Marked For Magic (19 page)

“Yes, stronger than I would have believed possible, and without her, I would have remained caged there until I perished. Even so, I shouldn’t have sought her aid. Cassandra, I love her. She is my life, and I endangered her in a selfish way. Gods, I am despicable.”

“No, you are tired and overwrought. I believe Nin would have chosen to come to you. It is possible she may have decided to come to you herself. You don’t know.”

“Not so, my poor little Sparrow was dragged there by me.” He banged the cup down on the table, rose, and strode across the room.

“Ha, the great Mage! Caged like a songbird!” He spun back toward Cassandra. “This thing plots to capture us all. The creature desires to take us and rip whatever strength we have from us. Once it has done so, it will use the power for its own purposes. Some demon, some creature from the depths of our darkest nightmares has discovered a link to our world. Someone has loosed its power on our people.”

“We could try together to fight it?” Cassandra offered.

“Not on that plane. I will not lead you on such a journey, my lady. I will not allow my Sparrow to set foot there again. Even with the strongest protection, I would fear to return.”

“What shall we do?”

“Find the one who calls this monstrous entity and offers it energy to grow, and stop them. Perhaps the demands of the thing may diminish in time. That might allow us to return it from where it came.”

“Who?”

“Yes, who. Powerful Mage, malevolent witch, whoever may have done this.”

“Can you search?”

He nodded. “But not today, my lady.”

“Of course, not today, you
are
going to rest if I have to force feed you one of my strongest sleeping potions.” She thrust the herb laced wine cup at him.

“As you insist, my lady. I’ll rest for a while.”

“Good, now please drink the wine and sleep. I will return to Nin.”

He swallowed the cupful in one draught. The bitter herbs tasted harsh but they would give him dreamless sleep. Without the drug, the memory of Sparrow in the flames would haunt his dreams.

Cassandra reached out and touched his arm. “You expect too much of yourself.”

“My lady, I have taken you from your duty long enough.”

“No, Mage, you have helped us find the key.”

“Perhaps, go now, Cassandra. I will look to Nin later.”

Huge waves of tiredness crashed over him as her herbs soothed where words could not. He yanked off his boots, and still in his robe, he flopped back on the bed.

* * * *

The clang of the noon bell woke him.

His Sparrow was hurt, and he had caused her pain.
He rolled over and crushed the pillow beneath his palm.

How had he allowed this to happen?

The herb-laced wine coated his mouth. He dragged himself from the bed and gulped down a cup of water. A patch of wintry sunlight gave him warmth when he sat cross-legged on the rug to meditate.

He had traveled unprepared for such a speed of attack, so his search had failed. The entity was old. He had felt it. A consciousness both ancient and full of greed for power had stretched out in the strange surroundings it had created.

The creature was newly awoken from a long slumber and so ravenous in its hunger. The small scraps of energy from those who died of the sickness were mere tidbits it absorbed, but it wanted more, much more. The thing wanted him, did all it could to trap him, and if not for his Sparrow, it would have gorged on his soul.

The spread of sickness was its simple method to assuage hunger. Much worse would follow if the beast continued unchecked.

Where was the weapon promised him in the scrying? How was he to fight this thing?

The peace he so often found in meditation eluded him this morning, and he needed more time to quell his anxiety. He rose and yanked on his boots. Nothing had broken his will in such a way before. Nothing.

He smiled. Except of course his Sparrow, who so sweetly dissolved all his will in less than two days.

This was different, she was different, and gods, he had let her down!

He hurried to the stairs and along the corridor to her chamber, hoping when her dark eyes opened, they would be full of peace and not pain or fear. Softly, he entered the shadowed room. Cecile sat beside Nin’s bed. The poor fair-haired maiden bore dark smudges under her eyes. One way or another, all of them suffered in the path of this monster.

Nin shone in the bed.

He closed his eyes in disbelief, and after a moment, he looked again. She shimmered, luminous like the inside of a pearl shell, her face aglow with light. “Cecile, do you see her shine?”

“Yes, she’s grown brighter all morning. Lady Cassandra doesn’t know what it is, but thinks it’s a good sign.”

“Maybe she’s right.” He dragged over a stool and sat at Nin’s bedside. The hypnotic gleam lured him with its intensity. His Sparrow dazzled radiant as the moon. He reached out for her bandaged hand and lifted it to his lips. Like a lamp shuttered for the night, the glow vanished.

“Oh,” Cecile murmured. “Shall I go and fetch Cassandra, Mage?”

He rested his chin on his palm as he considered Nin. “I think I begin to understand. How could you ever have been hidden, Sparrow?”

Carefully he took her hand in his and undid the layers of the bandage to examine her pale palm with the mark emblazoned deep. No trace of the blisters Cassandra had treated remained, and good as the lady’s salves might be, they had not brought about this cure. “Yes, Cecile, fetch Lady Cassandra. I believe she needs to see this. Oh, and Rollo is on his way back.”

Cecile’s blue eyes widened and her joyful smile appeared. He fought to understand where the knowledge came from and glanced down at the bed.

“He is hurt, but Rollo travels home.” Nin’s lips moved before her eyes opened. Sightless, blank, dark wells for the unsuspecting to lose themselves in forever, stared up at him. Her eyes were not those he knew and loved.

“Sparrow,” he whispered.

“Mage, you must fulfill your purpose.”

The hair on the back of his neck prickled, stood like a dog’s ruff, for the commanding voice was not hers.

What was happening to her?

She tilted her head toward him, and he gave a sigh of relief, for consciousness sparked in her eyes. His Sparrow had returned.

“Thabit.” Her choked murmur speared him.

“Sparrow, you’re back now.” He pulled her up to him from the bed, and although still wrapped in the tangle of sheet and covers, he held her. “You’re safe, and I will keep you so.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, and he tightened his embrace.

“Are you hurt?”

The question she asked brought a huge lump to his throat. He couldn’t speak, only shake his head. He covered her mouth with his. Sweet and soft, their kiss lingered. Peace bloomed in his heart, a peace not known since she’d hammered on the door of the tower last spring.

More than anything in this life or any to follow, he wanted her. He had been so wrong to torture them both with a summer of longing.

All the answers unfolded as her lips moved with his. Love for her filled him like the sweetest wine. A pleasure stronger than the nagging desire he’d fought to control over the summer sent tingles along each nerve. Her love mirrored his to bring joy and the understanding of wholeness. They lived intertwined like the bud and the flower. One could not be without the other, and as time progressed, their need for each other would only grow.

She kissed him as he kissed her, and together they breathed as one.

Cassandra’s gentle cough and Cecile’s little gasp of “Oh” filtered to him, and with regret, he released Nin’s lips. She glowed up at him, nestled in his embrace. He did not let her go, but glanced across the room to Cassandra. “My lady, there is fresh news for us to discuss.”

Nin made to rise from his embrace. “Thabit, I want to get up now. People are coming and I need to help.”

“You are hurt, or you were, and you need to recover. I want you to rest, Sparrow.” He laid her back on the bed and untangled the covers twined around her.

“I am well. Look.” She lifted her hand to him. “All of it gone. Allow me to get up, please?”

Cassandra moved to the bed. “Show me.” She clasped Nin’s hand, elbowing him out of the way in her haste. “And the rest is the same?”

“Yes, look.” Nin smiled and threw back the sheet, then lifted the hem of her nightgown and opened the bindings to show her pale knees. He stared at the ceiling while Cassandra bent to look.

“Mage, she is right. The burns are all gone. Nin is no worse injured than you when you returned to your body.” Cassandra’s smile dazzled.

“Yes, and there is more. If my Sparrow doesn’t mind, I wish to talk to you about it.”

“Very well,” Cassandra said. “And, Nin, you can get up if you feel well. Join Tab and Cecile, I will come to you as soon as I can. Mage?”

He bent around Cassandra and dropped a soft kiss on Nin’s cheek. “I will meet with you later, Sparrow. My lady, we’ll walk together.” He left with Cassandra and could sense her confusion.

“She has grown, I would say, beyond us,” Cassandra murmured, as they walked up to the tower room.

Once Cassandra ordered food, they sat by the hearth.

“She is changed, and I have never seen anything like it. To my mind, she seems as though she knows who and what she is. She sees without any aid, heals faster than I ever have, and I think, my lady, she has taken a huge step.” The excitement raced swift through him.

“I agree it would appear so.”

They both fell silent as a servant entered and placed bread and dishes on the table. Lady Cassandra waved the young man away. “Tell me of Nin’s seeing,” she said as the youth closed the door behind him.

“Yes, she told of Rollo’s return, partly through me.” He lifted the lid on his dish and ate a spoonful of the bean pottage.

“Her power was called forth and intensified by the visit to the plane where you were captive. She seems to have been chosen and accepted by a greater entity than the one you met.” Cassandra offered him an ale cup.

“I know, but I want her to remain here with you, my lady, so she is somewhere safe until this is over.” His memory of Nin’s slight, pale form, where she stood as a fragile warrior in the dark and flames, burned through all other consciousness. “Her journey should never have happened.”

“But it has, and we must deal with the consequences. We must also find out who has called or given strength to this abomination and try, if we can, to stop it.”

He nodded with his mouth full. Once he’d swallowed, he took a draught of ale and another piece of bread. “Tomorrow I will search for the call to this creature. Such a summons will leave a trail I can find. To call up a being of this evil will require either great strength and skill or great stupidity.”

“I don’t know what would be worse,” Cassandra said, “to do this intentionally, or to let loose such a being and not care for the implications. Do you think anyone could be so foolish?”

“Is it possible for my Sparrow to have taken power such as you do not possess?” He took her hand. “You must help her wield this gift, my lady, and channel it in the right way. I believe we have only seen a small part of her abilities.”

“I’ll do what I can. Now, I’ll leave you to finish your meal and go to the girls. The numbers of villagers in search of help increases by the hour. Come to us in the hall when you have rested. You must not travel again in a weakened state.”

“I know.” He smiled up at her. “I’ll eat, bathe, and join you shortly. And, my lady, watch my Sparrow in case she flies.”

Cassandra’s smile spread. “I doubt you will find she flutters far from you.”

Cecile linked an arm through Nin’s as they walked along the colonnade to the hall. “You said Rollo will return, didn’t you?”

“I could see him in my mind. He is hurt, but he will come back, and you will look after him.” She squeezed Cecile’s arm with her own.

The gentle, fair face paled further. “How badly hurt is he?” Cecile’s voice quavered.

“That, I don’t know. But I promise you, he is alive, and he will not die at this time. I can sense him so close now.”

“I wish I could,” Cecile said when they left the silent great hall and entered the courtyard, today full of soldier’s calls.

Four of the youngest members of the garrison attempted to organize a group of village leaders. The fraught atmosphere throbbed around them, and she caught her breath at the belligerent and suspicious expressions of the people.

Tab approached with a long list in her hand. “Should you be here, Nin? You were ill.”

“I am well, but how goes it here?”

“Dreadful, they are muttering and mumbling, and more than a few”—Tab’s voice dropped to a whisper so Nin and Cecile huddled closer to hear—“blame us for the sickness. Two men claim the herbals have killed members of their family. What can I say to them?”

Cecile slid an arm around Tab’s waist.

The group of men stared from across the courtyard with suspicion. “Nothing we say will convince them. Instead, we must win their trust and show them the sickness can be cured. If we help all we can and save some of those who have traveled here, the leaders will change their minds.” She glanced at the list Tab held. “What do you wish us to do?”

“We need to split them into groups and get them out of here quickly.” Tab indicated one group who stood well away from the others. “These men say they and their folk are unaffected, and most seem to have had no contact with the fever at all. Rumor has driven them here. Those who have been close to the sick are waiting over there.” She glanced to another group who stood well back from the rest. “The others won’t give them the chance to stand any nearer, and those who have members of their group with the fever are waiting even farther off,” Tab explained.

“We need to get to it then,” Nin whispered. She turned to face the crowd and raised her voice to speak above the mutters and mumbles of the people. “To try to stop the sickness, we need you to go to areas where we can feed and help you.”

Her words brought instant quiet. A promise of food was a good lure to those with a hungry belly. She remembered the feeling well.