Water Witch (22 page)

She felt herself go, and sent a silent
thanks to her nohma's deities for taking away the pain of living. She thought
she felt the first drops of rain.

Yenic's voice,
mingled with Yuri's, was the sound she heard when she returned. Arguing.
Yenic's patient tone against Yuri's steely cold one.

"He's even madder now than
before." She heard Yenic say and in her cloud of confusion, it seemed
natural to hear both of those voices in the same proximity.

"If she'd not brought him here, we
wouldn't have to concern ourselves." Was Yuri's reply. So he was angry at
her for bringing Edulph. She didn’t blame him, but why would he be discussing
it with the hated number nineteen?

She rolled her head to the side and
breathed. She smelled smoke and boiled poultry. She no longer lay on the earth,
but felt the cushion of goose feathers and linen beneath her back, the weight
of a soft linen and fur atop her. Her stomach felt numb and she reached down to
feel for the wound she knew was there. Her fingers came away sticky.

"It's honey."

With some effort, she was able to open her eyes.

Bronwyn sat next to her. On quick scan,
Alaysha could tell they were in one of the wooden buildings mazing the Main
Keep; she guessed it was the young wife's home. She sat in the corner cooing to
a bundle of linens. So it seemed Alaysha had not killed the heir after all. She
was surprised that she felt nothing at the awareness and realized she was
probably drugged.

"The shaman sewed you shut and
bandaged you," Bronwyn said. "He says the honey will keep away the
green death."

"I'm not dead, then."

Bronwyn broke a smile. "Nearly. Drahl
wasn't supposed to do that." She hid her eyes behind a fringe of hair as
she hung her head. "I'm sorry."

Alaysha tried to pat the girl's hand; she
ended up merely poking at the top with weak fingers. It was coming more clear
now. Yuri and Yenic in the same room? These enemies? Someone would die. She
tried to get up and intercept the bloodshed she knew would soon come, and a
stab of pain shot through her.

"Yenic," she mumbled falling back
onto her mattress.

"It's okay," Bronwyn said.
"He and Father have a common enemy, it seems."

And so were reluctant allies.

"Aedus?" she asked, but was
surprised but the sound was a mere whisper.

"Yenic was able to save her."

The relief stung her eyes and she had to
close them to ease the pain.

It seemed her father and Yenic both
realized she was awake at the same time, and both faces hovered above hers when
she opened them again.

"Alaysha," Yenic said.
"You're awake. Do you remember much? Do you feel strong again?"

Her father merely scowled at him.
"Never mind if she feels strong." His tone held something that
Alaysha might have called suspicion if she had to label it.

"This boy dares tell me you have been
badly trained." He'd made some sort of peace with Yenic, but it was
obvious he was unhappy about it.

"She does need training," Yenic
said to Yuri.
 
"I told you, the
best defense is to teach her. Not to leave her ignorant."

Yuri straightened and squared off against
Yenic, whose bruises were yellowed now instead of purple. "If it's as dire
as you say, then you should be out there, not in here."

"And leave Alaysha alone with
you."

"She's been with me her eighteen
years," Yuri said. "You see harm in her staying longer?"

Bronwyn hovered over her. "They've
been fighting since Father allowed Yenic to live."

Alaysha could only guess why. "Edulph
survived."

The girl nodded. "Went mad, according
to Aedus, and ran off into the woods shouting at things that weren't
there."

"What kinds of things?"

"Witches that breathe fire, that make
the earth shake."

Her words caught Yenic's attention and Yuri
stood watching his reaction with a narrowed gaze. Yenic rushed to the bedside.

"Witches, Alaysha. Do you know what
that means?"

"It means we are in even more danger
now," Yuri said. He took in Alaysha's face and made a hard line with his
lips. She could only imagine what he was thinking.

Yenic ignored him. "You were made
powerful because you received your grandmother and mother's unused power at the
same time. It peaks as you age, and wanes too. It collects, waiting to be
uncoiled. When your grandmother died, and your mother, you inherited the
culmination of all that available waiting power. It doubled, tripled in
you." He glared at Yuri. "Your father knew this and used it."

"And you wouldn't?" Yuri said to
him and Yenic held the icy gaze until the baby squalled and Yuri rushed to the
corner to take it from its mother.

"Nohma?" Alaysha had to know. If
she was protected, then why had she died?

Yenic sighed. "No one could know your
power was too much for her as you grew older. It seems even a blood witch is
not safe when the power coils so tightly or when the blood is too far from the
source."

"What of Drahl?" she asked,
touching her side.

Yuri stepped forward, all bluster and
indignance. He had his hand cupped over the heir's head and Alaysha thought
he'd squeeze the poor thing, so fierce was his tone.

"Drahl was a soldier to the
last." His white hair was in disarray, as though he'd run greasy fingers
through it repeatedly. She'd never seem him so restless.

She knew he wouldn't malign his scout; he'd
rather believe he tried to kill in the Great Yuri's service rather than from
hatred.

"Drahl is dead," Yenic said.
"And Edulph lives. And if he was raving about the witches, then he knows
of the others."

Yuri snorted and Alaysha had a hard time
keeping him in focus, so much did he begin to pace about the room. She knew her
brow was furrowing in confusion, but she didn't have the words to ask what she
wanted. Yenic reached for her hand.

"My mother," he murmured.
"And the earth witch. The first is powerful, yes, but the last was made as
you were, and she is a babe yet."

"You said your tribe was gone."

He sent her a regretful smile. "I have
to keep some secrets."

Another snort from Yuri, derisive,
disbelieving.

She looked at her father, and said the
first thing that came to her mind. "If Edulph finds the child, he'll try
to control her." He glowered, but said nothing in his defense. In truth,
he had begun to prowl about and went repeatedly to the corner of the room where
his young wife sat. He eased the child into her arms and bid her leave.

"We can't let him reach either of the
witches," he said, and looked pointedly at Yenic.

She closed her eyes. Everything hurt, and
this news made it all seem worse. "I need to go," she said and Yenic
put his hand on her shoulder when she tried to get up.

"You need to rest and heal. You're not
useful in this shape."

"I'm better."

"Not better enough to be useful."

She sighed and Bronwyn laid a cool linen
against her forehead. Alaysha tried to brush it away.

"We have to stop –"

Yuri's voice cut her off. "We will
stop him. The bastard nearly had my whole city on the brink of death."

Alaysha took him in, from the long,
untethered white hair to his steel blue eyes, and couldn't stop the question no
matter how hard she tried. "Is that what has you so angry, Father? How
does it feel?"

He glowered at her and turned to Yenic.
"I will stop anyone who threatens me. You understand this?"

Yenic gave a brief nod.

"You are only alive because of Edulph.
You know that too?"

"You've already told me three times.
If I didn't understand the first and second, surely one more time will help
me."

Yuri grunted his satisfaction, but he
didn't seem ready to give in. "If you do take Aedus and head out to find
him, I want him brought here."

"I should go to my mother first."

"No." Yuri's voice was adamant.
"Not alone. Not even with Aedus. You need the witch for that." With a
deft movement, he pointed to Alaysha. She thought he'd forgotten she could
hear.

"Perhaps I could bring my mother here.
Alaysha should be trained."

Alaysha wasn't sure bringing more powerful
women into Yuri's domain was a good idea. Yenic nodded as though it wasn't a
concern at all. "Yes. First I'll go to my mother. Then we'll return for
Alaysha."

Yuri shook his head. "Return for the
witch? What does that mean?"

"To take her with us when we search
for the babe. I'm sure you would want her properly trained if we find ourselves
against an unpredictable and powerful child."

Yuri seemed to be considering and when he'd
come to some sort of internal answer to his own raging debate, he spoke with
authority. "She's unpredictable enough," he said, nodding toward
Alaysha. "So go. We'll care for her until you return."

She could have been a flank of venison the
way he said. She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of lips on her cheek;
without looking, she knew they were Yenic's.

His voice fell to a whisper. "You're
safe now. Rest and build your strength."

She burrowed deeper beneath the fur and let
sleep take her.

She woke to the
sound of chirping birds, and the smell of fresh air coming in through an open
window. Aedus was toddling around the room, picking items up and shoving them
into a leather bag.

"Where have you been?"

The girl spun on her heel and dropped the
bundle. "You don't remember."

Alaysha shook her head.

"I've been here since Yenic brought
you in – all but for when I was sent to the shaman." She lifted her hand
and Alaysha noticed the place where the index finger had been severed had been
seared closed and smoothed over. She winced, and Aedus grinned.

"It's okay. They gave me a draft: root
of dreams the shaman said while they cleaned it up. I slept like a dog after a
big meal."

"I think I've sampled it myself."
Alaysha tried to shift and sent a pain streaking across her midsection.

"Don't move," the girl told her.
"You don't want to split it open again."

"Again?"

The girl nodded.

"Where's Yenic?"

Aedus chewed her lip. "He's saddling
Barruch."

"And you're going with him?"

The girl came closer. "Well, it's not
like I was going to leave until I said goodbye."

Alaysha tried to smile, but she felt too
lonely all of a sudden to do a good job of it.

"Don't worry, Alaysha. It's just a few
days. You need to heal anyway, and we'll be back just when you're well enough
to train."

"You sound like Yenic."

"He made me practice the words."
The girl smoothed the fur over Alaysha's legs thoughtfully, then she
brightened.

"I have a horse. Yenic demanded one
for me."

"Yenic is commanding the great
Yuri?"

"The great Yuri has become strangely
cooperative."

Alaysha grunted at that news. She had
wondered herself at the sudden shift in Yuri, and even though he was still
surly, his surliness was still not typical.

"I can wait a few days, I
suppose," she said.

She was left alone then, and she slept.
Until Yuri came.

Like he had done before he left, he took to
pacing around the room. Alaysha watched him for a few moments, could see that
he was struggling with something. She thought it best to wait until he had
formed his thoughts.

He finally turned her. "What did he
tell you?"

"Who? Yenic?"

He nodded. "What did he tell you of
your past?"

"He told me the truth. That his tribe
has four clans. That each has its own powerful woman and each of those has
support you never gave me."

"You had your mother's sister."

"Not for long."

"Is that my fault?" He settled
next to her and his expression shifted into something she'd never seen on him
except for when he looked at his heir. She wanted to believe it had something
to do with her being wounded, but she knew better.

"He told me why you wanted him
dead."

He chuckled at that. "Did he?"

She watched his face for signs of alarm.
She wasn't surprised when he showed nothing but condescension.

She had to retract her statement. "He
only told me that I killed his grandmother and his sister and all of the other
elders. I killed all of their Arms and all of their blood witches." She
met his gaze. "But you know all of that. Because you sent me to do
it."