Dark Lady's Chosen (49 page)

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 moru
in 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