Marked For Magic (16 page)

In the warm licorice scented workroom, Tab and Cecile greeted her with joyful cries. The mulled wine she drank was welcome. She smiled, glad to see them, but apprehension and longing nibbled at her for this was no day visit.

“I must leave you and join my brother and the Mage. There is news. I will inform you of all necessary when I return.” Cassandra left, and both the girls stared after her with fearful expressions.

Something was wrong. She sensed the disturbance in both Tab and Cecile, and more surprisingly in Cassandra
. What was wrong?

The bleak thought disappeared when Cecile turned with a smile. “So, at last, Nin, you join us. Was your summer a good one?”

She rested her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her hand. “Apart from the kidnap, and having to learn so much, oh, and Thabit being the worst tempered man in the country, most of the time it’s been fun.”

“Kidnap!” they squeaked together. She sighed and proceeded to tell them of her summer of woes.

“But to think he came and saved you,” Tab repeated at least three times, her expression dreamy.

“To think he froze me to a chair for a whole day because he was in a bad mood.”

Cecile laughed.

“He didn’t. My goodness, you must have made him angry,” Tab said, her dreamy look still there.

“No, he said it was because I talk too much.”

She would have to wait for more of him. Two winter seasons he’d said so often. Although she was nineteen now, it made no difference.

“But it
wasn’t
because I talk too much. It was because…” She couldn’t explain to them at all.

“I know.” Cecile slipped an arm around her. “It’s because he loves you, and he can’t have you with him in the way he wants, not yet.”

Tab stared at them with a surprised look. “It’s a funny way to show he loves you, locking you on a chair.”

“Yes, but it’s true,” Cecile answered for her. “Come on, Nin. We’ll show you where you will sleep, and where you can put your bag.”

* * * *

Fingers laced together, he listened to Lord Farel’s words with a rising sense of disaster. The darkness loomed like a cloud. Other concerns slipped away at the magnitude of the news.

“It has begun then?” he asked at the end of Lord Farel’s explanation. To his mind, boundaries and borders meant little when lives were at stake. He and Lord Farel could perhaps debate such issues later in the winter season when the threat no longer hung heavy over the people.

Would the stock of herbals be even half enough? Without his Sparrow to help, he would be slow to brew more.

The temptation to tell Cassandra he needed his little apprentice snaked through him. But no, it wasn’t Sparrow’s skills with a cauldron he wanted. He needed her love, for life without it would be a bleak affair.

“The first cases are in the outlying settlements to the west. The sickness crossed our borders after the wheat harvest, and I fear spreads fast.”

“It has only been a matter of time. We knew that.”

“Are you prepared?” Lord Farel demanded.

“Yes and no. I have amassed a great many healing potions over the summer. Sparrow has helped me to do so.”

Lord Farel looked up, seemed curious at his words.

“My apprentice. The problem will be distributing the potions to where they are needed.”

Lord Farel nodded agreement as Cassandra joined them.

Heartened, he stood to bow while she sat. Her presence always calmed her volatile brother.

“The reports of the sickness arrived about a week ago, and it has spread swift,” Cassandra said as she poured wine for them. She passed a cup to him and one to Lord Farel.

He sipped. “Yes, my lady, I have many healing potions, but how do we get them where they are needed?”

“We use our troops to do so.” Cassandra glanced at her brother. “A supply from the Mage, or I, will be taken to all regions.” She smiled at him. “Like you and Nin, my students and I have been busy. The men will take the herbals to each of the villages. Do you think it would work? Do you think if we provide instructions in their use it will work?”

“Not the entire of my garrison,” Lord Farel protested.

Cassandra reached over and grasped Lord Farel’s arm. “My brother, yes, all of them are needed. Their purpose is to protect our people and homeland. If they don’t do this, we may have little population left to protect.”

“The lady is right, my lord. I will return to the tower and expect the first group of riders this afternoon. We will send the brews first to the villages we know are affected and those in close vicinity to them. The potions may be enough to halt the spread. We must try to save as many as we can.” He got up from the chair.

“Do you wish to see Nin before you leave?” Cassandra asked.

He shook his head. “No, it would only make things more difficult, for us both. Keep her safe, teach her well, and return her to me soon.” He turned to go, unable to talk more of his Sparrow.

Cassandra stood, reached across, and clasped his wrist. “I will do all I can. If she learns quickly, she may be back with you next year, perhaps before the leaves fall.”

“When she is ready will be soon enough. Do not force her to hurry for my sake. I would have the woman she is meant to be.”

Cassandra laughed and took his hand. “If I am any judge, your little maiden thinks herself ready now.” She smiled. “You know it, too, but yes, I’ll make sure she has a good foundation in the arts before she returns to you. Please, do not torment yourself with doubts, my friend, gods willing, she will be back soon.”

She walked to the door with him and added, “Keep yourself safe for her, and heed my words of the summer.”

He nodded, bowed to her, and strode off along the corridor. The ache inside that had formed when he slid his fingers from Nin’s earlier this afternoon had not dissolved. He didn’t think it would until he could hold her again. The next moons would be uncertain ones, and he must work to see them through.

Gods, keep my Sparrow safe, and help this sickened land.

At the stable, several of the lads gaped in surprise when he asked for a horse. Usually he had no need for one, but events now made time a precious commodity. The grooms brought out a dark chestnut horse and he mounted without a saddle. Focused on the task, he did not look back, and headed out into the wet afternoon.

Once at the tower, he dismounted and quieted the worries that had pounded through his head with the sound of the horse’s hooves. Although Cassandra and he both agreed this sickness would come, the thing that disturbed him most, he had not yet shared with her. Until his vision of it cleared, he would not speak of it.

He stabled the horse and hurried into the tower.

The fire in the large hearth burned low. One look had the flames as bright as they had been this morning under his Sparrow’s influence.

The memory of the moment Nin first took charge of the flame sparked. She’d nearly set fire to the place, and he’d not laughed at all.

I miss her.

Her fragrance haunted the room, and he breathed her in deep.

On a swift prayer that the seasons would turn faster than they ever had, he went up to the workshop where the potions stood, stacked tall. He would not barter these. They would be freely given, and he had no regrets.

The bottles would not travel well, unless he packed them with straw. He arranged them in groups of eight inside the small crates he had made.

At dusk, a loud rap came at the door.

The youth Rollo greeted him. “There are four of us. We are the first of many. We volunteered to take the healing potions to the outlying westerly villages, Mage.”

“Good, the potions are ready, and I have a list of instructions you can give to the villagers you meet.”

The young men with Rollo sat in wait, soothed horses whose breath steamed into the damp evening air.

“A warning for you all. Have as little contact as you can with the villagers. If there is no one in the village who can read the words, you must make them learn the instructions by rote. To do so will be time consuming and dangerous. I pray you will have no need.

“If by mischance you touch any of those who are infected, wash as soon as you are able. Do not be enticed to stay with them for any reason.”

All four of the youths lost their smiles.

“Keep one batch of the potions for yourselves. Should any of you become ill, you must follow these instructions to the letter.”

One lad swallowed hard.

They are so young to bear this responsibility. Gods, let them take my warnings to heart.

Rollo smiled at him and winked. “Don’t you worry about us, Mage. We will be swift as hawks and drop the stuff off with each headman we can find, and no, I won’t permit these three to accept any embraces as rewards, no matter how lovely the maiden.” He glanced about him. The others smiled again.

They quickly stowed the potions into panniers.

Would there be a sufficient amount for those in need? The brews might make a big difference if they were delivered quickly.

“Are there more men coming?” he asked when the last small crate was packed.

“Yes, Mage, Lady Cassandra will send more tomorrow. My uncle has also arranged for scouts to assess where the need will strike next.”

He nodded. “Good, I’ll await their news. Good journey to you all, and remember, no contact if you can help it.”

“Yes, Mage.” Rollo turned his mount to leave.

He waved from the door. Harnesses jangled as the four of them rode off into the night. The new moon hung like a pale sickle above the tower, one good omen at least.

The stillness of the kitchen overwhelmed him.

How did he live before she came?

He ate a little of the warmed over stew she’d made yesterday, but he wasn’t hungry. Not tonight. No stick of furniture, nor each cup or spoon failed to remind him of her. Each glace at the room told him she was gone, a cruel kind of torture. The pallet she slept on sat rolled up in the corner.

He could not resist taking her blanket and holding it to his face. Alyssum flower essence. The honeyed sweetness filled his senses. This fragrant gift had been from Cassandra’s students, and Nin had been so happy to receive it. She wore the perfume all the time. Each time he inhaled, a new set of memories sparked. The scents of woodland and the magical smell of Nin, all combined to bring her to him.

He wrapped the scented fabric around himself and settled on his bed, cocooned in her aroma. He closed his eyes, and her voice came to him quite clear. Deliciously soft, she spoke in his mind. She could have been lying beside him.

“I want to come home.”

“Why, Sparrow?”
The desire to hold her washed over him.

“There is danger from the sickness. I could come and help you. Cassandra told us about it. I want to come back.”

He shook his head as though she could see him. “
No, you will be as helpful to Cassandra as you have been to me, and you will learn more if you stay. I’ll see you next week. Go to sleep, Sparrow.”

“Thabit, I love you.”

The words slid over him, warmer than the blanket.
“I love you, too, Sparrow. Sweet dreaming.”

Her sigh skimmed through his mind, and he tried to catch her to him, but she was gone. Soon they would be able to share the dreams they had, if they lived long enough to do so. He turned over, closed his eyes, and used her fragrance to soothe his fears for their future.

* * * *

Cassandra glanced about the workroom. All the girls’ faces wore a shimmer of perspiration, the large cauldron bubbled, and dense clouds of vapor filled the air. She wiped her fingers over her damp brow and glanced at Nin, who shredded sections of willow bark.

The girl had proven Thabit had taught her well. In some areas, particularly in the herbals, she excelled. She would probably wish to develop this skill in her training. Nin had done well to hide any frustration at having to work so hard on the fever brews, instead of branching out into anything with more challenge. The girl had also shown maturity in hiding her grief at being parted from Thabit. Those two would be handfasted without doubt.
Cassandra smiled.

The Mage would be a different man with Nin as his partner.

Only once had Nin wept, and that in shock with the others at the news of the severity of the sickness threatening the land.

Poor little Tab, whose family came from the outlying westerly regions, had hidden her fears for her mother and worked as hard as the other two girls. Cecile, though, she drooped like a lily out of water, only mentioning Rollo once or twice each day.

She sighed.

Gods, bring my nephew home hale and hearty.

If Rollo didn’t return, it would break Cecile’s spirit and Ranulf’s, too.

Tab took another jar from the shelf and went back to the mortar to grind the herbs. Cecile continued to write instructions on small rolls of parchment.

This change from their normal routine was harsh, and Cassandra was sorry for it. All of them missed the time for meditation and study. Poor Nin had been thrown into the work with hardly a moment to spare.

The news returned by the first few scouts had not been good. The fever seemed to have killed so many already. Once a family was struck, the sickness would spread like a fire in dry wheat. So far, they’d heard no reports from the batches of riders taking the potions to the afflicted villages.

“Ladies, I want you all to go out when this is brewed. Go up to the herb garden or into the cloister walk.” She glanced out the tall window. The day looked bleak and cold. “Take your cloaks and get some fresh air. I’ll not have you all falling ill.”

“Come with us, my lady?” Cecile asked.

“No, I must go and speak with my brother. Perhaps tomorrow I will be able to join you.” She smiled at Cecile. “Nin, will you speak to the Mage tonight?”

The girl blushed. She looked very pretty with her rosy cheeks.

“Yes, my lady, I talk to him before I sleep.”

“You are lucky to have such a powerful voice.” She wished her own skill had developed to such a degree, but she needed close contact before her mind would speak clear. Nin could be a voice for her. “Ask the Mage for news for me, would you? Also please invite him to come here the day after next.”