in time they may learn to view distantly. This is an ability I have heard rumored, though I have not yet encountered it firsthand. If this is the case, they may be able to combine long distance viewing with their ability to call objects through the air."
Electra gulped down a sip of tea. "These are powerful gifts if your suspicions bear out."
"Yes, they are powerful enough to engender fear and hostility," Serafina confirmed. "They are also able to read Ebony's mind. Whether that will translate to reading human minds that form thoughts in words as well as pictures—I do not yet know."
Electra looked at the twins, sleeping peacefully on Ebony's warm body and a chill of fear for their safety went through her.
"Should I try to hide their gifts from my students?"
"Use your own judgment. It might be wise to shield them from Juanita and Esmeralda. Their displeasure with me may move them to retaliate against the twins."
"Of course. I will keep them close both for safety and for the joy of their company. They have come at a time when I am grateful for the comfort of family."
Serafina nodded. "A happy coincidence. But enough of my concerns. Tell me of this mission of mercy that Dagon has deemed important enough to leave Helsop defenseless and his fiancé unprotected."
"Actually he has left me in charge." Electra spoke with a hint of pride.
"One wise decision does not balance a hundred poor ones," Serafina proclaimed.
"It turns out that the people here in Helsop have a history of sorts," Electra began.
She told the story in detail from the time Leif arrived, close to death, to Dagon's departure on a raft.
Serafina listened to each detail with interest. "What did you use for your sleeping potion?" she asked.
"Belladonna, poppy, morning glory and chamomile in ascending proportions," Electra replied.
"You are aware the Vagans will awaken after several hours?"
"Yes. I have taken an oath as a physician to do no harm."
Serafina shrugged. "If Dagon succeeds in bringing his relatives here, the Vagans may follow."
"Yes. We will need to prepare for such a reprisal."
Electra saw the futility of allowing the Vagans to survive only to risk their eventual rev
enge, but an oath was an oath. And oaths aside, she was not a murderer.
"Has Helsop mastered the crafting of exploding arrows?" Serafina asked.
"I believe we have," Electra replied. "I have heard explosions coming from the archery field, but I have not spoken of it with Dagon."
Serafina changed the subject. "How goes your recruiting of students to the school of medicine?"
"I have five now. Juanita and Esmeralda, Dagon's sister, Isa, Rabar the Physician's niece and..." she lowered her voice, "Bataar's wife, Odval."
"Bataar's first wife? The one who tried to poison you?" Serafina asked with surprise.
"Yes. She believes I am a witch. She wants me to make a better fertility charm for her. The first one I gave her resulted in a miscarriage."
Serafina smiled. "Will you make another for her?"
"I believe I may have to if I am ever to be rid of her. I had hoped to teach her about herbs and healthy food that would strengthen her but she resists my attempts along those lines. She is especially reluctant to go looking for herbs in the forest."
"She likely suspects you will abandon her there to the wolves." Serafina chuckled at the thought.
"Do you really believe fertility charms work?" Electra asked. She knew Serafina had made and sold many when they lived together in Chase Bound.
"They absolutely work. The more a person believes, the better they work."
Electra nodded. "Belief is a powerful tool." She was silent for a moment.
Serafina smiled. "You believe Dagon will return, do you not?"
Electra returned her mother's smile. "You know me too well," she admitted.
Princess Electra Book 4 School of Medicine Page 22