Deadly Fate [Book 1 of the Teadai Prophecies] Page 33

  “We know. Now be still.” Predula pressed a hand against her neck.

  Haranda stroked her forehead. “Listen to me, youngling. We’re your kin. You have no shame with us. What happened to you as a child wasn’t your doing. What you did just now with the Energy, we can discuss that later. Now let us care for you.”

  The woman’s voice pulled Cass, comforted her, and she threw arms around Haranda, weeping into her hair. “Please. Help me, Mother Haranda. Please.”

  The woman rocked her. “Yes. I will, youngling. We will.” Haranda held Cass as she wept a while longer then wiped the tears with a crying cloth. “Let’s get you out of these soiled things.”

  Cass trusted these women. Those dark eyes held concern and she nodded. Her strength seemed to have leaked out. She stood in a stupor and allowed the three mothers to undress her like a small child. They gently washed her with cool water then put her into some of Wren’s clean undergarments. A servant bring a mop but Wren kept the woman outside and washed the floor herself. Then she gave Cass’s soiled clothes and the mop to the servant, along with whispered instructions, and shut the door.

  Haranda placed an arm around her shoulders. “I want you to lie down, youngling.” She steered her to Wren’s bed and helped her down.

  Exhausted now, she lay on her side, head lifted, and studied the wet floor. Shame settled in her gut again.

  Haranda sat and motioned Cass to put her head on her lap. She hesitated. How could she be so weak as to let these Gypsies know her darkest secrets? But she felt welcomed here, connected to these women, especially Haranda. Cass’s root mother had died when she was very young and she had no memory of being coddled, except for an occasional hug or caress by village women, who told her she was a pretty child. But that didn’t matter now. Now she had a mother. Several, in fact. And fathers who were kind and patient, for the most part. These Gypsies were her kin. My kin. That thought tumbled around in her brain.

  Predula and Wren joined them on the bed. The short mother caressed Cass’s bare feet and calves, while Wren stroked her back.

  “You need healing.” Haranda gently lowered Cass’s head onto her lap. “Wren can help you now that you’ve let the memories come into your waking life this way.”

  She had never experienced a mind-healing and the thought frightened her so much that she trembled. Wren increased the pressure on her back and ran her hands in long, steady strokes that tingled slightly. In heartbeats, the fear was gone. Cass suddenly felt composed and she lifted her head from Haranda’s skirts to stare at the white-haired Gypsy.

  Wren eyed her with humor. “You think mind-healing and urging are my only aspects of the Energy, youngling?” Her looped braids swung with her head movement and she smiled. “I also harness calming and slumbering Energies.”

  “Wren is the only one in generations to have all four Energies,” Predula said as she continued to caress Cass’s feet. She paused and studied the advisor. “Which is a shame really. We could use more kin with that mixture.”

  The white-haired Gypsy returned a smile and looked somewhat embarrassed. “My Energies are related. The Goddess blessed me. We should begin. This youngling is strong enough now.”

  “What do I do?” Cass was ready for this now. Ready to face what frightened her most. Willing to put the shame and humiliation in the past where it belonged. “What will happen?” Healing no longer frightened her but she was curious. Though she wondered just how long Wren’s calming would last.

  The white-haired Gypsy studied her. “You’ll take me with you through the memories, these dreams. Show me what has happened, why they haunt you. Then I’ll help you alter them to give the child in you power over the fear.”

  “You can do that?” She turned onto her back, her head still cradled in Haranda’s skirts.

  Wren gave her an apologetic smile. “Had I known your memories were so close to breaking, I would have waited to discuss your punishment. I didn’t mean to frighten you, youngling.”

  “That’s all right. At least I know where I’ll be working for quite a while. I can’t seem to keep out of trouble.” That was the truth.

  The three women laughed.

  “A typical youngling trait,” Haranda said.

  Predula stopped stroking Cass’s feet and grinned. “It’s all that rebellion in their stoneheaded skulls. The Energy brings it out in droves.”

  Wren patted Cass’s back lightly. “Are you ready, youngling? This is going to be a difficult fight. But I’ll be there with you.”

  Haranda placed a hand on Cass’s head. “As will I. Our otherselves will meet with you in the Netherworld, in your dreams. Predula will stay with our mundane bodies, see that we don’t harm ourselves.”

  That surprised Cass and she gave the short body-healer an inquisitive look.

  Predula focused brown eyes on her. Her disheveled hair and clothes betrayed her fussy nature. “Your bodies react to these types of memory dreams as though they’re happening now. I’ll make certain that strain isn’t too great.”

  As though they happened now? Cass had wet herself so many occasions as a child, especially after her father had ravaged her. She glanced at the floor that still glistened where Wren had mopped. “What if that happens again?”

  “Then we’ll change your clothing again,” came the direct answer from Haranda. “But Predula can help you control your bladder.”

  “Yes. I’ll keep you dry until you wake and can do that for yourself. Don’t fret, youngling. Once you get through this, the dreams will no longer terrorize you.”

  “I had planned to kill him, my father. That’s where I was headed when the Energy pulled me into the Means.” She didn’t tell them she still meant to carry out that arrangement.

  If the women were surprised, they didn’t show it. Haranda nodded and stroked Cass’s hair. “I wondered about that. You seemed very determined not to stay at first. I’m surprised you never questioned why the servants were always in your way.”

  “You told them to watch me?”

  “Of course, youngling. I couldn’t have you wandering back into the Means. What kind of clan mother would I be?”

  Cass shook her head in wonder and suddenly had more respect for these women, especially Haranda. “I’m ready now.” And she was. Ready to put the disturbing memories behind her. Her father would pay for his crimes. She would never forget what he had done. But revenge could wait until her training was complete. She had a long life ahead of her. She would confront him as New-oathed Gypsy Cassbet Legrange.

  Haranda and Wren switched places on the bed, putting Cass’s clan mother lying at her back.

  “I’m going to put you to sleep, now,” Wren said.

  Cass felt slight pressure on her temples accompanied by a tingle, and soon she was hiding in the barn in the empty stall. This time she saw two glowing figures nearby. Two women. They smiled at her and nodded.

  Her father said her name with disgust. Strong hands lifted her and she cried out.

  “This is just a memory, Cass,” the white-haired woman said. “You must remember that. You are no longer a helpless child.”

  But Cass didn’t feel strong as she was carried under one arm, like a rag doll, toward the farmhouse. The glowing figures followed and she reached out for them.

  “We’re here, youngling,” the woman with the chestnut-colored hair told her. “You’re strong. You will get through this.”

  Who were these women? She studied them and wondered whether they would harm her too.

  “Focus, Cass. Remember who we are. You’re a Gypsy-child.”

  Yes, that sounded familiar. “Mother Wren?” A child’s voice came from Cass’s mouth.

  “Yes. Mother Haranda too.”

  “Help me.” She reached skinny arms out toward them.

  Her father carried her upstairs and into his room where he dropped her onto the bed. She immediately covered her face.

  “Look at him, Cass,” Wren told her. “You mustn’t hide from the memory any longer.”<
br />
  She didn’t hide. She knew exactly what this horrible man would do to her. “No! Go away! Leave me alone!”

  “I’ll never leave you, youngling.” Haranda’s voice this time. “I’m your clan mother and I command you to look at what frightens you.”

  “No!”

  “You must. He will haunt your dreams forever if you don’t face him.”

  Cass sobbed. These were her mothers. Gypsies. Her clan. Her kin. “Please help me. I’m too little.” Her heart raced as rough hands reached for her.

  “Now, Cass!” Wren’s voice pushed through her sobs. “You must be strong. You’re not a child any longer. Push him away! Now, youngling!”

  “Grow, Cass!” Haranda called to her. “You are a woman!”

  Cass peered into the face of the man who stripped away her underbreeches, her dignity, her trust, her innocence. He leaned over her as eyes and nose joined the mouth on his once featureless and gray face. She saw him for the monster he truly was, the man who abused a defenseless child. His own flesh and blood. Fear turned to hate. She detested him, loathed him with every fiber!

  With the realization she was no longer a child, she became as large as the man in front of her and pushed him away. “No! You will not do this to me again!” In an instant, her clothes were back in place. He came for her but she captured his arms and shoved him to the floor, surprised at how easily she overpowered him. “You hurt me, Fa. But you won’t hurt me ever again. Not ever! She pounded him with her fists as tears streamed down her face. He huddled against the wall and covered his head in an attempt to fend off the blows, but Cass was relentless in her assault.

  “I hate you! I hate you! You puss ridden, son of a goat!”

  The man faded until her blows met empty air, and Cass stared at the spot where he had cowered from her. She turned toward the bed where the little girl she had been so long ago stood. Child Cassbet changed from shades of gray to a child in scraggly, reddish-blonde braids and held skinny arms out to her.

  “I’ll never let him hurt you again.” She took her child self into an embrace and caressed her. Then she closed her eyes and wept into little Cassbet’s hair.

  When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on Wren’s bed, her head in the Gypsy’s lap, and arms wrapped around her own chest. Haranda, who lay next to her, slowly sat. Predula’s warm hands caressed her feet and the small body-healer stopped and watched the three.

  “How do you feel, youngling?” Wren said.

  Cass sat with her help. “I stopped him. He was afraid of me.” She felt light. She was utterly exhausted but that didn’t matter now. She laughed and cried all the same. “I’m free of him. Of the nightmares.”

  “Yes.” Haranda gazed at her with moist eyes. “You are.” She looked drained and her face was damp with sweat.

  “Thank you.”

  “Oh, youngling.” Haranda took her into an embrace. “Gypsy kin always take care of our own.”

  The dream image of herself as a little girl filled her mind and she sobbed, releasing the pain she had felt for so long. Little Cassbet was free. Three women comforted her and she allowed their touch, welcomed that reassurance. Child Cassbet released her fears, while Cass the woman took strength from her kin.

  Wren didn’t try to calm her. Once she had cried out her tears, her mind turned to the three mothers and what she had done to them earlier. She wiped her face and blew her nose on a crying cloth, several times.

  “Please. What happened before, Mothers? What did I do to you? I’m grateful you’re not injured.” That transgression would get her a trip to Ved’nuri for certain, attacking another Gypsy kin with the Energy, and she wept again.

  Haranda stroked her hair. “You had no control, youngling. Look at me.” One hand pinched Cass’s chin and forced her head up. She sniffed. “What you did is called transference.” Haranda’s patience intrigued Cass. “That’s a new Energy for you and a rare one among the Gypsies. We’ll need to take you to the Vedi.”

  Cass began sniveling again. She couldn’t help herself. The Vedi frightened her as much as her root father once had.

  Haranda forced her to look into those intrusive eyes again. “The Vedi won’t punish you, youngling. We’ll explain everything. But once you’re taught to control that aspect of the Energy and how to temper your anger, you had better not ever transfer another Gypsy without permission again. Do you understand?”

  Cass swallowed hard. “Yes, Mother Haranda. But I don’t know when it will happen again. I can’t control that Energy.”

  “I know you’re tired but you need to be some place where you can rest and not risk the transference Energy harming your kin.”

  The only place Cass couldn’t touch the Energy was inside the dome and she nodded.

  “We go to the Vedi then.” Haranda wrapped her in a blanket and Cass realized that she still wore Wren’s underclothes. “Go to your cabin, wash up and get into a clean dress. We’ll be along in a while to escort you.”

  Haranda smiled and Cass relaxed. Transference Energy might be just what she needed to punish her root father. He wasn’t a Gypsy, and Haranda had said nothing about using the Energy on middlings. Cass blew her nose in the crying cloth again and gave the three women a weary but satisfied smile before heading to her cabin. A renewed vengeance settled in her gut.

  Chapter 29

  The dome’s waiting room floors were cool on Haranda’s bare feet and she could no longer feel the Energy here. Just as always, she steadied herself against the loss. The Goddess had Her ways to remind the kin of their place in this world. And this was the Goddess’s home. And the Vedi’s, go-betweens for the Goddess and her children. The youngling at her side looked as though she would faint and she kept a firm grip on the girl’s arm. “Ved’nuri is fair, Adelsik. You’re fortunate you didn’t use your slumbering Energy on Cass. If you had, I guarantee you would have reason to quiver.”

  “Yes, Mother Haranda.” The girl’s voice was barely above a whisper and her brown, innocent eyes even wider than usual.

  Any youngling would be frightened, especially if she’d never visited Ved’nuri for discipline before. Candelus Fortensen, now known as Ved’nuri, had been Haranda’s clan sister when they were both younglings. The woman was fair and just, strong in personality and in the Energy, which was why she was chosen to take the throne. Gypsies hadn’t been called to the Land of the Goddess in many centuries and now that they were here, the Vedi must conceive a child. One born of such strong Energy under protection of the dome would begin the greatest generation of Gypsies the world has known in over ten-thousand years. The void in the Energy, the tiny hole Haranda had felt even as she searched out her younglings back in the middling world, made the Vedi’s task that much more urgent. They couldn’t afford wayward younglings threatening the cause or themselves.

  Candelus’s mate, Eguen Ei’dara, among the strongest of the males, had also been in youngling classes with Haranda. The Vedi had been chosen from among the few childbearing Gypsies in hopes of bringing the New Age, the Teadai Ved’cosima in the ancient language. Translated word for word as Great Goddess Sacred Order, an outdated term that no one used. Now they simply called it the New Age.

  Haranda missed the informal friendships with the two but those days had passed, and she showed as much respect for the Vedi as any Gypsy.

  The door opened and the Fetch motioned them into the throne room. Haranda nodded her respect to the odd little man. He gave her a slight tilt of his head and stood by the door.

  Adelsik whimpered.

  “Quiet, youngling.” Haranda led her through the doorway and down the green carpet to the throne, where Ved’nuri sat, as regal as a queen.

  Candelus was alone, as was her right when dealing with a wayward youngling female. Ved’mana took charge of the males and he wasn’t required here. Haranda made her curtsy and motioned for Adelsik to make hers.

  “Why have you come here, Gypsy Haranda Banwidden?” Ved’nuri said in a formal tone. The gilded flower wre
ath that crowned her head caught the light from the domed window above, adding to her beauty.

  “My youngling, Gypsy-child Adelsik, has committed a transgression worthy of your attention, Ved’nuri.” The girl was strong in the Energy, as the blue acorn footprint above her head revealed from its unusual brightness, and she had the ability to cause great chaos in the Netherworld.

  “I see.” Ved’nuri’s clear blue eyes moved to Adelsik and the girl stiffened. “What have you done, youngling?” Adelsik’s mouth moved but only strangled noises came out. “You will speak clearly to me, youngling.”

  “Yes, Ved’nuri.” Her voice trembled slightly. “I threatened to use the slumbering Energy on one of my clan sisters.”

  Ved’nuri’s eyes hardened. “And did you carry out this threat?”

  “No, Ved’nuri. I wouldn’t have, on my honor. I was just angry, frustra—”

  “Silence! You will only answer my questions. You’re not free to speak openly.”

  “My apologies, Ved’nuri.” At least Adelsik had the good sense to lower her eyes and look properly abashed.

  “Gypsy Haranda Banwidden, since this youngling shames you in the Land of the Goddess, you have the right to confer with me. Do you wish a discussion?”

  “Yes, Ved’nuri.”

  This was formality. The woman needed to speak with a youngling’s mother so that the punishment wouldn’t break the girl. Adelsik was strong, but as frightened as she was now, the girl might just wet herself if Ved’nuri said, “Boo.” Besides the discussion gave a youngling the chance to retch or use the privy before punishment was meted out, which many did. Another reason they scheduled these meetings before morning meal.

  “Very well.” Ved’nuri pulled on the bell rope that hung near her throne. The Fetch opened the door to allow a servant inside. “Take the youngling to a holding chamber. I’ll send for her when we’re ready.”

  “Yes, Ved’nuri.” The servant curtsied. “Come, youngling.”