See Chapter One (A) for Disclaimers
Chapter Two
After Tao had gotten Dar headed in the direction of the Varoni village, both men fell silent. And while Tao had no special Gifts, as Dar did, it took no gift to realize Dar was thinking of his mother. From what Tao had learned in recent weeks, he believed he knew what had caused Etain's death. There was a sickness, in which a woman bled to death as her babe was being born. But why hadn't Mira's birth killed her?
"You ask a simple question, but there is no simple answer, young Tao," Pelagia observed, reappearing at his side. Tao started, and glanced ahead toward Dar. Pelagia followed his gaze and said, "He is lost in the past. We need not fear what he might hear."
"You said that Jadya's heart simply . . . gave out, due to the stress of the escape and giving birth. And that you couldn't repair the damage. But you are a goddess, and we were always taught that you have infinite power," Tao said. He added hastily, all too aware of what could happen to someone who angered a goddess, "What I mean is . . . "
"You are not trying to be impertinent, Tao, it just comes to you naturally," Pelagia said with a laugh. Tao could feel himself flushing, and Pelagia continued, "I can only tell you that it was her time to die. It sounds like an easy answer, but it truly is not."
"Was the same true of Etain? From what Mira . . . Carrin . . . well, you know who I mean. From what she said, it sounded like something I encountered in my travels. A . . . it causes women to bleed unnaturally as their child is being birthed, and that in turn causes the death of the mother," Tao commented and Pelagia nodded.
"Very good. But what if I were to tell you there was more than that? That Etain's death might have also been caused by sorcery?" the goddess asked soberly and Tao looked at her quickly. Sorcery? Pelagia continued, "I am still not sure exactly how the spell worked, but I believe Etain's delivery was additionally complicated by sorcery."
"I still don't understand . . . you're a goddess. How can you . . . I mean . . . you have limitations?" Tao finally forced out. He was miserably aware that he was digging himself a big hole, and pathetically grateful that Dar couldn't hear him. Pelagia nodded sadly.
"As a goddess, I have no limitations in my dealings with mortals . . . with humans, such as yourself. But with other gods, with sorcerers and certain demons, I do. At the time, I was only slightly aware of a spell being cast . . . but I wasn't sure of the source," Pelagia answered.
She paused, then added, "And do not apologize to me for your questions, scholar. You have a very quick mind, and unfortunately, your mouth is quicker at times." Tao couldn't deny that . . . he had almost gotten himself eaten once or twice because of that particular tendency. And within the recent past. He had to be more careful.
Which was why he asked now, "Etain died twenty-two years ago. What caused you to . . . I mean . . . ? How did you start realizing that the spell cast had created more complications?" Pelagia touched the cheek of the little girl in Tao's arms, her eyes growing distant.
She explained in a soft voice, "You must understand that to one such as myself, Dar's lifetime is but a second. To me, he is still a very young child . . . as are you. While it seems to you that it has taken me a long time to realize that sorcery was involved with Etain's death . . . "
"It's not such a long time for you. I understand that. But how did you come to realize that the spell caused Etain's death? What led you to that conclusion? And do you know who cast the spell?" Tao asked. Pelagia stopped, looked directly ahead at Dar, then back at Tao.
At first, the young scholar didn't understand what the goddess meant. Then she glanced between the two again, and Tao began to understand slowly. After another second, while his mind raced to find someone dealing in sorcery, who was connected to Dar, Tao breathed, "No . . . oh, no!"
"Yes. I am still gathering information, but the spell affected very mother in childbirth, both human and animal. Etain wasn't the only mother to die. I have spoken with my brothers and sisters . . . the mothers in the tribes which they protected were similarly affected," Pelagia explained.
Tao looked ahead at Dar. As if hearing his thoughts, Pelagia said quietly, but forcefully, "No. You must not tell Dar. I know how you feel about keeping secrets from him. But you are not keeping a secret from him on my daughter's whim . . . rather, you are doing so to save his life."
Tao couldn't argue. He knew what would happen if he told Dar about this. His friend would die. The scholar responded, "I understand. Pelagia, does the queen . . . ?" The goddess shook her head and Tao continued, "I didn't think so. She can't know, either. You know how she would react."
"Yes, I do know. I must leave you now, but I will be nearby if you need help with the baby. Try not to worry, Tao. You'll both be fine," the goddess said. Tao nodded and Pelagia once more disappeared, leaving Tao to think about what she had said.
"Tao . . . would you like me to take the baby? I'm sorry, I was talking to Ruh and Sharak, and realized how long you've been carrying her," Dar said, interrupting his thoughts. Tao almost said no, that he and the baby were doing just fine, then he saw the wistful expression in his friend's eyes.
Which was why he said, "That would be great, thanks." Dar smiled and gently took the baby from Tao's arms. The scholar was struck anew by his friend's gentleness. For all that Dar had survived, for all he had seen, the gentleness still hadn't been beaten from him.
The baby settled into Dar's arms, and the BeastMaster said, "Sharak and Ruh were just telling me that we need to find a place to stop for the night. Tao, I . . . would you know anything about feeding a baby?" The question was so hesitant, it took Tao by surprise.
"Well, she needs milk . . . and goat's milk is best for newborns. So, where do we find a goat? I don't suppose you have any ideas?" Tao asked hopefully. Dar didn't answer as he adjusted the infant in his arms. Not for the first time, Tao thought his friend would make an excellent father.
"Our best bet would be a village, or a farmer. Would you know how to milk a goat?" Dar asked at last, frowning. Tao just stared at him, and the BeastMaster continued with a sigh, "Never mind. We'll figure something out. If we run into trouble, I'll have to ask you to take Aveta back."
"Aveta?" Tao asked, confused. "Oh! You mean the baby. When did you name her?" Dar began walking again . . . damn, Tao hated it when Dar did things like that! The scholar quickly caught up with his friend, who had that preoccupied expression on his face again, and Sharak cawed.
Dar looked at Tao, then apologized, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. And I named her . . . well, just now. It just . . . I just thought of it, that's all." Tao looked at him expectantly . . . that really didn't answer his question . . . and Dar added slowly, reluctantly, "Aveta was my aunt's name. She delivered my sister and me."
"Oh," Tao replied. He didn't know what else to say, which felt unnatural by itself. But now, with the additional knowledge that the Sorceress may have caused Etain's death . . . he felt even more uncomfortable discussing Dar's aunt. He hoped that Pelagia had told Aveta that, and that she didn't hold herself responsible for Etain's death.
Fortunately, Dar was still lost in his memories to notice Tao's silence, as he continued softly, "Aveta means laughter. And the name suited her. She was beautiful . . . I didn't realize it at the time, but my aunt was a beautiful woman. Especially when she smiled."
"Did she die in the attack?" Tao asked very softly and Dar bobbed his head. There were unshed tears in his eyes, and Tao said softly, feeling like an ass for bringing it up, "I'm sorry. I know it's still painful for you to remember. And I can't tell you that I know how you feel."
"I remember the morning . . . that morning. Aveta had asked me about the plans for my pledging to Kyra. She had teased me, because it took me so long to . . . approach her. Approach Kyra. And she was one of the few people who never hesitated to speak Mira's name," Dar said softly.
Tao started to speak, and found he couldn't. Then Dar continued, "It was just so . . . normal. The way she always spoke of Mira . . . but she always told Father that Mira wasn't dead. That she would have known if Mira was dead, because she had delivered her. Delivered us both."
"Your aunt was a wise lady," Tao observed. He didn't know what else to say. Dar nodded sadly, and the scholar continued, "What did she say about Mira, something about how she wished your sister was there for the pledging, or something like that?"
Unexpectedly, Dar grinned and replied, "No, actually, she said that Mira wouldn't be sure Kyra was good enough for me. It was a game she and Father played, you see. Mira, I mean. He would always tease her that she would never get married, because no one was good enough for his little girl."
Personally, Tao thought that was a terrible thing to say to a little girl, but he held his tongue. He had never heard Dar talk so much, and he didn't want to stop the flow of the conversation. Even when they were in the Varoni lands, Tao rarely heard Dar talk much about his dead family.
Dar went on, his eyes sad, "Then my aunt corrected herself. No, she said, Mira wouldn't say such a thing, because it always hurt her when my father said it to her. This was before I was born, you see, but Aveta told me about it when I was old enough to understand."
Dar shook his head and murmured, "She was the only one, Tao. The only one who told me stories about my sister, the only one who never hesitated to mention my sister's name. I wish she could have known that she was right all along. I wish she was here now, so she could hold Mira one last time."
"Maybe she got that chance," Tao suggested, remembering a conversation with Marinde shortly before their departure. Dar looked at him, confused, and Tao explained, "Marinde told me when Ari was born, she sensed another presence . . . she thought it was your mother, but maybe it was your aunt."
Tao grinned impishly, and added, "This was after her warning to you." Dar rolled his eyes, to Tao's amusement. Shortly before their departure, Marinde had tracked down the pair in Dar's room as they finished packing their supplies. The BeastMaster was still a little wobbly, but stronger.
She had said, after the memory play was complete, that she had things to say to both siblings. Apparently, Marinde had already spoken her mind to her queen and friend. And over Tao's loud protestations, Marinde had said, "I appreciate that you're the BeastMaster, chosen of Curupira. And that you're my best friend's little brother."
She had paused, taken another step toward Dar as her voice dropped, and went on, "But I swear to you right now. If an action of yours, be it done or spoken, results in harm to my friend, I will make you regret ever being born. I hope we're clear on that?"
Again, Tao had protested, but Dar met her gaze without flinching and replied, "We are. And the same is true of you." Unexpectedly, Marinde had smiled, once more dimming the lanterns in the room with that smile. Damn the girl. She had to stop doing such things to his heart rate!
The female warrior had answered, "Good. We understand each other. And Tao, stop protesting . . . I wasn't threatening Dar. You can't tell me that you didn't have a similar conversation with my queen. I know Carrin better than that." Tao had been silenced by this observation.
Marinde had returned her attention to Dar, saying, "Very good. I would hate to hurt you . . . except in the name of fun, of course." She had smiled again, then left the room. Dar had finished with the supplies and told Tao that he wanted to say good-bye to his niece.
Dar now said, "I realize what Marinde was trying to do. She had no way of knowing if she could trust me . . . and she was telling me what would happen if I ever did anything to hurt her friend. My sister." Tao rolled his eyes. He knew Dar could be understanding, but this was pushing it.
"Dar," he said patiently as they walked together, "Marinde had three weeks to observe you. You cannot tell me she didn't realize by then that you would never hurt your own sister." Dar just looked at him, then Tao said impatiently, "Okay, you wouldn't hurt her deliberately, is that better?"
Dar said only, "It will do." Tao rolled his eyes again. Had his friend really said that Ruh was headstrong? What did that make Dar? Ahhh . . . never mind. Tao didn't want to know. And it was then that Tao saw lights. Dar saw as well, he pointed them out to Tao, saying, "Look . . . a village."
"You might see if they have a tavern . . . sometimes, taverns do have milk. Not all travellers in this land are adults . . . some are parents with children," Tao observed and Dar nodded in acknowledgment. Tao started to say something more, but . . . What was that?
Dar said softly, handing the babe to Tao, "Take Aveta and find cover. We'll handle this." Tao started to protest, then realized someone had to look after the baby. He saw a bush nearby and ducked under the cover of the leaves, allowing his friend to do what he did best.
Fortunately, there were only three men this time, and Dar was ready for them. Ruh growled, deep in his throat, and leaped toward one, giving Dar slightly better odds. One of the remaining thugs snarled, "What is this . . . two pretty boys and a baby? This will be easy enough to take!"
"Be wary of overconfidence. It could be your downfall," Dar chided. The man just snarled at him again, and rushed toward the BeastMaster. Dar fastened his staff with a click, then with a swipe, knocked the man's feet out from under him. Dar added dryly, "As I said."
The man started to get up, but as Dar turned to engage the second man, he lashed out with a kick that snapped the man's head back. The attacker hit the ground again with a groan, and Dar turned to the remaining man. Ruh padded over to Tao's hiding place, but Tao's eyes were fixed on Dar.
It would be his first battle since the ambush. Tao knew that Dar was healed, but he was still worried. Dar, in the meantime, watched the last of his opponents closely. The other rushed toward Dar with a hoarse cry. The young man sidestepped him neatly, then kicked the man in the ass. Tao bit back a laugh. No point in infuriating the man, since Dar could be quite infuriating on his own.
Dar faced the man who was struggling to his feet. The BeastMaster said softly, "Take a look around you. Your friends are down. Do you really want this fight?" Tao frowned. Was Dar trying to give the man an out?
A second look told Tao what Dar must have seen before -- it wasn't a man who remained, but a boy. He was no more than fifteen or sixteen, and obviously frightened. The boy spoke in a curiously high voice, asking, "Do you not wish to fight me because you think me young . . . or because I'm a woman?"
"You don't want this fight," Dar said softly. "If you really wanted it, you would have attacked by now, instead of speaking." The girl stared at him, then removed her cap. A mess of red hair fell to her shoulders, and Tao saw now that she was no more than fourteen.
(Continued)
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