Heart Fortune (Celta) (38 page)

She took it, tears dewing her eyes. “Thank you.”

He inclined his head in a dignified nod. She tucked the pursenal in her tunic.

“One last thing to do.” She flung all of her bonds wide.
Family and friends. Jace and Zem, Lepid and I are trapped in the ship
Lugh’s Spear
with little hope of rescue. We are teleporting to my bedroom on three. If you can help us, give us Flair boosts down our bonds, please do.

Madness!
cried her mother.
No, we must talk—

Shut up!
Her father cut off any more of her mother’s protest to Glyssa.

I love you, I will help,
Camellia said.

I love you, but WAIT!
Tiana Mugwort said.
I can put an emergency circle together here at GreatCircle Temple to help you. We can channel the light of the Lady and Lord. Give me twenty minutes, please!

The Licorices are leaving for GreatCircle Temple NOW,
Glyssa’s sister said.
By glider with the emergency alarm running, to save our energy and help my sister and HeartMate.

Glyssa looked at Jace. He appeared stunned and blinked rapidly. “A GreatCircle Temple ritual to help us.”

“You met my friend Tiana, she’s a priestess there.”

“I’d forgotten.” He grimaced, rubbed his hands over his arms. “Twenty more minutes.”

I will form a circle here at the Deep Blue Sea,
Laev’s voice came even more strongly than her close friends, he was so much more powerful in Flair.
Twenty minutes.
As a FirstFamilies GreatLord, he was accustomed to leading rituals for his Family several times a month and at GreatCircle Temple at least once a year. Like Tiana, he could put together a ritual in a hurry.
I have alerted my allies in Druida City. Those who are willing and able to participate at GreatCircle Temple are on their way

Thank you ALL! We will wait for twenty minutes and I will try to connect to you all,
Glyssa said.

Jace looked at her questioningly.

She shrugged. “I don’t know if this works. I don’t even know if Tiana or Laev knows if this will work, if we can get Flair from them, help from them through emotional bonds.”

Stroking her face, he said, “I am phenomenally lucky to have you in my life. Even knowing there are others ready and willing to help us, eases my mind.” He led her to a large, soft-looking sack in the corridor. “Let’s all cuddle together, get warm, save our strength and energy for the teleportation.” Once again she sent out mentally to all she was linked to,
Please let us know when you are ready, our energy is fading keeping ourselves warm and with light.

She received a shocked exclamation from her mother, grim determination from Laev . . . and settled down against Jace.

With all of them together, her spell light as faint as she could make it and still give comfort, she settled on Jace’s lap and Lepid crawled on hers.

“Put the light out,” Jace said.

So she did and let herself relax and quieted her mind. Not only light was comforting. Sharing the darkness with the others—tunneling her fingers in Lepid’s thick fur to keep her hands warm and reassure him, smelling Jace, her HeartMate, and the forest scent Zem carried on his feathers—all satisfied a deep need within her. And, oh, how she’d rather be lost in the forest than trapped in this ship! But she’d tensed up again and had to ease her muscles. To her surprise, though Jace’s vitality was still evident, his muscles, too, were loose.

“This is nice,” he said, his voice a little sleepy.

“Yes.”

She let thought go, thin to tendrils and just felt, enjoyed the moment, this precious moment.

Sometime later, she received Tiana’s thought.
We are ready for you. I will lead the ritual but the high priestess of GreatCircle Temple is here and will help. The high priest could not make it.

Our circle is ready,
Laev added immediately.

Glyssa stirred and sat up straight. “They’re ready.” Her pulse sprinted faster, her heart picking up beat. Fear. No,
excitement
.

“I heard,” Jace said. He sounded completely calm. She peeked at their link. He
was
calm. More than she.

Zem’s feathers rustled.
I heard, too. I am ready. It will be good to get out of this metal tube.

I am ready for another adventure!
Lepid sounded energized by his nap.
We will be heroes again.

“Well, we’ll certainly be famous,” Glyssa said drily. “One way or another.” She wondered if their bodies would be fou—No! No negativity.

She lit a spellglobe. Adjusting her sling for Lepid, she placed him in it. He stretched up and licked her face and she giggled.

Jace smiled back at her, slipping Zem into his own sling.

She faced her man, her lover, her HeartMate and their hands met and fingers entwined.

Still holding his gaze, she said, “I think it’s time to go.” She leaned in and kissed Jace, cherished the softness of his mouth, his taste. Then Jace embraced both her and Lepid. She looked at Zem in the makeshift sling strapped to Jace. “All right and tight?”

He bobbed his head.

Sucking in a deep breath, she returned her gaze to Jace’s. That his face might be the last she ever saw pleased and consoled her.

She squeezed his hands. Kept her stare locked on his. “We do this together.”

“Yes.”

“And give it our last iota of strength. Everything. All or nothing.”

He winked, as if once the decision was made and he was ready to roll the dice, he was more settled in the matter. A thousand doubts plagued her each second.

“All or nothing.” He grinned.

All or nothing!
piped up Lepid.

All or nothing,
said Zem. He closed his eyes.

Glyssa did, too.

For the last time, she opened herself, gasped at what her inner sight showed her. The huge link between her and Jace had enlarged to more than heart-sized and flowed with sensations from all aspects of themselves, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. They were linked together, and there was the HeartBond, lying in golden coils.

Jace said telepathically,
I thought the HeartBond only showed up during sex.

Glyssa shrugged.
I don’t know that anyone has ever studied that aspect of being HeartMates.
She let her smile show her love, her unconditional trust.
We might check that out together when we get home.

He nodded, serious now. “I want to HeartBond with you now.” His shoulders shifted. “I have the energy from my HeartGift jazzing in me. It was originally sexual, I bet that will help forge a HeartBond without sex.”

She thought about the whole matter. “HeartBonding would be good, maybe give us all even more of a chance to teleport well.”

To survive.

“More,” he whispered. “Because it is right that I show you how much I care.”

He took the golden loops of the HeartBond and threw them to her, and she let them wrap around herself, bring her close together to him . . . and, yes, there was the fizz of lust, of sexual need. Not to be fulfilled now.

This was not how she’d ever dreamed she’d be connected with her love, her lover, her HeartMate. She swallowed tears.

What was separate in her was no longer. What was hidden in her—and Jace, too—was revealed but the overwhelming memories, feelings, needs, flaws, came too swiftly for her to sort out. Some sort of terrible memory featuring his parents—his father’s death, but they dared not think of death. She concentrated on life, on hope.

He groaned and she whimpered.

We are one,
Jace said, awe in his voice.

“Ready to teleport to my bedroom in Druida City?” she asked.

Ready!
Lepid said, tucking his nose between her arm and her side.

Ready!
Zem said, hidden in his sling.

“Ready,” Jace said. He began layering the memories he had of her bedroom from his own perspective. Cozy, female, reflecting Glyssa. The wide bedsponge, the elegant and simple carving on the frame. He let her take care of painting the light right. Zem’s perch that Gwydion Ash had made, sturdy golden wood that matched no other wood in the room. Wood, beautiful wood, natural Celtan fabrics. He recalled the sight and feel of those, so different from the complete alienness of this ship.

Zem’s visualization merged with his, skewing the image a bit, as did Lepid’s. Then Glyssa absorbed them all, set them all so Jace could nearly believe he was there. Jace’s heart lifted as he fixed
belief
that they would be there, shortly. They had so much going for them.
They would succeed!

“Counting down,” Glyssa said, sounding as serious as always, though there was just the touch of breathiness in her voice. He sent her love, belief, love, acceptance. Love.

They all joined in a small circle of love, of total dedication and belief.

“One, Jace, Zem; two, Lepid;
three, and home!
”

And they weren’t in the ship.

No, NO! You MUST die for making her leave me!
shrieked a mad wind in Jace’s head, Trago. He felt a slight tug, as if a small hook caught in his clothes. He could
not
allow the evil man to hurt his Glyssa. They were all in this together. Diverting a bit of Flair, he
smacked
the man. Heard some long echoing scream. Jerked as he felt the guy die. The visualization vanished.

He scrambled to build the image again, held it hard.

But knew they were in trouble.

Forty

T
eleportation usually was instantaneous. But this lasted for long, long seconds. Glyssa’s chest squeezed and she couldn’t breathe. She struggled to draw air. What of Jace? What of Lepid? She didn’t
feel
them, not physically nor emotionally. A scream stuck in her chest
hurt
.

She would die alone. Though they should all be together, they would each die alone.

She might have felt the tiniest
boost
from Laev and Camellia and Tiana. She
did
“see” a great burst of white energy from the direction they were going—Druida. Had the sensation of passing long miles.

No! Stup! Visualize your room!
The light as autumn came, the slant of the sun. How it sparkled on the prisms in her window. Her comforter, her bed . . .

And her vision went black, white, yellow.

She crumpled to the ground, tried once more to drag a breath in, couldn’t. Struggled to open her lashes. Raw, raw pain against her eyeballs. Jace, matted hair, gray-looking complexion. Lepid limp in her arms. She couldn’t see Zem.

Still felt none of them.

Couldn’t inhale.

The floor vibrated. She thought she saw bold, eye-searing colors of Flair as women rushed to her.

Then nothing.

* * *

F
ists pounded on Jace’s chest, Flair enveloped him. “Breathe, damn you!” shouted someone. It hurt, all of him hurt, but with another compression of his chest, he hauled in air.

He opened his eyes, saw a pretty rug on gleaming wood. Memory spun just out of reach.

Someone rolled him to his back and he stared up into wide green eyes set in a fierce face. The woman looked like someone he should know. She stuck her fingers into his dry mouth, opened it, shoved an oxygen bulb between his lips and squeezed.

Incredible air. Wonderful air. His mind cleared a bit. He still didn’t know who she was, but he recognized Glyssa’s bedroom.

Shouldn’t Glyssa be close? Where was she? He
needed
her.

“
Breathe!
” someone shouted to his left. There came a tiny sound, then the stench of foxy piss, definitely not Glyssa.

Glyssa?
The little call speared excruciating pain in his head. A tiny moan, also not Glyssa.
Lepid?
Jace slowly formed the Fam’s name in his head.

“We’re here,” said a woman’s voice from a distance. “We’re taking the Fams immediately.” A small woman and a large young man ran in, cast shadows on him but didn’t look at him, then darted from the room.

Another thump on Jace’s chest, the bulb replaced. He’d caught his breath, hadn’t he? Stopped breathing again.

Lepid was here, but where was Glyssa? More fear swept through him. Zem! Zem should have been strapped on his chest.

Why?

He shut his eyes, but shuddered at the darkness behind him. Fear of the dark clawed and snapped and ate at him.

Opening his eyelids he saw the sunlight, blessed light from Bel, felt as if he’d been reborn from an alien and cold dark to this wonderful room. The Healer was wiping him with a warm cloth, taking strange smelling grime from his face.

The ship!
Lugh’s Spear.
The terrible risk of teleportation.

He’d made it!

But had the others?
GLYSSA!
he screamed mentally, hurting his own head. He couldn’t feel their bond, fumbled for it. Closed his eyes again to find all the bonds he had, saw nothing. Not to Lepid, not to Zem, not to Glyssa.

She could have died. HeartBound people did, and the remaining spouse died within the year. He wouldn’t linger if she was gone . . . just let the darkness take him, not fight against death and cycling on the wheel of stars until his next life . . . and no one could guarantee that they’d meet and love again in their next lives. Maybe she’d like someone else better.

Stup! He should have cherished her more, spent more time with her, acknowledged their bond instead of being careless and selfish for so long.

The Healer moved close with another bulb. “Glyssa,” he said. She frowned as if she hadn’t heard him. Everything took so much effort.

“Glyssa!” he yelled. Her name came out as the barest hoarse whisper.

A mask slipped over the Healer’s face, and he knew that was
bad
.

“Glyssa has been transported to Primary HealingHall and is being tended by FirstLevel Healer Lark Holly.”

For sure, bad.

“Want . . . there,” he said.

Frowning, the Healer bent close to his lips.

“Want. To. Go. To. Her,” he said, once again using up all his strength. Lord and Lady knew how long it would take to regain regular energy and Flair, weeks, months,
years
?

“I’m not sure that would be good for either of you.”

“HeartMates, HeartBound!”

“Oh!” She looked into the other room. “Can you come help me get GentleSir Bayrum into a glider?” With an anti-grav spell, she raised his body. “We’ve all decided that teleporting you is not a good idea.”

He shuddered, rippling in the air, a very weird sensation. A big tough-looking guy came in. “Remove the spell, I’ll carry him.”

Jace grimaced.

“I don’t think so, Garrett, he’s not breathing well on his own. No putting him over your shoulder. I want him flat.”

“Zem?” Jace managed before she stuck another bulb in his mouth and watched with narrowed eyes as it went in and out as he breathed.

“Your Fams are with Danith D’Ash and her son.”

He should have known that, hadn’t he heard them? What was wrong with him? He sucked harder on the bulb.

“You’ll be fine,” the Healer said.

He wasn’t sure of that, and when he bumped against the stairway rail and blackness overcame him again, he screamed into the darkness before it gobbled him.

* * *

J
ace awoke sometime later, disgusted with himself. He’d never been afraid of the dark. He’d always been excited by going down into
Lugh’s Spear
. Granted, the last few septhours trapped there had not been fun. Or even good. But they’d been manageable. Even taking the risk to die fast instead of slow had been okay.

He didn’t know when he’d get the nerve to teleport again.

A groan escaped him and he tried to open his eyes. Footsteps bustled up to him and gently wiped his eyelids with a warm softleaf. His eyes must have crusted over, then, and why now? Why not when he awoke the first time? Had he wept, had stuff leaked out of his eyes due to fear? Had he
bled
?

But he pried his lashes open to look around. Still felt like moving a mountain to turn his head. He was in the richest room he’d ever experienced in his life—some sort of tapestry-type curtains of deep green and light blue shimmered. The chairs and counters were of a solid, gleaming dark wood. He lay on an excellent bedsponge and atop him draped a soft cover. But his senses weren’t so dull that he didn’t know a HealingHall room when he was in one.

Slowly, moving in tiny increments, he straightened his head, turned it toward the right.

And saw Glyssa. He jolted, adrenaline rushed into his body and it managed to jacknife him up.

“Easy,” said the Healer, bracing his upper arms with her hands.

“I should know you,” he replied. Still sounded terrible, but the words came out at a reasonable pace and loudness.

She smiled, more than just a Healer’s smile, something personal for him. “Artemisia Primross, I’m the sister to Tiana Mugwort, one of Glyssa’s best friends.”

Instead of grunting again, he nodded. The fog was clearing from his mind. Probably meant he didn’t have brain damage, always a plus.

Glyssa appeared completely still, her expressive face immobile. On the far side of the bed a pump stood, with large tentacles, pressing her chest evenly. Her lips were barely open. He couldn’t tell whether she breathed on her own or not.

“Is she all right? What’s wrong with her?” He leaned forward, but his legs weren’t working right. Artemisia easily kept him from leaving the examination table.

“Mostly exhaustion, the same as with you and your Fams.”

“The Fams, are they all right?”

“I haven’t heard from D’Ash.”

“Can you scry and ask her?”

Artemisia hesitated, and he got the impression that she didn’t want to hear any bad news, either.

“Glyssa is okay?” he pressed.

“I—we— . . . She should live.”

His heart pounded. May as well ask. “Will she have brain damage?”

Artemisia pursed her lips. “The preeminent mind-Healer scanned both of you and is optimistic that we Healed enough of the damage that the brain itself will continue to work with the spells that we placed.”

Ouch. Didn’t sound good.

Artemisia met his eyes. “It doesn’t seem as if the ritual we did for you helped much.”

“I didn’t realize you were there.”

She nodded. “I was, many were.”

Blowing out a breath, he said, “I didn’t feel you, but Glyssa was mostly in charge of the teleportation. She should be able to tell you more about that.”

“I understand. Just to let you know, there will be more than one nobleman or noblelady to question you about the whole matter of this extreme teleportation.”

Jace managed to lift shaky hands to his head, run them through his hair. His scalp itched as if it was covered in dried sweat.

“When will Glyssa wake up?” he asked. She
would
wake up. He wouldn’t let doubt seep into his cracked mind, creep into his fearful heart.

“We’re not sure,” Artemisia said.

The door opened and the tough guy walked in, this time Jace could put a name to him. “Garrett Primross.”

“I scried the Ashes, like you asked,” he said, confirming that Jace had been under observation somehow. Was Primary HealingHall an intelligent structure? Not quite, he thought, so it wasn’t the building spying on him. One of the walls must be fake, a window covered by an illusion to the occupants.

Voice tight, he asked, “How are our Fams?”

“Much like you two. They both live. The fox is better off than the hawkcel.”

“Zem.” Jace’s heart squeezed. He looked at an immobile Glyssa, raised his voice. “Glyssa, come on, wake up for me, darling.”

He stared at Garrett, lifted an arm slowly. “Help get me over there.”

The man grimaced and strode over, set his arm around Jace’s upper body and Jace’s arm around his shoulders.

Praying his feet would work, Jace accepted help down to the floor. He could barely feel the pressure against his soles. His knees were weak.

Garrett said nothing as they shuffled extremely slowly toward Glyssa. Neither did the Healer.

There came an exclamation from someone who opened the door while Jace was on the long trip of five paces, but until the Licorice Family moved into his vision, he had no idea who’d entered.

Fasic T’Licorice came to Jace’s other side and offered support, and the inching along went on. Jace was surprised by the two men. Neither pushed him, neither seemed impatient. Not like he would have been. He’d have also wanted to leave the room as soon as possible.

Finally the trio of them reached Glyssa’s bedside. Artemisia waved Garrett away, and gave Jace another oxygen bulb. He breathed a while and prayed that his energy and Flair and regular strength would recover, refused to entertain the thought that he’d be dragging himself around the rest of his life. His shortened life, he was sure, if he didn’t recuperate.

Artemisia helped him prop himself against the bed so he could stand. Glyssa’s father went to the top of the bedsponge. Her mother joined her HeartMate.

“Hey, baby,” T’Licorice said, stroking back a bouncy strand of her hair.

An idea wormed its way through Jace’s head. He lowered the bulb and cleared his throat. “Sir, Lady, do you have bonds with Glyssa? I can’t feel mine.” He made sure he didn’t sound pitiful.

The older Licorices joined hands, gazed at each other.

“I can feel her, faintly,” said her sister, probably at the end of the bed. It took Jace a minute to turn his head, he was using all his energy to stand and hold the oxygen bulb back up to his mouth. Her face showed dried tearstains and raw nostrils. As he watched, she pulled a softleaf from her large, formal sleeve and wiped her nose, then blew it.

“I have a bond with my youngest child,” said D’Licorice. “Again, it is faint, but it is there.” She blew out a breath. “She lives.”

By the time Jace got his head swiveled in their direction, T’Licorice had his lips pressed together, met Jace’s stare with torment in his eyes. “I have faith the bond will return as she gets stronger.” His sigh was heavy and he shook his head. “I took part in the emergency ritual. With the high priestess there we raised a great deal of Flair. We—I did not feel my daughter tap into that energy for your ordeal.”

The man’s gaze got bluer as his face paled. “You two—”

“Four,” Jace corrected.

T’Licorice dipped his head. “Four. You four did it all on your own. I wouldn’t have thought it possible.”

“We had to,” Jace said. He held out the bulb to Artemisia and his fingers barely shook. Progress? He hoped so. After the Healer took the breath support object, Jace leaned forward and kissed Glyssa on the mouth, swept his tongue over her lips to taste her, let her taste him, thrust the tip of it at her teeth. Her mouth opened and she inhaled audibly.