Witchling (Curse of Kin) (10 page)

“Yes,” Bones replied. “He should have his cast off next week. What’s been happening here, Jasper?”

God, so much for chit-chat; he didn’t waste any time. I thought about piping up about how he should know what is going on if he was such a powerful witch himself, but Jasper beat me to it.

“Nera had an incident this morning, didn’t you, girl dear?” Jasper walked past me to put on the kettle. “Why don’t you tell Bones about it while I make tea?”

I told Bones what had happened while he stood staring at me with an almost bored look on his face. He picked at the cuff of his shirt, giving it more attention than me and what I had to say.

“What do you think, Bones?” Jasper asked when I had finished. “Is it them?”

“Is it who?” I asked, looking from one man to the other.

“The Others, girl dear. Edrith’s sidekicks. Remember I told you about the open door that allows demons to get through. She gave life to many of them in exchange for their power. Unfortunately, they stayed loyal to her and will do anything to stop you from breaking the curse.”

“And you think that foggy deal at the lake was them?” I couldn’t help myself, I started to tremble. It was one thing to know demons existed, and another thing altogether that they had touched me.

“It was them,” Bones said, watching me.

“How do you know?” I asked testily. “You weren’t there.”

Bones looked at Jasper, and they exchanged something without words.

“What now?” I snapped. I had the feeling they deliberately were not telling me everything that I needed to know.

“I was there.” Bones looked at me, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“Bullshit. How could you have been? Besides, if you were there, you would have helped me, wouldn’t you?”

Jasper spoke up, standing between us, my temper rising. “Bones is your protector, Nera. This you already know. He has been since the day you were born, and he takes his calling seriously indeed. You may not always see him, but rest assured he is always there.”

“And he didn’t think that being my protector meant he should have helped me?” I shook my head. I really didn’t believe what I was hearing.

“It is my place to teach you to fight Edrith and break the curse, not do it for you,” Bones said. “That is your job. You seemed to cope fairly well. You were in no real danger.”

“You idiot!” I yelled. “They tried to drag me into the lake. I could have drowned.”

“But you didn’t,” he retorted. “You managed quite well on your own.”

“Some protector you are turning out to be.” I snorted
. This guy talks tough, but he leaves it to me and my dog. What a jerk.

“Jasper, I think it’s time to tell her the rules of the curse,” Bones said.

“You think?” I turned on him again.

“You will never be in serious danger with Bones around, girl dear. Admittedly, it would be easy for him to fight your battles for you, but that would never do. No, I am sorry Nera,” he said when I tried to protest, “but it is the only way to learn and bring out your powers. You will be as strong as he is one day, and you won’t get there by letting him be the one to fight your battles.”

I looked at Jasper, one of my most favorite men in the world. Me, be as strong as Bones one day? Why would I? And who was he anyway? Nothing really made sense. There was a lot more than they were telling me, and if they wanted my help, they had to tell me the truth, all of it.

Patience, Nera.

I flicked a quick glance at Bones. He hadn’t spoken, but I was sure that was his voice in my mind. I shook my head. This morning must have rattled me more than I thought. I looked back at Jasper. He had a small smile on his lips. I would soon fix that.

“I think there is more here than you are telling me, Jasper, and if you want my help, you had better tell me the whole story, not just the whole ‘let’s not tell Nera everything in case she freaks out’ version you gave Brie and Sully last week,” I said getting serious. “Or I walk.”

The two men exchanged looks again.

“For a start, who is
he
,” I said pointing at Bones, “really.”

“My nephew, girl dear,” Jasper said smiling at me.

I glared at him.

“Okay, fine,” Jasper said putting up his hands in defense. “He is Brian of Wexford, son of Mari and Maju, King and Queen of the Witches, Gods of Upper Theruss.”

Jaspers smug smile froze under my gaze, and he looked away. Right then, if this is the way they wanted to play it. “Why?” I glared at him, arms folded and feet apart.

“Well, girl dear,” Jasper began. “When Mari and Maju destroyed Edrith, they did not realize she had been summoning demons. That only came to light as girl after girl failed to break the curse. The protectors who were assigned to them were no match for Edrith’s followers, the Others. When your birth was imminent, Mari looked into the future and decreed that Bones would be the only one with powers to match what you would grow into. Therefore, he would be the one to stay by your side and teach you.”

“For how long?” I was starting to lose my anger in exchange for the fear that was creeping up my scalp.

Jasper cleared his throat, then looked away. I stamped my foot to get his attention again.

“I will be with you for the rest of your life,” Bones said from across the room.

“What? Are you kidding me?” I gasped. “No way! That is not going to happen. Jasper, sort it out, and now.” I gripped the back of the chair, my legs starting to wobble dangerously.

“He can’t change anything.” Bones shrugged. His thumbs were hooked into the pockets in his pants, and he was leaning against the counter looking nonchalant, his dark eyes hidden under his hair. “It has been written, and that is final.”

“No. I will not stand for it! Do you understand me, Jasper?” My voice was starting to crack. “This is my life, and I will not have him following me around everywhere. Just because his mother wrote something in her bloody diary doesn’t mean it applies to me.”

“Unfortunately, Nera, it does. Not many humans realize it, but the world is ruled by the gods. Nothing happens down here that is not sanctioned by one of them,” Jasper said.

He came to me with his arms out. I pushed past him and stormed outside where I started to pace the garden. Angry tears ran down my face, and I wiped at them with the back of my hands. I tried to make sense of what was happening, but my life was starting to sound like a bad fairy tale. I was used to doing what I wanted, never one for the rules and other peoples whims. My parents believed in letting me find my own way, so long as I harmed no one, myself included. I somehow doubted that this was what they had in mind for me when they worked out their parenting plan. I dropped to sit in the damp grass, and wrapped my arms around my knees. My resolve to find all of the answers slipped away.

I jerked when a hand lightly touched my shoulder.

“Do you want the rest of the story? Or is it all too much for you?” Bones glared down at me coldly, an impatient look on his face.

I scrambled to my feet, dusted off my clothes, and stood facing him. My drying tears were forgotten as I faced the man who cast himself as my shadow. “How much more could you possibly do to me?” I spat at him. “Next, you will be telling me that I have to marry one of the gods to keep the line strong and name my first child for your family. Is that written in your mother’s precious book?”

Bones ignored my outburst. “We have a job to do, both of us, so you may as well get over your childish attitude and listen. It will not go away just because you wish to hide from it.”

“I’m listening.” I saw Jasper watching us from the doorway, his face a picture of despair.

“Yes, my family let the demons rise. And yes, I am here to protect you because the first job we have to do is break the curse that Edrith threw at Jasper, and you have to be the one to break it. Until that is done, we cannot attempt to close the door. All the time that has been wasted trying to find the right girl has let in more and more evil. Once Edrith has been dealt with, then we can go on to battle what is taking over your world. As you have been told already, I am charged with living here to teach and fight alongside you.”

“Oh, really, so it does get better?” I said sweetly, the sarcasm dripping from my mouth. “Not only do I get to save Jasper, which I would do in a heartbeat, don’t get me wrong there, but I then get to save the world. What a prize, lucky me. And to top it off, I get you as my sidekick. How totally awesome is that.” I turned from him and clenched my fists, the urge to hit out at something stronger with each word he spoke.

“You can argue with me for as long as you wish, Nera, but the fact remains that the more time we waste, the more demons we allow to come through. Do you really want that?”

I looked at my feet, my face heating when his words hit home. Yes, I had been acting childishly, but in my mind, I had every right. I turned to see Jasper approaching us, forever the peacemaker.

“Jasper, we need to think of something we can do to encourage Nera to embrace her craft without all the angst that she has shown so far.” Bones ignored my quick intake of breath.

Jasper placed a warm hand on my shoulder and pulled me into his chest wrapping his arms around me. “I’m sure that you have something in mind, Bones.”

I gave in and leaned my head against him, closing my eyes. Slowly I started to relax safe in his arms.

“I think we need to do something to use her excess energy before she hurts someone with her sharp tongue and stubborn attitude,” Bones said. “If she is up to it, the longswords would be a good idea. They are part of our culture after all, and the positive use of energy will be good for her in the long run.”

I pricked my ears up at the mention of swords. A challenge was always the way to get to me, and Jasper knew it. I had long wanted to learn how to fence, but there were no instructors in town.
Sword fighting would be great.

“What culture?” I asked Bones, trying not to show too much enthusiasm.

“Do you recall the emblem that your world uses for the symbol for justice, the lady with the blindfold and sword?”

“What of it?” I wondered where this was going.

“The common notion is that she is a Roman goddess. Not quite true. She is my mother and has been responsible for handing out justice since the time before man began,” Bones explained. “She heads the high council and has the ultimate decision in all things. The sword is thought by humans to be merely a symbol, in our world it is never far from our side. It is one of the only ways that a god can be truly and permanently killed. We all learn to use a sword when we are growing up. Apart from the fitness side of the sport which I believe would appeal to you, it is the only weapon that we use along with our powers, and one that you need to learn. We are rarely without our swords.”

“Well, where is yours?” I asked, my interest finally getting the better of me.

“Let me, Bones.” Jasper let me go and ducked back into the house. He returned a short time later with two swords in his hands. He handed one to Bones and held the other one out to me. “This is mine, girl dear.”

The first thing I noticed was the weight of the weapon and the length. It was longer than I expected. Forty-eight inches, Jasper informed me. The hilt was wrapped in leather strips and the guard or cross was inscribed. Set into the pommel was a dull red jewel. Part of the family colors, I knew.

“Would you like a demonstration, Nera?” Bones asked.

“Yes, I would.” I could feel the excitement building up inside me, and I handed Jasper his sword before backing up to the chairs to keep out of their way. Hugo was at my side, my earlier bad mood disappearing.

They took their stance, and holding the longsword in both hands, Jasper attacked first. Bones stepped back and blocked the blow, then swung his sword down and sideways.

It was almost beautiful to watch. Their swords clashed, and the sound resonated around the garden. It was like a well choreographed ballet, the way Jasper and Bones parried and cut. I sat mesmerized while they displayed the lost art of longsword fighting.

I was disappointed when they finished. They laughed and slapped each other on the back while sauntering toward me. I could see the love the two of them obviously had for each other, and a warm feeling settled deep in my stomach when I looked at them both. I felt I had fallen even deeper over that cliff than before. If Jasper put so much faith in Bones, who was I to push him away?

They came to a stop in front of me, placing the points of their swords into the grass and leaned on them, breathing heavily.

“Would you like to try, Nera?” Bones’s voice was no longer cold and indifferent.

I could make this easy, or I could make this difficult. Whatever came to pass, I needed to keep these two men close to me. That I knew. At least until I could figure out if this was indeed the path that had been written for me. I made my decision.

“I would love to try, thank you.” I got up from my chair and accepted Jasper’s weapon.

He guided me while Bones acted as my sparring partner. The sword felt cumbersome in my hands, and if I had to rely on my athletic skills alone, I would have been dead inside the first five seconds. But a thrill raced through my body with the weapon in my hands. The two men patiently took me through the basic steps and cuts. As fit as I was, I was not anywhere near sword fit. It took a totally different set of muscles and actions to anything that I had done before. After a bare ten minutes, I was begging for a break.