Fyne Sisters - The Star Witch Part 31

were safe, as well. "Send her in."

A moment later, a drably clad woman with a large brown kerchief covering her hair stooped down to enter the crowded shelter. Isadora knew, as soon as she saw the woman's hands and the blue ring on the middle finger of the right, that this was not Mahri.

Liane lifted her head, and her eyes met Isadora's. A light of surprise and relief lit her eyes, and a touch of a smile turned her lips. "Please don't give me away," she whispered as she drew nearer.

"I was so worried about you," Isadora said softly. "What of the babies?"

"Jahn and Alixandyr are well, for now. Mahri is watching them." Liane dropped to her knees beside Kane and laid a hand on his forehead. "Is he going to be all right?"

"We don't know yet," Sophie said. "I think so. Juliet says maybe yes, probably yes, but I won't be satisfied until he comes around. Is that why you're here? You heard that Kane was injured?"

Liane shook her head. "I did not know my little brother was wounded until I heard that oaf who calls himself Myls mention the injury in an offhand manner." She looked at Sophie as she ran a comforting hand through Kane's hair. "I came here searching for you."

Sophie's eyes went wide. "Why?"

"Because you're the only one who might be able to help me. I don't know if anyone can but... I have seen you do miraculous things, Sophie, and I need a miracle today."

Isadora's heart leaped again, at the mention of miracles.

"The nursemaid who was with us ran away this morning. I suspect she was little more than a slave, and with Sebestyen dead..." She averted her eyes and trembled visibly. "The reasons for her leaving are not important. Gadhra, that evil old bat, gave me some foul-smelling potion to dry up my milk, and the nursemaid is gone, so how am I to feed my babies? If anyone can... can fix me, it's you."

"I've never tried such a spell," Sophie admitted. "I don't know that it would work."

"Will you try?" Liane asked.

Sophie nodded, and then she closed her eyes and began to breathe deeply and strangely, as if she took the air into another place. It was a meditation not so much different from that which Lucan practiced.

There had been a time when the youngest Fyne sister had possessed very little power, but that had changed-as evidenced by the way she'd influenced the weather during her long labor with Duran. Even now, as she searched inside herself for what Liane needed, she seemed to glow. She'd always had a sort of attractiveness that men craved and women envied, but this glow took her beyond earthly beauty.

When it was time, she called Liane to her and laid her hands on the former empress's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Liane closed her eyes and took deep breaths, as if willing Sophie's machinations to work. Sophie did not speak. There were no words of magic to a.s.sist the power she fed to Liane. And then, without warning, the spell was done, and Sophie dropped her hands.

"When will we know if it worked?" Liane asked.

"Soon," Sophie answered.

While they waited, Liane was introduced to her nephew. She shed a few tears upon learning that the baby had been named Duran. Still holding the baby, she hugged Isadora with a touch of pa.s.sion and emotion and deep relief, and told her simply that it was good to see her well. There was no mention of the night Liane's husband had thrown Isadora into a pit in the ground to die.

When Liane had returned Duran to his mother, Isadora asked about Ferghus-who had lied to Myls about the visitor being Mahri. Liane just shrugged her shoulders. "He was always loyal to me," she said.

If she did not realize that the sentinel was in love with her, then she was blind. That blindness was possible, considering the way Liane had lived most of her life. She still loved Sebestyen, after all that he had done to her. She would likely always love him. Her life in the palace as a concubine and even as an a.s.sa.s.sin had twisted her emotions to the point where it was possible the only love she would ever recognize was that of a man who had imprisoned her and debased her, and in the end done his best to take her children away.

Sebestyen had loved Liane, of that Isadora did not have a doubt. But his love had been as twisted and incomplete as hers for him. Was her own love for Lucan twisted by her time in the palace? Was it as true as it seemed to be?

After a short while, Liane twitched as if she'd been startled. She laid one hand over a breast, and then she smiled. "I can feel it," she whispered. "The milk is coming in."

"That is good."

"I can feed my babies."

"Abundantly," Sophie answered with a smile. "When do I get to meet my nephews?"

Liane stood and shook her head. "Never, I'm afraid." She twisted the ring on her hand. "Those who still believe that Sebestyen was the rightful ruler will insist that Jahn is the new emperor, and there will be more war. More death. Worse, the priests will lock Jahn away and use him for their own purposes, their own quest for power. And if they know that Alix lives, there is no end to what they might do. I promised Sebestyen I would take the boys far, far away from the palace and those who would use them. That's what I'm going to do." She held her hand aloft. "This is all Jahn and Alix will have of their father; an ordinary ring with his blood caught in the setting."

Lucan wanted that ring very much, but he was gone, and even if Isadora was willing to take the only valuable possession Liane had left, Lucan would likely not accept it from her. He not only did not love her anymore, he despised her and everything she touched.

Juliet offered her palm, upturned, and asked if she could see the ring more closely. Liane reached out, and Juliet touched the blue stone. "There is magic here," she said with a smile.

Liane sighed. "Would I be well rid of it, then?"

"No, not at all," Juliet said as she allowed her hand to fall away. "It isn't a forceful magic and shouldn't alarm you in any way. At one point, long ago, this ring was blessed to rid it of the negative energies of the past wearer. It now carries with it a touch of good luck. Not a lot," she said, "but a trace. Just enough to make it glimmer, when I study it just so. It's drawn to power." With that, she glanced at Isadora. "It was drawn to you," she added softly.

"Perhaps it will bring me and my boys luck in the days to come."

"Perhaps," Juliet responded.

"I have to go. Do me a favor," Liane asked as she backed toward the tent's entrance. "Tell everyone that we're dead. Make up a sad tale about the way I and the babies perished, so no one will ever come looking for us."

"Where are you going?" Isadora asked.

The former empress shook her head. "I don't know. Far away. As far as I can get from Arthes, that's where I'm going." She nodded to Sophie. "Thank you, for my babies and for the return of my ability to feed them." Liane dipped her head to Juliet. "I thank you, too, for the information about Sebestyen's ring.

It's good to know." Then she looked at Isadora, and her eyes misted. "I cannot thank you enough for being my friend. I'm so glad Sebestyen didn't kill you."

"You really shouldn't-" Isadora began, but Liane spun and ran before she could finish.

Chasing after Liane would alert Myls, and others, that something was amiss, so Isadora did not leave the

tent. She looked to Juliet, who had been silent through most of the long visit. "Will she be all right?"

Juliet nodded. "It won't be easy, but she and the boys will be fine." She c.o.c.ked her head and smiled."The one who is so devoted to her, the one who lied...""Ferghus," Isadora supplied."Ferghus is going to follow her. He's going to protect her."Isadora felt better, knowing Liane and the babies and Mahri would not be out there all alone."Oh, no, what am I going to do?" Sophie asked in obvious distress."What's wrong?" Isadora asked."I can't tell Arik that Liane and the babies are dead.""Why not?" Isadora asked. "You know very well it's the only chance they have for a safe life.""Yes, I know, but... I can't lie to Arik. He's my friend.""I can lie to Arik," Isadora said pragmatically. "I barely know the man.""So can I," Juliet said. "Sophie, all you have to do is look sad and keep quiet."Sophie shrugged her shoulders. "In the name of a good cause, I suppose I can do that."Isadora looked toward the tent opening. There was a small slit she could see beyond. "I wonder if Ferghus is following Liane already?"

Juliet nodded and smiled. "He's right behind her."

AS THAYNE HAD said, there was a blazing fire, and stars above. Two impossibilities had presented

themselves, and Sophie had suggested that Liane's recovery and the safety of her babies was a third miracle, and while it was not technically Isadora's miracle, it did touch the eldest Fyne sister in an undeniable way. Isadora had sworn to protect Liane and the babies, and she had done so against all odds.

The Anwyn guards and a handful of rebels who had been instructed by Arik to keep the camp safe remained. Most of the men stayed well away from the women. The rebels knew Sophie to be a witch, and they knew what she could do, but to see three powerful women with their heads together was frightening for them. They knew something was about to happen; they just didn't know what.

Myls was gone, and so was Ferghus. Isadora tried to imagine where her friends from the palace might go. Liane and the babies, Mahri, and Ferghus. She wished them a good life, and when the curse was settled she would cast a spell to make it so-if she could. Spells cast over a distance were not always effective, but if nothing else, it would make her feel better to know they had an extra bit of luck to carry with them.

It was well after dark when they began the ritual. Thayne said they had to believe the curse was powerless before it would be so, and Isadora recognized the seed of uncertainty in her heart. It was too late for her, in any case, but she was still waiting for her miracle. She tried to force out that kernel of doubt, for Kane's sake, for Sophie and Juliet and Ryn.

She knew the language of the wizards more deeply than her sisters, so it was she who began to chant the spell they had devised last night and today. They stripped the power from the curse, they dismissed it as unimportant and weak. They embraced the futures they and their daughters would have, free of the powerless curse.

Isadora tilted her head back, and her gaze swept the heavens. A shooting star streaked across the clear sky. An omen, perhaps? A sign from above that they would be successful?

Juliet had a few words to chant. While the middle sister-so changed and yet still the same Juliet Isadora loved so dearly-did her part, Isadora looked beyond the fire to Ryn, who was such a devoted husband. Juliet swore that because Ryn was not entirely human he would not be affected by the curse no matter what happened, but Isadora was not so sure. Maybe he wasn't human, but he was a man, and Juliet did love him.

When it was Sophie's turn to speak her portion of the spell, her voice trembled. Isadora tried to give her sister strength, courage, and hope. Hope most of all. They could not waver, they could not doubt.

Movement nearby Ryn, who held his own daughter and Sophie's Duran in his ma.s.sive arms, caught Isadora's eye as Sophie finished her part. For a moment Isadora held her breath. She blinked twice. It couldn't be. Lucan would not have come back, not after he'd seen the ugliness of destruction in her with his own eyes.

But he moved slightly forward so that the firelight fell upon his face, and she knew it was not her imagination playing tricks on her. Lucan had returned. He looked tired and a little disheveled, but she saw no hint of the disgust she had witnessed earlier in the day. He stopped a few feet away from the fire, and mouthed the words I love you.

Three.

Isadora broke from the circle and ran to Lucan. Without saying a word she threw herself at him, and he caught her. He caught her very well.

"You came back," she whispered.

His arms encircled her, and she held her very own impossibility tight for a moment. Lucan placed her on her feet and kissed her, telling her more with that kiss than he ever could with words. He had seen the worst of her, and he loved her still. Their love was strong enough to withstand the curse and all that came with it. He had fallen victim to the curse and walked away, but he had come back.

The flame she and her sisters had danced around flamed high. Juliet and Sophie both lifted their heads, and so Isadora did the same. Three shooting stars dashed across the sky together, and as they faded away, Isadora felt the curse lift, as if a weight had been taken from her heart.

"Is it done?" Sophie asked breathlessly.

"Yes," Isadora said confidently. "It is done."

Sophie ran for the tent, but before she reached it, her husband stepped into the night. Kane held an uncertain hand to his bandaged head; he was pale and none too steady on his feet. But he was alive.

Sophie squealed in happiness and ran to her husband. Juliet walked toward Ryn and their remarkable daughter with a contented smile on her face.

Lucan leaned down and whispered, "I'm sorry. I knew it was the curse that caused me to see... and still..."

"Don't explain or apologize; it isn't necessary. You did what had to be done." She smiled widely. "You came back."

"Of course I came back. I was disturbed by what I saw, I was even frightened. But I always loved you, Isadora. Good and bad, dark and light, I always loved you."

"I love you, too."

He kissed her again, more deeply this time, and ignited a depth of wanting she had never known existed. And when the long kiss was done, he took her hands in his.

"Isadora, love, will you be my wife?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

He grinned at her. "Yes, finally."

And so it was done.

WHEN ALL WAS finished and the curse was truly gone, Juliet admitted to her sisters that she had seen more of the future than she'd revealed to them. She had known that the curse would be lifted, but she had been afraid that telling her sisters all she knew would rob them of the pa.s.sion and power they needed to do what had to be done. She was afraid that her interference would change the future she'd seen.

The Anwyn Queen and her King had left for their home, The City, the next morning. Keeping in touch would be difficult, but far from impossible. Nothing was impossible.

Kane and Sophie were headed, with Ariana and Duran in tow, back to the Southern Province. The would build another house on the land where the Fyne cabin had stood for so long, and there they would farm the land and make more babies and live without war. It would make for a good life.

Lucan and Isadora had returned to Arthes, and even though Isadora had sworn she would never again enter the palace, she and Lucan found themselves on Level One once again, standing before the new emperor in the ballroom. As Lucan had been so helpful in seeing to Sebestyen's downfall and then bringing the fighting to an end, Arik had gladly given the Circle Captain two of his finest horses. He had offered the words of a palace priest, when he learned that Lucan and Isadora were to be married, but they declined. They would be married soon... but not in Sebestyen's palace.

Isadora told Arik that Liane and the babies were dead, murdered by some unknown a.s.sailant as they'd tried to make their escape. Arik had been disturbed to know that someone under his command had murdered women and children, so Isadora twisted the story to clear his conscience and made the murderer a thief who'd stolen the few imperial jewels the empress had on her person.

Telling that tale, convincingly so, was the reason she'd consented to visit Level One again. Liane and her sons would be safe from any who considered them a threat and from those who would use them to gain power.

And then they were gone, leaving the rebuilding of a palace-and a country-to the new emperor.

Franco had been very glad to locate his Captain, but once his fears about Lucan's safety were a.s.suaged, he traveled well ahead with the other Tryfynians who had fought for Arik. They were in no mood to dawdle, and Lucan and Isadora very much enjoyed dawdling.

They were married in a small church near the Tryfyn-Columbyana border, with no witness other than the parson's chubby, pretty wife. Simple gold rings were exchanged, slipped with love onto the middle fingers of their left hands, and then they rented a room in a small inn near the edge of town.

Even though the bed was soft and they had been resting upon the hard ground lately, they did not get much sleep.

Isadora had told Lucan that Liane possessed the ring he wanted so desperately, but he seemed not to care. He said perhaps the time for retrieving the Star would come again. Perhaps not. She'd offered to try to cast a spell to locate Liane and her traveling companions, if he desired. She did not want to take the only possession of the emperor's the woman had left, and Juliet had said there was badly needed good luck attached to that ring. But Liane would need money in the years to come, and Lucan could pay her handsomely for the simple piece. Perhaps that was the good luck Juliet spoke of.

But again, Lucan did not want her magic to a.s.sist him. He loved her as a woman, and he had no desire to use her powers for himself.

Naked and entangled, they watched the sun rise beyond the rough window frame of their rented room. The suns.h.i.+ne illuminated the land they were leaving behind; Isadora did not know what to expect of what awaited them to the west.

Well, they knew to expect love, and laughter, and a son sometime in Lucan's thirty-eighth year.

"It is amazing that your pursuit of a ring brought you to me, and ultimately brought us to this place. If you knew where it was located, why did you not retrieve it long ago?"

Lucan wrapped long arms around her. "I did not know it was a ring I sought until I saw it upon your finger and glimpsed the magic. Long ago, the wizards of the Circle told me when the time would be right, and they told me I would know the Star when I saw it. They told me the Star had power I would recognize, and I did."

She rolled over to face her husband and ran a finger across his beard-roughened cheek. "A star of power."

"Yes."

"And you did not know it would be a ring."

"No. They only said I would retrieve the Star and deliver it to the Circle, and when that was accomplished, I would become Prince of Swords." He kissed her throat. "I do not wish to speak of my failure, love. I want to make love to you here, one more time, before we renew our journey."

"But-" Isadora began as Lucan rolled her onto her back and fit himself above her.

"No more talking," he said as he lowered his rough cheek to her neck and nuzzled.

"But Lucan, it's important."