9781618851307WitchsBrewShayNC (58 page)

“Oh, Mum. I wanted to prove I could take care of myself.”

Eldora nodded, and her voice was shaky as she replied,
“And you did prove just that. But I couldn’t allow you to leave the
illumrof
world without benefit of my protection. Your magic was returning in bits and pieces.
You had no clue how to handle it.” She lowered her head and sniffed. “Forgive
an old woman’s meddling? I knew that stupid Guild would come after you. They
always were a bunch of stiff necks! Stiff dicks, too. Especially Saul.”

Saylym
drew a sharp breath, tucking back her laughter. She understood her mum was
trying to ease her fears, but nothing was going to do that. “I crossed into
another dimension without realizing it. Didn’t I?”

Eldora
lifted her head. “I think you realized exactly what happened, you just didn’t
want to face reality until you were ready. What happened was supposed to
happen. You went where the magic summoned you and you accepted it when it was
the right moment. The same will happen with your sisters. They will be drawn
here by the magic.”

“They’re
already here,” Saylym replied. “Somewhere.”

Eldora nodded. “You will meet them when the time is right.
It was part of the curse, part of the punishment decreed on your mother. She
was betrayed, yes, by John, your father. The man should have cherished her
above all others, but he was enthralled and eventually went insane. Elsbeth’s
life unraveled before her very eyes. John’s betrayal was directly responsible
for so many witches dying in Salem Village, as well as our good queen’s death.
Your mother was held accountable, and punished, as were her descendents.”

A weary sigh slid past Eldora’s lips. “The spells were a
decree by the Witches’ Coven and Queen Shy-Ryn. Your powers, your very memories,
and ages were manipulated by the spells cast over you. You were not to know how
many centuries passed, or who your family was. You wouldn’t have a clue that
you are witches until the magic itself decided it was time.”

Saylym
couldn’t hold back the short gasp of surprise. “So how old am I?”

Eldora shrugged. “A little over three hundred in witch
years, in
illumrof
years, you won’t be of age until this All Hallows’
Eve. Our years are different from
illumrof
years.”

Saylym
swayed, feeling the color drain from her face. “Three hundred? I’m ancient!”

Eldora
cackled. “No, Angelmine
. I’m
ancient. You’re a baby yet.” She cast an
angry glance at MeLora and nodded her head, sniffing.
“She
has always
fancied herself as queen.”

“I have no desire to become Queen of the Witches,” Saylym
replied.

“You are not destined to be queen, Saylym. That one has
already been chosen centuries ago. It is your destiny to stop MeLora from
reigning, to save the throne for your sister.”

“Which
sister?”

Eldora
shook her head. “That I don’t know. I only know I was not destined to raise the
future queen.” Eldora gripped Saylym’s hands. “Never turn your back on MeLora.
She’s your greatest enemy.”

“My greatest enemy?” For a moment, Saylym looked wounded,
her eyes filled with pain. “But not the destroyer of my heart.”

Eldora’s
wizened gaze traveled over her, pausing on the emeralds embedded in Saylym’s
fingernails. “Ah, you speak of Talon. He did what he had to do, child. And
first time bond-mating is always painful for the witch, most especially for the
royal-blooded witch.”

“He
tried to kill me!”

“Yes,”
Eldora agreed. “But he couldn’t do it. He placed a spell over you to protect
you from him and suffered greatly for it. He loves you, child. You need him.
He’s a good man, both strong and tender. Forgive him of this crime and be happy
together. You can be, you know.”

Saylym
frowned. “He forced me to bond with him.”

Eldora
snickered. “Better wed, than dead.”

Saylym
folded her arms across her breasts. “I don’t believe he wants or needs me, Mum.
He did what he did to save Ru-Noc. He cares nothing for me. I’m so angry with
him I could—”

“You must be careful, child. Your powers are just coming
into full force, and they will be enormous.”

Saylym gave a slight nod. “I know. I understand them.” She
looked into Eldora’s doubting eyes, and a lifetime of self-honesty came back to
bite her on the butt. “Okay, I sort of understand them. A bit. But I’ll be
fine. Probably.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Eldora’s papery cheek.
“I’d like to see your real face back, please, and your real name—E-La.”

The old witch sniffed. “This is my real face, child. I’m
quite ancient, a veritable old crone I’m afraid. In due time, I’ll change it
back to the face you’re more familiar with. And Eldora is my real name. E-La is
a pet name, given to me by a certain
waken
who once claimed my body and
heart, then gave it back to me without a second thought.”

Saylym
sighed, realizing the full impact of the years of deception. She couldn’t bring
herself to be angry with the only Mum she’d ever known, the woman who’d raised
her with a gentle and protective hand. “We have so many things to discuss. I
want to hear about my birth mother, and what happened to her. I want to know
about my sisters, and how we can find them. I want to know about my father.”

“I know you do, child, but there is only just so much I
can reveal. What happened to your birth mother was a tragedy. One day soon,
I’ll tell you everything that happened to Elsbeth Winslow.”

“I have your pages of history. The queen gave them to me.”

Eldora frowned. “The
q
ueen?”

“Shy-Ryn.”

Eldora clasped her bosom and swayed. “But that’s not
possible. The queen has long been dead, burned at the stake centuries ago. Why
would she give you those pages of history? They aren’t even finished.”

“Not finished?”

Eldora let out a deep breath. “Well, yes, those are
finished, but the story isn’t all in those particular pages. There are three sets,
extending from…
pissel
crap! I forget
when, but right up to, well I forget that too.” She squinted. “Those pages were
hidden in three different locations, by order of Queen Shy-Ryn. They record the
history of the Winslow witches and are sacred to the coven. I suppose she will
choose who will receive the other two sets in due time.”

“I
suppose.” Saylym’s gut tightened. “So why is Talon to be whipped?”

Eldora
huffed, anger flickering across her delicate face. “That’s MeLora for you. She
is determined to prove her authority over all of us. That blasted
Char-Flum-Rope
is merciless.”

“She’ll not touch him,” Saylym stated with a certainty she
didn’t quite understand but desperately wanted to believe.

Eldora looked impressed with her quiet determination.

Saylym
was pretty impressed herself. Now, if only she could feel as certain as she
sounded.

“She is the new queen,” Eldora said. “I can’t believe King
Darak bonded with her. She is already carrying his son, a son of royal blood.
At least, she claims the babe belongs to Darak.”

“You have doubts the babe belongs to the king?”

“Knowing MeLora and her penchant for getting laid, the
babe could belong to any
waken
or warlock, but there will be no way to
prove it. You can bet she has covered her sins well. There have been no sons
born to royal-blooded witches in centuries.”

“I carry two sons of royal blood,” Saylym said, stunned to
discover there had been no royal-blooded sons born from a royal-blooded witch
for so long.

“I
know,” Eldora cackled. “I told Topaz there would be a surprise once you and
Talon mated.” She looked around, quickly scanning the crowd. “I placed a
fertility spell on you and Talon, hoping you’d conceive with your first mating.
I never expected two babes. I must have used the wrong spell.” Eldora searched
the crowd. “Where is that womanizing tom? I haven’t seen him in days.”

“I don’t know.” Saylym cast an uneasy glance over the king
and his new queen. “I may be madder than blue blazes at Talon, but I’ll be
damned if another woman is going to punish him for any reason. I don’t care if
she is the queen!”

Eldora shook her head. “Witches and
wakens
are
still punished the Old-fashioned ways. Some have their powers and memories
stripped away. Still, others are publicly whipped.” Eldora flashed Saylym a
shrewd look. “Even though she is the reigning queen, her powers will never
equal yours, not as long as you possess the emeralds. She will try to take the
gems from you. But she will fail. You’re the granddaughter of the High Wizard.
You have inherited his powers as well as Queen Shy-Ryn’s. MeLora will never win
this war, but the battles will be long. The loyalty of the witches belongs to
you and your sisters. Some of us remember—”

“Only
one thing is important to me now. I won’t allow her to harm Talon, but
if
I manage to save him, he’s toast.

“She
can’t win, if you’ve truly a mind to stop her.”

Saylym
hesitated, frowning. “You think I can stop her?”

“I know you can, child but it would be for the best if you
never had to face that witch. You’ve been granted powers by our Queen Shy-Ryn
and the High Wizard. Use them wisely.”

“Queen Shy-Ryn?”

“Once our sweet queen realized she’d been betrayed, she
prepared for this day. She knew there was a traitor from within her kingdom. Oh
yes, she knew there would come a time that when whoever betrayed her, and sent
her to the stake to be burned, would step forward and make a bid for power.”
Eldora sniffed. “The dear, sweet queen never expected the betrayer to be her
daughter. You must stop MeLora. If MeLora would betray her own mother, then she
would betray us all for her own gain.”

Saylym stiffened as the murmurs from the crowd rose, then
abruptly silenced. The undercurrent of the sudden quiet and disbelief was as
deafening as thunder. She jumped as someone suddenly yelled, “Talon! It’s
Prince Talon! Look! They have him wrapped in chains.”

A
second voice chided, “Quiet, you fool, or you’ll find yourself in chains!”

“Talon,”
Saylym whispered. A knot of anxiety twisted in her stomach. “I have to protect
him.”

Eldora
shook her head. “You can’t protect him and wage a war with MeLora. You have to
concentrate on the battle ahead.”

“Talon
is
my battle.” Saylym saw the surprise in Eldora’s eyes. “Please try and
understand, Mum. It’s not just a battle for his life I’m waging, but a struggle
to understand and come to terms with the hurt of his betrayal. I love him and
we will work things out, I swear, but he has a lot of explaining to do. He
can’t do it if he’s dead.”

Eldora
nodded and brushed a strand of Saylym’s dark hair from her face. She smiled
wistfully, as if she regretted what had happened to the daughter she’d raised.
“Your hair. You changed the color. My baby’s all grown up. You’ll make a fine
witch. I always knew you would.”

Saylym
squeezed Eldora’s hand. “I’m going to try, Mum.”

The
unattainable crusade not to love Talon and the difficult struggle to trust him
was daunting at best. Indeed, her prince had a lot to answer for.

Talon’s shoulders slumped, his head bowed as he was led to
the square.

Saylym felt the rhythm of her heartbeat change to match
the sounds of invisible drums magically pounding out their death knell, and
Talon’s harsh punishment.

One of the guards, pale and frightened, stood to one side,
holding the flaming
Char-Flum-Rope
in unsteady hands. It was a deadly
instrument of torture, and no one tolerated the punishing flames. There would
be little flesh left on Talon’s back when the beating ended.

Saylym jerked as some brave soul yelled from the crowd,
“Are the rumors true, Prince Talon? Are you to be whipped?”

Talon raised his head and stared at the assembly gathered
round. He tilted his chin, but gave no other indication he’d heard the question.
His bearing was every bit as noble as any king’s, and Saylym couldn’t suppress
the pride she felt in her mate as he was hauled forward by two guards. Her
stomach clenched and anger poured through her. Links of chain bound his arms to
his sides. He was totally helpless and this pissed her off.

“I’ll kill her! Who does she think she is?”

“The
queen,” Eldora whispered. “Careful, child, guard your tongue.”

King Darak rose and fell into step behind Talon. MeLora
clung to the king’s arm as if she was a fragile thing. She looked over the
crowd, her expression smug.

“The
king will surely put a stop to this,” a masculine voice said behind Saylym.

Saylym
whirled around, relief filling her entire body. “Sage! I’m so glad you’re here.
You think the king will stop it?”

“Of
course. Talon’s his son.”

Saylym’s
eyes flashed. “Talon is also the man who tried to kill me, but I think I have
more concern for him than the king does.”

Sage
cleared his throat and looked sheepish. “You know about our orders? That I was
sent here to kill a witch named Kirrah Walker and that Talon came here to do
you?”

“Do
me?” Saylym turned a wintry glare on Sage. “Oh, I’d say he
did
me all
right. I’m pregnant with twin boys.”

“No shit?” Sage choked. “How could that happen? I can’t
believe it.”

“You
can’t? Wait a minute. Kirrah Walker? You came to Sanctuary to kill her just the
same as Talon came to kill me? Why? I thought this was the mating season?”

Guilt
spread across Sage’s face. “Trust me. I’d rather spend my time mating.”

“She’s
my sister. You can’t kill her.”

Sage winced. “I didn’t know that, Saylym. I’m sorry. If
it’s any comfort to you, I haven’t been able to locate her.” He dropped his
gaze. “Yet,” he mumbled.

“Quiet!” the king suddenly shouted.